May 13, 2026 · 35,476 words · 18 speakers · 735 segments
for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Mr. Sheebel, please call the roll.
Representatives Bacon. Barone. Basinecker. Bottoms. Here. Bradfield. Bradley. Brooks. Brown. Caldwell. Camacho. Carter. Clifford. DeGraff. Duran. English. Espinosa, Ferre, Flanelle, Froelich, Garcia, Garcia Sander, Gilchrist, Goldstein, Gonzalez, Hamrick, Hartsook, Jackson, Johnson, Joseph, Kelty, Leader, Lindsay, Luck, Lukens, Mabry, Marshall, Martinez, Morrow, McCormick, Wynn, Paschal, Phillips, Representative Phillips
Excuse.
Richardson Yeah.
Ricks Representative Ricks
Excuse.
Rutanel Ryden Sirota Slaw Smith Soper Stuart K Stuart R Story Sukla Taggart Titone Valdez A Velasco Weinberg Wilford Representative Wilford
excuse excuse
Winter Woodrow Woog Zokai and Madam Speaker
With 62 present and three excused we have a quorum
Madam Speaker.
Members, your attention please.
Mr. Speaker Protem, it is an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you.
Good morning, members. If you are as excited as I am that today is CNA-DA, I will ask you to full throttle joyously say aye when I make the motion. Please. I move that the journal of Tuesday, May 12th, be approved as corrected by the chief clerk. Representative Luck.
Sorry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem, and I'm sorry, Madam Speaker, but this is a question I've wanted to understand the true answer to for six years, and so I was going to request that it be a recorded vote, and perhaps everyone who votes yes when they push the green button could shout very loudly.
That is indeed a proper motion. Members, this will be a recorded vote. Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine. Please do not make our nonpartisan staff very sad.
Representative Barone. May I request the journal be read at length?
That is not a proper motion, and I retract my motion. Members, the question before us is the journal being approved as corrected by the chief clerk. Mr. Cheeble, please open the machine. Members, please proceed to vote. Thank you. Your vote on approving the journalist corrected. Rep. Bottoms, we didn't hear you.
I'm so sorry. Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine. With 40... Please... Please close the machine. With 52 aye votes, 10 no votes, and 3 excuse, The motion is adopted.
Thank you It's very exciting.
Members, are there any announcements or introductions before we move into our tributes? Tributes. Members, I'll invite you to take your seats. We have a couple of important tributes this morning.
Madam Majority Leader.
Go ahead, you go first.
Oh, Assistant Minority Leader Winter. Thank you, Madam Speaker. So every year we try to do tributes for the people that make this building go, for the people that don't get the thank yous that they deserve, and the people sometimes that aren't recognized. So it's our duty for those of us that know what they do that we recognize these folks. So I will start with the first tribute. and it's to our sergeants. We, the General Assembly of the State of Colorado, hereby extend our deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation to sergeants at arms, Stephen Rosenthal, Sarah Owens, Jack Weger, Christopher Noome, Alan Bennett, Cynthia Martinez, Mike Ford, John Judson, and Royce Hathaway, for their exceptional service and unravening commitment to the Colorado State Capitol. These dedicated professionals exemplify the highest standards of decorum, respect, and integrity. Entrusted with maintaining order within the People's House, they serve on the front lines of ensuring that the legislative process is conducted safely, respectfully, and without disruption. Their presence provides not only protection, but also confidence, allowing legislators, staff, and visitors alike to carry out their responsibilities in a secure and orderly environment. With professionalism, composure, and steadfast sense of responsibility, the Sergeants-at-Arms upheld the traditions and dignity of this institution each and every day. Their efforts are vital to the function of a free and orderly house. We commend and honor their daily service, and we thank them for their continued dedication to the General Assembly and the people of Colorado. And before we give them a round of applause, they do things like the daily scheduling of the committee rooms, the daily scheduling of endless guests, seating arrangements with no mistakes, daily delivering of food without a spill helping with parking issues serve as a lost and found maintaining security during our entire session and we all know that our day couldn't get started or end without them
Madam Majority Leader Thank you Madam Speaker I just wanted to add you know our sergeants AML Winter went through the list of what our sergeants do
but I don't know if anyone actually realizes the other things they do. It's a plethora of things that they've done for me throughout the four years as being Majority Leader for making sure everyone does not sit in each other's chairs. yeah well it's not a made up rule but I am just so grateful and appreciative because this has been a partnership in a team and it's been my honor to work with all of you as a majority leader and I respect all of you so much and I couldn't have asked for a better team to implement the decorum I put in place the rules we need to follow and I know that you have been challenged many times with enforcing the rules that I have asked you to, and I am just grateful and appreciative, and let's remember to always show them respect and dignity as we move forward in the coming sessions. So thank you so much.
Thank you. Representative Clifford has a brief word.
And this is the final year upon the expected passage today of House Bill 1422. Next year and from then on, the Sergeant-at-Arms will be enshrined in our statutes.
Assistant Minority Leader Winter.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
And now we will honor the Colorado State Capitol Custodial Staff. We, the General Assembly of the State of Colorado, hereby extend our utmost gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to Kim Lopez, April Martinez, Teen Cook, Chris Martinez, Devin Munoz, Joe Seitz, Lucas Ramirez, Deborah Cortese, Dalton Dickerson, Andrew Mills, Angelina Marcus, Jessica Henderson, for their outstanding service and dedication. The aforementioned embody the very spirit of service by ensuring the excellent upkeep of the esteemed and historic Colorado State Capitol building. Their often behind-the-scenes efforts play a critical role in cultivating an environment for creation and passage of legislation that affect Coloradans across the state. The staff's professionalism, attention to detail, and kind approach to work reflect their integrity and dedication to all who step foot in the Colorado State Capitol building. We honor the profound daily efforts of the aforementioned staff and thank them for their true commitment to the people of Colorado. Madam Majority Leader.
Please stand.
Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. You know, there hasn't been a day in the eight years that I've come in here that there hasn't been a smile on each of your faces and a warm hello whenever I ran into you, no matter where that was. And I know that you do your job with passion. conviction and pride and I know that you know you have been here when we're here late evening so are you you have to wait till we are done with our work to come in clean our desks our empty our trashes in our offices but you do it with so much pride and that's what I've always admired and respected of each and every one of you and we value you so much and we can't do our jobs without you. And I just want you to know today that it's been my pleasure. It's an emotional day. Thank you. But you are truly what Colorado is about. And what you do, you do it with such dignity. So thank you. It's been my honor. Thank you.
Representative Kelty.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. and I rise today in tribute.
Please proceed.
Madam Speaker and members, today we rise not for politics, but for remembrance, not for debate, but for honor. As we know, May is Military Appreciation Month, and most of us know that this year it will be five years. Five years ago, a tragedy for all America, one we can never forget. On August 26, 2021, at Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the Operation Allies Refuge, 13 American service members stood in the breach. In the chaos and the fear, in the face of horrible ISIS terrorist attack, they did not retreat. They did not falter. They stood their ground, protecting American citizens, our allies, and each other. And in that moment, they gave their lives. they gave their all as their family as their fallen brave brothers and sisters before them they have their special place in heaven above they are not just names on a page They were young. They were brave. They were committed to something greater than themselves. We say their names to forever remember because they matter. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Noss, age 23. Sergeant Yohani Osario Bricardo age 25 Sergeant Nicole L Gee age 23 Sergeant Devin A Chandler age 31 Sergeant Dagan W. Page, age 22. U.S. Corpsman, 3rd Class, Maxton W. Soviak, age 22. U.S. Marines, Sergeant Darren T. Hoover, age 31, Sergeant Taylor J. Hoover, age 31, Corporal Hunter Lopez, age 22, Corporal Jackson J. Borgay, age 20, Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza, age 20, Lance Corporal Riley J. McCollum, age 20, and whose family lives in Colorado. Thirteen lives, thirteen stories, thirteen heroes. They came from different corners of this nation, different backgrounds, different stories, but they were united by duty, united by courage, united by a willingness to stand between danger and the innocent. They stood shoulder to shoulder, committed to something greater than themselves, that unity, that selflessness, is the very foundation of what it means to serve. These men and women upheld the highest traditions of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. They did not serve for recognition. They served because they believed in this country, their dedication to duty, and each other. And while we honor them today, we must also look to the families they left behind, families who carry an unimaginable loss, families who now bear the silence where their laughter once lived, families whose strength and dignity reflect the very character of those they raised and loved. We owe them more than words. We owe them remembrance. We owe them gratitude. We owe them a nation worthy of the sacrifice made because the truth is simple and it is sobering. Freedom is not free. It is paid by those willing to stand in harm's way, by those who answer the call, by those who never come home. so today we do more than remember we make a promise a promise that these 13 will never be forgotten a promise that their sacrifice will not fade with time a promise that we as a state and as a nation will continue to honor all who serve let us be worthy of them Let us remember them, not just today, but always. May we never forget our fallen 13. Thank you.
Thank you The House will stand in recess Thank you. Thank you. The House will come back to order. Members, we will be getting to a resolution later today. We are now going to be moving into third reading. as is common with the last day of session we will have a lot of starts and stops so I beg for your patience and understanding
Madam Majority Leader Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'd like to move Senate Bill 43 to the end of the third reading calendar.
Senate Bill 43 will be moved to the end of the third reading calendar.
Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 170. Senate Bill 170 by Senators Coleman and Bright, also Representatives Bacon and Martinez, is concerning creating a task force to study how to expand access to effective public schools for Colorado students.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 170 on third reading and final passage.
Assistant Majority Leader Bacon and Representative Martinez. Members, we have heard that people have some questions on the bill And so we want to be able to help you all by hearing what's in the bill. Representative Martinez.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you. Members, we've heard a lot of misinformation about this bill and what it is and what it isn't. And we wanted to make sure that we cleared that information up today and to make sure that everybody understands what they really are voting for on this critical piece of legislation So with that I request this bill be read at length The bill there is a request for the bill to be read at length
A bill for an ACT bill summary. The bill creates the Access to Opportunity Task Force to study and report on how to expand access to effective public schools to address opportunity gaps. The bill requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and the Department of Education. Representative Martinez.
Madam Speaker, I request the reading be stopped. Thank you.
Assistant Majority Leader Bacon.
Thank you, members. We urge an I vote.
Oh, Representative Goldstein.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's been such an honor to serve with you. It is such an honor to serve with you. Okay, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer here, but I am going to push back a little bit because I do want to thank the bill sponsors for hopping on this bill. Unfortunately, I don't feel like we need this bill. We're just trying to find a bureaucratic purpose here. School districts already know what they need to expand access to effective public schools and address opportunity gaps. A more effective way of legislators finding out what is really happening is to visit these places. All anyone would need to do to determine what needs to be done is to visit a school or two. Once you see them, it will be very obvious where those gaps are. I have a few schools you can visit should you so choose. Just let me know. CASB does a bus tour every year that I have coordinated over the past several years as a CASB board member, and I've met a few of you on these journeys and I'd love to see more of you participate. So I see this as another example of funding legislation with gifts, grants, and donations and the amount requested would be nothing more than paying someone to take on this endeavor. That person could instead be an employee of a school district doing something similar. The state already has spent $2 million to determine that we have a $3.5 to $4 billion funding gap for public education. We should instead focus on figuring out how to solve that problem and give educators more tools and resources to succeed. So I will be respectfully voting now.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 170 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Froelich, Weinberg, and Woodrow. Weinberg and Woodrow Weinberg's fine $10 Woodrow is fine $20 members please vote Please close the machine with 38 I 27 no and zero excuse Senate bill
170 is adopted. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 125. Senate Bill 125 by Senators Colker and Marchman, also Representatives Bacon and Phillips, concerning disability rights protections in public schools.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 125 on third reading and final passage.
Representative Garcia Sander. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Unfortunately, we didn't hear this in Education Committee, and so I just had some questions come up. for the bill sponsor about this because apparently, initially, the fiscal note was kind of hefty. It was over half a million dollars. But apparently in one of the committees they stripped out the fiscal note, and now it relies on gifts, grants, and donations. And so I don't know, again, I wasn't able to ask, are the donations already secured? And if not, there's a clause in here that says that this part of the law would be repealed if there are no gifts, grants, and donations. And so then what's the proper mechanism for enforcement? Is it just symbolic, or how will it be enforced? Also, I'm curious if it isn't enforceable. how does CDE continue to respond to complaints? Representative Phillips.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you. Just by way of clarification regarding gifts, grants, and donations, that would include things like attorneys like me who would provide their services pro bono. That would also include contracts that we do already through CDE when we have mediations. that's already in place and already happening. It would also include partnerships like Disability Law Colorado would be able to partner to make sure that we have this lane for kids with disabilities. And even the Attorney General's Office, they're very well experienced in education law, and they would also be supporting. So we do, in fact, have a pathway for gifts, grants, and donations.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 125 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. No. please close the machine with 47 I 18 no and zero excuse
Senate Bill 125 is adopted co-sponsors
Please close the machine Mr Schiebel please read the title to Senate Bill 72 Senate Bill 72 by Senators Carson and Snyder also Representatives Espinosa and Marshall concerning increasing criminal penalties related to assault of conduct with a motor vehicle and in connection therewith, adding the conduct of causing the death of another person with a motor vehicle to the crime of criminally negligent homicide.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 72 on third reading and final passage.
The motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 72 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine.
With 61 I, 4 no, 0 excuse, Senate Bill 72 is adopted. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 190. Senate Bill 190 by Senators Coleman and Weissman, also representatives Bacon and English, concerning releasing information related to incidents involving a peace officer's use of force that results in death. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 190 on third reading and final passage.
Representative DeGraff. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I just remain concerned that language allowing any person to obtain all unedited video and audio recordings upon request creates a substantial risk of an open-ended disclosure regime extending far beyond the traditional transparency standards. And I'm looking at page, well, you can find it on page three, one example, upon request of any person, all unedited video and audio recordings of the incident, including those from body-worn cameras, dash cameras, and otherwise collected through investigation, to the person who made the request. So my concern is that goes beyond traditional transparency standards, potentially exposing sensitive investigative evidence, private third-party recordings, witness identities, medical scenes, and footage from inside homes without clear limiting safeguards or redaction standards. So, well, I understand the bill has the, I think the transparency idea here is great, and especially to help families with closure. I'll be unable to vote for it until I get some clarity on that aspect. So, thank you.
Assistant Majority Leader Bacon. Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 190 on third reading and special and final passage. Special and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Thank you Thank you, Mr. Schiebel. with 45 I 20 no and zero excuse
Senate bill 190 is adopted co-sponsors
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 80. Senate Bill 80 by Senators Coleman and Simpson, also Representatives Lukens and English, concerning creating the Cradle to Career Grant Program.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 80 on third reading and final passage.
Representative Goldstein. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you to the bill sponsors for your persistence in bringing this legislation forward. My problems with this bill are twofold. First, the substance, and second, the process. As far as the substance is concerned, utilizing a million dollars in gifts, grants, and donations is not sustainable. I know that the proponents of this bill claim that no general fund money will go to this program, but that's what they said about Senate Bill 10-191, the educator effectiveness bill, which costs school districts and the state millions of dollars each year. Communities already have coordinated support and services. When I did some research, I discovered that the Rocky Mountain Partnership, Kids First, Almost Home, A Precious Child, Benefits in Action, CASA, Denver Area Youth, just to name a few, do much of this work, and they all actively fundraise, and many of us contribute to these entities already. A million dollars does not go very far, and that is after you deduct the expense to operate the program. Who will actively fund this, and do we really need it? Now I would like to address the process. Didn't this bill die in committee? There are many of us who have bills that have died in committee who would have liked to have seen them resuscitated, but that's not how it works for most of us. I will be a no on this bill, and I hope the rest of you in the chamber will join me. Representative Hamrick. Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is an absolute pleasure to work with you, and I've just been so blessed to have you as my speaker for the last four years.
It is a pleasure to work with you, Representative. Thank you.
Members, as I spoke yesterday with several members from the Education Committee, I'm concerned that this state-run, privately-funded grant system could dictate local education policy more than local parents, education leaders, and democratically elected school boards. I worry about the creation of a longitudinal data system via a set of performance indicators and shared data systems that track children from birth into the workforce as the bill lacks mandatory data suppression protocols to protect the identities of service recipients in small populations And I'm very concerned about a nonprofit attaching itself to the state to push an agenda of a small few. I value the democratic nature of our public school system, so I'll be a respectful note today. Representative Phillips.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I rise in strong support of this bill because my community is the community that can benefit from this. So I get it. If you represent a district that doesn't have a lot of at-risk kids, it might not be as important. But for me, representing a community with a huge amount of at-risk kids, if this is going to help one kid, I am all in. And I don't believe that my community is represented by the nonprofit organizations. Yes, they do some work. But if you ever come to my house district, and I invite all of you to come and see what it looks like when you have a bunch of at-risk kids, it matters. These kids need help. And you know where a lot of these kids are from that could really use some assistance and will totally benefit from this? You guys, they're from Afghanistan. And so down the street from where I live is where the Afghan community lives, and those kids and families need help. And they came here. I hate when they're called refugees because they came here as military heroes that stood for American military, risked their lives. Their kids need help. These are the at-risk kids that will benefit from this bill along with many, many others, and I urge your support.
Members, we are going to continue debate. I need to make you all aware there's going to be a test of the Denver citywide siren system that will be occurring in the next couple of minutes. It is a test. There is no action to take. Your phones may start buzzing. I just wanted everyone to be aware. We are going to continue with debate. Assistant Majority Leader Bacon.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I'd like to ask permission to run a third reading amendment.
Please briefly explain.
Thank you. So first I want to say thank you to the sponsors, and I supported this bill in committee. I had some questions on the bill that we have just talked about that we can do. I'm sorry, that could be answered to kind of help move the direction of where we want to go. The amendment just talks about being able to provide technical assistance, as well as cross-referencing this bill to another bill that myself and Representative English sponsored a couple of years ago in regards to also identifying risk factors for communities. And so with that, Madam Speaker, I ask permission to run the amendment.
The motion before us is permission to run a third reading amendment on Senate Bill 80.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Please close the machine with 52 I.
13, no, zero excused. Permission is granted. AML Bacon.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move L23 and ask that it be displayed. One moment.
It is currently displayed. Please proceed.
Thank you. Members, I want to thank the bill sponsors for bringing this piece of legislation forward. In committee, some of the folks who came to testify are from my neighborhood, And they've been working really hard, quite frankly, in what I say, life-saving work. They work with our kids who are at risk the most, and they work with our schools. But they are also a little bit smaller than your typical United Ways. They are mom and pops, and many of us have those nonprofits in our communities that support kids. But they may only have a staff of five. And so the first part of the amendment asks that technical assistance could be provided to the smaller organizations or perhaps they might even get a smaller grant to be able to fill out the application. Because we want to be sure that the organizations we all know and love can actually provide the best information to get to this great opportunity. The second part of the amendment cross-references that says, since we know some agencies have done assessments on three targeted communities to know what the risks are to their youth, that our nonprofits could use that information if they'd like to instead of running a full needs assessment. So again, that's right. Sorry.
Members, we will stand in a brief recess. Thank you. Thank you, members. The House will come back to order. Assistant Majority Leader Bacon, I believe you were in the well. The motion before us is the adoption of Amendment 23 to Senate Bill 80 The House will stand in a brief recess Thank you. The House will come back to order.
AML Bacon. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I'm going to withdraw the amendment. I think I want to respect the bill sponsors because I support the bill. I just wanted to be sure that we had an opportunity, and quite frankly, being here might actually be enough to signal that there's some really great nonprofits that we really want to support in bringing our communities together, and some of them just might be smaller than others. And so if we know that and we can put on the record that we can figure out how to support them in being able to do this work, because some nonprofits with a staff of four have maybe 40 volunteers who coach football, who help us show up at people's houses when they're hurting. We know that they want to be a part of this. They came to committee, and so this might be enough of a record to just say, let's do everything that we can. At the end of the day, what this bill does is it says that it takes more than just one nonprofit or more than one agency. We should do this in the case of efficiency in bringing everyone together to focus on all of the people that a school, a hospital, a boys and girls club supports.
And so this bill suggests to us that maybe we should actually be aligned to ensure that our kids, as little as they are, have a more predictable, stable, and supportive pathway to career. So I want to thank the sponsors. Thank you for the conversation.
Representative Story.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I did not support this bill in committee, and I still have the same concerns that I had then. I feel like there is a significant lack of structure and foundation in the bill itself where it leaves a lot of questions that are unanswered. It seems like it's really a creation of a new nonprofit that would be run and managed by the state, and the state would handle raising the funds and distributing the funds, and the funds would go to existing nonprofits already functioning in identified communities. I don't think it is appropriate for the state to manage fundraising and distribution of a million dollars of gifts, grants, and donations on their own time as a contribution by the state to go to a new non to deliver funds to other non This new non-profit can just exist on its own if they choose to operate that way and choose to raise funds to gift to other non-profits. but it does not require the state's involvement to do that. So I will be a respectful no today.
Representative Joseph.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I rise in strong support of Senate Bill 2680, the cradle-to-career program. If we're serious about building a strong Colorado workforce, we must start early. Workforce development does not begin in high school or in college. It begins in early childhood. This bill recognized that investing in children from cradle to career is one of the smartest economic strategies we can pursue. Senate Bill 2680 creates a coordinated community-based approach to support children, youth, and families in areas with high concentration of poverty. It connects families to high-quality early childhood programs, education supports, health care, housing stability, and workforce readiness opportunities. That is not just social policy. That is economic mobility. For inner city communities and neighborhoods that have historically been underrepresented and underserved, this bill provides a pathway to opportunity. It ensures that evidence-based programs are aligned, accountable, and focused on measurable outcomes. from school readiness to high school graduation to workforce credentials. When we support children early, we reduce later costs in the justice system, the child welfare system, and the unemployment system. More importantly, we unlock potentials. Members, this bill, the funding mechanism is not new to the legislature. We've done this time and time and time and over since I've been here at the legislature. I have drafted bills with the support of community with the same funding mechanism and have passed them. So this is not new. I urge you to support SB 2680 and invest in the future of Colorado by investing in the future of our children today. Thank you.
Representative English and Representative Lukens.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. There has been a lot of conversation about this bill, But I will say I'm shocked and surprised to see the pushback and the difficulty that we have received on this policy. And like Representative Joseph just stated, this is not something that's new to the legislature. And when the state leads with this legislation it creates a stable foundation that attracts additional investment from both national and Colorado philanthropies And it allows dollars to flow more consistently into communities And when the state has its eyes on it, members, it's about accountability, transparency, and oversight. We say that we want this all the time, so I'm kind of confused what the current issue is right now. And the work that me and Assistant Majority Leader Bacon done on a prior policy, which I believe was 1372, to identify kids in certain zip codes that are marginalized and underserved. And when we create policies like this in conjunction with the policies that have ran, what we're doing is adding value and building on and expanding the work that we've already done. I came from the Board of Education in my school district. I'm here to support kids. I'm here to create access and opportunities for students to be the best version of their self, to have those wraparound services and resources they need to thrive and be successful. This is not about politics for me. This is a no-brainer. And I'm not saying anybody in here, if they take a no vote, that they don't care about kids. That's not what I'm saying at all, because I don't believe that to be true. Some people take no votes for different reasons. But in this moment, colleagues, on this last and final day of this legislative session, I would encourage you and ask you to take the yes vote so that we can create access and opportunities for kids. Thank you.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 80 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Clifford.
Please close the machine.
With 41I, 24, no and zero excuse, Senate Bill 80 is adopted. Co-sponsors.
Thank you, House.
Mr. President, we do not allow yelling from the floor. I apologize. Apology accepted.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 185. Senate Bill 185 by Senators Marchman and Baisley, also representatives to Tone and Kelty concerning measures to enhance the Office of Information Technology Security Procedures.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 185 on third reading and final passage.
The motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 185 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Madam Speaker, may I change that? I was in a no funk.
Yes. Representative Bottoms, how would you like to vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes.
Please close the machine.
With 64 I, 1 no, 0 excuse, Senate Bill 185 is adopted. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to Senate Bill 169. Senate Bill 169 by Senators Roberts and Carson, also Representatives Luck and Camacho, concerning the non-substantive revision of the Colorado revised statutes as amended and in connection therewith, amending or repealing obsolete, imperfect, and inoperative law to preserve the legislative intent, effect, and meaning of the law.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move Senate Bill 169 on third reading and final passage.
The motion before us is the adoption of Senate Bill 169 on third reading and final passage.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes.
Soper into tone.
Please close the machine.
With 65 eyes, zero no, zero excuse, Senate Bill 169 is adopted. Co-sponsors. Great to end on a unanimous vote.
Please close the machine.
We have some business. Oh. We do have one more bill. Oh. Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I know you all will be very disappointed at this. I move to lay over Senate Bill 43 to Thursday, May 14th.
Senate Bill 43 will be laid over until tomorrow. Members, we will stand in a brief recess before we get back to business. Five minutes, please. Thank you. The House will stand in recess.
. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.
Members, members, we... I'll ask you to take your seats. The House will come back to order. Representative Lindsay and Representative Joseph.
Representative Lindsey. Good morning, Madam Speaker. It's an honor to serve with you. It's an honor to serve with you. Y'all, it's the last day of session. So many birthdays will happen during the rest of the year. But we are going to celebrate the ones that happened in the last couple weeks and then one that's happening on Monday. So if we could call down Representative Lukens, Representative Smith, and then Representative R. Stewart. Come down so we can sing to you. Happy birthday.
if there are any of our Republican colleagues who have had a birthday in May please come down, we're going to sing to you Capital Choir Yeah, so if the Capital Choir could please come down Yeah, I know La la la la la Capital Choir Where's the rest of the Capital Choir, my friends? Capital Choir One, two, three. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear women. Happy birthday to you. And many more.
Mr. Schiebel, let's get some business done. Signing of bills, resolutions, and memorials.
The speaker signed Senate Joint Resolution 25.
Signing of bills, resolutions, and memorials will be printed in the journal. Message from the Senate.
Madam Speaker, the Senate...
Message from the Senate will be printed in the journal. Message from the revisor.
We hear with Transmiss.
Message from the revisor will be printed in the journal.
I have an announcement. Pursuant to my authority as Speaker under House Rule 27A, subsection E, and at the sponsor's request, I direct the Chief Clerk to remove Representative Garcia's name as co-prime sponsor of House Bill 1274. Majority Leader Duran will substitute as co-prime sponsor.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to proceed out of order for consideration of Senate amendments to House bills.
Seeing no objection, we will proceed out of order for consideration of Senate amendments to House bills.
Madam Majority Leader. Members, as a reminder, pursuant to House Rule 36D in the last 10 days of session,
the requirement to provide 24 hours notice before voting on a concurrence with Senate amendments is suspended. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1363. House Bill 1363 by Representatives Brown and Sirota, also Senators Maublin and Bridges, concerning a temporary reduction in the general fund reserve.
Representative Sirota. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1363.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Senate made a small technical change, and so we decided we could just live with concurring instead of conferencing, so I ask for your aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1363.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine, and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Clifford and Zocay are excused. Please close the machine.
With 45 I, 18 no and 2 excused, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1363 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1363 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 21 no, and one excused, House Bill 1363, as amended, is repassed. co-sponsors.
Please Representative Zokai I think that a fine Steep today, steep today.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1033. House Bill 1033 by Representatives Gonzalez and Duran, also Senators Rodriguez and Pelton B, concerning expanding the scope of the Colorado Cottage Foods Act and a connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to concur on House Bill 1033 and the Senate amendments.
Representative Gonzalez. Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is the story of House Bill 1033, legislation on food freedom for you and me. also known as the Tamale bill, a bill that we worked on so hard for over a year on Capitol Hill. It is time to let consumers make their own choices. Let us not silence their voices. It's a popular bill from local to national. Representatives, let's not get irrational. So vote to concur and don't talk smack because ML and Gonzo just struck back.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me let you know what the Senate did. In the Senate, they made amendments to modify the inspections and modify the effective date, and I ask for a yes vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to adhere, sorry, to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1033.
Mr. Schievel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Thank you, sir.
Please close the machine.
With 63 I, 2 no, 0 excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1033 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1033 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 46 I, 19 no, zero excused, House Bill 1033 as amended is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1065. House Bill 1065 by Representatives McCluskey and Woodrow, also Senators Roberts and Exum concerning transit and housing investment zones and a connection therewith making appropriation Representative Woodrow Thank you Madam Speaker It an honor to serve with you It is an honor to serve with you
You're really going to make me do this on my own?
Yes, sir.
Knock $10 off my fine? All right, $10 off. I'll pay it. How's that? I'll pay it.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I move the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1065.
Please proceed.
Thanks. Thank you. The Senate added one amendment in Senate finance, makes several minor technical changes, aligning terminology and references, improving clarity of intent, clarifying that the commission sets a total project cap, that projects can't exceed, gives more specific direction to economic analysis of factors to consider, clarifies transfer rules for the housing tax credits. There's also a couple substantive changes. It clarifies a better specifying OSPB's role in reviewing and advising on the baseline growth calculations. It caps the number of local government fee waivers available per year to limit general fund obligations and streamline the process for improving them. Prioritization guidelines for OEDIT when multiple qualified projects are considered. It adds annual revenue caps as well as total cumulative caps to the projects to limit revenue risk. We ask for an aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1065.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 45 I, 20 no, 0 excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1065 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1065 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
For Ray.
Please close the machine.
With 44 I, 21 no, zero excused. House Bill 1065 is repassed as amended. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1102. House Bill 1102 by Representative Lindsay, also Senator Snyder, concerning the funding of the Colorado Drives Vehicle Services account and the Highway Users Tax Fund. Representative Lindsay.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, can't you see if we don't fund the DMV, we'll all have to wait for hours in a lobby sitting next to some sweaty guy, and our license pictures will be even worse, and if they get any uglier, we're all going to cry. I move we all concur with the Senate Amendments to House Bill 1102 one of them stripped away that no fee completely but I telling you if those no still stay at 25 percent I coming back But let's give it a go and then also just align some dates for when the policy goes into effect. So
please vote yes. Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate
amendments to House Bill 1102. Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine
and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you
vote? Yes. Representative Bottoms votes yes.
Ricks.
please close the machine
with 64 I 1 no zero excuse the motion to concur is adopted
Madam Majority Leader Madam Speaker I move for the repassage of House Bill 1102 as amended
the motion before us the motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1102 as amended
Mr. Schiebel please open the machine and members proceed to vote
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 42 I, 23 no, zero excused, House Bill 1102 as amended is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1274. House Bill 1274 by Representatives Lindsay and Duran, also Senators Wallace and Weissman, concerning authorization for a state agency to award a percentage of the total value of a grant agreement to a nonprofit grantee of a grant program of the agency upon the execution or renewal of the grant agreement and in connection to the Rhythmic and Appropriation.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to adhere on House Bill 1274.
Members, please briefly explain. Representative Lindsay?
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm going to start with a poem, and then we'll go into the reasons to adhere. I love this job mostly, but sometimes I call it the meat grinder. Monday, the Senate tangled our bill so badly, we now have to use an unwinder. I ran this bill with my roller derby teammate Garcia, and now she has to come off, and man, red room, I don't even want to see ya. But don't worry, lovely Lorena, on this bill, I'll sharpie in your name. Your hard work is seen and appreciated, even when some here play a game. The bill left the House in great shape because we're awesome, so let's cheer. And now, please follow our lead, tell the Senate to kick rocks, and let's vote to adhere.
Madam Majority Leader. self-dealing or unethical conduct. It would place nonprofits in the position of potentially losing access to advanced grant payments simply because someone is associated with an organization who serves in public office. For many smaller nonprofits, especially in rural and underserved communities, advanced payments are not a luxury. They are what allows the organizations to keep their doors open while delivering state-funded services. I ask for your support on this motion to keep the House version and not the Senate's.
Representative Garcia. I think, forgive me, I think, serving in office, we often get attacked for how we vote, what we believe. But what the Senate did was a direct and personal attack on me. I have been fully transparent with everyone. I've never hid in the fact that I have a job outside of this building, that I run a non-profit organization. I've never hid in the fact that we hold a state grant. I've never hidden the fact of how the grant is operated. I've never hidden anything. The accusations that came on the floor from the Senate are a desperate attempt to find someone to blame for who knows what. But I want to tell you all the story so that the record is set straight. In 2022, the organization that I run advocated for a bill to spend $100 million in early childhood. Of that, $7.5 million went to supporting a specific early childhood teacher group. You can all sit. Thank you. That group is the informal FFN friend, family, and neighbor care group. That grant then was developed in the Department of Early Childhood. My organization in June of 2022, we applied for that grant. We went through the arduous procurement process. We went through the risk assessment. We submitted all the background checks. In October of 2022, my organization received the intent to award notification. If you don't know how this process works, that allows a time period for people who did, for organizations who applied for that grant to then challenge it if they don't believe that that organization is fit. There was no challenge At the end of November my state representative stepped down from office and asked me if I wanted to run for the vacancy And I said yes So I ran for the vacancy and I was honored to win the vacancy. The process for the grant continued and in March of 2023, the contract was signed. Knowing that I was serving in office, my board, myself, my staff, we set up firewalls between that grant and myself. where I would not receive a dime of the grant funds that are intended and that have been used to fund many small nonprofit organizations across the state, many in red counties, to train informal child care providers. My organization did not get a reimbursement check for the work that it did until the end of June. The contract work and the scope of work started in January. We went six months without a single payment for the work that was being done. And that is why last year I brought this bill, and that is why I came back this year to bring this bill, because I understood and saw directly what it does to an organization when they are not getting the reimbursement funds sooner,
when they could get an advance payment to make sure that they are not laying staff off, that they can keep their doors open, or they are not sacrificing other programs. But when the Senate chose, when the representatives chose, or the senators on the other side of the aisle chose to bring an amendment directly targeting me, not knowing how many other legislators serve on the boards of nonprofits, I knew that this was not really just about making sure that how we operate is above reproach, because I promise you, we are above reproach. Every single one of us, when we file our campaign finance, our, what is it, when we have to say where we get paid? Our fiscal, yes, our financial disclosure forms. But with that amendment, I can no longer serve on this board because it creates a direct conflict. So I'm stepping off of the bill that I know will make a big difference in all of our communities. And I also ask, I'm also going to request a 21 seat. Thank you.
Representative Garcia will be excused from this vote. Members, to be clear, if this motion passes and the Senate recedes from their version of the bill in return, the House version of the bill, the re-engrossed version, will be adopted. If this motion passes and the Senate fails to recede from their position, the bill will be lost. The motion before us is to adhere to the House position on House Bill 1274.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no DeGraff. Please close the machine. With 45 aye, 19 no, and 1 excused, the motion to adhere is adopted.
Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1306. House Bill 1306 by Representatives Duran and Sucla, also Senator Kipp, concerning the creation of the Wild Horse Special License Plate and in connection therewith making an appropriation.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1306.
Please proceed.
In the Senate, or the Senate ran an amendment that would trigger this bill to go into effect when the forecast shows that there is room under the Tabor cap, and I ask for a yes vote.
Representative Sucla.
Good, Bill, and I just wanted to bring my cowboy hat down here because I knew that she was going to meet the majority leader today, the last day, and I didn't know if the next majority leader would let me do it.
Put it on?
Yeah, put it on for a second. Hey, check me out, Mom. There you go.
The motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1306.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine. Uh-oh. With 62 I, 3 no, 0 excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1306 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1306, as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Let him have it. Let him have it.
Please close the machine. With 55I, 10 no, zero excused, House Bill 1306 is repassed as amended. Co-sponsors. Please close the machine.
Mr Schiebel please read the title to House Bill 1315 House Bill 1315 by Representatives Soper and Espinosa also Senators Weissman and Carson concerning documents relied upon for parole determinations Representative Espinosa.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We move that the House concur with the Senate amendments to House Bill 1315.
Please proceed.
Representative Soper. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I've never done this, so we'll give it a try. in the Senate chamber late in the day, two lawmakers rose with a bill in play. Senator Weissman with papers in hand and Senator Carson revising a plan. House Bill 1315 had traveled with pride from the House representative's side. It arrived with a bow and a confident grin, saying, surely the Senate will let me write in. But Weissman said, friends, just a tweak, maybe two. and Carson said, make that a thoughtful review. The papers grew restless, the lobbyists stared, the bill looked around and hadn't prepared. They amended a comma, adjusted a phrase, moved one little clause through procedural haze, then added a section, deleted a line, and called it a modest refinement. That's just fine. Back in the House, there arose such a clatter. Representatives asked, now what's the matter? We sent you a bill with ribbon and bow, and they sent us back a puzzle with footnotes in tow. The Senate replied with dignified cheer, that's bicameralism. Colleagues, dear, you passed it, we patched it, they sent it around. Democracy works by wearing bills down. So here's to Weissman and Carson, Dadgum, of taking a bill and improving each part. At least we'll vote to concur on this day. Thank you, friends. They watered down the bill in our opinion, but did find a third way to still ensure that the final parts of risk assessments do remain access to public, even though some of the details might still be protected by an NDA. I will leave this out there for those of you who are returning. This is something to look out for with our state agencies and departments, that there is kind of the creep in trying to erode public access to documents using nondisclosure agreements and contracts. So defend against that and keep transparency always here. Thank you.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1315.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine. With 65 ayes, 0 no, 0 excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1315 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1315 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please. Please close the machine. With 65 ayes, 0 no, 0 excused, House Bill 1315 is repassed as amended. Co-sponsors. Please close the machine.
Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1324. House Bill 1324 by Representatives McCormick and Gilchrist, also Senator Doherty, concerning regulation of the Division of Professions and Occupations and in connection therewith, implementing the recommendations contained in the 2025 Sunset Report by the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Representative Gilchrist.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to serve with you. It is a pleasure to serve with you. Thank you. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1324.
Please proceed. Representative McCormick.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and it has been a joy to serve with you. It has been a joy to serve with you. So in the Senate, there was a fee for the licensed defense fund in this bill for all professions under the DPO. And in the House, listening to the professions, we tried to raise that fee from $1 to $2. The Senate, being stuck in the 1980s when this fee was put on in 1987, decided to keep it at $1. So being the stodgy old folks that they are over there, we will concur and keep the fee at $1. We urge an aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1324.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine. With 65 ayes, 0 no, 0 excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1324 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1324 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
No. No. I'm just going to. Oh, okay. Great. You can do that. I'll do this part. Okay.
Brown and Soper. Please close the machine. with 44 I, 21 no, zero excused. House Bill 1324 is repassed as amended. Co-sponsors.
I just wanted to do that Please close the machine
Ms. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1326. House Bill 1326 by Representatives Duran and Wilford, also Senators Rodriguez and Cutter, concerning the continuation of the Public Utilities Commission and in connection therewith, implementing recommendations in the 2025 censor report by the Department of Regulatory Agencies in making an appropriation.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate Amendments to House Bill 1326.
Please proceed.
Representative Wilford. Sounds like we only have one turkey in here, Madam Majority Leader.
I know. It sounds pretty sad. Come on, you guys.
It's a little disappointing. Last time. Music to my ears. Members, we do not have a poem today because this bill was an absolute beast, and the majority leader said we didn't have to, so there's that. Anyway, in the Senate, the stakeholders were able to reach an agreement regarding third-party program administration, and so they amended that portion back into the bill. And then they also removed Section 13. you may remember the conversation regarding co-ops and municipal utilities. It doesn't mean that co-ops and municipal utilities can't necessarily appeal the PUC. It just means that the language is going to remain vague in statute. So we do ask for an aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1326.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes.
Don't tell anybody.
AML Bacon. Bradfield, Luck, and Ricks. Thank you. Please close the machine. With 65 ayes, 0 no, 0 excused, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1326 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1326 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Bacon, Espinoza. Thank you. Please close the machine. With 43 I, 22 no, zero excused. House Bill 1326, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors. Co-sponsors.
Come on, one last time. Yeah, who's coming with me?
Please close the machine Members, we have concluded consideration of Senate amendments to House bills for the moment and are going to change gears and do something else.
Madam Majority Leader. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to proceed out of order for consideration of resolutions.
Seeing no objection, we will proceed out of order for consideration of resolutions.
Madam Majority Leader. Madam Speaker, I move for the immediate consideration of House Joint Resolution 1007.
Seeing no objection, we will proceed to the immediate consideration of House Joint Resolution. Sorry, just House Resolution.
Sorry.
Do you want to say it again for us?
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move for the immediate consideration of House Resolution 1007.
Seeing no objection, we will proceed to the immediate consideration of House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Resolution 1007. House Resolution 1007 by Representatives Luck and Bacon concerning Colorado's 150th anniversary.
Representative Luck. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move House Resolution 1007 and the committee report.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I encourage you all to stay seated until the proper time. This is going to be a celebratory thing, but there's a bit of housekeeping that we need to do beforehand. You see, I encourage you all, if you haven't had an opportunity to read this resolution, to pull it out. Again, it's House Resolution 1007. You will notice something particular about this resolution. It is full of random facts about Colorado, random places and people and what have you that tell the story. But it's done in a way that is cogent because of the alphabet, that beautiful thing that brings us all together and helps us make words. You can figure out what we mean by that. But as we were drafting this, actually the impetus for this was to bring a variety of different items to light that different people have in this chamber, want to celebrate about Colorado or want to raise awareness about in Colorado. and so we have been working for a number of weeks now to try and incorporate all of the things. And so the committee report is the first attempt at making sure everybody had their stamp on this, and I'm not really sure.
We just moved it, so we just discussion on it just like a second.
Yes.
Okay. We are at the committee report.
Please proceed. So we just urge an aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of the committee report to House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes for today.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Barone, Farray, Flannell, Hamrick, Kelty, Luck, Phillips, Sucla, Weinberg. They are all excused Mr Schiebel There Phillips Please close the machine. With 60-I, 1-no for excuse, the committee report is adopted. To the resolution, Representative Luck.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So we move Amendment L10 to, again, make sure that everybody has their stamp on this.
That has been properly moved and is displayed.
Please proceed. Thank you, Madam Speaker. So the first part about this, I am actually going to invite my colleague from El Paso County to speak to. The second part of this is just a nod to our pollinators in Colorado, without which we would not have our amazing agricultural industry.
Seeing Representative Kelty.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I am in definite support of this resolution. Finally, a resolution recognizing American Scottish heritage and honoring contributions of Scottish Americans to the state of Colorado. Americans of Scottish descent have been foundational to the creation, defense, and growth of the United States and Colorado, contributing to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and helping build our institutions through sacrifice and commitment to liberty. Many arrived after generations of oppression and overcame hardship in America while remaining steadfast in faith and values. Scottish Americans have served with distinction in every major U.S. conflict and played a vital role in developing Colorado's mining, ranching, railroad, and civic foundations. Their resilience and contributions remain an essential part of Colorado's history and future and are hereby recognized and celebrated. Strong Scottish Americans in Colorado and their committed descendants consistently convey courage, character, and civic contribution, cultivating and creating community, culture, and Colorado's enduring commendable character. As some of you know, my sixth-generation grandfather, George Ross, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. this incredible document that started this wonderful nation. His niece, by marriage, was the creator of the beautiful flag that we pledge to every single day, Betsy Ross. And I thank those and the drafters of this resolution for bringing it forward because it's about time we start saying thank you. Thank you. Representative Soper. Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I wanted to come and rise in support of this amendment as someone who went to the University of Edinburgh, I always thought I was Scottish. Then I did 23andMe and realized that, no, I was actually French and English, not Scottish. But I do fully support the Scots and go back to Edinburgh as frequently as I can.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption. Representative Ricks, are you speaking to the amendment?
No.
Okay. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Amendment 10 to House Resolution 1007. Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bott. How do you vote? Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. We seem to have lost a few members. Barone Flannell Ricks Weinberg Please close the machine With 65 ayes, 0 no, 0 excused Amendment 10 is adopted To the resolution
Representative Espinoza Thank you Madam Speaker I rise to request an amendment 009 and ask that it will be properly displayed.
I'll ask you to move it, Representative.
I move amendment L009 to H.R. 10-L7 and ask that it will be properly displayed.
Thank you. It is properly displayed.
Please proceed. Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's a pleasure to serve with you. It is a pleasure to serve with you. When we got to the roaring R's, we decided that sport was missing. We needed to have a recognition of all the things and games that we do play. So, wanting to encourage the Bronco to be included, which was not originally in the first resolution, I ask that we support this amendment, recognizing all of our major sports teams.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the adoption of Amendment 9 to House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Representative Story is excused. please close the machine with 64 ayes zero no one excused amendment nine is adopted to the resolution
representative marshall thank you madame seeker it's always a pleasure to serve with you it is always a pleasure to serve with you colleagues a lot of people think we're doing this resolution for the founding of colorado but that's really not the exact nature. What we are celebrating is the 1876 on August 1, the adoption of the Colorado Constitution, which allowed this state to be entered into the Union. When I saw that, the thought came to me, and I read it, that one of the most unique features of that Constitution wasn't mentioned in the entire resolution. So I move Amendment 4 to House Resolution 1007 and ask for it to be displayed One moment
It is properly displayed. Please proceed.
This was the first amendment I offered because something that was extremely unique in the Colorado Constitution was the women's suffrage movement made extreme efforts to try and get the legislature or the Constitutional Convention to authorize universal women's suffrage. But as we all know and find out, sometimes you have to make a compromise position to play the long game rather than fail at the short game. So they were not going to get that, but they asked and was able to get a guarantee that it would be sent to the ballot, that there would be a requirement for the legislature to send it to a referendum. And they did. It did fail the first time, but it was able to go again. And the reason that was so important was to do a constitutional amendment would have taken two-thirds majority, but if they could get a referendum by popular vote, they'd only need 50% plus one, which led to Colorado being only the second state to authorize women's suffrage and the first to do it by popular referendum. So I offered this amendment, and then I was told, oh, no, no, no, no, no. You have to do it by alliteration. So I withdraw that amendment.
Oh, okay.
And I offer Amendment L-003 to House Resolution 1007.
Amendment 4 is withdrawn. I do need for you to move, not offer, Representative Marshall.
I move Amendment L-003 to House Resolution 1007.
Thank you. One moment. Please proceed.
What are you doing? So I was told I had to do alliteration, and so that's what we came up with.
Far longer, far more not understandable. So finally, we came to, I withdraw this amendment.
Please withdraw Amendment 3.
I withdraw Amendment 3 to House Resolution 1007.
Okay.
And now I offer. No, move. I move. Amendment L-008 to House Resolution 1007.
Please proceed.
So just like the compromise that the women's suffrage movement had to make in 1876, This is the compromise I had to come to with one sentence for the amendment. So I ask that we accept this amendment, but in a brief moment. Some of you do know that I collect rare books and rare manuscripts. And so for my show and tell, I do have an original first printing, first edition of the Colorado Constitution. It's in the library binding, but it is the original first edition, first printing. in Spanish because the Constitution was issued in English, Spanish, and German because the Colorado forefathers wanted to make sure everyone that lived in the state was able to understand the new Constitution. And just as another, I have many, many fun ones, but I was just going to show this one because I thought it would be interesting. You all get those fact sheets from all the lobbyists Well it turns out it looks like our forefathers may have been a little more literate than us So this was actually a book given to all the Tennessee senators when they were trying to get the 19th Amendment passed in Tennessee from the Women's Suffrage Group signed by CAT. So again, this is what they would give for their fact sheet, and you see what we get. But I ask for a yes on this amendment.
Representative Martinez
Thank you Madam Speaker I will add on to what my good colleague from Douglas County stated the reason why the Constitution was published in German and in Spanish is because the original territorial legislators from the San Luis Valley were granted seats in this building but were not offered translation services at all throughout their tenure, and they had to band up to be able to get that published in Spanish, and then there's also German legislators that felt the same way, and that's why they were there. So I appreciate my colleague from Douglas County with that and urge an eye vote.
Representative Hamrick, to the amendment.
Madam Speaker, members, I am a huge supporter of this amendment. A lot of women worked really, really hard to get the vote in Colorado, and I just want to call out the three first legislators, the three first female legislators that were elected after the women got the right to vote, and their picture is posted. It was in the bathroom, but now it's out, which is good. Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Hawley, and Frances Clock, all Republican.
Thank you. Seeing no further discussion. Oh, AML Bacon.
I do want to say thank you again to the amendment sponsor for opening up the conversation. The amendment is also about suffrage for all, and we wanted to give a nod to our great Barney Ford, who we have a stained glass window for. He, along with the sons of Frederick Douglass, worked to ensure that when Colorado became a state, it would become a state as a free state, particularly after the Civil War. So thank you to the amendment sponsor, and we urge a yes vote.
The motion before us is the adoption of Amendment 8 to House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Bacenecker, Richardson Please close the machine With 64 ayes, 0 no When excused, the amendment is adopted To the resolution Representative Ricks
Good morning, members. We have a move L007 to House Resolution 107.
That is a proper motion We get it displayed It has that it be displayed Okay Representative Ricks please tell us about your amendment Thank you Members I heard this bill in committee and one of the things that I noted was that
there was no mention of the contributions of immigrants to the state of Colorado. And as we celebrate the 150th year of Colorado's existence, I think we would be remiss not to add the value that immigrants have contributed to this state. Immigrants have been a big part of the workforce, the economy. They make up more than 11% of Colorado's labor force and contribute across agriculture, construction, health care, and technology and other sectors. They start up businesses. They pay taxes. They fill critical roles across every industry, and we have to honor them in this resolution. So in this amendment that I am offering or moving, we're saying, whereas immigrants and other descendants have indelibly imprinted Colorado's identity, from Hispanic and Latino communities whose intergenerational influence in the San Luis Valley predates statehood, the industrious individuals from South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe who have invested in every industry and institution across the state, infusing Colorado with incredible cuisines and invaluable culture, civic, and creative contributions that illustrate what it truly means to call Colorado home. And, you know, all of these contributions can be honored in this, and I think this is all of what makes Colorado great. We say we want a Colorado for all, and we must be inclusive, and so we ask for your yes vote on this amendment. But before that, I think I need to substitute it because the sponsors were generous, but they said the language did not fit in exactly. So we are going to move, I'm going to withdraw the other motion, which is L007. I withdraw that.
Amendment L007 is withdrawn at the sponsor's request.
Okay, before I withdraw that, I'm going to ask my, Rep. Joseph to speak. She wanted to speak to this amendment.
The amendment has been withdrawn, but Rep. Joseph, why don't...
Okay, so I'm going to move L002 to HR 1007.
Okay. That is a proper motion. L002 is before us. Representative Joseph.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Representative Ricks, for bringing L007 and substituting it with L002. I just wanted to note I did support L007 because of the robust mention of the different cultures that makes America great and that makes Colorado one of the greatest states in the nation, mentioning Central America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. As you've heard me said before in the well that America is a salad bowl to me, not just it's not a soup. We're not just blended into this country. We all bring different or different flavors. And it's so important as we do this work, as we're contributing to what it means to be an American. And it's so important to be a salad bowl. to the American story that each group are elevated or is elevated in order to celebrate all of them because we know history is made by people, by the winners, and oftentimes people are erased. And I was grateful for Representative Ricks for bringing L7 before the body, but my understanding, as she has noted, is that L7 would somehow disrupt the flow of the resolution. And just mentioning substituting innovation and just mentioning immigrants and natives alike, which inspires innovation, is what we will be going with because it notes immigrants and natives as well. So I asked for a yes on this particular amendment, but I would have preferred L-007 because of how robust it was and how it would have bring forward the different groups who have contributed to what it means to be a Coloradan and an American.
Further discussion on L-002? Seeing none, the question before us is the adoption of Amendment L-002 to House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine.
Members, please proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Of course. I got you. I got him. Representatives English, Caldwell Camacho. ML Caldwell votes yes. Representative English is excused. Please close the machine. With 63 aye votes, zero no votes, and two excused, the amendment is adopted. We are back to the resolution. Representative Soper.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. And I wanted to come down here just briefly and talk to the resolution in totality and just ask everyone to look around the chamber and to think about our last 150 years and the honor and privilege it is to be able to serve in our state's legislature. Very few people have had that honor over the years, and to be able to serve during our state's 150th anniversary, I believe is truly special, and just wanted to say it's an honor to serve with each and every one of you during this year. Thank you.
Thank you, Rep Soper. Hey, Mel Bacon. Okay. And, members, we have one more amendment. I move L-12 and ask that it be displayed. That is a proper motion. We'll get it displayed. And members, I want to thank our colleague for Greeley for bringing this to us. And I also just want to let everyone know, as you just saw, thank you all for your willingness to participate in this resolution. It been hard to kind of keep to a particular cadence and we know folks have a lot of things they want to say and share which is always a positive because this is such a great state and we have such great stories to tell I want to mention where this amendment comes from and who we are celebrating with this amendment Even though Colorado has a troubled past, you all may know about our governor who fought against Japanese internment, but we still were faced with it here. This amendment is to recognize Thomas E. Lee and Joan T. Lee, who got married in 1956, came here from Wyoming to get married because the laws elsewhere did not allow interracial couples. And so we want to recognize what Colorado provided by way of that opportunity, and we want to recognize their impact to our communities. And so thank you to our colleague from Greeley for sharing their stories for us, and we hope that we can honor them with this amendment. So we urge an aye vote. Seeing no further discussion, the question before us is the adoption of Amendment L-12 to House Resolution 1007.
Mr. Shibo, please open the machine. Members, please proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Representative Carter, Jackson, Luck, Rick, Smith, Woog. Rep. Carter is excused. Rep. Jackson is excused. Representative Woog is excused. Please close the machine. With, please close the machine. With 62 aye votes, zero no votes, and three excused, the amendment is adopted. We are back to the resolution. Representative Luck.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Dem. After much ado and many amendments, we are finally ready to present the resolution. And so if you all would be so kind as to stand as we ask Mr. Schiebel to please read the pre-amended version, which now is the amended version, so that everyone's amendments can be heard.
Mr. Schiebel.
whereas amid America's anniversary era aspiring agriculturists across altitude blessed valleys advanced abundant apples apricots and award-winning agriculture that amplified Colorado's acclaim and whereas blessed by blessed by broad basins blue skies and bold builders Colorado became a beacon for brave pioneers and bustling businesses while bestowing on our nation the patriotic song America the Beautiful, inspired by Pikes Peak. And whereas courageous Coloradans cultivated communities characterized by cooperation, constitutional commitment, civic liberty, and comedy, championing suffrage for all. And whereas diverse districts stretched from the dramatic foothills of Longs Peak to the dynamic Dolores River demonstrated the depth and diversity of Colorado land and livelihoods And whereas enterprising entrepreneurs established an exceptional economic environment earning exalted honors at international expositions such as the 1893 Chicago World Fair and the 1904 St Louis World Fair And whereas faithful followers established Colorado's oldest missions in the San Luis Valley and founded flourishing fellowships full of freedom, fortitude, and forgiveness throughout the state. and whereas grand geographic gifts including the Grand Mesa and the great Red Rock Gateways of the Colorado National Monument grant generations inspiration and grandeur and whereas hard-working, honest, and heartland-minded residents of rural Colorado honor heritage, home, and hope for future generations as well as the sacrifice of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients who are housed in Pueblo's Home of Heroes and whereas innovation, industry, and ingenuity from irrigation to aerospace initiatives illustrate Colorado's influential identity. And whereas immigrants and their descendants have indelibly imprinted Colorado's identity from Hispanic and Latino communities whose intergenerational influence in the San Luis Valley predates statehood to industrious individuals from South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe who have invested in every industry and institution across the state, infusing Colorado with incredible cuisines and invaluable culture, civic, and creative contributions that illustrate what it truly means to call Colorado home. And whereas, justly judging history, Colorado stalwartly jilted the injustice of Japanese-American internment and joined the Japanese and non-Japanese in jubilant unions while also joyfully preserving Johnstown's meteorite in Denver's Museum of Nature and Science. And whereas, known for keystone military installations and knowledge, Colorado keeps watch over our nation through courageous service members and their kin. and whereas local leaders in Larkspur, Lyons, and Larimer Square lift lively communities and lasting legacies across the state and whereas the Manitou Incline and Mount Blue Sky are only two of the mountainous opportunities made available to Colorado's many meanderers who used to be greeted by the Mizpah Arch and whereas native tribes like the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Southern Ute, and Ute Mountain Ute nurture heritage in nature, needlework, and oral tradition And whereas Newt, the Ute people, Colorado's longest continuous residence, alongside neighboring nations of the northeastern plains of the ancestral Pueblo peoples, built breathtaking civilizations of brilliant and lasting sophistication, steering some of the state's most significant negotiations and left a legacy so lastingly linked to Colorado's living identity that their names still flow through our rivers, anchor our ancient towns, and open our endless skies. and whereas ongoing observations of ortho-hantavirus and other outbreaks obligate officials to promote awareness, action, and adaptive health measures and whereas the preamble to the Colorado Constitution honors the profound Judeo-Christian roots that have guided Colorado's history and values that acknowledge the inherent worth of all people stating we the people of Colorado with profound reverence for the supreme ruler of the universe in order to form a more independent and perfect government establish justice, ensure tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. And whereas communities like the Queen City of the Plains have been quilted together over time, cherishing quiet quarters, quintessential festivals, and quick Colorado-based food like Qdoba, Quiznos, and Jack Quinn's. And whereas rivers reservoirs and rugged rangelands reinforce recreation resources that includes rhodochronzite and resilient rural life including rodeo as a recognized and revered summer sport while the raking Rockies radiant Rapids roaring Broncos resounding Nuggets rising Summit, and relentless Avalanche reinforce Colorado's rich and rousing sports tradition. And whereas Colorado's strong schools, small shops, and service-minded citizens, like the Scots who started the St. Andrew Society of Colorado, strengthen Colorado's social success. and whereas trails, towns, treasured traditions, and even tourist trains tell the timeless story of Colorado, as do Alan Tupper True's paintings, and whereas unique Colorado universities offer unforgettable experiences and unite generations around sports, science, and studies, and whereas vibrant valleys volunteer to vault lark buntings, columbines, cleric cup cacti, and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, And whereas when Colorado water wanders through the wilderness and down the continental divide, it widens the opportunity for western expansion in Colorado and beyond. And whereas xenial hospitality, extraordinary kindness extended to explorers, expats, and excited newcomers expresses the generous character of Coloradans. and whereas year after year youthful yearning and yielding innovation yoke generations together while affirming the importance of preparedness in uncertain times and whereas zealous defense of fundamental freedoms along with foundational principles rooted in faith freedom and enduring moral tradition underscores colorado commitment to liberty as it celebrates 150 years of statehood now therefore be it resolved by the house of representatives of the 75th general assembly of the state of Colorado, that we honor the generations of Coloradans whose courage, industry, faith, and devotion to self-government transformed a rugged frontier into a thriving state and whose example continues to inspire the preservation of freedom for future generations. That, as symbolized by our famous towering 14,000-foot peaks, the people of Colorado are encouraged to continue striving toward the highest ideals of freedom, responsibility, and civic virtue, that we call upon all citizens of Colorado to commemorate this historic milestone with gratitude for the blessings of liberty, humility before providence, and renewed dedication to the principles that have guided the state since its founding in 1876, and that we commit to preserving Colorado for future generations by, among other things, protecting our natural resources, including pollinators, promoting Colorado history and civic education, strengthening infrastructure to protect against future threats or emergencies and encouraging the making of another 150 years of colorful Colorado history.
Mr. Schiebel, y'all. Hold on to those.
Representative Luck. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. As with all history, there is a bit of mess in the middle, so I'm sure you made that notation, but we will get that all cleaned up. And thanks to everyone from the sergeants to the aides and interns to the nonpartisan staff to the reps to the people outside the building and inside the building who helped to contribute to the contents of this resolution. We just share our gratitude.
AML Bacon. And so members, before we vote, we're hoping you can all participate. If you still have your flags, if you have a whistle, sorry, the majority leader would not let me do an interpretive dance. So what we need for this is on the count of three, can we all say happy birthday, Colorado? Are you ready? To the Colorado channel. You ready? One.
One. Two, three, happy birthday Colorado!
Awesome! Woo! Thank you. Thank you, sponsors. Members, the question before us is the adoption. Oh, excuse me. Madam Majority Leader, I think we need you to move the resolution again as amended. Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I move House Resolution 1007 as amended.
Members, the question before us is the adoption of House Resolution 1007 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine.
Members, please proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Yes.
Representative Bottoms votes yes. Please close the machine. With 62 ayes, 0 no, and 3 excused, House Resolution 1007, as amended, is adopted. Co-sponsors. Co-sponsors. Please. I would like to co-sponsor. Ah, Representative Bottoms, co-sponsors. Please close the... Please close the machine.
Mr. Schiebel, message from the Senate.
Madam Speaker, in response to the request of the House of Representatives. The Senate will be printed in the journal. Members, I invite you to stay in the chamber. we are going to go into a brief recess for a short detour in the life of Colorado politics the house will stand in recess Members, members. Quiet, please. All right. We have some motions at the desk here, members. And we need to go through them. We're going to do a voice vote on these motions. Just a little bit of housekeeping here so just hang tight real quick All right, members. First motion on the desk. We have a motion to recognize being late to committee meetings or the House floor as sobering. All those in favor, say aye.
Aye.
The ayes have it. We have a motion to combine House Districts 30 and 59 because having more than one Stuart in the House is just confusing. All those in favor say aye.
The ayes have it.
That's what it feels like to be in the minority. A motion to extend that same idea to the Senate for the Pelton's. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed, no. No's, the no's have it. We have a motion to strike from the record any and every time Representative Kenda Graf mentions Olympic-sized swimming pools or water droplets. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, no. The no's have it. We have a motion to strike any and everything said, including announcements, of the good representative from House District 35, Lorena Garcia. All those in favor say aye.
The ayes have it.
There are no divisions on motions. I'm sorry. These are new rules, new leadership. we have a motion we have a motion to ban speaker pro tim basenecker from responding to our well thought out amendments because even though we know he's wrong he's really good at it all those in favor say aye the eyes have it we have a motion to ban bluetooth headsets from the House floor, and it will be further referred to as the Sheila Leader and Javier Mabry Act of 2026.
All those in favor, say aye. The ayes have it.
I can't believe I did this one. We have a motion to overturn the results of the election of the first annual 2025 best hair in the legislature, stripping Representative Carlos Barone and giving the award to Representative Matt Martinez in recognition of his super manly ponytail. All those in favor, say aye.
The ayes have it.
We have a motion to finally settle the question of how you properly say the name of representative from House District 1 to determine whether it's Mayberry, Mayberry, or Marbury, because we've all heard some version of that. All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
The ayes have it. We have a motion to limit Judiciary Committee closing comments to no more than five minutes total. All those in favor say aye.
The ayes have it.
We have a motion to ban Representative Anthony Hartsook from starting sentences with when I was in Iraq All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The no's have it. We have a motion to allocate general funds to compensate the minority caucus for hazard
duty pay this session. All those in favor say aye. The ayes have it.
I think maybe the minority may only get this next one. We have a motion to officially name future bill title deadline days as the just ask for a day. All those in favor say aye.
The ayes have it.
We got two more members. Calm down. We have a motion to ban M.L. Duran from acting surprised when the special orders calendar she created becomes a disaster. All those in favor say aye. All opposed say no. The noes have it. All right, we have two more now. We have a motion to ban Rule 14 and 16 from ever being used again, or at least until the Republicans are back in the majority. All those in favor say aye.
The ayes have it.
And finally, we have a motion to ban any future governor from making Lord of the Rings references, doing Yoda impressions, singing Katy Perry songs, or mentioning Taylor Swift in the State of the State addresses, all those in favor say aye.
Aye.
The ayes have it. Thank you very much, everybody, and thank you to our members. Thank you. They didn't even vet these motions before I came up here, so thank you for the trust on that one. Do you have a position? ребята Do you have the.
SPEAKER 3 SPEAKER 3 Thank you. Thank you Thank you
Members, in just a moment, we are going to begin with our house tributes to members who are leaving our service. so I'm going to grab a beverage, hit the break room, do what you need to. We will convene in about five minutes. Thank you. Thank you. The House will come back to order. Members, please take your seats. Hello, members. I'll invite you to take your seats. We have some tributes. It appears we're missing a few people. Thank you, members. It was wonderful to have the brass band playing while we were honoring the state. Certainly added to the moment. Members, we are going to recognize a group of legislators who will not be returning for exciting reasons of their own, individuals who are not term-limited, but we still wanted to honor their service and dedication. So I'd like for the following individuals to please come down to the well. Representative Bottoms, you may want to be on screen for this. Representative Bottoms has served our house for four years Representative Bradfield Representative Bradfield has served for six years Representative Kelty Representative Kelty has served for four years. Oh, we're giving you bonus. Two years. Representative Leader. Please come and stand down here in the well. Representative Leader. I do not see Representative Leader. Representative Luck. Six years of service. Representative Routenel. How many years, Representative? A confusing. And Representative Weinberg, four years of service. We are trying to find Representative Leader. We want to make sure that she is here and joining us. $50 fine. What a wonderful crew of legislators. Let me begin. We will trust that she is on her way. Please stay. You have to endure the love and praise of your colleagues. Thank you. service is not easy. It's long meetings, impossible decisions, late night calls, missed dinners with families, angry emails written entirely in capital letters, and of course endless debates. And yet these seven individuals kept showing up. They showed up for their districts, their colleagues, and most importantly, they showed up when service was hard. Every one of these legislators brought something unique to this body. Some brought wisdom, some brought passion, some brought bipartisanship, and some brought 47-page amendments at 11.58 p.m. But together they made this place better. You learn quickly in government that titles don't matter nearly as much as character. Constituents may remember a bill number for a little while, but what they really remember is how they were treated. Leadership is about listening. It's about persistence. It's about standing up for people who may never know your name, but whose lives improve because you fought for them anyway. And while this is a serious goodbye, it would be irresponsible not to acknowledge the very specific talents of this amazing group For example only luck can bring a tough week to a close with a sentiment reminding us we are all worthy, loved, and adored. Only Representative Bottoms can stretch a two-minute point into a 45-minute speech with four recesses. And he's not smiling. I'm trying. I'm trying. Only dear Mary Bradfield can bring us all back to our faith by gently reminding us amid the chaos that here at the Capitol, Bible study meets Tuesday mornings at 7.30 a.m. Only Representative Kelty can truly make us see how tough a woman from the military can be. And only Representative Leader can show off that new grandbaby, pictures and videos over and over while actively listening to debate. And only Representative Routenel can make improv classes, karaoke, and everything else sound more fun, especially in his spot-on Barack Obama voice. And only Rep Weinberg can barbecue for the entirety of the House and staff with sweat on his brow, but a big smile on his face. The public sees the floor speeches and press releases, but they don't always see the nights that you all have spent studying policy, the weekends you've spent away from home, the emotional weight of representing thousands of people, and they blame you for everything like traffic, weather, taxes, and when the Broncos don't win the Super Bowl. Because democracy only works when good people are willing to participate in it, we want you all to know that we believe you are good people. Some of you are headed off to new adventures, and for leader, root and L, and bottoms, it may even be a new office. Beyond all these policy debates, relationships were built here. Despite our disagreements, this institution is better because you have been a part of it. As you leave this chapter, please know your service mattered, your voices mattered, and the people you represented are better because you answered the call to serve. Members, please join me in congratulating these seven legislators. Congratulations. Members, we do have additional tributes, but we have an announcement. Representative Joseph. Representative Joseph, conference committee announcement.
Representative Joseph. Thank you, Madam Speaker. The conference committee on House Bill 1206 will convene at 2 p.m. Somewhere around here. I have not scheduled the office. 107, room 107. Thank you.
Members the conference committee on House Bill 1206 will meet at 2 p in committee room 107 That is Representative Joseph Representative Sokai and Representative Soper Gonzalez, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Representative Gonzalez.
Representative Joseph. I just wanted to note, Madam Speaker, I know that's not part of the script. I just wanted to say it's an honor to serve with you, and it's an honor to have served with Emel Duran. I may not be here while we are celebrating both of you. and thank you to the people of Colorado for giving me the opportunity to serve with both of you. Thank you.
Very lovely. Thank you, Representative Joseph. Representatives, we will now move into the individual tributes for those members who are completing their four terms in office. I would like to invite Representative Valdez down to the front to honor Representative Woodrow.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you. We made it. But what can I say about a guy that is as funny as he is brilliant? A brilliant legislator and a great father. A guy who shared literally nothing in common with me politically. How could he become someone I rely upon not only for legislative advice, but also life advice and support, as together we navigated what at best could be called turbulent times. We spent hours together, probably weeks at this point, listening to new wave music while we took turns entertaining each other until we each exclaimed, stop. It really does hurt sometimes. I remember the first time I laid eyes on Stephen Woodrow. I was on CDC, and I walked in here at about 8 in the morning, believe it or not. 8 o'clock sharp, I come in here, and there's a little group of people gathered here, and they're swearing in a new member. And Emily Sirota comes up to me, and she says, that's Stephen Woodrow, you're going to love him. I thought, the hell I am. Is this the latest lunatic from my next-door neighbor in Denver? I thought. Man, was I wrong. Though I can't remember what we first spoke about, I'm sure it was something obscure from the 80s or 90s. Other than those common interests we had, one thing became clear, we both love Colorado and we really love Denver. We are willing to do whatever it takes together. We became a twosome, you could say. But the thing that makes me most proud to be Stephen Woodrow's friend is his father skills. You see, in the midst of our service here over the past eight years, he became a single father. And he's a banging father, the kind I wish I had. it's without further ado I introduce you to one of the most brilliant legislators who will have a legacy that will last for years and I'm sure glad I'm giving this under these circumstances and I love you and I introduce to you Stephen Woodrow applause applause Well, thank you for that. Good afternoon, friends. I'll try to be brief. When setting out to write these remarks, I thought it'd be prudent to start with a list of things I've learned during my time here at the Capitol. Things like make sure you get here early for the good burritos, but it's okay if you don't. The best come from the green truck on Sherman. The best bathroom is room 324. Stay out of the lobby, if you're able. Stay off social media, if you're able. And of course, some traffic tickets just aren't worth fighting. But the most important lesson I've learned has come from all of you. As Rep. Valdez just said, I was sworn in in early February of 2020, six weeks before COVID hit. During my opening speech, which was attended by some family members, Speaker Becker, Rep. Sirota, Rep. Valdez, and now Senator Baisley, I recalled the words of Benjamin Franklin, who when asked at the Constitutional Convention what type of new government was being formed, he famously responded, a republic if you can keep it. Folks, America is an experiment. It's a test in self-governance. Representative democracy is not a guarantee. It is not the norm. Though numerous countries have followed America's lead and embraced it over the last 80 years, don't be fooled. Take it for granted, and it goes away. Power consolidates. There is a tendency towards authoritarianism that must be checked and balanced. Yes, much of that checking and balancing happens through institutions, but more than anything else, it happens on account of people who are willing to stand up to do the work day in and day out and make it so. It happens because of our amazing partisan and nonpartisan staff who show up and keep everything moving. It happens because of our legislative aides, many of whom somehow know things before we do. It happens because of our sergeants and state patrol who keep us safe and orderly, especially when you have a big mouth like mine. It happens because of OLS and bill drafters and researchers and clerks. It happens because of lobbyists and the press corps, yeah it does, and leadership. It happens because of our families back at home wanting the best for us, wishing they could have more of our time, but willing to share us because they see that the work we're doing matters to so many. And of course, it happens because of each and every one of you. Each of you, by showing up, by debating bills, by sponsoring or opposing legislation, by focusing in committee, by asking hard questions, by disagreeing with each other, each of you has helped keep the republic. Every vote you've taken, every debate you've engaged in, every amendment you've run, even you, Representative Graff, all has reinforced the legitimacy of Colorado's enduring role in our American experiment. I'm reminded of a quote from JFK. The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion. The goal is not that we agree. Sure, it's nice when we do. But we're human, and humans disagree, sometimes fiercely, on guns, on LGBTQ rights, on immigration, on the environment, on tax policy, on health care, on the role of government. We disagree an awful lot. But our goal is not that we agree. It is in how we disagree. Do we grab our pitchforks and take up arms? Do we battle it out physically with violent reprisal? Or do we come to a magnificent, hollow chamber like this one and talk and debate and cajole even if we know the fate of many bills were decided last November or the November before As I reflect on the last seven sessions I humbled and grateful for the time we had together for the changes I've seen in the law and in this body, for the conversations and work I got to do with you and those who had your seats before you were here, for Minority Leader Hugh McKean, Senator Faith Winter, and Brother Rod Bakkenfeld, for the work you've all done and that we've done together, work that has undoubtedly helped to keep the republic. I'll close with this. I'm proud of and grateful for all we've accomplished. I'm proud and grateful for having had the opportunity to serve with so many talented and caring people. I'm proud and grateful for the part you let me play. This little experiment of ours, it's worth it, and our republic worth keeping. Thank you. Thank you.
I would like to invite now Representative Garcia to pay tribute to Representative Titone.
Well, what can you really say about a living legend? What can you say about a woman whose motto is, what's next? Representative Titone has always put herself out there, whether it's doing stand-up or leading her community. She was the first trans candidate to win statewide office across the country, even though no one thought she could do it. Reptitone took on the prejudice and ignorance of those who don't understand her head on. She approaches life with possibility, with creativity, with passion, humor, joy, and exploration. The impact that Brianna has had in this chamber and across the state is deeply felt and even seen. You know, one of Reptitone's first bills was encouraging the use of XeroScape in public places. Everywhere we go, we see Colorado native plants that require limited water because of Representative Titone. But her fights were also big. She banned the gay and trans panic defense. She protected sex workers with immunity when reporting a crime. She took on fees for applications for rentals. Brianna never saw a fight that was too big, too small, or out of reach. And every time she brought professionalism, grit, and humor. her legacy that she will leave behind is not her jokes that she practiced on us in the well, you know, some that hit and some that didn't. It's not her creative video-making skills or her amazing asymptote or creativity in making her own clothes. It's not even that she took on corporate interests in her trilogy of the right-to-repair policies. It's not her ride-or-die attitude to the death industry either. I mean, who else could successfully bring a bill to say you can be buried as a tree? Her legacy that she has gifted us all with is her courage. She showed me every day what courage truly means. Courage is not the absence of fear It is perseverance through it It is perseverance through obstacles It succeeding in the face of many trying to pull you down Rihanna is courageous. My friend. Rihanna is funny and caring and loving, and she will leave a major hole in this building. Representative Titone, it has been truly an honor. to serve with a courageous trailblazer. Thank you for serving. Thank you for showing us all what it means to lead with grace, with compassion. And I know that you will keep bringing joy and laughter in your next chapter. And I have a gift from Representative Bacon, wherever she is. and myself. Representative Titone. It's hard to follow that.
Thank you, Representative Garcia.
So many things. there. I'm inspired by you and your courage and your leadership and I'm inspired by many of you as well and I wanted to give my appreciation to everyone here especially the non-partisan staff for all their incredible work. It's impossible to do the work inside the building for anyone to understand how hard it is because of the work being done behind the scenes by the often invisible efforts of the clerks, the sergeants, the legislative council staff, the budget and fiscal teams, the insane amounts of time and demand put in on our drafters. Give them a hand, please. I thought my HOA bills actually made Dwayne Gould retire. Turned out he was going to do it anyway. And also, you know, the Colorado Channel. and the press and the lobbyists too, and the custodial staff, obviously, who get us through this. But the invisible work we do is with the foundation that we get to build on. These are the unsung heroes of the work we do here, and I thank every single one of you for being an integral part of the government, and they should be celebrated. And I've gotten to know many of you over the years, and I will truly miss you all, but one thing I will truly miss most is my parking spot. Looking back at the now eight years spent here in the house, it's interesting to think about how it was both absurdly long and incredibly short at the same time to think that eight years ago I was sitting there in desk 59 trying to understand what I was going to contribute. And today it's my final words in the well in the 75th General Assembly. There was so much I didn't know. And Representative Singer, he sat next to me, and he said that if I pushed the white button, that the clerk would bring me a latte. And I quickly learned that the clerks are not flight attendants, and they don't do that. But, Kathy, I'm still waiting for that latte. Triple dairy, caramel malciato, no whip, in case you forgot. I'll keep waiting. But it been a true honor to serve with you and serve the people of House District 27 This work is not easy and it shouldn be easy It true we have a great parking space but that comes with great responsibility With the press of our green or red buttons on our desk, not the white one, we can change lives. Some decisions are easy, others are extremely difficult. Striking a balance in policy that balances spending, freedoms, and economy, and livelihoods of our constituents is often an impossible task, yet the majority of the time we actually find solutions to tackle the toughest issues we face. The system is not perfect. The founders knew it wasn't. It was the best we have, but members with the current state of our politics that we have, I strongly encourage you to all spend the time to build trust in your communities. As the 76th and future General Assemblies march on, the money and influence of special interests will increase. The temptation to seek money over trust will be tempting, but earning trust is the key. It is exhausting, but degradation of trust comes easy and swiftly. Most of our constituents are paying attention, and we have to keep their trust because they deserve it. I stood in this well as a new legislator, as a scientist believing in data. Eight years later, I've realized that in this building, data represents a collection of opinions that happen to be in a chart format. But I believe that if you presented enough real data and human stories, that the arc of justice would bend just a little bit further. But with big corporate interests in their packs and the coalescence of power through wealth, widening economic divide, the people lacking lobbyists to represent their interests, in my final hours, I have to be honest, I'm worried that the arc of justice is bending to its breaking point. The remainder of you in the 76th General Assembly must be sure we can mend and re-bend the arc to realize true justice. We should be our constituents lobbyists, and I believe in you, and I know what this group is capable of when we stop looking at the scoreboard and start looking at the horizon. The people outside the glass can be a valuable resource, but we must have a skepticism of everything they share, including those who we agree with. Our votes have an undeniable significance. We must keep those we represent in mind first. The U.S. Constitution under the Tenth Amendment affords us the autonomy to govern with sovereignty. When the U.S. Congress fails to act, we must act. Citizens United allowed money and politics to debase the values of citizenry at all levels of government. We must fight to make meaningful change that is fair and not written to favor wealthy special interests. But I would be remiss if I did not address the direction of our executive leadership. We have spent a great deal of time this session hearing about Colorado being a hub for innovation. and as someone who has spent a significant part of my career in tech, I value that sentiment. However, we must ask ourselves, who does the innovation actually serve? There has been a trend from the governor's office to prioritize the comfort of industry disruptors and tech pros over safety and privacy of the people they impact. We have seen a hesitation to sign meaningful guide rails. And I hope that the new administration, the governor remembers that a silicon mountain is only worth building if the people living at its base are not at risk of being buried by the landslide of corporate interests. Innovation without empathy is and it's the job of this body and the first floor to know the difference. Let's not be a rubber stamp for the first floor. But I want to reiterate how much it's been an honor and a privilege to serve in this body. We serve the people, and that is something in this chamber that we can never forget. This has been an honor of a lifetime, and I hope to get another opportunity to serve the people again in another capacity in the future. But in my absence, don't forget about your sense of humor. don't turn into the red room of doom over here and also don't forget to respect each other and honor the origins of this institution y'all are the strangest extended family I've ever had and I will miss you all and don't forget, you'll always be better than the Senate thank you
Next up, I invite Representative Woodrow to pay tribute to Representative Valdez. I love how those two work together.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you. Colleagues, hey now. It's an honor to stand before you this afternoon and pay tribute to Representative Alex Valdez, the best-dressed member of the Colorado House of Representatives, eight years running. It's no secret that Representative Valdez is my closest friend and confidant in the chamber. We hit it off almost immediately. He came to my swearing-in, and we've been through the thick and thin of this place ever since. I adore him. And while, yes, that may be evidence of my own infinite patience, it's simply undeniable that there's something magnetic about the man.
He's charming. He's witty. Yes, he's moody when he hasn't eaten, but you know what? Here's something you might not know. He's also moody when he's full. You all know him as an engaged conversationalist with a sharp tongue and a slick wardrobe, but let me tell you what else he is. A highly accomplished legislator. Because of Representative Valdez, Colorado pharmacists are able to provide HIV prevention meds directly to patients. Because of Rep. Valdez, marriages in Colorado are no longer defined in the Constitution as between one man and one woman. Because of Rep. Valdez, we have a thriving quantum computing industry throughout the state. I could go on, but we're pressed for time. On social issues, on energy, on health care, on the environment, Alex has been a leader throughout. Now, there's something special about the back row. Not just in this chamber, but in basically any setting. middle school, high school, the movie theater. The back row is synonymous with fun. And oh, what fun we've had. This is a difficult building. It's terrible for our mental and physical well-being. And through the 120 days of session, we can become cynical and jaded The back row is a reminder that though we are called to do this work and to take it seriously it imperative that we don take ourselves too seriously There can be joy in tough spaces. Alex has brought joy to so many of us during his eight-year stretch, even when he was hungry or had just eaten. I'll end with this. Earlier this year, Representative Valdez gave one of his rare passionate speeches from the well, a speech giving hope to kids who had been subjected to conversion therapy. He said many poignant things, but this part stuck with me. People have to be who they are. They don't have a choice. Well, dear friend, I'm so grateful that you are who you are. And for the time we've shared, back row forever. Colleagues, Representative Alex Valdez.
Thank you. and I'm like, what am I doing here? I can't answer that. But I'll forever be honored to have been given this chance. A little about me, I was born at 6th and 225 back in 1981 during a tornado in the hallway in front of everybody. And the chaos has not stopped since. APS all the way. And then above. I guess you could say I'm 100% Colorado. I love it here. I know, like we all do, that life is very, very short. It's just speeding by. And I've gotten to do a lot of great things. I've been a pilot. I'm a merchant marine. I sail around the world, both as an employee and just for fun. I've flown around the world and I've done all sorts of cool stuff, but nothing will ever be like serving here. A little advice. Well, let me start with this. I started a solar company. You probably all heard about this. You know, it was all about doing something you can believe in. That's what this is about, right? Do what you believe in. I was never a staffer. I was never a political. I didn't even watch CNN before I walked in here. This was the first time I was ever in this building was when I was in orientation. Even though I grew up here, they probably didn't want to take me with them that day. I was a pain in the behind. Still am. My advice. Exercise independence. I was fiercely independent in my time here, as much as I could be. And it served me well until last week. Not a single threatening message ever. Not one hateful email. Well, I guess you could call them hateful, but they weren't trying to kill me. And I attributed that to not being controversial but putting my head down here and doing what I came here to do I wouldn be here if I didn say thank you That the most important thing I going to do here today Mom. John. Johnny, Kelly, Jess, Char, Joyce, Jerry, and Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you for helping me be here. Seventy bills later, here I am. Here's my other advice. Ignore the gaffles on seconds. All of my friendships were born on seconds. we should talk more not less we should hear each other's voices even if they're tough to hear and we should probably spend more time crying in our private meetings than at the well ignore those gavels communicate communicate, communicate, communicate in the time you have with your colleagues every success I had was from the relationships I built not the quality of the legislation that I ran. Alec Garnett told me, it's not about the bills, bro. It's not. They come, they go, hundreds and hundreds. What lasts the relationships? Like the ones I have with my friends from the class of 19. Don't be a patsy for an agenda. Avoid NGOs. Be you. Be the person from your district. Remember what you ran on to serve those things. Don't be detoured. It's easy here. The noise gets loud. Early in my career, I made a pact that I would run two bills a year that weren't from the lobby. I just wrote them. I'm now the owner of six vetoes. A championship in this room. If you got a veto, you might add it with me. I don't know. but really what I want to remember about this the most is those nights that I really can't remember with friends that I will never ever forget I want to thank you all for your acceptance and for your friendship, and for the last eight years, we did it. We made the world a little bit better.
I would like to invite Representative Wilford up to honor Representative Froelich. Representative Wilford.
Thank you very much Madam Chair Members I want to tell you about my fairy godmother She doesn have a wand she has a Diet Coke and it possibly her eighth of the day and she absolutely does not give a fork. I'm sorry, Madam Speaker. Especially on the... I'm sorry. I wrote this and I practiced it and it's not coming out. Anyway, she absolutely does not give a fork, especially on the days that she leaves her hearing aids at home. Which, as many of you know, is when she is at her most candid. And if you've ever stood up to walk to a mic and heard a full editorial from the back row. Sorry, Meg. If you've ever stood up and walked to a mic and heard a full editorial from the back of the row about exactly where you can go, then you have experienced the full Meg Froelich experience. No filter, no regrets, no hearing aids. Sorry. Now getting to know Meg is not a one-time event. It's been a years-long excavation. Every month something new surfaces, so let me share some of the things that I've learned. She was born in the U.S., but she grew up in Malaysia, Australia, and Japan. Meg was the Malaysian national swim champion. She has produced 100 hours of television, including on American Masters, Biography, American Experience and Eddie the Cruisers, which means somewhere out there Meg has a story about a rock band, and I think you should all ask her about it later. She's a dissertation away from a PhD. She attended two Olympics, strictly as a spectator. She's read four books this week, and none of them will win a Pulitzer Prize, and she's absolutely okay with that. Now, let's take a brief stroll down one main street to visit the things Meg loathes. Ohio State. Hugs. Women who cheat at recreational tennis, and you know who you are. When she hears, we only have Diet Pepsi. The fact that Chick-fil-A tastes so impossibly good while serving every condiment in a plastic container and plastic straws. She's very pro-plastic straw. She's not proud of it, but she owns it. Anyway, let's not dwell on the things that she hates because Meg truly leads with love. Speaking of love, she raised three kids who are wonderful humans. And if you didn't know, her daughter gave birth to a son earlier this year whom Meg refers to as her baby. Meg made a documentary about bipartisan elected women in Colorado called Strong Sisters. And if you haven't seen it, you can buy it downstairs and you should absolutely watch it. The documentary examines why Colorado has a strong history of electing women, what difference these women have made and why certain positions have not yet been held by women. And what's incredible is that Meg didn't just make a documentary, she lived it. She served on the Greenwood City Council for two terms and then served four terms right here in this chamber. She put her name on 123 resolutions, memorials, and bills, passed transformational legislation for the people of Colorado, including the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which preserved the fundamental right to access the full range of reproductive health in Colorado, including protections for reproductive health access, which shielded reproductive health care and gender-affirming providers, patients, and helpers from out-of-state actors. She's been a stalwart for the rights and protections of sex assaults and domestic violence survivors, gun violence prevention, equity inclusion, and climate justice. Don't worry, Meg, I'm almost done. But that's Meg. She has an internal compass that does not wafer. And in a place like this, where it's very easy to lose your sense of direction, she always knows which way is right, and she walks directly towards it. Diet Coke in hand, hearing aids optional. As women leaders, we stand on the shoulders of giants. and Meg, you have recruited, trained, supported and mentored and championed women across our state and it's why my friend, you are a giant in this room and I can genuinely say that Colorado is better for having you served Colleagues, Representative Meg Froehlich Thank you Madam Speaker
It's been quite a journey. Yes, it has. Honored to serve with you. Honored to serve with you. It really has been a privilege, and I really am grateful. I think the theme of my work is actually moms. Some dads in the mix, for sure, but mom spelled upside down is wow, so there's that. I think I have had the opportunity to really unify folks, especially on the other side of the aisle, so you're welcome. I was approached by moms of children with disabilities in my first year and began a journey to bring access in housing, transit, political participation, and education. Next came a group of moms who had had terrible experience in family court, and that resulted in bills to reform that system. Moms who are assault survivors, I was able to work with my brave colleagues who are also survivors. Folks who wanted to be moms and folks who didn't want to be forced to become moms led to work in adoption, foster care, surrogacy, IVF, workplace protections for pregnant people, and of course contraception and abortion. Fierce protective moms working to end child abuse and domestic violence, champions of fairness, opportunity, and quality public education. Moms who'd lost kids to gun violence, together with my two colleagues I served with whose sons were murdered. I could add Mother Earth, but my friends really hate it when I equate moms with Mother Earth and make that goofy analogy. But I will say that our planet is fragile and special, and we need to protect her air, land, and water. And I think the Artemis II mission, and of course with its groundbreaking or sky-breaking female astronauts, really illustrated to us the importance of our small blue planet. And it all kind of comes from my mom who was a second wave feminist In 1975 it was the International Year of the Woman and so my mom confiscated all my Barbie dolls And because the mother-daughter dance is so special, my mom added, I would never have Barbie's figure or be that much of a looker, so it was probably for the best. I slept on a woman-on-top pillow, and I was about 25 when I realized that double entendre. And while patriarchy is often associated with competitive hierarchical power structures, matriarchy instead is defined by cooperative, community-centered, and egalitarian structures. So it's not actually women on top in a matriarchy. It's a system emphasizing nurturing, collective care, and prioritizing community needs. whatever name you give it I think we're at our best when we work together and I'm proud to have served with so many great and so many powerful women leaders in the most diverse caucus in Colorado history thank you to our aides nonpartisan staff and all the legislative liaisons thank you colleagues
Next up, Minority Leader Caldwell and Assistant Minority Leader Winter to honor and pay tribute to Representative Soper. Minority Leader Caldwell.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thought about what I wanted to say when I was going to come up here, and I figured I want to lighten the mood a little bit because Matt is just, he's got a great sense of humor. So I want to first start off this by saying thank you to the majority party for lending Matt to us for the last eight years. you know the uh you're welcome thank you i'm only kidding but uh you know i mad he's the thing that i appreciate so much about him is just how well out and well thought out and how just very thoughtful he is on things except for Twitter. So I can tell you as a staff member in 2023, when I get a phone call and it's like, hello, Mr. Caldwell. I'm like, yes. He's like, I'd like to talk to you about a tweet from Matt Soper. I'm like, okay. And I'm like, who is this? And he's like, it's Kyle Clark. And I was like, wrong number. In all seriousness, I met Matt in 2022, actually as an aide, and we were sitting in the assistant minority leader's office, and Matt came in there and sat down. And I don't remember what we were discussing. It was probably the differences in leadership style between Nero and Julius Caesar or the fall of Rome or something like that. But I just remember thinking to myself, man, this guy is really, really smart. And I knew nothing about him other than that conversation we had. And it was an honor to serve under him then and it been an honor to serve alongside him for the last couple years And he is a person that I just truly have a great amount of respect for and love serving with him in Judiciary Committee Because I'd sit next to him and I'd lean over and I'd say, Soper, I have no idea what's going on right now with this bill. And I was like, I'm not comfortable doing a closing statement on this bill. And I'd lean over and Matt was like, I got it. And then he absolutely would. So with that, I appreciate you, Matt. Seriously, it's an honor, sir.
Assistant Minority Leader Winter Thank you Madam Speaker and it's an honor to stand up and speak about Matt Matt and I are totally different in a lot of ways but one thing that united Matt and I was steak Matt and I have spent a lot of time eating steaks together and talking about life, talking about his family and their history in the state of Colorado. And Matt's actually a pretty interesting guy. And if you haven't taken the time to sit down and talk to him, you should, because he's well-traveled. He's been all over the place. Matt's a very thoughtful guy. Anybody else that's ever talked to him, he does what's right. You know, we just saw him get up yesterday, and that's Matt's character. He stood up, and when he made a mistake, he rectified it. And I appreciate that about him. Another crazy thing about Matt is he turned a yellow jacket drinking country boy into somebody who likes Manhattans. And if you've ever seen me hold a Manhattan glass, boy, I catch a lot of grief for that. But Matt turned me on to Manhattan, so I'll be forever grateful for that, Matt. But probably the most difficult task I've ever had as the assistant minority leader, which you all know that's the principle, is keeping Matt in committee. I have spent many hours traveling through this building looking for Matt Soper, and I have found him in many different places. At first, it started with gentle conversations and nudges, and it ended with a lot of actions like, now. But in all seriousness, Matt, good dude. I've enjoyed getting to know you. But before Matt speaks, I want you to see a video about my plight. So we would ask that you play this quick little video so Matt can finish up. And if you'd all just put your attention to it, I'd be grateful.
The house will stand in recess while we watch our video.
Super. Super. I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere, man. Across the desert, there, man. I breathe the mountain air, man. Hello, Mr. President? I will be minority leader for the day. I'll make a cup of coffee. On this Colorado Day, it's important to get out in nature. No, maybe we'll just kick back and take a nap.
The committee will come to order. Ms. Shipley, please call the roll.
Representative Soper.
Excuse.
The House will come back to order. Representative Soper.
Thank you, Madam Speaker and members. Eight years has gone by really fast and being the only fourth Republican the dean of the caucus it kind of feels like being the lone survivor from an airplane crash Being termed out feels like either a graduation or a forced retirement I'm still deciding which. My tenure has bore witness to pre-COVID-19 days, then the pandemic, civil unrest, a bitter divide within this chamber, and then being part of the effort to heal this chamber. finally celebrating our state's 150th. I'd like to begin by thanking my wife, Sarah, who's joined us here today, for supporting me in my public service. I couldn't do it without her. Thank you. I want to thank my aides, past and present, who've been incredible, to the bill trafters, knowing I run a lot of bills and even more amendments. To the House staff, thank you so much for all you've done for us. And lastly, I want to thank everyone who's here before me today, all of my peers. And thank you for being collegial most of the time. Our state would be better off if we didn't have term limits or if we extended them, as we have seen a transferred institutional knowledge and power to the lobby and to the executive branch. I was an aide in this building to Senators Jack Taylor and Ron Tech back in 2005. When I arrived here in 2018, almost 75% of the lobby were still the same individuals, and today it's close to that same number. Serving in the House of Representatives completes a childhood dream of mine that began when I was 12. I met my state rep right over there. His name was Matt Smith. He brought me on the floor. I saw this room for the first time. My family was taking a tour, and I decided I wanted to be a legislator. I grew up in a farm family, picked a lathe of sweet corn, worked for a local water attorney, and then found myself in law school as well. I never believed it would be halfway around the world and then coming back to our great state. But I never lost fact of the focus that I want to represent my hometown and the communities around it. I had that opportunity when I was elected in 2018. It had been the first time in 54 years someone from Delta was elected to this room. I'll bet the last person from Delta was a Democrat and Speaker of the House. I always wanted to give a voice to each one of the small towns, you know, Fruita, Palisade, Delta, Colbrin, Cedar Edge, Gateway, Debeck. And I worked hard to spend time in each one of those towns, and you should too if you represent small towns. Perhaps I was blessed to have a good demeanor to be a legislator, but to be successful, one cannot show too much emotion. You can never be vindictive, and you can never forget. forget. Be willing to take on issues not represented by long-tenured lobbyists or deep-pocketed special interests. We have run over seven bills to address the abuses of the unregulated funeral home industry here in Colorado. It was not an issue I chose to champion. I didn't have a goal of reforming the funeral industry. I attended a memorial service in 2018 that forever changed my life. Victims from the Sunset Mesa atrocity described the horrors of what happened to them. their loved ones. These victims didn't have a lobbyist. They just had a lowly representative who said, I want to be the change and I want to make a difference for you. This led to, you know, drafting many bills that did not originate from a lobbyist. So be willing to do something that doesn't come from the industry. Stick to your values. I'm proud to depart the chamber. I think generally regarded as a nice guy, honest, intelligent, while not necessarily on time. Probably some people have wished I'd voted differently at times, but I'll tell you what. I have always balanced my personal values, my political ideology, and the distinct nature of House District 54 in every single vote that I've taken. I've tried to say a prayer to ask for guidance. I take every vote serious, as everyone should. Eight years is long and short. I remember asking my 105-year-old great-aunt how it felt to be 105, and she said, it got here fast. Friends, this day got here fast. In my time of service, I married my best friend. I've represented our state domestically and abroad, witnessed a technology shift here in the chamber that involves Zoom, AI, and cell phones to conduct legislative business. We've run over 1,000 amendments, 274 bills, almost 200 of those passing. amended 42 of the 44 titles. I've had three bills vetoed, not quite the record that Valdez has. I've lost two bills on third reading, which I do think is a record, and I've had one bill struck down by an anonymous state Supreme Court. To paraphrase Paul Simon, there must be at least 50 ways to kill a bill. My fellow representatives, I regard each and every one of you as family, albeit one big, giant, dysfunctional family, but family nonetheless. This sentiment never reigned sure than almost exactly six months ago, my mother passed away. I cannot express how touched I was to hear from many members, leadership on both sides, our staff, personal calls, cards. It meant so much, and that's a representation that we are family. And we're better off to be known for our humanity and caring for each other than showing our partisanship, because certainly each and every one of us are nonpartisan to that extent. It's also been special to share with the chamber Lunar New Year, and thank you so much to the majority leader for doing something extra special this year. And I hope it continues. You know who I'm talking about. I've appreciated showing my love for legal history, Representative Bacon, you know, it did happen back in Scotland, and international diplomacy with the formation of the International Caucus. I've also learned that the phrase for the record actually means something. Reflecting back on eight Colorado appellate court cases, which have quoted me, usually unfavorably,
it does show that the court does look back to see what legislative intent is and that the words we say at the well or in committee have legal weight and legal meaning. It is incredibly bittersweet to bid farewell to my tenure in the House of Representatives. I am humbled for the opportunity of a lifetime to fulfill a childhood dream with honor, duty, and loyalty to our great state that I love so much. I will greatly miss this wild and crazy place but I do promise to visit from time to time And whoever that next majority leader is please let me on to the floor In closing, I want to quote from the last verse of the last chapter of the greatest book ever written. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with each and every one of you. Thank you, and God bless.
Thank you. Representative Garcia, please join us at the well to pay tribute to Representative Sirota.
Well, members, I think we all know that Emily is pretty quiet, but she's also very powerful. She is brilliant and caring. She is stoic and yet feels profoundly. She is professional and compassionate. She is strong and loving. These are the characteristics that, for me, embody who Rep Sirota is. And I honestly can't say I know a harder-working legislator in this building. Except for maybe me. Just kidding. Most of us in this chamber only know the JBC member, Emily Sirota. We have all had to convince her of our fiscal notes that they were worthy of approving when she chaired appropriations for three years. We all had to contend with her saying, we respectfully ask for a no vote. This budget has been carefully crafted to achieve the constitutional balance requirement, or something like that. We have all benefited from her deep commitment to helping make people's lives better through the painstaking task of crafting a moral budget. She served as the punching bag for these difficult cuts that were necessary, and still every day she shows up with her commitment to making life better for families in Colorado. She is literally the mother of our modern-day child care system. And she is the holder of dignity for workers. Even while working on creating our chamber's constitutional obligation of passing a balanced budget, Emily still took on major bills from Fair Work Week to creating CDEC and UPK. She brought Holocaust and genocide studies in schools. And she created the first ever care economy tax credit in the country. I met Rep Sirota when I was actually an advocate before the honor of serving as her colleague. She was serving on the Interim Committee on Early Childhood, and I had the privilege of presenting to this committee a couple times, and one day my presentation was about obstacles that some providers face in accessing food subsidies Once my presentation was over I was packing up my bag and Rep Sorta walks over to me to ask me to learn more about what I was presenting We may not actually think that that such a big deal but for an advocate someone who is constantly trying to get legislators to hear and understand the challenges that exist and the solutions that could exist, this was a big deal. And that was not the only time I saw Rep Sorota prioritize learning from community, hearing about what works and what doesn't. She constantly did it. Two years later, not only did I get to experience her as an advocate, I had the absolute honor of learning from her as a legislator. Her poise in tense and difficult situations is enviable. Her pointed questions, even to those we consider allies, are strategic. She has a unique ability to see beyond the smoke and mirrors and address the realities of the impact of policy, something I strive to emulate every day. And in these last four years, Emily became one of my absolute favorite people in this building. She is more than a colleague. Emily is my friend. And since day one, I made the daily practice to walk the long diagonal from my corner desk to hers, to pick her brain about policy, about how to survive the chamber, about the budget. I would stroll down and see her reading her giant wine-colored binder with the budget pages that she would be discussing in JBC that day, but still, with all the grace, she would stop reading from what she was reading, and she would look up and entertain my questions or my random ideas. Rebserota, Emily, I am so sad for us in this house, But I am so grateful that you will be down the hall bringing a level head, a practical and compassionate lawmaking to the Red Room of Doom. Thank you for always prioritizing Colorado families. Thank you for being a model of what sound, practical, and ambitious policymaking can look like. And I have a gift.
Representative Sirota.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Eight years feels like both a lifetime and a blink of an eye. When I first started this job, my kids were little and still captured by the candy and the snacks that were located all over the chamber. I got here because enough people asked me to step up and lead, but I really had no idea what I was walking into. But those of us who were part of that class of 2019, it really seems like we have seen it all. We came in to a brand new trifecta. We navigated a global pandemic, a flood of federal transformational dollars to billion-dollar deficits. We've weathered the property tax wars. I fought the oil and gas wars So many special sessions that obviously weren very special or extraordinary And I have learned so very much along the way Truly every day here I learn something new I think the lessons I have learned the most are to understand the rules and how the process works. You don't have to blow up the system to change the system, but you do need to know it. And everything here is relational. One person has the power to change dynamics, not just for bad, but for good, and each of you has that in you. Each of you has made this place special and unique because of you. tantrums don't work for the long term you might get your way a couple times but people will learn their lesson so keep a cool head and know when it's time to speak up and use your power you're far more effective that way and I think I would echo the rest of my colleagues from the class and just implore you all to be an advocate for your constituents. They don't have a paid lobbyist because that's our job. That's what we are elected to do, is to come here and to represent them and the things that they need, regardless of the things that the people out there are paid to tell us. It is so crucial that we use our own eyes, ears, and brains to make these decisions because they are impactful. We have a lot of power here to change the lives of the people that we represent, and I will never take that for granted. this job has been truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime and serving with all of you has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime members and staff alike I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity and I'm so grateful to have made so many dear friends for life you are stuck with me whether we're in this chamber together or not thank you all for the impact that you have had on me, on the people of Colorado and I look forward to watching you do your work from just down the hall, it may be many miles away but I'm excited for what the future has to hold and the work we still have to do together applause applause
Thank you.
did the living eulogy for Alec Garnett. And I hope that at some point we see a little bit more of this. Because one thing I've learned over the last four years is we've all built relationships And hopefully at some point that trust for us to all sit down and do this is built and I appreciate you asking me to do that and having that trust. There's this classic Looney Tunes cartoon about Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog. Every morning they clock in and say, good morning Ralph, good morning Sam. Then they spend the entire day trying to outmaneuver each other. Five o'clock rolls around, they clock out, and it's good night, Ralph. Good night, Sam. Perfectly friendly, like nothing ever happened. Monica, in a lot of ways, that's us. We've had our battles, plenty of them. We've disagreed on policy more times than I can count. There's the political side, where we represent different values, different constituents, different ideas. And then there's the human side, where we're all just people trying to do what we think is right. You've always understood that distinction. You know I represent my people and you represent yours. You've been cognizant of the fact that I have to go back and answer to my constituents just like you do. And you've never made it personal when we're on opposite sides of an issue. The mutual respect has made all the difference. But Monica, we've also been through some real things together. the kind that reminds you this job is important, but it's not everything. When my family was going through one of the hardest moments of our lives after my daughter's accident, you were there, not as a majority leader, not as someone across the aisle, but as a person. And I watched you carry unimaginable loss yourself, losing both your parents and your husband, and still showing up here every day and being a force. that's not something everyone could do that's who you are outside this building there's this possession perception that as majority leader you don't have to reach across the aisle but that hasn't been my experience you've always been willing to sit down have the conversation and hear us out even when we're making your job harder you've made sure that even when we disagree our voices are heard. Sometimes it's just an hour, but I know everyone in this room loves our Rule 14 video, which we will play, and that matters. And let's be honest, everyone in here knows you're not someone to be messed with. I'll never forget that time in committee when you said if people didn't settle down, you were going to have to have me hold your hoops. Or the first time we really went at it in the back room after a long day on the floor, and you said you were bringing a second special orders calendar, I told you our caucus will blow this place up, and you looked right back and said, don't you put me in a corner. Truth is, I've handled myself pretty well working with you, because I've had plenty of practice negotiating with my wife at home. Just like you, she can't always see that I am right, but we can always find middle ground. Monica, at the end of the day, we clock out like Ralph and Sam. We may not always agree, but I've always respected you for the way you remembered that behind every vote and every debate, we're still all human. It's been an honor to serve with you, ma'am. Thank you Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause
The house will stand in a brief recess for a video.
Oh my goodness. Oh. About a us, you know, a lot of us thinking. thinking and well I guess there's only one one way to do this what are you doing no no no don't don't don't don't do it
Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Whoops, whoops, wait.
The House will come back to order. Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. So this is what my House Rule 14 pin is. Thank you. Oh, members, thank you so much. God, this just flew by so fast. as I stand in my final days as Majority Leader and my eighth and final year in this chamber, I am filled with gratitude. This room has carried my voice. my purpose, and my heart for many years. Today it holds my farewell, but not an ending, but the turning of a new page. When I first walked into this chamber, I carried the weight of a life rebuilt from the ground up. I carried the story of a survivor. I carried memories of sleeping in a car with my young child who depended on me. I carried pain, I carried resilience, and a promise to myself that if I ever reached a place where I could change even one life, I would give it everything I had. And today I can tell you that I did. But I didn't do it alone. Most of you knew my late husband, Steve. He was a passionate Republican who held his beliefs with conviction and pride. But what made him extraordinary was that he always made room in his heart for mine. He understood that service rises above party and that love is bigger than politics. Steve believed in me. He believed in the woman who fought her way through darkness, the mother who never quit, and the leader who tried every single day to make life better for others. He shared me with all of you. He carried the sacrifices that came with this work without resentment, and never once did he complain. He loved me deeply and he was proud of the life we built together I will carry that love and gratitude with me forever Thank you. To my sons, Patrick and David, who have been my foundation through every chapter of this journey for eight years. Their love carried me through every victory, every loss, and every late night. And while they may not have shared my politics and proudly stand as Republicans themselves, they never stopped believing in me. Our family is proof that our humanity must always come before political division. To my colleagues, all of you, thank you. You stood beside me during the hardest moments in my life. Some of you challenged me when the stakes were high, and the answers weren't always easy. Together, we debated with passion. We disagreed with conviction. And somehow still found grace and friendship in unexpected places. We carried the responsibility of millions of people together, and through long nights, difficult votes, heartbreak, and triumph, we built something rare. To my friends across the aisle, thank you for your trust. Thank you for your friendship. Together, we show that public service works best when we see each other as human beings first. I'm eternally grateful for the lifelong friendships we have built, and you will always have a seat at my table, no matter where life takes me. Every one of you has left a mark on my life, and I leave this chamber better because I have the privilege of serving alongside all of you. To my staff, thank you for your loyalty, your heart, and your belief in me. Gina, you have been a rock for five years. Hard to believe it's been five years. Watching you grow into the strong, thoughtful, compassionate leader you are today has been one of the greatest joys of my time here. you stood beside me through some of the hardest and most meaningful moments of this journey and I will always be grateful for that bond Christian, thank you for bringing your talent your kindness and your dedication to this team your future is incredibly bright And I know you will continue to do meaningful things in whatever you choose to do. Speaker McCluskey, thank you for your partnership and friendship. Through eight years of service together, we weathered some of the hardest moments in modern history. Yet through it all, you kept showing up every single day, believing Colorado could be better tomorrow than it was today. I thank you for your leadership. I thank you for your heart, and I thank you for your friendship. This work is about the people we serve, the single mother trying to survive another night, the child searching for safety, the worker hoping for dignity the rural communities fighting not to be forgotten the families who simply wanted someone to hear them and fight for them That is who I carried with me every single day in this chamber And long after my desk is empty and my name is no longer on that board up there, I hope people remember that I showed up, that I fought for those who felt they didn't have a voice, that I led with heart, that I led with honesty and humility, and most importantly, that I never forgot where I came from. As I leave this chamber, I leave with something far greater than my title. I leave with hope. Hope because I've seen what people can overcome. Hope because I've seen strangers become allies and colleagues become family. Hope because even in the hardest moments, when the weight of this work felt impossible. There were always people willing to stand with me and to fight together. I walked into this chamber with the heart of a little girl who once knew uncertainty and fear. And I stand here as your majority leader of the Colorado House of Representatives. And if that is possible, members, there is so much more possible for those who come after me. So let this be an invitation to lead with courage, to serve with compassion, to choose humanity over division, and to never stop believing that government can still be a force of good for people in their lives, because the work of building a better Colorado belongs to all of us. Thank you for the honor of my life. And thank you for walking this journey with me.
Thank you.
Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. Thank you, Madam Assistant Majority Leader. It's an honor to serve with you. It's an honor to serve with you, sir. Friends, it is truly an honor to stand before you and say a few words about Speaker McCluskey and her service to this chamber and to the people of Colorado. Now, I was told that I have no more than 45 minutes were these remarks from Elizabeth. The Constitution says we have to finish in about 10 hours, so I'll try to thread the needle here. I can't remember, honestly, the first time that I met Julie. When I came into this chamber, all of these desks were separated with plexiglass, and we were wearing masks, and I showed up on a vacancy, and let me tell you, nobody wants to talk to the new guy in April. Kenny, I feel your pain. LAUGHTER But I do remember the impression she made on all of us, and me certainly right away. Like so many of us, I quickly came to see her as someone who cares deeply about her community, this state, and the people around you. Whether you're an elected official, partisan staff, or nonpartisan staff, Julie has always, always treated the people inside of this building and outside of it with kindness and respect. That matters here, but I think we sometimes forget that matters even more in life and the work we do on behalf of our communities. Throughout her time in the legislature, Julie has focused on making life a little better and a little more affordable for Colorado families. She helped create Colorado's reinsurance programs, which is saving Coloradans billions on health insurance premiums. She helped establish the Fair Plan so homeowners could still access homeowner's insurance insurance when coverage became impossible to find. During the pandemic, she helped lead the state through one of the most difficult moments in recent history as a member and later chair of the Joint Budget Committee, protecting essential services while keeping Colorado fiscally sound. What stands out to me most, though, is how much of her work is centered on investing in people and preparing Colorado for the future. Julie championed programs that opened doors for future teachers, students, and workers pursuing careers in high-demand fields, helping Coloradans access education and training at no cost. She also helped lead the effort to create a more student-centered school finance system that better supports our rural schools, at-risk students, English language learners, and students with special needs. I know how much running that bill meant to you each and every year. At the same time, she worked to protect Colorado's future through investments in wildfire response, drought preparedness, clean water protections, and transportation infrastructure, including securing major federal investments that moved forward the Front Range Passenger Rail Project and expanded mountain rail. Now, Julie was the prime sponsor of 281 bills and resolutions during her time here in the House. She has She's also made more than 500 appointments and nominations to statewide boards and commissions at Speaker. She became the first woman speaker from the Western Slope and only the third woman speaker in Colorado history. And she was a founding member of the McCaucus, which I think deserves its own place in the history books. But accomplishments like that never happen without sacrifice. Public service asks a lot of the people who serve, but I think it actually asks even more of the people who love them. It's the texts at all hours, the long hours, the stress, the missed moments, the moments when you're there but you're really not there. It's a commitment the whole family makes to serve in this building. so I want to recognize publicly and thank her family Jamie Kate Ian Bob Etta and Susan for sharing Julie with all of us and with the state of Colorado friends the longer you serve in this building the more you realize this job becomes in some bittersweet ways and exercising and saying goodbye to the people who have become dear friends very quickly for me Julie is one of those friends and I know I'm not alone in saying that. She started each day with a reminder that it is a good day in Colorado. And what I want you to know today is that tomorrow it will also be a good day in Colorado because of your work here in this chamber Julie this state is better because of your service The institution is stronger because of your leadership. And so many of us are better legislators and leaders because of your example, because time and again you met difficult moments with grace, humility, humor, and a willingness to do what was right, even and especially when it was hard. So I hope you'll all join me in honoring my dear friend and our speaker, Julie McCluskey. Thank you.
Thank you. Speaker pro tem
Beseneker, my dear, dear friend, what a joy and honor it has been to serve with you, and thank you for those meaningful words. My husband is watching. He will be so proud to have his name called out. Hi, honey. Forrest Gump says, Life is like a box of chocolates. You don't know what you're going to get. And this has been the strangest and most wonderful of journeys. If I laid out a map of what these last four terms and eight legislative sessions have been, I would see mountains of amazing policy, policy that has made a difference in this state. I would see rivers of flowing debate, and I would see roads that led to compromise over and over again. I'd also see the rugged determination of the people in this room. people I deeply admire, people who served, leaned in, and led through a pandemic, through challenging national and world events and pressures, through significant budget ups and downs. And two, the thing that may trouble me the most, a rise in hateful rhetoric, a rise in political violence, arise and camping out in the extreme corners of this political universe and failing to find each other in that space. I am so deeply proud of the many policies that the Speaker Pro Tem called out. A dear friend of mine said yesterday, think about the eight years in their entirety. Think about all of those accomplishments. We have done great things together. As I wind down my service, all I want to do is share gratitude. Gratitude for all of you, because time is fleeting. Let us please remember Representative Bakkenfeld, Senator Winter, and the dear Minority Leader McKean. I send thanks into the universe again for the speakers who came before me speakers who shared wisdom and guidance especially Speaker Garnett Becker Russ George and Ferrandino To my class of 2019 the fierce fighting frolic I stole this from you, luck, the sublime, subtle Sirota, the smart in the saddle soaper, the very tenacious to tone, to that vibrant dresser, Alex Valdez, and to the wise beyond his years, Woodrow, and especially to the darling, the dear, the dynamo, Monica Duran. The number of times we had to hold on to each other, either cry, scream, or laugh, you are for my ever partner. I think you're even my work wife. This place is full of words of wisdom. Carrie, don't marry your bill. Your word is all you have around here. Majority may have their way, but the minority will have their say. Campaigning is poetry, but governing is prose. But the saying I think about most right now is the reference to us as a body, a living, breathing body. We are together a collective soul of the house, much as our communities, our bodies. This state is a body. This nation is a body. We work together when we assert our talents, when we hear one another, when we see the joy, the beauty in each of us. I want to recognize the future of this body with those members who I believe bring something special here. The heart of this body is demonstrated every day by the compassion of a speaker pro tem, Besenekar, an assistant minority leader, Winter. To Velasco and Garcia Sander, keep up your big hearts and your smiles. You two smile more than anybody else around. To the brain, the intellect of an Espinoza, a Brown, a Paschal, a DeGraff, a Marshall. Use your intelligence for the greater good and thank you for what you share. For the wisdom of the brain. My dear friend, Rep Taggart. The wisdom of a Richardson. The wisdom of a Smith. years of exceptional experience outside of this building
that you bring and share with the body. To those of you who serve as our ears, who listen and discern and reflect back wisdom, McCormick, thank you. To Ryden and Jackson, Ricks and Morrow and Woog, you are quiet but forceful. use that talent there is a belly a belly full of good sense and humor in this building oh goodness if that isn't the house of Stuart and certainly representative Barone thank you for the smiles the funnies and the good nature the spirit in this place is certainly captured when we think about running we think about running hard and fast for what we believe. Representative Garcia, Representative Ferre Johnson Gonzalez Clifford English Flannell you have spirit you have spunk Thank you for bringing that to the body for the guts the courage that it takes to truly lead To AML Bacon, Representatives Martinez and Carter and Hartsook and Joseph, Sucla and Bradley, guts, courage. There is a calm and steady hand in here as well. Minority Leader Caldwell, Representatives Camacho, Lukens. I'd throw you into that as well, Representative Brooks. Thank you for sharing the ability to bring people together, a calm and steady hand. And there's four who are still maybe finding some footing. Goldstein, Wynn, again, Flannell and Slaw. You're new here. Bring that fresh perspective. Help us all do better. I want to extend my gratitude, yes, to the folks that are sometimes maligned, our lobby. I hope they're all listening. I don't see any of them out there, right? They're tired of some of the hot air coming from this place. But friend or foe, you are partners in some of the most amazing work this state has accomplished. You help us understand the mechanics of what it means to have an expertise in a certain industry or topic area. to the advocates, the organizations who show up with their heart and advocate and remind us why we are here. There are a few people in the nonpartisan staff. Those of us speaking today have all done a good job calling them out. I especially have to recognize the leadership management team of the legislative branch. Director DiCecco, thank you. Where are you? I saw you. Back there. Director Castle, wherever you are. I don't think she's here. To Auditor Hunter. And to our JBC director. Thank you, Craig, for the years before and now. What an amazing legislative management team. To these four souls behind the desk, Wow, Vanessa, Darren, George, and Stephanie, you are there prodding me, poking me, telling me how to do this job, and I am forever grateful to my own policy team. Wow, 13 amazing, dedicated, hardworking, wonderful souls. Oh, Rebecca. Thank you. your partnership, your grace your wisdom, your intellect in some of the hardest and most challenging of moments and in the best of moments you are a gift to this body, thank you Jarrett, thank you you are dear and sweet to me in ways you will never imagine and speech writing with you is both the merry-go-round and the roller coaster and then that sweet sail off into the sunset. You are a genius. Elizabeth and Elle. Thank you both. You are dear and darling and some of the fiercest young minds in this building. I hope you stay here and fight hard forever and ever. Thanks for all you've done. My family was already acknowledged. Oh, they're loved. They're such good people. They're such patient people. Jamie, Ian, Kate, Ellie, my folks, my sister, you are awesome. But I have to leave you with some final words. Please, please lead the Western Slope way. Put partisanship aside. Focus on problem solving. Think about ways to come together. Stop. Stop the bickering just for bickering's sake. Stop posting on social media something hateful. Post things about love. Post things that bring us together. assume good intentions of each other. Sow trust and be trustworthy. Henry Bergeson said, the motivating power behind democracy is love. So finally, lead with love, lead with love. Love for democracy, love for this institution, love for these members, love for your staff, our staff, love for your constituents, love for the Constitution, love for your state, love for your country. Colorado's poet laureate Andrea Gibson in the poem Good Grief said, let your heart break, love that heart, so that your spirit doesn't. Be swift to love. Our time is short. Our time is short. You are amazing human beings. It has been such an honor to serve with all of you. Be the body you can be with a heart full of love, grace, tenderness, kindness. show this state in America that politics isn't about hate. Show this state. Show people how much you care. That's the legacy to leave. I love you all. Ciao. Ciao. Thank you. Correct the record, best dressed. Me? I think not. She is as tough as her perfect nails. The hair? Perfect. I would know. Both of my parents were big deal hair people, if you didn't know. Makeup? These products aren't sold at Target. That's elegance. Her closet must be vast, like the kind of vast they make movies about, adventure movies. Beyonce looks like Courtney Love compared to Her Majesty. But she has an agenda. As evidenced by her candy bowl she is here to rot your teeth And you need look no further my friends in the press than where she came from That's all I got to say about Mama. I love you. You're the best. So elegant. So dignified. Wonderful.
Representative Garcia.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem.
It is pretty dope to serve with you. It is completely rad to serve with you. You know, when I joined the House, I was given a mentor, and my mentor was the majority leader. And I thought, heck yeah, direct line to leadership. And then I realized her other mentee was David Ortiz. You know, one of the things that the majority leader and I have in common is our love for our dogs. She loves her guns, I mean, her dogs so much. She named her pistol dog, wait, I mean, she named her dog Pistol. And one of the things I learned quickly about the majority leader is her generosity. For the last four years, I always knew where to get a Diet Coke for free. I also learned that when I complimented something she was wearing and asked to try it on, I would somehow be able to walk away with it. By the way, Amel, I love that little necklace you got going on. Can I have it? I mean, try it on. We don't always get along, though. I mean, we fight like two rams. Our horns lock, and we are stuck. And then we remember that we are both equally stubborn, and the only option is for the ML to give up. You know, the ML is always willing to listen to our caucus and hear us out. You know, all it takes is for 13 of us to walk out. And then she graciously responds with, in my office now. You know, the ML has made history, thanks to the rambunctious Republicans from the class of 2023. Hashtag Rule 14, hashtag Fafo. But in all seriousness, it has been an incredible adventure to serve with the majority leader, whom many of us call Mamica. She runs this floor unlike any other. she moves mountains to make sure no one's bills die on the calendar. Mamica, you helped me get my feet under me when I got here. You shared strategy and advice with me. You helped me and others get our bills done. And the Senate will be lucky to have you. Hey, Mel Bacon.
Hi. What a great day to be a Coloradan. We got two snowflakes this week in the high country. Just in time for the donkey derby. I appreciate all of your efforts, but I would like to invite you back to the program.
Representative Mabry.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem.
It's an honor to serve with you. It's an honor to serve with you. Oh, gosh, members. I am delighted and I am privileged to have the opportunity to honor our speaker, Julie McCluskey. I want to bring us home to something that is uniquely Coloradan the experience of being called into Speaker McCluskey office because when you are one of the more shall we say spirited members of the Democratic Caucus that is a feeling you know well. I've spent more than my fair share of time in the principal's office, and almost every single time, Julie greets me with the same, oh gosh, Javier, I'm so excited to say that I want to uplift your passion and your enthusiasm and your dedication, which is what she says to me before she's about to tell me she disagrees with me and does not like my approach. But let me redirect you to the spirit of collaboration and partnership that embody Colorado, which is her way of saying, be nice to the governor, Javier. She is often working hard to deliver on the promises with great gratitude to our beautiful agricultural communities. But here's the truth. Speaker McCluskey has taught all of us that it is always time to do what is right. And the right way is the collaborative way, the patient way, the way that listens. She has taught me that you can be a bomb thrower with principles and a bridge builder with your colleagues in the lobby and, yes, the governor's office. She's made so many of us better legislators. So today, members, with great gratitude, we honor and commend Speaker Julie McCluskey. I'm delighted and I am privileged to have the opportunity to call her my friend.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
AML Bacon.
Thank you.
will the speaker and ML please come up to the well. And we also would like to invite Representative Sirota because we have, on behalf of our caucus, special gifts for you as our leadership. hold on hold on hold on oh it's beautiful okay aml bacon we gave you all a gift of jewelry made from our rose onyx from the capital so that you could have a piece of the building with you in remembrance of all of us So on behalf of our Democratic caucus, we wanted to say thank you so much for your leadership and service.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
applause applause
And then one last break. AML Bacon. And when we have our next break, we have gotten some treats, some cake in celebration of you. And so we are looking forward to everyone partaking. Thank you so much, everyone.
Thank you. Madam Speaker So in my final moment in the well I have to ask for grace Aren't we humbled all the time in this job because we just make mistakes? I was so proud of myself. I counted five times to make sure I recognized everybody in this body who will be leading us forward. And I skipped two of my body parts. Right? nobody's getting this all the body parts were listed and everybody was included but i skipped over the eyes the vision of this body who are my dear friends representative mabry and zokai thank you for leading with such vision and the arms the arms of our those that hug us those that love us gilchrist lindsey hamrick wilford oh my goodness thank you for your love your kindness If you thought I left you out, I'm really not that mean. Love you all. Thank you so much.
Let's take a break.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
The House will stand in a brief recess. Wait. Okay. Don't leave. It is time for the annual... Sine Dive Music Film Festival. Yeah. And Music Festival. Sineadive Film Festival. Here we go. One up.
Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.
to order. It is the final countdown. One last round of applause for the outstanding entertainment. Thank you, representatives, to Tony Garcia and to all of the willing and unwilling participants in your spectacular movies. Members, we do have consideration of Senate amendments to House bills. We are also waiting on the Senate. They're slow as usual. So as I said earlier, we will have some stop and go this afternoon. Mr. Schiebel, let's start
with conference committee reports. First report of first conference committee on House Bill 1206. This report amends the re-revise bill to the president of the Senate and the speaker The reference committee report will be printed in the journal. Message from the Senate. Madam Speaker, the Senate. Message from the Senate will be printed in the journal. Message from the revisor. We hear with transmit. Message from the revisor will be printed in the journal.
Excellent. Members, please take your seats. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker I move to proceed out of order for consideration of Senate amendments to House bills Seeing no objection we will proceed out of order for consideration of Senate amendments to House bills Mr Schiebel please read the title to House Bill 1141 House Bill 1141 by Representative Bacon, also Senators Colker and Marchman concerning civil rights violations involving discriminatory practices in public schools. Assistant Majority
leader Bacon. Yeah, so it's just a bill. Yes, it's only a bill and it was sitting here on Capitol Hill. Come on, Schoolhouse Rock. It's a long, long way from committee to committee. It's a long, long wait because the state ain't got no pennies. Okay. Members, we just forgot something. This bill was strike below in the house and we needed to strike a sentence in regards to notice to school districts and with that I ask to concur but first I'm going to move yes okay yes thank you madam
speaker I move that the house concur with senate amendments to house bill 1141 seeing no further discussion the motion before us is to concur with senate amendments to house bill 1141 Mr.
Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
The motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1141 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1141 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and move the motion to concur.
The motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1141 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine with 43 I, 22 no, zero excused. House Bill 1141, as amended, is repassed.
Co-sponsors. Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1223 House Bill 1223 by Representatives Woodrow and Basinecker also Senators Ball and Roberts concerning modifying certain tax expenditures and in connection therewith making an appropriation
Representative Woodrow
Thank you, Madam Speaker
and for my last motion at the well I move that the house concur in Senate amendments to House Bill 1223 please proceed so colleagues the Senate made some amendments. They added new tax relief provisions targeted to support, surprise, surprise, the restaurant industry. Admitted the challenges they face, such as rising costs for food and to smooth the transition from the repeal of the vendor fee. The provisions are paid out of the new revenue created from the downloadable software repeal, and they reduce the size of the EFAC, mostly just for years 27 and tax year 28. the more expensive offset is the sales tax retention measures. It expires after two years, and the EAC will be increased to measure it with that amount.
Mr. Speaker, Pro Tem. Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you.
There were also some technical changes that were made at the request of the Department of Revenue to support making this more administrable. There was some technical changes made to the Housing Development Grant Fund sales tax diversion to reflect the impact of the sales tax revenue from those additional measures and to preserve the prior law. And then there were some changes made in relation to the negotiable license agreements, definitions there that worked for folks in the chamber. And so we respectfully ask for your yes vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1223.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Story and Valdez. please close the machine
with 39 I 26 no and zero excuse the motion to concur is adopted Madam Majority Leader
Madam Speaker I move for the repassage of House Bill 1223 as amended
the motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1223 as amended
Mr. Schiebel please open the machine and members proceed to vote Representative Bottoms how do you vote
no
representative Bottoms votes no
please close the machine With 36I, 29 no and zero excused House Bill 1223 as amended is repassed
Co-sponsors Please close the machine Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1236. House Bill 1236 by Representative Zocay and Mabry, also Senators Ball and Henriksen concerning arbitration reform.
Representative Zocay.
Thank you Madam Speaker I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1236 Please proceed Thank you Madam Speaker If you give the Senate a bill they ask for some changes to go with it So you give them
some changes, but then they'll probably want some clearer language. So when they get the clearer language, it'll remind them that they'll want to have business interests look it over to make sure they're happy. But when they ask the business interests, they'll ask for less damages and more time. So they'll give the business interests less damages and more time. And they'll get so excited that they got exactly what they wanted that apparently they'll text all of you and ask you to kill the bill. But threats to kill the bill will remind the Senate that they really do need arbitration reform. And so they'll ask you for a bill. And chances are, if the Senate asks you for a bill, they'll want some changes to go with it. Representative Mabry. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Okay, members, in the Senate, and I have to thank our co-prime, Senator Ball, who did a lot of work to get this through. We gutted the section on excessive fees, so now that it'll just reflect common law. We've confirmed with major arbitrators that they're already in compliance with this section. We watered down the section that penalizes parties who refuse to pay their arbitration award. We called out specifically that the time is told if an appeal is filed. We also heard concerns that Section 3, which covered bias, would have resulted in lawsuits challenging arbitrators' rulings. We removed that part of the section to focus only on arbitrators who refuse to hear certain claims or who have different rules depending on who brings the case. All in all, members, this is a small and modest bill. If you want to learn more about this issue, I highly encourage that you watch last week tonight's segment on forced arbitration and the impact that it has on workers and consumers. But the reality is we're limited in our ability to do what needs to be done in this space because of federal law. This is a modest bill, and I hope you will support our reforms on how this process plays out in Colorado. And a yes on our amendments. Representative Zocay. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just because we are going to be voting on the bill as well, I want to say that I could talk a lot about arbitration and the ways it can be manipulative and be a bad thing for consumers and workers, but Chair Mabry asked me to keep it short,
so I'm going to do that because I'm very passionate about this topic, so please come talk to me if you want to know more. This bill does not do anything to prohibit somebody's ability to go to arbitration. It is saying that when arbitration is compelled, we want to make sure people can actually go. And so it is about the fees that are put on consumers when they go to arbitration, as well as making sure that they have an arbitrator who is willing to hear their claim. And it was significantly pared back in the Senate, but we're willing to accept those changes. So we ask for you to join us on concurring as well as voting yes on the bill.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments on House Bill 1236.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Bacon Bacon
Please close the machine.
With 44 I, 21 no, zero excuse, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1236 as amended.
Mr. Speaker Pro Tem.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'll keep my remarks brief. I'm just aware, and I'm aware because other people apparently have gotten communications, but those were not sent to me. Some of you might know that I was on the construction defect bill last year. I championed that legislation with then-Representative Byrd, and I've heard that phrase be thrown around in conversation with this bill. Let me say that it's interesting that if there are concerns, they have not come to the sponsor of that bill. And if there are concerns about this bill and construction defect reform, I, of course, am happy to address them. But I want to commend these sponsors for their work and do not believe there is an issue to be found here. And so I appreciate their work in this space.
This is a House bill. This is day 120. The process has worked.
I would suggest members that we vote yes on this bill. Stand with your colleagues. If there are ever issues in the housing space, you know that there are colleagues in this chamber who are always willing to work on that issue. So please join me in voting yes on this bill.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1236 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Farré Goldstein-Rix Valdez.
Please close the machine.
With 33 I, 32 no, House Bill and zero excused, House Bill 1236, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1255. House Bill 1255 by Representative Story, also Senator Cutter, concerning protections for users of electronic media and in connection therewith, requiring an operator of a social media platform to ensure the social media platform provides a streamlined process to allow a law enforcement agency to contact the social media platform concerning a search warrant and requiring an operator to report to a local law enforcement agency if the operator's social media platform takes an adverse action against the user of the social media platform.
Representative Story.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move to concur with Senate amendments on House Bill 26, 1255.
Please proceed.
I have a haiku. Tightening language, working with our stakeholders to protect our rights is the reason that I asked for this concurrence We added or no we the Senate added two amendments in Senate Judiciary which then on the Senate floor those two amendments were struck and then there was an amendment added to protect reproductive health and included in the definition of the social media platform and also tightened the definition of adverse action. And I urge an aye vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1255.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 43-I-22-no, zero excused, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1255.
as amended. The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1255 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the
machine and members proceed to vote. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No. Representative Bottoms
votes no. Camacho, Carter, Duran, Garcia, Phillips, Smith, and Valdez.
Please close the machine.
With 35 I, 30 no, zero excused, House Bill 1255, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1272. House Bill 1272 by Representatives Froelich and Velasco, also Senators Cutter and Weissman, concerning protections for workers necessitated by climate change and in connection therewith, making an appropriation.
Representative Velasco
Thank you so much Madam Speaker I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1272
Representative Froelich
Thank you Madam Speaker As the Rock God's Foreigner said about the Senate you're as cold as ice willing to sacrifice you never take advice someday you'll pay the price or in the words of the immortal Buster Poindexter, ole, ole, ole, ole, ole, ole. Me mind on fire, me soul on fire, feeling hot, hot, hot, party people all around me, feeling hot, hot, hot. We ask for a yes vote.
Seeing no other references to rock bands, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1272.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
Great. No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 22 no, zero excused, the motion to concur is adopted. Co-sponsors. Oh, sorry. I'm trying to get us to the punchline sooner. Madam Majority Leader.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm here for the repassage of House Bill 1272 as amended. Thank you.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1272 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Story.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 22 no, zero excused, House Bill 1272, as amended, is repassed. now co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1309. House Bill 1309 by Representatives Frillick and Story, also Senator Wallace, concerning measures related to forms of abuse in cases regarding a separation of a relationship.
Representative Story.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1309.
Representative Froelich.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Family court is just terrifically sad, so a yes to concurrence would not be bad.
Any further discussion? Seeing none, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1309.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
No. Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Please close the machine.
With 44 I, 21 no, zero excuse, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1309 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1309 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms how do you vote No Representative Bottoms votes no Madam Majority Leader. Soper.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 22 no, 0 excused, House Bill 1309, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1325. House Bill 1325 by Representatives Caldwell and Frey, also Senators Ball and Pelton R, concerning natural medicine.
Minority Leader Caldwell.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 26-1325.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, so I know we always like to joke and talk about the infinite wisdom of the Senate with their amendments. A big part of these amendments that the Senate put on, I was supposed to put on on second reading, and I missed it on the committee report. So, yeah, I certainly agree with them. There were three amendments. One of them clarifies Ibogaine can be used in properly regulated administration sessions. One of them tightens the natural medicine market by defining administration sessions to include on-site purchases. And the third one's a cleanup.
Representative Furay.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So there's any right to be absent when we were on seconds for this bill, so I move to concur as well. And I have a poem. Who would have thought our vets could be healed by a tree bark? Our simple trip down memory lane can be healing on Ibogaine. Please vote yes.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1325.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Representative Bradfield.
Please close the machine.
With 59 ayes, 6 no, 0 excused, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1325 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1325 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
56I 9 no zero excused House Bill 1325 as amended is repassed Co
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1418. House Bill 1418 by Representatives Okayan Camacho, also Senators Ma Blaine Roberts, concerning the provision of services to young people and in connection therewith, requiring certain social media platforms that provide online gaming services, products, and features to young people to impose a fee on each add-on transaction and remit the fee to the Youth Mental Health Services Access Enterprise, which enterprise is created in the bill, and to the Youth Programming and Protections Enterprise, which Enterprise has also created in the bill to be used to fund programs that provide services to young people in making an appropriation.
Representative Zokai.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1418.
Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I'm learning that a lot of y'all don't know children's stories. So the last one was if you give a mouse a cookie, this is the very hungry caterpillar. If you don't know that, I'm really judging you. In the light of the moon was a general assembly. One session morning, the sun came up and pop! Out of the statehouse came a bill to support kids' mental health. On Monday, the Senate made some changes, but they were still not happy. On Tuesday, the tech industry requested some tighter language, but they were still not happy. On Wednesday, they added an enterprise, but they were still not happy. On Thursday, they reduced the fiscal note, but they were still not happy. On Friday, they addressed constitutional concerns, changed definitions further, established the nexus, added some ledge deck, and clarified the enterprise's authority. That night, they had a headache. And then it was Monday again. The Senate stopped making changes, and after that, we all felt a lot better. Now the Senate wasn't unhappy anymore. and it wasn't a little bill anymore. It was a big, fat bill. And it came back over to the House and it was a beautiful bill that will save crucial programs. So please vote yes.
Representative Camacho.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is an honor to serve with you. It is an honor to serve with you. And in your honor, while we will judge you if you do not know the hungry caterpillar, we will do it, assuming the best of intentions. So with that, in the Senate, as my co-prime had mentioned, they introduced an amendment to make sure that there's no fiscal cost, and then also to clarify a technical amendment for internet service providers so they were not also included in the bill. So for that, we ask for a yes vote.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1418.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Ricks.
Please close the machine.
With 42 aye, 22 no, and one excuse, the motion to concur is adopted.
Madam Majority Leader Madam Speaker I move for the repassage of House Bill 1418 as amended The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1418 as amended
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 38 I, 26 no, one excused. House Bill 1418, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1424. House Bill 1424 by Representatives Wilford and Froehlich, also Senators Cutter and Wallace, concerning measures to increase protections for persons engaged with transportation network companies.
Representative Froehlich.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1424.
Please proceed.
Representative Froelich. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Well, this happens when you have four bills on Senate and DA in the Senate. Anyway, so nothing funny about the rideshare stats. Calling in a ride is a gamble like playing craps. But if you're good at your job like Wilford, You keep talking and accepting changes to reach Wilford, to reach an accord. So we did that, and the Senate did what's best. We asked for concurrence and give us a yes.
Representative Wilford.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and my co-prime for putting together a poem. I appreciate that. The Senate merely made technical changes. is we took a piece out of the bill over here in this chamber. There was still a piece of the bill when it went over to the Senate that needed to be removed. Otherwise, there was just clarifying language that was added. So the bill that we passed in here remains the bill that will be sent to the governor's office. And I do want to just take a moment and say thank you. it's obviously been a really difficult experience for me. Getting to this point has just been incredibly emotional. I never thought I would work on rideshare safety or rideshare issues at all. And I never thought that I would run legislation that would be so personal. After last session and the bill being vetoed, I fell into a really deep depression. And I even considered not returning to this chamber this year because it's exhausting as a survivor to tell your story over and over again and be so vulnerable in a public position and try and figure out how to heal in a world that doesn't exact any justice for sex assault survivors. It's become such a norm that we hear about another sex assault and it's just another day. there's likely not going to be justice for me. There likely won't be justice for the Thessalonians. Thousands of women who were drugged and raped by their husbands after attending rape college. And I also think about the Epstein survivors and everything that they're put through every day.
To the bill, Representative Wilford.
But this bill is a bright spot, and when the governor signs it, we will, in Colorado, have the strongest safety regulations on the book in the nation. and I think that's something that we can all be proud of. But make no mistake, the transportation network companies want you to believe that they're just an app and they don't have responsibility for the things that happen on their watch, but they do. They promise safety and they control every facet of the app, and so they should be held liable and they should be on the hook when things go wrong. Please vote yes. Thank you.
The motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1424.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Representative Valdez is excused.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 21 no. When excused, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1424 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1424 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no. Phillips.
Please close the machine.
With 43 I, 21 no, when excused, House Bill 1424, as amended, is repassed. Co-sponsors.
Please close the machine. Mr. Schiebel, please read the title to House Bill 1426. House Bill 1426 by Representatives Camacho and Zocay, also Senator Roberts, concerning the 2026 legislative report submitted by the Department of Law to the Joint Judiciary Committee of the General Assembly, in connection therewith, implementing recommendations contained in the report.
Representative Zocay.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And let me also for the last time say it been an honor and a joy to serve with you It is an honor and a joy to serve with you Madam Speaker I move that the House concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1426
Please proceed.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. And hopefully you all know pout pout fish, but we'll find out. Deep in the water, where the reps hang out, lives a glum, gloomy swimmer with an ever-present pout. I'm a gov gov fish with a gov gov face and I ask for amendments all over the place and I say no, no, no along came a senator, quite a clever polished sight he is wordy, he is wonky, he made the language right hey there gov gov fish, you kaleidoscope of nope how about a little yes, a little joy, a little hope He put an amendment on the bill, and then he swam away. GovGovfish was most astounded. GovGovfish is just aghast. He is stone-faced like a statue. Then he blinks and speaks at last. My reps, says GovGovfish. I should have known it all along. I thought that I should veto, but it turns out I was wrong. Because I'm a GovGovfish with a GovGovface, which should be for passing policy all over the place. So I'll say, fine, fine, fine.
Representative Camacho.
Madam Speaker, it is still an honor to serve with you, even if this is the last time. It is still an honor to serve with you, even if this is the last time. Colleagues, as my co-prime head artfully explained, in the Senate one of the most contentious parts of the bill was in Section 1 so Section 1 was slightly narrowed so the Attorney General's office can go into executive session with JBC for active litigation only not potential litigation so we ask that you not be a pout pout fish and vote yes for the amendments and the bill. Thank you.
Seeing no further discussion the motion before us is to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 1426.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 48 ayes, 17 no, 0 excused, the motion to concur is adopted. Madam Majority Leader.
Madam Speaker, I move for the repassage of House Bill 1426 as amended.
The motion before us is the repassage of House Bill 1426 as amended.
Mr. Schiebel, please open the machine and members proceed to vote.
Representative Bottoms, how do you vote?
No.
Representative Bottoms votes no.
Please close the machine.
With 46I, 19, no, zero excused. House Bill 1426 as amended is repassed Co
Please close the machine.
Members, we are in a holding pattern, and I'm sure you could all use a break. Please stay close, pay attention. We are waiting for the Senate to finish their work so that we can wrap up. We will stand in a brief recess. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you. Thank you.
The House will come back to order. Pursuant to a request from... Oh, sorry, I didn't reverse order. Message from the Senate.
Madam Speaker, the Senate voted to...
Message from the Senate will be printed in the journal. Message from the revisor. We hear with Transmissor. from the reviser will be printed in the journal. Pursuant to a request from the Senate, the following members are appointed as House conferees to the first conference committee on Senate Bill 193 Representative Brown as chair Sirota and Taggart Representative Brown Thank you Madam Speaker The Conference Committee on Senate Bill 193 will meet at 5 p in Senate Room 354
Yeah, see you there.
Thank you. The House will stand in recess.
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