Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs [Mar 10, 2026]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Committee, for hearing this House bill. So indulge me with just a brief history. I think you probably all are pretty aware of everything that's gone on in the past, but I'll start back in 2018 when the General Assembly referred two ballot measures, Y and Z, to the ballot, and that was a very bipartisan effort. Those two measures passed with 71% of the voters, created independent redistricting commission for Congress, state House, and state Senate. Pointedly, it did not include, the only partisan office that was not included in YNZ were county commissioner districts. um and so in 2020 uh then representative uh kennedy chris kennedy introduced a bill that would have brought the county commissioners under the auspices of all the regulations under y and z because of covid that didn't pass but he brought it back in 2021 put all the Y and Z requirements into county commissioner races, except one thing he omitted, intentionally left out, was he allowed county commissioners to be their own redistricting commission. And I think that was long negotiated. I think the leader at that time was my own county commissioner, Stan Vanderwerf, who amazingly became my opponent in the 2024 election. So you look at the county commissioning Y and Z and then House Bill 21-1047. It basically had all the same requirements, multiple hearings in all the different county commission districts, public involvement. They had to post things up on the website, come up with three different plans. that were put out for public review. And it had a lot of prohibitions in there for not protecting one or more incumbent members. No less than three plans will be submitted. And there was a lawsuit involving the three counties, really, that were subject to this were Adams, Arapaho, and my county of El Paso. So there was a lawsuit and the Attorney General sent an amicus brief in and said that those three counties had complied with the requirements of 1047. but what happened down in El Paso County they went through all the processes and had all the public meetings they were supposed to have published the maps and nevertheless literally at the 11th hour they were able to tweak I guess for lack of a better term the drawing of those commissioner districts so my commissioner district 3 they grabbed a few precincts from up in the monument area put that into 3 and took three other districts over in, for us, the Patty Jewett neighborhood and pushed them out east in a very heavily partisan district. So all we're trying to do with 1038 is fill the gap that was left by the passage of House Bill 211047, which would now require that commissioner districts follow all the same guidelines and requirements of YNZ. So they will be required to create an independent redistricting commission with all the same guidelines, that it be a nonpartisan, there will be members of both parties and affiliates, and they will administer the redistricting process when the next time comes that they're going to do that. and I think that really basically sums it up it's not that complicated I did have an amendment prepared here that would have clarified exactly separating the non-partisan staff from the actual redistricting commission such as if there were to be lawsuits or something involved they would only be a necessary party to those if they found something that did not comply with their statutory requirements. I will not be running that amendment today. So the bill that came over from the House, the re-engrossed version, is the one that I'll be asking you all to vote yes on today. And I think it's important to realize that this is not a partisan issue. This could affect all the counties, over 70,000 people that have county commission districts and elect people in those districts. So you may know we have many counties, such as Jefferson, that they have countywide elections for three commissioners who then represent a third of the county in their district. So that's a different bill. I don't want to get involved in that. It may have some impacts on what this bill purports to do, but who knows how that will fare through the process. In the House, they put on several amendments, seven to be exact, and all really well-stakeholded. They took amendments, requests from Arapahoe County, adding flexibility to the Board. It still allows for the removal of disruptive or unproductive members of the independent redistricting committee and allows the Board to reject district maps that fail the statutory requirements. There was some cleanup with what the Secretary of State's office does. It clarifies that the bill does not raise the priority of competitiveness in a redistricting area, still the lowest criteria. They took an amendment from the League of Women Voters that changes the legislative deck so that doesn't exclude or conflict with proportional redistricting that should the representation model be adopted in the future. They took an amendment from Weld County, makes explicit that any elector may challenge a district map in court. Another from Arapahoe County fixes the language around the competitiveness formula. They used vote share instead of margin of victory, so they changed that. also opened up the opportunity for additional competitiveness formulas to be used. Amendment 7 was just filling the bill number in self-reference. So that's where we are here today. This has been a well-stakeholded bill. It's something, frankly, I feel should have been included in the 21 bill that was passed. We're just trying to fill that gap here and saying that all elections should be fair. nonpartisan, nonbiased, and having an independent redistricting commission will ensure that that happens. I think the problem is when you allow the county commissioners to be their own redistricting commission, I think the temptation to tweak, for lack of a better term, is a little too great. And that applies to whatever party is in control I noticed that Mesa County and El Paso County are in opposition El Paso County hasn't had anyone but a Republican commissioner since 1972. Mesa County hasn't had anyone but a Republican commissioner since 1990. So unfortunately, I think the siren song of tailoring your districts to meet your political aspirations is just too great a song. this will eliminate that and make sure that all county commissioner to qualifying counties will be done in a fair and impartial manner and the redistricting will be done by a well appointed, well representative independent redistricting commission. Thank you.

Thank you. Good afternoon. Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Peggy Leach and I'm speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Colorado. The League is a non-partisan grassroots political organization working to ensure that everyone is represented in our democracy. We are in support of HB 1038 because we are in favor of independent redistricting commissions. The League has long sought to end gerrymandering by using independent commissions in the redistricting process. One example was our enthusiastic effort to bring amendments Y and Z to the voters in 2018, which passed with over 70% approval. We would like to thank the bill sponsors for introducing this bill, which clarifies and revises a few points from the 2021 bill. That bill sought to address the drawing of new county commissioner districts in certain counties and the Weld County Commissioners did not follow that law because they did not believe it applied to home rule counties. The League of Women Voters of Greeley-Weld County took them to the Colorado Supreme Court which found that the law does apply to home rule counties. Weld County has now followed the process and recently completed its redistricting. Today's bill, HB 1038, spells out that the law is intended to apply to home rural counties. Again, the League is working to ensure that everyone is represented in our democracy. Independent redistricting commissions help to end gerrymandering and provide better representation. We urge you to vote yes on HB 1038 and thank you for your consideration.

Madam Chair.

You don't know how many times that's happened. It's happened a lot to me.

Yeah, I apologize. I was expecting a witness from Mi Familia Vota. but I guess they haven't signed up and they're not in the room. Apologies.

I will let them know. Thank you.

That's correct.

Thank you. Well, let me see if I can get my... So this bill is really simple, as I said. It's just making county commission districts and the redistricting process conform to all the same requirements we have for State House, State Senate, congressional districts. It was, I think, a compromise, a concession back in 21 that hasn't really panned out, I don't think, for the benefit of the voters and the integrity of the election process. It's important, I think, to remember, too, that there's things that this bill will not do. there is no changes to when a county commissioner redistricting must or can be done it does not alter the structure of the board of county commissioners or the method by which board members are elected it raises the priority of does not raise the priority of the competitiveness factor in redistricting process and I think we're all somewhat aware of a lot that's going on at a national level with other states frankly, gerrymandering for one party or the other. I know there's an effort underway here in Colorado to follow down that same path, and that because of the Independent Redistricting Commission, the ballot measures that passed, that won't even be an option until 28, if that all comes together. So I know it's an area that should not be controversial. I think everybody should support having free and fair and competitive elections. But absent what's going to happen down the road on our own ballot and upcoming midterms and the national election, I think it's important that we take care of business here at home. And that's what this does, is make sure that we have that independent redistricting process transferred over county commission redistricting. So thank you very much for your time.

Vice Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move House Bill 26-1038 to the Committee on the Whole with a favorable recommendation. Thank you.

Senators, Linstead. Yes. Hilton R. No. Samoa Wilson No Sullivan Yes Adam Chair I that passes three to two Best of luck in the full committee

To the cow, yes, sir.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, committee.

That'd be wild. It'll improve your Liberty scorecard.

Senator Kirkmeyer. Thank you, Madam Chair. It's nice to be here and out of the JBC for a little bit of a break. So thank you. Anyways, Senate Bill 88. This is a great bill. There is no fiscal note. I just want to say that right up front. But it is funding for the memorials on state capitol grounds. Anyways, members of the Senate committee, thank you for consideration of our bill today. I decided to work on this legislation this last fall, maybe summer fall time frame, after engaging with several veterans organizations who were distressed by the poor upkeep of the veterans memorials. at Lincoln Park, which are just to the west here of our building. As I started to look into the state's role in the upkeep, I realized there was a better way to ensure that the park and monuments within the park are well taken care of to properly honor the sacrifice veterans have made for our country. The bill before you today provides a long-term strategy for addressing memorials and monuments on the Capitol grounds and Lincoln and Veterans Park without additional costs to the state by utilizing the professional historical collection expertise of staff at History Colorado. This legislation builds on Senate Bill 25287 and 241442, which place the historical collections of the Capitol and surrounding grounds into the Colorado collection that is stewarded by History Colorado. We really want to work on getting this accomplished as quickly as possible to get the upkeep and take care of these parks. and, you know, it's ours. And we haven't done a very good job at taking care of it. There is money in a fund, a trust fund, that my co-prime is going to talk about a little bit. But there was money in there that is just sitting in there and hasn't been used to maintain these. So we're going to maintain these and get these ready for the 152.50 celebration. That's the whole goal today. And again, no fiscal note.

Thank you both so much. We'll move. Oh, I'm excused. I'm so sorry. questions for our sponsors members great seeing none now we will move on to the witness phase we don't have any witnesses signed up are there folks who in the room who would like to testify yeah if you can please come up welcome if you can just state your name and who you represent you will have two minutes

That's okay. Do you want to wrap up?

Love to hear it.

We'll just do questions now. Thank you.

Mr. Prince, right? Yes, yes, yeah. Yes, we feel pretty good about our safety.

Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for coming to speak with us today. Did I hear this right? Did you say 15 million artifacts you're in charge of?

Okay. Senator Sullivan. Thanks. I'm trying to fathom what that looks like and where you keep all of that. But I guess my question, what's the oldest one? Mr. Prince.

What's your favorite piece in your collection?

Yeah, absolutely.

Mr. Prince. Yes, we have a list of things that we would like to be able to work on, actually, and we are happy to share some of this with you. You know, there are all sorts of cleaning that needs to be done. Sometimes, you know, people have thrown things on monuments or they have been stained by weather. That kind of cleaning needs to be done. There are monuments on the east side of the building that some of the things have gone missing, and we would replace those. So those are the kinds of things that we would get started on. and we would just start working on all of it all at once. You know, working with outside vendors that we trust, and, you know, some things might just take longer than others, so it might not all be done by August 1st, but that would be the goal.

Anytime.

Senator Pult. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move Amendment 001 to Senate Bill 088.

Senator Kirkmeyer. Thank you, Madam Chair. L001 simply puts a safety clause on versus a petition clause. You heard from the folks from History Colorado. I know everyone's smiling. But you heard from the folks from History Colorado. We're trying to get our parks and our monuments and our memorials in shape and looking good for the 150th celebration that starts in August. and you heard from the folks from History Colorado saying that they've got a list of projects and we just need them to get going on them right away. We just don't think there's a need for them to wait. This is something's good. The money is there. It's $155,000 that's been sitting in a trust fund over in Department of Personnel and Administration. We're moving it over to History Colorado so they can go clean the place up and spiff us all up and make us look good for the $150,000.

Senator Carson. I don't really have anything to add to our comments and the message from History Colorado. I think this makes a lot of sense. And with the 150th anniversary coming up, I think the safety clause is warranted in this case. so no fiscal note and we can get this done and keep the veterans' monuments for our citizens here in Colorado in good shape. Thank you.

Members, closing thoughts? Seeing none, I will just say I very much appreciate this bill. I think it will ensure consistent maintenance, but also the honor and respect which our veterans and the spaces recognizing them most certainly deserve. And then to do so without a fiscal note is, as we know, just a beautiful thing in this time in the Capitol. And so I look forward to supporting this legislation and truly appreciate you both for finding this unique path to help us get ready for the 150th and then stay ready moving forward. With no further comments, is there a motion?

That is a proper motion. Mr. Sayed, please call the roll.

Madam Chair. Aye. That passes unanimously. Consent calendar, are you all interested in that? Sure.

Is there any objection? Seeing none, that will be added to the consent calendar. Thank you both so much. Thank you, committee. Appreciate it. With no further business, the State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee will be adjourned.