Capitol Coverage News Today

Transparency advocates say even though the outcome of the secret ballot process is being made public for the first time, the bill-ranking system still runs afoul of the open meetings law and shuts the public out of a process that lawmakers use to help decide how to spend their tax dollars.

Scott Franz is a government watchdog reporter and photographer from Steamboat Springs. He spent the last seven years covering politics and government for the Steamboat Pilot & Today, a daily newspaper in northwest Colorado. His reporting in Steamboat stopped a police station from being built in a city park, saved a historic barn from being destroyed and helped a small town pastor quickly find a kidney donor. His favorite workday in Steamboat was Tuesday, when he could spend many of his morni...

Lawmakers expected the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to distribute at least $50,000 in grants to help communities curb gun deaths. But 18 months after the office was created and given a $3 million annual budget, records show it hasn’t distributed a single grant dollar.

State Rep. Tom Sullivan said Tuesday he was “saddened” to hear the office’s director is not accepting interview requests to talk about the tragedy in Colorado Springs.

Democrats who control the state legislature are increasingly using a survey they fill out in secret to help determine whether bills live or die. The results are kept from the public, raising questions about transparency and potential violations of the state’s sunshine law.

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Colorado’s trails, campgrounds and parks are getting more crowded. But surveys show the droves of visitors are overwhelmingly white and wealthy. A new initiative launching this summer hopes to change that.

Abortion rights advocates have been bracing for the ruling for months. Democrats in the state legislature passed a law this year aiming to stop cities and towns from trying to pass any restrictions themselves.

Third congressional district primary candidates are meeting tonight at 6 at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Colorado. Lucas Brady Woods sits down with the League’s president, Karen Sheek. Plus, Scott Franz reports some Colorado lawmakers say they want to pass new laws promoting abortion access if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down federal protections.

Ballots for Colorado’s upcoming primary election are being mailed out starting today. As Scott Franz reports, voters also face a deadline today to switch their party affiliation. Plus, some states will quickly restrict abortion if Roe versus Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Robyn Vincent reports the fight to preserve abortion access in our region reflects a divided nation.