February 11th 2026
New bill introduced would ban municipalities from imposing harsher sentences.
A new bill making its way through The Colorado Legislature, HB 1134, has been
introduced by sponsors of last year's HB1147, which was vetoed by Governor Jared
Polis. The vetoed bill would have prevented municipalities from imposing harsher
sentences than the state for the same crimes. The Colorado State Supreme Court ruled in
December that municipalities could not impose harsher sentences than the state. This
year's bill includes provisions from HB1147 not covered in the supreme court case,
including clarifying that municipal court defendants have the same right to counsel as
state-level defendants and requiring that all municipal court proceedings be open to the
public. HB1134, this year's bill, has been assigned to The House Judiciary Committee.
Opponents to proposed ballot measure may head to State Supreme Court.
The Colorado title board, the body that determines whether or not a ballot measure
contains a single subject, has rejected challenges to 8 versions of a push to change
Colorado's flat rate tax to a graduated income tax, thereby increasing taxes on higher
income earners. Opponents argue that the proposal wouldn't just hike taxes on higher-
income individuals, but also on certain small- and medium-sized businesses, and
addresses at least 5 different subjects in the same measure. The proposal would raise
taxes from higher-income earners to pay for K-12 education, child care and health care.
The ballot measure would seek to change both state law and the state constitution,
including a partial repeal of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or Tabor, which mandates a
statewide flat tax rate. Opponents are likely to head to The Colorado Supreme Court to
seek its opinion.
State HAE response officials conclude pathogenic avian influenza response.
State Health, Agriculture and Emergency response officials have concluded their
coordinated response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza detection at a commercial
egg layer operation in Weld County. Official response to the incident wrapped up this
past weekend after disposal activities concluded and no human cases of avian influenza
were identified. As part of precautionary monitoring, The Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment tested four workers who reported mild symptoms. All
test results were negative for Avian flu. There have been no confirmed human cases of
Avian Flu in Colorado since 2024. For more information about avian flu, go to cdphe’s
website at cdphe.colorado.gov.
Huerfano County Democratic Party announces 2026 County caucus and assembly.
The Huerfano County Democratic Party is inviting County Democrats to take part in its
2026 county caucus and assembly, where community members will help shape the future
of the party and decide which candidates move forward to the Democratic Primary
Ballot. Democrats will meet for their county caucus and assembly on Saturday, March
7th. registration will begin at 9am at The Huerfano County Community Center. All
County Democrats are urged to attend. To participate in the caucus, voters must be
registered as Democrats by tomorrow, February 12th. To learn more, visit
huerfanodems.com or contact Larry Patrick at 719-859-2701.
CAIC and CPW highlighting international snowmobile week.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center and Colorado Parks and Wildlife are
highlighting international snowmobile ride day on Saturday, February 14th, and take a
friend snowmobiling week, this week, as a reminder that sharing the sport also means
sharing the responsibility to ride safely. In Colorado, snowmobilers account for about
22% of avalanche fatalities over the past decade, while nationally, that number is closer
to 33%. Before snowmobiling, check out the avalanche forecast by going to
colorado.gov/avalanche, then plan your routes accordingly.
February 10th 2026
Colorado General Assembly's joint budget Committee puts some proposed cuts on hold.
The Colorado General Assembly's joint budget committee, following hours of testimony
from family caregivers and several advocates, have put proposed pay cuts on hold for
people who care for a family member with a disability who receives medicaid. As issue
were two proposals by the department of health care policy and financing that would
reduce medicaid spending and "caregiver burnout" - a 56-hour weekly cap on paid
caregiving hours for family caregivers and a "rate alignment" that would align their pay
with that of host home providers, which would result in a pay decrease for most family
caregivers. The Department of Health Care policy and financing has been struggling to
manage a substantial spike in medicaid spending, which accounts for about 1/3 of the
state's budget, even as Colorado faces a $1 billion budget deficit. Gov. Jared Polis'
proposal last November included a plan to fund medicaid below its projected growth.
CDNR announces only finalist for CPW Director.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced yesterday that Laura Clellan,
who is currently serving as acting director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, is the only
finalist for the job. Clellan has been Acting Director of CPW since November 25th, when
she replaced Jeff Davis, who was terminated weeks after failing to persuade Washington
State Wildlife commissioners to grant Colorado wolves for its relocation program.
Washington wildlife commissioners voted 8-1 to deny Colorado the wolves, in part
because of public worries that Colorado is "failing" the wolves in the reintroduction
program with 12 of 25 reintroduced wolves having died since late 2024. Clellan's
pending appointment has drawn praise from parts of the wildlife community that were
critical of Davis. The CPW Commission will vote on Clellan's appointment on February
23rd.
Trial underway for accused Custer County gunman.
The jury trial for Hanme Clark, 47, the man accused of gunning down three of his Custer
County neighbors and severely injuring another in November of 2023, got underway last
week in Canon City. Clark is facing three counts of first-degree murder, one count of
attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon,
and on count of attempted first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. Clark was arrested
on November 21st of 2023 in New Mexico, the day after he allegedly murdered Robert
Geers, 63, and his wife, Beth Wade Geers, 73, and James Daulton, 58, who all died at the
scene of the shooting. The fourth victim, Patty Daulton, was treated for serious injuries.
It is believed that the trial may conclude with a possible verdict tomorrow.
CDMV announces all DMV locations to close on Friday for several days.
The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles has announced that DMV locations across
all 64 counties in Colorado will close on Friday for several days while the state performs
a major software upgrade. Driver's license online services will also be down beginning
next Tuesday. The state plans to reopen all of its services on Wednesday, February 18th.
The DMV is encouraging Coloradans to take care of any vehicle registration or driver's
license renewals online as soon as possible. Once the upgrade is complete, Coloradans
can expect a streamlined experience with more user-friendly services, including a secure
customer portal.
CDLA announces emergency rental assistance applications now open.
The Colorado Department of Local Affairs has announced that it has opened up
applications for its February round of emergency rental assistance. The program helps
Coloradans who've fallen behind on rent, and offers up to 7 months of rent, or $10,000.
Your income cannot exceed 60% of the median income. Applicants are entered into a
random selection and will then be sent an email to complete a full application on the
online portal. The window to apply closes at 5pm tomorrow. To fill out an application,
visit doh.colorado.gov/emergency-rental-assistance.