To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners’ Office
Prepared By:
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Cody O’Brien, Management Analyst I, Commissioners’ Office
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presenter
Presenter: Ed Bowditch and Jennifer Cassell, Bowditch and Cassell Public Affairs
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Subject:
title
1:00 PM *Legislative Process and Lobbyist Update
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this meeting is to provide an overview of the county’s internal legislative review process and provide an update on the current state of the 2025 legislative session and a preview of items of interest to the County.
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Background and Discussion: As a constitutional subdivision of Colorado state government, Arapahoe County can only exercise those powers specifically expressed in statute or in the constitution. Arapahoe County contracts with Bowditch and Cassell Public Affairs for state advocacy activities. The Director of the Commissioners’ Office coordinates federal and state intergovernmental relations, in partnership with the Director of Human Services, the County Attorney, the Director of Community Resources, the Director of Public Works and Development, and the Director of Public Health (staff legislative team).
Priorities and Process
In November, the Board identified nine specific state legislative priorities ahead of the 2025 session:
• Ensure the transition of domestic violence cases from the City of Aurora to the 18th Judicial District is adequately resourced to effectively manage the increase in case load.
• Support the creation of a comprehensive, state-wide System of Care that serves children, youth, and young adults.
• Support the overhaul of the Colorado Benefits Management System to ensure benefits and resources are administered in a timely manner.
• Participate in the triennial review process to ensure retail food establishment fees are reflective of actual costs.
• Advance and refine access to funding programs that increase affordable housing and support programs for people experiencing homelessness.
• Ensure state and federal workforce funding is allocated to local workforce regions and not diverted to other workforce partners.
• Participate with local community correction programs to ensure state funding can adequately support alternative sentencing.
• Increase services and treatment placements for the highest acuity children in partnership with the General Assembly; the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health; and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
• Promote the full funding of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) which have been negatively impacted by state and federal legislation.
Each Tuesday during legislative session, the County’s legislative staff will provide updates to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and recommend positions on bills that could impact Arapahoe County as well as other topics deemed appropriate. On any given bill, the BOCC may take one of four positions stated below:
• Support (the county should support the legislation and advocate for passage)
• Monitor (the county should be neutral to the bill and/or monitor for changes)
• Oppose (the county should oppose the legislation and advocate against passage)
• Amend (the county should request amendments to the bill)
In recommending positions, staff reviews proposed legislation through the lens of operational and fiscal impacts to the County, in the context of the County’s adopted legislative issues guide and priorities (attached for reference). As a reminder, the county doesn’t generally engage on bills that are permissive for county implementation.
Staff also does not analyze or recommend positions on bills that do not have a direct impact on County’s operations. The Board - at their discretion - may decide to engage and take positions on “message bills” they deem necessary and important. Examples of message bills from previous legislative sessions include:
• SB24-053 Racial Equity Study
• HB24-1260 Prohibition Against Employee Discipline
• HB24-1057 Prohibit Algorithmic Devices Used for Rent Setting
Staff provides a weekly legislative tracking report that identifies county positions as well as those of member organizations. To ensure the success of the County’s legislative efforts, it is paramount that all commissioners maintain communication with the lobbying team on any legislative-related activities at the Capitol.
Legislative Overview
The 2025 legislative session began January 8, 2025, and will meet through May 7, 2025. Bowditch & Cassell have identified the following issues will be at the forefront of the session:
• Budget: the state is facing a budget shortfall of $670 million for FY 2025-26. The budget is limited by lower inflation rates that restrict the amount of revenue the state can retain under TABOR. In addition, the state’s Medicaid program has experienced an increase in utilization. Finally, the August 2024 special session requires the state to increase its “backfill” to K-12 education. Resolving this shortfall is the top priority for the Joint Budget Committee and will require some unpopular budget cuts.
• Expansion of Gaming: as a means of raising additional tax revenue, the legislature will consider referring a measure to the voters in November to authorize internet gaming. While other states have raised revenue through this policy, allowing internet gaming in Colorado would likely severely impact the current casino gambling in Gilpin and Teller counties.
• Land Use and Housing: last session, we saw several bills on land use and housing, many of them part of the Governor’s major legislative priorities. Three areas were prioritized: housing in transit-oriented communities, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and statewide housing assessments. It is expected that more housing bills will advance in 2025, including further discussions on construction defects, utilization of vacant church and school property (“YIGBY”), and statewide inspection standards for manufactured housing. As a new approach to collect revenue, there will be an attempt to implement a “vacancy fee” on homes that are left vacant, which will have more of an impact on rural resort communities. We will likely see more land use and housing bills as the state struggles with housing shortages and a booming market.
• K-12 Education: after years of underfunding schools, the legislature finally achieved the minimum floor funding (required by the constitutional amendment passed in the voters in 2000, Amendment 23), and eliminated the Budget Stabilization Factor for FY 2024-25. Maintaining “no BS Factor” will be the top priority for education advocates in 2025. Also, the Governor has proposed eliminating the declining enrollment provision of the School Finance Act - this would save approximately $140 million, and impact over 100 school districts currently experiencing enrollment decline. Some K-12 advocates are saying that this $140 million reduction would be akin to imposing a new BS Factor. Another priority is to implement the new school finance act passed in 2024, HB 24-1448. Finally, the legislature still must address the funding gap in Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program operation since the ballot measure in 2022 to generate revenue for the program has been inadequate.
• Judicial: we expect to see two bills that will affect local government courts - one to reduce sentencing requirements for municipal courts, which will align municipal courts with recent state measures. This bill will also require municipal courts to have the same right to counsel provisions as found in state courts. The second bill would prohibit cities from criminalizing missed court hearings. Both of these measures will erode municipal control of their courts.
• Transportation: Colorado is faced with ongoing challenges of moving travelers off the road and into transit; we are seeing pushes at the state level to prioritize bus and bike travel and protections for vulnerable road users. There are annual debates around RTD reform, and we expect these will continue in 2025. Further, with the passage of two bills last session to create a funding stream for transit projects, how will the state prioritize these projects?
• Labor: Colorado has been governed by the Labor Peace Act for many years, which requires two votes to achieve unionization. Labor advocates have announced a proposal to eliminate a required second vote in order to deduct union fees from non-union members. Supporters believe this will bring Colorado in line with many other union-friendly states. This will be a major battle with the business interests at the Capitol.
• Regulations: after a study was published by the Colorado State Chamber of Commerce citing that Colorado is the 6th most regulated state, pro-business advocates will likely push for regulation reform to eliminate those regulations that hurt the pro-business environment and job growth.
• Law Enforcement: after several years following the most sweeping law enforcement reforms the state has seen around institutional transparency and accountability, we expect to see legislation to create due process for officers and protections for whistleblowers.
• Human Services: the legislature introduces many bills every session on human services issues; however, this year may be different. After previous legislation to increase benefits and with changes at the federal level, two state and county programs in particular (CCCAP and TANF) will require additional focus.
• Vacancy Elections: as more and more legislators are appointed through vacancies, there are increasing calls to end or modify “vacancy appointments.” The resignation of two Senators in the days following their reelection brought this issue to the forefront.
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Alternatives: N/A
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: N/A
Concurrence: The staff legislative team will be in attendance to answer questions as needed.