Gunnison County Republicans

This past Wednesday, the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling “deal” passed… thanks largely to Democrats coming in at the last moment to defeat conservatives.

In fact, more Democrats voted for the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling fiasco than Republicans, and that should tell you all you need to know.

Our own Congressman Ken Buck characterized it best by saying on Newsmax, “Speaker McCarthy couldn’t even get this bill on the floor, he couldn’t pass a procedural rule, without Democrat support […] this is a disgrace and the American people understand when you increase our national debt by 4 trillion dollars you are doing the Democrats’ bidding.”

The Colorado Republican Party thanks Congressman Ken Buck and Congresswoman Lauren Boebert for forcefully and publicly opposing this debt scheme that the Washington establishment and special interest insiders forced on us.

Below is a good graphic on why this so-called “deal” was bad for Colorado and the American people. Pay close attention to the highlights listed in the right column that shows the 4 trillion dollar increase Democrats got out of the deal.

Congresswoman Boebert said it best, “No sensible conservative can vote for this.”

We couldn’t agree more and, again, this is not why the American people elected Republicans into the majority, and it’s another reason why hard-working taxpayers lose faith in the leaders of our party. 

Republican leaders must keep their word to rein in out-of-control spending and stop increases in big-government… but unfortunately not every Republican will.

Our national debt has increased exponentially and we need Republicans in Congress who will actually fight back against this crisis and stop the madness instead of paying lip service.

Colorado Republicans thank every lawmaker who opposed this disastrous Biden-McCarthy debt scheme. Below is a list of House Republicans who opposed this bad deal along with Colorado’s own Buck and Boebert. Please be sure to send them a note of appreciation. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023 AT 12 PM – 1:30 PM

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_2UecMZu3TeajOoVpXKHaKQ

Passcode: 166110

Legislative Session Recap

Rachel Beck, Executive Director, Colorado Competitive Council (C3)

Perspective from Your Legislators

Invited Participants:

• Representative Marc Catlin, House District 58

• Representative Meghan Lukens, House District 26

• Representative Julie McCluskie, House District 13

• Senator Dylan Roberts, Senate District 8

• Representative Elizabeth Velasco, House District 57

• Senator Perry Will, Senate District 5

Moderated Q&A

(Colorado State Capitol, May 7th, 2023) – Today, the Colorado House of Representatives passed the just-introduced legislation House Bill 1311, Identical Temporary TABOR Refund.  Conditional upon approval of the ballot measure referred to voters in Senate Bill 23-303, this bill directs that rather than TABOR refunds be returned based on how much a taxpayer contributes, TABOR refunds would instead be redistributed ‘equitably’ to tax filers. 

House Bill 1311 was introduced just yesterday, less than 72 hours left in session, without any input or prior knowledge to the Minority Caucus.  The bill was then rushed through the Appropriations Committee with no scheduled public testimony, aside from a liberal think-tank lobbyist who apparently had prior knowledge and was ready to testify with details of the legislation. The bill was then rushed back to the House floor and debate was limited by the House majority to only 1 hour through Rule 14.  This morning, HB1311 passed along party lines.

In response to the passing of this new TABOR redistribution bill, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington) issued the following statement:

“If the Governor truly believed in his Property Tax scheme, he and the Democrats in the legislature should want it fully heard by Coloradans; not rushed at 8 o’clock on Saturday night or voted on quickly while they attend church on a Sunday morning,” said Leader Lynch. “In less than 24 hours, House Democrats introduced House Bill 1311 with a $2.4 Billion fiscal note that would change how Colorado TABOR refunds are distributed – equitably – regardless of your contribution.  This massive change to make TABOR refunds ‘equitable’ was posted online, heard in appropriations committee, had limited public comment, and was voted on in less than a day from introduction.”

“We’ve seen this movie before; Governor Polis and his friends in the Democrat controlled legislature have looked to raid TABOR to solve economic problems they’ve usually created,” said Leader Lynch.  “In 2019, the Governor and Democratic lawmakers ran Proposition CC that would have allowed the state to keep citizens’ TABOR refunds for schools and it was rejected by 7% points. Hopefully, Coloradans will see through this new effort to extort their constitutionally guaranteed TABOR refunds and exponentially raise their taxes by nearly $400 Billion over the next three decades.”

Rep. Holtorf calls for a Special Session:

https://mcusercontent.com/16c33ce7175352716c095ac48/_compresseds/df2da772-32a9-f3ea-1e70-dbb0a6b0e28f.jpeg

Rep. Bockenfeld goes after the General Assembly and Governor for causing this crisis!:

https://mcusercontent.com/16c33ce7175352716c095ac48/_compresseds/63358e15-afe7-ecfd-961e-b7b732003a14.jpeg

Assistant Minority Leader Pugliese on Democrats’ coming for your TABOR refund:

https://mcusercontent.com/16c33ce7175352716c095ac48/_compresseds/87d0709c-d8b8-7c01-b4f9-302d154a3ce9.jpeg

(Colorado StateCapitol, May 6th, 2023) –  Today, Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington) issued the following statement in response to the House Judiciary Committee Democrats voting to reject SB23-109 “Criminal Penalty Controlled Substance Supplier.” This bill would have made it a level 1 felony to sell drugs to someone that results in death.

“What world do we live in where legislators come to the defense of criminals over the concerns of victims? In the dark of night and in the last hours of the legislative session, eight House Democrats rallied to support the drug trade in our state by giving a pass to drug dealers who prey upon people’s addictions,” stated Leader Lynch. “We have an epidemic of death from illicit drug use in Colorado, and this bill would have given justice to those families that have endured the loss of a loved one at the hands of drug dealers who sell poison to vulnerable Coloradans.

We have a duty as legislators to pass strong laws that protect the vulnerable and punish those that prey on the weak. But unfortunately, SB109 and the citizens of Colorado did not receive the fair and just hearing they deserved in the the House Judiciary Committee. Sadly, it’s become a familiar pattern in the Democrat-controlled legislature to ignore the suffering of crime victims, only to make excuses for criminals who wreak havoc on our communities. We will never reduce crime and restore justice until we hold criminals accountable for their crimes and lawmakers accountable for their indifference.”

(Colorado StateCapitol, May 5th, 2023) –  Today, Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington) and Assistant Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-Colorado Springs) issued the following statement in response to SB23-213, “Land Use” passing the House.

“Colorado has witnessed a ten-ton elephant being crammed through a keyhole by the Governor and overzealous Democrats.  The only correct description for what we’ve seen the last two days on the House floor is chaos.  Just yesterday, SB213 was 99 pages, but today we’re debating a 154-page bill.  There’s no way the legislature, citizens, stakeholders, or even the Governor know what’s in this bill at this point,” Leader Lynch said. “The sheer speed in which they have grown the size, scope, and cost of government on paper in just 24 hours is staggering.  The majority party limited our ability to debate to only four hours, and rather than spending time debating the merits of SB213, the entire time was spent adding over 50 pages of new regulations.
 
Homeownership is not just about having a roof over your head, it’s about achieving a sense of stability, security and pride in achieving the ultimate American dream. The Governor’s attempt to strip communities of what makes them unique by removing a neighborhood’s right to local control is not what’s best for Colorado.  We need to go back to the drawing board, create good legislation, and engage in meaningful discussion to figure out what works best for all Coloradans.”

Minority Leader Pugliese:

https://mcusercontent.com/16c33ce7175352716c095ac48/video_thumbnails_new/5f8c1ca474500e5377e3415e1a922b03.png

https://www.foxnews.com/media/colorado-teachers-union-passes-resolution-declaring-capitalism-inherently-exploits-children-public-schools

(Colorado State Capitol, May 4th, 2023) – Representatives Marc Catlin (R-Montrose) and Matt Soper (R-Delta) had two critically important bills that help Colorado brace for the impact of the reintroduction of gray wolves pass through the House of Representatives.

SB23-255 “Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund” creates the Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund in the Department of Natural Resources to compensate landowners and agricultural producers for losses from wolf depredation. In response to the bill passing, Rep. Catlin stated:

“I am happy that the state legislature stood up and kept the word of the voters to animal agriculture in Western Colorado. We agreed that we would pay for depredation, and we have proven that today by passing SB-255. It passed with a great margin that recognized that the state of Colorado needs to be prepared to replace the animals that are lost to wolf attacks at full market rate.”

SB23-256 “Management Of Gray Wolves Reintroduction,” codifies the Department of Natural Resources’s current process for restoring gray wolves to Colorado. Rep. Soper responded to SB23-256 being passed in the House of Representatives saying:

“Everyone has said they want to see this legislation in place before wolves are reintroduced; whether it’s the Ute Mountain Utes, the Southern Utes, those of us on the Western Slope, or people here on the front range. We’ve also heard from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Division of Natural Resources. This bill is the insurance policy that everyone has told us they wanted in place before reintroducing these wolves.”

These bills are crucial to Colorado’s rural communities who will be burdened by the reintroduction of gray wolves in the state. SB23-255 and SB23-256 will help mitigate the harm from wolf reintroduction in Colorado’s rural areas by making the state accountable when damages are accrued as a result of wolf depredation.

Dear Followers of the House Minority Caucus:

In these final days of the legislative session, I know there are a lot of eyes on the shenanigans going on here at the Capitol.  I wanted to take a few moments to update those of you that follow us closely and give you a few additional details and strategy. 

First, the Governor’s Land Use Bill (SB23-213) is in the House and received 65 pages of amendments last night. Democrats began with seven amendments in an attempt to put back all the unconstitutional preemptions taken out of SB213 just so it could pass the Senate initially. 

Because the House Democrats have continued to add even more onto SB213, House Democrats appear to be on a Kamikaze mission with the Senate, and the future is uncertain.  It appears the Governor has not taken a special session off the table.

And lastly, we finally got to see the governor’s long promised property tax fix, SB23-303, Reduce Property Taxes And Voter-approved Revenue Change.  Sadly, it’s even worse than we thought it might be. 

What Polis is proposing is a ballot measure that asks that you allow the state to use your TABOR refunds – that the state already owes you – to pay the government tax bill they artificially jacked up.  By the way, a tax bill to pay the government to do less at a higher cost than ever before. 

The Governor has sat on this plan with only 6 days until the end of session and says we have no PLAN B, despite Republicans bringing three viable bills to him in January that he refused to even consider.  We’ve been demanding a seat at the table for the last six months and have been denied. 

SB303 is nothing more than a tax increase, and I believe it’s possible Coloradans will vote it down come November.

 As always, thank you for your continued support and prayers.  Please feel free to send this message to your friends and family.  If they’d like to receive these messages from me and other legislative updates, click on the link HERE and we’ll add you to our emailing list.  

Minority Leader Mike Lynch discussing SB213 & SB303 with NPR reporter – YouTube