Max's Minute | Blogspot

The 2026 legislative session has ended, but the questions it raised are far from over. Every session produces bills. Some pass. Some fail. Some improve the law. Some make government larger, costlier, and less accountable. But beneath the titles, fiscal notes, amendments, and floor votes, this session asked one deeper question again and again: Who does government trust? Does it trust parents, homeowners, taxpayers, small businesses, law enforcement, local communities, and voters? Or does it trust centralized power in Denver to make more decisions for them? That question shaped nearly every major debate this year. Colorado families entered this session under real pressure. Housing remains unaffordable for too many families. Public safety remains a serious concern. The cost of living keeps rising. Employers continue to face a tax and regulatory climate that makes it harder to invest, hire, and grow. The state budget is strained. Communities like Castle Rock, The Pinery, Castle Pines Villa...

Colorado voters have not yet had their say on Initiative 175. Yet HB26-1430 tries to plan around their answer before they give it. That is the core problem. HB26-1430, called the Colorado Budget Protection Act, is written to take effect only if voters approve a proposed constitutional change that would dedicate more state revenue to road transportation. If that happens, this bill automatically reduces the gasoline excise tax, special fuel excise tax, several vehicle registration fees, and the road usage fee from January 1, 2027, through July 1, 2030. It also creates a new Support Road Transportation Fund to receive revenue dedicated to road transportation and then reroutes that money through a new statutory structure. That may sound technical. It is not. It is a question of whether the legislature should respect the voters or maneuver around them. I voted no because HB26-1430 treats a possible voter-approved constitutional amendment as a problem to be managed before the public has eve...

This week at the Colorado State Capitol, Democrats advanced SB26-135 , a bill that controls how taxpayer dollars are collected, retained, and distributed within Colorado’s budget, particularly in areas tied to education funding. Alongside it, they adopted Amendment L014 , which modifies that funding structure and reshapes how it is presented to the public. You will hear this framed as support for children and families. That is not the full reality of what this policy does. Amendment L014 makes substantive changes. It adjusts how funds are allocated and how programs are defined within the broader budget. But just as important as what it changes is how it is being communicated. The amendment elevates language centered on children. That becomes the focus. That becomes the headline. That is not neutral. That is strategic. SB26-135 is a fiscal mechanism. It governs the movement of money. It creates obligations that taxpayers will carry. It affects priorities across the entire state budget. ...