Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said changing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights cap on government growth and spending is his preferred way of addressing how TABOR affects the funding of state programs and services.
However, he didn’t have an answer on how the cap should be changed if he’s successful in his 2026 bid to become Colorado’s next governor. Instead, Weiser, speaking last week at The Colorado Sun’s annual Colorado SunFest event, said he would seek the input of people across the state.
“That’s, to me, what honest, bottom-up leadership looks like,” the Democrat said. “I do believe to be a public servant — a servant leader — you can’t just say ‘I’ve always liked your ideas. Listen to me.’ It’s got to be, ‘Hey, what are your ideas?’ or ‘What do you think about some ideas? How do I make them better?’”
Weiser did say he thinks the part of TABOR that requires voter approval for tax increases is “totally fine — that’s accepted.”
The attorney general also didn’t offer total support for amending the Labor Peace Act to completely remove a requirement that 75% of workers at a company sign off before unions can negotiate with businesses over union security. Union security is the term for when workers are forced to pay fees for collective bargaining representation — whether or not they are members of their workplace’s union.
Senate Bill 5, which would have eliminated the requirement, was vetoed last week by Gov. Jared Polis.
“The questions about these thresholds is not necessarily, call it, a binary,” Weiser said. “There’s a range of proposals that were put forward that deserve to be figured out, and the way to do that is through an open process, through true collaboration and listening.”
He added: “I believe we’ve got to change the Labor Peace Act to address some of the antiquated requirements it has, and I believe the way to do that is with the process of having rigorous engagement, working together. That process this year came really close. The process, if it’s left to me, is one that I will bring to a conclusion to change this law. What I’m worried about right now is we’re facing a potential set of ballot orders, and no one’s going to win.”
Some other highlights:
Unlike Polis, Weiser opposes a Republican proposal to enact a federal moratorium on state artificial intelligence laws. “That’s the opposite of what it should be doing,” he said. In lieu of federal AI regulations, Weiser said states should be allowed to experiment with how to allow the technology. As for Colorado’s artificial intelligence law, which is set to take effect next year, Weiser said changes must be made. “It’s not a great situation to have a law set to go into effect that the governor, myself and the person who led it acknowledge is problematic and needs to be changed.” “Trump one versus Trump two. This is worse,” Weiser said. “This is harder. Our team is ready, and we did learn lessons in Trump one, because we brought a number of lawsuits. Not as many as we’ve already brought in Trump two.” Weiser said his office has struggled to keep up with the Trump-related workload. “I asked the legislature for three more people, which doesn’t come remotely close to demands we’re facing. We have stretched ourselves to meet this moment.”Welcome to The Unaffiliated, the politics and policy newsletter from The Colorado Sun. Each week, we take you inside the political arena to deliver news and insights on Colorado politics. Keep reading for even more exclusive news.
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WEISER ON MICHAEL BENNET
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, left, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser during the kickoff event of Human Rights Campaign and One Colorado to mobilize voters in September 2022 in Edgewater. The event included remarks from HRC-endorsed candidates, local nonprofit leaders and activists supporting pro-equality, pro-choice and pro-democracy. (Kim Cook/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign)We asked Weiser about his primary race against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
“I’ve known Mike Bennet for a long time. He’s a great public servant. I am so happy he’s in the Senate,” Weiser said to laughs. “Colorado can have a great outcome in this election. Michael Bennet for Senate. Phil Weiser for governor.”
Weiser took a swing at Bennet for supporting some of Trump’s cabinet nominees.
“He’s had a different approach to the Trump administration than I have,” Weiser said. “He’s supported a number of the cabinet picks, thinking it would give him a relationship that would help get things done for Colorado. I’ve ended up suing a number of those picks that he has supported, because I see no other choice when someone is breaking the law and harming Colorado.”
Weiser said he’s not worried that starting with lower name recognition than Bennet could hurt his chances in the primary. And he said he’s not interested in being appointed to the U.S. Senate should Bennet win the gubernatorial race.
“There are people in Congress right now with federal experience who’d be better picks for the Senate,” he said.
Colorado is part of 20 lawsuits (and counting) against Trump. Here’s what AG Phil Weiser says is behind the strategy.— The Denver Post ?FEDERICO PEÑA ENDORSES WEISER
Federico Peña endorsed Weiser this week, calling him “the right person at the right time.”
WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is barnstorming across the Front Range over the next week. He’s holding town halls on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Pueblo, Centennial and Denver. The legislature’s Capital Development Committee meets at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Capitol. The Capitol Building Advisory Committee meets at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Capitol.THE NARRATIVE
Why today’s housing challenges could be worse than the Great Recession
Colorado Deputy Attorney General Nathan Blake, left, speaks at Colorado SunFest 2025 about the challenges facing renters as Zach Neumann, co-founder of the Colorado Economic Defense Project, listens May 16 at the University of Denver. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)At the height of the Great Recession, a foreclosure hotline run by a local housing nonprofit was fielding 3,500 phone calls a month from Coloradans at risk of losing their homes.
The needs of renters today dwarf that, according to Pat Noonan, who runs the revamped Colorado Housing Connects hotline. The service, now focused primarily on renters, fields 5,000 to 7,000 calls a month, he told The Colorado Sun.
“In a lot of ways we feel like this climate is much more challenging than the Great Recession, because of just how tough it is for that low-income household to make ends meet,” Noonan said.
Noonan, who works at the nonprofit housing provider Brothers Redevelopment Inc., was one of three speakers on our Colorado SunFest panel about the challenges renters face in today’s market.
Though prices have recently leveled off, rent has been rising faster than wages for years in Colorado, culminating in a record 16,000 eviction filings last year in Denver alone.
And rent is only one part of the story. Zach Neumann, co-founder of the Colorado Economic Defense Project, recently worked with the Urban Institute, a research group based in Washington, D.C., to study the growing prevalence of fees in rental housing. Their review of tenant ledgers found that fees charged by three of Colorado’s largest landlords added 10% to 30% beyond the listed rent to what tenants owed each month.
“When you’re hearing a number reported for what people are paying each month — that $1,800 or $1,850 for a one-bedroom — it’s actually 20% higher than that,” Neumann said during the panel discussion. “But those junk fees don’t get reported on any of the market platforms.”
Some fees have long been a part of leases — think water, sewer and electricity. But many have only popped up within the past decade — and they’re often opaque to the people who have to pay them.
“It’s like common area maintenance, bridge risk liability, receipt fee, things that don’t really make any sense and don’t appear to be tied to anything,” Neumann said. “And folks get these ledgers and they’re like, ‘what are these fees even about?’ ”
COSTS “ON BOTH SIDES”
So-called “junk fees” — mandatory charges that aren’t disclosed upfront to consumers in the advertised price — have been a focus for state policymakers in recent years. The legislature this year passed into law House Bill 1090, which requires landlords to prominently advertise the total price of renting — including fees — and banned certain charges outright.
Fees have also been a focus for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which reached a settlement with Four Star Realty over tenant charges last year, and is currently working with the Federal Trade Commission in a lawsuit against another landlord, Greystar, over its fee practices.
Nathan Blake, a deputy attorney general who oversees the office’s housing protection work, said he believes undisclosed and deceptive fees were illegal trade practices already — but legislation like House Bill 1090 will make it clearer to businesses what they can and can’t do.
“One thing that industry likes to say is ‘we need more clarity about what’s expected,’” Blake said at Colorado SunFest. “We’re hopeful that that sweeps across this industry and makes a fairer playing field, because there are plenty of landlords that have good practices, right? But it makes it hard for them to compete in this market when, when there are other landlords that right out of the gate, kind of undermine the cost that they’re advertising, and then patch on all these junk fees on the back end.”
Noonan, whose nonprofit also manages property as a landlord, noted that it’s not just renters facing higher costs. Insurance costs for apartments are going up 20% to 40% a year, he said. Throw in high interest rates and the “whiplash” around tariffs, he said, and it has become harder and harder to develop new housing and maintain the housing that already exists.
Sometimes, he said, well-meaning efforts to help renters can drive up costs for landlords and make it that much harder to keep rent affordable for tenants. One such bill passed in 2023 required eviction mediation between landlords and tenants who receive public assistance — work that Noonan does through Colorado Housing Connects.
“We see it on both sides, trying to bring landlords and tenants to the table to avoid eviction. Great value,” he said, “but it is an additional cost to a landlord. And I think there have been a number of different policy changes that, for better or worse, increase cost to the landlords and give them one more dynamic to consider as they’re trying to make their housing pencil out.”
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar leaves a news conference Oct. 29 at the new embassy still under construction, in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)KEN SALAZAR REJOINS WILMER HALE
Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who most recently served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, is rejoining the law firm Wilmer Hale in Denver as senior counsel.
Salazar’s decision would appear to make it increasingly unlikely that he runs for governor in 2026. However, a spokesman told The Unaffiliated said all options remain on the table.
Salazar started Wilmer Hale’s Denver office in 2014 as its first partner.
COURTS
Former state Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, has been appointed by Gov. Jared Polis to serve on the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline.
Following the passage of Amendment H in November, the panel now serves as the independent investigative and prosecutorial body for judicial discipline matters, with adjudication handled separately by a newly established adjudicative board.
Gardner’s term takes effect July 1 and expires June 30, 2029. Gardner, an attorney, worked on judicial discipline issues in the legislature before he was term-limited out of the Capitol at the beginning of this year.
MICHAEL BENNET
Ben Waldon, who helped lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2020 cycle and most recently managed Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid last year in Florida, has been named Michael Bennet’s gubernatorial campaign manager.
Samantha Padavic, who previously raised funds for U.S. Sens. Jon Tester, Raphael Warnock and Ed Markey, has been named Bennet’s finance director.
Craig Hughes, a longtime Democratic strategist and Bennet ally, will serve as senior adviser to Bennet’s campaign. The campaign has hired MPWR Media Strategies, Global Strategy Group and Mission Control as consultants.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
The Colorado Democratic Party raised $82,000 in April and spent about $100,000, ending the month with $367,326 in cash.
The Colorado GOP, meanwhile, didn’t file a monthly report with the Federal Election Commission after switching to a quarterly filing schedule. Alec Hanna, the party’s new executive director, said that was done at the recommendation of compliance consultants, as well as to allow for time to investigate a cash-on-hand discrepancy left over from the last administration.
Hanna said the party’s reported cash on hand is less than what’s in its bank account.
Hope Scheppelman, the party’s former vice chair, attacked new Chair Brita Horn over the filing frequency change.
“Her election and her switch in frequency means less transparency,” Scheppelman said. “She’s also likely doing this because she’s embarrassed by her own fundraising.”
READ MORE
State Rep. Shannon Bird enters Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District Colorado reverses course, will continue to cover cost of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy for state employees How Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would impact Medicaid in Colorado Douglas County commissioners didn’t violate open meeting laws, judge rules, allowing home-rule election Cryptocurrency ATMs target the “unbanked” in Colorado. So do scammers. Trial to begin over staged cross burning in front of campaign sign for Black candidate in Colorado Springs— The Associated Press Colorado lawmakers OK $67M for water programs, cut tax break for free sports bets Jared Polis vetoes Colorado labor movement’s priority bill. Union leaders say they’ll be back. Colorado’s crime lab has been in crisis. Here’s how another state fixed theirs.— KUNC via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Colorado cities sue Jared Polis, state over housing policies— CPR via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Jared Polis will withhold state grants to Colorado cities, counties that don’t comply with new housing laws— CPR via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Revise, delay or implement? The standoff over Colorado’s artificial intelligence discrimination law— CPR via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Running a food truck in Denver (and the rest of Colorado) is about to get simpler— Denverite via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance Colorado legislators tightened regulation of the herbal remedy kratom. But will Gov. Jared Polis veto the bill?— The Denver Post ? Layoffs, furloughs coming for Denver employees amid budget crisis, mayor says— The Denver Post ??=source has article meter or paywall
THIS WEEK’S PODCAST: Top Democrats at the Colorado Capitol talk about the 2025 legislative session
YOU HEARD IT HERE
“One of the comments I heard from members when the TABOR resolution was moving through the system is ‘TABOR was enshrined by the public through a vote, those are the people who should have a vote on any changes that come next.’ I really honor that and believe that we do need for it to be more than just a legislative solution.”
— House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon
McCluskie was speaking about the Democratic resolution introduced at the Capitol this year that would have directed the legislature’s lawyers to file a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The measure died on the calendar.
She made the remark last week at our post-legislative session event held at the University of Denver and cohosted with Colorado Public Radio. (Check out the link to Purplish below for more on the event. You can watch a recording of the whole thing here.)
McCluskie said while the resolution “was a really powerful conversation starter,” she said the future of TABOR is “ultimately a public decision.” She also said the TABOR debate is really just the beginning.
“I don’t think it’s the end of what folks are going to hear about TABOR,” she said, declining to share more about what’s on the table.
The governor, also speaking at the event, endorsed the idea of putting a measure on the ballot that would ask voters to increase the TABOR cap by a set amount and let the state use the money for specific purposes, like schools and health care. A measure doing just that was almost debated at the Capitol this year.
That approach would be similar to Referendum C, which the legislature placed on the ballot in 2005 and was backed by then-Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican. But good luck getting the GOP on board this time around.
“I would say it’s a nonstarter for Republicans,” state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican and member of the Joint Budget Committee, said at the post-session event.
Kirkmeyer said the difference between Referendum C and the budget situation now is that Owens built major coalitions of support for the measure in response to economic downturns. Now, Republicans see the state’s budget issues as the result of Democrats at the Capitol overspending, not TABOR.
State Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat who sits on the JBC, said she thinks there is room for bipartisan work on TABOR. Just maybe not with Republicans at the Capitol.
“There are a lot of options on the table for addressing TABOR,” she said at the event. “I think that there are a variety of things that could garner bipartisan support, maybe not under the dome, but perhaps the voting public.”
Medicaid cuts, AI, a special session: Colorado’s governor and legislative leadership weigh in— PurplishTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Democrats throw money at a problem: Countering GOP clout online— The New York Times ? The decline and fall of Elon Musk— The Atlantic ? Washington residents will need state permit to buy guns under new law— The Seattle Times ? Pressure from powerful hospital lobby prompts lawmakers to limit proposed merger crackdown— Spotlight PA?=source has article meter or paywall
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