The 2021 Colorado Legislative Session ended on Tuesday, June 15 with over 670 bills introduced. The House started the day off with about 50 bills left on their plate, including final votes on a property tax measure and decisions regarding Senate amendments on House bills. In the Senate, which didn't start until 10 a.m., the calendar was considerably lighter.

Colorado’s 2021 legislative session will certainly go down as one of the most consequential in recent memory, as Democrats — who are in their third year in the statehouse majority — changed everything from the tax code to the criminal justice system and the state’s transportation-funding mechanism. Looking to next year, January 12, 2022, has been set as the convening date for the Second Regular Session of the 73rd Colorado General Assembly.

Since this was the Partnership's first official foray into participating in the legislative session, we wanted to provide you with a few quick takeaways on the work of the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network and the Rocky Mountain Partnership over the last six months:

During the 2021 Colorado Legislative Session, the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network identified nine bills in line with the Partnership's policy priorities for formal endorsement by the Partnership. All nine of the bills supported by the Partnership passed!

One of the goals for this year was to build out relationships with the legislative delegation in the geographic footprint of the Partnership. The Backbone Team held introductory calls with eight different state legislators, where they were onboarded to the work of the Partnership and the policy priorities established for 2021.

Plus, Senator Moreno joined the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network for their meeting in April to discuss the state budget!

The Partnership contacted each member of our legislative delegation to pursue a meeting, and is still working to schedule with those lawmakers we have not yet met with.

The Policy & Legislative Advisory Network established shared policy priorities to help guide collective work during the session. The priorities were in keeping with the Partnership's first shared global target around credential attainment. The Partnership Accountability Network formally adopted them on behalf of the Partnership early in the year.

In April, the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network hosted a Credential Attainment Town Hall to convene statewide experts and discuss why credential attainment is an essential focus to improve economic and social mobility in our region. It also provided the community with action steps to take and identified continued need for collective work in this area. Nearly 70 people logged on to watch!

In March, the Co-Champions and Chair of the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network held three Advocacy 101 trainings. They helped participants go back to the basics of the legislative process, learn how to make their voice heard, add some new advocacy tools to their toolbox, and more.

The Partnership hosted over 30 participants across the three events! Plus, attendees went home with an advocacy toolkit to move the work forward in their own spheres.

Now that the legislative session has concluded, these policy emails will happen on a bi-weekly basis. In the meantime, the Policy & Legislative Advisory Network will continue to work on regional, local, and organizational policy in order to realize the shared targets of the Partnership.

Questions, concerns, or general feedback? Reach out to Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy Kayah Swanson HERE.

Seven million people are still behind on their rent, according to the US Census Bureau. An eviction moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to expire at the end of the month. "It is a race against the clock at this point to get the money to the tenants who need it to avoid eviction," says Diane Yentel, the president of the non-profit National Low Income Housing Coalition. Yentel says the money to help renters is flowing from the Treasury Department to states and city and county governments. "There are about three hundred and seventy emergency rental assistance programs open and more are coming online every day," Yentel says. Some of those are just now starting to write checks or are mired in bureaucracy.

The White House published its first regulatory agenda, which aims to advance some of the Biden administration’s top goals, including addressing the climate crisis, promoting greater racial and social equity and helping small businesses. “The agenda includes regulatory protections to help build an economy that makes it easier for families to break into the middle class and stay in the middle class; to dismantle persistent and systemic inequities; and to adopt a clean energy future for a healthier, safer, and more just tomorrow,” Sharon Block, acting administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote. It “continues rolling back the obstacles to recovery, equity, and sustainability that the prior administration put in place."

Prices in the United States are offering a glimpse of the white-knuckle recovery that is in store for the global economy, as surging demand for everything from machined parts to restaurant meals collides with supply bottlenecks and product shortages. Despite the highest inflation since the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve is continuing the easy-money approach it adopted last year to avert a pandemic depression.

From Friday to Sunday, the leaders of seven of the world’s most advanced economies met in Cornwall, in the southwest of England. The leaders discussed shared challenges, from the pandemic and vaccines to climate change and “ensuring that people everywhere can benefit from open trade, technological change and scientific discovery,” according to the U.K. government. It’s the first in-person G-7 summit in almost two years.

Adam Burg, Senior Advisor, Legislative and Government Affairs, Adams County Government

Kayah Swanson, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy, RMP Backbone

Matthew La Crue, Managing Director, Dentons

PLAN Co-Champion

Ryan McCoy, Executive Director, Front Range Community College Foundation | President, Westminster Public Schools Board of Education

PLAN Co-Champion

We've gotta say it: This information is subject to change. In addition, some updates may be sourced from organizations that have read limits or limits on how many articles you can access in a given time period.

The information below is in line with the Rocky Mountain Partnership's formal policy priorities for 2021. Learn more and check those policies out for yourself HERE.

The Rocky Mountain Partnership is a coalition of cross-sector stakeholders who are working together to collectively improve economic and social mobility across the Adams County, Aurora and Broomfield region by:

Rocky Mountain Partnership | rmpartnership.org