Below you'll find the Policy and Legislative Advisory Network's (PLAN) highlights on what's happening in the world of policy that most impacts economic and social mobility within Adams County, Broomfield County, and the City of Aurora.

The Partnership's First Global Target, aka Measurement:

This work is about reduction of poverty and improving the overall well-being of individuals and industry across the region. Credential Attainment is one measurement the community can utilize to monitor progress towards economic and social mobility. Learn more HERE.

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.

This week, we're thrilled to start this update with some exciting news: two of the bills supported by Rocky Mountain Partnership have passed! HB21-1117 Local Government Authority Promote Affordable Housing Units and HB21-1222 Regulation of Family Child Care Homes have passed and are on their way to Governor Jared Polis for a signature.

The Partnership is still in support of six additional pieces of legislation moving through the statehouse. Each of the six bills is listed below. You can click on them to learn more, or view the Master Bill Tracker to see what else the Partnership is keeping an eye on.

Is there another bill you want us to track? Let us know by clicking HERE!

Amid a push to get more Coloradans– especially teens and people under 30 — inoculated, the state health agency relaxed strict rules governing the handling of COVID-19 vaccines by allowing providers to keep doses on hand for up to two weeks. Previously, providers had to administer vaccines within 72 hours or risk having their supply sent elsewhere as part of the state’s effort to not waste doses. But now that vaccine supply is more readily available as demand has fallen, state officials want to make it easier for people to get immunized by allowing pharmacies, health systems and other providers to open a vial for just one patient rather than making sure they’ve scheduled enough appointments to use it all up.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden, says that he expects COVID-19 vaccinations to open up to younger children in the coming months. He said Wednesday that children at least as young as four "would likely be able to get vaccinated by the time we reach the end of calendar year 2021 and at the latest, into the first quarter of 2022." When asked during an Axios virtual event whether he would recommend the shots for young children, he responded, "Absolutely. If I had grandchildren, I would certainly recommend they get vaccinated." Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as 12, allowing expansion to adolescents.

Deaths from COVID-19 and COVID-related causes are likely to be two to three times the number that countries have recorded in their official data, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Some six to eight million people may have now died from COVID-19 or its effects since the start of the pandemic, compared with 3.4 million deaths recorded in countries’ official reporting, Dr. Samira Asma, assistant director of the W.H.O.’s data division, told reporters. The W.H.O. also estimates that at least three million people may have died from COVID-19 in 2020, compared with 1.8 million recorded in official data, the W.H.O. reported in annual statistics.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, after more than a week of conflict left hundreds dead, most of them Palestinians. The truce signals an end to the immediate bloodshed, but will likely leave both sides further apart than ever. Israeli airstrikes killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there. At least 12 people in Israel, including two children, have been killed by Palestinian militant fire from Gaza, according to the IDF and Israel's emergency service. A senior Hamas leader told CNN that the truce, under terms brokered by Egypt, would commence at 2 AM local time on Friday.

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