Leaders Accuse State Lawmakers of Stripping Away Power from Local Communities
Trevor Phipps
Every year, local officials brace for the Colorado legislative session to see what the Democrat-controlled lawmakers will attempt to do next.
For several consecutive years, the legislature introduced a staggering amount of 600 to 700 new bills, which it hoped would get signed into law.
And unfortunately, much of this proposed legislation has adversely impacted Teller County and other rural areas.
As a result, the Teller County Commissioners and other elected leaders, like the sheriff, have hit the trenches every spring in the state’s Capitol, arguing against bills they see unfit for the rural way of life. Sometimes, their opposing testimonies do get amendments passed, and bills get thrown out. But other times, their arguments seem to fall on deaf ears.
This year, the state legislation has already introduced over 400 bills before the legislative session reaches its halfway mark. One controversial bill, regarding decriminalized prostitution, has already been postponed indefinitely before passing through the committee stage. The other bills proposed span the gamut of topics, but the Commissioners are bracing themselves for big legislative fights.
To the dismay of local leaders, state lawmakers have continued their fight to enact stricter gun control legislation. And according to Teller County Commissioner Erik Stone, there are other bills that could strip away the control currently held by counties and local municipalities.
New Gun Control Bills
Last year, state lawmakers passed an unprecedented gun control bill that required extensive training for anyone who purchases “assault-style” weapons. This year, the legislators have continued their battle against firearm purchases and gun owners.
Currently, there are three bills working their way through the legislation that deal with stricter gun control. House Bill 26-1144 (3D Printed Firearms) aims to make it illegal to manufacture gun parts with a 3D printer, and it bans the distribution of digital files related to making firearm parts.
Senate Bill 26-043 (Dealer Regulations) would make it so that all firearm barrels had to be sold through a licensed firearm dealer, and that purchases be recorded through a state registry. Senate Bill 26-004 (Red Flag Expansion) would expand who can petition the courts for an extreme risk protection order. This proposal would further strip away someone’s ability to own firearms.
Commissioner Stone said that the new laws are just making it harder for small businesses to operate gun stores. “They are putting up barriers for people to access their right to purchase firearms,” Stone said. “It is a triple whammy what they are doing and continuing to do.”
The Fight to Retain Local Control
Stone went on to say that he sees a familiar theme with many of the new laws the legislation tries to push. “On the legislative side the biggest thing we see them trying to do is they are infringing upon local control on many projects, everything ranging from housing to renewable energy,” Stone said.
Stone specifically cited the control they have given to private companies, such as Excel Energy. According to Stone, the state has extended condemnation authority to power companies meaning that they can take over any land they want to run power lines from the wind energy farms located on the eastern part of the state.
Stone said that there was another bill introduced that would have given county governments a voice to recommend alternative solutions. But the bill failed and didn’t make its way through the committee stage.
Stone said that the state legislators are also making several decisions that negatively affect housing. “So, basically over the last 10 or 20 years the legislature has passed required building code amendments that have essentially doubled the cost of building homes in Colorado,” Stone said. “Now they wake up and say, ‘Wow, housing is too expensive and local government must be the problem.’ So, we are going to circumvent local control in order for people to be able to develop housing in place either they would not have been able to, or in attempting to do so, they would have to go through the local government.”
One bill that has been brought back to the legislature would allow churches and non-profit organizations to build housing on land they owned. If passed, they would be able to build with a “use-by-right” regardless of what local zoning regulations say.
Another bill that just got introduced would allow “lot-splitting” as a use-by-right. “So, for example in the city of Woodland Park, I live on a one-acre lot,” Stone explained. “So, if this passes and I wanted to, I could split this lot in half and build another house on it. And my neighbors, nor the city, would have any say in me doubling the density of this area and my property regardless of infrastructure availability. I would have to be allowed to do it. In that particular case, they are usurping the authority of the city council.”
Overall, Stone said that what he is seeing at the state legislature can best be described as “the war on local control.” “On so many fronts they are just removing authority or just saying ‘you no longer have authority’ on many, many issues,” Stone continued. “Whether that’s renewable energy or housing, they are literally just taking that away.”
The 2006 legislative session started in January, and it is slated to end on May 13. For the next two months, the commissioners say they plan to take a number of trips to Denver to testify against bills that they believe strips away at local control.
