Anti-price-gouging bill watered down, changes in public records law and more from the Colorado legislature this week

Former state senator now faces investigation by Denver, Boulder district attorneys after resigning amid ethics probe

Former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis is under investigation by the Denver and Boulder district attorneys’ offices, nearly a month after legislative staff determined the Longmont Democrat had likely forged at least one letter of support in an ethics probe.

Spokespeople for both offices confirmed their involvement in the investigation Tuesday. The Denver District Attorney’s Office began investigating after “the matter was referred to us by the State Senate,” spokesman Matt Jablow said in an email. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Jablow declined to provide additional details, and the exact nature of the investigation is unclear. But Denver Democratic Sen. Julie Gonzales, who chaired an ethics committee investigating Jaquez Lewis’ behavior toward aides, said she spoke with both the Denver and Boulder district attorneys “about the materials we received from (Jaquez Lewis) as part of the Senate Ethics Committee process.”

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Colorado lawmakers advance public records law changes, while protecting their own open-meeting exemptions

The Colorado legislature moved closer Monday to changing the state’s public-records law in favor of state and local government officials, who have complained about an increasing volume of requests from the public.

The House’s State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 77 on an 8-3 party-line vote in the late afternoon. It was the first of two votes related to the state’s transparency laws Monday. The committee’s Democrats then rejected a Republican bill that, among other things, would repeal a law passed last year that exempted the legislature from parts of the state’s open-meetings law.

Both measures are part of multiyear debates at the Colorado legislature about the state’s transparency laws.

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Anti-price-gouging bill gets watered down, passes Colorado House

The Colorado House passed a bill Monday that would curtail sudden price increases — but only after limiting the measure to when the governor has issued a disaster declaration.

House Bill 1010 now advances to the Senate. Should it clear that chamber, it will move to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for passage into law.

Initially, the bill would’ve broadly prohibited companies from raising prices on a suite of necessities, like groceries, by 10% or more within a 90-day period. But after discussions with business groups and Polis’ office, the bill was trimmed down to apply only after the governor has declared a disaster in the state.

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Major gun, labor bills begin journeys through House in the Colorado legislature this week

Bills that would limit access to semiautomatic firearms and lower the barrier for establishing new unions are set for their second public hearings this week at the Colorado Capitol.