Bipartisanship declines at state Capitol

BY SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN

More than 88% of the 474 bills passed during Colorado’s 2023 legislative session that became law received bipartisan support.

e bipartisan rate was somewhat lower this year than in recent years. ere were also fewer unanimous votes and more straightparty-line votes during the 2023 lawmaking term. e data comes after a session dominated by partisan and intraparty con icts stoked by Democrats’ expanded majorities in the House and Senate.

e Colorado Sun analyzed nal House and Senate oor votes on each of the 474 bills that became law to parse out the data. It’s the fourth year e Sun has examined voting patterns in the state legislature.

More than 78% of the 617 bills introduced in the Colorado General Assembly this year were passed, the second highest percentage in the past 11 years. But the number of bills introduced was the third lowest since 2013.

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis vetoed 10 of the 484 bills passed by the legislature, the highest number since he became the state’s chief executive in 2019. All 10 of those measures received Democratic and Republican “no” votes, and all but one had at least one Republican voting “yes.” Half of the vetoed bills had bipartisan sponsorship, and half were sponsored solely by Democrats.

Despite bipartisan support for all but 56 of the bills that became law this year, partisanship was more pronounced in 2023 at the Colorado Capitol than in recent memory:

11.8% of bills passed with no GOP support, which was nearly double the rates in 2019, 2021 and 2022. (In some instances, Democrats joined Republicans in voting “no.”) About 7% of the bills — 32 — passed along party lines with only Democratic support and all Republicans objecting. At least one Democrat voted “no” on 125 of the bills that became law. at happened more often in the House, where Democrats have a 46-19 supermajority, than in the Senate, where Democrats have a 2312 majority. Sixty measures passed with unanimous support, representing about 13% of the bills that became law.

While divisions among Republicans at the statehouse have been common in recent years, Democrats also exhibited dissension in 2023, typically between moder- ates and more progressive lawmakers and often in the House.

Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, a Democrat who served as House speaker from 2015 to 2016, said the Democratic discord isn’t unexpected, especially with a signi cant number of new lawmakers in the Capitol, as there were this year.

“When you do have a really strong majority there tends to be more disagreement,” she said. “ ere are so many di erences in opinion. You reach sort of a critical mass where there are just certain issues that all Democrats don’t agree on.”

Republicans and Democrats had divisions within their House caucuses this year. And that was made clear by their nal votes. e Sun de nes nal votes as third-reading votes, readoption after an opposing chamber’s amendments and readoption after a conference committee report, whichever came last. (A conference committee is where senators and representatives form an ad hoc committee to work out changes to a bill.)

Moderate Democrats sided with Republicans in voting “no” on some more liberal measures, while progressive Democrats sometimes voted against their more moderate colleagues, especially on criminal justice bills. House Democrats needed help from the GOP to get four measures passed because not enough of the 46 members of their caucus voted for the bills. ose measures were: House Bill 1135, which increased penalties for indecent exposure in certain instances when it’s committed in front of a child. Democratic House members rejected the bill, with 27 voting against the measure and 18 voting for it, but all 19 Republicans in the chamber voted for the legislation. In the Senate, the bill passed unanimously. Senate Bill 25, which created a new “In God We Trust” license plate. House Democrats voted 27-19 for the bill, while Republicans voted 17-1 for it. If it weren’t for the GOP support in the House, the legislation would have failed. e bill passed the Senate 22-7, with all the “no” votes coming from Democrats. Senate Bill 34, which modi es the de nition of “severe bodily injury” in the criminal code. Seventeen House Democrats and one in the Senate voted against the measure, while all 31 Republicans in the legislature voted for it. Without the GOP, the measure would have failed in the House. Senate Bill 110, which is aimed at improving transparency for metropoli- tan districts. House Democrats opposed the bill, with 23 voting against the measure and 22 voting for it, while the House GOP supported it 18-1. e Senate passed the measure 29-3, with only Democrats opposed. e four House Democrats who voted “no” most often were:

Rep. Elisabeth Epps, of Denver (10%) Rep. Lorena Garcia, of Adams County (8%) Rep. Javier Mabrey, of Denver (7%) Rep. Bob Marshall, of Highlands Ranch (6%) e other 42 Democrats in the House voted “yes” on 96% or more of the bills that became law. at compares with all House Democrats voting “yes” on 95% or more of the bills that became law in 2022. Epps didn’t respond to Colorado Sun requests for comment.

Garcia said she weighs how a bill will impact people before deciding how to vote.

“All the positions that I take and the issues that I work on … are really about addressing root causes, to allow anyone and everyone to be able to have a strong economic future,” Garcia said. “So the bills that I voted ‘no’ on, from my perspective, were bills that did not address root causes — that might be attempting to address an issue that’s happening in our communities, but, at the end of the day, would do nothing to deter what’s actually happening.”

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