Douglas County state senators reflect on 2023 legislative season

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Under the gold dome at the state Capitol, Colorado lawmakers take on issues ranging from health care to the safety of children to families’ ability to recover after wild res. All that and more was on the docket for this year’s legislative session, the four-month part of the year when lawmakers pass bills.

Colorado’s session began in early January and ended in early May. Here’s a look at what the state senators who represent parts of Douglas County — all of whom are Republican — worked on and what they had to say about their bills. Responses were lightly edited for clarity.

For a look at what Douglas County’s state House representatives pushed for this year, see Colorado Community Media’s previous story at tinyurl.com/DouglasHouseMembers.

Mark Baisley e most important bills he felt he supported touched on property taxes, Colorado’s manufacturing industry and home insurance in cases of disasters like wild res. Here’s what he had to say about them:

State Sen. Mark Baisley represents parts of Douglas, Je erson and several nearby counties outside the Denver metro area.

Baha’i Faith, religious persecution in Iran

HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM e local optometrist and new author Nurdel recently read excerpts from his book, “One More Mountain” in hopes of educating and the injustices that continue in Iran at the Highlands Ranch Library. e Baha’i Faith, a religion practiced globally, was founded in Iran nearly 200 years ago. In Iran, Baha’i followers continue to be marginalized, abused, imprisoned and killed as it is considered a blasphemous religion by the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to Nurdel.

Never leaving each other even when death felt near, three friends faced mother nature’s harsh elements, relied on the help of strangers and walked on foot through mountainous landscape to reach their dream of freedom.

Now, one of the three men, Dr. Mansur Nurdel, is sharing his story about eeing Iran for America.

Mixed with fond childhood memories of playing soccer with his siblings and his mother’s unconditional love are the memories of having to face religious persecution and the imminent

Nurdel takes the readers through pivotal moments in his life leading up to his escape when he was 25-years-old.

“It was not possible to just jump to the escape and all those mountains that I crossed, so I decided to really give a background so it’s possible to understand why I escaped,” said Nurdel. e rst part of Nurdel’s book focuses on how Nurdel’s came into the Baha’i Faith, his childhood and when he realized he and his family were treated di erently due to their faith. He

SEE AUTHOR, P8

State Senate Bill 23-108, on property taxes: “In November of last year, county commissioners alerted me to the imminent shock of property tax valuations. We introduced Senate Bill 108 in early January to encourage local government authorities to temporarily keep property tax rates about the same as they were in 2022.

“SB23-108 received unanimous votes in both the House and the Senate. Many taxing authorities — county commissioners, water districts, metro districts and so on — are hoping that Gov. Polis will sign this bill into law so that they can immediately take advantage of this exibility and relieve the concerns of property owners.”

State House Bill 23-1174, on homeowner’s insurance: “ is bill, signed into law mid-May, addresses the second shock that owners of homes destroyed by disasters like the Marshall re have encountered. Of course, their initial shock was that their home was lost. en (many) learned that their homeowner’s insurance fell short of replacing their house — by an average of $165,000.

Ground-level ozone is invisible and the Front Range’s biggest air quality issue. Created from pollutants like car exhaust, ozone is a leading cause of respiratory problems.

Improving our air quality takes all of us, and there are many ways to help. We encourage you to #JustSkipTwo car trips a week, mow your lawn after 5 p.m., don’t idle your car, telework a few days each week, and take the bus, bike, or walk.

Sign up for air quality alerts and learn more about the simple steps you can do to help.

SimpleStepsBetterAir.org

As car theft cases continue to skyrocket in the state, lawmakers have introduced a bill to increase penalties for o enders. Local sheri s have signed o on the bill. SHUTTERSTOCK

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