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.

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

Here’s what he had to say about them:

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.

(Assuming a rebuild cost of $300 per square foot, 55% of the policies were underinsured and the average amount of underinsurance per cited by Baisley.)

“HB23-1174 requires that insurance companies o er full-replacement policies and that they communicate clearly how much each type of policy will cover in the case of a total loss.”

HB23-1260, on manufacturing incentives: “ is bill, signed into law in late May, invests $72 million dollars to meet the requirement for Colorado’s participation in the federal government’s CHIPS Act. is program, designed to bring microprocessor manufacturing out of China and back to the U.S., will bring as much as $5.5 billion in tax credits directly to private companies in Colorado. Many existing local technology companies will qualify.” lowed access across their property for outdoor enthusiasts and tourists to climb fourteeners, sh at remote river spots and camp in wilderness. Property owners relied on existing Colorado law to protect them from liability should someone get hurt while crossing their property without charge.

“However, a successful lawsuit changed everything when an injured cyclist was awarded $7 million in a lawsuit. SB23-103 would have strengthened Colorado statute to ensure that property owners who permit free access are not liable for injuries of recreators. (SB23-103 did not pass.)