{"id":132374,"date":"2026-06-08T17:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T23:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorado-representatives-talk-healthcare-criminal-justice-and-data-centers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T18:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:08:16","slug":"southwest-colorado-representatives-talk-healthcare-criminal-justice-and-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-colorado-representatives-talk-healthcare-criminal-justice-and-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Colorado representatives talk healthcare, criminal justice and data centers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Cleave
Cleave Simpson and Katie Stewart<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Democrat Katie Stewart and Republican Cleave Simpson say they spent the majority of the 120 days that comprise Colorado\u2019s legislative session working together to bring the rural perspective to the state\u2019s metropolitan hub.<\/p>\n

\u201cCleave and I align on so many things because the district that we represent is vastly different from the Denver metro area,\u201d Stewart said during a legislative update hosted Saturday by the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County at the Cortez Public Library.<\/p>\n

In an era of stark political polarization, state Rep. Stewart and state Sen. Simpson, whose districts include most of Montezuma County, say they maintain a good working relationship, supporting each other\u2019s bills and prioritizing rural healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cEighty percent of what we do \u2013 I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s even probably greater than that \u2013 is truly bipartisan conversations and efforts,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

In the audience was Joe Theine, CEO of Southwest Health System, who works regularly with both legislators to bring rural healthcare priorities to the state Legislature.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of you represent a long history of people who have represented Southwest Colorado for both parties in both the House and the Senate \u2013 you wear that mantle well,\u201d Theine said. \u201cThe trust that you place in us to help legislate is very much appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the discussion, Stewart and Simpson talked about their joint sponsorship of a bill requiring Medicaid to reimburse emergency medical services staff for treatment on scene. Proponents say the bill, which passed and goes into effect January 2027, would keep rural EMS services afloat and save patients trips to the emergency room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at cost savings for the state of Colorado of $4 (million) to $5 million every year because an ER is the most expensive place for somebody to go,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the Senate sponsor on that,\u201d Simpson interjected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did all the work,\u201d Stewart said to chuckles from the audience.<\/p>\n

Simpson has also worked with other Democrats, specifically on criminal justice reforms.<\/p>\n

He described his own journey into the world of behavioral health, joking that as a farmer and former coal mine employee, he was surprised to be assigned to the state\u2019s committee on the Treatment of People with Behavioral Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any connection either in the behavioral health space or in the criminal justice space.\u2029So it was quite an eye opener for me,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

With the committee, Simpson worked to pass a bill for defendants deemed unable to competently stand trial, even after receiving mental health treatment. Many of those defendants \u2013 some accused of serious violent crimes \u2013 are released without being monitored, on the basis of being labeled nonrestorable and incompetent.<\/p>\n

The issue gained statewide traction after Colorado resident Solomon Galligan allegedly attempted to kidnap an elementary school-age boy after three previous charges against him were dropped due to his incompetent and nonrestorable status.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty years ago, Colorado would have just incarcerated those people \u2013 and just out of sight, out of mind. But that\u2019s a violation of people\u2019s constitutional rights,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just let them back out into the public.\u2029It\u2019s just problematic. But you can\u2019t ignore them. You\u2019ve got to create space and facilities and opportunities and treatment programs for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning next year, the new law authorizes prosecutors to seek mental health treatment or long-term care for individuals with mental or developmental disabilities who committed violent crimes or other serious offenses that pose a significant risk to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really proud to sponsor that with my Democratic colleague in the Senate, Judy Amabile from Boulder,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

\"Rep.
Rep. Katie Stewart and Sen. Cleave Simpson discussed legislative advancements in healthcare and criminal justice. Both say they agree on highlighting rural priorities on behalf of Southwest Colorado residents. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Audience members did not shy away from contentious issues when questioning the two representatives. One asked the representatives about their opinions on two initiatives to appear on the November ballot for Colorado voters concerning transgender children and students.<\/p>\n

One proposes banning transgender athletes from competing in school sports teams aligned with their gender identity while the other restricts gender affirming surgeries for minors and prohibits the use of Medicaid dollars to fund those surgeries.<\/p>\n

Stewart voiced strong opposition to both while Simpson said the initiatives would likely be cumbersome to enforce as law.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many ballot initiatives (are) a result, again, of one party controlling everything for eight years, and a group not feeling an opportunity to have a voice and be represented at the General Assembly,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cRepublicans own this. We don\u2019t always put forward thoughtful, engaged candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attendees also expressed concerns about data center water usage.<\/p>\n

Stewart said two bills died in committee over the last legislative session. One provided tax incentives for data center construction and the other leveled further taxes on data centers. She said many of her constituents that have contacted her don\u2019t want data centers built in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a conversation with a lobbyist from Google last summer and I said, \u2018Talk to me about the water usage\u2019 and he said, \u2018Well, you know, in lower elevations we can cool with air,\u2019\u201d Stewart said. \u201cAnd I was saying, \u2018Great, that just solves your problem right there. Don\u2019t build it here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Simpson agreed, saying it would be difficult for him to approve tax incentives for data centers to build in Colorado, especially considering the drought plaguing the state and the potential for rising energy bills for surrounding communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many other states offering ridiculous incentives. I don\u2019t see it in the near future that those mega data centers are going to get built,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

Closing out the discussion, Karen Sheek, chair of the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County, offered her gratitude to the legislators for their continued collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see that we can have people that can move across the aisle,\u201d Sheek said.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simpson and Katie Stewart find common ground in championing rural issues at state Capitol<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[394,1820,28,2172,6434,746,29,2293,360,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-132374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-colorado-legislature","tag-dh-trueanthem","tag-headlines","tag-healthcare-policy","tag-house-rep-katie-stewart","tag-mental-health","tag-newsletter","tag-state-sen-cleave-simpson","tag-technology-general","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132376,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132374\/revisions\/132376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132374"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=132374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}