{"id":36243,"date":"2023-01-18T09:04:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T16:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gov-polis-emphasizes-housing-need-in-address-to-colorado-lawmakers\/"},"modified":"2023-01-18T16:04:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T16:04:12","slug":"gov-polis-emphasizes-housing-need-in-address-to-colorado-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/gov-polis-emphasizes-housing-need-in-address-to-colorado-lawmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Polis emphasizes housing need in address to Colorado lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Gov.
Gov. Jared Polis leaves the House chambers after delivering the 2023 state of the state address to a joint session of the Legislature at the State Capitol on Jan. 17, 2023, in Denver. (RJ Sangosti\/The Denver Post)<\/span>RJ Sangosti<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In an optimistic speech to state lawmakers that referenced \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d Mexican eatery Casa Bonita and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday set a vision for his second term in office and challenged listeners to imagine the state\u2019s identity as it nears its 150th year of statehood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should ask ourselves who we as Coloradans want to be in our 150th year,\u201d he said. \u201cHow can our work now and over the next few years make that Colorado possible? And finally, how can Colorado\u2019s example shine a bright light for the nation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Polis begins his second term with huge legislative majorities and a Democratic bench of statewide officeholders by his side, he spoke against division and in favor of compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the consequences of divisiveness and what happens when we retreat into silos and stop having productive conversations, and that\u2019s not who we are as a state and as a people,\u201d Polis said. \u201cWith extreme partisanship grinding progress to a halt in Washington, it is more important than ever for us to lead the Colorado way.\u201d<\/p>\n

His annual State of the State address hit on the expected note of affordability \u2013 in areas like housing, health care and tax relief \u2013 and laid out priorities to tackle climate issues, workforce needs and public safety.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, a Republican from Wellington, criticized the scope of Polis\u2019s policy ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Governor Polis delivered a State of the State address that clearly showed he and the Democrats envision a bigger, more expensive state government that has greater power to control our citizens,\u201d Lynch said in a statement. \u201cOf course, larger, less effective government comes at a steep cost. Each time the governor opened his mouth today, taxpayer dollar bills spilled out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Housing is \u2018equity\u2019 policy<\/div>\n

Polis spent a significant portion of his address \u2013 which clocked in at about 1 hour, 10 minutes \u2013 on affordable housing, emphasizing how his ideal strategy fits into larger policy goals for the state, since housing colors other priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me be clear: Housing policy is climate policy,\u201d he said. \u201cHousing policy is economic policy. Housing policy is transportation policy. Housing policy is water policy. Housing policy is public health and equity policy. It impacts every part of our lives, which is why it\u2019s so critical that we get this right. We need everyone to come to the table and work toward a real solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis hinted at a housing approach that would further involve the state in issues like zoning and land use as local governments wrestle with appropriate developments for their unique situation. Speaking with reporters in the afternoon, he emphasized that the emphasis should be on individual property owners\u2019 rights more than state or local government rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to legalize more housing choices for every Coloradan and give homeowners more freedom, revitalize our cities and towns, and protect the character of our state, our open space and our wild areas,\u201d he said during his address.<\/p>\n

He called for an update of the state\u2019s land use policy \u2013 and noted that it hasn\u2019t been updated since 1974 \u2013 that would allow for more types of housing construction in a quicker timeline by eliminating government barriers, expanding private property rights and reducing regulations. He highlighted successful projects in Greeley and Summit County that use nontraditional housing types to create more units, as well as a project in Vail that will use state-owned land for 80 units of workforce housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that projects like these are the exception, not the rule,\u201d he said. \u201cThe more common scenario is that housing projects are rejected or mired in years of red tape, adding costs and time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis called on local governments to \u201cproactively partner\u201d with the state and private developers for similar projects. His budget proposal<\/a> includes funding for public land owners to build more housing.<\/p>\n

Housing development needs to happen, he said, in a way that prevents sprawl and works in concert with the state\u2019s goals for efficient transportation corridors and increased water and energy efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be a place where people live where they want to live \u2013 close to their jobs, close to their kids\u2019 schools, with efficient, low-cost transit,\u201d Polis said. \u201cWe can save Coloradans money on housing and that will help us achieve our climate and environment goals. Building smart, efficient housing statewide, especially in urban communities and job centers, won\u2019t just reduce costs, it will save energy, conserve our water, and protect the lands and wildlife that are so important to our Colorado way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affordability in education, health care<\/div>\n

Polis touted his administration\u2019s effort to provide income and property tax relief, saying that he \u201cdespises\u201d the income tax and sees a future where it is eliminated, though perhaps not by the end of his second term. After celebrating a recently-passed short-term property tax reduction, he called on lawmakers to come up with a permanent solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must also work together to pass a long-term property tax relief package that reduces residential and commercial property taxes and creates a long-term mechanism to protect homeowners from being priced out of their homes, while protecting school funding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He put his climate and energy goals in the context of affordability as well, highlighting his proposal for $120 million in clean energy tax credits for purchases like electric vehicles and criticizing costly energy sources like natural gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long-term solution is to continue pursuing low-cost, reliable, renewable energy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe simply must end our reliance on costly fossil fuels, improve energy security and save people money.\u201d<\/p>\n

On education, Polis used his time to note Tuesday was the first day families could sign their child up for free preschool under the state\u2019s upcoming universal preschool program<\/a> that will be implemented this fall. He called on the Legislature to refer a ballot measure that would allow the state to use excess Proposition EE funds<\/a> \u2013 the 2020 tobacco and e-cigarette tax increase \u2013 for preschool.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Polis wants to expand a program to make it free for students to train for careers in construction, fire fighting, law enforcement, nursing and early childhood education.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 150, I want every Coloradan to have access to the skills needed to get a good-paying job that supports them and their families, and a workforce that meets the needs of our businesses to power our mighty economic engine of growth,\u201d he said. Colorado became a state in 1876.<\/p>\n

Polis also touched on affordability in health care, pledging to build upon work to cap the price of insulin and reduce other prescription drug prices, including through a proposed program that would import lower-cost drugs from Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support for red flag law expansion<\/div>\n

Polis waited until the end of his address to speak on public safety, one of main issues that drove debate during the recent election cycle. He said he wants to see a stronger Extreme Risk Protection Order law, also known as a red flag law, that allows more types of petitioners to pursue an order to take firearms away from a potentially dangerous individual. Specifically, Polis wants district attorneys to have that power.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s red flag law<\/a>, which currently allows law enforcement and family or household members to file for an ERPO against a person deemed to be a risk, is expected to be at the center of debate this legislative session on the heels of last year\u2019s shooting in Colorado Springs at Club Q, which left five people dead<\/a>. Polis held a moment of silence for the victims and publicly thanked Richard Fierro, who tackled and helped disarm the shooter. The standing ovation for Fierro, his wife and his daughter, who were all present in the House chamber, was the longest, loudest and most bipartisan of the speech.<\/p>\n

Though lawmakers may consider other firearm policies, such as age limits, waiting periods or an assault weapons ban<\/a>, Polis only spoke about the red flag law and a crackdown on non-traceable ghost guns. He did not offer his opinion on other gun violence prevention proposals. The red flag law, he said, has been used successfully before and has further potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecifically looking at the data, we believe that the extreme risk protection order can work better,\u201d he told reporters after his morning speech. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to discuss other ideas with Republicans and Democrats about how we can improve gun safety in Colorado and protect Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Housing policy touches nearly all other priorities, governor says in annual State of the State speech<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[94,155,28,2172,453],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-36243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-state-government","tag-education","tag-headlines","tag-healthcare-policy","tag-housing-and-urban-planning"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36243","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=36243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36243"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=36243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}