Governor gives little attention to rural Colorado in annual speech, Republican lawmakers say

The Colorado General Assembly got underway for its 2022 session Wednesday, Jan. 12, and Gov. Jared Polis gave his fourth State of the State address Jan. 13.

The speech reflected the priorities the governor and Democrats in control of the Legislature are touting: affordability, education and addressing skyrocketing crime rates.

Republicans have responded by pointing out those are the same priorities they laid out last August, through a “Commitment to Colorado.” While the themes are the same, each party has a different way to get there.

“Inflation has accelerated during the pandemic,” Polis said. “Supply chains have been disrupted. Spending habits have changed. The cost of housing has spiked. Farmers and ranchers face unprecedented losses, and many Coloradans have left the workforce. Too many people are struggling to make ends meet.”

He intends to address affordability by cutting fees and taxes, including those passed by Democrats in the 2021 General Assembly, such as an increase in gas taxes. The governor also pledged to delay implementation of a paid family leave fee, approved by voters in 2020, and to reduce payroll taxes, items both contained in his 2022-23 state budget proposal.

But Republican lawmakers said rural Colorado and agriculture got scant attention from the governor during the 48-minute speech.

Polis mentioned agriculture only once, in talking about water and a controversy coming from Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, who last week announced a $500 million plan to divert water out of Colorado, claiming the state is about to violate the compact with Nebraska for South Platte River water.

“Because water is the lifeblood of our state and our critical agriculture industry, we must work together across industries, divides and state boundaries to secure a sustainable water future for all Coloradans,” Polis said. “We will continue to protect and aggressively assert Colorado’s water rights under all existing water compacts.”

State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, in a tweet during the speech, called Polis’ remarks “the most dishonest, disingenuous and arrogant speech in my 16 years in the legislature.”

He later told this reporter that Polis said things that Republicans have been saying for years, but which haven’t reflected his actions during the last three years. “We have seen him sign bills and Democrats pass bills to raise fees ... to bypass voter intent” by creating enterprises that fall below the threshold.

That’s a reference to Proposition 117, approved by voters in 2020, that requires voter approval for new state fees that would generate $100 million or more in revenue. However, Democrats, in a 2021 plan to raise $5.3 billion for transportation, created a series of three enterprises — a type of state-run business — that individually would raise less than $100 million each and hence not require voter approval.

“That’s not the way we do business,” Sonnenberg said.

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