{"id":12017,"date":"2026-04-26T15:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T15:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/colorado-legislative-fellows-funded-by-outside-interests-complete-colorado\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T15:52:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T15:52:20","slug":"colorado-legislative-fellows-funded-by-outside-interests-complete-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/colorado-legislative-fellows-funded-by-outside-interests-complete-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado legislative \u2018fellows\u2019 funded by outside interests &#8211; Complete Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/completecolorado.com\" title=\"Complete Colorado\" rel=\"home\">Complete Colorado<\/a><br \/>In a recent episode of <a href=\"http:\/\/thinkfreedom.org\">Independence Institute\u2019s<\/a>* public affairs TV show, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1TzyMP7PqfU\">Devil\u2019s Advocate<\/a>, host Jon Caldara sits down with Corey Gaines from the <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradoaccountabilityproject.substack.com\/\">Colorado Accountability Project<\/a> about outside organizations funding staff to work inside the Colorado legislature.\u00a0 The two also touch on progressive press bias, and the unchecked power of of unelected regulators.<br \/>The show highlights a left-of-center nonprofit affiliated with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science funding \u201cscience fellows\u201d to work with Colorado&#8217;s legislative council staff. According to Gaines, the issue is not so much the fellows themselves, but the precedent: Colorado&#8217;s supposedly nonpartisan legislative staff should be publicly funded, not supplied by private foundations with their own values and priorities.<br \/>Gaines has <a href=\"https:\/\/completecolorado.com\/2026\/01\/21\/progressive-nonprofit-fellows-colorado-legislature\/\">previously written on the topic<\/a> for <em>Complete Colorado<\/em>.<br \/>The conversation then turns to a lack of scrutiny of progressive groups by much of Colorado&#8217;s news media, especially when sympathetic advocates make serious allegations about government abuse or public policy failures. The two argue that ideological diversity in newsrooms is lacking, and that reporters often become defensive when asked about bias.<br \/>Caldara and Gaines also look at the rise of unelected boards, commissions and fee-based enterprises. They point to agencies such as the PUC and regulatory commissions as examples of appointed bodies exercising major influence over public policy with no direct accountability to voters.<br \/>You can see the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fk-cagAMQnA\"> entire episode here<\/a>, or watch it below.<br \/><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fk-cagAMQnA?si=IygYiaCgrNWZEPXz\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>* <em>Independence Institute is publisher of Complete Colorado.<\/em><br \/>Our unofficial motto at Complete Colorado is \u201cAlways free, never fake, \u201d but annoyingly enough, our reporters, columnists and staff all want to be paid in actual US dollars rather than our preferred currency of pats on the back and a muttered kind word. Fact is that there\u2019s an entire staff working every day to bring you the most timely and relevant political news (updated twice daily) aggregated from around the state, as well as top-notch original reporting and commentary.<br \/>PLEASE SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM AND LADLE A LITTLE GRAY ON THE CREW AT COMPLETE COLORADO. You\u2019ll be giving to the Independence Institute, the not-for-profit publisher of Complete Colorado, which makes your donation tax deductible. But rest assured that your giving will go specifically to the Complete Colorado news operation. Thanks for being a Complete Colorado reader, keep coming back.<br \/>I know this will shock you, but the system is rigged.<br \/>Maybe not in the conspiracy-theory, tinfoil-hat way. In the simple, obvious, right-in-front-of-your-face way: politicians get to play by rules you don\u2019t.<br \/>And every now and then they get so brazen about it, you have to stop and admire the hustle.<br \/>We Coloradans have been painfully clear for decades: We want our Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights (<a href=\"http:\/\/taboryes.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">TABOR<\/a>). We want government spending limits. And, yes, we want our refunds when government takes too much.<br \/>How many times do we have to say no?<br \/>1998, Referendum B. No.<br \/>2011, Proposition 103. No.<br \/>2013, Amendment 66. No.<br \/>2019, Proposition CC. No.<br \/>2023, Proposition HH. No.<br \/>And none of these elections were even close.<br \/>At this point, voters aren\u2019t whispering. We\u2019re screaming: <em>live within your means.<\/em><br \/>But like shrill children demanding mommy buy them something, politicians don\u2019t stop asking. Like the kid, they know they can wear you down. Because if they get a \u201cyes\u201d just once, it\u2019s game over. TABOR refunds disappear forever.<br \/>And I mean forever.<br \/>TABOR originally said they could keep excess revenue for four years and only if we voters approved it. Then the Colorado Supreme Court later clarified \u201cfour years\u201d actually means\u2026 forever. I guess because \u201cfour\u201d and \u201cforever\u201d sound kinda the same.<br \/>Good to know words still have meaning and our political elite keep fighting to \u201cprotect democracy\u201d<br \/>Now comes <a href=\"https:\/\/completecolorado.com\/2026\/03\/26\/senate-bill-135-blank-check-forgives-colorado-overspending\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Bill 135<\/a>. And you\u2019ll never guess what it does. It ends your TABOR refunds, forever.<br \/>But don\u2019t worry. This time it\u2019s \u201cfor the kids.\u201d Cue the violins. Quite literally what you\u2019ll read on the ballot says the money will go to education. There is no mention of a penny going anywhere else.<br \/>The ballot language the legislators who want your money wrote practically tucks you in at night:<br \/>\u201cShall state investment in K-12 public education increase\u2026 increase teacher pay\u2026 improve retention\u2026 lower class sizes\u2026 increase access to career and technical courses, <em>without raising taxes<\/em>.\u201d<br \/>It\u2019s beautiful. Inspiring. Almost makes you want to cry.<br \/>It\u2019s also nonsense. Because buried in the fine print of the bill is the part they hope you never notice.<br \/>The legislature\u2019s own analysis says this lets the state keep about $1.3 billion extra starting in year one alone.<br \/>Want to guess how much goes to education? About $200 million. That\u2019s a mere 15%!<br \/>The other 85%? That\u2019s a blank check for the legislature to spend however it wants. You\u2019d never know that from the ballot language they wrote for themselves.<br \/>And here\u2019s where it gets fun.<br \/>When politicians refer something to the ballot, they get to write the ballot language you read on Election Day. That is, they get to lie through their teeth.<br \/>When we lowly citizens propose something, a group of three unelected people called the Title Board writes what voters read at the voting booth. Again, one set of rules for them, a different set for us.<br \/>So I tried an experiment. I took SB-135 and submitted it, word for word, <a href=\"https:\/\/completecolorado.com\/2026\/04\/17\/senate-bill-135-legislatures-language-fails-title-board-sniff-test\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">as a citizen\u2019s initiative<\/a>.<br \/>Here\u2019s how the Title Board translated it:<br \/>\u201cShall there be a change\u2026 allowing the state to keep and spend\u2026 and requiring the state to use a <em>portion<\/em>\u2026 for education\u2026 and allowing the state to use the rest of the money for any purpose determined by the legislature?\u201d<br \/>Same policy. Totally different honesty level.<br \/>So if you vote yes and kiss away your TABOR refunds, education will get a \u201cportion\u201d of it (15%) and the legislature will get \u201cthe rest of the money for any purpose.\u201d Their words, not mine.<br \/>One version sounds like a gift to schoolchildren. The other sounds like what it actually is \u2014 a cash grab.<br \/>And then the legislature had the nerve to call this cash grab \u201cwithout raising taxes.\u201d There\u2019s no such wording in the Title Board\u2019s language.<br \/>Which is impressive. If I take more of your money but claim I didn\u2019t, jail time is in my future. When our political elite does it, they\u2019re only encouraged to lie even more next time.<br \/>So, go ahead. Vote yes this fall if you like the idea of kissing your TABOR refunds goodbye, forever.<br \/>Just know full well it\u2019s <em>not <\/em>for the kids. It\u2019s for our lawmakers to cover their rear ends after increasing Medicaid enrollment 200% and over-spending the state into a fiscal hole.<br \/><em>Jon Caldara is president of <a href=\"http:\/\/thinkfreedom.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Independence Institute<\/a>, a free market think in Denver. <\/em><br \/>There&#8217;s a new amendment floating around that would change the Colorado constitution for one&#8217;s right to a healthy environment. But what impact would this have on the state and would it ultimately help or hurt? PowerGab Hosts Jake Fogleman and Amy Cooke discuss this and more.<br \/>Show Notes:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/id\/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:f506a6e2-4c87-40de-9be4-bb2ad73be4ac?viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Proposed Right to a Healthy Environment Amendment<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/i2i.org\/colorado-joins-the-southwest-power-pool-now-what\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Southwest Power Pool<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/i2i.org\/spp-issues-first-resource-advisory-a-week-after-colorado-utilities-join-up\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">SPP issues Resource Advisory<\/a><br \/><em>Because the grid could use a backup plan.<\/em><br \/>Yes, we\u2019re giving away a <strong>Predator Generator<\/strong>.<br \/>No, this is not a drill.<br \/>Yes, it\u2019s because reliability apparently isn\u2019t fashionable anymore.<br \/>Starting with the <strong>first show of 2026<\/strong>, drop a <strong>funny, clever, or pithy comment<\/strong> in the show\u2019s comment section.<br \/>That\u2019s it. No forms. No fine print to initial. No ESG questionnaire.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the session, we\u2019ll select our <strong>top 3\u20135 favorite comments<\/strong>.<br \/>Then <strong>you vote<\/strong> on the winner.<br \/>Democracy still works here. Mostly.<br \/>Winner announced on the last show in May 2026.<\/p>\n<p>One comment.<br \/>One generator.<br \/>Because when the grid wobbles, satire won\u2019t keep your lights on \u2014 but a Predator Generator will.<br \/>Given the media coverage, there&#8217;s no reason you&#8217;d know this, but there&#8217;s a whole bunch of Colorado that is not on the Front Range. No, really. Wade Haerle of Club 20 even says people live and work on the Western Slope even though Colorado&#8217;s government decides. Eh, we don&#8217;t believe it.<br \/>Complete Colorado is your source for the most important aggregated news from around Colorado, original reporting and commentary.<br \/>Sign up for Complete Colorado email updates.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMimwFBVV95cUxQNXZ2dUExdFpYWnMwaFZMNm43bnJ3QWZVRE53d29OZWN6UldReWU5eEhqZkRvQkluZ1lhWlowT19KR0NUWVplcDNVUC1NSkQwU0FxVDhaazNEVGhETk90WUhmUDFqUWlnRDcyNHRrLTBfVXVBWERic0ZucXhGYnRqMTJQTWdlWDByZUZpcXJjbC1oOURQby1lMmFkYw?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Complete ColoradoIn a recent episode of Independence Institute\u2019s* public affairs TV show, Devil\u2019s Advocate, host Jon Caldara sits down with Corey Gaines from the Colorado Accountability Project about outside organizations funding staff to work inside the Colorado legislature.\u00a0 The two also touch on progressive press bias, and the unchecked power of of unelected regulators.The show [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}