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‘Kill committees’ aren’t expected to be their usual graveyards under new Democratic majority in Colorado Legislature

The gold-covered dome on the State Capitol shines in the late afternoon sun in downtown Denver.

With Colorado Democrats in solid control of the House and the Senate, it’s on party leaders to manage all of the different bills coming through their chambers – both from Republicans and their own members.

Unlike Congress, where a bill can be introduced and then languish without a hearing, every piece of legislation at the Colorado statehouse requires a public hearing and at least one recorded vote.

Freshman Democratic Sen Julie Gonzales of Denver argues that is the deeper issue with “dysfunctionality in Washington, D.C.” versus Colorado’s government.

Before she was elected, Gonzales advocated for immigration and social justice policies and remembers what it feels like to be on the losing end of legislative battles. Still, she said hearings can help elevate issues even when a bill is sure to fail. She plans to introduce rent control this session and acknowledges that she doesn’t even have enough support from her own party.

Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio.