Purplish

From speed cameras to vaccine policy to ketchup packets, which of the laws passed by the 2026 legislature will actually be affecting people’s daily lives, five or ten years from now. That’s the question that launches our session wrap up conversation. But in a year when new policies often took a backseat to painful budget realities, there were also lots of politics to keep things interesting. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: Lawmakers pass dozens of bills as 2026 session wraps up

CCNA: 101 bills that passed and failed in Colorado’s legislature this year that you need to know about

CPR News: Colorado lawmakers ask voters to consider giving up TABOR refunds to fund schools

CPR News: Polis says he will sign pared down AI bill that passed overnight

Colorado Sun: Colorado lawmakers reject bill that would have required legislative caucuses to report their donors

KUNC: Colorado legislature passes bill to allow lawsuits against ICE agents, other immigration officers 

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

Many of Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers came into this legislative session determined to push back against the Trump administration, especially on the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. They introduced proposals to ban state and local law enforcement from concealing their identity in most situations and to allow Coloradans to sue federal agents who violate their rights. But not all Democrats are on board with these ideas — worried they may harm legitimate law enforcement efforts and fail to keep the community safer. And the legislation raises big questions about the limits of state authority when it comes to how federal immigration agents behave within Colorado’s borders.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Taylor Dolven and The Denver Post’s Seth Klamann discuss the different bills, the potential legal challenges and the politics surrounding this issue, at a time when the stakes feel like they couldn’t be higher. 
Catch up on the latest coverage:

The Denver Post: Judge again blocks Gov. Jared Polis from directing state officials to comply with an ICE subpoena

The Denver Post: Federal judge criticizes ICE agents at Denver hearing for not knowing about earlier order limiting arrests

The Colorado Sun: Colorado lawmakers reject bill that would have required police to intervene when ICE agents use excessive force

The Denver Post: Thousands of immigrants in Colorado were arrested and deported during Trump’s first year

The Colorado Sun: As some Democratic governors lead on ICE pushback, Jared Polis is taking a hands-off approach

The Colorado Sun: Democratic lawmakers plan package of bills to further regulate federal immigration enforcement in Colorado

Denverite: What we saw from inside ICE’s raid at Aurora’s Edge apartments

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additionally reporting for this episode from Denverite’s Kevin Beaty.

Colorado has a part-time, citizen legislature, driven by the notion that it’s important to have people from all kinds of professional backgrounds bringing their experience to lawmaking. So for four months every year, state legislators pause their regular lives to be at the Capitol. But the flexibility to do that can be hard to come by, and some say the pay — currently around $47,000 a year — makes things even harder. Now, an approach lawmakers hoped would take the politics out of the pay raise process could end up boosting their wages at the worst possible time.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods lean into the ongoing debate and tension around how much state lawmakers earn, what it means for the legislative process and the variety of fixes, from the financial to the fundamental, some have proposed. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: How much are Colorado’s state legislators paid?

CPR News: Amid budget cuts, legislators and statewide office holders set for pay increases next year

The Independent Elected State Official Pay Commission’s 2025 Pay Report

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from Rae Solomon.

Primary ballots will land in Coloradans’ mailbox in a few weeks, and now, voters know which candidates will be on them. Many got there by winning over party activists at the recent Democratic and Republican state assemblies in Pueblo. These were high-stakes gatherings in a high-stakes election year, as hopefuls lined up for all of Colorado’s top offices: U.S senator, governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim break down which candidates rallied enough delegate support, what kinds of competitions it sets up for the primary in June, and what this method of selecting candidates means in the big picture.
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News/KRCC: Gubernatorial candidates Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx win slots on GOP primary ballot at state assembly

CPR News: Democrats gather in Pueblo to select candidates for primary ballot

CPR News: Kirkmeyer, Marx, Bennet file petitions to get on ballot for gubernatorial primaries

The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s unaffiliated voters say they’re intentionally not joining a political party. Here’s why.

The Colorado Sun: Republicans who want to opt out of Colorado’s primaries get major boost from federal judge’s ruling

The Colorado Sun: State senator defeats two Democratic rivals, securing lone spot on primary ballot for Colorado treasurer

The Colorado Sun: Diana DeGette narrowly made the primary ballot. Here’s why you maybe shouldn’t read too much into it.

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from KRCC’s Briana Heaney.

A bill advancing through Colorado's statehouse would require law enforcement officers to ask a set of 11 questions — 11 very specific questions, meant to measure someone’s risk of dying at the hands of their abuser. Backers say the change is especially urgent now, because even though homicides in Colorado have gone down in recent years, domestic violence killings have gone up. 
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, KUNC’s Kyle McKinnon and CPR’s Ava Kian discuss efforts to try to improve how law enforcement across Colorado responds to domestic violence calls, and the unique challenges of addressing domestic violence. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: Advocates push for a statewide protocol for domestic violence victims

KUNC: Colorado lawmakers want police to take new steps when responding to domestic violence calls

KUNC: Colorado faces domestic violence crisis as survivor danger escalates

CPR News: Colorado domestic violence deaths rise even as statewide homicides fall

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.