Education
"We have a responsibility to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to succeed, no matter where they're from. Everyone benefits when more people have the tools they need to get good-paying jobs to support themselves and their families. My grandma, mom, aunt, mother-in-law, and wife are all teachers. For me public education isn't just an issue, it's a family value. And it's pretty much all we talk about at Thanksgiving!"
Accomplishments
Sponsored the historic bill to provide full day kindergarten for every Colorado kid, and got it through the Senate unanimously!
Created the Colorado Imagination Library through legislation for matching funds to give every kid in the state between 0-5-years-old a book in the mail every month.
Increased funding for public education by $1 billion from 2016-2019. When facing a 25% cut to the state budget in 2020, we prioritized education funding and cut far less than we cut from other agencies and departments.
Sponsored the largest expansion of concurrent enrollment eligibility in Colorado history so that more high schoolers can take college classes before they graduate.
Sponsored legislation to create a $30 million school safety disbursement program covering facilities upgrades and mental health training for teachers, administrators, and staff.
Sponsored the bill to allow student athletes in Colorado to profit off the use of their name, image, and likeness.
Sponsored legislation to create a "Return on Investment Report" showing cost, average debt load, and earnings 1, 5, and 10 years out for every degree at every public Colorado college and university. (You can view the results online here.)
Co-sponsored legislation to expand teacher training and recruitment programs, because half of all new teachers leave the profession within the first few years.
Up Next
Ensure that every Colorado kid graduates from high school with a meaningful internship, an industry-recognized certificate, or an associates degree to guarantee that they are career or college ready.
Expand vocation and career training programs in high schools to help get more kids career-ready.
Improve teacher pay so we can better compete with other states to attract and retain the best teachers.
Reduce the cost of public higher education so graduates don't start their careers under mountains of debt.
Create a continuing education fund for workers to use throughout their entire lives.
Transportation
"I-25 shouldn't be Colorado's largest parking lot, and we shouldn't have to wait until after midnight for reasonable weekend traffic on I-70. Colorado's transportation infrastructure is woefully inadequate for today's population, and that's true across our entire state. While new vehicle technology may help, we need to invest more in our roads, bridges, and transit starting today."
Accomplishments
Cosponsored a historic bipartisan transportation plan to invest billions in our roads, bridges, and transit.
Sponsored an autonomous vehicle bill that will protect Colorado drivers while putting our state at the forefront of this developing industry and the new jobs that will come with it. (Click here to see my op-ed in the Denver Post.)
Sponsored legislation to allow different locations for our front license plate, creating room for crash avoidance sensors that make our streets safer for everyone.
Sponsored legislation to streamline vehicle registration processes at the DMV, saving Coloradans time and money.
Up Next
Continue to invest in Colorado's roads, bridges, and transit so families don't have to sit in traffic and goods and services can move freely into and out of our state.
Make sure that Colorado is ready to implement new vehicle and road technology in a way that capitalizes on existing transportation infrastructure.
Jobs + Economy
"Anyone willing to work hard at a full-time job should be able to pay for housing and put food on the table. Over the past few years we've seen the cost of healthcare go up. We've seen the cost of housing and student loans go up. The only thing we haven't seen go up is wages. Colorado is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, and we must ensure that our strong economy works for all of us."
Accomplishments
Sponsored the nation's most comprehensive paid sick leave policy to ensure that nearly every working Coloradan gets six days of paid sick leave every year.
Sponsored the Restaurant Recovery Act and a $25 million small business grant program to help our small businesses survive during COVID.
Cosponsored legislation to create a statewide family and medical leave insurance program for all Colorado workers.
Sponsored legislation to create a universal retirement savings plan for the nearly 1 million Coloradans who don't have access to a retirement program at work.
Sponsored a “Renters Bill of Rights” to ensure that landlords provide basic necessities like heat and hot water.
Sponsored legislation to create a tax credit for the development of affordable housing that increases home ownership.
Up Next
Make benefits like healthcare and unemployment insurance portable across jobs and employers in order to encourage the creation of more small businesses and give independent contractors and "gig economy" workers the same benefits and protections as everyone else.
Give companies a tax credit for providing their employees with ongoing certificate-based job training.
Simplify the tax code for small businesses and create a fast track for Coloradans interested in starting new businesses.
Environment
"Climate change is real, it's caused by humans, and as a state that will be hit hard by climate change, we have an even greater responsibility to act. Renewable energy also means jobs, and our State Senate district has more renewable energy jobs than any other district in Colorado. Increasing wind and solar production means more good-paying jobs for Coloradans, and a healthy environment we can all enjoy."
Accomplishments
Cosponsored one of the strongest climate bills in the country to cut Colorado's greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030 and 90% by 2050 based on 2005 levels.
Worked with Xcel Energy on their plan to close two coal plants in Pueblo, replace them with expanded wind and solar, and achieve zero carbon by 2050.
Cosponsored legislation to allow homeowners to install on-site batteries, boosting our at-home renewable energy market and the jobs this sector creates.
Cosponsored legislation to test for lead in the drinking water at our public schools.
Up Next
Fully fund the Colorado Water Plan to keep our water clean and protect one of our state's most precious—and threatened—natural resources.
Bring down the cost of housing by right-sizing the cost of new tap fees.
Continue to protect and grow our parks and open spaces, and prevent any effort to privatize our public lands.
Healthcare
"While out knocking on doors, I met a woman who can't afford to pay for her prescription medication on top of her rent and food. No one should have to face those kinds of choices. We must do more to bring down the cost of healthcare for all Coloradans, because access to affordable healthcare is a right. As someone who has suffered from asthma throughout my life, the fight over coverage of preexisting conditions is a personal one. No matter what happens in Washington, I will fight to keep that protection here in Colorado."
Accomplishments
Sponsored legislation to automatically enroll eligible Coloradans into free or subsidized health insurance based on their tax returns, because the more people who have insurance, the lower the costs are for all of us.
Co-sponsored a bill to create a reinsurance program that has already cut costs on the individual market by 18%.
Co-sponsored legislation to study the feasibility and impacts of creating a Medicaid buy-in option.
Increased funding for opioid and substance abuse programs across the state.
Co-sponsored legislation to bring more transparency to prescription drug pricing.
Up Next
Increase preventative care by finding more ways to connect doctors with patients.
Remove barriers to telemedicine so that all parts of our state have access to the high quality healthcare and specialists they need.
Equality
"I don't just support choice, equal pay, child care, and sexual harassment laws because of the women in my life. I support them because women's issues are everyone's issues. I also believe that Black lives matter, and ensuring we have equal protections for all members of our community, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation is a cornerstone of our Colorado and American values."
Accomplishments
Sponsored the Law Enforcement Integrity Act, the only legislation in the country to end qualified immunity, revoke POST certification for officers who violate policies, and require officers to intervene when witnessing other officers using excessive force.
Sponsored legislation to repeal the death penalty in Colorado.
Co-sponsored legislation requiring equal pay for equal work.
Co-sponsored legislation that banned conversion therapy, and that made it easier for transgender Coloradans to change their birth certificates.
Fully funded Colorado's long-acting reversible contraception plan, a nationally recognized program that has dramatically reduced unplanned teen pregnancies.
Removed serial sexual harasser Rep. Steve Lebsock from office.
Up next
Continue working to help women access the resources they need to reduce unplanned pregnancies, while protecting their rights to make personal reproductive health care decisions without government intrusion.
Continue to protect every individual's First Amendment right to peacefully protest for what they believe in.