Gov. Jared Polis delivered his final State of the State address to the Colorado General Assembly this morning and outlined his agenda for this year’s legislative session, with a focus on housing, early childhood development, and the economy.

He expectedly touted his accomplishments in the last seven years, as well as spelled out the challenges ahead.

“I certainly couldn’t have predicted all that we would face as a state and a nation,” he said of the first time he was elected as governor and the “curveballs” that came his way, notably the global pandemic and the state’s largest wildfires.

President Donald Trump is bookending Polis’ final term in office. The first time was a much less adversarial period, he earlier said.

Indeed, there is no love lost between Colorado and Trump. Colorado Democrats have not been cooperative since Trump took office, and the White House has withheld funding from Colorado and other states, not to mention the two sides suing and countersuing over the last several months.

One thing many are watching is what Polis’ final year as governor means for his relationship with legislators.

Polis is already facing pressure on the legislative front, and it remains to be seen whether he will be more aggressive in halting — vetoing, should it come to that — his party’s priorities. Notably, unions and their allies at the state Capitol are pushing for legislation he vetoed last year to make it easier for labor organizations to impose dues on non-union members. The governor said he is frustrated by that move.

Meanwhile, businesses are also likely to press the governor to use his powers to stop more regulations.

Polis points to accomplishments

Polis started his speech during the joint session by listing his accomplishments during his seven-year tenure.

Those accomplishments, he said, included the following:

• Delivering on his promise of free kindergarten and preschool
• Expanding low-cost clean energy to help Coloradans save money, while, he said, protecting air and water, and creating good-paying jobs
• Expanding low-cost clean energy
• Building out low-cost clean energy

Additionally, Polis said his administration helped to generate more than $470 million each year in new funding for our roads, bridges, and transit – with the vast majority of that funding going to roads and bridges.

The Covid curveball

Reflecting on the year of the pandemic as the state’s leader, Polis said in the middle of it all, the state came together.

“We came together to deliver on the promises we made long before
the pandemic hit,” he said. “Democrats, Republicans, and my Administration all worked together to keep Coloradans safe while at the same time, passing free preschool and historic transportation funding. When we work together, we do big things.”

Mass shootings in Colorado

Continuing to reflect on his time as governor, Polis took a moment to address the high number of mass shootings over the last seven years.

“We witnessed horrific mass shootings at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Club Q in Colorado Springs, King Soopers in Boulder, and most recently at Evergreen High School,” he said. “We endured a horrific antisemitic attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.”

Tragedy has also struck at the state Capitol, as Polis called for a moment of silence for former Sen. Faith Winter, who was killed in a car accident in November. The state also lost Minority Leader Hugh McKean, Polis noted.

Blaming Trump, Polis calls federal cuts ‘mean’

Polis expectedly blamed the Trump administration for Colorado’s fiscal woes, saying that Washington, D.C., appears intent on “making life harder and less affordable. To make Americans feel more fearful, more belligerent, more vulnerable.”

Polis said the Trump administration has threatened to withhold more than $1 billion in funding for Colorado. The cuts, he said, target support for the “most basic and essential needs” of families and children. The White House denied two major disaster relief requests and vetoed bipartisan legislation to help complete a water pipeline project, he said.

That’s not to mention the congressional budget that, Polis said, “gutted” the state budget by $1 billion overnight. The result, he said, was to eliminate TABOR refunds and slash Medicaid and food stamp dollars.

Trump’s tariffs, he added, are costing Coloradans on average $1,700 a year. 

Not the ‘Colorado Way‘

In criticizing Republicans, Polis stressed that “it often feels like Big Government is in our wallets, our doctors’ offices, in our homes, bullying businesses of all sizes.”

“This is not the Colorado way,” he said. “Driving up costs with tariff taxes is not the Colorado way. Ripping away critical access to food and health is not the Colorado way. Tearing families apart with a costly and cruel immigration agenda is not the Colorado way.”

Colorado for all

Polis said in Colorado, there is room for all, “opportunity for all of us.”

“In our Colorado for All, we welcome immigrants and refugees who seek to build a better life here, who strengthen our economy and enrich our communities under the shelter of our democracy,” he said. “In our Colorado for All, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

Housing

When it comes to housing, Polis thanked the legislature for making ADUs possible, addressing construction-defect issues in condos, reducing red tape in the permitting process, and working toward making homes more affordable.

Polis also applauded the Educator First Housing initiative, which helped 3,000 teachers buy their first homes. Through Proposition 123, the state has built more than 10,000 new homes, including in rural communities, he said.

However, Polis said there is still a lot of work to be done to help families access affordable homes.

“This year, we want to ensure local governments have the resources they need to build and improve bus and train stations, and to pair these investments with more housing near transit,” Polis said.

Polis says Colorado’s car insurance rate is too high

Polis said getting around Colorado currently takes up “too much of Coloradans’ budgets and time, and puts out too much pollution.”

“We’re showing that there’s a better way forward for Coloradans, one with more choices and greater convenience,” he added.

Polis said when he first took office in 2019, there were 18,000 electric vehicles in the state. Today, Polis said there are now 204,000 electric cars in Colorado, giving the state a No. 1 ranking.

Ultimately, Polis said the state continues to examine every piece of the puzzle to make it safer and more affordable to travel across the state.

“Today, high auto insurance rates – the 5th highest nationally – lead to far too
many uninsured drivers, making our roads less safe for all and further driving up rates,” he said. “That’s why I launched the Roadmap to Reduce Auto Insurance Premiums, an action plan to improve road safety and lower auto insurance costs.”

Polis points kindergarten, preschools programs

Polis said education has remained his focus throughout his two terms.

“My passion for education is what drew me into public service after starting my career as an entrepreneur, and is what continues to drive my work as governor,” he said.

Among his educational accomplishments, Polis cited the creation of free preschool and all-day kindergarten.

Polis said students are now attending fully funded schools, with class sizes down by one student since he was first elected. In applauding teachers, Polis said educators’ salaries have increased an average of $13,000 per year since 2019.

Governor says job-training system is not working

Polis said the current job-training system is not working for every Coloradan.

“It’s a maze of more than 20 divisions, offices, and units across seven state departments,” he said. “The 110 programs available have different eligibility requirements, applications, and outcome measures.”

Given the complexity of the system, Polis joked that if he can’t even name all the programs, how can students navigate it?

“That is why we are calling for a unified department to serve as a one-stop shop for Coloradans to access high-quality skills, training, apprenticeships,
and education,” he said.

Helping Coloradans become job-ready will remain his focus in the final year of his term.

Polis: Big Hospitals, Big Pharma, Big Insurance are ‘Thanos’

The governor described the health system as broken – one in which a few are profiting off the woes of Americans.

Polis said the culprits are “well-funded corporate interests” that include “big hospitals, big pharma, big insurance.”

These interests, he said, are “deeply entrenched.”

“It’s like the Avengers fighting Thanos. We are up against big hospitals, pharma, and insurance, alongside a federal government often eager to cozy up to these special interests,” he said.

“Americans are getting screwed on health care. Today, hospitals rake in billions of dollars in profits, and actually get away with charging $5,000 for an ice pack, $600 for a bandaid, while insurance companies and pharma raise prices on consumers,” he added.

It’s mind-boggling, he said, that other industrialized countries have figured out to keep their health care costs in check, while America keeps failing, he said.

The governor said Colorado has hunkered down to reduce health care costs – he noted the establishment of Colorado Option, the adoption of reinsurance, the tackling of surprise billing, and a campaign to cap the prices of the most expensive drugs.

But ultimately, he said, the federal government needs to adopt a universal health system.

Governor: Suspects determined incompetent to stand trial should not be released to streets

Polis reiterated his message that individuals deemed incompetent to stand trial should not be released into the community, calling it a gap that requires an urgent response.

He said his supplemental budget request includes funds to secure “appropriate, secure placements and services” for such individuals, and he asked lawmakers to approve it promptly.

He also noted state funding to help churches and other nonprofits secure their premises, a nod to the increased threats that synagogues and other places of worship have received.  He also noted state support for 239 projects aimed at boosting safety and emergency response at 190 schools and districts

Polis doubles down on carbon zero vision

Polis touted that Colorado’s share of energy from low-cost clean sources has grown by 75%, which he said is enough to power nearly three million homes per year.

“I am excited about bright spots like Holy Cross Energy serving Eagle, Pitkin, Garfield, Mesa, and Gunnison Counties. At its peak last spring, Holy Cross generated 96% of its energy from low-cost clean sources.”

However, there are some obstacles, as Washington D.C. is pushing what Polis called “expensive, out-of-date coal production that drives up costs, pollutes the air, and subjects all of us to volatile price swings in natural gas. We saw this after the Texas winter storm, which drove up energy bills for many Coloradans by nearly $20 a month for years.”

Polis said Colorado will continue to address climate challenges and doubled down on his vision to produce 100% clean energy in just a few decades.

“By 2030, more than 70% of Colorado’s electricity will come from wind and solar,” Polis said. “But we need emerging technologies like geothermal or carbon capture to get us to 100%.”

Promises made

In conclusion, Polis said in Colorado, “There’s so much good, and we keep fighting for more.”

“When I ran to serve as your Governor, I promised to be bold – heck, I made a lot of promises, that together, we’ve turned into a reality for Colorado,” Polis said. “Free preschool. Free full-day kindergarten. More housing. Less pollution. We dream. We dare. We do.”

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