According to U.S. News and World Report, Colorado is the third most dangerous state in the nation. It's no wonder when our legislature continues to reject any public safety bill supported by law enforcement and district attorneys. They've already rejected bills that would have created mandatory sentences for fentanyl drug dealers, kept violent criminals in jail instead of out on bond, or removed immediate parole as an option for child sex offenders. 

Despite the legislature's unwillingness to make Colorado safer, Advance Colorado is hard at work moving through the ballot measure process to get key public safety initiatives ready for primetime in 2026. You can read our proposed measure on fentanyl here:

It would require mandatory jail time for all fentanyl drug dealers, and it would make treatment available to users.

The latest Advance Colorado Rundown features Michael Fields and Kristi Burton Brown. They discuss a slew of crime legislation that's been heard by the House Judiciary Committee, as well as what's ahead for public safety in our state.

We publish new reports every month, and you can keep up by visiting our Research and Reports page.

Our newest report, coming mid-April, is a compilation of Colorado's fentanyl stories, stats, and commentary from elected officials. You won't want to miss these first-hand accounts.

Here at Advance Colorado, we're also focused on reforming fees. In 2023, citizens paid $23.3 BILLION in fees to the government. This is unsustainable for working families, and it's why our ballot measure to put fees in the constitution under TABOR is vital. Our measure would also define "fee" so that the legislature can't use it as just another tax. Instead, a "fee" would need to be a cost for a service you actually use, proportional to the amount of the service you get. It's common sense. 

Our friends at Common Sense Institute dove into fees, and conclude: "Fee revenue growth...is still driving Coloradans’ effective tax burdens higher and higher without giving them a say in the process—far beyond levels that they’d likely approve on a ballot." You can read their whole report HERE but the graphic below illustrates how the legislature is using fee increases -- without voter approval -- as a substitute for tax increase.