Hard fight ahead in the state legislature for Republicans
The 73rd Colorado General Assembly is in full swing; my fellow legislators and I have been hard at work. As we begin this legislative session, I know that it is going to be a hard fight as once again we are minor- ity party in the House of Representatives. Rest assured, ser ving as the Minority Whip, I will fight hard against the over-reaching agenda of the majority party alongside the other Republican legislators. We will push through this legislative session.
These past two weeks I have seen a lack of leadership on the other side of the aisle. On Feb. 17, Gov. Jared Polis gave his annual State of the State address.
This address was more of a legislative wish list of the things that the governor wants his par ty to push through. His ideas are not the only ones that matter in the legislative body. Moving for ward, I will continue to introduce and vote on legislation that will help Colorado and my constituents.
Gov. Jared Polis declared March 20 as “MeatOut Day” in Colorado, where citizens are encouraged to not eat any meat products. This is a blow to Colorado agriculture. This proclamation, as well as not being able to host the National Western Stock Show this year, shows the lack of respect the governor has for agriculture. As the second leading economic driver in Colorado it deser ves to be respected as such. The governor is out of touch with how impor tant agriculture is for our state. I encourage him to come out to the Eastern Plains to see the hard work of our agriculture communities, as they work hard ever y day to keep food on all of our tables. In the coming week, I will introduce the following legislation that I am sponsoring:
•SB21-1079 Deregulate Meat Sales Direct to Consumers
•SB21-1039 Elimination Of Subminimum Wage Employment
•HB21-1021 Peer Support Professionals Behavioral Health
•HB21-1097Establish Behavioral Health Administration
Additionally, I will be hosting a virtual Town Hall in March. Please follow along with updates on my Facebook or website where I will be releasing a date and time. I encourage all to participate.
Rod Pelton represents House District 65, which includes Cheyenne, Kit Corson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma counties, in the Colorado House.