Colorado Law Lets Local Governments Build What Voters Rejected
Archuleta County voters rejected a new jail twice — in 2017 and again in 2018 — and the county built it anyway in 2019 using a financing tool called a Certificate of Participation, a structure Colorado courts have twice ruled falls outside TABOR’s definition of debt. Every county in the HCA coverage area uses this mechanism, and Collegiate Peaks Bank has positioned itself as the primary lender for the mountain corridor. Most residents have never heard of it.
Polis Sets Veto Record, Signs 430 Bills Into Law
Gov. Jared Polis completed action on the 2026 legislative session June 12, signing approximately 430 bills, setting a personal record with 12 vetoes, and waiting until the legislature adjourned before commuting convicted election tamperer Tina Peters — a sequence that blocked any legislative response. The Colorado Democratic Party’s State Central Committee voted 89.8% to censure him five days later, barring him from party events as a featured guest.
FIRST AMENDMENT & COMPELLED SPEECH
Colorado Drops Lawyer Oath
Colorado quietly repealed the nation’s only lawyer loyalty oath — buried inside an immigrant protection bill — after it swept every private attorney using the state’s mandatory e-filing system into a standing pledge against ICE cooperation. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression had prepared to file suit, and Colorado was already 0-3 at the U.S. Supreme Court on compelled speech in under a decade.
FOOD ECONOMY
Colorado’s Tamale Act Arrives Too Late for Summer
Gov. Polis signed the Tamale Act on June 4, legalizing home kitchen sales of tamales, burritos, and temperature-controlled foods — but the law doesn’t take effect until August 12, weeks before the first frost and two months into the outdoor food season it was designed to address. The annual revenue cap rises from $10,000 to $150,000, though sellers must complete a food safety course and register with the state.
HISTORY & MYTH
Is Heemeyer a Folk Hero
On June 4, 2004, Marvin Heemeyer drove an armored bulldozer through 13 structures in Granby, Colorado over two hours, causing $7 million in damage before dying by suicide — and every building he demolished had a documented connection to his grievances with local government. Twenty-two years later, the Killdozer mythology continues producing documented real-world results, including a 2020 murder suspect who scrawled a direct reference to Heemeyer’s notes in blood on a car before his arrest.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent.