First hearings for housing bills, cash for people leaving prison and other issues at the Colorado legislature this week

It’s Colorado Legislature 101 at the State Capitol this week — as in, Monday marks 101 days left in the 120-day legislative session — and some of the marquee bills are officially starting their journeys through committees.

Not that the building has been idle the first few weeks of the session. House Republicans have picked a new leader after Rep. Mike Lynch resigned in the fallout of news about his 2022 drunken driving arrest. A bill to repeal and replace an increase in the state’s match of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, a law originally passed during November’s special session but which came under legal challenge, has also cleared both chambers on largely party-line votes in the Democrat-controlled building.

Here’s what to expect at the Capitol this week:

Cash for ex-offenders who join workforce training

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday afternoon will have its say on a bill, SB24-12, that would allow the state to move forward with a pilot program that gives people leaving prison up to $3,000 if they enroll in and participate in workforce development programs. That proposal garnered national attention soon after its introduction, with advocates arguing the money would help lower the recidivism rate by helping people get on their feet, and would incentivize people to get stable jobs.

Second swings at housing bills begin

Lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis promised to put their shoulders into a renewed push for housing policy reform this year after several related measures died at the end of the 2023 session. A few of those bills will get their first public hearings:

• HB24-1098, unveiled last week by Democratic leaders and housing advocates, is due in the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee on Tuesday. It would require landlords to show cause before evicting tenants and, in essence, would give tenants the right of first refusal for lease renewal, with some exceptions.
• On Tuesday, the same House committee will hear another repeat bill, HB24-1007, which would stop arbitrary occupancy limits from being enacted or enforced by municipalities. Instead, any occupancy limit would need to be tied to the square footage of the domicile and be necessary for health, safety and welfare reasons.
• The House transportation and housing committee is set to hear HB24-1057, which would stop leasing companies from using algorithmic devices to set rents, on Wednesday. The proposal is led by Rep. Steve Woodrow, a Denver Democrat. A 2022 ProPublica investigation found many landlords were using data analytics to increase rents to the highest levels the market would bear.

Elected officials’ pay

The House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday is set to hear HB24-1059, which would create an independent commission to study pay for elected officials in the state.