DENVER - Today, Governor Polis and Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera reflected on the actions and achievements of 2023 that continue to deliver real results for Coloradans and looked ahead to 2024.
"From more housing now to saving people money, improving air quality and protecting our water, strengthening education and workforce to making progress towards becoming one of the ten safest states, Colorado continues our bold work to deliver real results,” said Colorado Governor Polis. “We are proud of our work in 2023, but even more excited for the work ahead in 2024 to build a Colorado for All.”
In this year's State of the State address, Governor Polis outlined his goals for strengthening Colorado’s economy, more housing now, investing in education, making Colorado one of the ten safest states, reaching 100% renewable energy by 2040, saving people money on health care, and tax reform and relief. In partnership with the legislature, the Polis administration has advanced these goals, delivering real results for Coloradans.
Governor Polis is working towards the goal of making Colorado one of the top ten safest states and investing in resources and strategies to improve the safety of every Colorado community.
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In partnership with the legislature, Gov. Polis took action to crack down on auto theft, signing bipartisan legislation to prevent auto theft and hold offenders accountable for offenses committed. Auto thefts this year are down 21% compared to this time last year. Took action with the legislature to improve gun safety like getting rid of ghost guns and strengthening Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law.
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The Governor’s budget plan increases tools and resources to reduce auto theft, supports community-led crime prevention, leverages new technology to prevent crime, invests in evidence-based crime prevention, helps victims recover, and prevents gun violence.
Colorado’s strong economy continued to thrive under Governor Polis’ leadership. Unemployment remained well below the national average, and the state supported the creation of new good-paying jobs for Coloradans. This includes:
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Securing the permanent home of U.S. Space Command, ensuring our national security in the space domain and bringing thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact to the state.
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Securing federal designation for Colorado as a Tech Hub and positioning the state as a quantum leader
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Investing in Opportunity Now to support the creation and expansion of innovative workforce and talent development initiatives across the state.
Coloradans called for action to address the housing crisis, and Governor Polis committed to creating more housing now for every Colorado budget. The Polis administration, in partnership with the legislature, took significant action to jump-start the efforts to increase housing supply, cut red tape, improve housing affordability, and ensure that Coloradans can live in the communities they love. The Governor also embarked on a state-wide listening tour to learn more about the solutions Coloradans deserve when it comes to issues like housing.
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Took Executive Action to increase housing opportunities, protect the environment, align transportation with the State’s growing needs, protect and increase economic growth and mobility, cut through bureaucracy, and consider the context and needs of different regions of the state.
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Released a Roadmap to Colorado’s Future: 2026, which set forth a common vision and plan for how Colorado communities can grow in a way that enables affordability, high quality of life, and protects Colorado’s beautiful places and resources.
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Continued to push for Front Range Rail and the expansion of mountain passenger rail; selected for the competitive Corridor ID program.
The Governor, in partnership with the legislature, made transformational education investments that directly support teachers and students including data-driven solutions that improve learning. In his proposed budget, Gov. Polis is pushing to fully fund Colorado’s schools, which has not happened since 2009. Other initiatives that work to invest and improve education include:
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Enacting free universal preschool which is saving families thousands of dollars along with free full-day kindergarten, enrolling nearly 40,000 children in its first year.
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Increasing per-pupil funding by 10.6%, or $22,000 more per classroom, in partnership with the legislature; investing in science and math education to boost achievement; distributed millions in funding to spur innovation in education and build new pathways for youth apprenticeship models across the state.
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Providing free college scholarships to help fill in-demand jobs; investing $25 million to provide $1,500 scholarships to the Class of 2024.
The Polis-Primavera administration continued working to save people money on healthcare, increase price transparency, and drive down the cost of insurance. Total savings for Coloradans since 2019 has increased to over $1B, including $411 million as a result of the bipartisan reinsurance program. Care Forward Colorado, Career Advance and other programs, like the Colorado Practice-based Health Education Grant Program, are developing the healthcare workers of the future.
In the face of unexpected increases in property tax rates, the administration, in partnership with the legislature, took action to provide property tax relief to Coloradans and save people money. Governor Polis also continued to fight back against an IRS attempt to tax TABOR refunds and encouraged local governments to take additional measures to provide property tax relief. Additional action to provide tax relief includes:
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The early childhood educator income tax credit began to cut taxes in 2023 to help save hardworking early childhood educators money. Seniors saved money on a housing tax credit producing $100M in tax savings.
Achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040 requires comprehensive action. Governor Polis and the legislature focused on increasing access to clean energy technologies, cutting pollution, and preparing for the impacts of climate change. As the chair of the Western Governors Association (WGA), Gov. Polis advanced the research and development of geothermal energy capabilities and technology to increase the use of this clean energy alternative. Other major successes this year include:
- Saving people money on utility bills by increasing access to clean energy technology, moving us closer to the Governor’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040. Clean energy tax credits were expanded to offer more savings on E-bikes, electric vehicles, and high-efficiency electric heating with geothermal and heat pump technologies.
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A historic effort to curb harmful air pollution from the oil and gas sector and the first comprehensive nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction program for oil and gas in the U.S.
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New laws to provide tax credits for decarbonization, the largest investment in clean energy and air quality improvements in Colorado's history to make sure Coloradans have low-cost, reliable energy.
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Increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road, with 25k new registrations in FY23, making Colorado one of the fastest-growing states in EV registrations
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Created the Colorado River Drought Task Force in partnership with the legislature.
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To help hardworking Coloradans dealing with energy rates, Governor Polis urged state agencies to look at how every single process and procedure can be altered to protect Colorado consumers, lower costs, and avoid price swings.
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The Governor’s office also released a first-of-its-kind climate preparedness roadmap and the administration provided funding through the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program’s Workforce Development Grant.
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