This report from the Common Sense Institute warns that Colorado's state legislature is drowning in a sea of excessive laws and ballot measures, passing a record 527 bills in 2024 alone—a 33% spike over pre-2019 norms and the third-highest growth nationally since 2012. Bills are not just more numerous but 51% more complex, doubling in word count from earlier years, often spawning from mandates like HB19-1261's aggressive emissions targets. Meanwhile, citizen-initiated ballot questions have quadrupled to 16 in the latest cycle, fueling a vicious cycle of policy overload. Amid tepid population growth (net domestic migration down to 7,000 in 2023 from 57,000 in 2015) and soaring living costs, this frenzy correlates with drops in key metrics: education, health, housing, infrastructure, public safety, and state budgeting. The result? Heavier taxes, fees, and red tape strangling businesses and free enterprise, eroding Colorado's once-golden appeal. The fix? Slow down, deliberate more, and prioritize data over hasty activism.
As a proud Coloradan who's watched our beautiful state transform from a beacon of opportunity into a bureaucratic battlefield, this report hits like a gut punch—and it's about damn time someone said it out loud. We've got a legislature that's turned the State Capitol into a non-stop sausage factory, churning out 527 bills last year like they're auditioning for a reality show called "Legislative Overkill." That's a 69% explosion since 2012, while the rest of America smartly trims the fat. And don't get me started on the wordy monstrosities—bills twice as convoluted as a decade ago, all thanks to feel-good mandates like HB19-1261, which kicked off a green-energy jihad that's spawned dozens more rules, jacking up energy costs and chasing jobs out the door.
This isn't progress; it's progressive overreach on steroids. Bipartisan? Sure, 76% of those 2024 bills had cross-aisle buy-in, but that's just code for both parties forgetting their roots in favor of virtue-signaling busywork. No wonder we're bleeding residents—net migration's cratered to a pathetic 7,000 last year, as families flee sky-high housing, taxes, and regs that make starting a business feel like navigating a minefield. Our schools are flunking, streets are less safe, and the budget's a bloated mess, all while ballot measures quadruple because voters are fed up with reps who can't say no to the next big-government itch.
From a conservative standpoint, this is Exhibit A for why we need to slam the brakes on Sacramento-style excess creeping into the Rockies. Rein in the radicals pushing endless mandates that kill innovation and reward sloth—think property tax hikes, emissions edicts that punish producers, and crime policies that coddle criminals. Let's return to Colorado's core: low taxes, light regs, and rugged individualism that built this place. Demand lawmakers deliberate like adults, not activists—analyze impacts, cut the crap, and unleash free enterprise to bring back the boom times. TABOR was our firewall; now's the time to rebuild it stronger. Otherwise, we'll wake up to a state that's all views and no vitality. Who's with me? Time to vote for restraint, not restraint from reality.