DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis delivered his eighth and final State of the State address Thursday, touting his administration’s achievements on education, housing, transportation and green energy over the last seven years while charting the path forward for a state dealing with a $850 million budget shortfall.
Polis, who is term-limited, was first elected governor in 2018 and won re-election four years later. In his tenure, he delivered free full-day Kindergarten in 2019 and oversaw Colorado’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The beginning of his second term was rocked by lowering costs for Coloradans due to high inflation as he worked to reign in massive increases in property taxes.
The governor highlighted some of those achievements in his opening remarks before the General Assembly, while also relishing in what he called “pinch me moments” for the state during his time in office, which included becoming the new home of the Sundance Film Festival, keeping the Broncos in Denver through the revitalization of Burnham Yard, introducing Colorado's 42nd state park, bringing the 2021 MLB All-Star Game to Denver, and earning national recognition as a hub for quantum computing.
But he also touched on some of the challenges Coloradans faced together over the past several years under his leadership, including the coronavirus pandemic, the largest wildfire in state history, and the state’s four most recent mass shootings — STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Club Q in Colorado Springs, King Soopers in Boulder, and shooting at Evergreen High School.
Polis then turned his remarks to the federal government, lambasting the Trump administration for making “life harder and less affordable” and making Americans feel “more fearful, more belligerent, more vulnerable.”
The governor criticized Washington Republicans for supporting a Trump agenda that has now “threatened over $1 billion in funding for Colorado, and is making life more expensive and more difficult across our state.”
He also touched on the Trump administration’s “overreach” in Coloradans’ lives.
“Driving up costs with tariff taxes is not the Colorado way. Ripping away critical food and health access is not the Colorado way,” Polis mentioned, referencing a Trump administration policy that aims to block federal money for child care subsidies and other social services from flowing to Colorado and other Democratic-led states. “This is not who we are,” Polis added, as he touted his “Colorado for All” achievements and goals for the future.
Polis touched on housing achievements, including allowing ADUs on single-family lots, signing legislation that makes it easier to build housing near transit, and building “over 10,000 new homes across the state.”
The governor then touted the Housing Opportunities Made Easier, or HOME Act, which will “open the door to more housing by partnering with higher education, nonprofits, transit agencies, school districts, and housing authorities to build on underutilized land.”
Polis said lawmakers must tackle the rising costs of homeowners’ insurance rates, which have gone up an average of $2,000 since 2019.
“While we might not tackle the entire challenge overnight, it’s long past time we start, with steps like making hail resistant roofs more affordable, and reducing fire risks, we can drive down claims and lower premiums.” Polis said.
On transit, Polis highlighted his administration’s push to get Coloradans to go green with more electric vehicles (EVs) out on the roads. When he took office in 2019, he said, there were only 18,000 EVs on Colorado roads. As of the beginning of the year, that number has increased to over 204,000, which the governor said has amounted to cutting emissions by nearly 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The governor said EVs aren’t the only solution to get more Coloradans to move greener. He said his administration is underway to make cost-efficient passenger rail a reality, with the Mountain Passenger Rail service through the Moffat Tunnel expected to kick off in 2027.
And he said the state is “on the precipice” to get the much-awaited Front Range Passenger Rail across the finish line.
Transit doesn’t just involve people, and Gov. Polis touched on an issue Denver7 has reported extensively – wildlife crossings.
The state has more than doubled the number of such crossings to more than 70, Polis said, “including the world’s largest in Greenland,” Polis said.
- Denver7 looked at how the state is leading the way to protect wildlife from vehicle collisions in the video player below:
“No, not that Greenland! Greenland, Colorado, leave the other Greenland alone!” Polis jokingly quipped.
Polis also touted his achievements in education across the state, revealing that Colorado has moved up from 27th to 3rd when it comes to preschool enrollment. He said 98% of Kindergartners in Colorado are taking advantage of free-full day Kindergarten.
On health care, Polis highlighted his administration’s effort to end surprise medical billing, bringing free mental health care to Colorado youth, and enshrining abortion access for Coloradans.
“Despite all this — and more — we’re not where we need to be,” Polis said.
The governor touched on the ballooning Medicaid costs that will not doubt be much of the discussion during this year’s legislative session.
Last year, Polis presented a budget to lawmakers that would cut Medicaid programs. During his State of the State address, he once again called for spending less to cover more people — a proposal that will have consequences for thousands of Coloradans who rely on it.
“We can’t afford to keep growing Medicaid at its current pace while still funding schools, roads, and public safety,” Polis said, as he called on Washington to get “on the side of hardworking Americans, and out of the pockets of special interests.”
Polis then turned to public safety, where he highlighted a new report from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, which showed that in the past year, violent crime decreased over 13%. The data also shows auto thefts have gone done 61% in four years, with a decrease of 34% over the past year alone.
Catalytic converter thefts, another issue that Denver7 covered extensively when the crime was at its peak, saw a 95% reduction in a single year, the governor said.
The governor applauded the support by Colorado voters to pass Proposition 130, which allocates $350 million to help local police departments recruit, train and retain officers. That first round in funding will start going out this year, he said.
“We are endlessly grateful for the service, bravery, and dedication of Colorado’s law enforcement officers, veterans, and service members,” Polis said to a round of applause. “I want to thank all those here with us today for serving our state and nation with pride, ensuring our safety and security.”
But there is more work to be done when it comes to public safety, the governor said.
Polis’ budget proposal includes “support to monitor and protect Coloradans against rising threats of political violence and extremism, along with support for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery to ensure we are prepared to act quickly if disaster strikes.”
The governor then once again called on the Colorado legislature to address the state’s controversial competency law, which allows assailants to have their charges dropped if they’re found unfit to stand trial.
- In a 30-minute special, Denver7 Investigates looked into a change in Colorado's competency law that critics say is leaving the legal system at the crossroads of empathy and accountability. Watch it in the player below:
On green energy, Polis touted Colorado’s effort to cut down on carbon emissions while Washington, D.C. “is tipping the scales toward expensive, out-of-date coal production that drives up costs, pollutes our air, and subjects all of us to volatile price swings in natural gas.”
“In Colorado, we tackle climate challenges head on, instead of burying our heads in a pile of coal,” Polis remarked.
The governor said his administration is charging forward with a plan for 100% clean energy by 2030 “while building in needed flexibility to adapt to the realities of federal headwinds,” as he once again chided the Trump’s administration first year in office since his re-election.
He also touched on his administration’s work to regulate the oil and gas industry, tackle the realities of climate change and protect the state’s public lands.
In his closing remarks, Polis referenced a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” when Sam speaks to Frodo and says, “there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
“Colorado, there’s so much good, and we keep fighting for more,” Polis added.
Polis said his time in office, at the end of the day, has “always been about delivering real results that leave our state better than we found it. “
“In this time of great division, now more than ever we must come together as Coloradans, leading with kindness and respect to move our one team, our great state, forward."
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