September 16, 2015 09:57 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (Sept. 16)

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s Mexican Independence Day! No doubt Donald Trump will be talking about the holiday during tonight’s GOP Presidential debate (okay, maybe not). It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► You can get the answers to a long-standing question today in Colorado: How much more marijuana can you buy if you don’t have to pay a sales tax? We’ll let the Aurora Sentinel explain the rationale behind today’s weed-tax holiday:

The basis for a day free of state tariffs on weed is tethered to a subtle rule in Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which mandates that new taxes be voter-approved and that residents be refunded if the state rakes in more money during a fiscal year than originally forecasted. Colorado brought in about $270 million more than expected between July 2014 and June of this year, according to analyses conducted by legislative council staff. The TABOR oddity also requires any approved taxes — such as those on marijuana — be temporarily nullified 100 percent, which is what led to the single day of breaks. Legislative officials circled Sept. 16 for the tax holiday due to that being the first day they will have the audited revenue numbers for the past fiscal year from the state comptroller’s office.

 

► You may need some extra marijuana to make it through tonight’s Ronald Reagan lovefest. The second Republican Presidential candidate debate(s), will be held tonight in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Producers and moderators from CNN are hoping things will get combative in both the “Varsity” and “Junior Varsity” debates, with the first debate kicking off at 4:00 pm and the second real debate at 6:00 pm MT.

We may see the last of the “Junior Varsity” debates tonight with only four candidates on the outside looking in: Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Rick Santorum failed to make the top tier cutoff for CNN. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore failed to make the “Junior Varsity” threshold and will be off debating himself somewhere.

Colorado Pols will cover both debates with a live-ish blog; we’re going to try a slightly different approach tonight.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The aftermath of the Gold King Mine spill in Colorado has been largely filled with grandstanding and finger-pointing in Congress, but it’s also drawing more attention to the problem of contaminated mines in general. As Bruce Finley reports for the Denver Post:

The London Mine remains on a  list of 230 blowout-prone mines statewide that drain into headwaters of the nation’s waterways, including those areas where metro Denver draws water. State officials estimate mining wastewater causes 89 percent of the harm that has left thousands of miles of waterways statewide devoid of aquatic life.

In one case, state officials have known for 22 years about a mine leaking 150 gallons a minute of metals-laced waste into a stream west of Boulder.

On Tuesday, state lawmakers at a legislative committee hearing began investigating the broader problem. [Pols emphasis] Colorado health and natural resources officials told them it is so complex that state agencies have yet to prepare a full inventory and assess which mines are most prone to the kind of blowout that occurred Aug. 5 at the  Gold King Mine above Silverton.

Back in Washington D.C., Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) plans to introduce legislation to reform the 1872 Mining Law and create a national cleanup fund drawn from industry royalties.

► State Senator Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) has the backing of Gov. John Hickenlooper as she seeks to unseat Republican Congressman Mike Coffman in CD-6.

► Congressman Jared Polis (D-Boulderish) says that he “misspoke” last week when he suggested that colleges consider expelling students accused of sexual assault. In an online column appearing in the Boulder Daily Camera, Polis admitted that his remarks “went too far”:

I misspoke

During a subcommittee hearing last week about sexual assault on college campuses, I committed a major gaffe during the back-and-forth exchange with a witness who was advocating for removing the authority of colleges to adjudicate sexual assault cases that happen on their campuses. My words did not convey my beliefs nor the policies I now or have ever supported

During that exchange I went too far by implying that I support expelling innocent students from college campuses, which is something neither I nor other advocates of justice for survivors of sexual assault support. That is not what I meant to say and I apologize for my poor choice of words.

Say what you will about Polis and his remarks, but give the man credit for recognizing his error and engaging in conversation with Colorado Pols readers here on Monday.

► Colorado lawmakers will consider extending the statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes beyond the current three year time limit. The move is partly in response to a string of longstanding sexual assault allegations around the country involving comedian Bill Cosby.

► Rain barrels may come again another day. As the Durango Herald reports, a legislative committee on Tuesday approved drafting a new bill to permit rain barrels in Colorado. A similar bill narrowly failed in the 2015 legislative session; Colorado is the only state in the country that still outlaws rain barrels.

► Xcel Energy is adding another 30 megawatts of solar power in Colorado.

► Scooter! Mesa County Commissioner Scott McInnis, a former Congressman and onetime GOP candidate for Governor, says the West Slope should consider litigation in order to protect its water resources.

► More Colorado firefighters are heading to California to help with the state’s massive wildfire problem.

► A mysterious city council candidate in Pueblo is opening up about his checkered past.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Famous rich person Donald Trump is leading the Republican polls for President in large part because of his fascinating ability to talk loudly without saying much of anything.

► Colorado voters are fairly divided on the death penalty issue. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett gets the quote of the day in response to new poll numbers about the issue: “As Coloradans continue to have this statewide conversation about the death penalty, they are concluding they can live without it.”

ICYMI

► It’s not every day that you get to write this phrase: Beer merger.

► The uninsured rate in the United States dropped to 10.4 percent last year, according to new data from the Census Bureau. There are nearly 9 million more Americans with health insurance compared to 2013.

► The Denver Post editorial board is fed up with Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.

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