Liberty Scorecard Colorado

Cancel Culture Comes to Colorado

A few bills we’re watching on March 1st

SB21-116: Prohibit American Indian Mascots

This bill would require all public schools in Colorado to eliminate mascots that make any reference to American Indians by June 2022. It imposes a $25k fine per month for each violation. Fines/penalties are ultimately paid by taxpayers in the school districts and would take away from a district’s primary purpose of educating children. This bill is overly prescriptive and overly punitive. It should be left to the schools and school districts to decide if and when to phase out the use of mascots and mascot names. We OPPOSE this bill.

SB21-132: Digital Communications Regulations

This is one of the worst bills we’ve seen (that’s saying a lot!). It would require DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies) to license, censure, and issue fines against online social media platforms (up to $5K per day) if they fail to register or remove protected speech that is determined to be disagreeable or hurtful. We OPPOSE this bill. It is a direct attack on our 1st Amendment rights to free speech.
 

SB21-130: Local Authority for Business Personal Property Tax Exemption

This bill would allow counties to temporarily suspend collection of all or part of a very harmful and regressive business tax. It gives local governments the flexibility to help businesses that have been impacted by COVID and create a business-friendly environment in which to attract new businesses. We SUPPORT this bill.