The lighter side of the Capitol, usually. Jeans and eyepatches are permitted.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Paul Lundeen of Monument is generally the dapper dresser. So, it was a bit of a shock when he showed up in the Senate chamber on Feb. 28 clad in (oh my goodness!) jeans.

It wasn’t Casual Friday in the Senate, and Lundeen’s choice did not go unnoticed. He was fined $7.

And a hearty WELCOME BACK to Sen. Lisa Frizell of Castle Rock, who showed up at the Capitol less than a week after surgery for breast cancer.

ARRGGHH!

This week, The Capitol press office was visited by the Dread Pirate Lucasbradywoods.

Lucas Brady Woods, the state Capitol reporter for KUNC, was on the losing side of a dust storm this week and is now boasting an eyepatch. Given the general hijinks in the basement press office (we have a LOT more fun than those folks in the third-floor press office), he is getting no sympathy.

The Doc is in the House!

It finally happened! The “aye” votes were louder than the “no” votes!

“Oh dear,” said the cat, and with that, Rep. Lori Garcia Sander of Eaton read a lovely passage from The Cat in the Hat on Tuesday, an effort to get approval for the previous day’s journal and in honor of Read Across America Day.

Whether from shock or enjoying Garcia Sander’s rendition, for once, and this rarely happens, or Capitol M can’t remember the last time it did, more likely, the votes to approve the previous day’s journal were louder. Maybe one person, clearly not a Dr. Seuss lover, voted against.

Congrats to Rep. Garcia Sander!

General Assembly reaches the 60-day mark, and the usual tomfoolery is afoot

Saturday marks the halfway point of the 2025 session, assuming the budget comes out in time (and we’re hearing that’s a BIG assumption these days).

So, Capitol M checked in with the powers that be in the Senate Democrats’ and Senate Republicans’ offices to determine the status of the annual rubber band ball situation.

The Republicans are HARD at work, crafting multiple balls to see which one gets a better bounce. However, Taylor Boyer, the GOP’s policy director, was once an aide to Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, and he said he’s a little worried about their entry this year. Boyer was part of the team that crafted the winning 2017 rubberband ball.

This year, apparently, the GOP is going to try and get the best bounce without its usual proprietary core (assuming you believe they aren’t using one). 

They may have to do it alone this year. The Democrats apparently haven’t even started crafting one, although the Senate President was informed. He says he will either do it himself or task someone (like his caucus chair, hello, Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco) to do it.

Stay tuned.

Senate GOP’s Money Pile takes a hit

This week, two GOP-sponsored Senate bills that are part of their agenda to save Coloradans on certain fees and other costs went by the wayside, meaning another dip into the money box in the Senate GOP office.

However, this Capitol M brief is about what’s happening to the dollars they’re taking out. They’re SHREDDING them!

Given the $1.2 billion projected hole in the 2025-26 budget and the fact that the Joint Budget Committee is scrapping for every dollar it can find, it might be a good idea for someone to ask that they stop shredding dollar bills and put the money toward the shortfall.