BOULDER - A coalition of community, labor and environmental groups held a rally outside U.S. Rep. Jared Polis' office in Boulder on Tuesday. They want Polis, a Democrat, to oppose President Obama's request for "fast track" authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade deal involving the United States and 11 other countries.

Carolyn Bninski, an organizer for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, said the TPP was drafted in secret by some 600 global corporations without citizen input. She said she thinks Polis needs to step on the brakes.

"This is what we need him to do, is to say 'no' to fast track and allow the regular constitutional process to happen," she said, "so that both Congress and the people of the United States will have some input into the TPP."

Critics of the TPP come from both sides of the aisle. Rick Manning with Americans for Limited Government said the concept of free trade appeals to many on the right, but he called the TPP a managed trade agreement negotiated by special interests to maximize their profits.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the TPP would make it hard to rein in Wall Street speculation, the kind that caused the economy to tank in 2008. Bninski said the TPP would send more U.S. jobs overseas, and would allow corporations to challenge any U.S. law or regulation if it got in the way of profits.

"You know, it's really a way to undermine democracy, to undermine our capacity, our ability, our right to rule ourselves," she said.

If "fast track" authority is approved, Bninski said, Congress would have to vote on the 1,200-page bill with limited debate, and without the ability to make amendments.


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President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have promised to pass a new tax bill, and a new report breaks down the expected winners and losers.

Joe Hughes, senior policy analyst with the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, says based on Trump's campaign proposals, the top one percent - those making more than $900,000 a year - will see their tax bill go down by more than $36,000, on average.

"The top 5% of households make more than $360,000 a year. They will likely see their taxes go down. For the other 95% of Americans, they will likely see their taxes go up," he said.

Hughes added that Americans earning between $55,000 and $94,000 a year would have to pay over $1,500 more in income taxes. The combined increases would further shift the tax burden - to pay for bridges, schools, health care and highways from corporations and higher-income individuals to low- and middle-income families. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that increasing tariffs on foreign goods would cover revenues lost due to tax cuts.

Hughes says because companies pass the costs of tariffs along to consumers, Americans will also be hit with what is essentially a national sales tax. He added the incoming administration's proposals, if enacted, could increase the national debt by as much as $15 trillion over the next decade.

"The proposals to increase tariffs are not going to raise enough revenue to offset the tax cuts that he's proposed to give to high-income individuals and to corporations," Hughes continued.

Trump has called the election results a mandate for his policies. But Hughes noted a strong majority of Americans support a tax code that's fair, one that asks those who can afford it to contribute more. They don't think billionaires such as Elon Musk should pay less than working families.

"Most Americans, even a majority of Republicans, support higher income taxes on the wealthy and on corporations," he said. "So, there is some disconnect here between the candidate that they voted for and the policies that actually poll well with voters."


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Montana citizens and environmental advocates have sued the state for withholding documents that have, for decades, been considered public information.

The division that provides bill drafting and other support to the Montana Legislature has announced a new policy that requires a legislator's approval before releasing documents to the public.

That includes all the correspondence and communication that goes into drafting a bill, including lawmakers conferring with lobbyists and other legislators.

Upper Seven Law's Founder Rylee Sommers-Flanagan said Montana's Constitution protects residents' right to know about and participate in the legislative process.

"The right to know is meant to protect our ability to examine the documents of any public agency," said Sommers-Flanagan. "This includes all Executive Branch agencies. It includes all aspects of the Legislature. Anything that relates to their official business belongs to the people of Montana."

A Helena judge over the summer ruled that correspondence used to draft bills - so called "junque files" - are not public record, reversing a 25-year-old policy.

Sommers-Flanagan argued the move undermines transparency, which she said has been the backbone of Montana's lawmaking process, and calls into question interactions between lawmakers and lobbyists who often work together to create a bill.

"We could literally be deprived of opportunity to see bribery happening in writing," said Sommers-Flanagan. "And, of course, I doubt that our legislators are engaged in bribery - but what this does is, it protects them fully from any sort of disclosure around what they might be exchanging."

The rule was implemented when a district court ruled in favor of a state senator who argued that junque files related to a gerrymandering law should not be made public.




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The state Supreme Court has upheld a law giving Nebraskans with prior felony convictions the right to vote once they have completed their sentence.

Proponents of the measure are calling it a hard-fought victory to restore full rights to citizens who have paid their debt to society.

State lawmakers challenged a clause in the state's 1875 constitution disenfranchising people with felony convictions for life.

Steve Smith, director of communications with the group Civic Nebraska, said the ruling ends a decades-long legal battle.

"Had the court ruled the underlying statute is unconstitutional, those folks would have been out of luck," said Smith. "And so, the stakes were pretty high. In a state the size of Nebraska, that's close to 10% of the electorate. It's about 100,000 voters."

Smith said eligible people must register in person by 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 at their county's local elections office.

Smith said the ruling negates an order by the secretary of state blocking county officials from registering former felons despite a bipartisan bill that eliminated a two year waiting period for people with convictions.

He said the requirements to register have been simplified.

"It is fully completing your sentence. And so, the term is 'off-papers,'" said Smith. "And most folks who have been justice-impacted understand what off-papers mean. They've served any term of incarceration. They have completed any terms of parole, probation or supervised release, and they have not reoffended."

Smith said his organization and other are urging people who are now eligible to register and to vote, calling it both a civil right and a civic duty.

"For those of you going, 'I don't know if I want to do this,' know that the Supreme Court, the highest court in our state, has said, 'You are good to go, and you should vote with confidence,'" said Smith. "If you're on the fence about not voting, think about how hard some people tried to keep your vote away from you, and then wonder why that is."

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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