Here’s what Colorado Western Slope priorities Gov. Jared Polis did — and didn’t — touch on during his 2025 State of the State

In a speech meant to both champion past policy victories and lay out the year’s legislative agenda, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis delivered his second-to-last State of the State address Thursday to lawmakers at the Capitol in Denver.

Polis, who is term-limited after 2026, touched on broad goals for housing affordability and health care, improving transportation, preserving public school funding and drawing a line with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration in remarks to a packed House chamber. 

Issues especially relevant to Western Slope communities included calls for homeowners insurance reform and delivering a new passenger rail line connecting Denver to Steamboat Springs and Craig. 

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Noticeably absent from the governor’s speech was any mention of water policy or Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s ongoing wolf reintroduction program. 

Here’s what was — and wasn’t — said during the 2025 State of the State that matters for High Country communities. 

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Homeowners insurance relief

The governor doubled down on calls for homeowners insurance relief as more extreme weather events fuel an explosion in premiums. 

In Colorado, the state-run division of insurance reported a 52% increase in premiums for single-family homes between January 2019 and October 2022. In mountain resort areas where wildfire risk is greater, some high-valued properties have seen costs double several times over. 

“And the rising cost of insurance isn’t relegated to homeowners alone,” Polis said. “It gets passed on to renters, too.”

The governor did not mention specific policies he wanted to see but said homeowners need help understanding what will or won’t lower their premiums. Polis has previously expressed frustration that homeowners have not seen their costs lowered even when investing in mitigation practices like home hardening and defensible space. 

Responding to questions following his speech, Polis said he wants to see movement on the issue this legislative session while acknowledging it will be an ongoing effort. 

State Sen. Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco) said he expects to see legislation introduced this session that would better inform insurance companies on how to calculate risk and, in turn, potentially lower prices. 

“I’m glad it got the attention it deserved in the speech and I’m anxious to see the details of the bills,” Roberts said. 

Keeping mountain rail on track

Polis touted the recent deal with Union Pacific that will allow Colorado to run passenger rail service between Denver and Craig for the next 25 years without the state needing to pay a fee to use the tracks. 

The move is a critical step for the state’s efforts to expand existing rail services between Denver and Winter Park to include Steamboat Springs and Craig by as soon as 2027. Polis also mentioned reduced fares for the Winter Park Express that kicked in on Thursday, with round-trip tickets now as low as $38 for adults. 

The efforts are part of a larger push for more train infrastructure in Colorado, with Polis also eyeing a major passenger rail expansion along the Front Range. 

A coalition of Western Slope rail advocates, community groups and local leaders are also asking Polis and the state transportation department to broaden the scope of the mountain rail project to include passenger services on the now-defunct Tennessee Pass Line, which could connect Leadville to the Vail area and to Grand Junction. 

Roberts said the state’s mountain rail goals will likely need to happen in pieces.

“For me, as the senator for the region, sure we will see some increased tourism. But for me, the most important part is the local commuter service,” Roberts said.

Public school funding 

With the legislature needing to cut nearly $1 billion in state spending this session to climb out of a deficit, Polis vowed to preserve a recent boost in state funding for public schools. 

Last year, lawmakers eliminated what they called the budget stabilization factor, a Great Recession-era mechanism that has diverted money from public schools and kept K-12 funding below the state’s constitutional requirement.

While Polis said he wants to ensure the state never sees the return of the budget stabilization factor, he also called for a change to how per-pupil state funding is decided for districts. Polis said he wants schools funded based on a current-year enrollment count rather than a multiyear average. 

“It is past time to eliminate this antiquated system that funds empty chairs rather than actual students,” Polis said. 

Some education leaders have balked at the governor’s idea, saying it will lead to stark funding cuts for schools with declining enrollments. 

Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-Steamboat Springs), who chairs the House Education Committee, did not say where she landed on the proposed change but signaled there would be “tough conversations” as the legislature looks to cut spending.

“I am committed to not bringing back the budget stabilization factor,” Lukens said. “I know that declining student enrollment is a big problem across the state, but we also have to be steadfast in supporting our schools financially. And so the conversations are ongoing.” 

Immigration and the incoming Trump administration 

With the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, the governor sought to project both a willingness to work together and a readiness to defend policies that may be out of line with the White House. 

The governor rebuked some of Trump’s most hardline immigration proposals, saying, “Colorado will not support efforts to deport American citizens, target those on pending legal status, or break up families — creating orphans of American children whose parents are alive and who came to this country to build a better life for their families.” 

Still, Polis said the state has zero tolerance for anyone who commits violent crimes “whether they are American citizens or not” and would welcome “more federal help to detain and deport dangerous criminals.”

Polis said he hopes Trump and the new Republican-controlled Congress work “to secure the border, stop human trafficking, and stop the illegal flow of guns and drugs,” while also creating a pathway to citizenship for those enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. 

Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (D-Glenwood Springs), whose district includes some of the largest immigrant populations in the state, said she didn’t feel satisfied with the governor’s stance on immigration policy.

“We’re starting to see the type of things that are going to come from the federal government and Trump administration, and here in Colorado we’re going to stand strong to protect everyone,” Velasco said. 

Colorado lawmakers in recent years have passed bills to limit federal immigration officials’ reach in local communities, such as prohibiting state officers from sharing someone’s personal information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Polis, during a press conference after his speech, said he is “certainly supportive of local law enforcement having constructive relationships with our federal law enforcement partners.”

Not mentioned: Wolves and the Colorado River 

The governor did not mention the state’s gray wolf reintroduction program that has been ongoing since voters approved a 2020 ballot measure to repopulate the animals in Colorado. 

During his State of the State address last year, Polis said the efforts were “strengthening native biodiversity and restoring balance to our ecosystems.” 

But over the past year, wolf reintroduction has become more and more divisive in mountain communities, where wolf attacks on livestock have prompted calls from ranchers to halt the program. Tensions have also grown between the ranching community and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the agency tasked with carrying out the voter-approved initiative. 

Roberts, a vocal critic of the agency’s handling of the reintroduction, said he isn’t surprised Polis did not bring up wolves in his speech. 

“I don’t think he spoke about wolves because he wouldn’t have gotten a good reception in that room,” Roberts said. “I think there’s no way to even spin the reintroduction efforts thus far to be positive.”

While Polis mentioned water as an essential resource that needs protecting, he did not discuss negotiations over the Colorado River or drought-related water policy. 

Colorado is locked in discussions with six other states to reach an agreement on a management plan for the waterway that supports 40 million people. If a decision cannot be made by 2026, the federal government may impose its own cuts to water usage. 

Roberts said he was surprised the governor did not speak more on water rights, which he called a “concerning issue.” 

“We’ve made a lot of progress in funding our Colorado water plan and funding infrastructure improvement for water,” Roberts said. “But I would like to see the whole state and the governor’s team talking about this issue more, because we need the whole state to understand how dire it could get.”

Polis, during his press conference, said “at this point, we don’t need anything from the legislature” on Colorado River negotiations. He said the state has “great negotiating teams” that are working to “provide certainty around Colorado water.”