Senate passes budget; Agriculture employees may lose key overtime protection rights; Major Cannabis overhaul proposed in Colorado Senate

Headlines Friday, April 17, 2026

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    Senate passes budget; Agriculture employees may lose key overtime protection rights; Major Cannabis overhaul proposed in Colorado Senate KGNU News

Senate passes budget

The Colorado Senate passed the state budget proposal yesterday. The package of bills addresses a $1.5 billion budget shortfall. It includes major cuts to key programs like Medicaid and support for undocumented immigrants. 

Lawmakers also considered dozens of amendments floated by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. The Senate did make a few changes, such as reducing some of the cuts for services for people with disabilities. They also mirrored a House amendment to strip money for wolf reintroduction. 

The budget package now returns to the Joint Budget Committee to iron out the differences in the version each chamber passed.

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Agriculture employees may lose key overtime protection rights

Farm workers could lose some overtime wage protections under a bipartisan proposal that is headed to the Governor’s desk. The bill narrowly passed in the House after hours of debate. 

Under current Colorado law, overtime for farm workers kicks in after 48 or 56 hours, depending on the work. The bill would bump up the overtime threshold to 56 hours for all agriculture workers. Most other hourly workers earn overtime after 40 hours a week.

Many progressive Democrats like Representative Elizabeth Velasco oppose the change and said ag workers should have the same protections as everyone else, saying, “A 40-hour work week was established to signal to employers that working any more than that comes at the detriment to the workers’ health and safety. And if a worker is to work over 40 hours a week, then they must be compensated fairly for the risk.”

Bill backers say the highly seasonal nature of agriculture justifies a higher overtime threshold.

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Major Cannabis overhaul proposed in Colorado Senate

Colorado officials introduced a measure on Wednesday morning, an initiative that supporters claim will help improve marijuana safety and tax flow related to the sale of the drug across the state. 

The package is intended to be on this November’s ballot and focuses on creating a state-driven marijuana testing program. 

Critics of Colorado’s marijuana industry have pointed to the state’s testing regulations, which allow for manufacturers to select their own marijuana samples from within their facility, with no checks to prevent so-called cherry picking.

The proposed bill would allow for inspectors with the state Department of Public Health and Environment to select their own samples of finished products, like vapes or edibles, and allow for consumers to send in their own purchased products for testing.

If approved, the state would also begin publicly posting any records of contaminated marijuana and any adverse events related to those contaminants.

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