, introduced Wednesday by a bipartisan trio of legislators, would create a new security administrator position within the legislature. It would task that person with fielding security concerns from legislators and acting as the General Assembly’s point person for safety issues.

Capitol security is now overseen by the Colorado State Patrol. While the bill would not alter the patrol’s duties in the building, the new security official would act as a liaison with the patrol while also monitoring threats and advising lawmakers on how to handle them.

The legislature recently received a grant from the National Conference of State Legislatures to help pay for security improvements for every lawmaker. The new security official would help advise on how best to use that funding, lawmakers said.

“It’s just an ability to have a tapped-in, day in, day out view of what����ap happening and to help coordinate those efforts,” said Rep. Chad Clifford, a Centennial Democrat sponsoring the bill. He also runs a home security company. “… This will be a person that has more daily dialogue and discussion” with lawmakers about security concerns.

The other main sponsors of the measure are Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, and Sen. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican.

Lawmakers have been increasingly worried about their security in recent years, particularly on social media. Some lawmakers have filed restraining orders against people who’ve threatened them, and others say activists and political opponents have approached them at their homes.

After the Minnesota shootings last summer, state officials temporarily shut down a campaign finance database while 31 elected officials requested that the state redact their addresses from the website. In June, a gunman shot and killed Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat who was a former House speaker, and her husband, Mark, at their home. Earlier that day, the same man and his wife at their home, but both survived.

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie, who knew Hortman, has repeatedly spoken about security concerns, and the legislature’s executive committee organized a briefing on Capitol security in June, shortly after shootings.

Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat who died in a car crash late last year, was on an extensive list of other lawmakers and public officials found in the Minnesota shooter’s car, McCluskie said in an interview Thursday.

“It����ap a ridiculous world we live in, when that����ap the reality for public servants,” said McCluskie, a Dillon representative who is entering the final weeks of her fourth term in the House. “Having a security officer for the General Assembly isn’t enough, but it����ap a start.”

But in the quest to improve lawmakers’ security, the bill would also reduce some public transparency.

HB-1422 would place elected officials in a special class of “protected persons” whose personal information cannot be published online. Under current state law, lawmakers must file annual disclosure statements that describe their finances, debts and property holdings, alongside financial information about their spouses. Candidates also must file affidavits that include addresses and contact information. (Two of the four legislators who have signed on to support HB-1422 have not filed a financial disclosure this year.)

Under , those documents are publicly filed on the secretary of state’s campaign finance website. That law also gave the secretary of state’s office the ability to redact a candidate’s address and other personal information.

If passed, HB-1422 will remove those records from the website and make them available upon request. Clifford said he wanted the records to be available only to certain people, like journalists, who would be unlikely to publish a lawmaker’s address or personal information.

Lawmakers — as well as other elected officials, like the governor — file the financial records to provide transparency on their economic interests, allowing the public to vet them for conflicts of interest. Since legislative districts were redrawn in 2022, the databases have also been used to determine if lawmakers live in the districts they seek to represent; Clifford says he’s done his own “sleuthing” on candidates using the information in the past.

He acknowledged that his bill would make those efforts more difficult.

“I hate that,” he said. “But I also don’t need you to be able to go find (a lawmaker’s) house real easy on a whim someday when somebody tells you that you should. … That is where we started getting concerned.”

Both McCluskie and Clifford raised concerns about the level of detail that must be included in the financial disclosures. McCluskie acknowledged the tension between increased threats to lawmakers and a need for those officials to be transparent.

She said legislators did accept a higher level of public scrutiny, given their positions, and that she previously had not minded that her address was available publicly.

“When it comes to my family, they haven’t been elected to office. They shouldn’t be exposed to the same level of scrutiny,” she said. “They shouldn’t be exposed to threats of violence that we’re seeing directed at elected officials. It����ap an extraordinarily challenging dynamic that we are facing in our society right now, and I was stricken the day that Melissa was shot.”

Jeff Roberts, the executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said in an email Thursday that his group’s governing board had not yet taken a position on the bill. But he noted that financial disclosures have only recently been published online.

“What����ap most important is that these records remain publicly available so that journalists and others can adequately background candidates for public office and look into whether candidates actually live in the districts they’re running in,” he wrote.

HB-1422 is scheduled for its first committee hearing Monday in the House’s . The legislative session is set to end May 13.

On Thursday, will be in the House’s Energy and Environment Committee, officially kicking off the session’s data center war.

This bill would give tax breaks to eligible data centers — 100% exemptions from sales and use taxes for 20 years, to be precise. To qualify, a company would have to commit to $250 million in data center investments and to creating a certain number of jobs, among other things.

A more-or-less competing bill, which has not yet been introduced, would require data centers to match their energy consumption with renewable energy credits, according to a January draft of the proposal. That bill, which is backed by environmental groups, will start in the Senate.

The clean energy bill is backed by Sen. Cathy Kipp, a Fort Collins Democrat. Another of her bills, , will be in that chamber’s Transportation and Energy Committee on Wednesday. That proposal would require utility companies to provide a minimum amount of electricity to lower-income Coloradans at marginal cost.

Colorado’s family-oriented tax credits gave ‘light and hope’ to one mom — but costs make their future uncertain

Committee work is picking up generally this week, and bills are starting to hit the floors of the House and Senate.

Here's what else is happening in the Colorado legislature. Also, a semiregular reminder that floor plans can change on the fly, and bills scheduled for floor debates may roll over into later in the week.

Monday

The Senate is set to debate several bills on the floor, including . That measure would allow state tax authorities essentially to preserve a nonprofit's tax-exempt status, should the federal government target that group. The bill passed out of its first committee last week with unanimous support.

In the House, lawmakers are scheduled for an initial voice vote on , which would give some compensation to minor youth who are used in content creators', well, content.

Wednesday

The will hear presentations on a single audit for the state of Colorado starting at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday. The committee will also receive a comprehensive financial report on the state for the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2025.

Friday

The Senate will have a memorial service for Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat who was killed in a car crash in November.

Broomfield city councilman Kenny Nguyen was appointed to serve House District 33 on Monday night, narrowly beating fellow councilwoman Heidi Henkel in a 16-15 vote. A former councilman, Stan Jezierski, also ran and was eliminated in the first round of voting. Nguyen replaces Sen. William Lindstedt, who was appointed last month to the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Faith Winter’s death.

“I promise to represent everyone in this legislative session with compassion and love,” Nguyen, who promised to address affordability, said after the vote total was announced. Both he and Henkel had already filed to run for Lindstedt’s seat in the general election.

On Sunday, a vacancy committee for the similarly suburban House District 29 selected Lori Goldstein to replace former Rep. Shannon Bird, who resigned from the legislature earlier this month to focus on her congressional campaign.

Goldstein was unanimously elected by a 34-person committee of Democratic party volunteers and officials. She spent more than three decades as an educator in Adams 12 Five Star Schools and is currently that district’s school board president.

“I am excited to serve the people of House District 29 and the people of Colorado,” Goldstein said in a statement. “These are challenging times and we are going to have to make tough choices, but I am committed to working with my new colleagues at the State House to come up with the best solutions possible.”

Goldstein and Nguyen’s appointments end a recent flurry of movement in the legislature and in the Westminster-Broomfield area. After Winter’s death in November, Lindstedt was appointed last month to fulfill the last year of her term, opening up another new slot in the House.

Both Goldstein and Nguyen will serve one term in the legislature before facing voters either in June’s primary election or November’s general election. In Colorado, legislators who leave office early are replaced by a small vacancy committee of party officials and volunteers, and the party that most recently won the open seat in a general election oversees the vacancy committee.

State Sen. William Lindstedt formerly served in the state House for District 33, which includes Broomfield, a part of Adams County and a small portion of Weld County, according to the state legislative maps webpage. Lindstedt was appointed to the state Senate in late December to replace Winter.

Winter, 45, was killed in a crash on Interstate 25 in the Centennial area after she rear-ended a pickup truck, . Her blood alcohol concentration, according to the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office, was above Colorado’s legal limit.

State Sen. Faith Winter legally drunk at time of fatal crash, investigators find

Lindstedt����ap appointment left a vacancy in House District 33 that is set to be filled Monday by a vacancy committee, . Vacancies are overseen by the political party of the previous member, according to the website. The party sends out a notice to vacancy committee members and invites them to participate and vote, the website says.

There are three candidates in the running for HD33, the website says.

Kenny Nguyen, one of the candidates for the appointment, is currently one of the members on the Broomfield City Council and was elected in 2023, Nguyen said he has structured much of his life around public service, and was inspired to run for the City Council during his tenure as Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera’s executive assistant.

“Throughout this process, I realized that there’s few Asian Americans, and few young people, who are actively involved or serving as elected officials, and it blows my mind,” Nguyen said. “It really pushed me into making that decision to represent and fight for affordability, for labor and for progressives.”

Heidi Henkel, also a Broomfield City Council member, is also seeking the appointment.

“The vacancy process is not what anyone wants, but it����ap necessary so District 33 is represented in what will be a significant session,” Henkel said in a statement. “I look forward to making my case to primary voters, but this process is fortunately transparent and includes grassroot representatives from local organizers to elected county councilmembers and commissioners who understand the needs of the district.”

Henkel won election to City Council in 2019 and was reelected in 2023,

“I’ve been running for this seat for 7 months already so I am ready to hit the ground running — listening to constituents, collaborating with local leaders, not giving an inch to the federal chaos, and doing the day-to-day work of legislating on behalf of Broomfield, Adams, and Weld counties,” Henkel said.

Stan Jezierski is also running for the appointment and is the only candidate of the three that will not be running for the district seat this fall in the normal election process. (After someone wins the vacancy appointment, the House district still has a regular election slated for this November.)

“My appointment (would) preserve the integrity of the ongoing caucus/primary,” Jezierski said in a text message, adding that his appointment would preserve an “equal playing field” for the November election.

“There is some concern that appointing (a candidate who is running in the fall) to the vacancy will unduly tip the scales in that candidate’s favor” by making them the incumbent, Jezierski said.

Jezierski served on the Broomfield City Council for about eight years ending in 2023, and was mayor pro tem for the last 2 ½ years of his time on the council, he said. Jezierski was elected vice chair of the Broomfield County Democrats last year, and he recused himself “from all party activity” since declaring his intent for the vacancy, he said.

The vacancy committee is set to meet virtually for a candidate forum and “for the purpose of electing” a new representative to fill the seat 5 p.m. Monday, according to the party’s website. The meeting will be livestreamed on the Colorado Democratic Party’s YouTube page at , according to the party’s site. The public can share thoughts for the vacancy committee and the candidates at .

Earning 56 of 57 votes cast Tuesday night, Lindstedt beat one challenger to become the new representative for Senate District 25, the Colorado Democratic Party said. A House member since the 2022 election, Lindstedt had already filed to run next year for Winter’s seat, which includes parts of Broomfield and Westminster. Winter, who was killed in a car crash last month, was term-limited.

In a statement, Lindstedt said the vacancy appointment wasn’t “how I expected to enter the State Senate, and I understand the weight of this moment for so many people.” But he said he was ready to step in immediately.

“The rising cost of housing, health care, child care, utilities and everyday necessities is putting real pressure on working people, and they deserve leadership that����ap focused on solutions,” he said in a news release.

Vacancy committees are composed of officials, volunteers and elected officials from the party that most recently won a legislative seat. They’re convened to replace lawmakers who leave office early, and they’ve become an increasingly common way for lawmakers to enter the legislature or to switch chambers.

Lindstedt’s move to the Senate means that another vacancy committee will now be called to replace him in the state House for the coming session, which starts Jan 14. Both Lindstedt and his House replacement will be up for reelection in November 2026.

Winter, 45, was killed after she rear-ended a pickup truck on Interstate 25 on Nov. 26. A toxicology report showed that her blood had an alcohol concentration of 0.185%, according to the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office. In Colorado, the legal limit is 0.08%.

Winter’s car collided with the back of a Ford F-350, and while the truck did not have visible rear tail lights at the time of the crash, the truck driver had been driving “with due regard,” the sheriff’s office said. The investigation determined Winter was at fault.

No criminal charges will be filed in relation to the incident, the sheriff’s office said.

Winter, a Democrat who represented Broomfield in the legislature, had recently struggled with her health and with substance use.

After she appeared intoxicated at a community event last year, she apologized and entered substance use treatment before returning to the Capitol. She was reprimanded by legislative leadership for the incident. In 2023, she was hospitalized after crashing her bike while swerving to avoid a truck, and she had also been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

Winter is survived by her two children. In a statement Friday, Winter’s family and friends said they were “profoundly grateful that no other families lost a loved one because of this crash.” They wrote that Winter struggled with alcohol addiction but that it did not define her.

“We are heartbroken by this loss,” they wrote. “We appreciate the work of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and all responding agencies who acted the night of the crash and conducted a thorough investigation. We know this tragedy has deeply affected many, and we encourage people to seek support as they process this loss.”

The family said they were issuing the statement “with care and honesty, in the hope that it encourages compassion and connection for those who may be facing similar challenges.”

Spokespeople for legislative leadership did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

At a funeral earlier this month, hundreds gathered to mourn Winter, who’d served in the state House and on the Westminster City Council before joining the Senate. Family, friends and elected officials — including Gov. Jared Polis — remembered Winter for her persistence, her love for her children, her efforts to encourage other women to run for office, and for the marquee policy achievements that she’d championed, including the state’s paid family leave program.

Most of the laws were among last spring, after lawmakers concluded their regular legislative session.

The laws will make it across Colorado cities and towns, and they will to cover car seats that are damaged in accidents. Lawmakers also around a newly adopted ballot measure that established veterinary professional associates in veterinary care, and they classified , making them illegal to possess unless authorized.

Some of the laws — including one making it easier to repair cellphones — were passed in 2024 or earlier and are just taking effect.

Here’s a look at seven of the new laws set to become active on Jan. 1:

Junk fees

With , state lawmakers sought to address a common complaint from Colorado tenants and from regulators nationwide: hidden fees.

The law requires many retailers and companies to “clearly and conspicuously” list the full cost of their goods or services in their advertising. It also bans landlords from charging mandatory fees for certain utility- or rent-processing expenses, property taxes, certain landlord expenses like pest control, and for maintenance of common areas.

It also prohibits landlords from charging fees if a tenant is late paying, well, other fees.

Anyone who violates the law commits a deceptive trade practice. The bill was backed by Reps. Emily Sirota and Naquetta Ricks and Sens. Mike Weissman and Lisa Cutter, all Democrats.

Easier electronic repair

Part of a string of “right-to-repair” bills passed in recent years, 2024’s requires the manufacturers of personal electronic equipment — like cellphones — to provide replacement parts, software and repair information to third-party shops and consumers. Similar legislation was passed for electric wheelchairs and for agricultural equipment, like tractors.

The goal, supporters say, is to make it easier — and, they hope, cheaper — to repair devices.

The 2024 legislation has a notable and lengthy list of exceptions. It doesn’t apply to video game consoles, for instance, or to power tools, industrial equipment or any devices manufactured for use in a medical setting.

The bill was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Brianna Titone and Steven Woodrow and Sens. Jeff Bridges and Nick Hinrichsen.

New gun show rules

New security requirements are coming to gun shows. , passed in the spring, requires the events’ promoters to submit plans, listing vendors and the planned number of attendees, to local law enforcement. Gun show promoters must obtain liability insurance, ensure entries and exits are watched by security, and prohibit minors from attending, unless they’re accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Promoters also must set up notices about state gun-control laws, such as those related to background checks and storage in vehicles.

HB-1238 was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Junie Joseph and Sean Camacho and Sens. Cathy Kipp and Jessie Danielson, and it was part of a slew of new gun regulations passed in 2025 and other recent Colorado legislative sessions. (The most prominent law passed last spring, via Senate Bill 3 — which will restrict sales of many semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines unless buyers pass a safety course — won’t take effect until next August.)

New efficiency standards

In 2023, lawmakers passed new and updated efficiency standards for a slew of devices and appliances. Those requirements — prohibiting the sale of the products unless they meet certain standards — will kick in.

The appliances covered in include:

• Air purifiers (excluding industrial models)
• Commercial ovens and “hot food holding cabinets”
• Electric storage water heaters
• Electric vehicle supply equipment
• Faucets, showerheads, certain fluorescent lights, and residential windows and doors

Manufacturers and retailers also won’t be able to make or sell water heaters or “fan-type central furnaces” unless they also meet certain emission limits. New requirements were also implemented for gas fireplaces, including an ability to automatically kill a pilot flame when the main burner isn’t active.

The bill was sponsored by Kipp and Cutter, plus fellow Democrats Rep. Jenny Willford and the late Sen. Faith Winter.

Child care fees

Under 2025’s , child care centers must refund application, deposit or waitlist fees paid by families whose children ultimately aren’t enrolled in the program. They must request the refunds in writing within six months, and the refunds won’t be required to be available for families that declined an enrollment offer.

The facilities can also continue charging a deposit, but SB-4 requires that the deposit be put toward the program’s tuition. Child care centers are also required to provide information about fees and refunds to families.

SB-4 was backed by Winter and Willford, along with Sen. Janice Marchman and Rep. Lorena Garcia, also Democrats.

Security deposit refunds

, passed in the last session, generally requires landlords to refund a tenant’s security deposit within 30 days, and it prohibits keeping any of the money to repair damage that predates a tenant’s time in the apartment. The law calls out new paint and carpet repairs as examples of what landlords can’t use security deposits to cover, unless the damage came about during a tenant’s occupancy and wasn’t a product of normal wear and tear.

Tenants can also request a walk-through to look at any damage, and landlords are required to provide a written statement describing the “exact reasons” why some or all of the deposit is being withheld.

The law provides explicit examples of landlords keeping deposits in “bad faith.” That includes keeping more money than is necessary to repair damage or keeping funds for “retaliatory or discriminatory” purposes. The bill was sponsored by Ricks and Danielson, plus fellow Democrats Sen. Tony Exum and Rep. Jennifer Bacon.

Abortion access

is a product of Colorado voters overwhelmingly approving Amendment 79, which established a constitutional right to abortion in the state, in the 2024 election. SB-183, passed in the last session, implements part of that ballot measure: It requires the state side of Medicaid, the government’s safety-net health insurance program, to cover abortion services for Medicaid patients and Child Health Plan Plus program recipients.

Insurance plans for public employees will also have to cover abortion.

Another recently passed abortion measure, went into effect in the spring. It strengthened Colorado’s shield law that protects health care providers, patients and their data from investigations and enforcement actions of other states.

SB-183 was sponsored by Garcia with fellow Democratic Sens. Robert Rodriguez and Lindsey Daugherty and House Speaker Julie McCluskie.

A memorial service for Winter will be held at 2 p.m. Friday on the west steps of the Colorado Capitol.

The Wednesday crash was first reported as a five-vehicle pile-up on northbound Interstate 25 near Dry Creek Road. However, investigators determined there were two wrecks involving five vehicles, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

The wrecks occurred around 6 p.m. Wednesday “in close proximity to each other,” the release stated. The first wreck involved two vehicles, and the second involved three.

Winter was killed in the second crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office reported. A second person injured in that crash was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Two other people were also taken to hospitals for injuries sustained in the first crash, according to the news release.

Investigators with the Arapahoe sheriff’s traffic safety unit are conducting a full reconstruction of the wreck to determine how and why it happened. Reconstructions are standard for severe accidents, including those involving fatalities and multiple vehicles. Investigators are still interviewing drivers, passengers and witnesses.

A detailed analysis of the crash will take several weeks to complete, the news release stated.

Anyone who witnessed either collision and has not yet spoken with investigators is asked to contact Deputy Benjamin Sears with the traffic safety unit at bsears@arapahoegov.com.

The sheriff’s office does not plan to release additional information until the reconstruction is finished.

Winter, 45, was a Broomfield Democrat who served 10 years at the state Capitol after first being elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and then the Senate in 2018.

Winter’s death shocked her colleagues at the Capitol, who remembered her hard work and dedication to her constituents. During her career, she worked on legislation involving family leave, climate improvement and protections against workplace harassment. Winter also faced a personal challenge in 2024 when she was cited with an ethics complaint for appearing intoxicated at a Northglenn community meeting. She sought treatment for substance use disorder after that complaint.

Winter is survived by two children and her fiancé. Family friends are accepting donations on to help Winter’s children pay for their mother’s funeral expenses and to add to their college savings.

Winter was killed Wednesday night in a multi-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 25 near Centennial. She was 45 years old.

Winter’s death was confirmed late Wednesday by Gov. Jared Polis and legislative leaders, and Polis ordered flags be lowered to half-staff in her honor on the day of her memorial service, which has not been announced.

“Our state is shaken by the loss of Senator Faith Winter, and I send my deepest condolences to her children, loved ones, friends, and colleagues across our state,” Polis said in a statement.

“I have had the honor of working with her on many issues to improve the lives of every person and family in our great state and tackling climate change. I am deeply saddened for her family, her friends and colleagues and her community. Faith’s work and advocacy made Colorado a better state.”

The Arapahoe County coroner’s office on Thursday confirmed Winter was killed in the crash, which also injured three others and closed northbound I-25 for more than five hours Wednesday night.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, and additional information likely will not be released until next week, Arapahoe County sheriff’s Deputy John Bartmann said Thursday. No one has been cited or arrested in connection with the crash. (On Dec. 1, the sheriff’s office said what was initially reported as a five-vehicle crash was in fact two crashes that occurred near one another — one involving two vehicles, and one involving three, the latter of which resulted in Winter’s death.)

10-year career in the statehouse exemplified her deep passion for making the lives of everyday Coloradans better as well as her remarkable resilience in the face of adversity, friends and colleagues told The Denver Post.

A Democrat from Broomfield, Winter served in the House from 2015 to 2019, moving over to the Senate after she won a seat in 2018. She also served on the Westminster City Council earlier in her career.

Winter was a driving force behind bringing paid family leave to Colorado; passing a massive 2021 transportation bill to improve the state’s roadways and expand transit options; and strengthening protections against workplace harassment, among many other initiatives.

“Faith was a deeply complex person, and she moved through multiple challenges with grace and remained dedicated to the work she was doing,” state Sen. Lisa Cutter said in an interview Thursday. “She believed in the work she was doing, believed in the power of friendship and connection and will always live on that way and certainly live on in my heart.”

Winter led the way in addressing sexual harassment in Colorado workplaces as well as her own workplace — the halls and chambers of the Capitol.

Her allegations against former state Rep. Steve Lebsock were followed by similar sexual harassment complaints from other women, leading to his expulsion from the House in 2018.

Winter went on to co-sponsor a 2023 bill, the , that bolstered protections against harassment and discrimination at work.

Former Speaker of the House Alec Garnett was with Winter the night she said Lebsock harassed her at a legislative party.

“I was always proud to stand by her side in moments when she was trying to change the culture of the Capitol,” Garnett said. “She was a leader in that space.”

Garnett met Winter as the two ran and won seats in the House of Representatives and described her as a leader among their class of state lawmakers.

“She understood the Capitol better than most,” Garnett said. “When we started, the legislature was very different: We were in split chambers with a small majority, and she knew how to work across the aisle to get some of her stuff through.”

Winter also knew when to take a stand, Garnett said, including running a paid family leave bill she knew would not pass the Republican-controlled state Senate to get legislators, the media and public talking about the issue.

Colorado voters went on to approve a ballot measure implementing paid family leave in November 2020.

Garnett was so inspired by Winter’s passion for paid family leave that he accidentally announced that his wife, Emily, was pregnant while speaking on the issue from the floor of the House.

“Somebody tweeted it and my wife texted me and asked, ‘Did you just announce I was pregnant on the floor of the House?'” Garnett said, laughing. “I told her I was so moved by Faith, I had to do it.”

Winter also cared deeply for those around her, from her family, including children Sienna and Tobin, to her friends and colleagues at the statehouse. The Capitol could be a lonely place, and Winter was intentional about connecting with people, whether through soup-making parties or field trips to pick sunflowers, Cutter said.

Flowers brought Winter deep joy, and she was known for keeping a tiny vase of flowers on her desk that she would arrange on Monday mornings and leaving single buds or tiny flower arrangements on the desks of her colleagues.

“She had a tremendous heart,” Cutter said. “I don’t know where she found the energy to do all that. I really don’t.”

Winter also faced several personal challenges, including an ethics complaint for appearing intoxicated at a Northglenn community meeting in 2024, which caused her to seek treatment for a substance use disorder.

Winter’s death caused an outpouring of grief from Colorado’s local, state and federal elected officials on Wednesday night and Thursday.

In a statement Wednesday night, Senate President James Coleman and Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez said they were “devastated” by her passing.

“Whether fighting for legislation to support mothers and families, championing groundbreaking transit policy, or simply supporting constituents in moments of need, she brought thoughtfulness, innovation, and humility to every aspect of her work,” they said in a joint statement.

Sen. Cleave Simpson, the Republican caucus leader in the chamber, said in a statement that Winter’s legacy was “one of courage, kindness and unity.”

“Senator Winter was not only a dedicated public servant but also a bridge builder,” Simpson said. “She worked tirelessly with colleagues across the aisle, forging strong partnerships with her Republican counterparts. Her ability to listen, collaborate and find common ground reflected her deep commitment to the people she served and to the integrity of the legislative process.”

House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Monica Duran, both Democrats, said in a statement that Winter “always fought for Colorado’s most vulnerable. Her bravery brought necessary reforms to the Capitol, and her kindness filled the building. We will all miss her dearly.”

They extended condolences to Winter’s family, including her children, as well as to former state Rep. Matt Gray, a fellow Democrat to whom she was engaged.

State Sen. Faith Winter was killed Wednesday night in a five-vehicle crash that closed northbound Interstate 25 near Centennial, according to news reports.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and legislative leaders confirmed Winter’s death in statements before 10 p.m., with Polis ordering that flags be lowered to half-staff in her honor.

On Wednesday night, and reported that Winter died in the crash near Dry Creek Road, which the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said resulted in one person dead and three injured.

The highway’s northbound lanes were reopened by 11:40 p.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“Our state is shaken by the loss of Senator Faith Winter, and I send my deepest condolences to her children, loved ones, friends, and colleagues across our state,” Polis said in a statement. “… I have had the honor of working with her on many issues to improve the lives of every person and family in our great state, and tackling climate change. I am deeply saddened for her family, her friends and colleagues, and her community. Faith’s work and advocacy made Colorado a better state.”

The crash occurred around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, and at exit 196 for Dry Creek Road, Deputy John Bartmann said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, and additional information will likely not be released until next week, Bartmann said. No one has been cited or arrested in connection with the crash.

, 45, a Broomfield Democrat, served in the state House from 2015 to 2019, switching to the Senate after she won a seat in the 2018 election. Earlier, she served on the Westminster City Council.

On Wednesday night, Senate President James Coleman and Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez said they were “devastated” by her passing.

“Whether fighting for legislation to support mothers and families, championing groundbreaking transit policy, or simply supporting constituents in moments of need, she brought thoughtfulness, innovation, and humility to every aspect of her work,” they said in a joint statement.

SMFR and are on scene of a multi-vehicle accident on I25 Northbound near Dry Creek Rd. Expect extended delays in the area.

— South Metro Fire Rescue (@SouthMetroPIO)

Sen. Cleave Simpson, the Republican caucus leader in the chamber, said in a statement that Winter’s legacy was “one of courage, kindness and unity.”

“Senator Winter was not only a dedicated public servant but also a bridge-builder,” Simpson said. “She worked tirelessly with colleagues across the aisle, forging strong partnerships with her Republican counterparts. Her ability to listen, collaborate, and find common ground reflected her deep commitment to the people she served and to the integrity of the legislative process.”

House Speaker Julie McCluskie and Majority Leader Monica Duran, both Democrats, said in a statement that Winter “always fought for Colorado’s most vulnerable. Her bravery brought necessary reforms to the Capitol, and her kindness filled the building. We will all miss her dearly.”

They extended condolences to Winter’s family, including her children, as well as to former state Rep. Matt Gray, a fellow Democrat to whom she was engaged.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Public affairs editor Jon Murray contributed to this story.