Navigating Government Overreach from Building Codes to Energy Policy

On May 28, 2025, Kim Monson returns from travel to examine the growing burden of government overreach on Colorado businesses and property owners. Dave Evans, a Colorado Union of Taxpayers board member, details seven problematic building bills. Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy, provides insight into federal energy policy shifts. Trent Loos, a sixth-generation farmer, challenges conventional thinking about property taxes and the proper role of government.

Building Codes and Regulatory Creep

Start listening at 16:49 – Hour 1

Dave Evans breaks down seven bills affecting construction and housing costs in Colorado. As a board member of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers with over 40 years in the construction industry, Evans explains how House Bill 1269, the Building Decarbonization Measures bill, requires existing building owners to reduce energy usage or face steep penalties. The legislation imposes a $400 annual fee on large commercial and residential properties, with first violation fines of $500 plus $2,300 per month until compliance.

Evans warns that building owners will likely avoid renovations exceeding $500,000 to escape the new requirements. The bill creates an unelected, governor-appointed task force to set building-by-building performance targets, a structure Evans says opens the door to selective enforcement and potential corruption. Senate Bill 002 mandates regional building codes for factory-built structures, forcing manufacturers to meet Colorado-specific requirements that will increase costs for modular housing.

“That’ll be inflated as time goes and notice that’s a fee, it’s not a tax, and so those funds are TABOR exempt.”

Dave Evans, Colorado Union of Taxpayers Board Member

Federal Energy Policy Under Trump

Start listening at 33:29 – Hour 1

Bob Boswell explains the Trump administration’s efforts to reopen federal lands for oil and gas development. As CEO of Laramie Energy, Boswell notes that 70% of western lands are federally controlled, and the Biden administration had effectively shut down leasing. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a Colorado native and MIT scholar, is accelerating the phase-out of clean energy subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act, potentially saving $560 billion over the next decade.

Boswell highlights the disconnect between Colorado’s push for data centers and its hostility toward fossil fuels. Data centers powering artificial intelligence require massive amounts of reliable energy that renewables cannot provide. Nuclear power, the cleanest long-term solution, requires 17 years for plant authorization. Boswell criticizes Governor Polis’s mandate to eliminate fossil fuels, noting that state regulations are more prohibitive than federal ones. He points to a small Western Slope community where Laramie Energy provides 70% of tax revenue for schools, and new regulations could quadruple property taxes for local farmers and ranchers.

“Well, I think it’s idiotic that they are trying to promote data centers and then at the same time trying to change the sources of energy.”

Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy

Property Taxes and Constitutional Limits

Start listening at 72:03 – Hour 2

Trent Loos challenges the constitutional basis for public education funding through property taxes. The sixth-generation farmer notes that 55% of Colorado property taxes fund schools, with some districts reaching 71%. He questions whether a $70 million school for 250 students, equating to $280,000 per student, represents responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Loos argues that private and charter schools deliver superior results without the burden on property owners.

The discussion turns to election integrity when Loos asks: if elections determining these bond measures were compromised, should the results stand? Kim Monson raises concerns about the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment, which had protected residential property tax rates. Loos proposes that starving government funding is the only path to restoring constitutional limits, while questioning whether executive orders themselves have constitutional authority. The conversation explores whether modern taxation without meaningful representation has exceeded what the Founders confronted 250 years ago.

“The only way this is going to happen is that they do not have access to our money at an unlimited rate, which is currently taking place.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher