Surveillance pricing ban gains momentum
Voters support protections across party, race, gender
Using AI to set different prices and wages for people based on their individual characteristics could be outlawed in Colorado, as momentum gathers for a proposed ban on the practice, known as surveillance pricing.
Most Coloradans agree that people should be protected from companies unfairly using personal data to set higher prices or offer lower wages for certain people, according to a recent survey by the American Economic Liberties Project and Data for Progress. The levels of support and opposition reported in the poll were fairly stable across political parties, race and gender, indicating broad consensus.
Similar proposals are being introduced in states across the country and the Colorado bill is advancing through the state legislature, but there are some caveats. Businesses generally oppose the ban and lawmakers have previously tried passing similar legislation only to run into opposition from Gov. Jared Polis, who has made hundreds of millions of dollars in the tech sector.
Need to Know
⛓️ The state parole board could release incarcerated people who committed crimes as juveniles without the governor’s approval, under a proposal being considered by lawmakers as Colorado’s prison system nears the limits of its current capacity. State law offers early release to juvenile offenders who serve at least 20 years and complete other requirements, but Gov. Jared Polis hasn’t approved any releases under that program since 2023. The new proposal would give the governor 60 days to make a decision before the parole board could act on its own. (Denver Post)
🧐 A state lawmaker is under investigation for allegedly mismanaging political party funds. The House Ethics Committee is looking into several thousand dollars of spending by Rep. Mandy Lindsay, a Democrat from Aurora, who made multiple payments of party funds into her personal account. Fellow lawmakers will probe whether the payments were legitimate reimbursements with poor record-keeping or misappropriation. (Colorado Newsline, Denver Post, read the complaint)
🏥 A health care program that helped immigrant kids and pregnant people is getting slashed in the coming year’s state budget. The program started in 2022 but ended up costing nearly seven times as much as initially projected due to unexpectedly high demand. The cuts are among many health care aid reductions lawmakers are considering to comply with the state constitution’s limits on the growth of government spending. (Colorado Newsline)
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Something Good
🌱 My wife and I are starting a little garden this summer and some of our seeds have already started taking off. The radishes were the first to pop up, but the rainbow chard isn’t far behind. And we’ve got some little calendula seedlings starting to sprout as well. I can’t wait to start harvesting and eating these homegrown veggies.
