Reducing property taxes is part of our overall effort to save people money. That’s why you’ve been hearing recently about the vigorous debate around how to reduce property taxes. I’m pleased that a successful special session of the legislature last week passed historic property tax relief that, combined with previously passed property tax relief, will subtract $55,000 per home from state property tax valuation and reduce the residential assessment rate to 6.7%.

Coloradans living in a $500,000 home will save an average of about $505 on their 2023 property tax bill. But while these savings will certainly help, property tax bills will still go up for most Colorado families, which is why I am asking local governments to provide additional savings by reducing their property tax rates.

I recently wrote to every local government board chair asking them to take action: “With the historic rise in property values, most districts can make significant rate cuts and still maintain strong revenue growth at or above the rate of inflation…I urge you to reduce your mill levy as much as possible.”

I also reminded our hardworking local leaders that I signed legislation this year that allows districts to temporarily reduce mill levies without risking a permanent loss of revenue in an uncertain future.

I further directed the Department of Local Affairs to provide a helpful toolkit of options for districts to lower rates this year while preserving budgetary flexibility. Across the state, the district directors and commissioners we elect will make decisions in the next few weeks and I urge them to take action to keep communities across our state affordable.

Colorado’s overall economy remains strong, unemployment is low, and our state has a healthy budget surplus in case of an economic downturn. However, families are still burdened with a higher cost of living through no fault of their own. Prices have gone up faster than income for most families these last few years.

And while in-state gas prices are now hovering around $3.00/gallon, among the lowest in two years, the largest cost most families experience is their rent or mortgage. These costs continue to go up, largely driven by high-interest rates and a scarcity of homes to rent or buy near job centers.

My focus on more housing now seeks to remove barriers to increase housing supply, especially for the more affordable types of housing including apartments and condos, accessory dwelling units – also known as ADU’s or granny-flats – multiplexes, and homes near transit.

One factor that contributes to the cost of rent and homeownership across the board is rising property taxes. The perfect storm of the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment along with a record increase in home values, about 40% average across the state, was based on the two-year period ending in June 2022, which unfortunately was the peak of the housing market. This has led to an impending rise in property taxes due next year. Hardworking people in Colorado simply cannot afford a 40% increase in their tax bills, or even a 20% increase. Wages have simply not kept pace with the rising cost of living – especially housing – and high inflation and interest rates are creating an affordability crisis for many Colorado families.

Thousands of local elected officials in our state can help avoid an affordability crisis.

I want to applaud the Colorado Mountain College district, which encompasses Eagle, Grand, Jackson, Lake, Garfield, Pitkin, Summit, and Routt counties. Already one of the more expensive areas to live in the state, and with an average increase in home prices exceeding the state average. Colorado Mountain College plans to reduce its mill levy to keep revenue growth near inflation (5.7%). That’s a big deal, and I am grateful for the actions of their elected trustees and other districts that are taking action to reduce their levies.

Now that I have urged our local elected leaders to reduce their mill levy as much as possible, I encourage you to reach out to your local taxing districts as well. Your local elected officials need to hear from you. Ask them to reduce the property tax rates this year to make your community more affordable.

Jared Polis is serving his second term as the governor of Colorado.

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This is not a reality we should be forced to accept, and even though natural gas is a globally traded commodity and the market sets the price, I will do everything in my power to provide relief and save people money. My aggressive approach to reducing energy costs is no different than my work in other areas to save people money — from free, full-day kindergarten and preschool to capping insulin costs to cutting property and income taxes.

That’s why this week I will officially call on the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the Colorado Energy Office (CEO), and all of Colorado’s utilities to look at how every single process and procedure can be altered to protect Colorado consumers, lower costs, and avoid price swings like the one we’re experiencing now.

I specifically spelled out immediate and longer-term actions for how each entity, in partnership with the state, can accomplish this vision.

I’m directing the Public Utilities Commission, within the Department of Regulatory Agencies, to improve long-term price stability and reduce customer exposure to spikes. Our utilities must be held accountable to ratepayers, and we must ensure that they lose profits over failure to protect consumers from increased natural gas prices.

I am also requesting that the PUC elevate frontline resources such as the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), utility Percentage of Income Payment Plans (PIPP), and other forms of state or local assistance to support our most vulnerable Coloradans.

I’m further directing the Colorado Energy Office to expedite the creation of the federally funded Whole Home Energy Retrofit Program, which will help more Coloradans save money through increased access to energy efficiency upgrades like high-efficiency home appliances. I’m also directing the CEO to work with all utilities in Colorado to identify those most vulnerable to natural gas prices and prioritize outreach and resources to them.

Beyond that, I am urging the leadership at Colorado’s energy utilities to support regulatory changes and relief to reduce customers’ exposure to high and fluctuating gas prices. They need to coordinate with our state agencies to ensure our most vulnerable Coloradans can access the resources they need. All while supporting distributed generation and storage financing with on-bill tariff/rebate mechanisms, and continuing to drive the transition to lower-cost renewable energy.

To be clear, these are just a few of the ways we are looking to provide relief to Coloradans. I have spelled out over 30 recommendations and directions that the state and our partners should be moving full-steam ahead on.

But the only real, long-term solution to preventing these price swings and saving Coloradans money is the full transition to reliable, low-cost renewable energy that does not change in price with international events. We simply must end our reliance on costly fossil fuels and improve our energy security.

When I took office, I made putting our state on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2040 one of my bold goals. Had we gotten there faster, and shifted more heating from gas to electricity, we wouldn’t be facing price spikes that are costing all of us more this winter. We’ve already locked in more than 80% renewable energy in the future and I will be relentless in my pursuit of saving Coloradans money by helping Colorado secure the final 20%.

Colorado utilities have gotten bids for wind generation around 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour (KWH) and new solar energy around 3 cents per KWH, while natural gas generation costs range from 4 to 7 cents per KWH. These excess natural gas costs are passed along to consumers.

We know what needs to be done to lower costs, and I hope my fellow leaders join my efforts to protect Coloradans and put damaging utility-bill price swings in the past.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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Since that day, nearly 6,000 Coloradans have died from COVID-19. These are our grandmothers and grandfathers, moms and dads, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

I can still remember what it felt like to learn that we had lost our first Coloradan to COVID-19, a woman from El Paso County, and, and all I could think about was her story, her family. The loved ones she was leaving behind, and the immense grief they now carried.

Sadly, this is the reality for far too many Colorado families who have experienced loss over this last year. And it’s not only the loss of a loved one that we grieve, for too many it’s the loss of a job that provided purpose and put a roof over your family’s head. It’s the loss of the life we once knew.

But it’s during times of hardship when Coloradans summon the strength and resilience that lives deep in our DNA. Time and time again we have proved that no matter how often we are knocked down, we will keep getting up. And that has been true throughout this pandemic.

Looking toward the future, there are many reasons to be hopeful. Every day we take another step closer to the end of this public health crisis. The lifesaving vaccine is making its way into arms across the state, and I won’t rest until every person who wants a vaccine can get one. We have already reached the ambitious goal we set to vaccinate 70% of Coloradans 70 and older by the end of February, and now we anticipate that by the end of April we could be receiving 400,000 safe and highly effective vaccines each week, a significant increase in our supply. We can see the light at the end of this tunnel, but we’re not there quite yet.

As we continue forward, we can’t stop doing what we know works to slow the spread of this virus and help save lives. We must protect ourselves and our loved ones.

As survivors, it’s our responsibility to wake up every day and live our lives as best as we can — because one year after this pandemic came to our state, there are nearly 6,000 Coloradans who no longer can. Let us cherish each and every day of precious life, and continue showing our love for one another by taking extra care in the final months of this pandemic.

Don’t do it because I’m urging you to, do it for those we’ve lost, for yourself, for your loved ones and for the future of our state. Wear your mask, socially distance yourself from others, continue limiting your social interactions, and please, get the vaccine when it’s your turn.

In the coming weeks and months, I believe there will be much to celebrate. But for now, let us take a moment to honor the sacrifices we’ve made this last year and reflect on the memory of those who are no longer with us.

Together, we will get through this. Together, we will recover. Together, we will heal.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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Today, Colorado is one of the top states in the country when it comes to successfully administering the vaccine. We are consistently exhausting our weekly supplies and no dose is going to waste. This process has not been perfect, but it’s not about perfection — it’s about getting it out and saving lives.

Currently, we are laser-focused on vaccinating Coloradans 70 and older. This group accounts for more than 75% of our COVID-related deaths, and nearly 40% of hospitalizations. It’s why we set the goal to vaccinate at least 70% of this population by February 28.

As of February 1, we have vaccinated 220,963 Coloradans 70 and older, which is 56% of our goal. By February 7, we anticipate having vaccinated 301,763 Coloradans 70 and older, and by February 28 we expect to have inoculated at least 418,000 people 70 and older, achieving our goal.

Not only do we have a clear path to achieving our goal, but we now have assurances that we will receive enough doses over the next few weeks to begin vaccinating even more Coloradans.

Last week, I announced that beginning on February 8, all Coloradans 65-69 years old, preschool through 12th grade educators, and child care workers in licensed programs will be eligible to receive the vaccine. This group is now known as 1B2, and we have set the goal of vaccinating most of them by March 5. And beginning in early March, as we better understand the number of vaccines we will be receiving in Colorado, we look forward to further expanding who can get it to include many others.

This is a big next step for Colorado, but we wouldn’t be taking it if I didn’t believe we were ready. So how can we make this happen?

Over the next month, we anticipate that Colorado will receive between 80,000 and 90,000 vaccines each week. These numbers are based on conservative estimates of our weekly vaccine allocations and are dependent on the supply chain. We have factored in the 16% increase in doses that the Biden administration has already announced, but we do not take into account the potential approval of any new vaccines or further increase in supply from the federal government, which means these numbers could potentially go up.

Moving on to these next groups is going to be critical. By entering phases on a rolling basis, we are able to manage our supply and demand to ensure that there is an arm for every dose and that no vaccine goes to waste. One of the challenges other states have run into is too narrowly defining their vaccination pool, which slows down vaccinations and stalls the process. We want to continue getting doses into arms as quickly as possible and bring Colorado even closer to ending this public health crisis.

Coloradans who are eligible for the vaccine and have questions about how and where they can get it, should visit www.cocovidvaccine.org or call our vaccine hotline at 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926).

This has been a long road Colorado, but with every dose of the vaccine administered we get closer to returning to a life where we can embrace our friends and family, share a meal at our local restaurant, throw that party, and more. We can see the finish line, but the race is not over. So let’s keep it up Colorado. We’re in this together.

 Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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As months went by without action from the federal government, we knew that in Colorado we had to come together and do what we could to provide urgent support for those who have been hit the hardest. As soon as we were able, the General Assembly convened a special session to do just that.

And while we know that the relief we’re providing will not be a silver bullet for addressing all the challenges folks are facing, we refused to stand by and do nothing while we waited for the federal government to step up and do their part.

In just a week, we were able to pass and sign bipartisan legislation extending a lifeline to Colorado families, small businesses, arts and culture venues, childcare, students learning remotely and more.

Our small businesses help define the culture of our communities. In total we passed $105 million in small business relief, including $37 million in direct payments to small businesses such as restaurants, caterers, bars, fitness and recreational sports centers, movie theaters, and breweries, wineries, and distilleries. We cut red tape and waived fees to ensure that small businesses can keep more of the money they earn, as well as funded grants for our arts and culture organizations.

But it’s not just our businesses that need support. Coloradans across the state are facing challenges on all fronts.

This pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs or become underemployed, and far too many are unsure of whether they’ll be able to make rent, pay their mortgage or keep the heat on. That’s why we put $60 million toward direct housing assistance for rent and mortgage payments and additional resources for the Eviction Legal Defense Fund, as well as $5 million in utility assistance. The legislature also allocated $5 million to support food pantries for those struggling with food insecurity during this difficult time.

Over the last nine months, many frontline workers, first responders and working families have relied on the support of child care providers to care for their children and serve our communities. There has been incredible demand on child care centers and homes across the state, and to ensure they can continue providing these critical services we put $45 million toward maintaining and increasing their capacity in Colorado.

Investing in our children and their education is the best thing we can do for the future of our state. This year as students, parents, and educators have transitioned between remote and in-person learning, access to high-speed broadband has become even more of a necessity. Without it, students, particularly low-income students and those living in rural areas, will fall further behind. We’re proud to have allocated $20 million to address this issue, and will continue looking at what we can do to help prevent learning loss when the legislature reconvenes.

While we’re incredibly proud of the bipartisan progress we’ve made to support people across our state who are just trying to get by, we know there is a lot more work to do. Congress is finally on the brink of coming together to pass a stimulus package. But until it is passed, we remain committed to doing everything we can to support our fellow Coloradans.

We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through it together.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado. He wrote this oped with Colorado Senate President Leroy Garcia, Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, House Speaker KC Becker and Speaker-designate Alec Garnett.

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This ballot measure will provide free preschool access to every four-year-old in Colorado. Prop. EE also restores crucial public school funding that was lost due to COVID-19 budget cuts — money that will go a long way to help our schools return to full-time in-person learning as quickly and safely as possible. I encourage every Coloradan to vote yes.

This spring, I worked with the Republicans and Democrats in the state legislature to bring together business, health care, and education leaders from across Colorado to advise us as we crafted the bipartisan Proposition EE and referred the measure to the voters. The result is that at a time when our country is more divided than ever politically, Prop. EE has far-reaching support from across the ideological spectrum. Its endorsers range from the American Heart Association to teachers unions, from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to the state’s most conservative newspaper editorial board.

That’s because Prop. EE helps Colorado families in ways we can all agree are worthwhile — paid for in a manner that is thoughtful, practical and science-driven.

Let’s start with how it will be paid for. Prop. EE closes a tax loophole whose greatest beneficiary is tobacco executives.

Currently, Colorado has among the lowest cigarette taxes in the country — and vaping products are excluded from the tax altogether. It’s no coincidence that we’re also among the states with the highest rate of teen vaping. Prop. EE gradually brings our cigarette tax into line with other states, while closing the vape tax loophole so that vaping products are taxed like every other tobacco product.

Health experts from the American Lung Association to Children’s Hospital Colorado agree that these changes will reduce teen vaping, helping our kids avoid the harmful long-term health consequences of nicotine use and, in the long run, reducing health care costs. In addition, all Prop. EE funds will be audited every year — so the people of Colorado will know that the money is going exactly where the voters say.

Prop EE will also provide free, universal preschool access for every Colorado family. Study after study has shown that quality preschool narrows the achievement gap and improves educational, economic, and health outcomes throughout a child’s life. Kids who go to preschool are more likely to read at grade level in elementary school, graduate high school on time, avoid contact with the criminal justice system, and earn better wages as adults. Every child in Colorado deserves this opportunity.

Equally clear are the benefits to parents and families. Preschool in Colorado can easily exceed $1,000 per month. That’s money that could instead go toward paying for essentials, starting a business, or saving for the future. And providing preschool opportunities enables parents to return to work faster if they choose, move forward in their careers, and earn better wages.

Prop. EE is a win-win solution: by closing a special interest tax loophole that is harmful to our kids’ health, we gain free preschool access for every four-year-old, healthier families, and better schools.

Let’s come together and turn that vision into reality, Colorado. Yes on Prop EE.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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This week, after 32 long days and nights, Colorado’s statewide Stay-at-Home order has been lifted.

Unfortunately, many health and safety restrictions will need to remain in place, and there are many difficult months ahead — but let’s pause for a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come in the past month.

Because Coloradans have done such a great job of staying at home, and wearing a face covering and practicing distancing when we need to go out, the Stay-at-Home order has been effective.

Before the stay-at-home order, new coronavirus cases in Colorado were growing at a staggering 66% rate, threatening our hospital capacity and under scientific models, potentially leading to over 30,000 deaths of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones here in our state. Now the daily growth rate of new cases is below 5% and the daily growth rate of new hospital admissions is below 1%.

The stay-at-home order also bought us valuable time to build more hospital capacity and acquire more masks, gloves, ventilators, and testing supplies.

Because of the progress we’ve made, we can now move to a new phase in our coronavirus response — the “Safer-at-Home” phase.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that this new Safer-at-Home phase doesn’t mean we’re going back to the way things were in January or February of this year. The brutal, honest truth is that we will likely need to maintain some level of distancing in our society and continue to wear facial coverings in public until there’s a cure or a vaccine for COVID-19. That could take months, even years. And if we relax restrictions too quickly, we will lose the progress we have made, and we may overwhelm our hospital system, causing hundreds, if not thousands, of unnecessary deaths.

On the other hand, we simply can’t stay cooped up inside for months and months — it’s not sustainable for our economy, our society, or our overall mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Living in a black and white world of shutdowns and openings might be simpler to think about, but the reality is that we will be living in a world of gray for the coming months as we seek to balance our health with our economic and psychological needs. We must seek to live not with anxiety, not with fear, but with justified caution.

This new Safer-at-Home phase is meant to establish a level of social distancing that can be sustained for a longer period of time. It will allow us to gradually relax restrictions on our economy and our society while protecting our health care system and our most vulnerable residents.

For many Coloradans, this new phase won’t be a drastic change.

Safer-at-Home means most Coloradans should continue to limit social interactions to the greatest extent possible to just individuals in your household.

Those who are most vulnerable to COVID 19 — those with chronic illnesses and Coloradans over the age of 65 — must continue to stay at home unless absolutely necessary for the month of May. We need to do all we can to protect our most at-risk populations, and my administration has enacted additional protections and ramped up testing at senior care facilities to keep older Coloradans safer.

Gatherings of over 10 people remain prohibited. Schools, gyms, spas, bars and nightclubs will all remain closed.

And some areas of our state, including most of the Denver metro region, are still under a Stay-at-Home order for several more days. These local regulations must be followed, as the severity of the crisis differs from county to county, community to community.

But if you live in an area where there is no local Stay-at-Home order, there are a number of safe steps we are taking to gradually bring back some pieces of our economy to help folks earn a living and help our small businesses get back on their feet:

● Retail businesses can now have curbside pickup, and open their doors on May 1 with strict precautions in place.
● Real Estate showings — but not open houses — may resume as well.
● Elective medical and dental procedures can begin again, with strict precautions to ensure worker and patient safety.
● Personal services (salons, dog grooming, personal training, etc.) will open with strict precautions on May 1.
● Offices and other workplaces can open at 50% capacity with strict precautions in place starting May 4, but we are encouraging employers to continue to maximize telecommuting.
● Limited post-secondary instruction may resume, including technical and vocational programs that cannot be done remotely.

● And while restaurants and bars will remain closed except for takeout/delivery, the state
is working towards a phased reopening with strict precautions.

You can find out more about what this new “Safer-at-Home” phase means at coloradosaferathome.com.

I know many are disappointed that life won’t be going back to normal. But we can’t just turn things on and off like a light switch. It’s going to look more like a dimmer switch — slowly getting brighter.

We have to accept the fact that coronavirus will certainly be with us for many months to come, and this new “Safer-at-Home” order will help us live with coronavirus in a sustainable way until there is a vaccine or a cure.

I have faith in the data, the science, and the people of Colorado that we can be successful in this new phase.

The numbers would not look like they do today if Coloradans had been ignoring the Stay-at-Home order for the past month. Your compliance gives me confidence that we can enter into this new phase safely. Wearing masks when you’re out in public and reducing your social interactions are both critical for Colorado to succeed and to save lives.

We all need to continue to take this seriously and do right by our fellow Coloradans. If we don’t, we’ll have to tighten restrictions again. Nobody wants that.

So keep up the good work, Colorado. Please continue to do your part. It’s working. And together we’ll get through this crisis and come out the other side stronger than ever.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado

I know we’re all disappointed and frustrated by the disruptions and inconveniences that the new coronavirus is causing to our daily lives, and more importantly, we’re concerned about the health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones.

As governor, I am in constant consultation with public health experts as we study and implement effective, science-based responses and policies so we can keep Coloradans safe — especially populations that are the most vulnerable to coronavirus, including folks over 60-years-old and those who have underlying health conditions.

Our greatest challenge at this point is reducing the spread of the virus and not overwhelming our health care system’s capacity.

I am extremely proud of our public health staff here in Colorado who stood up the first-in-the-nation drive-up testing facility, which has given us crucial data to track the spread of the virus and respond accordingly.

But to be clear, limited access to CDC testing kits has hampered our ability to conduct widespread testing, and now Colorado and the whole country are behind where we need to be. At this point, our provider community is rapidly stepping up to expand testing in the state. If you feel symptoms, isolate yourself, contact your health care provider to get a diagnosis and find out where you can get tested.

However, we must assume that there are thousands of undiagnosed cases in Colorado, and we need to work together as a community to limit the spread of the virus.

The experience of previous countries shows that limits on social contact are urgently needed to slow the spread of the virus enough to avoid a situation where we have too many severe COVID-19 cases at one time, and there aren’t enough hospital beds, ventilators, respirators, and medical professionals to care for everyone who gets sick.

That is why aggressive precautions are being taken now to prevent widespread devastation in the weeks ahead — prohibiting gatherings of over 50 or more, closing schools, downhill ski areas, bars and restaurants excluding takeout, providing benefits to some workers to get tested and take time off of work, restricting visitation to facilities that serve older Coloradans who are more vulnerable to coronavirus, and many more actions.

But there’s only so much that any government can do. We all have to take our personal responsibility seriously.

To that end, we are launching a campaign called “Doing My Part CO” where we are encouraging Coloradans to engage in best practices and to share them on social media with the hashtag #DoingMyPartCO: practicing proper hygiene and social distancing, working from home if you can, walking, biking, or taking your car instead of using public transit, watching movies at home instead of going to the theater, getting groceries or medicine for an elderly neighbor, and taking it easy on the toilet paper at the supermarket.

We’re also coordinating offers of help from philanthropists, the private sector, and ordinary Coloradans who want to volunteer to help. You can donate to the Colorado COVID Relief Fund. Funds raised will be used to support the unmet needs of the communities and agencies impacted by COVID-19. Volunteer efforts are being coordinated at the state’s Emergency Operations Center and those interested can sign up to volunteer at www.HelpColoradoNow.org.

Doing right by our fellow Coloradans is about more than just protecting our health care system, health care workers, and our most vulnerable populations. Science tells us that doing good deeds helps our own mental health, which will continue to be a challenge for Coloradans in the weeks ahead.

Here are a few ideas to help with mental health:

• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic constantly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, pray, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.
• If you’re not in quarantine or isolation, take advantage of our magnificent national, state, and local parks while maintaining a safe distance from others on the trail. It’s one of the best ways to keep ourselves healthy both physically and mentally.
• Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy. Sink yourself into a book series or TV series. Practice an instrument. Work on learning a new language.
• Catch up on family time. Read with your kids. Do craft projects. Play board games. Put on a play or a puppet show.
• Connect with others. Look through your contacts and call a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a while. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Have a webcam dinner party with friends and family.

If you’ve got some great ideas of your own, share them on social media with the hashtag #DoingMyPartCO.

Colorado, I know this won’t be easy. But we’ve been challenged before, and we’ve proven our resiliency time and time again.

We must rise to the moment once again and do our part to protect the health and safety of our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable. We are all in this together, and we’re going to get through this together.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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— Charles Dickens

Close your eyes and think about a time when you helped someone — a charitable donation, a volunteer opportunity, maybe just a random act of kindness towards a stranger.

Think about how that generosity made you feel. It probably made you happy. You may be smiling thinking about it right now.

It’s no secret that helping others makes us happier people — as every major faith tradition and scientific study after scientific study confirms. Isaiah 58:10 tells us, “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.” And a recent study showed that people who were given a small amount of money and instructed to donate it were happier than those who were given the money and instructed to spend it on themselves.

It’s no accident that “the most wonderful time of the year” is also synonymous with giving.

So this December, I want to acknowledge Coloradans who have gone above and beyond to give back, and I want to challenge my fellow Coloradans to spread joy this holiday season through good deeds and community service.

Giving back can be formal or informal. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of one of our treasured formal ways of giving back: AmeriCorps, the United States’ national service program, through which 35,000 Americans have served at 800 service sites across Colorado.

Across our state, from the Eastern Plains to the Western Slope and everywhere in between, AmeriCorps has been at the forefront of doing good: helping to address the affordable housing crisis by building homes with Habitat for Humanity from Greeley to Montrose; establishing and tending community gardens and teaching cooking classes in Montezuma County and Gunnison; helping Colorado youth develop 21st-century workforce skills, graduate from high school, and consider STEM fields in academic and career choices in Fort Morgan; and conserving protected areas and mitigating fire risk from Durango to Woodland Park. And that’s just to name a few examples.

I am thankful that this year, Colorado received its largest-ever grant for programming in Colorado communities like Saguache, Fort Collins, and Steamboat Springs, and that national service in our region is getting stronger. This fall, the Corporation for National and Community Service will open a mountain region office in metro Denver, making Colorado a hub for national service through the Mountain West.

So this holiday season, please join me in congratulating AmeriCorps on 25 incredible years of service, and celebrating a culture of volunteerism. If you see an AmeriCorps member or other volunteer in a classroom, on the trail, or in your community, on behalf of myself and all Coloradans, thank them for their service.

And by all means, get involved yourself. Volunteering is not only a great way to upgrade your happiness, but also is a fun way to meet friends who share your interests and passions. And volunteer opportunities are as varied as life itself. If you like animals, consider your local animal shelter or humane society. If you like being outdoors, consider trail clean-ups.

It’s hard to find extra time in life. Between work and family, and especially during the holidays shuttling from store to store (or website to website) to buy gifts, things can seem overwhelming. Volunteering a day a week or more can actually help you find new positivity and balance that works for you.

So join your fellow Coloradans in giving back this season. Whether that’s through AmeriCorps, your local house of worship or school, feeding the homeless, a nonprofit, helping an elderly neighbor plow their driveway, donating to a food drive, or any other form of charity. Your contribution, no matter how big or small, can change lives and help ensure a happy, healthy and joyful holiday season for all Coloradans.

And once the lights come down after the new year — we can keep showing up and keep giving back. Charitable giving and volunteerism usually take a dip after the holidays, so in January and February and all throughout the year, we should continue to each do our part to make Colorado an even better place.

Coloradans are generous people. For generations, we’ve helped each other out in times of need, and it’s made us a better state and a better society.

Let’s do our part to pay it forward this holiday season and beyond.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

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It’s even better to get a 20% discount on a high-ticket item like health insurance premiums.

Across the state, hundreds of thousands of Colorado families who buy their own health insurance will save an average of 20.2% on their premiums this coming year, with much greater savings in rural communities that suffer from the highest health care costs.

Let me tell you how my administration and lawmakers did it, and what’s next for our agenda to save people money on health care.

The Affordable Care Act allowed states to expand Medicaid and set up health care exchanges where insurance companies could offer more affordable plans. Colorado took the initiative, expanded Medicaid, and set up a health care exchange called Connect for Health Colorado. As a result, the uninsured rate in our state fell from 13% to 6.5%.

But health care costs remained high, especially in rural areas where fewer choices forced hardworking Colorado families to shoulder some of the highest health premiums in the nation.

So when Coloradans made me their governor, I got to work on an innovative policy called reinsurance that passed with the support of legislators on both sides of the aisle.

Reinsurance allows insurance companies to offset their most costly claims, which adds stability to the health care marketplace. And when insurance companies have more certainty that they can offset costly claims, your premiums go down.

As a result of this policy, the typical family of four who gets their health care from the exchange will save $6,193 per year on average, with savings as high as $10,302 per year in some areas of the state that have been the hardest-hit by high health care costs.

This is an absolute game-changer for Coloradans who buy their own health insurance — small business owners who can’t afford to provide coverage for their employees, self-employed folks, people who retire a few years before Medicare kicks in, and those employed in the gig economy.

Open enrollment started on Friday, Nov. 1 and lasts through the end of the year. If you are someone who doesn’t get health care through your employer or the government, visit ConnectForHealthCO.com and see how much you can save — especially if you are already enrolled in a plan offered on the exchange.

And if you’ve been going without health insurance because you couldn’t afford it, check out these new rates to see if you can fit it into your budget.

This is also good news if you do have employer-sponsored coverage. When premiums on the health exchange go down, more people can afford to purchase coverage, and when there are fewer uninsured folks drawing from the system and shifting costs onto others, then everyone’s costs go down.

Lower premiums on the state’s health exchange will also inject more competition into the insurance market, which will put pressure on insurance companies to offer better rates on employer-based health coverage.

Speaking of injecting competition into the insurance market, I’m also hard at work developing a public option to reduce costs even further.

Because when you have more options to choose from when it comes to health plans, insurance companies have to compete for your business, which means you’re likely to get a better rate.

And this public option will be a crucial lifeline especially to rural communities where there may be only one or two insurance providers, leading to higher prices.

That’s just a small sample of the work we’re doing to reduce health care costs.

We also enacted a landmark hospital transparency bill to get hospital costs under control, and legislation to tackle surprise out-of-network billing. We passed a plan to import cheaper prescription drugs safely from Canada to save people money, and we’re working with the federal government to implement the policy. And we did it all with bipartisan support.

There’s lots more work ahead, but in the meantime, let’s take advantage of these significant savings and celebrate something we see about as often as a blue moon: health costs actually going down.

Jared Polis is the governor of Colorado.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.