State & Federal Update – January 2, 2025

It’s Thursday, January 2, 2025. The 2025 Colorado General Assembly will convene in 6 days. This is the first State & Federal Update of 2025. Happy New Year!

These updates are curated from multiple news sources and designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure.” Please read any coverage of interest and skip anything you deem to be irrelevant. Hyperlinks are provided to add additional context. With the 24/7 news-cycle I hope to keep us all in the loop on items we may want to know about or better understand. Please feel free to share if you think someone outside FGMC needs to be aware of this information.

Disclaimer – The news and articles contained within this update do not represent any political positions or policy opinions of Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP. This update is designed for informational purposes only.

A chill in the air means one thing – winter is coming – and I am not talking about the weather. The Colorado legislative season is almost upon us.

About a quarter of Colorado’s legislators will be new when the next session begins, with most of them stepping into their first term in the Capitol. Seven current representatives will move to the Senate, including Democratic Senators-elect Marc Snyder, Cathy Kipp, Judy Amabile, Lindsey Daugherty, and Mike Weissman, as well as Republican Senators-elect Lisa Frizell and Marc Catlin.

The legislature’s next session will start on January 8. In the State House, Democrats will hold a 43-22 majority, while in the State Senate, they will have a 23-12 majority. These margins are similar to the partisan balance in the previous two years. In the November elections, Republicans flipped three seats in the House and one in the Senate, while Democrats gained one Senate seat.

Meanwhile in Washington DC,  Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence in his chances ahead of Friday’s House Speaker vote.

Every two years, the newly elected U.S House and U.S. Senate convene at noon on Jan. 3. “We’re going to get this done,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox & Friends. “I’m humbled and honored to have President Trump’s endorsement for the role again.” He also referenced the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans, highlighting the serious challenges the country is facing. “The things we’re talking about this morning show that we live in very serious times,” Johnson said. The Speaker emphasized that the nation and Congress cannot afford to be caught up in drama.

Reminder: The U.S. House can’t conduct any business until a Speaker is elected. But assuming that happens…

In just four days, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress inside a heavily secured Capitol building to count the Electoral College votes and officially certify Trump’s victory. All of this will take place in the first seven days of 2025. Later in the month, we’ll also see confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees (with Pete Hegseth’s hearings for Secretary of Defense set for January 14), Biden’s farewell speech, Trump’s inauguration on January 20, and a flurry of activity from the new administration.

Welcome to 2025.

Today’s Big Three Things-To-Know:

1. The new year brings a new face to the Denver Mayor’s Office. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has appointed Bill Mosher, a prominent local business leader, to oversee the city’s next wave of investment and development projects. Mosher, who has served as senior managing director for Trammell Crow Company’s Denver office for two decades, was named chief projects officer on December 23. Trammell Crow, a subsidiary of CBRE Group, has been responsible for developing numerous high-profile projects in the Denver area, collectively worth billions. Among Mosher’s major projects were the $480 million redevelopment of Union Station, the History Colorado Center, and the revitalization of the Olde Town Arvada transit hub. Mosher’s appointment comes with a focus on the newly expanded Downtown Development Authority (DDA), a project launched by Mayor Johnston earlier this year aimed at leveraging over $500 million through a special financing district. City leaders expect to begin accepting applications for projects utilizing DDA incentives this winter, with hopes that the initiative will attract large-scale developments similar to those that followed the Union Station redevelopment. In addition to his work at Trammell Crow, Mosher served as president of the Downtown Denver Partnership from 1990 to 1999.
2. And so, it begins – the race for 2026. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced on Thursday that he is launching a campaign for governor in 2026, becoming the first major Democratic candidate to enter the race to succeed Gov. Jared Polis, who is term-limited. In a statement, Weiser expressed his commitment to leading the state, saying, “There are many reasons why I’m running to lead this state I love, but the biggest reason is simple: I’m committed to fighting for the people of Colorado.” Weiser, first elected attorney general in 2018 and reelected in 2022, will complete his term in early 2027. Other Democratic figures expected to vie for the governor’s seat in 2026 include Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse and Jason Crow, and Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. The Democratic primary for the 2026 gubernatorial race is set for June of that 2026. Weiser’s early entry gives him an advantage in fundraising, but it also means he’ll need to start spending money to support his campaign.
3. Around the country, Democratic-led states continue to face challenges in managing the housing of migrants. The migrant crisis in major Democratic-led cities has eased in the year since it reached a full-blown emergency, but the issue remains unresolved. Over a year ago, a surge in border crossings, combined with Texas Governor Greg Abbott busing migrants to Democratic cities, led to a significant influx of asylum seekers in places like Chicago, New York, Denver, and Boston. Asylum seekers were forced to sleep in police stations and hospitals, and New York City’s mayor even proposed housing migrants on a barge. Democratic leaders openly criticized President Joe Biden for not doing enough to address the situation. With the incoming Trump administration pledging to deport immigrants, including those with temporary protected status, Democratic-led cities continue to struggle with how to house asylum seekers. At the same time, they are preparing for the possibility of mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump. Tom Homan, the incoming border czar, recently visited Chicago, criticizing local leaders who have vowed not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in deporting migrants. This has raised concerns among immigration advocates and Democrats. “What we’re trying to figure out is how much of it will be bluster, and how much of it will be real,” said Democratic Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, whose district includes Chicago. Some cities have managed to gain a degree of control over the crisis by finding alternative housing for thousands of migrants. Additionally, the number of people crossing the southern border has significantly decreased.

***Bonus Story – What Denver City Council may pursue in 2025. Denver City Council’s most progressive members are prioritizing housing, substance use treatment options, and affordability in 2025. Council members Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Shontel Lewis, and Sarah Parady have become key advocates for blue-collar workers, renters, and those struggling to remain in Denver. Over the past two years, they have worked on left-leaning policies, and all three highlighted the extension of collective bargaining rights to most city workers as a major achievement last year. Their efforts, like those of other council members, will face significant challenges this year, as the city faces reduced spending. The council members agree that affordable housing is a top priority. Parady and Lewis are particularly focused on exploring ways for the city to own housing complexes that serve people across various income levels. This model, often referred to as “social housing,” could create a steady stream of rental income for the city, which Parady believes could be reinvested to develop even more housing. Meanwhile, Gonzales-Gutierrez is focused on expanding treatment options for issues like addiction, including funding for local needle exchange programs and inpatient treatment. One of her goals is to expand Denver’s Roads to Recovery program to offer drug and mental health treatment to at least 200 people. Gonzales-Gutierrez also expressed concerns that the incoming Trump administration might impose further restrictions on federal funding for the city, including for behavioral health services. Last year, Trump’s allies targeted Mayor Mike Johnston over his pledge to protect undocumented immigrants. Denver City Council’s first meeting of 2025 is scheduled for January 6.

***Bonus, Bonus Story – A nation on edge. The New Year’s Day pickup truck attack in New Orleans and the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas marked a violent and unsettling start to 2025, occurring seven hours and two time zones apart. President Biden addressed the incidents in televised remarks, stating that law enforcement was investigating any potential connection between the two events, though he added, “Thus far, there’s nothing to report on that.” In a possible coincidence or indication of a broader issue, both vehicles involved in the incidents were rented through Turo, a “peer-to-peer” vehicle-sharing app where customers rent cars directly from owners. The New York Times explains that Turo operates similarly to Airbnb, allowing customers to select specific car makes and models and coordinate directly with car owners for pickup and drop-off. Turo confirmed it is cooperating with law enforcement, stating, “We do not believe that either renter had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat, and we are not currently aware of any information that indicates the two incidents are related.” The Sugar Bowl game between Georgia and Notre Dame, which was originally scheduled for last night in New Orleans, has been postponed to 4 PM ET on Thursday.

And now, more news…

From Denver…Longtime Denver developer tapped for mayor’s team.

According to Denver Business Journal, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston will contract a Denver business leader involved in the redevelopment of Union Station to lead the next round of investment and development projects in the city.

Bill Mosher, Denver senior managing director for the global commercial real estate company Trammell Crow for the past 20 years, was named chief projects officer by the mayor’s office on Dec. 23.

Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company, a subsidiary of CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), has developed dozens of projects in the Denver area that together are worth billions. Among the projects overseen by Mosher were the $480 million redevelopment of Union Station, the History Colorado Center and the redevelopment of the Olde Town Arvada transit hub.

You can read more from DBJ here.

Also from Denver…City Council progressive bloc lays out 2025 priorities.

As reported by Axios, Denver City Council’s most progressive members say they will prioritize housing, substance use treatment options and affordability this year.

Council members Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Shontel Lewis and Sarah Parady emerged over the past two years as key supporters of blue-collar workers, renters and others struggling to stay in Denver. All three cited a measure that extended collective bargaining to most city workers as a major achievement last year.

Their work to address the needs of working-class Denverites will be greatly tested in a year marked by reduced city spending. The three council members tell Axios providing more affordable housing is a top priority, with Parady and Lewis saying they want to figure out how the city can own housing complexes for people from across income levels.

You can read more from Axios here.

More from Denver…Facing gentrification fears, Denver puts brakes on some zoning changes in one part of city.

According to The Denver Post, city planning officials quietly released an unusual edict this fall that has loud implications for the future of several long-overlooked west Denver neighborhoods.

Denver’s Community Planning and Development announced that until further notice, its staff would not recommend approval for any rezoning applications in six neighborhoods if they sought to allow developers to build higher-density projects, like row homes, on single-family home properties.

City officials saw that Oct. 10 memo as the first step in pumping the brakes on denser new development in the west-central portion of Denver. Their goal: to stem the tide of gentrification trends in the historically Latino area. The rezoning pause will be reevaluated, the memo says, when “more affordability tools to preserve and/or create affordable housing are available to be paired with rezonings to higher intensity districts.”

The planning department’s new policy has support from City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, who grew up in west Denver and now represents the area. It also has been applauded by some longtime residents of the affected neighborhoods — West Colfax, Villa Park, Sun Valley, Barnum, Barnum West and Valverde.

You can read more from The Denver Post here.

From Denver courts…Denver district attorney won’t pursue criminal charges over election password breach.

Via Colorado Politics, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has decided against pursuing criminal charges over the breach in election equipment passwords by the Secretary of State’s Office.

McCann said her decision was the result of a seven-week investigation into whether the office of Jena Griswold violated the statutes dealing with the publication of passwords related to a voting system and second degree official misconduct.

The investigation found that hundreds of voting equipment passwords were published “in error and not ‘knowingly,'” as part of a spreadsheet that was posted online by the Secretary of State’s Office for more than four months until its discovery just days before the November election, McCann said in a statement. McCann added that her office found no indication that the passwords were posted online in an effort to influence the outcome of an election

You can read more from Colorado Politics here.

It’s almost legislative session…23 new lawmakers enter Colorado Legislature in 2025.

As reported by Colorado Newsline, about one quarter of Colorado legislators next session will be new to the Capitol building. The bulk of them will be representatives stepping into their first term in office.

Seven current representatives will also shuffle to the Senate. That includes Democratic Sens.-elect Marc Snyder, Cathy Kipp, Judy Amabile, Lindsey Daugherty and Mike Weissman, and Republican Sens.-elect Lisa Frizell and Marc Catlin.

The Legislature will begin its next session on Jan. 8. In the House, Democrats will hold a 43-22 majority. In the Senate, they will have a 23-12 majority. Those are similar margins to the partisan balance in the last two years. Republicans in the November election flipped three seats in the House and one in the Senate. Democrats flipped one seat in the Senate.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

From the Gold Dome…Republican Rep. Matt Soper’s controversial Jimmy Carter tweet sparks outrage

According to Colorado Politics, Republican Rep. Matt Soper of Delta is in hot water over a Sunday tweet in which he celebrated the death of former President Jimmy Carter, complete with a bottle of Champaign.

Soper has since deleted the tweet, but not before he was at the receiving end of a mountain of criticism for calling Carter a despot and saying that the 39th president “destroyed the country” in such a way that four generations later, the nation is still suffering. Soper never tweeted an apology for his insult to Carter, who died Sunday after a lifetime of service, particularly to the poor through his work with Habitat for Humanity.

The 39th President was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Soper was born in 1984, four years after Carter lost a re-election bid to Ronald Reagan.

You can read more from Colorado Politics here.

Also from the Gold Dome…Gov. Jared Polis wants to privatize Pinnacol, the state’s workers’ comp carrier. Will the third try be the charm?

As reported by The Denver Post, facing a massive budget deficit and a workforce that is decreasingly bound by state lines, Gov. Jared Polis has pitched a solution that’s been raised twice in recent memory at the Colorado Capitol: spinning off the state’s stake in Pinnacol Assurance.

Privatizing the quasi-governmental insurance company would mean pulling the state out of the workers’ compensation game, while raising serious one-time money to help plug the budget — an idea that Polis hasn’t yet sold lawmakers on.

Pinnacol serves as the workers’ compensation insurer of last resort for the state, ensuring that high-risk industries, such as roofing, can meet the legal requirement for coverage. But Pinnacol also faces a competitive disadvantage because of its government affiliation and unique restrictions — chiefly an inability to operate across state lines — that threaten its long-term sustainability, backers of privatizing it say.

Spinning it off from the government would allow the state to recoup its investment in the business at a time when budget writers need to fill a budget hole that, as of a Dec. 19 projection, is estimated at $672 million. That gap for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, would rise beyond $1 billion if lawmakers opt to set aside the entire $350 million mandated for a new law enforcement fund by a successful November ballot initiative.

You can read more from The Denver Post here.

From Colorado…Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser launches 2026 campaign for governor.

Via The Colorado Sun, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Thursday launched a 2026 campaign for governor, becoming the first major Democratic candidate to jump into what’s expected to be a crowded contest to replace Gov. Jared Polis.

“There are many reasons why I’m running to lead this state I love, but the biggest reason is simple: I’m committed to fighting for the people of Colorado,” Weiser said in a written statement. Weiser was first elected attorney general in 2018 and then was reelected in 2022. His term ends in early 2027. Polis is term-limited and can’t run for reelection in 2026.

Other potential Democratic candidates for governor in 2026 include Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold; U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse; U.S. Rep. Jason Crow; and Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

You can read more from The Colorado Sun here and The Denver Post here.

More from around Colorado…EPA objects to another Suncor permit, sends back to state.

Also from The Colorado Sun, the Environmental Protection Agency Monday found problems with another Colorado-issued permit for Suncor’s refinery operations in Commerce City and ordered revisions. Regional and national EPA offices made the same objections and demanded revisions to a different state permit for Suncor in 2022 and 2023.

The EPA, reviewing petitions from environmental advocates, sent the proposed state permit for Suncor plants 1 and 3 back to the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division to answer detailed questions or make outright revisions to the permit mandates. The order signed by acting EPA administrator Jane Nishida agreed in part with the advocates’ claims that the state permit may not properly monitor and calculate pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds emanating from the big refinery.

“Once again, EPA found Colorado is failing to ensure adequate monitoring of toxic air pollution and failing to ensure Suncor is held fully accountable to safeguarding clean air and public health,” said Jeremy Nichols of the Center for Biological Diversity, which objected to the plants 1 and 3 permit — the west side of the sprawling complex — alongside the Sierra Club.

You can read more from The Colorado Sun here.

On crime…The nation’s murder rate is plummeting. Colorado’s is mostly flat.

Via CPR, the country’s murder rate is falling at a brisk pace since pandemic-level 2021 highs — but Colorado isn’t entirely following suit.

Numbers from the Real Time Crime Index show that nationally, the number of murders fell 15.6 percent in a single year, according to a 12-month rolling average. The Index is a nationwide sampling of data from thousands of law enforcement agencies, including 17 in Colorado, and the rolling average corrects for seasonal jumps and falls in the numbers, they said.

In Colorado, the Index shows the total count of murders as mostly flat. In 2023, from January through October, there were 181 murders, according to the index. During the same period in 2024, there were 180. The annual total excludes murders in rural areas and places otherwise not counted in the state’s 17 largest municipalities.

Denver stands slightly apart from statewide numbers. In the state’s largest city, the number of murders has fallen slightly, from 69 in 2023 to 60 in 2024, according to the Denver Police Department, which noted the numbers could be revised slightly for last year.

You can read more from CPR here.

In regulatory news…Commission approves “extremely aggressive” emissions cuts for midstream sector.

From The Sum & Substance, Colorado air-quality regulators approved the state’s first emissions-reduction rules for the midstream sector of the oil-and-gas industry — rules that officials acknowledged will be expensive to comply with but said are necessary to curb pollution.

During a two-day hearing, energy companies warned that the 20.5% reduction in emissions versus 2015 levels come at too high a price — an estimated $86.3 million per year in sector-wide compliance costs that would rise if the sector experienced significant growth. Meanwhile, environmental groups argued that the rules fell short of achieving the emissions cuts called for in the state’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap and don’t guarantee substantial help for disproportionately impacted communities.

In the end, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission made only small changes from the Air Pollution Control Division proposal that had seemed to rankle both sides in the debate. Instead, they approved a hard cap on the emissions coming from the sector, kept in place a credit-trading program supported by business but hated by environmentalists and ignored requests to exempt remote Western Slope operations from the regulations.

“As a society, I think we all need to figure out how we shoulder the cost of climate issues,” AQCC member Martha Rudolph said before joining her fellow commissioners in approving the rules, which go into effect next year, unanimously. “I recognize that requiring midstream in this rulemaking to shoulder so much of the costs is tough. How difficult this is is not lost on us. But we’ve got to make movement here, and we’ve got to find the 20% (cuts).”

You can read more from TS&S here.

Speaking of…After another backslide on ozone pollution, the stakes are high for Colorado’s air in 2025.

According to Colorado Newsline, the cold winter months may bring temporary relief from Colorado’s long-running ozone pollution problem, but it’s crunch time for air quality planners and regulators hoping to finally clear the air along the northern Front Range.

With 2024 in the books, state officials are a third of the way through a three-year process they’ve promised will bring the region into compliance with health standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

It wasn’t a good start. Concentrations of ozone measured by Front Range monitoring stations exceeded EPA limits on 41 different days in 2024, according to data from the Regional Air Quality Council. That’s the highest number since 2021 and worse than all but two ozone seasons in the last 11 years.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

On immigration…Democratic-led states still grapple with housing migrants.

Via Politico, the migrant crisis in major Democratic-led cities has eased in the year since it was a full-blown emergency. But the problem hasn’t gone away.

More than a year ago, a surge of border crossings — coupled with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott busing people to blue cities — led to a massive influx of asylum seekers into Chicago, New York, Boston and elsewhere. They slept in police stations and hospitals. New York City’s mayor proposed housing migrants on a barge. Democratic leaders even publicly blamed President Joe Biden for not doing enough.

As the incoming Trump administration vows to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally — and even those with temporary protected status — Democratic-led cities are still grappling with how to house asylum seekers but are also asking what to do if President-elect Donald Trump chooses to deport them.

You can read more from Politico here.

From our nation’s capital…Johnson expresses confidence ahead of Friday’s Speaker vote.

As reported by The Hill, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday expressed confidence about his chances ahead of the House’s Friday Speaker vote. “We’re going to get this done,” Johnson said in an interview on “Fox & Friends.” “I’m humbled and honored to have President Trump’s endorsement for the role again.” Johnson pointed to the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans, noting that serious issues are happening across the country. “The things that we’re talking about this morning are an illustration that we live in very serious times,” Johnson said.

The Speaker argued the country and Congress cannot afford drama.

You can read more from The Hill here.

From Congress…Trans rights to be marquee fight for House Republicans.

According to Politico, Republicans’ first response to Sarah McBride’s election to Congress was to ban her from using women’s restrooms throughout the Capitol. But their early treatment of the first openly transgender House member is likely just a preview of how they’ll navigate transgender politics and policies for the next two years.

Believing voters in the 2024 elections rejected Democrats’ more inclusive positions on transgender rights, Republicans appear ready in 2025 to double down in support of executive orders and provisions in spending bills that would make it harder for transgender individuals to get health care, serve in the military or participate in school activities. President-elect Donald Trump signaled on the campaign trail that he would pursue new restrictions in the military and in schools, and pledged in December to make U.S. policy reflect that there are only “two genders.”

You can read more from Politico here.

Also from Congress…Progressives may face an existential crisis under Trump.

Via The Hill, progressives in Washington are facing an existential crisis like never before as they brace for the incoming Trump administration.

Not only are they at odds with their own party, with many Democrats seeking to pin the blame for their November losses on them, but some on the left are also openly fearful that an emboldened GOP will use its influence against their flank. “What is it that we can do that’s effective when they control everything?” said Joseph Geevarghese, who runs the grassroots organizing group Our Revolution. “They’re going to use their state power against us. I think they’re going to target progressives. … It’s a very challenging moment.”

Progressives faced their first postelection rebuke last week, when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) missed out on a key leadership post on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, a sign to many of their diminished influence. Not only did fellow Democrats reject her policies, but they preferred an older male candidate — Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), whose profile resembles that of the congressman, former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), she ousted six years ago.

Republicans, including President-elect Trump, publicly mocked her efforts. “Really too bad that AOC lost the Battle for the Leadership Seat in the Democrat Party. She should keep trying. Someday, she will be successful!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

You can read more from The Hill here.

Around the country…The latest from New Orleans.

As reported by The New York Times, it was just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday, and while much of the country had already gone to bed after toasting the new year, the party was still going — as it usually does — on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Then came the sound of a white pickup truck, accelerating. In an instant the city’s best-known, most popular public space was transformed into a scene of death and terror.

Described by federal authorities as a deliberate act of terror, the attack killed at least 15 people, injured about three dozen others and left New Orleans, a city of 364,000, on edge; investigators said at a news conference on Wednesday that they believed that the driver did not act alone.

The driver, who was killed in a shootout with police, was identified by the F.B.I. as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen and U.S. Army veteran from Texas.  He had loaded his rented truck with weapons and at least one “potential” improvised explosive, authorities said, and an Islamic State flag was found on the trailer hitch of his rented white Ford pickup.

You can read more from NYT here.

More news from around the country…Cybertruck that exploded outside Trump Las Vegas hotel was rented in Colorado.

Via CPR, the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday was rented in Colorado, authorities said.

The Cybertruck detonated at the hotel at about 8:40 a.m. The person who was driving it died immediately and seven others standing nearby were injured, but not seriously, the sheriff’s office in Las Vegas told reporters Wednesday. The truck was rented through the Turo online app in Colorado and was driven to Las Vegas.

Police didn’t specify where in Colorado it started, but they tracked the truck, made by Elon Musk’s electric automobile company, via surveillance cameras at charging stations between Colorado and Nevada.

You can read more from CPR here.

And in some startling news…Homelessness rises to a record level in America.

According to The Economist, each year for a few frigid days in January volunteers fan out across cities, towns and rural areas to try to count every homeless person in America. The method is imperfect: cities do their counting in different ways, and many homeless people are transient or hide away in subterranean tunnels and under highway overpasses. Researchers think the result is an undercount. But this “point in time” survey offers the most complete picture of homelessness that exists in America today.

The results for January 2024, released on December 27th, offer bleak news: the number of homeless people in the country had risen to the highest level on record.

Between 2023 and 2024 homelessness increased by 18%, to roughly 771,000 people. That is nearly as many people as live in North Dakota. Most of the uptick comes from people living in shelters—picture hotel rooms or rows of beds—rather than sleeping rough, as is common on the West Coast and in some southern states. The report’s most shocking revelation is that the number of homeless people in families with children rose 39% year-on-year—a reversal of a slow but steady decline in the years preceding the covid-19 pandemic.

Three big things contributed to the surge: a housing shortage that has driven up rents and home prices, an influx of asylum-seekers that overwhelmed some cities, and disasters that displaced people.

You can read more from The Economist here.

That’s all for today. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.

Best,

Confidentiality Notice and Disclaimer:  The information contained in this e-mail may contain privileged and/or confidential information intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying or other use of this e-mail is strictly prohibited.  If you have received it in error, please immediately notify us by telephone (303-333-9810) or e-mail, and delete this message.  Although this e-mail and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it is received, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use.