Hunting

Colorado's November 2026 ballot includes seven proposed constitutional amendments and seven statutory propositions covering immigration enforcement, natural gas rights, hunting and fishing, election procedures, redistricting, taxation, criminal penalties, transgender policy, and transportation funding. Constitutional amendments require 55% approval; propositions need a simple majority.

Notable measures include Amendment 81, which would require police to report violent crime suspects who are in the country illegally to federal immigration authorities, reversing a 2019 state law; Amendment 87 and competing Proposition 136, which offer opposing visions for the state's flat versus graduated income tax; and Proposition NN, which would let the state keep and spend TABOR surplus revenue on K-12 education. Other measures address mail-ballot ID requirements (Amendment 84), plain-language ballot drafting (Amendment 85), congressional redistricting rules (Amendment 86), harsher penalties for fentanyl sales and child sex trafficking (Propositions 132 and 133), sports participation and gender-related medical restrictions for minors (Propositions 134 and 135), sporting-goods tax revenue for conservation (Proposition 137), and a Front Range passenger rail sales tax. Political commentators Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy offered mixed endorsements across the measures.

Colorado voters will decide Amendment 83 on Nov. 3, 2026, which would make hunting and fishing constitutionally protected rights and establish them as the preferred method of wildlife management. The measure needs at least 55% approval to pass. If successful, Colorado would become the 25th state with such constitutional protections.

Supporters, led by Luke Hilgemann of the International Order of T. Roosevelt, say the amendment would not change existing seasons, bag limits or licensing rules, but would shield hunting and fishing from future legislative changes by elevating them above ordinary statute. It would not permit hunting of endangered species or trespassing on private land, and would not reverse past bans on certain hunting and trapping practices. Opponents argue the rights are already legal and that the amendment is unnecessary and could invite litigation. The vote follows Colorado's 2020 wolf-reintroduction measure and a 2024 rejection of a ban on hunting mountain lions, bobcats and lynx, continuing a pattern of wildlife policy decided directly by voters.

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was executed by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the state's 15th person put to death this year. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after a three-drug injection, roughly 12 minutes after the process began. Conahan declined to make a final statement.

Conahan was convicted in 1999 of the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, whose mutilated body was found in a wooded area of Charlotte County, part of a string of killings dubbed the "Hog Trail Murders" after at least six bodies, mostly homeless men, were discovered in the area over several years. Investigators identified Conahan as a person of interest in the other deaths but never charged him. Eleven victim family members witnessed the execution.

Florida, under outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis, has carried out more than half of the 25 U.S. executions this year and leads the nation's death chamber activity. Another Florida execution, of Curtis Wilkie Beasley, is scheduled for September 29.

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., 72, was executed by lethal injection Thursday at Florida State Prison near Starke, becoming the state's 15th person put to death this year. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m., minutes after the three-drug injection began. Asked for a final statement, Conahan said only, "No sir."

Conahan was convicted in 1999 of the 1996 kidnapping and strangling of Richard Allen Montgomery, one of at least six people whose remains were found in a wooded Charlotte County area, cases that became known as the "Hog Trail Murders." Investigators named Conahan a person of interest in the other deaths but never charged him; he maintained his innocence, calling the evidence circumstantial. The Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals this week.

A sister of one victim said her family would celebrate his death. Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, has carried out 19 of the nation's 47 executions in 2025, a state record. Another Florida execution, of Curtis Wilkie Beasley, is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Florida has launched an expanded sales tax holiday covering hunting, fishing, and camping gear, now running from the fall through December 31. Building on a successful 2025 debut, the four-month holiday adds more firearm accessories to a list that already includes ammunition, firearms, bows and crossbows, rods and reels, tents, flashlights, and sleeping bags. State officials project consumers will save roughly $40 million this year.

Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, including State Sen. Jim Boyd, frame the holiday as a way to let Floridians keep more of their earnings while encouraging outdoor recreation, a view echoed by the Florida Retail Federation. But tax policy analysts, including Miles Trinidad of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, argue temporary sales tax holidays are an inefficient relief tool that does little for lower-income families struggling with everyday expenses, and that broader, permanent tax relief would be more effective.