[11] Looper and her husband, Lynn,[7] have operated their family's ranch in near Calhan, Colorado for two decades, as well as Waterworks Sales, a water pipe distribution company.

[7] Within the community, Looper has been a member of the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition,[8] the National Rifle Association,[7] the El Paso County Republican Women, the Falcon School District Accountability Committee,[8] the Pikes Peak Range Riders, and the El Paso County Soil and Water Conservation Society,[9] and volunteered with St. Michael's Church, the Special Olympics,[8] and local 4-H and YMCA clubs.

The project would have resulted in the condemnation or taking by eminent domain of privately held properties in seven Colorado counties; Looper's land fell within the corridor designated by the toll road's developers, and subsequently dropped in market value.

[16][17] Looper also led an effort to place a statewide referendum on the 2006 general election ballot[18] to prohibit governments from condemning private property for the purpose of economic development.

[20] In February 2006, upon the retirement of term-limited Rep. Richard Decker in House District 19, covering eastern El Paso County, Colorado, Looper announced her candidacy for the seat.

[30] Looper also sponsored legislation to require disclosure of water sources for newly sold homes, a move designed to inform homeowners of possibly scarce groundwater resources.

[34] In response to concerns about agricultural labor shortages and the difficulty of hiring legal foreign guest workers,[35] Looper and Democratic Sen. Abel Tapia drafted legislation to create a state office to assist with the logistics of clearing guest workers for jobs in Colorado;[36] under their proposal, the state of Colorado would seek a waiver from the federal government to process H-2A visas applications, including operating a guest-worker screening office in Mexico.

[37][38][39] The bill, which also contained a provision requiring that guest workers have 20% of their wages withheld until they returned to their home countries, was criticized as a possible violation of federal law.

[40] After 26 amendments, including removal of the wage withholding provision, the bill passed House committee with support from farming and ranching groups.

[50] Looper has also introduced legislation to require property buyers to be informed of paperwork tracking residential well ownership,[51] and sponsored a bill to allow judges to include restorative justice as part of sentencing for juveniles.

[69][70] Another proposal sponsored by Looper and enacted into law created a pilot program to study the effects of rainwater diversion for landscaping in mixed-use developments.

[81][82][83] In February, Looper introduced a measure to block the transfer of prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to facilities in Colorado.

Ritter to a 12-member Carbon Capture and Sequestration Task force, convened to consider "complex legal, regulatory and policy issues" surrounding the topic.