The Colorado General Assembly’s 2026 session produced 67 bills the High Country Advocate classifies as Good — legislation that reduces government, expands individual rights, or deregulates. They await Governor Polis’s signature. He has 30 days from the May 14 adjournment to act. Bills he neither signs nor vetoes become law without his signature.
Criminal Justice & Civil Rights
HB26-1250 — Procedures Related to Civil Asset Forfeiture. Reforms the procedures government must follow before seizing property, strengthening protections for property owners. GOOD.
HB26-1283 — Protections Regarding Seizures of ID Documents. Prohibits government confiscation of identity documents from individuals. GOOD.
HB26-1123 — Preventing Sexual Abuse in Jails. Reforms to protect incarcerated individuals from sexual abuse. GOOD.
SB26-015 — Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses. Strengthens criminal penalties for child sex trafficking. GOOD.
SB26-072 — Increased Penalty for Vehicular Homicide & Assault. Strengthens criminal penalties for deadly and dangerous driving. GOOD.
SB26-035 — Increase of Traffic Violation Penalties. Strengthens penalties for serious traffic violations. GOOD.
SB26-036 — Prison Population Management Measures. Reforms to reduce prison overcrowding and improve due process procedures. GOOD.
SB26-115 — Post-Conviction Relief for Certain Offenders. Expands access to post-conviction relief and improves due process. GOOD.
HB26-1138 — Retail Theft Prevention Program. Strengthens criminal penalties for organized retail theft. GOOD.
HB26-1288 — Jury Selection Requirements. Reforms jury selection to strengthen the constitutional right to jury trial. GOOD.
HB26-1309 — Abuse in Cases of Separation. Strengthens protections for domestic abuse victims in separation proceedings. GOOD.
HB26-1256 — Procedures & Data Individual’s Release from DOC. Improves reentry data procedures and reduces bureaucratic barriers for people leaving prison. GOOD.
HB26-1315 — Accurate Documents for Parole Determinations. Improves accuracy and fairness in parole proceedings. GOOD.
SB26-158 — Youthful Offender Early Parole Procedure. Improves parole processes for youthful offenders with due process protections. GOOD.
SB26-159 — Inmate Earned Time Formula. Reforms the earned time formula for sentences, reducing time served that results from calculation errors. GOOD.
SB26-095 — Measures to Support Victim-Survivors of Crimes. Expands victim rights and support services. GOOD.
HB26-1227 — Minors’ Rights in Dependency & Neglect Proceedings. Strengthens due process protections for minors in state proceedings. GOOD.
HB26-1100 — Guardianship for Incapacitated Adults. Strengthens due process protections for adults subject to guardianship proceedings. GOOD.
SB26-132 — Voluntary Alcohol Breath Test. Allows drivers to request a voluntary roadside breath test option, providing an alternative to implied consent procedures. GOOD.
Tax & Fiscal
HB26-1004 — Continuation of Child Care Contribution Tax Credit. Continues a tax credit reducing tax burden on donors to child care. GOOD.
HB26-1014 — Extend Colorado Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit. Extends a business tax credit. Reduces tax burden. GOOD.
HB26-1230 — Extend Conservation Easement Tax Credit. Extends a tax credit for landowners who place conservation easements on their property. GOOD.
HB26-1346 — Transfer of Unsold Insurance Premium Tax Credits. Allows unused tax credits to be transferred, reducing waste. GOOD.
HB26-1419 — Over-Refund of Excess State Revenues. Ensures excess state revenues are returned to taxpayers under TABOR. GOOD.
SB26-042 — Revenue Classification Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Strengthens TABOR revenue classification protections for taxpayers. GOOD.
SB26-116 — Property Tax Modifications. Property tax relief modifications. Reduces tax burden. GOOD.
SB26-167 — Prescription Drug Out-of-Pocket Expense Credit. Tax credit for prescription drug costs. GOOD.
HB26-1059 — Cost Recovery Cash Fund Consolidation. Consolidates and reduces government cash funds. GOOD.
HB26-1399 — Eliminate General Fund Transfer to Multimodal Transportation Fund. Eliminates a mandatory government fund transfer. GOOD.
HB26-1357 — Phase-Out of Teacher Recruitment Education Program. Eliminates a state government education program. GOOD.
HB26-1380 — Repeal Office of Judicial Discipline Ombudsman. Eliminates a government office. GOOD.
Deregulation & Economic Freedom
HB26-1033 — Expanding the Colorado Cottage Foods Act. Expands the right of Coloradans to produce and sell food from their homes. GOOD.
HB26-1026 — Expanding Plan Options for PERA. Expands retirement plan options for public employees, reducing government control over retirement choices. GOOD.
HB26-1078 — Off-Campus Courses & Concurrent Enrollment Programs. Expands access to concurrent enrollment and reduces restrictions on off-campus learning. GOOD.
HB26-1282 — Eliminate Duplicative Regulation of School Child Care Centers. Removes duplicative regulatory requirements. GOOD.
HB26-1299 — Reducing Regulatory Burden on Education Providers. Reduces compliance mandates on education providers. GOOD.
SB26-091 — Exclusion of Newspaper Deliverers as Employees. Maintains contractor status for newspaper deliverers, keeping them free from employee mandates. GOOD.
SB26-114 — Spirituous Liquor Manufacturer Sales Rooms. Expands alcohol manufacturer options for direct sales. GOOD.
SB26-133 — Colorado Artist Companies. Creates a tax and legal structure for artist cooperatives. GOOD.
SB26-138 — Reducing Administrative Burdens on Health Care. Reduces compliance burden on health care providers. GOOD.
SB26-173 — Barre & Pilates Teacher Training Regulatory Exemptions. Exempts fitness instructors from occupational licensing requirements. GOOD.
HB26-1325 — Natural Medicine. Expands access to natural and psychedelic medicine, expanding individual treatment options. GOOD.
HB26-1336 — Increase Access to Pharmacy Services. Expands pharmacist scope of practice and reduces licensing barriers. GOOD.
HB26-1210 — Prohibit Surveillance Price & Wage Setting. Prohibits algorithmic price and wage collusion tools — an antitrust protection for workers and consumers. GOOD.
SB26-048 — Remove Exception to Marry with Judicial Approval. Removes a judicial override provision on marriage, restoring an individual right. GOOD.
SB26-174 — Prohibit Lead Generation Legal Marketing. Prohibits legal lead generation marketing practices that direct consumers to attorneys through paid referral networks. GOOD.
Property Rights & Local Governance
HB26-1084 — Voter Transparency in Ballot Measures. Requires disclosure of who funds ballot measures. GOOD.
HB26-1233 — Property Tax Procedures for Nonresidential Property. Improves taxpayer appeal procedures. GOOD.
HB26-1239 — County Enforcement Authority. Clarifies and restores county enforcement authority, supporting local control. GOOD.
SB26-155 — Increase Access to Homeowner’s Insurance Enterprise. Expands homeowner insurance access and reduces barriers in the state market. GOOD.
SB26-177 — Access Adjoining Property to Repair or Maintain. Allows property owners to access adjacent land when necessary to repair or maintain their own property. GOOD.
HB26-1258 — Changes to Practices Relating to Death. Expands individual end-of-life options and reduces state restrictions. GOOD.
HB26-1340 — Revegetate or Dry Farm Formerly Irrigated Agricultural Land. Supports voluntary agricultural land management and farmer choice. GOOD.
SB26-145 — Charter School Involvement in Local Ballot Questions. Allows charter schools to participate in local ballot questions. GOOD.
Energy & Environment
SB26-142 — Development of Thermal Energy Resources. Expands geothermal energy development and reduces regulatory barriers. GOOD.
SB26-141 — Wildlife Collision Prevention. Funds wildlife crossing infrastructure to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife. GOOD.
HB26-1420 — Wind Energy Facilities Light-Mitigating Technology. Requires light-mitigation systems on wind turbines, reducing impact on rural communities. GOOD.
Health & Benefits
SB26-006 — Parity for Non-Opioid Pain Management Drugs. Requires insurers to cover non-opioid pain treatment at parity with opioids, reducing barriers to safer pain treatment. GOOD.
SB26-017 — Out-of-Network Health Insurance Dispute Resolution. Establishes a dispute resolution process protecting patients from surprise billing. GOOD.
SB26-012 — Compensable Losses for Tribal Members. Expands eligibility for the Colorado Crime Victim Compensation Act to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes previously excluded from the program. GOOD.
HB26-1298 — Background Checks for Child Welfare Placements. Strengthens background check requirements for child welfare placements. GOOD.
SB26-184 — Firefighter Cancer Benefits & Workers’ Comp. Expands cancer presumption benefits for firefighters. GOOD.
SB26-186 — Update Workers’ Comp Statutes Allow Electronic Filing. Modernizes workers’ comp filing requirements, reducing bureaucratic barriers. GOOD.
HB26-1343 — Electronic Process in Competency & Administrative Hearings. Modernizes competency proceedings and reduces access barriers. GOOD.
HB26-1347 — Federal Disability Benefits for Foster Care Youth. Allows foster youth to retain federal disability benefits upon aging out of care. GOOD.
HB26-1418 — Online Add-on Transaction Fee Youth Services Entertainment. Prohibits hidden add-on fees for youth services and entertainment. GOOD.
HB26-1320 — Accessible Language Statutory Ballot Title Requirements. Requires ballot titles to use plain language, improving voter comprehension. GOOD.
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