Week of February 23-27, 2026 (Excludes 4 election bills covered separately)
GOOD BILLS (6)
HB26-1096: Medicaid Direct Primary Care – GOOD Allows Medicaid members access to direct primary care services. Passed House floor 40-22 Feb 23. Expands healthcare choice for low-income Coloradans. Moves to Senate. Sponsors: Rep. Bradley (R), multiple Rs
HB26-1033: Expand Cottage Foods Act – GOOD Expands Colorado Cottage Foods Act for home food producers. Passed House Ag 10-3 Feb 26. Reduces regulation of small businesses. To Appropriations. Sponsors: Bipartisan
SB26-037: Modification of Bond Hearing Officer Process – GOOD Allows local elected judicial officers to set weekend bonds instead of only appointed bond hearing officers. Passed Senate 33-0 Feb 26. Restores authority to locally elected judges. Moves to House. Sponsors: Bipartisan
SB26-070: License Plate Reader Access Restrictions – GOOD Requires warrants for license plate reader data older than 72 hours. Limits retention to 30 days. Passed Senate Judiciary 5-2 Feb 24. Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless surveillance. NO votes: Sen. Carson (R), Sen. Roberts (D). Sponsors: Sen. Amabile (D), Sen. Zamora Wilson (R)
SB26-071: Restrictions on Surveillance Technology – GOOD Requires warrants for facial recognition. Restricts surveillance technology to lawful public safety purposes. Heard Senate Judiciary Feb 23. Fourth Amendment protections. Sponsor: Sen. Zamora Wilson (R)
SB26-085: Military Protection Orders – GOOD Requires peace officers to check for military protection orders when responding to domestic violence involving active military. Passed Senate 31-0 Feb 24. Officer safety and victim safety. Moves to House. Sponsors: Bipartisan
BAD BILLS (11)
HB26-1014: Extend Job Growth Tax Credit – BAD Extends business tax credit through 2034. Passed House Finance 9-2 Feb 23. Credit worth $3,800 annually per $100K employee. NO votes: Rep. Marshall (D), Rep. DeGraaf (R). Sponsors: Rep. Taggart (R), Rep. Boesenecker (D)
HB26-1008: Colorado Outdoor Opportunities Act – BAD Expands Colorado Parks & Wildlife by $444,000 for recreation coordination. Passed House Ag Feb 23. Creates new state planning role. Sponsors: Rep. Lukens (D), Rep. Taggart (R), Sen. Rich (R), Sen. Marchman (D)
HB26-1065: Transit Housing Investment Zones – BAD Creates incentive programs linking transit infrastructure to housing development. Heard House Finance Feb 23. Sponsors: Rep. McCluskie (D), Rep. Woodrow (D)
HB26-1066: Tax Exemptions Low Income Housing – BAD Expands property tax exemptions for nonprofits acquiring land for affordable rental housing. Heard House Finance Feb 23. Sponsors: Rep. Stewart R. (D), Rep. Stewart K. (D)
HB26-1011: Transfers of Certain Pet Animals – BAD Regulates pet animal transfers. Heard House Ag Feb 23. Sponsors: Rep. Duran (D), Sen. McCormick (D)
HB26-1120: Mobile Home Property Taxation – BAD Modifies mobile home property tax treatment. Heard House Finance Feb 23. Sponsors: Rep. Martinez (D), Rep. Velasco (D)
SB26-052: Coal Transition Communities – BAD Hiring preferences for coal transition workers. Expands just transition investment authority. Passed House floor 45-17 Feb 23. Sponsors: Bipartisan
SB26-005: Immigration Lawsuits – BAD Allows state court lawsuits against federal immigration agents for alleged constitutional violations. Passed Senate floor Feb 25 party-line. Moves to House. Sponsors: Sen. Weissman (D), Sen. Gonzales (D), Rep. Mabrey (D), Rep. Zokaie (D)
SB26-018: Seal Minors Name Changes – BAD Automatically seals court records for minors changing names. Passed Senate floor Feb 24. Hides public records. Moves to House. Sponsors: Sen. Gonzales (D), Sen. Winter (D)
HB26-1132: Practices to Support Pollinators – BAD Increases pollinator habitats on state lands. Passed House Ag 9-4 Feb 26. Environmental land use mandates. To Finance. Sponsors: 2 Democrats
SB26-032: Promoting Immunization Access – BAD Expands immunization requirements and access. Passed Senate 20-12 party-line Feb 25. Scheduled House H&HS Feb 25. Sponsors: 18 Democrats
SB26-051: Age Attestation Computing Devices – BAD Requires age verification on computing devices. Passed Senate Business 5-0 Feb 24. To consent calendar. Sponsors: 2 Democrats
NEUTRAL (2)
HB26-1184: Sunset Forest Health Council – NEUTRAL Continues Colorado Forest Health Council per COPRRR sunset recommendation. Passed House Ag 13-0 Feb 23. Administrative continuation with no expansion. To Appropriations. Sponsors: Rep. Lukens (D), Sen. Mauro (D)
SB26-046: Property Tax Administrative Procedures – NEUTRAL Modifies deadlines and transmission requirements for property tax administration. Passed Senate 32-0 Feb 25. Administrative cleanup. Moves to House. Sponsors: Bipartisan
Week Totals:
- GOOD: 6
- BAD: 11
- NEUTRAL: 2
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent.


