Colorado faces an $850 million deficit in 2026. The state cut $1 billion in 2025. House Majority Leader Monica Duran (D-Wheat Ridge) wants to give data centers $760 million in tax exemptions over 20 years. Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-Greenwood Village) plans a November ballot measure exempting K-12 spending from TABOR limits—approximately $4.5 billion annually. Eighteen months ago, Democrats celebrated “fully funding” schools by eliminating the Budget Stabilization Factor.
Sixteen bills moved this week. Three gun control bills announced February 5 ban 3D printers for firearm manufacturing, require background checks for barrels, and mandate security systems costing dealers $10,000-30,000. Senate Bill 26-005 allows lawsuits against federal immigration agents in state court. Senate Bill 26-018 adds whether parents “recognize the child’s identity as it relates to a protected class” to custody determinations. Colorado law defines protected class to include gender identity.
Four bills merit support. Senate Bill 26-027 creates rebuttable presumption for equal parenting time. Senate Bill 26-061 and House Bill 26-1095 modernize legal notice requirements. House Bill 26-1058 requires trust funds for children in monetized online content—passed House Judiciary 11-0.
The Gun Control Package
House Bill 26-1144 bans manufacturing any firearm using 3D printers or CNC machines. Senate Bill 26-043 requires background checks to purchase gun barrels. House Bill 26-1126 requires permits for firearm transfers, security alarms, surveillance systems, and metal bars on doors and windows. Dealers must report stolen firearms to the state within 72 hours. Record-keeping expands from handguns to most transactions.
Rep. Emily Sirota (D-Denver) sponsors HB26-1144 and HB26-1126. Former Occupy Wall Street organizer, progressive activist. House District 10 covers Park Hill, Montclair, and East Colfax in Denver. Sen. Tom Sullivan (D-Centennial) sponsors SB26-043. His son Alex died in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. Sullivan has sponsored Colorado’s major gun control bills since his 2018 election: original red flag law, age restrictions, waiting periods, 2023 ghost gun ban.
The 2023 ghost gun ban (Senate Bill 23-279) took effect January 1, 2024. It prohibited manufacturing frames and receivers using 3D printers. HB26-1144 expands the ban to manufacturing any firearm component using 3D printers or CNC machines.
Federal law defines “firearm” as frames or receivers—the serialized parts containing firing mechanisms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives classifies barrels as components, not firearms. No federal background check is required for barrel purchases. SB26-043 requires background checks for barrels sold in Colorado.
Security alarm systems cost $500-2,000 installation plus $30-80 monthly monitoring. Surveillance systems run $2,000-10,000 for commercial installations. Metal bars and security screens cost $5,000-20,000 depending on building size. Total upfront cost for HB26-1126 compliance: $7,500-32,000. Annual ongoing monitoring fees: $360-960.
ATF data shows law enforcement recovered 90,000 ghost guns nationwide from 2017-2023. Approximately 400 million firearms exist in America. Ghost guns equal 0.0225% of total firearms.
Rep. Ava Flanell (R-Colorado Springs), former firearms instructor, opposes all three bills.
TABOR and Tax Policy
Sen. Bridges serves as Joint Budget Committee vice chair. The November 2026 ballot measure would raise Colorado’s TABOR spending cap by current K-12 general fund spending—approximately $4.5 billion in fiscal year 2025-26. The measure requires a minimum 2% annual increase in K-12 funding—approximately $90 million the first year.
The Colorado Education Association backs the measure. The union passed a 2023 resolution declaring “capitalism inherently exploits children.” CEA President Kevin Vick claims internal polling shows 2-to-1 voter support for “giving up TABOR rebates to improve education.”
March 2024: The legislature eliminated the Budget Stabilization Factor—accumulated $10 billion in cuts since 2009. Democrats celebrated “fully funding” schools. They restored funding to 1989 levels adjusted for inflation using one-time State Education Fund savings. Federal pandemic funding expired in 2024.
The TABOR cap will be exceeded by $500 million in FY 2026-27 and $800 million in FY 2027-28 according to legislative fiscal notes. Even if revenues exceed the cap every year, reaching the full $4.5 billion impact takes at least 10 years.
Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County), Joint Budget Committee member: “It’s been 34 years since TABOR passed. In the last seven years, instead of trying to work with TABOR, they’re trying to figure out how to work around TABOR.”
House Bill 26-1030 provides 100% sales and use tax exemption for certified data centers meeting specific requirements: $250 million investment within five years, wages at 110% of local average, energy efficiency standards, prevailing wage for craft labor. A nine-member Colorado Data Center Development Authority—appointed by governor and legislative leaders—certifies which data centers qualify. Estimated cost: $38 million annually, $760 million over 20 years.
The 2025 version of this bill was postponed indefinitely. Democrats reintroduced it in 2026. Hearing scheduled February 12 before House Energy & Environment Committee.
Sen. Cathy Kipp (D-Fort Collins) and Rep. Kyle Brown (D-Louisville) plan a competing bill requiring large data centers to offset energy with renewables, barring utilities from offering special rates, and requiring data centers pay for own infrastructure upgrades. Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Colorado Fiscal Institute, and AARP Colorado support the competing approach.
Custody and Immigration
Senate Bill 26-018 adds a new factor courts must consider when determining “best interests of the child”: “whether the parties recognize the child’s identity as it relates to a protected class.” Colorado Revised Statutes 24-34-301 defines protected class to include gender identity and gender expression. The bill also requires courts to suppress records of name change petitions for minors. Sen. Chris Kolker (D), Sen. Kyle Wallace (D), and Rep. Meg Froelich (D) sponsor it.
Troxel v. Granville 530 U.S. 57 (2000) recognized parental rights as fundamental liberty interests protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Senate Bill 26-005 allows civil lawsuits against federal agents, local law enforcement assisting federal operations, and private citizens cooperating with immigration enforcement for “violating the United States constitution while participating in civil immigration enforcement.” Plaintiffs have two years to file seeking “legal or equitable relief or any other appropriate relief.” The bill passed Senate Judiciary Committee 5-2 on February 2, advancing to Appropriations.
Sen. Mike Weissman (D-Aurora), Sen. Julie Gonzales (D-Denver), Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver), and Rep. Yara Zokaie (D-Fort Collins) sponsored the bill. They unveiled it at a February 2 Capitol rally where Rep. Elizabeth Velasco called ICE “an unlawful agency.”
Article VI, Clause 2 establishes federal law as “the supreme Law of the Land…any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819) held states cannot interfere with federal officers performing federal duties.
Federal courts provide remedies for constitutional violations through Bivens actions—civil rights lawsuits in federal court for constitutional violations by federal officers.
Senate Joint Resolution 26-006 passed February 2 “committing to Coloradans navigating the complex United States immigration system.” Senate Bill 25-276 eliminated immigration status affidavit requirements in 2025.
The Good Bills
Senate Bill 26-027 creates rebuttable presumption that equal parenting time serves the child’s best interests when both parents live within 25 miles of the child’s school or childcare. Clear and convincing evidence can overcome the presumption. Sen. Byron Pelton (R-Sterling) and Sen. Cleave Simpson (R) sponsor it. Heard February 3 in Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.
Senate Bill 26-061 removes the 52-week publication period requirement for newspapers to qualify for legal notice publication. The bill allows counties to publish legal notices in newspapers “without paid circulation” if they provide local news coverage and qualify for periodicals mailing privileges. Sen. Janice Rich (R-Grand Junction) sponsors it. Rich served as Mesa County Clerk & Recorder from 2003-2010.
House Bill 26-1095 gives counties and municipalities discretion to publish legal notices online on newspaper websites instead of requiring print publication. Online notices must be free to access without paywall or subscription. Rep. Larry Suckla (R-Cortez) sponsors it. Suckla served as Montezuma County Commissioner for eight years and was named Colorado County Commissioner of the Year in 2017.
Legal notices currently represent 20-25% of small newspaper revenue according to industry research. Counties currently pay newspapers for print publication and post notices online at PublicNoticeColorado.com. The 52-week publication requirement was enacted when newspapers were the primary mass communication medium.
House Bill 26-1058 requires parents or guardians to establish trust funds for children under 18 who appear in online content when: creator earns $15,000 or more within a year, child appears in at least 30% of content produced within 30-day period, and content meets platform monetization thresholds or generates at least $0.10 per view. Amount deposited: 50% of earnings, divided proportionally among children appearing in content. Children aged 14 and older who create their own content are exempt.
The bill creates civil lawsuit path against content creators who “knowingly sexualize children for financial gain.” Adults who appeared in content as minors can request creators delete the content. Creators must comply within 72 hours.
Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-Steamboat Springs), Rep. Scott Slaugh (R-Berthoud), and Sen. Matt Ball (D-Denver) sponsor it. Passed House Judiciary Committee 11-0 on January 28. YouTube and TikTok testified in support. The bill mirrors California’s 1938 Coogan Law protecting child actors—passed after child star Jackie Coogan discovered his parents spent his earnings.
Illinois, California, Minnesota, and Utah have enacted similar laws.
Other bills this week: Senate Bill 26-004 expands red flag petitioners to include health facilities, behavioral health facilities, K-12 schools, and colleges. House Bill 26-1001 requires local governments to allow residential development on qualifying properties through administrative approval. House Bill 26-1005 expands union collective bargaining requirements. House Bill 26-1009 requires law enforcement to conduct lethality assessments in domestic violence situations. House Bill 26-1045 requires landlords to accommodate emotional support animals.
With Democrat supermajorities in both chambers, passage is likely for most Democrat-sponsored bills. Republicans lack votes to block legislation. Constitutional challenges will follow on gun control, immigration enforcement, custody factors, and TABOR compliance.
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