Two Second Amendment restrictions cleared the Colorado General Assembly this week and now await Governor Jared Polis’s signature. A third firearms bill, stripped of its most constitutionally contested provision at Polis’s insistence, returns to the House for a final concurrence vote.
SB26-043 requires all firearm barrel transfers to go through a federally licensed dealer, banning private sales and mandating a five-year paper trail. The House passed it Tuesday and sent it to Polis. HB26-1144, banning 3D-printed firearms, cleared the Senate on Monday but with its digital instruction file provision removed — Polis told Senate Democrats he would not sign the bill if it criminalized the possession of digital files, citing First Amendment concerns. The House must now vote to accept or reject that change.
Democrats’ SB26-119, which would have authorized local jurisdictions to implement electronic ballot return, died this week without reaching a floor vote.
Good bills advanced. SB26-059 prohibits General Assembly members from holding a second elected office simultaneously. The Senate passed it 26-9 with bipartisan support. The House committee cleared it 10-1. SB26-031 aligns Colorado’s controlled substance schedule with federal FDA approvals and DEA reclassifications, allowing patients immediate access to newly approved drugs once federal scheduling decisions take effect. SB26-048, eliminating the judicial exception that allowed 16-year-olds to marry, cleared both chambers and heads to the Governor.
HB26-1302 passed the House 42-21, removing the state mandate that required the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to operate its firearms background check unit at least 12 hours daily. The bill gives CBI discretion over its own hours. Critics argue that discretion could be used to slow background checks and delay lawful gun purchases.
Five weeks remain before the General Assembly adjourns May 13. Session totals stand at 98 Good bills advanced through 12 weeks. The Bad count reached 154.
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