Fifty-two bills that expand government authority, impose new mandates on businesses and schools, or restrict individual decision-making advanced through the Colorado General Assembly in Week 9. Two high-profile bills died before reaching a vote.
SB26-135 would refer a November 2026 ballot measure allowing the state to retain and spend surplus revenues that would otherwise be refunded to taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. The money would be directed to K-12 education. Senate Finance advanced the bill 6 to 3 on party-line votes. The Colorado Education Association organized approximately 50 teachers to rally at the Capitol when the bill was unveiled.
HB26-1148 requires social media and online gaming platforms to configure their highest default privacy settings for minor users. Those settings must block any adult — including parents and guardians — from viewing a minor’s profile, account activity, friends list, or location without the minor’s permission. The bill simultaneously bars platforms from restricting what content a minor independently chooses to view or access. All sponsors are Democrats.
SB26-047 changes the statutory definition of “general election” to create a more favorable electoral pathway for a firefighter collective bargaining ballot measure. SB26-109 mandates state building code standards for accessible housing on any development receiving public money. HB26-1272 imposes new state employer requirements governing worker protections during extreme temperatures.
Three tax expenditure bills — HB26-1221, HB26-1222, and HB26-1223 — each create new refundable tax credits while adjusting existing tax structures. HB26-1273 caps rideshare company fare retention at 20% of consumer fares, imposing a state price ceiling on private business contracts. HB26-1210 prohibits businesses from using automated systems to set individualized prices or wages based on behavioral data.
Housing expansion bills continued advancing. HB26-1001 overrides local zoning to allow schools, housing authorities, and nonprofits to build residential developments on their properties without standard local planning review. SB26-040 creates a new government affordable home ownership program. HB26-1202 requires the Department of Local Affairs to develop a statewide homelessness strategy and authorizes new multijurisdictional homelessness authorities. HB26-1192 added new administrative requirements to the existing homeless prevention activities program.
Mandates expanded across energy and health care. HB26-1225 added distributed energy resource requirements. HB26-1268 expanded renewable energy development obligations on disturbed lands. SB26-006 requires insurance plans to cover non-opioid pain drugs at parity with opioids. SB26-104 mandates key lock boxes at schools. HB26-1242 expands interlock device requirements for impaired drivers. HB26-1130 requires baby diaper changing stations in public restrooms.
HB26-1107 creates mandatory disclosure forms for dementia care facilities, adding Department of Public Health and Environment rulemaking and inspection authority. HB26-1258 creates a new DORA licensing regime for funeral directors, embalmers, and cremationists. HB26-1139 imposed new state regulation on artificial intelligence use in health care. HB26-1195 imposed new restrictions on AI use in psychotherapy. SB26-125 added new disability rights mandates on public schools.
SB26-097, which would have decriminalized prostitution statewide and preempted all local ordinances on the subject, was pulled by its lead sponsor Wednesday after he acknowledged he lacked committee votes to advance it. SB26-123, which would have prohibited poultry farmers and the state veterinarian from using ventilation shutdown during disease outbreaks, died 5 to 1 in Senate Agriculture after the Colorado Farm Bureau and Rocky Mountain Farmers Union testified that producers need flexibility to respond to disease events.
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