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 “No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”
– Mark Twain Mark Twain is spot on with his thoughts on the legislative session… the only thing he forgot to add is that weekends also aren’t safe. Yesterday, the Senate came to a good stopping point before Mother’s Day weekend, but the House did not. Instead, the House convened this morning to keep chipping away at committee work and big floor debates. To be fair, this is the first weekend the House has worked all session, which is pretty good. Over the past few years, the House has come in over the weekend several times before this point in the session. That being said, it was still a long day of debate on the floor, and the House hasn't even gotten to committee yet. Artificial Intelligence Bill Passes the House Yesterday, Senator Rodriguez’s artificial intelligence bill, Senate Bill 189, had a busy day. It was heard in the House Judiciary committee, then House Appropriations, and then passed on second reading during House floorwork. In committee, a small technical amendment was made to the bill, so it will have to go back to the Senate for concurrence, but it’s unlikely this will invite any further discussion. On second reading in the House, it passed with very little debate or discussion. On third reading, Representative Titone and some of the more progressive legislators who have been involved in this policy briefly made comments before the bill passed. Because the Senate didn’t work over the weekend, it’s expected that the Senate will take it back up on Monday morning. Read more – New bill would narrow scope of Colorado's landmark 2024 AI law Q1 Campaign Finance Reports Come Out New campaign finance reports from this week have shown a widening in fundraising gaps for both the Democrat and Republican primaries for the gubernatorial race. On the Democrat side, current Attorney General Phil Weiser has raised roughly $5.9 million directly from his campaign. Bennet has raised $4.4 million directly from his campaign. However, Michael Bloomberg gave about $2.5 million to an independent expenditure committee supporting Bennet. The IEC has raised about $10.5 million that has directly and indirectly gone toward Bennet support efforts. On the Republican side, political newcomer Victor Marx raised $1.7 million in the first quarter, totaling almost $2.3 million. The next highest raised by Republicans was current state senator Barb Kirkmeyer, who has raised a total of $510,000, with $128,000 coming from the most recent quarter. From all gubernatorial candidates, Republican and Democrat, the grand total in fundraising so far has already surpassed $20 million. Read more – Big money still backs Michael Bennet for governor, but Phil Weiser is outpacing him in direct contributions Legislative Transparency Measure Fails in Colorado Senate In a move that has sparked significant debate at the Capitol, the Senate’s State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee recently rejected Senate Bill 168. The measure would have required Colorado legislative caucuses to publicly disclose their donors and expenditures, a push for transparency following a controversial, lobbyist-attended retreat in Vail hosted by the Colorado Opportunity Caucus last year. Despite being a Democratic-led effort, the bill was defeated in a 3-2 vote after Senator Lindstedt (D-Broomfield) joined Republican members in opposition. While proponents argued the bill was necessary to shed light on "dark money" influence in the legislature, opponents expressed concerns over the bill's constitutionality and potential "chilling effects" on minority caucus participation. For now, the push for mandated financial reporting for these groups has been postponed indefinitely, even as the state’s Independent Ethics Commission continues its investigation into potential gift-ban violations related to caucus activities. Read more - Bill that would have required legislative caucuses to report their donors dies Colorado’s “Worker Protection Act” Clears Legislature, Awaits Likely Veto Colorado lawmakers have once again passed House Bill 1005, a top priority for labor unions aimed at repealing a unique 80-year-old state rule that complicates the unionization process. Under current law, Colorado workers must hold a second election following an initial vote to unionize; this second vote requires a three-quarters majority to authorize a "union security agreement" for negotiating labor matters. Supporters argue this double-hurdle system is a deliberate barrier to collective bargaining, while Republicans and business groups like the Colorado Chamber of Commerce maintain their opposition to the change. Despite the bill’s successful passage through the legislature along party lines, it faces an almost certain veto from Governor Jared Polis. The Governor rejected an identical measure in 2025, and his office recently indicated that because no "meaningful conversations" or compromises were reached between labor and business leaders this year, his stance remains unchanged. As Polis enters his final year in office, sponsors have suggested they may look toward the next administration to finally remove the second-election requirement if the veto holds as expected. Read more - Labor bill faces likely veto for a second year Swipe Fees Bill Passes This week, Senate Bill 134 passed the House and is on its way to the Governor. The bill would exempt sales taxes from the interchange fees that banks charge merchants when a person uses their debit or credit card. Currently, the fee applies to the entire transaction. The bill runs the risk of disrupting credit card rewards programs and would force a separate transaction for sales tax after a customer pays for an item’s base price. Given these reasons, it’s possible that Governor Polis could veto the bill. Read more – Colorado Legislature passes bill to eliminate credit card swipe fees on sales tax What’s Next As of Friday morning, there were 149 bills left in play. But given how many bills the House debated on third reading today, that number will quickly start to go down. Monday is the last day bills can be introduced, as all bills need at least three days to make it through the legislative process. With Sine Die just five (almost four) days away, the end is in sight.
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“By all means, move at a glacial pace… you know how that thrills me.”
– Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada Because the final weeks of the session happen to move at what feels like a glacial pace, it’d be criminal to open this week’s newsletter with anything other than a quote from The Devil Wears Prada. This weekend, the 2006 movie is finally getting a highly-anticipated sequel. The movie was originally a book based on Vogue’s editor-in-chief of 37 years, Anna Wintour. Fox bought the rights to The Devil Wears Prada before the book was even finished, which proved to be a good investment as the original movie grossed over eight times its production budget. As for the sequel, it’s projected that opening weekend alone will bring in $180 million globally. The original movie also introduces us to a new word – “clackers.” This is the sound that stilettos make on marble floors… although we don’t work for a fashion magazine, those of us at the Capitol are also very familiar with the sound of “clackers,” especially when they’re running around during the final weeks of session. Long Bill Sent to Governor Polis for Signature This week, the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) sent the budget bill, also called the “Long Bill” to the Governor’s desk for final approval. Overall, the final budget includes over $20 million in additional spending compared to the budget that was approved on April 1. The JBC identified this funding by transferring additional one-time resources from cash funds and by assuming increased revenue generated by Senate Bill 42. Final tweaks to the budget were relatively small and mostly made targeted adjustments rather than large overhauls. There were also some footnotes added to give policy direction to match the budget and anticipated policy changes, such as added funding to help agencies comply with new artificial intelligence laws. Although the budget passed mostly along party lines, there is still some ongoing disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over spending, cuts, and how the state got here in the first place. Read more – Colorado’s $46.8 billion budget nears finish line. Here’s what changed Bill Increasing Lobbyist Transparency Heads to the House This week, the legislature advanced Senate Bill 147 – which seeks to treat legislative staff under the Governor’s administration like any other lobbyist. The bill requires legislative liaisons to follow the same disclosure rules that all other lobbyists currently abide by. The measure is getting significant pushback from Governor Polis, with a spokesperson for Polis calling the proposal “absurd” and “a clear attempt to limit the Governor’s Office’s ability to meaningfully participate in the legislative process, and to curb the Governor’s decision-making authority.” In committee this week, the bill sponsors cited the uniqueness we’ve seen in recent years of involvement from the executive branch in the legislative process and underscored a need for transparency. Furthermore, if the Governor’s Office withholds its positions, it could preclude good faith conversations and negotiations. Although the Governor’s Office stopped just short of a veto threat in expressing opposition to the bill, the bill passed out of the Senate with 30 “yes” votes. The bill also unanimously passed the House State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs committee on Monday, as well as the House Appropriations committee this morning. If this strong vote count holds in the House, it’s very possible that we could see a veto override attempt in the last week of Polis’ final session. Read more – Lawmakers advance bill to regulate state agencies, like lobbyists who try to sway legislation Rideshare Protection Bill Advances Yesterday, House Bill 1424 was passed out of the House Business Affairs and Labor committee and passed the House Appropriations committee this morning. This is a similar bill to one that was vetoed by Governor Polis last year, which would increase requirements related to consumer protection for transportation network companies. Last year, Polis cited “unclear language” and “inoperable timelines” for his veto. Rideshare companies also threatened to leave the state if the bill from last year had been signed into law. This year, Willford has indicated she worked to find a compromise with the Governor since then. Although this year’s bill is considerably scaled back from last year’s proposal, the bill concept itself was originally introduced last year by Representative Jenny Willford, who was sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver in 2024. Willford is currently in the middle of a lawsuit with Lyft over the incident. The driver who assaulted her was eventually charged with unlawful sexual contact, but hasn’t been located or arrested since the incident. Read more – Colorado lawmaker pushes revised rideshare safety bill after Polis veto The "AI Compromise" Bill (SB26-189) Arrives After years of shifting goalposts and intense advocacy from the business community, Colorado leadership has introduced the highly anticipated Senate Bill 189. This measure serves as a critical course correction for the state’s first-in-the-nation AI law, aiming to strike a more manageable balance between consumer notice and the practical realities of deploying new technology. For our partners in the tech and business sectors, the core shift in this proposal is a move away from burdensome disclosures regarding internal decision-making mechanics. Instead, the bill pivots toward a "notice-first" framework, requiring companies to inform consumers when AI is utilized for consequential decisions such as in hiring, lending, or housing, while maintaining a clear right for consumers to request a human appeal. Crucially for industry compliance timelines, the new bill provides a much-needed reprieve by pushing the law’s effective date back to January 2027. The bill also seeks to clarify the liability divide between developers and deployers, ensuring that those building the tools aren't unfairly penalized for how a third party ultimately implements them. While the "right-to-cure" provision remains a point of contention as it’s currently set to expire in three years, the bill is a marked improvement over the original, more stringent 2024 language. With less than two weeks left in the session, there is a palpable sense of déjà vu under the Gold Dome as we once again sprint toward the finish line on AI policy reminding us all that in the Colorado legislature, the only thing more certain than "final" regulations is the inevitable rewrite. Read more - Colorado’s AI compromise would focus regulations on informing consumers when the technology is used Colorado Effort to Regulate License Plate Readers (Flock Cameras) Stalls A bipartisan push to regulate automated license plate readers (ALPR) in Colorado has ended for the 2026 session. Senate Bill 70 was effectively defeated after facing intense opposition from law enforcement and a veto threat from the Governor. The bill aimed to curb the "wildfire" expansion of Flock camera technology by requiring warrants for data access older than 72 hours and mandating public reports on camera locations and usage. Sponsors Senator Judy Amabile (D) and Senator Lynda Zamora Wilson (R) argued the safeguards were essential to prevent unfettered government surveillance and protect sensitive location data from hackers. However, law enforcement officials testified that the bill's restrictions would impede violent crime investigations and ignored realistic investigative timelines. While the effort stalled this year, the sponsors signaled they intend to bring the issue back in future sessions. Colorado joins several other states, including New York and West Virginia, currently grappling with how to balance public safety technology with constitutional privacy rights. Read more - Colorado lawmakers abandon effort to limit police use of Flock cameras What’s Next We’re in the home stretch with less than two weeks left of the legislative session. Next week, committees will start to close up for the year, and slowly transition to all the action taking place on the House and Senate floors for the final days of session. We expect the legislature may come in next weekend, but uncertain as they’ve remained relatively on schedule this year. In the words of Miranda Priestly… “that’s all” (for this week). |