CLS Newsletter - End of Session Report

COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER
 
End of Session Report
 
May 15, 2023

Introduction
 
You made it! The First Regular Session of the 74th General Assembly is officially over. The 2023 legislative session was the fifth year of total control for Democrats in Colorado but it was their first year of near supermajority power, and let’s just say the first four years went a little smoother. After the last election, Democrats controlled a whopping 69 percent of the seats in the legislature, up from 62 percent after 2020 and 60 percent after 2018. While more is always better in politics, that doesn’t necessarily make it easier.
 
Coming into this session it was clear these dynamics would shift some things under the Gold Dome. Especially in the House, there was an increase in members representing the ideological extreme in both parties. Much of the growth in the Democrats ranks came from new, very liberal members, and some of the new Republicans were even more outspokenly very conservative. 
 
Intra-party tension was a constant this session. Republicans showed it on the very first day when a far-right faction broke tradition and rebuked their own leadership in the vote for Speaker. Democrats showed it on the very last day when several far-left members of the caucus questioned their own leadership and strategy, including the desire for bipartisanship.
 
And of course tensions between the parties were always on display. Republicans, with few other options, often resorted to filibustering. Democrats then chose to use the rules to limit such tactics and that inflamed things even worse. In the end, the tension reached such a boiling point that the House Republicans walked out on the final votes of the session. 
 
In a legislative equivalent of trying to take their ball and go home, the Republicans realized they didn’t actually have a ball to take and just went home empty handed. It was an exciting little bit of drama, but in the end the only thing it achieved was causing them to lose a day of per diem because they got marked absent; the bill they were protesting still passed. 
 
The 2023 session will be one for the history books, because well they always are, but this session had it all – late nights, weekends, liberal vs establishment Democrats, conservative vs establishment Republicans, the Governor still largely getting what he wants, and oh so many bills. Now let’s dive into some of the top takeaways and major issues from this session before going over what to expect from the legislature for the rest of the year. Plus, at the very end there is an appendix of all the major bills from this session broken down by category. ​

2023 Session Top Takeaways 
 
There are several things to takeaway from the 2023 session. First and foremost is that legislative sessions in Colorado are a relentless beast. Over 600 bills, half of which came as late bills, were dealt with in just 120 days. Even in a world where leadership sticks to the deadlines, there aren’t constant filibusters, and there aren’t a slew of controversial bills introduced that bring out a ton of witness testimony, it would still be a busy session. 
 
It’s ironic that Democrats this session introduced a controversial “fair scheduling” bill and then leadership in both chambers proceeded to do the exact opposite. The House worked several weekends with little to no notice, late night debates and committee hearings became commonplace, and witnesses had to wait until midnight or later to be able to testify. 
 
It certainly isn’t all the Democrats/leadership’s fault, the Republicans absolutely deserve some of the blame too. The “debates” at times strained credulity. The minority should always be given the opportunity to have their voice heard to be sure, but at a certain point the hours and hours of talking ceases to be about legitimate policy disagreements and becomes a straight up filibuster. 
 
Which brings us to the next takeaway from this session, the rise of the filibuster and the use of the rules to limit the excess. It’s often said that “the majority gets their way but the minority gets their say,” which means the majority can mostly pass whatever they want over the objections of the minority but they might have to endure a long debate to get there. 
 
Both parties have engaged in this tactic over the years. Heck, some Democrats even did it to their own party this session over policy disagreements. So while it’s nothing new, this session the filibusters were taken to a whole other, more extreme, level by some Republicans. 
 
And that leads to another takeaway from this session, the far-left response. Even in the face of filibustering in the past there was still a level of collegiality and a desire for bipartisanship. Now, however, particularly in response to a new dynamic duo of far-right Republicans, some far-left Democrats have said they don’t think they should have to work with these Republicans. 
 
The far-left’s ire over this session isn’t only directed at Republicans, it’s also directed at their own leadership. Many of the new Democrats feel like leadership put too much emphasis on bipartisan support when voters overwhelmingly chose to put Democrats in power. 
 
While there is a near supermajority of Democrats in the legislature, there is nowhere near a majority of far-left Democrats. The far-left is a large and growing faction within the Democrats’ caucus, but there are also some moderates and a big chunk of Democrats are just traditional left, and not necessarily down with absolutely everything the far-left wants. 
 
The killing of bills like rent control, just cause evictions, and the assault weapons ban (to name a few) and the slew of other controversial bills that were watered down with amendments are causing a lot of angst on the far-left. Expect some backlash over all this. 
 
Which brings us to probably the biggest takeaway from this session, that it could have been a lot worse. Some of the bills at introduction were extreme policy shifts in terms of ideology. Many of the worst of those bills were killed and many others were substantially amended in response to the opposition. 
 
You have to remember the political climate at the Capitol. Many expected that all of that stuff would sail through. Democrats had their largest majorities in history and were coming off four years of generally passing most things they wanted. But in large part because of moderate Democrats, and even regular old left Democrats who are more reasonable, and of course due to the tireless work of all those in opposition, the session ultimately turned out quite different. 
 
2023 Session Major Issues 
 
The 2023 legislative session was dominated by several major issues – broad topics that had many related bills. There are countless discrete issues we could discuss, but this is a newsletter and not a novella so we’ll do a deeper dive into just six major issues from this session: business, environment, guns (and abortion), health, housing, and taxes. 
 
Business
The Democrats came into this session wanting to further regulate business. After a slew of bills were introduced that were opposed by all kinds of different businesses, a general theme was emerging that it wasn’t good to be a business owner in Colorado this session. However, businesses, associations, and chambers of commerce (plus others) rallied to oppose those bills. 
 
One of the most exciting moments earlier in session was when the fair scheduling bill brought out local business owner after local business owner to detail how such a bill would hurt their business. The bill ultimately did not make it out of the first committee, and in the House no less!
 
Another exciting moment came later in session when a bill seeking to require unprecedented record sharing for gig-economy businesses (Instacart, Uber, etc.) finally came up for a final vote. After all of those companies  brought forth significant opposition and pointed out all of the many flaws in the bill, the bill did not have enough support to pass despite a lot of pressure from labor interests.
 
Added to the mix was a bill to offer expanded unemployment benefits at a time when the Unemployment Trust Fund remains insolvent was killed and a bill that would have added nearly $200 million in costs to the state’s workers’ compensation system never even got introduced because of opposition. 
 
In addition to those bills that did not pass this session, there were also several bills that did pass but were significantly watered down. A bill making a significant expansion for the Consumer Protection Act had that section stripped from the bill. A bill that would broaden the definition of  sexual harassment passed after negotiations produced several major changes. And a bill seeking to further regulate utility companies also passed with several amendments. 
 
Environment 
In terms of environmental issues, this session was supposed to be quiet in terms of further regulations on the oil and gas industry. Instead the focus was to be on capitalizing on the huge amount of money that the federal government is offering to incentivize new energy technologies such as carbon capture, geothermal resources and hydrogen. There were multiple bills dedicated to these issues (three on carbon capture alone) that passed, albeit with more restrictions and sideboards than many industry experts believe are necessary. 
 
But back to the theory that things would be quiet regarding oil and gas, not so much. There was a bill that would have prevented the industry from using fresh water, despite being a legal use under Colorado water law. That bill was significantly amended to create more reporting requirements for the industry to comply with and the creation of a consortium to study how to increase the use of water left over from the extraction of oil and gas. There was also a bill that would have allowed local governments and school districts to essentially stop the production of minerals in an area if they didn’t want their mineral resources pooled with other interests. Proponents of tax credits to encourage the transition to a more electrically driven economy (think electric bicycles and heat pumps) changed the law about oil and gas severance taxes in order to pay for these tax credits. And finally, there was a bill seeking to significantly further regulate air quality permitting that was turned into an interim committee to study the issue without even the ability to introduce bills next session.
 
Guns
Democrats largely got exactly what they wanted on the issue of guns, although the minority made them endure long debates to get there. Democrats passed five big gun bills and lost one other gun bill, although that was the result desired by the Governor. 
 
The bills that passed 1) added to who can request an extreme risk protection order, 2) raised the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 (with some exceptions), 3) created a three- day waiting period to purchase a firearm, 4) removed a prohibition on suing gun manufacturers, and 5) banned so-called ghost guns. All of those bills were highly opposed by Republicans but Democrats stuck together and got those bills across the finish line. 
 
The one big bill that did not pass was a ban on assault weapons. This was a highly anticipated bill this session that Governor Polis threw cold water on from the beginning. That led the original bill sponsor to pull his name off the bill. The bill was ultimately introduced but waited for a long time for its first committee hearing (never a good sign) and was put down when that hearing finally occurred. Another bill on county regulation of firearm discharges also did not pass.
 
A separate, but somewhat related, issue is also worth mentioning here. The Democrats were also successful in passing all of the reproductive health bills that they wanted this session. Both guns and abortion dominated the middle part of the session as the length of “debate” stretched on for unprecedented amounts of time – literally all night in one instance. Filibusters were a major part of this session, and these two issues produced some of the longest filibusters.
 
Health
While not as front and center as prior sessions, Governor Polis continued his crusade to “save people money on healthcare” (you can now mark that on your bingo card or drink, whichever you are playing) by further regulating hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies. 
 
Gigantic controversial bills from just a couple sessions had new bills this session to “update” and “modernize” them, even though they aren’t even fully implemented yet. Those were the bills on the Colorado Option and prescription drug affordability board (PDAB). 
 
However, the main target for Democrats and Governor Polis this session was hospitals. Despite the fact that many hospitals were in tough financial situations coming off the pandemic and were still trying to absorb all of the major changes from the last four years, hospitals were under assault from multiple angles. There were multiple bills dealing with transparency, a bill seeking to further regulate non profit hospital community benefit, and a full attack on vital facility fees. 
 
The facility fee bill as introduced would have impacted healthcare in a catastrophic way. Facility fees pay for everything and everyone except the doctor – nurses, pharmacists, social workers (literally everyone caring for a patient other than the doctor) – and the bill sought to completely prohibit these vital fees in most circumstances. It’s an example of what happens when legislators turn over their agenda to activist groups with little understanding of how things actually work. In the end, due to intense opposition the bill was amended to just study the issue. 
 
Housing 
One of the biggest issues this year was housing. It dominated from opening day speeches all the way to the last day of the session, and in the end it handed Democrats and Governor Polis some of their biggest losses of the whole session, and probably the biggest loss ever for Governor Polis. 
 
There were several housing bills that did pass, but the most controversial died in spectacular fashion. Rent control died in its first committee hearing in the Senate and just cause evictions died on the Senate calendar. Both of those losses are particularly stinging for the far-left. 
 
However, the most stinging loss for Governor Polis, and possibly his biggest loss ever as Governor, came on his humongous land use bill. The bill sought to interject the state into what has historically been local land use decisions. For local government officials this was tantamount to declaring war. Opposition came from all parts of the state. When very liberal cities and very conservative cities are in total lockstep opposition there’s trouble afoot for the bill. 
 
Governor Polis, uncharacteristically, completely misread the politics on this one. Like a lot of Democrats, he saw the new big majorities and figured he could do whatever he wanted, opposition be damned. He probably also thought that a lot of local government officials would capitulate to what he wanted. But when it comes to land use, messing with local control is a third rail in politics. 
 
In order to get the bill through the Senate, the bill was largely gutted. This happens all the time on various pieces of legislation, and when that happens the second chamber usually begrudgingly goes along or at least goes to conference committee to iron out the differences. Well that isn’t what happened with this bill. 
 
The Democrats in the House, largely upset with many things the more moderate Democrats in the Senate did on several bills, said enough with going along. The House added back in many of the controversial items that had to come out to get the bill through the Senate. That set the House, the Senate, and the Governor on a collision course to figure out a compromise with only days left to do so. 
 
On the final day of session they were trying to work it out (behind closed doors by the way) but they did not come up with a compromise that could pass both chambers. The lead sponsor ultimately said he pulled the plug when it was clear both sides were just talking past each other.
 
You could say the moderates killed the bill when they gutted it like their local government officials wanted, or you could say the liberals killed it when they refused to accept the Senate version (or at least some version of Senate plus a little), but either way you slice it – it was a huge loss for Governor Polis and some of the most dramatic news at the end of session. 
 
Taxes
Lastly, the final big issue for this session was taxes. Just three days before the end of session, Democrats in the majority introduced a big bill on property taxes and one on TABOR refunds. Home values are rising at an astonishing rate and some kind of legislation addressing property taxes was expected. It just should have come much earlier in the session. 
 
The bill puts a question on the November ballot that voters will have a chance to approve or reject. The measure comes with significant property tax relief, lower assessment rates, plus other changes to property taxes and the TABOR cap. 
 
Contingent on the property tax ballot measure passing is another bill dealing with TABOR refunds. In order to boost the chances of that measure passing, Democrats are dangling equal TABOR refunds for everyone (estimated at $661 each) that will only kick in if it passes. 
 
Most controversially, the property tax relief will be partly paid for with TABOR refund money and will also raise the TABOR cap, in what many Republicans called a way to eliminate future TABOR refunds. Anger over the bill and the process ultimately caused the entire House Republican caucus to walk out on the final votes of the session. It’s still unclear what Republicans got by walking out that they couldn’t have gotten by just voting no. And don’t expect the drama to end soon, this one will be debated all the way until November. 
 
Legislative Activity For Rest of 2023
 
The General Assembly is only in session for 120 days, but the work continues over the legislative interim. Here is a quick preview of all of the interim committees that will hold hearings this summer and fall, and also some of the budget and election action coming up.
 
2023 Interim Committees:
 
Colorado Jail Standards – Commission & Legislative Oversight Committee 

• Created by legislation in 2022 (House Bill 22-1063).
• Jail Standards Commission: Must recommend standards for the operation of jails and submit a report to the oversight committee by November 15, 2023.
• Legislative Oversight Committee for Colorado Jail Standards: Oversees the Jail Standards Commission and recommends legislation for the 2024 session.

 
Colorado Youth Advisory Council Committee

• Created by legislation in 2019 (House Bill 19-1024).
• Reviews the work of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council (made up of 14-19 year olds) and recommends legislation regarding issues affecting Colorado youth.

 
Colorado's Child Welfare System Interim Study Committee

• Created by a 2023 legislative request for an interim study committee.
• Reviews Colorado’s child welfare system as a whole between the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions and may draft up to five bills to address issues studied.

 
Colorado River Drought Task Force 

• Created by legislation in 2023 (Senate Bill 23-295). 
• Tasked with developing recommendations for legislation that will provide tools to address drought in the Colorado River Basin.
• The 17-member task force is made up of representatives from state agencies, local governments, tribal representatives, water engineers, agricultural and environmental interests, and other stakeholders. 
• The task force must also establish a sub-task force made up of Colorado tribes, the Department of Natural Resources, and other stakeholders to study tribal matters related to the Colorado River Compact. 

 
Legislative Interim Committee on Ozone Air Quality

• Created by legislation in 2023 (House Bill 23-1294).
• Reviews ozone air quality and factors that contribute to ozone pollution between the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. No ability to introduce interim committee bills.

 
Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy & Task Force

• Created by legislation in 2021 (House Bill 21-1077).
• Considers policies in the tax expenditure evaluations from the state auditor.
• The task force studies tax policies to develop policy recommendations for the committee.

 
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee

• Created by a 2017 legislative request for an interim study committee.
• Studies prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support for substance use disorders and may draft up to six bills to address issues studied.

 
Recidivism Interim Study Committee

• Created by a 2023 legislative request for an interim study committee.
• Reviews aligning state agency definitions of “recidivism” when it’s used to measure the success or failure of a program in criminal justice between the 2023 and 2024 legislative session.

 
Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force

• Created by legislation in 2017 (House Bill 17-1216).
• Studies the simplification of sales and use tax between state and local governments and reports annually to the legislative council.

 
Statewide Health Care Review Committee

• Created by legislation in 2019 (Senate Bill 19-015).
• Studies health care issues impacting Coloradans during up to two meetings over the interim.

 
Task Force for the Consideration of Facial Recognition Services

• Created by legislation in 2022 (Senate Bill 22-113).
• Considers the use of facial recognition services by state and local government agencies, and the extent that government agencies should be permitted to use facial recognition.
• Annually reports to the Joint Technology Committee.

 
Transportation Legislation Review Committee

• Originally created in 1953 and periodically updated over the years to address issues relevant to current transportation. Most recently updated in 2007.
• Reviews legislation related to transportation, traffic, and motor vehicles. 

 
Treatment of Persons with Behavioral Health Disorders in the Criminal/Juvenile Justice Systems

• Expanded by legislation in 2022 (Senate Bill 22-021).
• Studies intervention and resiliency strategies for individuals at risk of involvement in the criminal justice system, as well as the intersection between behavioral health disorders and the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

 
Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee

• Expanded by legislation in 2023 to be a year-round committee (Senate Bill 23-010).
• Studies issues related to Colorado water resources such as its conservation, use, development, and financing.
• Reports feedback on the Colorado State Water Plan to the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

 
Wildfire Matters Review Committee

• Created by legislation in 2013 (Senate Bill 13-082).
• Reviews prevention and mitigation of wildfires in Colorado. 

 
Other Important Dates:
 
Economic & Revenue Forecasts (June, September, December)
The quarterly economic and revenue forecasts will next happen in June, September, and December. Each forecast is a projection based on the currently available data. Keep an eye out for updates on those and how it will impact the budget situation for the next session. 
 
Elections (Denver Mayor runoff on June 6, Coordinated Election on November 7) 
On June 6th, Denver will hold its runoff election for the next mayor. The race is between Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston. As a reminder, there were a couple state legislators who also ran back in April, but didn’t receive enough votes to advance to the runoff election. Senator Hansen has endorsed Kelly Brough and Representative Herod has endorsed Mike Johnston.
 
Colorado’s statewide election will be held on November 7th. Because of the last minute legislation passed by the legislature, this election will be dominated by debates around property taxes and TABOR refunds. Last time Democrats put a TABOR question on the ballot (2019) they lost. Only time will tell whether they will be successful this time around. 
 
Conclusion
 
Lastly, thank you for being a CLS client – it’s an honor to represent you at the Capitol! Whether it’s your first or fortieth year as one of our clients, congratulations on making it through the session. 
 
And thank you for reading all these newsletters… Watch out for newsletters with updates over the legislative interim.
 
Have a good summer!
 
 
Photo of the CLS team on the last day of session:

* Matching shirts on the last day of session is a CLS tradition. If you don’t get the reference immediately, remember back to the Gwyneth Paltrow trial in Utah this year. 
 
Appendix: Major Bills This Session By Category
 
CONTROVERSIAL BILLS THAT DIED

• Senate Bill 038 Prohibit Equine Slaughter for Human Consumption – As introduced, this bill would have made it a crime to engage in horse slaughter for human consumption. After the bill had significantly changed with amendments added in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee and on second reading, the bill was lost on an amendment to the Committee of the Whole report after second reading. ❌
• Senate Bill 061 Eliminate State Assessment in Social Studies – Would have eliminated the statewide assessment in social studies for elementary and middle school students. On the evening before the last day of session, the House laid the bill over until May 9th (the day after the General Assembly adjourned), effectively killing the bill. ❌
• Senate Bill 098 Gig Work Transparency – Would have placed transparency requirements on gig work companies such as Instacart, Uber, or Lyft. Although the bill was strongly supported by labor unions, two Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the bill, and it was postponed indefinitely in the Senate Finance committee. ❌
• Senate Bill 109 Criminal Penalty Controlled Substance Supplier – Would have made it a level one drug felony for someone to illegally sell a drug that results in an overdose death. Although this bill had bipartisan sponsors and received bipartisan support in the Senate, it was postponed indefinitely in the House Judiciary committee. ❌
• Senate Bill 201 Mineral Resources Property Owners’ Rights – Would have put new requirements in place for forced pooling practices within the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Although the bill sponsors attempted to negotiate with Democrat committee members, two Democrats joined Republicans in voting no, and the bill was postponed indefinitely in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee. ❌ 
• Senate Bill 213 Land Use – This was one of Governor Polis’ biggest bills of the year and was meant to increase affordable housing. Originally, the bill called for state preemption of local government and land use policies, but it had a tough time getting out of the Senate and was amended to take out most of the state preemption language. When it went over to the House, Democrats added the state preemption language back into the bill. Because of the amendments added in the House, the bill needed to go back to the Senate for approval… with the very language that the Senate had taken out. After all day negotiations between the House, Senate, and bill sponsors, Senate Bill 213 couldn’t beat the clock and died on the calendar. ❌
• House Bill 1078 Unemployment Compensation Dependent Allowance – Would have provided a dependent allowance to an individual who receives unemployment compensation and has a dependent. Although the bill was amended to push back implementation, it was postponed indefinitely in the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee. ❌
• House Bill 1115 Repeal Prohibition Local Residential Rent Control – The bill would have authorized local governments to enact rent control measures. Although the bill passed out of the House with amendments, one Democrat joined Republicans in the Senate Local Government and Housing committee in voting no on the bill, and it was postponed indefinitely. ❌ 
• House Bill 1118 Fair Workweek Employment Standards – Would have required employers to follow guidelines related to how often an employee works, when, and how long employees must rest in between shifts. After strong opposition from business groups, several chambers of commerce, and some of Colorado’s most iconic small businesses, the bill was postponed indefinitely in the House Business Affairs and Labor committee. ❌
• House Bill 1127 Customer’s Right to Use Energy – Would have prohibited a state agency or local government from restricting use of certain energy sources, particularly natural gas. The bill was postponed indefinitely in the House Energy and Environment committee. ❌ 
• House Bill 1171 Just Cause Requirement Eviction of a Residential Tenant – Would have prevented a landlord from evicting a tenant unless there was just cause for eviction. As introduced, the bill outlined what qualifies as “just cause,” but was amended to only include no-fault evictions or when a property is unlawfully detained by a tenant. After hours of discussion from Republicans, the bill didn’t make it out of second reading in the Senate and died on the calendar. ❌ 
• House Bill 1202 Overdose Prevention Center Authorization – Would have authorized local governments to operate safe injection zones. Although the bill made it out of the House, three Democrats joined Republicans in voting no on the bill in the Senate Health and Human Services committee and it was postponed indefinitely. ❌ 
• House Bill 1230 Prohibit Assault Weapons in Colorado – Would have prohibited an individual from manufacturing, purchasing, or selling an assault weapon. As introduced, the bill included a broad definition of “assault weapon,” which was enough for four Democrats to join Republicans in voting against the bill. The bill was postponed indefinitely in the House Judiciary committee. ❌
• House Bill 1302 Housing Accessibility –  Would have expanded accessible housing standards for existing housing structures and new construction projects. The bill was postponed indefinitely in the House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government committee. ❌ 

 
Agriculture & Water

• Senate Bill 006 Creation of the Rural Opportunity Office – Codifies the Rural Opportunity Office, which is responsible for coordinating rural economic development programs and initiatives, as well as developing policy recommendations for rural economic development. ✅
• Senate Bill 255 Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund – Creates the Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund to compensate landowners and agricultural producers for losses from wolf depredation. ✅
• Senate Bill 256 Management of Gray Wolves Reintroduction – Requires the state to obtain a federal 10(j) ruling prior to implementation of gray wolf reintroduction. The 10(j) ruling would allow for more state oversight of reintroduction, rather than federal oversight. ✅
• Senate Bill 270 Projects to Restore Natural Stream Systems – Creates a rebuttable presumption that minor stream restoration projects don’t cause injury to a vested water right. The bill allows someone who holds a water right to bring evidence to challenge this if their water right is damaged as a result of a minor stream restoration project. ✅
• Senate Bill 295 Colorado River Drought Task Force – Creates the Colorado River Drought Task Force, which is responsible for developing policy recommendations to address the drought in the Colorado River Basin. ✅
• House Bill 1011 Consumer Right to Repair Agricultural Equipment – Requires an agricultural equipment manufacturer to provide resources to an individual who’s repairing agricultural equipment made by that manufacturer. ✅
• House Bill 1257 Mobile Home Park Water Quality – Creates a new program to test water quality in mobile home parks only and requires park owners to conduct remediation if necessary. At introduction, the bill had much more draconian enforcement and was amended significantly. ✅

 
Business & Economic Development 

• Senate Bill 066 Advanced Industry Acceleration Programs – Reauthorizes the Advanced Industry Acceleration Grant Program. Since the program was created in 2013, it has proven to be successful in attracting the development of advanced industries in Colorado. ✅
• Senate Bill 143 Retail Delivery Fees –  Exempts small businesses with up to $500,000 or less in sales from collecting the state’s 27-cent retail delivery fee. The 27-cent fee comes from a 2021 bill that placed a fee on retail delivery to fund transportation projects. ✅
• Senate Bill 161 Financing to Purchase Firefighting Aircraft – Transfers money from the General Fund to the Colorado Firefighting Air Corps Fund to purchase a Firehawk Helicopter for improving wildfire response. ✅
• House Bill 1192 Additional Protections in Consumer Code – Broadens the Colorado Antitrust Act of 1992 and renames it the Colorado State Antitrust Act of 2023. The bill increases civil and criminal penalties for antitrust violations, and was amended in the Senate Judiciary committee to remove a section of the bill that would have increased consumer protection litigation. ✅ 

 
Courts & Law Enforcement 

• Senate Bill 168 Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Judicial System – Allows an individual to take legal action against a gun manufacturer if a gun produced by the manufacturer is used in an incident of gun violence. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 169 Increasing Minimum Age to Purchase Firearms – As introduced, the bill increased the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 years old to 21 years old. As amended, the bill instead increases the minimum age a person may possess a firearm from 18 years old to 21 years old. ✅
• Senate Bill 170 Extreme Risk Protection Order Protections – Expands Colorado’s red flag law to include medical care providers, educators, and district attorneys. ✅
• Senate Bill 249 False Reporting of Emergency – Makes it a class six felony to falsely report a mass shooting or active shooter. This bill was introduced after several high school campuses across the state received threats of a mass shooting earlier this year, and the threats were found to not be credible. ✅
• Senate Bill 279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components – Prohibits possessing or manufacturing a gun without a serial number, also called a “ghost gun”. Although there was still heavy discussion, there wasn’t nearly as much pushback on this bill from Republicans as other gun bills from earlier this year. ✅
• Senate Bill 290 Natural Medicine Regulation and Legalization – Provides direction for the regulation of psychedelics in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). This comes as a result of Proposition 122, which passed last year and allows for the legalization of certain natural psychedelics when used in a licensed facility. ✅
• House Bill 1219 Waiting Period to Deliver a Firearm – Establishes a three day waiting period after a background check is completed for an individual purchasing a gun. This was one of four bills from Governor Polis’ gun violence prevention bill package. ✅

 
Education (K12 & Higher Education)

• Senate Bill 205 Universal High School Scholarship Program – Creates a scholarship program for students who graduate from a Colorado high school in the 2023-24 school year and plan to pursue postsecondary education or an apprenticeship program. ✅
• Senate Bill 287 Public School Finance – Funds K12 education through a formula and increased per pupil funding.
• House Bill 1231 Math in Pre-kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade – Increases resources for math education. The resources are geared toward students who are below grade level or struggling in math by making educator training programs more accessible and improving assessment tools for math achievement. ✅

 
Elections & Campaign Finance 

• Senate Bill 276 Modifications to Laws Regarding Elections – Makes changes to Colorado’s election laws by prohibiting an elected official from appearing in a taxpayer funded announcement or notice when that elected official is up for reelection. ✅

 
Energy & Environment 

• Senate Bill 016 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures – Allows the state to seek authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate Class VI injection wells, which pumps and stores natural gas underground. ✅
• Senate Bill 192 Sunset Pesticide Applicators’ Act –  Coming out of recommendations from the Department of Regulatory Agencies, the bill extends the current statewide standard for pesticide regulation. To the dismay of environmentalists, the bill leaves out local control of pesticide regulation. At one point, bill sponsors attempted to put the local control provision into an amendment on House Bill 1192, but it was quickly taken back out. ✅
• Senate Bill 198 Clean Energy Plans –  Expands and enforces Colorado’s clean energy plans by requiring electric utilities that submit a clean energy plan to demonstrate they’re on track to achieve a 46 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2024, and an 80 percent reduction by 2030. ✅  
• Senate Bill 285 Energy and Carbon Management Regulation in Colorado – Renames the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, and expands its authority to also regulate geothermal projects and underground natural gas storage. ✅
• Senate Bill 291 Utility Regulation – This bill came from the Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates, which held three hearings early in the legislative session to address price spikes in utility rates. The bill originally required utility companies to absorb costs that would otherwise raise utility rates for consumers, but was amended to allow utility companies to spread these costs out over a five year period. ✅
• House Bill 1134 Require Electric Options in Home Warranties – Requires home warranty contracts to include coverage that would  allow a homeowner to replace their gas-fueled appliance with an electric appliance instead. ✅
• House Bill 1161 Environmental Standards for Appliances –  Updates and expands environmental standards for appliances and fixtures. At one point, the bill sponsors attempted to include local control of pesticide usage in the bill through amendments added in the Senate Transportation and Energy committee hearing. This was because local control of pesticide usage was left out of Senate Bill 192, but the pesticide usage amendments were removed in the Senate appropriations committee. ✅
• House Bill 1210 Carbon Management – Creates a roadmap for carbon management. The bill also clarifies carbon management projects that are eligible for grant money. To no one’s surprise, carbon management projects that involve oil extraction didn’t make the list of eligible projects. ✅
• House Bill 1216 Natural Gas Pipeline Safety – As introduced, the bill would’ve required utilities to inspect gas meters every three years, rather than the federal requirement of every five years. Utility companies expressed this would increase staffing, which would increase utility rates, so the bill was amended to inspection every “three to five years”. ✅
• House Bill 1252 Thermal Energy – Incentivizes transition to geothermal energy by expanding an existing grant program for new construction projects in heating and cooling. ✅
• House Bill 1281 Advance the Use of Clean Hydrogen – Regulates clean hydrogen production projects and offers grants to production companies that use hourly matching methods in producing green hydrogen. Because hourly matching could increase production costs significantly, Governor Polis agreed to sign a letter urging the Public Utilities Commission to reconsider the hourly matching requirement. ✅
• House Bill 1294 Pollution Protection Measures – As introduced, the bill placed more regulations on permitting procedures. After strong opposition from the oil and gas industry, the bill got scaled back to creating an interim committee without drafting authority. ✅

 
Fiscal Policy & Taxes

• Senate Bill 303 Reduce Property Taxes and Voter-approved Revenue Change– Refers a ballot measure to voters at the November 2023 election and changes. With voter approval, the bill imposes a local government property tax revenue limit and reduces certain property assessment rates the treatment of property tax backfill payments. It also allows the state to retain a portion of excess state revenues and reduces TABOR refunds. ✅
• Senate Bill 304 Property Tax Valuation – specifies factors that assessors must consider when valuing property. ✅
• House Bill 1290 Proposition EE Funding Retention Rate Reductions – Refers a ballot measure to voters at the November 2023 statewide election to retain excess revenue collected from Proposition EE that otherwise would be refunded. ✅
• House Bill 1311 Identical Temporary TABOR Refund – Conditional upon approval of the ballot measure referred to voters in Senate Bill 23-303, this bill directs that TABOR refunds that would otherwise be paid in FY 2023-24 via the six-tier sales tax refund mechanism be instead paid in equal amounts to qualifying taxpayers. ✅

 
Health Care & Health Insurance  

• Senate Bill 188 Protections for Accessing Reproductive Health Care – Protects individuals from out of state who come to Colorado for abortion or gender affirming services from being criminally charged in other states, and also protects physicians who provide those services. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 189 Increasing Access to Reproductive Health Care – Requires large-employer insurance carriers to cover abortion costs, beginning in 2025. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 190 Deceptive Trade Practice Pregnancy-related Service – Makes it a deceptive trade practice for a clinic to advertise abortion services if they don’t offer abortion services. This is meant to address “pregnancy crisis centers,” which provide pro-life resources instead of abortion services. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 195 Calculation of Contributions to Meet Cost Sharing – Prohibits insurance carriers from using accumulator adjustment programs, which are programs to limit how much a coupon or patient assistance program for a prescription drug can go toward a patient’s out-of-pocket and cost-sharing requirements. The bill excludes drugs that have a generic equivalent. ✅
• Senate Bill 252 Medical Price Transparency – Requires hospitals to publicly post their Medicare reimbursement rates and relocates hospital price transparency and debt collection provisions in statute to be under the oversight of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. ✅  
• House Bill 1130 Drug Coverage for Serious Mental Illness – Restricts state-regulated insurance carriers from requiring step therapy before covering drugs for serious mental illnesses. ✅ 
• House Bill 1201 Prescription Drug Benefits Contract Term Requirements – Prohibits insurance carriers or pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) from “spread pricing” practices, in which a carrier would charge a beneficiary more for a prescription drug than what the carrier originally paid to a pharmacy. The bill also establishes failure to comply as a deceptive trade practice. ✅
• House Bill 1215 Limits on Hospital Facility Fees – As introduced, the bill limited facility fees charged by hospitals to patients at off-campus hospital facility fees. The bill was amended significantly to just a study on hospital facility fees. ✅
• House Bill 1224 Standardized Health Benefit Plan – Expands on the original Colorado Option legislation from 2021 (House Bill 21-1232) by making it easier for individuals to enroll in a standardized plan. ✅ 
• House Bill 1225 Extend and Modify Prescription Drug Affordability Board – As introduced, the bill significantly expanded the eligibility criteria for a drug to undergo an affordability review and allowed the board to set unlimited upper payments, rather than twelve per year upper payments limits, which was established in Senate Bill 21-175. After negotiations with the pharmaceutical and bioscience industries, the bill was amended to narrow the eligibility criteria and limit the board to eighteen upper payment limits per year. ✅ 
• House Bill 1226 Hospital Transparency and Reporting Requirements – Increases information a hospital must disclose related to revenues and expenditures to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. ✅ 
• House Bill 1243 Hospital Community Benefit – As introduced, the bill would have required nonprofit hospitals to spend a certain amount of money on investments in the community, and outlined what does or does not qualify as an acceptable investment. The bill was amended to require nonprofit hospitals to provide more detailed reporting on what is spent on different categories of community investments. ✅ 

 
Housing & Local Government 

• Senate Bill 184 Protections for Residential Tenants – Limits the financial information a landlord may request from a prospective tenant during the rental screening process related to a tenant’s income, and limits a security deposit charged by a landlord to two months of rent. ✅ 
• House Bill 1095 Prohibited Provisions in Rental Agreements –  Prohibits a landlord from including certain provisions in rental agreements related to a tenant waiving litigation rights and extra fees other than monthly rent payments. ✅ 
• House Bill 1120 Eviction Protections for Residential Tenants – Requires a mediation between a tenant and a landlord before eviction if the tenant receives government financial assistance. ✅
• House Bill 1190 Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal – As introduced, the bill would have given local governments a right of first refusal on multi-family housing property that goes up for sale. Amendments added in the Senate narrow the criteria a property would have to meet for local government to have the right of first refusal. ✅ 
• House Bill 1254 Habitability of Residential Premises –  As introduced, the bill would have expanded conditions covered under the warranty of habitability to include conditions related to water, fire, and natural disaster caused damage. The bill was amended to just include damage from an “environmental public health event,” and clarify responsibilities of the landlord in the event of damage from an environmental public health event. ✅
• House Bill 1255 Regulation Local Housing Growth Restrictions – As introduced, the bill would have enacted state preemption of local government restrictions on growth of residential housing. The bill was later amended to soften the language around the state preemption piece, allowing local governments to keep restrictions on growth if they have developed their own land use plans for residential development. ✅ 

 
Labor & Employment

• Senate Bill 017 Additional Uses Paid Sick Leave – Expands when an employee may use paid sick leave to include caring for a family member when that family member’s school or place of care has an unexpected closure, an unexpected evacuation of an employee’s residence, and to attend funeral or memorial services. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 058 Job Application Fairness Act – Prohibits an employer from inquiring about the age of a job applicant, including an applicant’s birthday, dates an applicant attended an academic institution or year an applicant graduated. However, an amendment was added in the House to allow employers to request transcripts from an applicant, and the applicant would have the option to retract the dates on their transcript. ✅
• Senate Bill 105 Ensure Equal Pay for Equal Work – Reinforces provisions laid out in Senate Bill 19-085, which adds requirements for employers looking to hire. The bill received pushback from Republicans, with concerns that Colorado would be excluded from out of state companies’ hiring processes because of provisions requiring a salary range included in a job listing. Although Governor Polis requested an exemption be added for remote work, this amendment was not added. ✅ 
• Senate Bill 172 Protecting Opportunities and Workers’ Rights Act – As introduced, the bill would have expanded the definition of workplace harassment by removing the current standard in which an action must be “severe or pervasive” to constitute harassment. Following pushback from the business community claiming the bill would open the door for an increase in lawsuits, the bill was amended to narrow the new definition of harassment and reinforce compliance requirements for businesses. ✅