Colorado’s 2026 legislative session ended Wednesday, capping 120 days of debate and negotiation over hundreds of bills.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance.
The Colorado Sun and the Colorado Capitol News Alliance parsed through the roughly 650 measures considered by the legislature this year to find the ones that will most directly impact people’s lives — or would have had they passed.
Here’s our annual list of 101 bills that passed and failed in Colorado’s legislature this year that you need to know about:
A reminder: The governor has about a month to sign bills passed during the session into law or let them become law without his signature. He can also veto measures.
Browse by topic Housing Public safety Guns Immigration Business Technology Elections, taxes and the legislature Healthcare Energy and environment Transportation Education Bills that failedHousing
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House Bill 1120: People who own mobile homes and are delinquent on property taxes would have more protections against losing their properties under this bill awaiting the governor’s signature.
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Roaring Fork School District’s townhome units in Carbondale on Nov. 29, 2023. They’re part of a district effort to expand affordable housing for teachers and staff. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)> READ MORE
Senate Bill 53: Law enforcement officers and other first responders — like firefighters and emergency medical technicians — will be eligible for loans from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority under this bipartisan bill signed into law by the governor. First responders who earn more than a certain amount will not be eligible. The law takes effect in August.
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Public safety
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House Bill 1017: Insurance companies will be prohibited starting in August from receiving restitution in criminal cases when they incur a loss because one of their clients is a crime victim under this measure signed into law by the governor. The law still lets insurers collect criminal restitution when their clients are victims of fraud or their property is damaged or stolen.
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Fire stations, including this one in Lafayette, on March 15, 2019, are designated sites under Colorado’s Safe Haven Law, which says a parent can drop off a baby within 72 hours of birth without fear of child abandonment charges. Infants must be handed to an employee. (Dana Coffield, The Colorado Sun)House Bill 1110: Starting in August, this bill, which awaits the governor’s signature, would authorize bank tellers to intervene when they reasonably suspect that a vulnerable adult is the victim of financial exploitation, including by delaying disbursement of funds.
House Bill 1123: This measure, which hasn’t been signed by the governor yet, aims to prevent sexual abuse in jails by regulating strip searches of inmates.
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Senate Bill 85: Starting in August, this bill, signed by the governor in May, will require Colorado law enforcement officers investigating domestic violence to search a national database to determine whether any of the people involved has a protection order issued against them by the military. If there is an open military protection order — the armed services’ equivalent of the civilian protection order — the officer will be required to notify the military branch that issued it. Additionally, the bill will require judges to consider whether a military protection order has been issued when deciding when to issue a civilian protection order.
Senate Bill 105: This measure, brought in response to the discovery of bodies improperly stored in a Pueblo funeral home operated by the county’s coroner, will require Colorado coroners to disclose any financial interest in a deathcare business on their government website. It will also prohibit coroners from taking official actions that would affect their business. The bill was signed by the governor in May and takes effect in August.
The boarded-up storefront of the Davis Mortuary in Pueblo is shown in this Sept. 17, 2025 photo. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said on Aug. 26 that 24 bodies, multiple containers of bones and several other containers of what investigators believe to be human tissue were recovered from inside the Pueblo funeral home that is co-owned by the former county coroner Brian Cotter. (Mike Sweeney, Special to The Colorado Sun)Senate Bill 115: This bill, awaiting the governor’s signature, would create a three-year window starting in August during which people in prison age 60 or older who have served at least 20 years in prison and meet other requirements may ask a court for a new sentence. The legislature’s fiscal analysts estimate there are currently 98 people who would be eligible to petition the court under the measure.
Senate Bill 120: Law enforcement officers would have to undergo training on missing persons alerts under this measure awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill would also require colleges and universities to immediately notify law enforcement or conduct a wellness check when notified that one of their students may be missing.
Senate Bill 149: The Colorado Department of Human Services would be directed to upgrade and contract with facilities to treat people charged with serious crimes who have been found incompetent to stand trial and deemed unlikely to be restored to competency in the near future. The measure, if signed by the governor, would also make a series of other changes to Colorado’s competency process. That includes creating new court hearings and processes to determine if a defendant’s competency can ever be restored, establishing a new treatment placement procedure for those found incompetent, and changing the rules around when charges against someone deemed incompetent must be dismissed.
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Guns
House Bill 1126: Regulations governing Colorado gun dealers would be tightened under this legislation awaiting the governor’s signature. The regulatory changes seek to further ensure firearms dealers secure their weapons against burglaries, clarify who is an employee of a gun store and define which types of guns are subject to record keeping. Finally, it would create fines for violations.
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House Bill 1302: The Colorado Bureau of Investigation would no longer have to ensure that its gun background check unit is open for at least 12 hours every day under this bill awaiting the governor’s signature. CBI would be allowed to set the operating hours for InstaCheck to meet businesses’ needs.
Pistols for sale at Bristlecone Shooting, Training and Retail Center in Lakewood, Colorado, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)> READ MORE
Immigration
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Business
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House Bill 1011: Pet stores and brokers would be prohibited from selling cats and/or dogs starting in 2028 under this measure signed into law by the governor in April. Pet stores could still display dogs or cats available for adoption from a shelter or rescue, as long as they don’t receive a fee for doing so.
House Bill 1031: Starting in August, it will be illegal to claim an agricultural product was grown in Colorado when it was really grown elsewhere under this bill signed by Polis. The law will also require producers wanting to use the Colorado Proud designation or logo to get permission from the Department of Agriculture. Violations of the legislation will be treated as a deceptive trade practice.
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Volunteers at Child and Migrant Services in Palisade, Colorado, make tamales that the center sells as a fundraiser.Maria Elena, a volunteer, used to make tamales herself, and drive to Denver to sell them. Due to the risk of COVID-19, she had to stop Maria Elena is currently unemployed although in September, she expects to harvest grapes as she’s done in the past; grapes weren’t affected by the freeze like the peaches and cherries. Typically, she’d also sort and pack vegetables during the summer, but she’s afraid to do that work now because she said it’s impossible to keep six feet apart in the packing shed. “It’s such a hard time. It’s getting worse and worse,” she said. (Luna Anna Archey, Special to The Colorado Trust)> READ MORE
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Senate Bill 117: Coloradans won’t be allowed to buy lottery tickets with credit cards under this legislation awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill would mandate that lotto tickets be purchased only with cash, checks, money orders or debit cards.
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Technology
House Bill 1058: This measure, which the governor signed in early May, regulates how children are compensated when they appear in social media content that generates revenue. The law imposes requirements on what information parents and guardians of child content creators must collect, and it gives those kids a path to take legal action if those records aren’t kept.
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House Bill 1418: Online gaming companies would have to impose a 5% fee on in-game purchases to fund programs aimed at improving youth mental health under this measure the governor hasn’t signed yet.
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Elections, taxes and the legislature
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House Bill 1223: Starting next year, downloadable software — with some exceptions — would no longer be exempt from state sales and use taxes under this bill awaiting the governor’s signature. The revenue generated by the measure, estimated to be more than $92 million annually, would go toward expanding tax credits for lower-income families with children and be used to pay for an expansion in a tax credit that can be claimed by restaurants to offset utility costs. The so-called family affordability tax credit would be a maximum of about $250 per child.
House 1289: This measure, if it’s signed by the governor, would eliminate or pare back generalized tax breaks for businesses and wealthier Coloradans to fund or expand a series of tax credits, including ones that can be claimed by businesses, on things like renewable energy, healthcare and wildfire hazard mitigation.
House Bill 1331: A list of interim legislative committees would be suspended for the rest of the year as a cost-saving measure under this bill awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill would also prohibit lawmakers from collecting per diem or seeking other expense reimbursement for attending certain interim committee meetings.
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The Colorado legislature’s Joint Budget Committee meets for a hearing on the state’s economy and upcoming budget bill on March 19, 2026. (Kevin J. Beaty, Denverite via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance)> READ MORE
House Bill 1422: The General Assembly would hire an administrator of legislative safety to coordinate the protection of state lawmakers under this measure that hasn’t been signed into law yet. The bill would also require state elections officials to redact personal identifying information of candidates before posting their personal financial disclosures online.
Senate Bill 135: Colorado voters will be asked in November whether to give up their Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds for the foreseeable future and let the state keep and spend billions more dollars, primarily to increase K-12 education funding under this bill passed by Democrats at the Capitol.
Senate Bill 147: The governor has indicated he will veto this bill that would require state departments that lobby on bills to disclose their agency’s posture toward legislation, just like any other lobbyist working at the Colorado Capitol. The bill would also prohibit former statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly from serving as a legislative liaison for a state office for two years after leaving the legislature.
Healthcare
House Bill 1044: Starting in 2027, Colorado hospitals will have to make a list of rights for women giving birth. The information is required to be electronically available and in print, if requested, under this bill that’s aimed at improving maternal health for Black people. The measure, which was signed into law by the governor in May, also requires that the notice include information on where new parents can file complaints if they feel their rights have been violated.
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Senate Bill 7: Terminally ill patients prescribed medical marijuana will be allowed to use cannabis products while admitted to healthcare facilities under this bill. However, products that are consumed by smoking or vaping will not be allowed, and the cannabis use must comply with a prescribing doctor’s recommendations. The governor signed the bill into law in March and it takes effect in August.
Senate Bill 18: Colorado courts must seal the name-change records of children starting July 1 under this bill signed by the governor, which also lifts the requirement for kids that their name changes be publicly posted. The measure also lets anyone who filed a petition for a name change prior to July 1 ask the court system to seal their records — and the courts must oblige. The bill would not apply to children with prior felony convictions.
Senate Bill 32: This legislation, signed into law by the governor, aims to expand immunization access by decoupling the state from federal immunization guidance, acknowledging that males can also receive the human papilloma virus vaccine, and changing liability provisions around vaccine storage and administration. The bill, which took effect as soon as it was signed, also directs the state to spend money on vaccine programs if federal funding goes away.
The campus of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is seen as a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices takes place June 25, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)> READ MORE
Energy and environment
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House Bill 1226: Coal-fired power plants in Colorado that operate on or after Dec. 31, 2034, would be required under this bill — which hasn’t been signed — to install pollution control devices and meet emissions limits set by state regulators by 2029.
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The Uber app displayed on a phone on October 1, 2018. (Eric Lubbers, The Colorado Sun)> READ MORE
Senate Bill 146: Starting next year, this bill — which hasn’t been signed by the governor — would require restaurants to ask patrons if they want single-use utensils, like plastic forks and knives, and single-use condiments, like ketchup and soy sauce packets, before providing them.
Transportation
House Bill 1127: This measure will require county coroners to send the state the toxicology results — including blood alcohol concentrations and the results of drug screening panels — of every person who dies in a motor vehicle crash. The governor signed it in early May.
House Bill 1242: Starting June 1, 2027, this bill awaiting the governor’s signature would require that anyone whose license is revoked after being convicted of driving under the influence, or who is convicted of DUI for the first time but had a blood alcohol level above 0.08%, maintain an interlock-restricted license for nine months following the reinstatement of their driver’s license. An interlock device tests a driver’s sobriety before allowing a vehicle to be turned on. The measure also would change the rules around financial assistance for the installation of interlock devices.
House Bill 1286: Commercial vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds cannot be operated by an automated driving system without someone who holds a commercial driver’s license physically present in the cab under this measure awaiting the governor’s signature. Violators would face steep fines. The law would be automatically repealed Sept. 1, 2031.
Interstate 70 traffic on April 21, 2022, near Denver. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)House Bill 1424: Rideshare companies, like Uber and Lyft, would have to develop policies to prevent drivers from sharing a single account and complete background checks on drivers every six months. This measure, which is similar to a bill the governor vetoed last year, hasn’t been signed. The legislation would also prohibit people convicted of offenses like assault, harassment and kidnapping from driving for a rideshare company.
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Senate Bill 35: This bill would increase penalties for people with multiple speeding violations and drivers who overtake a vehicle on the left in no-passing zones. If signed into law by the governor, it would take effect in August.
Senate Bill 72: This bill, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, would starting in September classify causing a death while driving with criminal negligence as criminally negligent homicide and increase the penalties for certain drivers in fatal crashes.
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Senate Bill 150: The Regional Transportation District’s elected board would shrink to five from 15 under this bill awaiting the governor’s signature. The measure would also give the governor the power to appoint four additional, unelected members to the RTD board.
Regional Transportation District light rail trains pass while crossing Speer Boulevard April 10, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)> READ MORE
Education
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Senate Bill 60: Under this legislation signed by the governor, people who coach youth sports, including on the middle and high school levels, will be required to complete biennial mental health training. It will also require those coaches to remove kids from play if they suspect the child has suffered a concussion, and to notify the child’s parents and advise that they seek medical evaluation for the athlete. It takes effect in August.
Senate Bill 104: No later than July 1, 2028, under this bill signed by the governor, a box must be installed outside of each school in Colorado that contains keys allowing law enforcement to access every building and room on the school’s campus in an emergency.
Bills that failed
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House Bill 1021: This bill, sponsored only by Republicans, would have repealed a list of Colorado laws passed by Democrats in recent years tightening regulations on guns. It was rejected during its first committee hearing.
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House Bill 1046: This bill, which died on the calendar in the House appropriations committee, would have created a license structure for so-called earned wage access apps in Colorado that provide small, short-term loans to users in between their paychecks. The bill would have relied on gifts, grants and donations to fund the oversight. Critics said that would have resulted in the app companies paying for their own regulation.
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Signs along West Alamo Avenue urge residents to oppose ballot measure 3A, which would enshrine single-family zoning in the Littleton city charter. (Brian Eason, The Colorado Sun)House Bill 1130: This bill, which died in a Senate committee after passing the House, would have required buildings with public restrooms to install diaper-changing stations in bathrooms on each floor starting in 2028.
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House Bill 1273: Transportation network companies, like Uber and Lyft, would have been prohibited from retaining more than 20% of a consumer’s fare — excluding tips and toll payments — for any ride or delivery under this bill, which died in a Senate committee. It had earlier passed the House.
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House Bill 1281: This legislation, which was abandoned in the Senate, would have pared back the actions that constitute “extreme indifference” in the legal context of first-degree murder, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole. It also would have made a killing committed with extreme indifference second-degree murder — which doesn’t carry a life sentence — when just one person is killed, unless the person killed was a law enforcement officer or a child younger than 12.
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House Bill 1327: This bill, which died in the Senate Finance Committee, would have allowed for the collection of fees from large employers who have 500 or more employees enrolled in the state Medicaid program, exempting employers who provide affordable healthcare plans, are nonprofits, franchises or public employers.
Senate Bill 43: This bill, which died on the legislative calendar, was intended to curb online gun barrel sales by regulating them like firearms. It would have required that barrels be sold or transferred in-person by a federally licensed gun dealer and only to buyers who are 18 or older who can legally own a firearm. It would have also required that sellers keep records of barrel sales for at least five years.
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Senate Bill 87: This measure, which failed because of irreconcilable differences between the House and Senate, would have required employers to — in some circumstances — accommodate, with or without pay, the absences of workers who serve in the Colorado legislature while the General Assembly is in session.
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Senate Bill 107: Government agencies in Colorado would have had five days to respond to open records requests, up from three days, under this bill that was killed in its first committee hearing in March. The measure would have also expanded the reasons a government agency could use to delay responding to records requests.
Senate Bill 164: Nonalcoholic beverages containing no more than 10 milligrams of hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol per serving could have been sold in Colorado outside of marijuana dispensaries under this bill, which was rejected in its first committee hearing at the request of its main sponsor.
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State representatives listen to debate in the House at the Colorado Capitol in Denver on the last day of the state’s 2026 legislative session. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)> READ MORE
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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