Legislative Updates

2026 Bill Tracker 

2026 Post Session Report

The 76th General Assembly officially adjourned Wednesday evening, May 7th, following a hectic final week that saw the House working through the weekend to wrap up the remainder of the calendar.

Over the course of the session 712 bills, resolutions, and memorials were introduced. Heading into the last week of session, the legislature still had 228 bills needing action including most of the session’s most controversial issues leading the House to work on the last Saturday of the session to address the large load of bills still on the calendar. For those measures that did pass in the closing days, Governor Polis now has 30 days to sign, veto, or allow them to become law without his signature.

Throughout the session, including weekends and late nights, our State Affairs team was hard at work to advance, amend, and defeat legislation on behalf of our clients, a few of which include: 

• The passage of SB26-015: Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses increasing penalties for offenses related to commercial sexual activities with a child and updating outdated harmful terminology. 
• The passage of HB26-1311: Retainage Surety Bond Construction Contracts allowing contractors to submit bonds in lieu of retainage. 
• Secured amendments to HB26-1313: Adjust Requirements Statewide Affordable Housing Fund and HB26-040: Affordable Home Ownership Program, protecting the interests of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. 
• Strengthening negotiations and advocacy on major Artificial Intelligence legislation shaping Colorado’s evolving regulatory framework including. 
• Successfully defeated HB26-1148: Protections for Youth on Social Media that would have imposed a fee on each add-on transaction for online gaming services. 
• The passage of SB26-021: Clean Fleet Enterprise Replace Aging Diesel Trucks expanding the authority of the clean fleet enterprise to support public and private fleet operators to update their fleets. 
• The defeat of three bills that attempted to create significant new burdens for Colorado’s liquor and marijuana business community including: Sb26-164: Regulation of Lawful THC Beverages which attempted to circumvent existing alcohol and marijuana regulatory structures. SB26-161: Modernize Regulation of Cannabis-Related products attempting to replace the existing 15% excise and sales tax with a new per-milligram tax. And HB26-1301: Hospital Funding which attempted increased the excise tax on liquor and marijuana disproportionately impacting both industries that are already struggling. 
• The passage of SB26-191: Gifts Grants & Donations for Nursing Facilities directing funding to nursing homes to bring on behaviorally complex residents. 
• The defeat of HB26-1071: Local Government Vehicle Identification System on Interstate Highways preventing the extension of AVIS systems onto the highway.

In addition to the bills we have kept you updated on over the past 120 days, we have provided an overview of this year’s most significant legislation below: 

Technology

Technology policy emerged as one of the defining issues of the 2026 legislative session as lawmakers debated how to regulate emerging technologies while fighting to preserve Colorado’s competitiveness in attracting innovation and infrastructure investment. Artificial Intelligence remained one of the most watched issues this year as lawmakers revisited Colorado’s evolving approach to A.I. regulation.

The largest contribution to the A.I. debate came from SB26-189: Automated Decision-Making Technology, the third attempt to fix SB24-205 which was a first in the nation artificial intelligence consumer protections bill that was broadly viewed as unworkable from both developers and deployers. The first attempt to fix SB24-205 came during the 2025 legislative session and when negotiations failed during the final days of session, the debate continued during the 2025 special session. An agreement during special session could still not be reached leading to a compromise to extend the implementation date of SB24-205 to June of 2026 and a working group was called by Governor Polis to spend the rest of the year working on a solution. The culmination of this working group with additions from House and Senate sponsors came in SB26-189 which was introduced with only two weeks left in the legislative session. The bill regulates automated decision-making technology (ADMT) and strikes a balance between the attempts to regulate AI while lessening the negative consequences shouldered by developers and deployers. While the bill isn’t perfect, stakeholders from both sides agree it is a necessary step away from SB24-205 and commitments have been made that conversations surrounding this evolving topic will continue next session. 

Taking a more limited scope on the A.I. debate, HB26-1195

Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions, HB26-1139: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care, and HB26-1263: Controversial Artificial Intelligence Service Operator requirements each proposed guardrails for A.I., specifically in the healthcare industry and requirements for interactions with minors. 
 
HB26-1195: Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions prohibits mental health professionals from allowing an AI system to directly engage with a patient in therapeutic communication without co-interaction with a human mental health professional or to generate treatment recommendations without professional review. The bill still allows the utilization of AI for administrative tasks, however written informed consent is still required when AI is used to record or transcribe therapy sessions. 
 
Similarly, HB26-1139: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care limits the use of AI for healthcare insurance coverage, stating that the denial or delay of coverage cannot be based solely on the output of an AI system without independent approval by a health care professional. 
 
Rounding out the AI regulatory picture for the 2026 session, HB26-1263: Conversational Artificial Intelligence Service Operator Requirements will require AI operators to obtain the age of a user and if the user is a minor they must disclose that the minor is interacting with AI and lays out additional measures related to a minor’s usage of the AI system. 
 
Data center policy also emerged as a major issued this year as lawmakers considered proposals to encourage or restrict future data center development in Colorado. The debate came down to what ended up being called the “pro-data center bill” and the “anti-data center bill” 

HB26-1030: Data Center and Utility Modernization, also known as the pro-data center bill, attempted to approve a sales and use exemption for 20 years for the development of new data centers in Colorado. To qualify, data centers must commit to invest $250M in infrastructure within five years, create jobs, and meet energy-efficiency standards and consult utilities early on power needs. The bill was introduced early in the legislative session, but conversations surrounding the bill continued through the final days as sponsors worked through extensive stakeholder input and considered countless amendments to refine the legislation. Ultimately, the bill was postponed indefinitely in the final week of session and conversations will continue on how to approach this solution next session. 
 
In contrast, SB26-102: Large-Load Data Centers, has data center advocates worried it would prevent data centers from coming to Colorado. Under the guardrails outlined in the bill, operators would need to get 100% of their electricity from new renewable sources and also enter a 15-year contract with a utility to pay for their infrastructure and resource costs. This bill was also unsuccessful but is expected to return next session.   

Workforce

Keeping on theme with the past several sessions, workforce legislation remained one of the most heavily negotiated and contentious policy areas of the session. Among the closely watched workforce proposals this year were bills addressing worker protections, collective bargaining and wage setting proposals which carried significant implications for employers and industries across Colorado. 
 
Several of the workforce bills this year were repeated attempts at bills that have failed in prior sessions. Among the repeated attempts was HB26-1005: Labor Peace Act which attempts to amend the Colorado Labor Peace Act to eliminate the requirement for a second election to secure a union agreement. Opponents worry removing the second election takes away an extra payer of worker consent that has been part of Colorado law for decades. The 2025 attempt at this policy successfully passed both the House and Senate but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Polis. This year’s bill was also successful in passing the House and Senate however Governor Polis is expected to hand down another veto. 
 
Another repeated attempt at a bill that was unsuccessful last year came from HB26-1272: Extreme Temperature Worker Protections which directs the Department of Labor and Employment to begin collecting data on temperature-related workplace injuries and requires the development of a temperature related injury and illness prevention plan (TRIPP) by employers who have employees that are exposed to hot or cold temperatures. Last year’s bill held strong concerns from stakeholders for being overly burdensome and unworkable. The 2026 attempt boasted positive changes moving in the right direction, however many industries remained in opposition from fear this bill is just a delayed step towards initiating last year’s version of the bill. 
 
A similar bill, HB26-1054: Protections for Worker Safety was labeled by many businesses as an unnecessary overreach of standards that are already protected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The bill states that in the event any standard from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act is repealed, the state will have the ability to adopt standards that are more stringent than the federal standard. The business community came out in strong opposition fearing giving the state the ability to enact harsher standards when there is a lack of evidence such changes are necessary. The bill died on the final day of session. 

HB26-1210: Prohibit Surveillance Price & Wage Setting would prohibit companies from using personal data, including browsing history, location, gender, race, zip code or financial circumstances to decide how much a consumer pays for a product or for setting the wage of an employee. Sponsors pointed to the fears that this data is used to charge customers more for a good/service based on a consumer’s algorithm and the disparity in pay for wages specifically for ride share drivers. Opponents of the bill argue this is not a reality and that instead, this data is used to target savings, coupons and deals for consumers and the bill will create a burden to businesses by taking away this opportunity to provide savings. The bill passed successfully  through the House and Senate but a strong push is being sent to Governor Polis to veto the bill. 
 
The broader conversation around Colorado’s business climate also remained central to many of this year’s workforce debates. This was underscored by more than 200 bi partisan business leaders signing onto a letter addressed to Governor Polis, Senator Hickenlooper, Mayor Johnston and gubernatorial candidates Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser warning of the path of Colorado’s business climate if Colorado doesn’t become a more welcoming place for businesses and job creating innovation. The letter received an endorsement from Governor Polis who supports the letter’s call to action. 

Healthcare

As in previous years, healthcare proposals drew significant debate among providers, employers, insurers, and patient advocates with much of the discussion centered on affordability, access, employer obligations, and long-term system sustainability. 
 
SB26-149: Pathways for Individuals with Mental Health Disorder is a nearly 200-page bill that creates new placements for individuals with mental health disorders who are declared incompetent to stand trial. The bill was spurred by growing concerns of the judicial system releasing offenders, often violent offenders, back to into the public because the court cannot hand down a sentence. Sponsors of the bill made it clear this is just a first step in a lengthy conversation about how to handle Colorado’s growing behavioral health population and the need for appropriate staff and facilities to care for these individuals. 
 
On the employer side of the healthcare conversation, HB26-1327: Large Employer Worker Health-Care Support attempted to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid cost by requiring large employers to pay a fee for each employee that utilizes Medicaid benefits and works a certain amount of hours if the employer does not offer a healthcare option. The bill was applauded by some for its creativity in trying to find a solution to the increasing Medicaid budget, but businesses across all industries opposed the bill for the likely resulting negative consequences including driving business out of Colorado, encouraging employers to turn to automated options for lower paying jobs, or to avoid hiring lower income individuals. The bill made it through the House but was killed in the Senate committee the last week of session. 

Among the several bills that were moved alongside the budget to allow the Joint Budget Committee statutory authority to make budget decisions, HB26-1411: Changes to Cover All Coloradans Program limits what services may be offered under the Cover all Coloradans program that was stood up in 2022. The program provides health coverage to children under 19 and pregnant people regardless of immigration status if they meet certain income requirements. While legislators relied on the Joint Budget Committee to make the difficult decisions needed to balance this year’s budget, this bill came with heated debate and strong disagreements. The bill ultimately passed. 

2026 Budget Overview 
 
One of the defining challenges of the 2026 legislative session was balancing Colorado’s budget amid a $1.5 billion shortfall, forcing the Joint Budget Committee to make difficult spending reductions. The challenging budget was introduced a week past the scheduled introduction deadline while the JBC worked to find additional dollars to fill the budget gap. 
 
To close the gap, the JBC approved significant reductions across state government, with Medicaid taking some of the largest hits including a 2% provider cut, along with cuts and cost-containment measures affecting a range of programs and services statewide. 
 
While Republican and Democrat lawmakers disagree on the underlying causes of Colorado’s second consecutive billion-dollar deficit, there is broad bipartisan agreement that the current trajectory of the Medicaid budget is financially unsustainable and a primary contributor to the issue, requiring long-term policy solutions and structural changes. 
 
Looking ahead, the fiscal outlook remains challenging. Forecasts presented to the Joint Budget Committee by Legislative Council Staff and the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting indicate Colorado is likely to face at least three more years of budget deficits, signaling that difficult decisions made in 2026 may only be the beginning of a longer period of fiscal restraint for Colorado

Looking Ahead

As always, we appreciate your partnership this session, and we look forward to continuing to serve your interests as we monitor the Governor’s action on bills passed in the closing days. As we head into election season, we will be closely monitoring each state race and provide you with updates in June for the primary and November for the general election.