legislative update 03.02-03.06

this is a very busy and tiring part of the session…a flurry of bills every week, many of which overlap and some that go late into the night. disappointments abound for team sanity and all of this happens on top of the “normal” life of citizens who choose to thoughtfully engage in the process. at the end of an incredibly busy week, i was left with little time so you may find more typos than normal but this is what i will be watching at the legislature:

monday, 03.02.2026

house agriculture, water & natural resources, 1:30pm, room 0107

• HB26-1198 access to veterinary care ? (#3) this is probably another attempt at virtual veterinary care which died in committee last year.

• HB26-1111 pesticide product disposal & container recycling ? (#5) i testify on a lot of pesticide bills but am not sure if i will participate in this one.

house finance, 1:30pm, room 0112

• HB26-1120 mobile home property taxation ?

• HB26-1112 regulation of underground injection control wells ? i would probably lean toward opposition on this because i don’t believe we need to inject “extra” carbon into the ground but haven’t read the bill yet.

house state, civic, military, & veterans affairs, 1:30pm, old state library

• HB26-1265 law enforcement national electronic tracing system & share program ? will require colorado law enforcement to register for the national system for alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives and to report information about confiscated firearms. i probably won’t have time to look further into this but will be interested to see what RMGO and other second amendment groups say about it.

• HB26-1203 modification of county commissioner elections ? while i did sign a ballot petition to put a similar measure on our boulder county ballot, after further thought i’m not sure i would still sign that petition or vote for going from three commissioners to five so definitely don’t want it to be a statutory requirement for counties with over 70,000 residents. it has been hard enough for us to get support for changes with three, to have five commissioners to have to educate and convince seems like an impossible task that might prevent citizen participation and representation. my two cents…

• HB26-1126 requirements for firearms dealers - the state is legislating gun shops out of business and this is another layer.

• HB26-1072 right to firearm possession & elimination of ERPOS + a good gun bill that will certainly die so if you want to express your support for the second amendment, this will be your only opportunity for this bill.

• SB26-004 expand list of petitioners for protection order ? sometimes the protection order expansions are a good thing and sometimes not so i will read this before monday afternoon.

senate judiciary committee, 1:30pm, old supreme court

• SB26-095 measures to support victim-survivors of crimes ?

• HB26-1020 colorimetric field drug tests in drug possessions ? has already passed the house but i never read or engaged on this.

tuesday, 03.03.2026

house judiciary, upon adjournment, room 0107

• HB26-1012 consumer protections to promote fair market pricing - moved from last week, this is an attempt to control prices at the airport, concerts, and other events where customers are considered “captured”. while some might appreciate the lower price of a bottle of water or meal at these places, i don’t think the government needs to assert authority here.

house transportation, housing & local government, upon adjournment, LSB-A

• HB26-1211 regulation of broadband services ?

• HB26-1196 tenant data information ?

• HB26-1202 strategy to reduce & prevent homelessness ? i haven’t read this yet but will almost certainly oppose this because homeless programs and intent to reduce homelessness has only resulted in increases — you get more of what you incentive!

• HB26-1257 local regulation of massage facilities ? this bill aims at expanding from massage facilities that are involved in human trafficking to include other crimes. sounds like a positive thing but i haven’t looked through the whole bill or heard any other support/critique yet.

• HB26-1192 homeless prevention activities program restructure ? unless this is reducing serves or including new requirements i will be against it but still need to read.

senate finance committee, 2:00pm, SCR 357

• SB26-117 permissible methods of selling lottery tickets ? we definitely don’t need to make it easier or digital for people to gamble but i’m not sure if that’s what’s in this bill.

• SB26-086 reduce premium cigar excise tax rate ??? i think this bill is being brought forward because senator sullivan (who never found a gun bill he didn’t love) wants a reduction on his cigar costs…

• HB26-1115 prepaid wireless telecom services modifications ?

senate state, veterans, & military affairs committee, 2:00pm, old supreme court

• HB26-1068 remote participation policies for joint committees ? i think this is for interim remote participation…

• SB26-087 create leg leave job protection for GA members ? a legislator-specific leave bill that had no house sponsor when it was posted so that’s not a good sign…

wednesday, 03.04.2026

house business affairs & labor, upon adjournment, room 0112

• HB26-1228 marriage & family therapy clinical requirements ? some similar bills have been to make it easier for therapists to practice in colorado, which may be needed but doesn’t promote excellence or even actual help. if you’re in this field, please read and engage if you don’t agree with whatever the proposed change in requirements.

• HB26-1258 changes to practices relating to death ?

• HB26-1245 theft by contractor ?

senate health & human services committee, upon adjournment, old supreme court

• SB26-113 require recovery residences to obtain BHA license ?

• HB26-1040 sterilization rights of person with disabilities + to guarantee the disabled community isn’t sterilized against their will. the testimony in the house on this was moving if you want to find the recording.

senate local government & housing committee, upon adjournment, SCR 357

• HB26-1001 housing developments on qualifying properties - i testified against this in the house because they want to override local housing and zoning policies in favor of affordable housing which is a bad precedence.

house health & human services, 1:30pm, room 0112

• HB26-1147 host home for people with intellectual & dev disab ? moved from last week.

• HB26-1195 psychotherapy artificial intelligence restrictions ?

• HB26-1139 use of artificial intelligence in health care + looks like a good limitation to keep AI from being used for some therapy circumstances.

• HB26-1227 minors’ rights in dependency & neglect proceedings ?

• SB26-007 med marijuana use in hlth facilities ? moved from a few weeks ago. if i remember correctly, this is for terminal patients only but i think having marijuana on site in hospitals could present other problems.

house judiciary, 1:30pm, room 0107

• HB26-1060 expand crim jurisdiction for out-of-state conduct ? probably support but haven’t had the chance to read this bill even though this hearing was moved from a few weeks ago.

• HB26-1185 sunset cold case task force ?

• SB26-012 compensable losses for tribal members ? i think this passed the senate committee unanimously to allow expanded coverage of ceremonial practices.

• SB26-013 exclude cohabitation from elements of bigamy ???

house transportation, housing & local government, 1:30pm, LSB-A

• HB26-1125 parent penalties minor using electric bicycle ? (bradley) good sponsor but i’m not sure what’s included.

• SB26-001 workforce housing & housing tax credit ? bipartisan support but not sure the fiscal impact so will look at that before i decide if i want to engage.

senate judiciary committee, 1:30pm, old supreme court

• SB26-120 missing person training & higher ed reporting +

• SB26-075 trafficking & commercial sexual activity offenses +

senate transportation & energy committee, 1:30pm, SCR 352

• HB26-1041 electronic vehicle records ?

• SB26-002 energy affordability ? probably oppose but need to read…

thursday, 03.05.2026

house agriculture, water & natural resources, upon adjournment, room 0107

• HB26-1213 sunset biomass utilization grant program ? for those of you not familiar with the legislative term “sunset”, some bills are passed into law with a check-in period, some three, seven, or even eleven years. when the bill sunset time is up, the legislature has to reapprove or deny continuance. in case you don’t know, biomass is just the sanitized version (pun intended) of human feces that is applied to some crops and landscapes. i go out of my way and pay more to avoid biomass in the compost and soil i buy as we revegetate our property so will be looking at this.

house state, civic, military, & veterans affairs, upon adjournment, LSB-A

FYI — this is a stacked committee with ten bills listed as of saturday afternoon. this is a big day with two democrats and two republicans in different combinations. a few look quick clarification bills that shouldn’t take much time but if the committee chair, legislators, or legislative staff decides otherwise a couple of these may move at the last minute…

• HB26-1217 correct child support guidelines statutory cites ? bipartisan support with espenoza and bradley so the question mark is just because i haven’t had a chance to read it.

• HB26-1219 battery assessment submission deadline change ? another espenoza and bradley bill.

• HB26-1295 repeal of obsolete statutory requirements ? and a third espenoza and bradley bill.

• HB26-1218 clarifying validity of common law marriage ? bipartisan support with espenoza and luck so the question mark is just because i haven’t read it AND if this is just a clarification, i won’t engage.

• HB26-1294 fix incorrect citation compact military children ? espenoza and luck bill. i don’t usually testify on technical corrections in bills.

• HB26-1293 modernization of requirements for ballot info booklet ? a third espenoza and luck bill.

• HB26-1215 technical revision online marketplaces requirement ? carter and luck

• HB26-1216 correcting defects in statutes administered by DOR ? luck and carter

• HB26-1220 update behavioral health license terminology ? carter and bradley

• HB26-1296 revision to nurse & nurse aide practice act ? bradley and carter

senate business, labor, & technology committee, upon adjournment, SCR 352

• HB26-1013 ratio utility billing systems - this program would allow landlord to charge tenants different rates. i plan to listen to at least part of the recording for this one before deciding whether or not to take this last opportunity to testify against it.

senate state, veterans, & military affairs committee, upon adjournment, old supreme court

• SB26-047 co firefighter safety act petition elections ?

• SB26-107 mod colorado open records act ? this is a bipartisan measure but the legislature has opted themselves out of cora liability so i will be reading this before thursday.

• SB26-106 opt-out of mail ballot packets for elections + this would save money on unneeded mailing but will likely die because the democrats don’t like republican election bills.

house business affairs & labor, 1:30pm, room 0112

• HB26-1207 disclosure of demographic workforce data ? i need to read this but am suspicious that required demographic data release will be used to guilt companies into forced “diversity” that doesn’t reflect actual population (2025 US census data says colorado is over 85% white…)

• HB26-1181 sunset barber & cosmetologist act ? bipartisan support…i won’t engage on this but left it in the list in case some of you are in this industry.

• HB26-1117 temporary marijuana hospitality permit - moved a few times now…it’s the BYOP bill.

house education, 1:30pm, room 0107

• HB26-1231 physical therapists perform sports physicals + i’m not sure a sports physical should be required at all but, if they are, physical therapists like rep. bradley who actually work with many of these young athletes should be able to sign off on it.

• HB26-1191 examination of school district records ? bipartisan support

house energy & environment, 1:30pm, old state library

• HB26-1124 electrical generation & distribution resiliency + moved from last week...i don’t like that this is a study but colorado’s energy grid is not hardened and that is dangerous.

• HB26-1278 loc gov approval of transmission infrastructure ? republican sponsor so even is this is a good measure it may not move forward.

• HB26-1208 sunset compliance advisory panel air pollution ?

senate health & human services committee, 1:30pm, old supreme court

• SB26-008 mental health access - i don’t have a question mark here and will admit i haven’t read the bill so am just jumping to a conclusion based on past legislation. while there are growing mental health problems, the solution is NOT more therapists or drugs. Feed your brain with good fats and protein, reduced sugar and processed foods, and make sure your minerals are right. butter is better than therapy!

• SB26-066 regulation of compounded weight-loss medication ? there is bipartisan support in the senate but, like i just said about the mental health access bill, the solution for weight loss does not rest in medication. after over two decades of studying nutrition, “fixing” myself, and helping others, i can almost guarantee anyone who thinks they have done everything really hasn’t. i will read the bill before thursday.

• SB26-077 epilepsy-related mortality awareness ?

• SB26-041 consumer protections medical care entities ?

best of luck keeping up with everything! i hope to “see” you around the capitol this week.