Going into the session’s second full week, Colorado lawmakers have already introduced roughly 150 bills.
A heavy hitter this week is a bill that would expand the jurisdiction of the Independent Ethics Commission to include officials and employees of special districts or school districts. The bill would allow the commission to hear complaints, issue findings, assess penalties and issue advisory opinions for this expanded group of people. The bill also defines who would be included in the expanded jurisdiction.
Also introduced this week is a bill that would require the state court administrator to report out statistics about restitution payments received and owed over the previous five state fiscal years, starting with the judicial department’s 2026 SMART Act hearing.
Bill Number: HB25-1079
Title: Independent Ethics Commission Jurisdiction
Introduced: Jan. 13
Sponsors: T. Story
Summary: Under current law, the independent ethics commission created in the state constitution does not have jurisdiction over officials or employees of special districts or school districts. The bill gives the independent ethics commission jurisdiction to hear complaints, issue findings, assess penalties and issue advisory opinions on ethics issues concerning a special district official or employee or school district official or employee. The bill also defines who is included in the expanded jurisdiction.
Bill Number: HB25-1081
Title: Reporting Statistics on Restitution
Introduced: Jan. 13
Sponsors: M. Martinez, M. Weissman
Summary: Starting with the judicial department’s 2026 SMART Act hearing, the bill requires the state court administrator to report statistics concerning restitution payments received and owed during the previous five state fiscal years.
Bill Number: HB25-1084
Title: Remove Gendered Language from Title 35
Introduced: Jan. 15
Sponsors: K. McCormick, J. Marchman, C. Simpson
Summary: The bill substitutes gender-neutral language for gendered language in Title 35 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The bill also updates archaic language in Title 35.
Bill Number: SB25-051
Title: Regional Transportation District Operating Costs
Introduced: Jan. 15
Sponsors: D. Michaelson Jenet, R. Pelton, W. Lindstedt
Summary: Currently, for purposes of reporting cost efficiency metrics, the regional transportation district is required to calculate “operating costs” by including depreciation and excluding costs incurred in long-term planning and development of mass transportation and rapid transit infrastructures and the costs incurred as a result of providing transportation services mandated by the federal “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990”. The bill changes the definition of “operating costs” to mean all operating expenditures, excluding depreciation.
Bill Number: SB25-052
Title: Railroad Investigative Report Confidentiality
Introduced: Jan. 15
Sponsors: F. Winter, N. Hinrichsen, A. Valdez, M. Lindsay
Summary: Current law requires investigative reports of railroads made for the Public Utilities Commission to be kept confidential. The bill repeals this requirement and replaces it with a grant of rule-making authority to make ongoing investigations and security information confidential. The confidentiality rules must not make final reports of investigations confidential and must require the timely release of information if public knowledge of the information would protect the public safety, health or welfare.
Bill Number: SB25-055
Title: Youth Involvement In Environmental Justice
Introduced: Jan. 16
Sponsors: F. Winter, J. Marchman
Summary: The environmental justice advisory board in the Department of Public Health and Environment advises the environmental justice ombudsperson, develops recommendations related to adverse environmental effects on disproportionately impacted communities and supports the implementation of a grant program to finance environmental mitigation projects. Section 1 of the bill replaces one voting member of the advisory board with a youth voting member who is between 14 and 21 years of age and adds one youth nonvoting member to the advisory board. Section 2 requires the Colorado Energy Office, on or before Dec. 31, 2025, to develop and post on its website best practices for the adoption and financing of clean energy resources in schools.
Law Week’s legislative tracking is done through State Bill, a product of our publisher, Circuit Media.