Last week, two Republican lawmakers in the Colorado House of Representatives introduced a bill aimed at government transparency laws. The measure would repeal a portion of Senate Bill 24-157, which was passed last year amid opposition from transparency advocates and organizations.
SB24-157 established that written communication exchanged between members of the general assembly isn’t subject to the Colorado Open Meetings Law, but any records of the communications are subject to disclosure to the extent required by the Colorado Open Records Act.
The new bill, House Bill 25-1242, would also require that the database with information related to peace officer conduct and discipline be sortable in addition to being searchable and that it be available upon request to any member of the public with only the personal information of peace officers redacted at no cost to the requester.
It’s unclear whether the bill will survive long enough to emerge out of the committee it was assigned to, the State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, which is popularly known as a “kill committee.”
Lawmakers have also recently introduced bills tackling gun laws, jury trials, court documents, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and the current backlog for DNA and sexual assault kit tests.
Bill Number: HB25-1171
Title: Possession of Weapon by Previous Offender Crimes
Introduced: Feb. 6
Sponsors: S. Bird, A. Boesenecker
Summary: Under current law, it is illegal for a person to possess a firearm if the person was convicted of or adjudicated for certain felonies. The bill adds motor vehicle theft in the first, second and third degree to the list of violations that prohibit a person from possessing a firearm.
Bill Number: HB25-1170
Title: Lobbying by Nonprofit Entities
Introduced: Feb. 4
Sponsors: E. Hamrick, A. Boesenecker, F. Winter
Summary: Currently, a lobbyist may be either a professional lobbyist or a volunteer lobbyist. A professional lobbyist must register with the secretary of state before conducting lobbying activities with one or more covered officials. For each month in which a professional lobbyist lobbies one or more covered officials, a professional lobbyist must complete and submit a disclosure statement to the Secretary of State. The bill creates a new category of lobbyist for nonprofit lobbyists and exempts nonprofit lobbyists from the registration and disclosure statement requirements for professional lobbyists.
Bill Number: HB25-1177
Title: Utility Economic Development Rate Tariff Adjustments
Introduced: Feb. 10
Sponsors: T. Mauro, N. Hinrichsen, B. Pelton
Summary: Under current law, an investor-owned electric utility may apply to the Public Utilities Commission for approval to charge certain commercial or industrial customers of the utility an economic development rate, which is a reduced rate offered to a commercial or industrial customer that meets specific criteria. The bill makes adjustments to the economic development rate tariff by authorizing the utility to apply to the commission for an expansion of the maximum duration of the economic development rate from 10 years to 25 years, expanding the maximum load at a single location of a qualifying commercial or industrial customer for an individual project that does not require commission approval from 20 megawatts to 40 megawatts and updating the application process.
Bill Number: HB25-1187
Title: Confidential Court Documents
Introduced: Feb. 10
Sponsors: R. English
Summary: Current law requires the restrained party to submit the results of a criminal background check with a petition to modify or terminate a civil protection order. The bill clarifies that only the court may receive the background check submitted by a restrained party and allows the court to release the documentation to the protected party only upon consent of the restrained party.
Bill Number: HB25-1194
Title: Protections for Victims of Economic Abuse
Introduced: Feb. 10
Sponsors: R. Armagost, M. Lindsay, L. Daugherty, B. Pelton
Summary: The bill requires a creditor, debt collector or debt collection agency to cease collection of a debt or any disputed portion of a debt if a consumer notifies them in writing that the debt or a portion of the debt is the result of economic abuse or coerced debt and provides a written statement of coerced debt and sufficient documentation until the debt collector or collection agency obtains a decree, judgment or court order.
Bill Number: HB25-1206
Title: Extreme Indifference Offenses Not Causing Death
Introduced: Feb. 10
Sponsors: M. Carter, J. Bacon, M. Weissman
Summary: The bill makes the penalty classification for criminal attempt to first-degree murder under circumstances evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life generally a class 3 felony if serious bodily injury results to any person, a class 4 felony if bodily injury results to any person and a class 5 felony if no injury results to any person.
Bill Number: HB25-1227
Title: Assault in Second Degree
Introduced: Feb. 11
Sponsors: A. Hartsook, L. Frizell
Summary: Current law makes it a felony to assault an emergency medical care provider while they are performing emergency medical care. The bill expands the statute to make it a felony to assault an emergency medical care provider while they are providing any function related to medical care. The bill lowers the mental state required for conviction from intentionally causes bodily injury to knowingly causes bodily injury for the crime of preventing certain public servants from performing a lawful duty.
Bill Number: HB25-1235
Title: Jury Trials for Tenant Proceedings
Introduced: Feb. 12
Sponsors: J. Bacon, S. Woodrow, J. Gonzales, M. Weissman
Summary: The bill gives a plaintiff and defendant the right to trial by jury in any action brought for unlawful detention of real property. The bill requires at least one attempt on three separate days of personal service on the defendant in an action for unlawful detention of real property. The bill also requires an affidavit of service to be filed with the court and requires a defendant who demands a trial by jury to make the demand in accordance with the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure or file a separate jury demand with the defendant’s answer.
Bill Number: HB25-1239
Title: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act
Introduced: Feb. 12
Sponsors: Y. Zokaie, L. Daugherty, M. Weissman
Summary: The bill consolidates damages provisions for individuals with disabilities who experience an unfair housing practice, discrimination in places of public accommodation or a violation of their civil rights with the general protections under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act for all protected classes. With the consolidation of these provisions, the allowable remedies under CADA include a court order requiring compliance with the applicable section of CADA, actual monetary damages, attorney fees and costs, damages for noneconomic loss or injury and a statutory fine of $5,000.
Bill Number: HB25-1242
Title: Government Transparency Laws
Introduced: Feb. 12
Sponsors: L. Garcia Sander, B. Pelton
Summary: The bill repeals provisions in the Colorado Open Meetings Law that specifically apply to the General Assembly that were enacted in 2024 by Senate Bill 24-157. It also requires that the database created and maintained by the peace officer standards and training board that includes specified information related to peace officer conduct and discipline be sortable in addition to being searchable and that it be available upon request to any member of the public with only personal information of peace officers redacted at no cost to the requester.
Bill Number: SB25-170
Title: Deoxyribonucleic Acid & Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Testing & Data
Introduced: Feb. 19
Sponsors: J. Amabile, B. Kirkmeyer, S. Bird, E. Sirota
Summary: The bill requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to spend specifically appropriated money on backlogged DNA evidence and sexual assault kit tests. Additionally, the bill allows the CBI to contract with external labs to perform the testing. The bill requires CBI to create a dashboard on the Department of Public Safety’s website to update the public on the backlog. CBI shall provide the general assembly with updates on the backlog every 30 days from March 10 through June 30, 2026.
Law Week’s legislative tracking is done through State Bill, a product of our publisher, Circuit Media.