Just over halfway into the Colorado legislative session, there are more killed bills than there are signed bills and lawmakers have introduced an intimidating 550-plus bills since Jan. 8. Below are the highlights of the more than 40 signed bills as of publication.
Law Week will also run a final list of killed bills closer to the end of the session. As of publication, roughly 89 bills have been postponed indefinitely or “killed.”
Generally, the bills signed so far seem to be related to critical services like housing, medical billing and access, state-level department funding and updates to various state laws.
One of the signed bills makes mid-year adjustments to school funding to account for changes in enrollment and the local share anticipated in the original appropriation for the 2024-25 school year. A fiscal note for the measure, SB25-113, states it’ll impact both the state expenditures and school districts on a one-time basis.
The new law increases total program funding by $38.5 million and decreases the local share by $25.6 million, resulting in a $64.1 million increase in the state share of total program. According to the act’s fiscal note, it also repeals the Total Program Reserve Fund effective July 1.
Yesterday, on March 20, teachers and various supporters protested state-level education funding shortfalls. As thousands gathered in the shadow of the golden dome of Colorado’s capitol, President Donald Trump signed an executive order the same day calling for the closure of the Department of Education.
Specifically, the order calls for the newly appointed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the states and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them — we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs,” McMahon said in a statement following the order. “We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition.”
More signed Colorado bills include changes to the state’s not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense and a repeal of the state’s FLEX program, which allowed households participating in the state housing voucher program to open an escrow-like savings account.
HB25-1002 — Medical Necessity Determination Insurance Coverage
HB25-1019 — Third-Party Administration of Division of Housing Programs
HB25-1022 — Qualified Medication Administration Personnel
HB25-1030 — Accessibility Standards in Building Codes
HB25-1033 — Medicaid Third-Party Liability Payments
HB25-1034 — Changes to Dangerous Dog Statute
HB25-1050 — Regional County Jail Approach
HB25-1054 — Repeal Legislative Audit Committee Reviews of Emissions Program
HB25-1058 — Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Defense
HB25-1076 — Motor Vehicle Regulation Administration
HB25-1138 — Protect Victims in Civil Sex Misconduct Suits
HJR25-1004 — Water Project Eligibility Lists
SB25-010 — Electronic Communications in Health Care
SB25-019 — Modernization of the State Plane Coordinate System
SB25-113 — Mid-Year Adjustments to School Funding
SB25-114 — Repeal of the FLEX Program
SB25-115 — Seedling Tree Nursery Spending Authority Extension
Law Week’s legislative tracking is done through State Bill, a product of our publisher, Circuit Media.