LEGISLATION BY YEAR
BILLS SPONSORED BY SENATOR LINDSEY DAUGHERTY (2021 - 2025)
Listed below are details & summaries regarding each of the bills Sen. Daugherty has sponsored during her four years (2021-2024) in the Colorado State House and her first year (2025) in the Colorado State Senate, sorted by legislative session.
To view bills organized by policy topic instead, please click here.
Note: While this page is updated often, the most current information regarding the content and status of my pending bills can be found on the General Assembly website.
2025 SESSION
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Sponsors: Representative Gilchrist, Representative Brown, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s public health laws need updates to improve emergency preparedness, streamline immunization requirements, and align disease screening protocols with current medical recommendations.
Outdated procedures have created unnecessary burdens on families, healthcare providers, and state agencies.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Modernizes public health emergency response by eliminating the outdated Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee (GEEERC) and strengthening coordination through existing state agencies.
Streamlines school immunization requirements by allowing physician assistants to issue immunization records, extending compliance deadlines for students, and removing outdated reporting mandates.
Updates hepatitis C screening protocols to align with the latest CDC recommendations, ensuring expanded access to testing for at-risk populations.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen Colorado’s public health infrastructure by improving emergency preparedness, reducing administrative burdens, and ensuring healthcare regulations reflect modern medical standards.
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Sponsors: Representative McCormick, Representative Sander, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Under current Colorado law, dog owners are not held criminally liable if their dog causes serious bodily injury to certain animal care professionals—including veterinarians, groomers, and humane agency personnel—while those professionals are performing their duties.
This legal gap fails to recognize the severity of such injuries and denies protections to workers who interact with animals daily.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Removes legal exemptions that currently prevent dog owners from being held criminally liable if their dog causes serious bodily injury to veterinarians, dog groomers, humane agency personnel, professional dog handlers, or trainers.
Strengthens accountability for owners of dangerous dogs, ensuring that serious injuries caused in professional settings are recognized under the law.
Maintains existing legal protections for cases where a court order is in place and the owner has complied with all required conditions.
🎯 GOAL:
Close loopholes in the dangerous dog statute to ensure animal care professionals are protected, holding dog owners accountable for serious injuries caused by their animals in professional settings.
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Sponsors: Representative Bird, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Air quality regulations are critical for environmental protection, but they also have significant impacts on jobs and workforce transitions in affected industries.
Without structured workforce impact analyses, rule changes can unintentionally result in job losses, worker displacement, and economic instability.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Establishes a Workforce Advisory Council to analyze and recommend how workforce impact considerations can be incorporated into air quality rulemaking procedures.
Requires the council to develop standardized procedures for evaluating workforce impacts, including data collection and analysis from workers, businesses, and labor organizations.
Ensures ongoing workforce impact recommendations are made to the governor, the legislature, and the Air Quality Control Commission.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen Colorado’s approach to air quality regulation by integrating workforce impact analyses, ensuring policies protect both the environment and the livelihoods of workers in affected industries.
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Sponsors: Representative Gilchrist, Representative Froelich, Senator Michaelson Jenet, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s foster care system currently lacks standardized procedures for transitioning children between placements, leading to abrupt moves that can negatively impact their well-being and stability.
With thousands of children in the system experiencing multiple placement changes each year, inconsistent transition practices create unnecessary trauma and instability.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires the Colorado Department of Human Services to develop a standardized placement transition plan template for counties to use when moving children between foster care homes, kinship foster care homes, and back to their families.
Mandates training for caseworkers and foster/kinship parents on implementing trauma-informed, child-centered transition plans, ensuring moves are handled with care and stability.
Establishes clear guidelines for pre-transition planning, communication, and post-move follow-ups to minimize disruption in children’s lives.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure that children in foster care experience stable, well-planned transitions that prioritize their emotional and physical well-being, reducing unnecessary trauma and improving long-term outcomes.
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⚠️ ISSUE:
Survivors of sexual misconduct seeking justice in civil court often face invasive questioning and harmful legal tactics that attempt to discredit them based on unrelated aspects of their lives.
Current law still allows certain evidence of a victim’s past to be used against them, creating unnecessary barriers to justice and retraumatizing survivors.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Strengthens protections for survivors by prohibiting courts from considering a victim’s clothing, hairstyle, speech, or lifestyle as evidence of consent, credibility, or harm.
Eliminates outdated legal loopholes that allow a victim’s prior or subsequent sexual conduct with the defendant to be used against them in civil cases.
Limits intrusive legal tactics by requiring courts to conduct a preliminary review before admitting certain types of evidence, ensuring only relevant and necessary information is considered.
Protects survivor privacy by keeping motions and hearing records confidential unless the court determines otherwise.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure survivors of sexual misconduct can pursue justice without facing unfair legal tactics that shame, retraumatize, or discredit them.
This bill modernizes Colorado’s civil justice system to better support and protect victims.
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Sponsors: Representative Feret, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Medicaid recipients on fixed incomes often face unnecessary administrative hurdles during the eligibility redetermination process, leading to delayed or lost coverage for essential healthcare services.
Current requirements force repeated income verification, even when financial circumstances remain unchanged.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Extends the timeline for Medicaid income eligibility reviews for individuals on fixed incomes, reducing the frequency of required documentation.
Simplifies the renewal process by allowing income and medical eligibility to be verified simultaneously, minimizing redundant paperwork.
Reduces administrative burdens by ensuring that Medicaid recipients moving between institutional and home-based care settings do not have to re-submit eligibility documentation unless other factors change.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve efficiency in Medicaid eligibility redetermination, reduce bureaucratic barriers for recipients with stable incomes, and ensure continued access to care without unnecessary disruptions.
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Sponsors: Representative Zokaie, Representative Feret, Senator Daugherty, Senator Jodeh
⚠️ ISSUE:
Car seats and booster seats are critical for protecting children in the event of a crash, but current auto insurance policies do not always cover their replacement after an accident.
Parents are often left to cover the cost out-of-pocket, creating a financial burden and potentially delaying the replacement of a damaged child restraint system.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires automobile insurance policies to cover the replacement cost of child restraint systems that are damaged in a vehicle accident.
Ensures that families can replace car seats and booster seats without unnecessary financial hardship or delays in securing a safe alternative.
Applies to all auto insurance policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve child passenger safety by ensuring that insurance covers the full replacement of damaged car seats and booster seats, reducing financial strain on families and keeping children protected on the road.
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Sponsors: Representative Gilchrist, Representative Bacon, Senator Ball, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorimetric field drug tests are widely used in law enforcement and correctional settings, but they are known to produce false positives, leading to wrongful arrests, coerced plea agreements, and unjust disciplinary actions in jails and prisons.
Despite their inaccuracy, these tests continue to impact thousands of lives each year.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Creates a working group to study the prevalence and consequences of colorimetric field drug tests in Colorado’s criminal justice system.
Requires the group to develop recommendations for legislative and policy solutions to prevent wrongful arrests, convictions, and disciplinary actions based on unreliable test results.
Mandates a report to the legislature by December 1, 2025, detailing findings and proposed reforms to ensure more accurate and just drug enforcement practices.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve fairness in Colorado’s criminal justice system by reducing wrongful arrests and convictions, ensuring drug testing policies are based on reliable science, and preventing undue harm caused by inaccurate field drug tests.
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Sponsors: Representative Armagost, Representative Lindsay, Senator Daugherty, Senator Pelton B.
⚠️ ISSUE:
Economic abuse is a pervasive but often overlooked form of coercion that traps individuals in cycles of financial dependency and harm.
Survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, and human trafficking frequently face coerced debt—fraudulent or forced financial obligations that destroy credit and limit opportunities for independence. Current legal protections do not adequately address these situations, leaving victims with few options to challenge unjust debt.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Prohibits creditors and debt collectors from attempting to collect debts that result from economic abuse or coercion unless they first obtain a court ruling that the debt is valid.
Allows survivors to submit a written statement and supporting documentation to creditors to halt collections while the debt is reviewed.
Expands protections under consumer reporting laws to allow victims to dispute coerced debts on their credit reports and seek removal of fraudulent financial obligations.
🎯 GOAL:
Provide survivors of economic abuse with meaningful legal recourse to challenge coerced debt, prevent wrongful collections, and help restore financial independence.
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Sponsors: Representative Woodrow, Representative Valdez, Senator Amabile, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Some local governments in Colorado have raised the minimum wage above the state minimum, but are still required to apply the same statewide tip offset—meaning employers in those areas must pay tipped workers higher base wages, even if the employee earns substantial tips.
This inconsistency can place a financial strain on restaurants and other food and beverage employers, creating wage disparities and making compliance more difficult in areas with higher local wages.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires local governments with a higher minimum wage than the state to also raise the allowable tip offset for food and beverage workers, equal to the difference between the local and state minimum wage, plus $3.02.
Allows for limited future adjustments to the tip offset amount, while ensuring that no tipped worker earns less than the state minimum wage minus $3.02.
Standardizes wage practices across jurisdictions, giving employers predictability and helping ensure consistent compensation frameworks for tipped employees.
🎯 GOAL:
Align tip offset rules with local minimum wage policies to promote consistency, relieve regulatory burden on small businesses, and maintain fair wage structures for tipped workers in food and beverage industries.
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Sponsors: Representative Feret, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s Medicaid system contains outdated rules and administrative barriers that create unnecessary challenges for patients, providers, and assisted living facilities.
These inefficiencies lead to delays in care, unnecessary paperwork, and financial burdens that make it harder for individuals to access and maintain essential services.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Exempts small assisted living facilities from certain compliance standards to reduce regulatory burdens while maintaining patient safety.
Streamlines Medicaid billing and eligibility processes by requiring timely updates to provider rates, simplifying documentation requirements, and improving contract transparency with managed care organizations.
Ensures that Medicaid recipients receiving long-term care services do not lose their benefits if their condition remains unchanged for three years.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve efficiency, transparency, and accessibility within Colorado’s Medicaid system to reduce administrative barriers and ensure patients receive uninterrupted care.
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Sponsors: Representative Zokaie, Senator Daugherty, Senator Weissman
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws provide essential protections, but the process for seeking justice is often limited by short deadlines and inadequate remedies.
Individuals who face discrimination in public accommodations currently have only 60 days to file a complaint, and legal damages available under the law do not fully account for the harm experienced by victims.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Extends the deadline to file discrimination complaints related to public accommodations or discriminatory advertising from 60 days to one year, ensuring victims have more time to seek justice.
Expands available remedies by allowing victims to seek actual monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and up to $50,000 in noneconomic damages, ensuring compensation for emotional distress.
Reduces noneconomic damage liability for small businesses by 50% if they correct the violation within 30 days and did not knowingly or intentionally cause the harm.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws by expanding legal remedies, ensuring fair access to justice, and providing meaningful recourse for individuals who experience discrimination.
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Sponsors: Representative Froelich, Representative Brown, Senator Cutter, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Recent legal challenges in other states, such as Alabama’s ruling that embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered children, have raised serious concerns about access to fertility treatments.
These decisions could threaten the availability of IVF, embryo storage, and other assisted reproductive technologies (ART), creating legal uncertainty for families seeking fertility care.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Protects access to fertility treatments, including IVF, embryo transfer, and other assisted reproductive technologies, ensuring that Coloradans can make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without government interference.
Prevents legal challenges to fertility care by affirming that embryos and gametes are not considered children under state law, safeguarding healthcare providers and patients from restrictive legal interpretations.
Streamlines donor bank regulations by simplifying compliance requirements for gamete donation while maintaining important transparency and reporting standards.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure continued access to assisted reproductive technologies in Colorado, protect families seeking fertility care from legal uncertainty, and uphold reproductive freedom in the state.
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Sponsors: Representative Pugliese, Representative Gilchrist, Senator Kirkmeyer, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses often exhaust all FDA-approved treatment options but have no legal access to individualized investigational treatments tailored to their genetic profiles.
Current law does not provide a clear framework for patients to request or receive these treatments, leaving them without potential life-saving options.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Grants eligible patients the right to request individualized investigational drugs, biological products, or devices tailored to their genetic profile.
Provides legal protections for healthcare providers and manufacturers offering these treatments, ensuring they cannot be penalized for recommending or administering them.
Establishes strict safeguards, requiring physician recommendation, written informed consent, and compliance with federal standards for human subject protections.
🎯 GOAL:
Expand access to innovative, personalized medical treatments for patients facing life-threatening conditions while ensuring ethical oversight and legal clarity for healthcare providers and manufacturers.
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Sponsors: Representative Gilchrist, Representative Brown, Senator Daugherty, Senator Michaelson Jenet
⚠️ ISSUE:
Many children and youth in foster care are eligible for federal benefits, such as Social Security survivor or disability payments, but these funds are often used by counties to cover the cost of care rather than being saved for the child’s future needs.
This practice deprives foster youth of financial resources that could help them transition successfully into adulthood.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires counties to screen foster youth for federal benefits eligibility within 90 days of placement and apply for any benefits the child may qualify for.
Prohibits counties from using a foster child’s federal benefits to pay for their care, instead requiring the funds to be saved in a dedicated trust for the child’s future needs.
Improves financial transparency and oversight, ensuring foster youth and their legal representatives are informed of available funds and have a say in how they are managed.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure that federal benefits intended for foster youth are used to support their future, rather than being absorbed into the child welfare system, helping them achieve financial stability as they transition to adulthood.
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Sponsors: Representative Brooks, Representative Lindstedt, Senator Daugherty, Senator Kirkmeyer
⚠️ ISSUE:
Credit card swipe fees place a significant financial burden on Colorado businesses and consumers, with merchants paying billions annually in interchange fees.
These fees, which are often non-negotiable and set by a handful of dominant payment networks, drive up costs for businesses and contribute to higher prices for consumers. Additionally, merchants are forced to pay fees on sales tax and gratuities, further inflating costs.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Prohibits excessive interchange fees by preventing payment card networks from charging fees on the portion of a transaction that covers sales tax or gratuity.
Increases transparency and fairness in how payment networks set and apply interchange fees, preventing price-fixing and anti-competitive practices.
Provides merchants and consumers with legal recourse if a payment network violates the law, ensuring accountability and fair business practices.
🎯 GOAL:
Reduce the financial burden of credit card processing fees on Colorado businesses, lower costs for consumers, and promote fairness in the electronic payment marketplace.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Representative Weinberg, Representative Brown
⚠️ ISSUE:
Wildfires in Colorado are becoming more severe, frequent, and destructive.
Existing detection and response systems, while helpful, need modernization to effectively protect communities, firefighters, and the environment.
This bill leverages cutting-edge AI technology to improve detection, response time, and overall wildfire management.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Establishes a statewide network of AI-integrated wildfire detection cameras to pinpoint and monitor fires in real-time.
Forms public-private partnerships to develop and operate these advanced detection systems.
Creates the Front Line Innovation and Response Efficiency (FIRE) Fund to support this initiative, with dedicated funding through 2027.
Provides fire agencies with live data and tools to improve evacuation, fire management, and prescribed burn monitoring.
🎯 GOAL:
Bring Colorado’s wildfire management into the 21st century through innovative technology and efficient funding. With this bill, we aim to reduce wildfire risks, improve response times, and protect communities and natural resources across the state.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Frizell, Representative Brown, Representative Garcia Sander
⚠️ ISSUE:
Many healthcare providers, including physicians, dentists, and advanced practice registered nurses, are bound by non-compete agreements that prevent them from continuing to serve their patients when changing employers.
These restrictive contracts force providers to move out of state or stop practicing entirely, disrupting patient care, particularly in rural areas with provider shortages.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Prohibits non-compete agreements for healthcare providers, ensuring they can continue treating patients and serving their communities without legal restrictions.
Increases physician mobility, allowing doctors and healthcare professionals to change jobs without being forced to relocate.
Encourages independent medical practices, making it easier for providers to open their own clinics and expand patient access to care.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect patient access to healthcare by eliminating restrictive employment agreements that limit provider availability, drive up costs, and create unnecessary barriers to continuity of care.
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Sponsors: Senators Frizell, Daugherty; Representatives Boesenecker, Hartsook
⚠️ ISSUE:
Social media platforms have become a dangerous and unregulated marketplace for illegal activities, including firearm sales to minors, drug trafficking, and the exploitation of young people.
Colorado has a responsibility to hold these platforms accountable and ensure they are not facilitating harm to children and communities.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires social media companies to report data to the Attorney General’s Office on illegal activities occurring on their platforms, including firearm and drug sales, sex trafficking, and the exploitation of minors.
Mandates the removal of users found engaging in illegal activities within 24 hours and the implementation of measures to prevent the creation of alternate accounts.
Establishes a dedicated contact process for Colorado law enforcement agencies and requires social media companies to comply with judicially authorized search warrants within 72 hours.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen transparency and accountability for social media platforms, ensuring they take responsibility for preventing the use of their services for illegal and harmful activities.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Lundeen, Representative Armagost, Representative Carter
⚠️ ISSUE:
Facial recognition technology in schools raises serious privacy concerns, risks of misidentification, and potential harms to students’ social and emotional development.
Without regulations, schools could implement biometric surveillance without oversight, eroding trust and disproportionately affecting students of color and other marginalized groups.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Extends the existing ban on K-12 schools contracting for facial recognition services beyond its current expiration in July 2025.
Creates limited exceptions allowing schools to use facial recognition in narrowly defined cases, such as locating a missing student, identifying a known safety threat, or incorporating facial analysis for approved curriculum purposes with opt-in consent.
Requires transparency and safeguards by mandating clear notification when facial recognition is in use and strict limits on data retention.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect student privacy and prevent unnecessary surveillance in schools while ensuring that any use of facial recognition technology is narrowly tailored, properly regulated, and subject to strong oversight.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Representative Feret
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s equestrian community relies on safe roads, trails, and infrastructure, yet existing laws provide little protection for horses and riders navigating suburban and urban areas.
Without clear roadway rules and designated equestrian zones, dangerous interactions between vehicles and equestrians have led to accidents, injuries, and tragic losses.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Establishes equestrian zones where local governments must install signs, maintain safe crossings, and incorporate equestrian infrastructure into community planning.
Requires safer road rules by mandating that vehicles slow down, maintain distance, and yield to equestrians in designated crossings.
Adds equestrian safety to driver education, ensuring motorists understand how to share the road responsibly.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect equestrians and their horses by ensuring safer roads, better infrastructure, and increased public awareness.
This bill is a major step toward preventing future accidents and supporting Colorado’s vibrant equestrian community.
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Sponsors: Senator Pelton B., Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado's electrical workforce regulations need modernization to keep up with industry advancements and ensure a steady pipeline of trained professionals.
Outdated licensing requirements and barriers to crediting certain types of experience have limited opportunities for qualified workers, particularly in the growing field of solar energy.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Expands pathways to licensure by allowing applicants for journeyman and residential wireman licenses to count relevant hours of experience rather than just years of work.
Recognizes solar industry expertise by granting work experience credit for photovoltaic (PV) installation training and apprenticeship programs.
Streamlines licensing requirements by removing unnecessary barriers and allowing experienced workers to progress more efficiently in their careers.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen Colorado’s electrical workforce by modernizing licensing requirements, increasing access to career advancement, and ensuring the state keeps pace with the growing demand for skilled electricians, including in the renewable energy sector.
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Sponsors: Senator Rodriguez, Senator Daugherty, Representative Garcia, Representative McCluskie
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado voters approved Amendment 79 in 2024, guaranteeing abortion rights and removing constitutional restrictions on using public funds for abortion care.
Current state laws still contain outdated restrictions, creating barriers to accessing care, particularly for Medicaid and public employee insurance recipients.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Aligns state law with Amendment 79 by requiring Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) to cover abortion services using state funds.
Ensures that public employee health insurance plans include abortion care coverage, removing previous restrictions on funding.
Updates statutory language to reflect constitutional protections, ensuring consistent access to reproductive healthcare across Colorado.
🎯 GOAL:
Guarantee that all Coloradans, regardless of income or employment, can access comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, without financial or legal barriers.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Jodeh, Representative Espenoza, Representative Feret
⚠️ ISSUE:
Community Integrated Health-Care Service Agencies provide essential out-of-hospital medical care, including mobile health services and community paramedicine.
Without continuation, these agencies would lose regulatory oversight, potentially impacting service quality and access to care.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Extends the regulation of Community Integrated Health-Care Service Agencies for nine years, ensuring continued oversight and service standards.
Expands definitions to include mobile integrated health care and other healthcare providers beyond community paramedics.
Updates statutory language for clarity, consistency, and inclusivity.
🎯 GOAL:
Maintain high-quality, accessible out-of-hospital healthcare by continuing agency regulations and improving service definitions.
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Sponsors: Senator Lundeen, Senator Daugherty, Representative Lukens, Representative Lindsay
⚠️ ISSUE:
Children are increasingly exposed to online pornography at a young age, leading to risks including addiction, desensitization, and distorted views of relationships and consent.
Existing online safeguards like self-attestation and parental controls are ineffective, and most states’ age-verification laws rely on government-issued IDs—raising privacy concerns and chilling access for adults.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires pornography websites to implement effective age-verification methods that confirm a user is not a minor—without requiring users to reveal their identity.
Mandates that any personal data used for age verification is promptly destroyed and held to Colorado’s strict privacy standards.
Limits the bill’s scope to true pornography sites only, using language developed with input from tech industry experts to avoid unintended impacts on other online platforms.
Includes annual audits of verification systems and offers users an appeal process if their age is misjudged.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect Colorado youth from premature exposure to sexually explicit material while upholding the privacy rights and lawful access of adults.
Establish a thoughtful, privacy-respecting model for age verification that avoids the First Amendment concerns raised by similar laws in other states.
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Sponsors: Representative Lukens, Representative Pugliese, Senator Daugherty, & Senator Kirkmeyer
⚠️ ISSUE:
Survivors of sexual misconduct seeking justice in civil court often face invasive questioning and harmful legal tactics that attempt to discredit them based on unrelated aspects of their lives.
Current law still allows certain evidence of a victim’s past to be used against them, creating unnecessary barriers to justice and retraumatizing survivors.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Strengthens protections for survivors by prohibiting courts from considering a victim’s clothing, hairstyle, speech, or lifestyle as evidence of consent, credibility, or harm.
Eliminates outdated legal loopholes that allow a victim’s prior or subsequent sexual conduct with the defendant to be used against them in civil cases.
Limits intrusive legal tactics by requiring courts to conduct a preliminary review before admitting certain types of evidence, ensuring only relevant and necessary information is considered.
Protects survivor privacy by keeping motions and hearing records confidential unless the court determines otherwise.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure survivors of sexual misconduct can pursue justice without facing unfair legal tactics that shame, retraumatize, or discredit them.
This bill modernizes Colorado’s civil justice system to better support and protect victims.
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Sponsors: Representative Camacho, Representative Garcia; Senator Daugherty, Senator Jodeh
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) severely limits the state’s ability to raise and spend revenue—even in times of crisis—by requiring voter approval for nearly all tax increases and imposing strict spending caps tied to inflation and population growth.
These restrictions have contributed to chronic underfunding of essential public services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure, and prevent elected legislators from responding flexibly to the needs of their constituents.
Legal scholars and advocates argue that TABOR violates the U.S. Constitution by stripping core fiscal authority from elected lawmakers, undermining Colorado’s republican form of government.
WHAT THE RESOLUTION DOES:
Authorizes the Colorado General Assembly to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of TABOR under the U.S. Constitution’s Guarantee Clause and Colorado’s Enabling Act.
Asserts that TABOR undermines Colorado’s representative democracy by removing legislative authority over revenue and appropriations.
Directs the Committee on Legal Services to retain legal counsel and pursue the case in state district court on behalf of the General Assembly.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect the legislature’s constitutional authority to manage the state’s finances and ensure Colorado can respond to public needs through representative decision-making.
Seek judicial clarification on whether TABOR’s restrictions violate fundamental principles of democratic governance.
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Sponsors: Senator Rich, Senator Daugherty, Representative Pugliese, Representative Jackson
WHAT THE RESOLUTION DOES:
Formally recognizes March 21 as "Single Parent Day" in Colorado, honoring the strength, sacrifice, and dedication of single parents.
Highlights the vital role single parents play in raising children, often while facing unique challenges and limited support.
Reaffirms the General Assembly’s commitment to acknowledging and uplifting Colorado’s single-parent families.
🎯 GOAL:
Celebrate and support the millions of single parents across Colorado who work tirelessly to provide for their families and raise the next generation.
2024 SESSION
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Foster youth in Colorado tend to face poorer outcomes compared to other children, including higher rates of homelessness, incarceration, and adverse experiences with the foster care system itself.
Without a formalized set of rights, foster youth may not fully understand their entitlements, nor can they easily advocate for their needs, leading to varied experiences and outcomes in the foster care system.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Establishes statutory rights for foster youth, ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect, have access to necessary services, and are protected from discrimination and harassment.
Requires the Office of the Child’s Representative (OCR) to develop a written notice of rights that county human service departments must distribute to foster youth, enhancing awareness and understanding.
Clarifies the authority of courts to enforce these rights, ensuring foster youth have legal recourse to uphold their entitlements.
Rights include freedom from discrimination, access to services and programs, privacy, education, and health care, among others.
Juvenile courts are restricted from limiting or denying these rights except in extraordinary circumstances, and the Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) must annually report on complaints regarding these rights.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen protections and support for foster youth in Colorado by establishing a comprehensive Bill of Rights in state law and providing mechanisms for notification and enforcement.
The initiative aims to ensure that foster youth have clear, consistent access to their rights and services, promoting better outcomes and a smoother transition to adulthood.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Marvin, Senator Michaelson Jenet
⚠️ ISSUE:
The rise in congenital syphilis cases has been alarming, with Colorado experiencing a 900% increase since 2017.
Early detection and treatment are crucial to prevent transmission from mother to child, which, if untreated, can lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, or severe birth defects such as deafness, blindness, and bone deformities.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Expands current syphilis testing requirements to include additional screenings in the third trimester and at delivery, ensuring multiple opportunities to detect and treat syphilis during pregnancy.
Aligns Colorado’s approach with at least 17 other states, where increased testing has significantly reduced healthcare costs and cases of congenital syphilis.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen Colorado's fight against congenital syphilis through enhanced testing protocols.
Ensure thorough screening during pregnancy to prevent devastating health effects on newborns and significantly decrease the incidence of this preventable disease.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Senator Marchman
⚠️ ISSUE:
Workers facing injuries on the job are often constrained by rigid compensation limits and lack flexibility in accepting modified employment that aligns with their medical restrictions.
Current benefit delivery methods do not accommodate modern financial management practices, and certain injuries are not adequately recognized in terms of compensation.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Allows workers to refuse modified employment offers if medical restrictions conflict with job requirements, such as driving restrictions.
Adds the loss of an ear to the list of injuries eligible for whole-person permanent impairment benefits, recognizing the significant impact of such injuries.
Replaces the two existing limits on temporary and permanent injury benefits with a single, annually adjusted limit of $300,000, simplifying and updating compensation practices.
Requires workers' compensation insurers to offer direct deposit for benefit payments, providing claimants with faster and more secure access to their funds.
🎯 GOAL:
Modernize and enhance the fairness of workers' compensation disability benefits.
Provide greater flexibility and recognition for injured workers, streamline compensation limits, and improve the efficiency of benefit payments, ultimately supporting workers' recovery and financial stability.
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Sponsors: Representative Young, Representative Daugherty, Senator Kirkmeyer
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado faces a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, exacerbated by an aging physician workforce and a growing population.
State institutions of higher education are poised to address these shortages through significant expansions and renovations to health sciences education programs but require substantial capital investments.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Authorizes state-financed purchase agreements to support four major projects:
University of Northern Colorado's College of Osteopathic Medicine
Metropolitan State University of Denver's Health Institute Tower
Colorado State University's Veterinary Health Education Campus
Trinidad State College's Valley Campus Main Building renovation
Provides $41,250,000 in general fund money to an escrow account for the University of Northern Colorado's College of Osteopathic Medicine accreditation, alongside financing for construction and renovation projects at the other institutions.
Expands the capacity for training healthcare professionals, directly addressing workforce shortages in Colorado.
🎯 GOAL:
Bolster Colorado's healthcare workforce by facilitating the expansion and modernization of health sciences education facilities across state institutions.
Combat the shortage of healthcare professionals, improve educational infrastructure, and ensure Colorado’s capacity to meet future healthcare demands.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Holtorf, Senator Gonzales
⚠️ ISSUE:
The Youth Restraint & Seclusion Working Group was established to ensure safe and appropriate handling of youth in state and educational facilities.
Without its continuation, there is a risk of inadequate oversight and guidance on best practices in restraint and seclusion.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Extends the working group’s mandate, ensuring ongoing evaluation and improvement of policies concerning restraint and seclusion practices.
Provides recommendations to improve protections and reduce harm in institutions dealing with minors.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure that the state continues to assess and refine the use of restraint and seclusion for minors in institutional settings.
Promote safer practices, increased transparency, and better accountability for the treatment of youth in care facilities.
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Sponsors: Senator Mullica, Senator Will, Representative Daugherty, Representative Bradfield
⚠️ ISSUE:
Patients undergoing surgical procedures or treatments at health facilities often require continued use of prescribed topical medications, but current regulations may prevent them from taking home unused portions.
This restriction leads to unnecessary waste of medications and forces patients to obtain new prescriptions, increasing costs and potential delays in treatment.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Allows health care providers and facilities to provide patients with unused portions of prescribed topical medications for continued use after discharge.
Ensures patient safety by requiring all provided medications to meet existing labeling requirements and documentation within medical records.
Clarifies provider responsibility by requiring health facilities or medical staff to counsel patients on the proper use of these medications.
🎯 GOAL:
Reduce medication waste while ensuring patients have access to necessary post-procedure care without added costs or delays.
Improve continuity of care by allowing patients to continue using prescribed medications safely under provider supervision.
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Sponsors: Senator Rodriguez, Representative Daugherty, Representative Weinberg
⚠️ ISSUE:
Firefighters face an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and behavioral health challenges due to the nature of their work, yet benefit coverage varies across municipalities.
Some cities have opted for self-insurance instead of participating in statewide health trusts, leading to disparities in the benefits firefighters receive depending on their employer.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires all public employers of firefighters to participate in a multiple employer health trust that provides coverage for heart and circulatory conditions, ensuring consistency in benefits statewide.
Removes the option for local governments to provide these benefits through accident insurance or self-insurance, standardizing coverage across municipalities.
Ensures state reimbursement through the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for the costs of participating in the health trust, protecting local budgets while guaranteeing firefighter health protections.
🎯 GOAL:
Guarantee equitable and reliable health benefits for firefighters across Colorado, ensuring they receive the necessary medical coverage for job-related heart, cancer, and behavioral health risks.
Standardize firefighter health benefits statewide to eliminate disparities and ensure no firefighter is left without critical coverage based on their employer’s insurance choices.
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Sponsors: Senator Roberts, Representative Catlin, Representative Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
The current arbitration process for out-of-network health insurance claims requires separate arbitration fees and determinations for each claim, increasing costs and administrative burdens.
Providers and insurers face delays in resolving payment disputes, which can lead to financial strain and inefficiencies in the healthcare system.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Allows batching of arbitration claims, enabling multiple out-of-network claims to be processed together under a single arbitration fee and payment determination.
Requires the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to implement rules ensuring the batching process aligns with federal law and improves claim resolution efficiency.
Reduces administrative burdens by streamlining arbitration requests and minimizing the time and cost associated with resolving disputes over out-of-network payments.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve efficiency in the arbitration process by allowing providers to batch similar claims, reducing costs for both insurers and healthcare providers.
Ensure quicker and fairer resolution of out-of-network payment disputes, helping to maintain financial stability in the healthcare system.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Lynch, Senator Lundeen, Senator Hansen
⚠️ ISSUE:
The collection, storage, and sale of biometric data, such as DNA, facial mapping, and fingerprints, pose significant privacy risks.
Current practices lack transparency and could lead to misuse, nonconsensual sharing, and exploitation of this highly sensitive information, affecting individuals' security and privacy.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires companies that collect biometric data to obtain consumer consent, disclose their retention policy, and delete the data within a year
Prohibits companies from selling biometric data, recognizing its sensitivity and the dangers of treating it as a commodity.
Allows consumers to access their biometric data held by a company and update/correct it
Authorizes the Attorney General to make rules protecting biometric data security
🎯 GOAL:
Enhance privacy protections for individuals by regulating the handling of biometric data. By establishing clear guidelines for consent, limiting data commodification, ensuring data deletion in a timely manner, and improving transparency, we aim to safeguarding Colorado residents against privacy breaches and exploitation.
2023 SESSION
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Soper, Senator Simpson, Senator Rodriguez
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado's juvenile justice system is currently strained by limited resources, insufficient funding, and a lack of alternative placements for detained youth, exacerbating public safety concerns.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Appropriates $3,340,119 to the Department of Human Services to provide services for youth who can be placed in lieu of detention.
Dedicates approximately $1.4 million of that appropriation to the creation of 22 temporary emergency detention beds, which do not count towards the statewide juvenile detention bed limit.
Requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem for each detained juvenile.
Mandates an annual review of data by the working group to determine criteria for the placement of juvenile offenders.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve Colorado's juvenile detention system by increasing funding, expanding available services, and providing better care for detained youth.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Weissman, Senator Gonzales
⚠️ ISSUE:
Current laws regarding executive sessions under Colorado's Open Meetings Law lack sufficient transparency, leading to potential abuses and noncompliance.
There are limited enforcement mechanisms available to ensure government bodies properly conduct closed meetings within legal limits.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Strengthens enforcement of Open Meetings Law violations, ensuring that executive sessions are properly conducted and not used to sidestep public accountability.
Grants courts the authority to impose fines and require training for violators.
Enhances transparency by clarifying rules and penalties for improper executive session practices.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve government transparency and accountability by ensuring executive sessions comply with open meetings laws and are not used to shield discussions from public scrutiny.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Soper
⚠️ ISSUE:
Nearly 1 in 3 Coloradans do not take their medications as prescribed due to high costs, making prescription drugs the largest driver of rising healthcare expenses.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Prohibits spread pricing in Colorado’s Medicaid program, ensuring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insurers cannot charge more for prescription drugs than they pay pharmacies.
Requires greater transparency in contracts between PBMs, insurers, and employers, helping negotiate better deals and prevent price gouging.
Expands consumer protections to reduce out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.
🎯 GOAL:
Lower prescription drug costs and increase transparency by prohibiting spread pricing and improving contract negotiations between employers, PBMs, and insurance providers.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Woodrow, Senator Rodriguez
⚠️ ISSUE:
Colorado’s recall election process is prone to outside influence and lacks clear procedures when handling multiple vacancies or municipal council quorum issues.
Existing recall laws have inconsistencies in petition requirements, making it difficult to ensure fairness.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Mandates that members of a municipal recall committee must be registered electors of the municipality, limiting outside influence.
Standardizes information required on recall petitions, aligning with other municipal petition requirements.
Establishes clearer deadlines and procedures for circulating, filing, and protesting recall petitions.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen election integrity and transparency by limiting external influences on recall efforts and standardizing the recall petition process to ensure fair elections.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Soper, Senator Mullica
⚠️ ISSUE:
Health insurance carriers and medical providers often face challenges when negotiating contracts, leading to lack of transparency, unfair terms, and difficulties for patients accessing care.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Prevents health insurance carriers from retroactively denying reimbursement for claims that have already been approved.
Increases transparency in provider contract negotiations to ensure fairer agreements between carriers and healthcare providers.
Protects patient access to care by ensuring contract disputes do not result in disruptions to coverage or unexpected provider network changes.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve fairness and transparency in contracts between health insurance carriers and providers to ensure stability in patient care and prevent unjust reimbursement denials.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Soper, Senator Rodriguez
⚠️ ISSUE:
Workers injured on the job often face barriers to accessing benefits, delays in compensation, and challenges navigating the claims process.
Current laws do not adequately protect employees from retaliation when filing for workers’ compensation benefits.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Clarifies employer responsibilities to ensure fair treatment of injured workers.
Expands protections against employer retaliation for employees who file workers' compensation claims.
Streamlines claims processing to reduce delays in receiving benefits.
🎯 GOAL:
Protect injured workers from employer retaliation and improve the efficiency of Colorado’s workers’ compensation system to ensure timely and fair benefits.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Soper, Senator Hinrichsen
⚠️ ISSUE:
Many small retail businesses that sell alcoholic beverages face complex licensing processes and unnecessary regulatory burdens when seeking to serve alcohol on-site.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Creates a retail establishment permit allowing licensed alcohol beverage retailers to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption.
Streamlines the permitting process, reducing barriers for businesses while maintaining responsible service requirements.
🎯 GOAL:
Support small businesses by simplifying the process for obtaining alcohol beverage retail permits while ensuring responsible service practices.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Weissman, Senator Gonzales
⚠️ ISSUE:
Wrongful convictions can have devastating consequences, yet access to DNA testing remains limited in many postconviction cases.
Many individuals seeking to prove their innocence through DNA testing face barriers due to procedural restrictions and costs.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Expands access to postconviction DNA testing for individuals seeking to prove their innocence.
Removes procedural barriers that have previously limited DNA evidence review in wrongful conviction cases.
Allows for new technological advancements in DNA testing to be considered in postconviction appeals.
🎯 GOAL:
Strengthen justice system fairness by expanding access to postconviction DNA testing and ensuring wrongfully convicted individuals have the opportunity to present new evidence.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Bird, Senator Buckner
⚠️ ISSUE:
Many Coloradans miss out on valuable income tax credits simply because they are unaware they qualify.
Low-income workers and families who would benefit the most from tax relief often do not receive credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires employers to provide notice to employees about their potential eligibility for income tax credits.
Directs the Department of Revenue to create standardized materials for employers to distribute.
Ensures that more working families are informed about and able to access the financial relief they are entitled to.
🎯 GOAL:
Increase awareness and utilization of tax credits to support low-income workers and families, reducing financial hardship and boosting economic stability.
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Sponsors: Senator Mullica, Senator Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Patients often face unexpected medical bills due to lack of transparency in healthcare pricing.
Without clear, upfront cost information, individuals struggle to make informed healthcare decisions.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Requires hospitals and healthcare providers to publicly disclose comprehensive pricing information for common procedures.
Establishes penalties for noncompliance, ensuring providers adhere to transparency requirements.
Gives patients access to accurate cost estimates before receiving medical care.
🎯 GOAL:
Improve healthcare affordability and transparency by ensuring patients can access clear pricing information before treatment.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Gonzales
⚠️ ISSUE:
The process for appealing a revoked driver’s license has been inconsistent and unclear, leading to delays and confusion for drivers seeking reinstatement.
The Attorney General’s Office has limited guidance on handling these appeals, impacting efficiency.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Clarifies the role of the Attorney General’s Office in overseeing and processing driver’s license revocation appeals.
Creates clear procedures for how and when individuals can challenge revocations.
Streamlines the appeals process, ensuring fairer and more efficient case handling.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure clear and consistent procedures for driver’s license revocation appeals, making the system more accessible and efficient for Coloradans.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Mullica, Representative Daugherty
⚠️ ISSUE:
Many dental insurance plans spend too little on patient care and too much on administrative costs and profits.
Unlike medical insurance, there has been no required minimum spending on actual patient services.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Establishes a minimum medical loss ratio (MLR) for dental insurance plans, requiring a set percentage of premium dollars to be spent on patient care rather than administrative costs.
Improves accountability and transparency in how dental insurers use premiums.
Ensures policyholders receive fair value for their dental insurance payments.
🎯 GOAL:
Ensure dental insurance providers prioritize patient care, increasing transparency and fairness in the industry.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Gardner, Representative Snyder
⚠️ ISSUE:
Aiming laser devices at aircraft poses a serious safety threat, endangering pilots, passengers, and the public.
Existing laws do not provide strong enough deterrents to prevent intentional laser targeting of aircraft.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Makes unlawfully aiming a laser device at an aircraft a more serious offense, ensuring stronger penalties for offenders.
Increases legal protections for pilots and passengers by classifying intentional laser targeting as a public safety threat.
Helps law enforcement track and prosecute incidents more effectively.
🎯 GOAL:
Reduce the risk of aviation accidents caused by laser interference by strengthening penalties and legal protections.
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Sponsors: Senator Daugherty, Senator Coleman, Representative Weissman, Representative Soper
⚠️ ISSUE:
Human trafficking remains a significant issue in Colorado, with vulnerable populations at risk of exploitation.
Current training requirements for professionals in high-risk industries need to be improved to ensure effectiveness.
WHAT THE BILL DOES:
Modifies and extends the existing human trafficking prevention training program to include updated best practices.
Ensures professionals in high-risk sectors, such as hospitality and transportation, receive appropriate training.
Strengthens partnerships between state agencies and law enforcement to improve prevention efforts.
🎯 GOAL:
Enhance Colorado’s ability to combat human trafficking by improving prevention training and expanding awareness efforts.
2022 SESSION
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Summary: Current law requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem for children or youth in dependency and neglect cases. The bill requires that client-directed counsel for youth be appointed for children or youth 12 years of age or older to provide specialized client-directed legal representation.
The bill prohibits the waiver of a child's or youth's right to counsel in dependency and neglect proceedings. The bill also allows a child or youth to be a party in a dependency and neglect proceeding. For a child or youth 12 years of age or older with diminished capacity, a guardian ad litem shall remain in the role and separate counsel for the child or youth must be appointed.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: The Youth Delinquency Prevention and Intervention Program creates a $4.1 million grant program to support proven approaches to reduce youth involvement in the juvenile justice system. Local governments and agencies, school districts, and communities-based organizations with demonstrated experience and expertise working with youth may apply for resources to help support or grow prevention programs that can ensure that young people are able to thrive.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: Reforms the TABOR refund mechanism to expedite tax refunds for every Colorado resident. Every taxpayer will receive a $750 tax refund and joint filers will receive $1500. This new flat-rate refund is a more equitable way to distribute TABOR refunds, which have historically benefitted wealthier Coloradans. These refund checks will provide immediate relief to the families most impacted by cost of living increases. In addition, we added an amendment to extend the tax filing deadline to June 30th so that more Coloradans can take advantage of these refunds.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: Helps tax filers take advantage of tax reforms that will save families and workers $180 million this year through the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. This bill formally establishes Colorado’s Economic Mobility Program and funds it with $4 million from the Economic Recovery and Relief Fund.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: This bill extends the timeline for an employee to notify their employer about an on-the-job injury from four to ten days. It also updates public signage regarding workers’ compensation to help injured workers know & understand their rights.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: This legislation provides workers with meaningful support while reducing unnecessary litigation and improves the reporting of on-the-job injuries. This bill accomplishes the following:
Raises the funeral and burial expense benefit cap from $7000 to $12,500
Allows injured workers traveling 100+ miles for care to be paid mileage expenses up front rather than wait to be reimbursed
Improves data collection methods
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Summary: This bill allows counties to license and monitor massage therapy businesses to help combat human trafficking in Colorado. Law enforcement agencies will conduct background checks on the applicant or licensee to help determine whether the application should be approved.
Articles & Resources:
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Summary: This bill requires the Department of Revenue to impose penalties on frivolous claims for sales-and-use-tax refunds. These changes incentivize the State to pay out sales tax refunds more quickly while also saving money for the State by reducing the amount of interest it has to pay out.
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Summary: This bill updates and clarifies language related to the foster youth in transition program (HB21-1094).
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Summary: Allows Colorado residents who are attending college out of state to postpone jury duty for up to 12 months (6 months is the standard).
2021 SESSION
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Hooton, Senator Moreno, Senator Fenberg
Summary: This bill allows for local governments, special districts, and governing boards of an institution of higher education to govern the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory so long as it is not less restrictive than state law.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Ricks, Senator Bridges, Senator Fields
Summary: Creates a program under the Office of Economic Development to provide support to businesses with under 20 employees.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Buckner, Senator Boesenecker
Summary: This bill removes the option of money bail for kids and sets the statewide juvenile detention center bed cap from 327 to 215. A working group will assess the data around what is needed in each judicial district and address any existing gaps.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Gonzales-Gutierrez, Senator Lee
Summary: This legislation allows for offenders who are serving a sentence for a felony offense that was committed while the offender was between 18-24 years old to be eligible for parole after the offender serves 50% of their sentence or after 15 calendar years. The offender will be eligible to be released on parole if they had not had any code of penal discipline violations in the last five years and no class I code of penal discipline violations in the last 10 years, and at the parole board’s discretion.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Rich, Senator Donovan, Senator Coram
Summary: This bill creates and maintains a resource bank to be used in elementary and secondary public schools and creates training for educators and students on suicide prevention. It also develops a uniform statewide K-12 suicide prevention component to develop a plan for follow-up care for suicide attempt survivors who were treated in an emergency department. Additionally, the Office of Suicide Prevention will provide comprehensive education and training on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention for providers and first and last responders.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Lynch, Senator Buckner
Summary: Currently, juveniles in the State of Colorado who have been convicted as adults following the direct filing of charges in District Court are not subject to mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for violent crimes. Juveniles that are convicted as adults following the transfer of charges from Juvenile Court to District Court are subject to mandatory minimum sentencing for violent crimes. This bill proposes changing the language in the current juvenile transfer statute to mirror the language currently found in the juvenile direct file statutes, to stipulate that a juvenile transferred to adult court is subject to the same sentencing provisions as a juvenile who is in adult court based on direct filing of charges.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Van Beber, Senator Zenzinger
Summary: In the State of Colorado, kids in the Colorado Foster Care System that have closed cases may not receive support or services from child welfare after their 18th birthday. This bill proposes that they may voluntarily return to the system to receive benefits after they “age out” in specific circumstances. Select counties in the State of Colorado will implement a transition program for youth in the Colorado Foster Care System to extend support and services (employment and housing help, advising, help obtaining important documents, etc.) through the 21st birthday of eligible youth.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Woog, Senator Lee, Senator Gardner
Summary: In 2020, the State of Colorado Supreme Court ruled that District Courts would not retain jurisdiction for modification of decision-making and parenting time in parental rights cases that are in the process of being appealed. This bill proposes that District Courts will be given back jurisdiction for parental rights cases with regard to parenting time, child support and maintenance, and decision-making authorities while appeals are pending.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Benavidez, Senator Lee, Senator Fields
Summary: Currently, the Workers’ Compensation system allows for the clawback of benefits that have already been issued. This bill specifies language that clawbacks can only be issued if an injured worker has committed fraud, protecting them from unfair medical bills.
Articles & Resources:
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Bradfield, Senator Danielson
Summary: The Colorado Department of Education administers a biennial survey for school teachers in Colorado public schools to assess teaching and learning conditions for students and teachers as well as teacher retention rates. Under current law, ESPs (Education Support Professionals) are not permitted to take part in the biennial survey to provide feedback to the Department of Education. This bill proposes that ESPs working in Colorado public schools may be allowed to participate in the biennial school surveys to provide a broader depth of feedback for the Department of Education regarding teaching and learning conditions.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Herod, Senator Winter
Summary: Continues the grant program from the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” to support small businesses suffering from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
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Sponsors: Representative Daugherty, Representative Lynch, Senator Rodriguez, Senator Priola
Summary: Currently, there is a Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Program in Colorado that was created by previous legislation. The passage of this bill extends this program and makes eligibility requirements more broad so more businesses are able to benefit from this program.