SB 74: Clarify Excessive Public Construction Bond Claim Penalty - Colorado

Final Act → Signed Act · 3 edits · Apr 6, 2026

MINOR

This bill clarifies the legal penalty for contractors who claim excessive amounts in public construction bond disputes. It ensures that a claim is not considered 'excessive' (and thus not subject to penalties) if a court later awards a lower amount, provided the contractor had a good-faith basis to believe the full amount was due at the time of filing. The changes also standardize the definition of 'amount due' to include disputed or unliquidated costs.

Scope change

The scope of protection for contractors filing claims was expanded to explicitly cover situations where the final court award is less than the claimed amount, provided the claim was made in good faith.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified the definition of an 'excessive claim' to protect contractors from penalties if they reasonably believed their claim was valid at the time of filing, even if a court later awards a smaller amount.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'amount due' to explicitly include amounts that are disputed or unliquidated, ensuring contractors are not penalized for claiming legitimate but unverified costs.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting inconsistencies, such as extra spaces and typos, in the statutory text to ensure clarity and uniformity.

Rerevised → Final Act · 4 edits · Mar 20, 2026

MODERATE

This bill clarifies the penalties for contractors who falsely claim excessive amounts on public construction bonds. It ensures that contractors who act in good faith regarding disputed costs are not penalized, and it explicitly allows claims to include specific types of financial losses like delay and lost productivity.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of recoverable costs in public construction claims to include delay, lost productivity, and disruption, and it adds a 'good faith' exception to the penalty for claiming excessive amounts.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a 'good faith' exception: contractors are not penalized for claiming excessive amounts if they had a reasonable basis to believe the amount was due at the time of filing.

Expanded the list of eligible claimants to include suppliers of sustenance and other supplies used by contractors or subcontractors.

DEFINITION

Defined 'amount due' to include money a person reasonably believes represents the value of labor, materials, and supplies, even if the amount is disputed.

REQUIREMENT

Explicitly allowed the inclusion of costs for delay, lost productivity, and work disruption in lien and bond claims.

Revised → Rerevised · 2 edits · Mar 17, 2026

MINOR

The bill was re-revised to include all amendments adopted in the second house, updating the sponsor list to reflect new co-sponsors and adding a reading date stamp. The text also includes a deletion of a specific provision regarding the 'good faith basis' for believing a lien amount was due, which previously allowed liens to be considered non-excessive under certain belief standards. This change narrows the scope of the lien protection by removing the subjective belief defense.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding lien protections has been narrowed by removing a clause that allowed a 'good faith basis' belief to justify excessive lien amounts.

DEFINITION

Deleted a provision stating that a lien amount is not excessive if the filer had a good faith basis to believe the amount was due.

TECHNICAL

Added a '3rd Reading Unamended' date stamp and updated the list of house sponsors to include additional names.

Reengrossed → Revised · 3 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MINOR

The bill was revised to correct the statute number and clarify that liens can include disputed amounts if filed in good faith. It also explicitly allows recovery of costs for delays and lost productivity in construction liens.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from clarifying penalties for excessive claims to expanding the definition of recoverable costs in construction liens.

TECHNICAL

The statute section being amended was changed from 38-26-110 to 38-22-101.

ELIGIBILITY

A new provision was added stating that a lien amount is not considered 'excessive' if the claimant had a good faith belief it was due at the time of filing.

REQUIREMENT

The bill now explicitly permits including costs for delay, lost productivity, or work disruption in a construction lien.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 3 edits · Feb 17, 2026

MINOR

The bill status was updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' to reflect that all amendments adopted in the House of Introduction are now included. A new sponsor, Liston, was added to the Senate sponsorship list. The bill summary section was updated to indicate that the current text represents the 3rd Reading Unamended version as of February 17, 2026, with a note that a separate summary for the reengrossed version will be provided later.

TECHNICAL

Added new sponsor Liston to the Senate sponsorship list.

Changed bill status header from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed'.

Added a note indicating the summary applies to the 3rd Reading Unamended version and that a reengrossed summary will follow.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Feb 12, 2026

MINOR

The bill text was updated to reflect its current status as 'Engrossed' rather than 'Introduced', indicating it has passed initial readings and includes all amendments. The sponsor list was expanded to include a second senator, and page numbers were adjusted to match the new version. No substantive policy changes regarding mechanics' liens, contractor rights, or legal procedures were identified in this specific text snippet.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; this update only reflects procedural progress in the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

Status changed from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to indicate the bill has been amended and passed second reading.

A second Senate sponsor (Snyder) was added to the sponsorship list.

Page number formatting was updated to reflect the engrossed version.

Clarify Excessive Public Construction Bond Claim Penalty

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