Colorado Bills

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 26: Weight for Vehicles with Child Restraint System

The act increases the gross vehicle weight rating limit from less than 10,000 pounds to less than 16,000 pounds for a passenger vehicle for which the use of a child restraint system is required.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Transportation

Sheila Lieder (D) Marc Catlin (R) Kyle Mullica (D) Ty Winter (R) · 25 co-sponsors

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 14: Modification to Defense of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Current law requires the defense to furnish a copy of any report of examination of the defendant that is made at the instance of the defense to the prosecution in a reasonable amount of time in advance of trial. The act requires a copy of the report to also be furnished to the court who, upon receipt of the copy, shall provide a copy to the department of human services. The act authorizes community placement of a defendant for treatment and rehabilitation. For a defendant who was charged with a crime allegedly committed on or after July 1, 2026, the act clarifies the legal standard for a defendant's conditional or unconditional release from the department. The standard for unconditional release is that the defendant has no abnormal mental condition that would be likely to cause the defendant to be dangerous to the defendant's self or others or to the community in the reasonably foreseeable future, is capable of distinguishing right from wrong, and has substantial capacity to conform their conduct to the law. The standard for conditional release is that the defendant can satisfy the standard for unconditional release but with the imposition of and compliance with conditions. At an unconditional release hearing for a defendant who is on conditional release, if any evidence is introduced that shows the defendant is ineligible for unconditional release, the defendant has the burden of proving that the defendant meets the applicable test for unconditional release.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 77: Epilepsy-Related Mortality Awareness

The act requires that, beginning July 1, 2027, a death certification professional ensure that they are aware of the most recent epilepsy-related death certification recommendations from a nationally recognized and reputable organization. On or before June 1, 2027, the department of public health and environment (department) must electronically notify all registered medical certifier users of the Colorado vital events system of this requirement. If a death certification professional determines that the cause of an individual's death is consistent with known or suspected sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, the act requires the professional to ensure that the individual's death certificate identifies epilepsy as a contributing cause or a suspected cause of death. The act allows the department to provide online guidelines for clinicians and medical certifiers for death certificates regarding epilepsy-related deaths, including sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Healthcare

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 18: Legal Protections for Dignity of Minors

Beginning July 1, 2026, if a petitioner is under 18 years old at the time of filing a petition seeking to change the petitioner's name, the act requires the court to suppress the record unless the petitioner was previously convicted of a felony. The act authorizes the court to use the suppressed court record for administrative purposes, but the court is prohibited from publishing the petitioner's name or the petitioner's new name online. A petitioner who is under 18 years old is not required to give public notice of the name change. The act authorizes an individual to access a suppressed court record without a court order if the individual obtains verbal consent from a party to the case and submits an affidavit to the court, upon penalty of perjury, that the individual has obtained the verbal consent.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice ✓ Technology

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 31: Use of Prescription Product with Controlled Substance

The act exempts from schedule I a prescription drug product containing a schedule I controlled substance (product) if the product is:Approved for prescription use by the United States food and drug administration;Designated or rescheduled by the United States drug enforcement agency (DEA); Dispensed by a pharmacy or prescription drug outlet, or administered by an authorized practitioner; andPossessed by a person who is authorized to possess a controlled substance. The exemption applies upon the DEA's designation or rescheduling. The act requires that the product be controlled in Colorado in the same manner as the product is controlled by the DEA and state law. The act clarifies that its provisions do not apply to or affect the regulation of or lawful actions or conduct concerning natural medicine, natural medicine product, marijuana, or marijuana concentrate.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 61: Publication Counties Without Legal Newspapers

Current law requires a legal notice or advertisement (notice) to be published in a newspaper within the county in which the notice is required to be published that satisfies certain requirements, including a publication period requirement and a periodicals license with paid distribution (legal newspaper). If a legal newspaper does not exist in a county, the notice may be published using certain alternatives. The act clarifies the order of priority of the type of newspaper in which the notice should be published. First, the notice should be published in a newspaper in the county that satisfies the requirements for publication and that has been published for at least one year. Second, the notice should be published in a newspaper in the county that would otherwise satisfy the requirements for publication but for the fact that it lacks a periodicals license, and that has been published for at least one year. Third, the notice should be published in a newspaper in the county even if it does not have a periodicals license or has not been published for at least one year. If there is no newspaper in the county or an adjoining county, notice may be published in a newspaper that satisfies the requirements for a legal newspaper chosen with primary consideration for geographic proximity. Additionally, the act gives municipalities and special districts with territory in two counties permission to publish notice in a newspaper in either county, so long as the newspaper meets the legal requirements for publication.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 47: Colorado Firefighter Safety Act Petition Elections

Existing law allows voters to circulate a petition for a ballot question requiring a local government to engage in collective bargaining with the fire department for the local government and extend coverage of the 'Colorado Firefighter Safety Act' to firefighters employed by the local government (question). The question may be added to the ballot for any general election, as defined in the 'Colorado Firefighter Safety Act'. The act changes the definition of a general election for the purpose of determining when a question may be added to the ballot to include a coordinated election as defined in the 'Uniform Election Code of 1992'. The act also changes the definition of a general election to refer to a regular municipal election rather than a general municipal election to align the language with other municipal elections law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 20, 2026

SB 9: Charitable Organization State Sales & Use Tax

Under existing law, charitable organizations are exempt from state sales and use tax. The definition of charitable organization for purposes of state sales and use tax includes criteria that mirror the federal definition of a 501(c)(3) organization. The act requires the department of revenue to presume that an organization that presents the department with a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the internal revenue service is a charitable organization for purposes of state sales and use tax.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 17, 2026

SB 118: Legacy Giving to Charitable Organizations

The act requires a bank, broker-dealer, depository institution, credit union, or financial or institutional investor (covered entity) that holds benefits that are designated by a donor to a charitable organization to pay the designated benefits no later than 60 calendar days after the charitable organization submits an affidavit attesting to the death of the donor and other information to the covered entity, except as described in federal law. If a covered entity that holds designated benefits is unable to pay the designated benefits to a charitable organization because federal law requires the covered entity to take certain actions or satisfy certain criteria in order to pay the designated benefits, the covered entity must take the actions or satisfy the criteria that are required by federal law and comply with the act no less than 120 calendar days after the charitable organization submits the affidavit to the covered entity. If a charitable organization receives designated benefits that concern a creditor claim, statutory allowance, or the unsatisfied balance of an elective-share or a supplemental elective-share claim (outstanding claim) for which the charitable organization may be liable, the charitable organization must return to the donor's estate a portion or all of the designated benefits in order to satisfy the outstanding claim within 60 days after receiving written notice of the liability, with certain exceptions. If the charitable organization fails to comply, it must pay statutory interest to the donor's estate for each day the unreturned amount remains outstanding. Upon receiving notice of the outstanding claim from the personal representative of the donor's estate, the charitable organization must hold all or a portion of the designated benefits in a constructive trust pending a determination of the outstanding claim. Moreover, the charitable organization may be subject to one or more court actions. A covered entity that holds benefits that are designated to a charitable organization shall not:Require the charitable organization to establish an account with the covered entity as a condition of receiving the designated benefits; orRequire an individual employed by, or serving on the board of, the charitable organization to submit personal information as a condition of receiving designated benefits. The act may be enforced by the division of banking, the financial services board, or the division of securities, as appropriate.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Apr 17, 2026

SB 53: Colorado Housing and Finance Authority Mortgage POST Officers First Responders

The act expands eligibility for mortgage loans through the Colorado housing and finance authority to first responders. The act also defines the term 'first responder' to include peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians, and defines the term 'peace officer' to include a noncertified deputy sheriff, an emergency communications specialist, a corrections officer, a port of entry officer, or a wildlife officer.The act also sets an income limit for families made eligible for mortgage loans by the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · House Apr 13, 2026

HB 1191: Examination of School District Records

The act authorizes the state auditor, in the state auditor's discretion, to audit the records of a school district that received state education fund money (school district) for capital construction projects for qualified charter schools in the district to determine the amount of state education fund money expended by each school district in the state for capital construction and to identify the schools and projects on which school districts expended the money.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · House Apr 13, 2026

HB 1185: Sunset Cold Case Task Force

The department of regulatory agencies (DORA) conducted a sunset review of the cold case task force (task force) in the department of public safety (department) and recommended:Authorizing the executive director of the department to appoint additional task force members;Extending the task force until September 1, 2039; andChanging the type of sunset review that is performed by DORA. The act implements DORA's recommendations.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill results