Last day to pass new statewide laws this year
Clock starts ticking for governor’s veto
Today is the last day for Colorado lawmakers to pass bills before this year’s legislative session ends, starting a 30-day countdown for the governor to veto bills he disagrees with.
In Colorado, bills that pass the General Assembly become law if the governor signs them, or automatically if he doesn’t give his signature or veto. The governor has to veto a bill within 10 days if the legislature is in session, and lawmakers can override the veto with a two-thirds vote. But once the legislative session ends, the governor has 30 days to veto a bill and that veto is final.
This poses an issue for at least one bill with widespread support among lawmakers that would require the governor’s office to disclose when it uses taxpayer money to try to influence proposed legislation. However, the bill moved through the process slowly, and Gov. Jared Polis is expected to veto it.
The end of this year’s legislative session came with a flurry of activity. Some of the highlights are recapped below.
Need to Know
🤖 A new framework for preventing AI discrimination is likely to become law once it gets Gov. Jared Polis’ signature. The new law will repeal and replace legislation passed two years ago that was never actually implemented due to pushback from the tech industry. The new law will require companies to disclose when they use AI in consequential decisions like medicine, housing, school and employment, and it will give Coloradans the right to appeal and review those decisions. (Denver Business Journal, Colorado Politics, read the bill) Separately, lawmakers are considering bills to limit the use of AI in health insurance decisions and mental health therapy, as well as a bill aimed at protecting people from potentially harmful interactions with AI chatbots – though little time remains to pass them before the legislative session ends. (Colorado Politics)
🗳️ Elections in Colorado will have some changes starting this fall. Gov. Jared Polis is likely to sign a bill aimed at countering potential interference from President Donald Trump’s administration. The bill would require election clerks to send out ballots earlier to avoid disruption to Colorado’s mail-based voting system, among other measures. (Colorado Sun, read the bill)
🏳️🌈 People who undergo so-called “conversion therapy” will be able to sue practitioners if they suffer harm from efforts to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill, which is expected to get Gov. Jared Polis’ signature, is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that struck down Colorado’s statewide ban on conversion therapy. (Daily Camera, April 1 newsletter, read the bill)
💡 The state utility regulator will remain a three-person board, despite a push by utility companies to expand it to five people in a bill that will renew the board’s authority for the next decade. The Public Utilities Commission, known as the PUC, oversees companies in power, telecommunications, transportation and other sectors. Its authority has to be renewed this year, offering opportunities to change how it functions. The companies argued more members would increase the board’s “ideological diversity,” but opponents said adding more commissioners could complicate decision-making. (Colorado Sun, April 29 newsletter, May 11 newsletter)
👷 Several worker protection measures are headed to the governor’s desk. One bill seeks to establish statewide standards that mirror federal requirements for employers to maintain generally safe conditions in the workplace, in response to declining workplace safety enforcement by President Donald Trump’s administration. Another bill would require large meatpacking plants to provide workers with adequate bathroom breaks and protective equipment. Another bill aims to improve data collection on worker injuries and illnesses related to extreme temperatures. (CPR, Colorado Newsline)
🖥️ No new statewide data center laws are coming to Colorado this year, after the failure of two competing bills – one aimed at incentivizing data center construction and another seeking to put environmental guardrails on the facilities. Lawmakers couldn’t find a compromise between trying to reap the economic benefits of data centers and addressing concerns around their impact on energy and the environment. (Colorado Newsline)
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Something Good
🐟 Over the weekend I tried a recipe for beer-battered fish and mushy peas from Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, with a homemade tartar sauce based on a James Beard Foundation recipe. Colorado isn’t really known for great seafood, but occasionally I get a craving for it and I often like to prepare it myself. This meal was simple and tasty, and it didn’t require expensive or super-fresh fish.