Last fall, the West Steps of the Capitol were the scene of almost daily demonstrations by students and others motivated by what they saw as racial bias in deadly police encounters with minorities.

Those demonstrations were mainly motivated by incidents in other states. But they resonated here in Colorado because our state, unfortunately, has had problems of its own.

The trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve is damaged. Without public support, law enforcement — a difficult job but one that’s essential to a free society — becomes even harder.

Going into the 2015 session, many of us in the legislature asked ourselves, and each other, “What can we do to rebuild trust between law enforcement agencies and the Colorado communities they serve?”

After considering every aspect of the issue and consulting with members of the community, with law enforcement agencies and with local governments, we have a legislative package of 10 bills.

Seven of these bills were heard in the House Judiciary Committee this week, and three bills are advancing in the Senate. Most components of the package are supported by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police and the County Sheriffs of Colorado. Sen. John Cooke, a Republican and former Weld County sheriff, is a sponsor of five of these bills.

Here’s the list:

Reps. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, and Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, are carrying HB15-1290, which clarifies that any person has a right to record law enforcement officers, as long as the person doing the recording does not physically get in the way of the officers performing their duties. A police officer may ask a citizen to step back. A police officer may not ask a citizen to turn off her cellphone camera.

We grant law enforcement officers the authority to give orders, and we expect civilians to obey them. But now and then, an officer issues a command that he or she has no authority to demand. HB15-1289, sponsored by Rep. Salazar with Rep. Justin Everett, R-Littleton, will require a court to dismiss all charges against a defendant that were based on a violation of an unlawful police order.

The next two bills are intended to reassure Coloradans that the deck is not stacked one way or the other.

HB15-1286, sponsored by Reps. Salazar and Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, says that when a prosecutor decides not to file charges in a case of alleged police misconduct resulting in serious bodily injury or death, that decision may be challenged in court, and a judge may reverse the prosecutor’s decision, and may appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case.

SB15-219, sponsored by Rep. Salazar with Sens. Cooke and Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, addresses the apparent conflict of interest when a law enforcement officer is involved in a shooting and members of the officer’s own agency perform the initial investigation. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to develop procedures for involving other law enforcement agencies in those investigations.SB15-217, which I’m sponsoring with Sens. Roberts and Cooke, requires that after an officer-involved shooting, the officer’s agency must provide the division of criminal justice with demographic information on the officer and the individual shot and the search, citation and arrest information related to the incident.

Rep. Kagan and Sen. Cooke are sponsoring HB15-1285, which will expand a program already being tested in some Colorado law enforcement agencies — body cameras worn by officers. Body cams are relatively inexpensive, and they will help to exonerate the many police officers who do their jobs honorably and professionally — and to hold accountable the few who do not.

We hear over and over again that African American and Latino Coloradans are still getting pulled over for no apparent reason other than what they look like. That’s illegal. Profiling is a major violation of equality under the law, and we won’t tolerate it.

HB15-1288, which I’m sponsoring with Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, specifies that evidence obtained in the course of a profiling-motivated traffic stop or pedestrian stop will be inadmissible in court. And it expands the definition of profiling to include color, national origin, nationality, language, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and disability.

HB15-1287, which I’m sponsoring with Sen. Cooke, will add four civilians to the state board that manages the training and certification of all officers working for Colorado law enforcement agencies. It also requires the board to take steps to promote diversity in police recruiting and to include anti-bias, community policing and de-escalation courses in police officers’ regular in-service training.

Sens. Roberts and Cooke and I believe that police officers shouldn’t be able to hide their records simply by joining a different police force. That’s why we’re sponsoring SB15-218, which requires that when a law enforcement officer applies for employment to another Colorado agency, the officer’s previous agency must disclose to the hiring agency whether the officer’s record includes any instances in which the officer made a knowing misrepresentation.

Chokeholds are dangerous and the police have better, safer ways to restrain an uncooperative person. HB15-1291, sponsored by Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, prohibits the use of a chokehold by a law enforcement officer unless the officer can show he acted to save his own life.

We support these bills because our goal is to rebuild public confidence in our police officers, and to rebuild police officers’ confidence that they are supported by the communities they serve.

There is no magic wand to achieve this goal. But the bills now making their way through the legislative process will reduce the confidence gap that now exists between some law enforcement agencies and their local communities.

State Rep. Angela Williams serves House District 7 in northeast Denver. She is chairwoman of the House Democratic caucus.