The Colorado House might finally hear a Democratic immigration bill that has lingered since it was introduced in January.

Sponsors have been negotiating with the governor’s office to get House Bill 1124 in a form Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, would sign. 

Republicans have characterized the bill as a “sanctuary state” effort, comparing it to politically divisive sanctuary cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. Denver, Aurora and Boulder are most often cited as sanctuary cities in Colorado.

The bill’s title is “Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach.”

As introduced, the bill would have barred any state agency or employee “from using public funds or resources to assist in the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws,” but would have allowed state employees to assist federal authorities in executing criminal warrants or writs issued by a judge.

State Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, D-Commerce City, a sponsor of the legislation, said Friday that the measure has been slimmed down since it was introduced on Jan. 16 and postponed repeatedly on the House floor’s daily calendar, which is controlled by the chamber’s Democratic majority.

She was hopeful the bill would get a floor debate on Monday. The session adjourns in two weeks.

Benavidez said the more narrowly worded bill received the governor’s support Friday morning, possibly clearing a legislative path, as Democrats have a majority in the House and Senate.

“We had to negotiate with the governor’s office, so they’d feel comfortable,” she explained.

The governor’s office said Friday that it’s getting there.

“The governor is generally pleased with the current direction of the bill,” said Polis’s spokesperson, Laurie Cipriano. “We are monitoring the legislation.”

The bill still prevents state probation officers from notifying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about their undocumented wards. It also requires jails to inform inmates they don’t have to talk to ICE agents, because anything they say could be used against them in an immigration case unrelated to their detainment.

It also prevents ICE agents from talking to inmates in “the secure areas of any city or county jail or other law enforcement facility for the purpose of conducting investigative interviews or for any other purpose related to the enforcement of federal civil immigration laws unless federal immigration authorities present a warrant issued by a federal judge or magistrate.”

The bill’s main objective, however, is to clarify for all cities and counties what state law and the courts have already say about holding undocumented immigrants for federal agents, Benavidez said.

Some counties, including El Paso, had charted their own course on holding undocumented inmates for ICE, even after individuals have posted bond, until the American Civil Liberties Union filed an injunction last year. The courts later upheld that injunction.

> RELATED: Colo. Supreme Court denies El Paso County appeal in ACLU battle over ICE holds at jail

“Part of the reason you do state law is so you don’t have a patchwork going on,” Benavidez said.

The bill originally prevented jail employees from talking to ICE, but it was amended to allow them to notify federal immigration authorities when undocumented inmates would be released. They still cannot, however, hold inmates longer than their normal release date or after they post bond, Benavidez said.

Regardless of the changes, the bill will still weather the broad characterization that it sets up a “sanctuary state” for undocumented immigrants, she acknowledged.

“Sanctuary state is in the eye of the beholder,” Benavidez said. “There was nothing in this bill, after committee (amendments) to stop jails from contacting ICE. That doesn’t sound like a sanctuary state to me … It’s not sweeping because it’s not about a sanctuary state, I never thought it was.”