A bill to that would allow pharmacies to dispense HIV prevention medications without a prescriptions easily passed its first legislative House committee Friday morning.

House Bill 1061 got a 12-1 approval from the Public Health Care and Human Services Committee.

House Democrats cited a 2018 state health department report that found more than 14,000 Coloradans have HIV.

The bill would make drugs known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) more readily available to prevent infection. The legislation is sponsored by Reps. Alex Valdez and Leslie Herod, both Democrats from Denver.

“I am fighting for the communities that have been devastated by this virus,” Herod said in a statement Friday. “This is for the black, Latinx and transgender folks who have seen so many of their peers experience the stigma, cost burden, and health effects of HIV. This bill will bring much-needed relief to these communities. Our work continues as we move to the House for a full floor vote.”

Valdez said the bill would save lives and money.

“With the lifetime health care cost for an individual with HIV over $350,000, you can imagine the impact this will have on families and on our healthcare systems,” he stated. “It’s our obligation to do everything we can to prevent any more Coloradans from being affected by HIV. I’m proud to be a sponsor and excited to see the bill move forward.”

The bill is a step forward, said One Colorado, the state’s largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Coloradans.

“We are encouraged by the progress this bill has made thus far, and hope to see continued bipartisan support as it moves forward,” the organization’s executive director, Daniel Ramos, said in a statement Friday. “After all, putting an end to the HIV virus and AIDS epidemic, which has taken so many lives, is in the best interest of all Coloradans.”

One Colorado is planning a press conference to talk up the bill Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. in the West Foyer of the state Capitol in Denver with Emily Zadvorny, the executive director of the Colorado Pharmacists Society.