Colorado lawmakers approved a bill to offer schools free bleed control kits on Monday, advancing the proposal to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration. 

If signed into law, House Bill 1213 would provide free bleed control kits and training materials to K-12 schools that request them. Bleed control kits are first aid kits designed to control serious bleeding from an injury, including a tourniquet, compression bandage, bleeding control bandage, among other contents. 

“As a father and a nurse, I know the seconds matter when somebody is bleeding,” said bill sponsor Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton. “Stop the Bleed is an important program to save lives in our schools and raise awareness about this easy to learn, life-saving technique.”

Under the bill, the Department of Public Health and Environment would distribute the kits and training materials to schools over three years, allocating $150,000 per year to fund the kits and training. Bill sponsors said this would fund nearly 2,800 kits. 

Schools could decide if they want to train staff, students or both in using the kits, except in elementary schools, where the training must only go to teachers and staff. 

The Senate passed the bill in a 33-1 vote on Monday, following the House’s 57-6 approval earlier this month. Though the bipartisan-sponsored bill received broad support from both sides of the aisle, some Republicans voted against it. 

None of the lawmakers who opposed the bill explained their votes on the floor.

Sen. Mark Baisley, the only “no” vote in the Senate, told Colorado Politics he thinks bleed control kits are “a great idea,” but not the business of the government. 

“I always ask the question, should this be law? Does this rise to the level of the force of government?” Baisley, R-Woodland Park, said. “This is one of many things that folks ought to do, having a bleed kit. … But they should just do it. They shouldn’t have the state legislature telling them that they have to.”

Under the bill, schools would only get the bleed control kits and training materials if they request them. Schools would also have the freedom to choose where the kits are kept, how many they need and who is trained to use them. 

The bill comes as school shootings have become increasingly common throughout the United States. The creation of the federal “Stop the Bleed” program offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was produced in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which 20 students and six staff members were killed in 2012. 

The bill’s first committee vote last month happened mere hours after a 17-year-old student allegedly shot two school administrators at Denver’s East High School, less than two miles away from the state Capitol building. 

“No one should die from bleeding out, as there are ways to prevent it,” said bill sponsor Rep. Mary Bradfield, R-Colorado Springs. “This is a win-win situation for anyone in a school who might sustain a life-threatening injury.” 

If Polis signs the bill, it would take effect immediately.