As the 2024 legislative session got underway on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate released its first 10 bills, signaling lawmakers’ priorities for the new year.

From guns and mental health to property taxes, the bills on the Senate’s list aim to tackle several of Colorado’s lingering issues.

Commerce City Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet and fellow Democrat Rep. Kyle Brown of Louisville sponsored the first bill. Senate Bill 24-001  looks to make the temporary youth mental health services program, commonly known as I Matter, permanent. The program was established in 2021 to address the youth mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. In it’s current state, the program provides six free therapy sessions for kids and teens 18 and under. Young adults with receiving special education services can qualify for the program until age 21. 

The bill also establishes an annual review process for the program, replacing the current biannual review. As part of the proposed evaluation process, the bill says the behavioral health administration must conduct surveys of participants and providers of the program and collect data. 

Another Democrat-sponsored bill, Senate Bill 3, would provide over $1.69 million to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal activity involving firearms, including illegal transfers and attempts to illegally obtain guns. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Rep. Meg Froelich of Greenwood Village.

Several of the Senate’s bills received bipartisan sponsorship, including one that seeks to lessen the burden of property taxes on homeowners.

Senate Bill 2 grants counties and municipalities the authority to establish tax incentive programs – including property tax credits or rebates – to property owners in an area of “specific local concern.” The bill defines that area as a property that county commissioners deem diminishing or unavailable based on the data and whose use the county finds necessary for the preservation of the “health, safety, or welfare” of residents.

Under the bill, these incentive programs must be established during a public hearing and will be evaluated on an annual basis. The bill is sponsored by House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco and Republican Rep. Lisa Frizell of Castle Rock.

Major bipartisan legislation coming out of the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee aims to reduce the amount of artificial turf and invasive plant species being planted in public areas.

Senate Bill 5 bans the installation, planting or placement of nonfunctional or artificial turf or invasive plant species on commercial, institutional, or industrial property or a transportation corridor. It also bars turf and invasive species from being installed as part of renovations on state facilities that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2025.

The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Roberts and Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and in the House by Democratic Reps Karen McCormick of Longmont and Barbara McLachlan of Durango.