Just 24 hours ago, sponsors of Senate Bill 72, which would have put more teeth into regulating the legal substance, kratom, appeared dead for the 2025 session. However, on Tuesday morning, the unearthing of a little-known rule known as a “supermotion” gave the measure new life.

On Monday, sponsors learned that Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, would not allow the bill to come up for a hearing in the committee, calling it a backdoor “pocket veto” to kill the bill.

However, through an effort led by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, the bill has been revived through a rarely-used House Rule 25J(1)(G). According to the rule, if a motion is made that a committee report a measure favorable to the committee of the whole, with or without amendments, and when that measure is not in the order of business, the committee shall consider that measure upon its merits.

At 8:45 a.m., as the committee was slated to hear a bill on motor vehicle emissions, Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Scott Bottoms moved that SB 72 be sent to the committee of the whole with a favorable recommendation. Sirota objected, noting the bill had an appropriation that intended to tap tobacco settlement revenues to expand the regulatory structure and implement kratom regulations specified in the measure.

However, under the House Rule, an appropriation does not matter, which allowed the bill, which had already been approved by the Senate on a 30-4 vote, to continue through the House.

The “supermotion” passed by a 6-4 vote, with Sirota’s fellow JBC members, Reps. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster and Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction, among the “yes” votes.

Supermotions are rare; long-time Capitol observers could only think of two examples in the past 25 years.

Soper told Colorado Politics he was both super excited and stunned. “I’m really at a loss for words,” he said. “We’re working on the next step.”

Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, is a co-sponsor in the Senate. “It’s a shame it was being forced not to go through the process,” and now the people have a voice on the regulation of kratom, he said.

Kratom is an herbal substance that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects, according to the National Institutes of Health. As usage in Colorado continues to increase, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has labeled it a “drug of concern.”

SB 72 sponsors told Colorado Politics that they continue to push the issue because they believe it has enough votes to pass.

“This is a public health issue that we need to take seriously,” said Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, one of the bill’s Senate sponsors.

Without the passage of the increased regulations, Mullica said it will mean more deaths in Colorado.

He said the bill’s demise means more people will die.

What happens next?

Under the rules, the committee report for SB 72 must be signed immediately and sent to the House floor. The bill then must be scheduled for a second reading debate on Tuesday to move to a final vote by Wednesday. As of 10 a.m., House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, told Colorado Politics she had not yet decided whether to bring the bill up.