Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a pair of gun bills passed during the recent legislative session to crack down on stolen guns.

Senate Bill 205, sponsored by Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, and Reps. Cecelia Espenoza, D-Denver, and William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, establishes a procedure for federal firearm license holders to request a serial number check before purchasing a firearm, which must be completed by a local sheriff’s office within three days. If a firearm dealer has a reason to believe someone sold or attempted to sell a firearm that was stolen, lost, or involved in an open criminal investigation, they must report the information to law enforcement within 48 hours or their license could be revoked. 

Hinrichsen said the bill, which he called “a win for both public safety and responsible small businesses,” comes from concerns raised by firearm dealers in his district.

The bill “ensures that when someone wants to trade in or sell a used firearm, dealers have a clear process and safeguards while they check if a gun is lost or stolen,” he added. “By guaranteeing timely law enforcement checks, we keep firearm transactions aboveboard and help people buy and sell through safe, legitimate channels. This law also protects dealers from making costly, unintentional purchases that could hurt their business.” 

“We’ve created this law for the firearm dealers throughout Colorado who want to do their part to keep illegal guns off our streets,” Lindstedt. “Running serial number checks alerts firearm dealers when they come across lost, stolen or crime-involved firearms that they wouldn’t be able to sell anyway. This law helps firearm dealers protect themselves from bad purchases while making their communities safer from gun crimes.”

The bill passed on a party-line vote in the Senate and a 36-27 vote in the House, with all Republicans and seven Democrats voting in opposition. 

Polis also signed House Bill 1062, sponsored by House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud, and Sens. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, and Byron Pelton, R-Sterling. The bill exempts firearms from the state’s sentencing structure for theft, making it a Class 6 felony, regardless of the firearm’s value. 

A similar bill sponsored by Armagost and then-Rep. Marc Snyder, D-Colorado Springs, failed to pass through committee last year.  

“This bill is about public safety,” Duran told the House Judiciary Committee during a hearing in February. “It is about siding with the families who have seen the devastating effects of gun theft when their parents or their child is murdered.”

Gun violence is “not a partisan issue,” Armagost said. 

“There are no partisan politics when it comes to safety, and I think when we’re addressing gun safety, we need to address it from the root source, which is where we’re seeing an uptick in thefts of firearms throughout our state.”

The bill passed on a 50-12 vote in the House and a 28-7 vote in the Senate.