The Colorado General Assembly has adopted increasingly more bills in the last several years, even as the proposals have also become more complex.

The legislature passed 487 bills during the 2025 legislative session, representing a 56% growth in legislative output since 2012.

That growth represents the fourth-highest in the country, behind only Wyoming, Utah, and Montana, according to a report by the Common Sense Institute. The report also found that the average complexity of bills, measured by the number of words in each year’s Digest of Bills, was 26% higher than a decade earlier.

The number of statewide ballot initiatives also quadrupled between 2012 and 2024, from four to 16. The report added that the 2024 session set a record for the most bills passed, with 527 measures getting through both chambers.

Just under three-quarters of the bills passed during the 2025 session had bipartisan sponsorship, while 26% were authored only by Democrats. No bills with solely Republican sponsors passed.

“The Colorado legislature has significantly increased its policymaking activity over the last 12 years and especially the last five,” wrote research analysts Jimena Sanchez and Erik Gamm. “While some policies have likely led to positive outcomes for the state, the sheer increase in volume likely creates complexities in compliance and navigation in understanding numerous changes for individuals and businesses.”