A bill that would prohibit members of the General Assembly from holding multiple offices narrowly passed through the House on Wednesday, clearing its path to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 059, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Matt Ball, D-Denver, and Lisa Cutter, and Rep. Mandy Lindsay, passed on a 26-9 vote in the Senate. In the House, the measure squeaked by in a 34-28 vote in the House — just one more vote than the required number to pass through the chamber.

Lindsay argued that serving on a city council, school board, or other elected position while being a lawmaker creates a conflict of interest and prevents someone from dedicating enough time and energy to either position.

“This work can be quite grueling, as we know, so making sure that you have enough time to do this particular work during session is really critical,” she said.

The bill outlines several exceptions, including for elected offices on special district boards, members with less than one year remaining in either of their elected positions, and Senators in the middle of their term.

Opponents of the measure argued it strips power from local governments and voters — while some municipalities prohibit elected officials from serving in the General Assembly, others, like Castle Rock, do not.

Republican Rep. Max Brooks currently serves on Castle Rock’s town council, though he would be exempt from the bill’s requirements since he has less than a year left in city office.

If a town’s charter allows for it, then it is ultimately up to the voters whether they want to elect someone to serve in both the state legislature and a local office, Brooks argued.

“If a representative is not doing the job correctly because they have a job outside this chamber, that’s up to the voters to fix,” he said, adding that the bill was a “blanket policy trying to fix things at the state level that perhaps, honestly, just aren’t broken.”

Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, would also be exempt from the bill because he serves on a special district board, which he says has been a “tremendous” benefit to his district, the state, and his own knowledge of health care policy as a legislator.

Having a deeper understanding of certain issues because of time served on a local government entity provides “valuable insight” to statewide policymaking, Soper argued.

While he believed the sponsors had good intentions with the bill, Soper said he couldn’t help but feel like it was targeting specific members. Though rare, several legislators have held dual elected offices.

Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, was a member of the Boulder City Council when she was elected to the House in 2022. She served out the remainder of her term on the city council, which ended in 2023. 

Assistant House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, simultaneously represented House District 7 and served on the Denver School Board. She was first elected to the school board in 2017 and served until November 2021. She began her first term in the House in January 2021.

Rep. Katie Stewart, D-Durango, was elected in 2024 to represent House District 59 while serving on the Durango school board. She stepped down from the school board late last year.

Most recently, Rep. Lori Goldstein, D-Westminster, was chosen by a vacancy committee to fill out the term of Rep. Shannon Bird, who stepped down to focus on the primary for the 8th Congressional District. Goldstein continues to serve as chair of the Adams County 12 school board.

Rep. Jamie Jackson, D-Aurora, argued it’s only fair to their constituents that she and her colleagues dedicate their full time and attention to their responsibilities as lawmakers.

“I just don’t see how anyone can expect to be serving in this role as well as in another elected position and think that we’re gonna get the best results in either role,” she said. “Inevitably, there will be a conflict of interest; inevitably, there will be conflicting schedules where you can’t be in two places at the same time, and I think the people of Colorado deserve to have people in the legislature who are 100% focused and committed on doing this work.”

Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, argued the bill did not infringe on local control because municipalities can still determine whether or not to allow local elected officials to also hold statewide offices.

Luck said lawmakers who serve in both local and state positions will sometimes have to choose which “hat” they’re wearing when making decisions.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.