Colorado Politics

Colorado legislature enters final 10 days with hundreds of bills still unresolved

With just 10 days left in the 2026 session, Colorado lawmakers are staring down the final stretch of a crowded agenda, with 228 bills still unresolved and several major measures that have yet to even be introduced.

Monday’s report from the Office of Legislative Legal Services shows that of the 619 bills introduced so far, 430 originated in the House and 189 in the Senate.

The large gap between the chambers stems not only from their different membership sizes but also from the annual budget process. In February, the House introduced supplemental budget bills, and later it carried the Long Bill and its 64 accompanying “orbital” measures that adjust state law to keep the budget in balance.

There are 228 bills still awaiting final resolution as of Monday, including 78 House bills and 53 Senate bills.

So far, 156 bills have been sent to the governor, who has not issued any vetoes this year.

So what major bills are still on the calendar?

One of the biggest is Senate Bill 189, the long‑awaited measure meant to finalize changes to the state’s 2024 artificial‑intelligence law. It was introduced on Friday, one of 10 new Senate bills filed last week.

Seven new bills were introduced in the House last week, including House Bill 1430, which is already generating controversy. The bill, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tem Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins and Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver, is a referred measure to voters in the 2026 general election.

HB 1430, titled the “Colorado Budget Protection Act,” would take effect only if ballot measure No. 175, backed by the Colorado Contractors Association, is approved by voters in November.

On Friday, the Secretary of State’s office announced that Measure No. 175, a proposed constitutional amendment, had collected 75% of the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. Petitions are due May 27.

The ballot measure would generate up to $700 million for road and transportation projects and requires that all revenue raised for those purposes be spent accordingly.

HB 1430 is designed to offset that revenue by reducing gas excise taxes and late vehicle‑registration fees, effectively cutting transportation funding by the same amount.

In its legislative declaration, HB 1430 argues that lawmakers must respond to the ballot measure to “avoid reductions of up to seven hundred million dollars in appropriations for critical state services, including K‑12 public education, health care, and higher education.” The bill warns that passage of the measure would create new funding shortfalls for schools and lead to higher tuition costs. It also asserts that the state has taken “unprecedented steps over the last seven years to increase funding for transportation programs.”

That claim drew pushback from the contractors association, which said Monday that the state’s argument “rings hollow when Colorado roads rank among the worst in the nation, largely due to years of inadequate investment.” The group pointed to a 2025 Reason Foundation report showing Colorado’s rural interstate pavement conditions rank 47th in the country.


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