Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill enabling survivors of conversion therapy to seek damages from practitioners, calling the practice harmful and ineffective as he also moved to bar state funding for it.

Conversion therapy refers to practices that attempt to counsel people on their choices of sexual orientation or gender identity. Critics argue that these efforts are ineffective and can cause harm, while supporters contend that decisions about participating in such practices should be left to families.

House Bill 1322 — sponsored by Reps. Alex Valdez, D‑Denver, and Karen McCormick, D‑Hygiene, along with Sens. Lisa Cutter, D‑Evergreen, and Kyle Mullica, D‑Thornton — would allow individuals to bring civil claims for injuries resulting from conversion therapy performed by licensed providers.

“People shouldn’t be ripped off by those falsely claiming that they can change who you are attracted to or who you are,” said Polis. “In our Colorado for all, everyone can live authentically, and should not be subject to hateful and simply ineffective conversion therapy. Conversion Therapy is harmful, can traumatize kids, and is a scam to waste people’s hard-earned money.”

Polis also signed an executive order prohibiting state funds from being used for conversion therapy.

The order says Colorado should be a place where everyone can thrive, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and argues that conversion therapy undermines that goal and harms LGBTQ+ people, especially youth. It also states that the state has an interest in avoiding taxpayer spending on, and protecting residents from, practices it describes as inhumane.

Critics argued the bill was unconstitutional because it could penalize providers who hold sincerely held religious beliefs, citing the case of Kaley Chiles, a Colorado Springs counselor who challenged the state’s ban on conversion therapy for minors. Her lawsuit ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 8–1 in her favor in March.

“The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority. “It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth. However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments.”

House Bill 1322 passed the House on a vote of 40-23 and the Senate on a vote of 23-12 during the 2026 session.