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Legislative Action Committee Wrap-Up

Submitted by Holly Monkman, Advocacy Director

 

That’s a wrap!  The 2025 Colorado State Legislative session closed on May 7th and 733 bills, resolutions & memorials were introduced. The LAC followed 125 bills and out of 87 bills that had Legislative Action Committee (LAC) support, 79% were signed by/expected to be signed by the governor. Governor Polis has until June 6th to sign or veto bills, or let them become law without his signature.  

 

I want to extend a hearty “Thank You” to all our members that were on the Legislative Action Committee this year:  Rionda Osman, Peggy Leech, Shirley Jin, Deborah Vink, Jeannette Hillery, Celeste Landry, and Gaythia Weis.  I hope you all take some time this summer to kick back & relax.

 

Check out the Legislative Action Report and Master Bill Tracker for the fate of bills that were of interest to you or to get more details on any of the bills mentioned below. The LWVCO Wrap-upwas on May 21st and  Legislative Liaison Andrea Wilkins and the LWVCO Advocacy Team presented the highlights of the 2025 session.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about how to advocate for/against bills at the state legislature, contact me or keep an eye out for the next training opportunities with LWVCO LAC.  Training typically starts in December & is held via Zoom.

 

 

Issue area highlights that were covered by LWVBC members:

 

Natural Resources & Environment - Shirley Jin & Jeannette Hillery

HB25-1009 concerning a vegetative fuel mitigation program for a district that provides fire protection services passed and has been signed by the governor.  Its purpose is to require the removal of dry material, such as leaves and pine needles that will burn from private properties and thereby protect homes from fire.

 

HB25-1234 provides protection for utility customers.  A utility is not allowed to provide a state or federal agency information about its customers.  It also includes  information about situations when a customer must be provided continued service without charge. The bill was passed by the legislature and sent to the governor.

 

Education - Deborah Vink

HB25-1135 has been signed into law and requires that schools have a published policy about the use of electronic devices, but does not specify what that policy should be.  Boulder Valley Schools currently bans the use of cell phones during school hours.  In St. Vrain School District, it’s up to the supervising staff member. Interestingly, as of May 8, 2025, twenty-one other states have enacted specific policies on cell phone use in the classroom:  https://ballotpedia.org/State_policies_on_cellphone_use_in_K-12_public_schools

 

HB25-1192 requires that all students will have to pass a course in Financial Management to graduate from high school. This course can be taught in conjunction with another course, lessening the burden and cost of implementation. The State Board of Education had already established state standards for such a course. High school students testified about the benefit they had received from existing course material on financial management. The bill was sent to the governor.

 

The LAC Education Team gave strong support for a successful bill (SB25-063) that assists in the fight against banning books in Colorado school libraries by requiring published standards in accordance with established state and federal law.  It also includes protection for librarians.  

 

Other bills with LAC support that would ensure inclusion in school curriculum had mixed results.  SB25-123 Education Curriculum on Genocide Against Native Americans failed in committee while HB25-1149 Comprehensive Black History & Culture Education in K-12 has been sent to the governor.  

 

In order to fully fund the Healthy School Meals for All Program, HB25-1274 refers two measures to 2025 voters.  One of these referred measures would override TABOR so the State could collect and spend revenue collected in excess of 2022 estimates.  The other referred measure asks voters to further limit tax deductions on households with higher incomes.  The bill awaits the governor’s signature.

 

Income Assistance - Deborah Vink

SB25-144 has been sent to the governor.  The bill increases the Family and Medical League (FAMLI) coverage of parents of a child receiving inpatient care in neonatal intensive care from 16 to 28 weeks.  Jeff Bridges, one of the sponsors, had recently experienced the need for such coverage and encouraged adding this extension of coverage to a bill that also adjusts how the premiums charged are calculated so as to avoid unnecessary fluctuation.  It's interesting to note that Colorado is considered one of the ten best states in the U.S. for Paid Family Leave.  It would be wonderful if we could say the same for the funding of education.

 

Immigration - Peggy Leech

Early in the session, LWVCO strongly opposed SB25-047, Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law. The bill would have rolled back many protections for Colorado’s immigrants, as well as requiring local police officers to report people to immigration authorities if suspected of being in the country illegally. This is commonly referred to as “Show me your papers”. Committee testimony lasted for hours, with the vast majority testifying against the bill. It was killed in committee.

 

Late in the session, SB25-276, Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status, was introduced. The bill would help prevent the violation of peoples’ civil rights based on immigration status. Data privacy protections were expanded, as well as protecting access to certain locations such as public schools, colleges, and hospitals. The bill prohibits local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainer requests without a signed judicial warrant. LWVCO supported the bill, which passed through the legislature after hours of committee testimony and long debates in both chambers.

 

Elections & Voting - Celeste Landry, Peggy Leech, Gaythia Weis, & Holly Monkman

In 2025 SB25-001 Colorado Voting Rights Act (COVRA) was LWVCO’s highest-priority elections bill. LWVCO was part of a coalition to provide protections in Colorado as we see increased attacks on the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Thanks to LWVBC and Voting Methods Team member Jeanne Clelland, LWVCO was also instrumental in COVRA’s inclusion of improved election-related data collection and retention. See the photo below for the bill signing ceremony!  

 

A quick search on-line will verify that harassment, threats & intimidation have been growing for voters and election workers. HB25-1225 Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act specifies that intimidation, threats, and coercion are prohibited if it’s directed towards any individual involved in voting activities. The bill adds that elections officials/workers may sue for monetary damages or a restraining order if they are intimidated when not doing their official duties or if they no longer hold the office if it’s believed that the intimidation is because they hold or once held the position of an election official/worker.  

LWVCO advocated for better voting methods in a few high-visibility bills. HB25-1265 was the first bill in Colorado history to allow use of a proportional voting method at the county level, specifically to elect county commissioners. Proportional voting was removed from the bill in a hostile amendment, and then the bill was postponed indefinitely. 

Meanwhile, HB25-1315 for the state legislature and HB25-1319 for county commissioners were prompted by Colorado’s frequent vacancies in elected office. The bills introduced a new November odd-year “election” for vacancies occurring before July 31 of an odd year so that a party’s vacancy committee would appoint a replacement for (usually) less than one year. Only unaffiliated voters and voters registered with the party of the departing office-holder and only candidates from that party could participate in the November odd-year vacancy “election.” An LWVCO press release expressed concern over this undemocratic process possibly violating the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. LWVCO proposed resolving the constitutional question by amending the bills to allow any candidate and all voters to participate in the November odd-year election, regardless of party affiliation. LWVCO additionally proposed using a better voting method to avoid vote-splitting since odd years don’t have primary elections to winnow the candidate field. LWVCO asked Governor Polis to veto both bills but he signed HB25-1315.  So keep your ears tuned for more on this topic as the November 2027 election is the first opportunity for the new odd-year vacancy “election” for state legislators to occur.  If HB25-1319 is not vetoed, then there may be one or more county commissioner vacancy “elections” this November.