2025 Legislative Agenda

Colorado 2025 State Legislation

Our Policy Council works with our Lobby Partners, Salazar and Associates to identify and prioritize bills for GBC endorsement and member engagement.

Click here for Full Legislative Agenda Bill Tracking Report

✅=Support ❌=Oppose ⚠️=Amend 🚨=Action

EQUITY

✅HB 25-1001 Enforcement Wage Hour Laws: HB25-1001 strengthens the enforcement of wage and hour laws by expanding the definition of "employer," prohibiting payroll deductions below minimum wage, and increasing penalties for wage violations, including fines up to $50,000 for repeated offenses. It raises the claim threshold for nonpayment of wages from $7,500 to $13,000 and requires public disclosure of employers found in violation, potentially impacting their business licenses. The bill also expands protections against retaliation.

✅SB 25-005 Worker Protection Collective Bargaining: This bill eliminates the requirement for a second election to negotiate a union security agreement clause in the collective bargaining process.

❌SB 25-047 Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law: This anti-immigration bill would prohibit local governments from restricting police and officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement and require officers to report individuals suspected of being unlawfully present in the U.S. It mandates local governments to inform officers of this duty, report compliance to the General Assembly, and penalizes noncompliance by withholding state grants. Additionally, the bill permits arrests at courthouses, allows probation officers to share personal information with immigration authorities, and enables state and local governments to contract with private entities for immigration detention services.

CLIMATE

✅HB 25-1006 School District Solar Garden Lease Term:This bill removes the current 10-year limit on school district property leases, allowing districts to lease property for any term of years if used for solar fields, energy storage systems, or affordable housing projects. It also eliminates the requirement for districts to declare property as "not needed" if they plan to sublease it, while still capping such leases at 50 years.

✅ HB 25-1268 Utility On-Bill Repayment Program Financing : HB25-1268 establishes a state utility on-bill repayment program through the Colorado Energy Office to help finance energy efficiency, electrification, and upgrade projects for utility customers, allowing them to repay loans through their monthly utility bills. Investor-owned gas and electric utilities with over 500,000 customers must submit plans for new or expanded programs to the Public Utilities Commission for review. To fund the program, the bill authorizes a $100 million interest-free loan from the unclaimed property trust fund, which must be repaid by 2045.

✅SB 25-127 Optimizing Colorado Electric Transmission System: This bill is aimed at enhancing Colorado’s electric transmission system. It requires ongoing studies and a statewide transmission plan every three years to optimize capacity, efficiency, and reliability. SB 25-127 also mandates electric utilities to evaluate and incorporate advanced transmission technologies in their resource and transmission plans.

✅SB 25-161 Transit Reform: SB25-161 aims to improve the performance and accountability of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) by increasing coordination among transit agencies, requiring strategic planning, and aligning services with state climate goals. It authorizes RTD to enter service partnership agreements, mandates the creation of a 10-year strategic plan and operational analysis, and establishes an RTD accountability committee to evaluate governance, workforce retention, and funding opportunities. Additionally, the bill adds two nonvoting members to the RTD board, enhances public transparency through online dashboards, and modernizes fare discount programs.

HEALTHCARE

PASSED! HB25-1002 Medical Necessity Determination Insurance Coverage: HB25-1002 ensures that health benefits coverage for behavioral, mental health, and substance use disorders is as comprehensive as coverage for physical illnesses. It mandates that health plans follow standardized criteria for determining placement, treatment, and medical necessity, using guidelines from established psychiatric organizations. The bill also establishes criteria for utilization review, service intensity, level of care, and provider reimbursement to ensure fair and consistent mental health coverage. (This is a bill we’re monitoring)

HOUSING

✅HB 25-1169 Housing Developments on Faith and Educational Land: HB25-1169 mandates that, starting December 31, 2026, local jurisdictions must allow residential developments on qualifying faith-based and educational properties through an administrative approval process, provided they meet affordability requirements.

ECONOMY

✅HB25-1090  Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices: This bill prohibits deceptive pricing practices by requiring businesses to disclose the total price of goods, services, or property, excluding government and shipping charges, and bans misrepresentation of pricing details. It also restricts landlords from charging certain hidden fees and allows consumers to take legal action against violations, with potential penalties including triple damages or fines between $100 and $1,000 per violation. Certain businesses, such as food service establishments and broadband providers, may be exempt if they comply with federal pricing transparency laws.

❌ HB 25-1208 Local Governments Tip Offsets for Tipped Employees: HB25-1208 requires local governments that set a minimum wage higher than the state minimum to also establish a tip offset policy by September 1, 2025, which may increase the tip offset amount. However, the tip offset cannot be set so low that tipped employees earn less than the state minimum wage minus $3.02. This ensures consistency with the existing state tip offset while allowing local governments flexibility in determining wages for tipped workers.

✅ HB 25-1282 (Payment Card Network Practices & Fees): The "Swipe Fee Fairness and Consumer Safeguards Act," prohibits payment card networks from engaging in certain fee-setting and data usage practices that could unfairly impact merchants and consumers. It restricts interchange fees, prevents networks from requiring merchants to accept all cards from a specific issuer, and limits fees on charitable contributions.

✅ HB 25-1295 Food Truck Operations: Currently food truck operators are often required to apply for different permits and licensing when moving their truck around jurisdictions (sometimes even if they're only minutes away!). HB25-1295 streamlines food truck operations in Colorado by creating a reciprocal licensing and permitting system across local jurisdictions. This allows food truck owners to operate in multiple areas without needing separate business, health, and fire safety permits, reducing administrative burdens and costs. The bill also prevents local governments from imposing restrictive zoning, operational limits, or excessive distance requirements, promoting a more business-friendly environment for mobile food vendors.

✅ SB 25-033 Prohibit New Liquor-Licensed Drug Stores: SB25-033 prohibits state and local authorities from issuing new liquor-licensed drugstore licenses after the bill's effective date but allows renewals of existing licenses. License holders cannot relocate, merge, sell, or transfer their licenses, except independent pharmacies licensed before January 1, 2025, which may transfer only to another independent pharmacy or an unlicensed entity. Additionally, the bill limits any individual or entity from holding an interest in more than eight liquor-licensed drugstore licenses.

✅ SB 25-083 Limitations on Restrictive Employment Agreements: SB25-083 limits restrictive employment agreements by prohibiting non-compete and non-solicitation clauses for highly compensated medical professionals, including doctors, advanced practice registered nurses, and dentists. It allows minority business owners with equity compensation to have non-compete agreements, but their duration must be proportionate to their compensation from a sale. Additionally, the bill ensures healthcare providers can inform patients of their continued practice, new contact information, and the patient's right to choose their provider, while allowing employers to recover certain expenses like relocation and recruitment costs on a decreasing scale over three years.