With more than 700 bills introduced during the 2026 Colorado Legislative Session, the legislature concluded its work with continued focus on addressing the state’s budget deficit and improving affordability across the state. The Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy KAPS Council took positions on 30 bills that aligned with our 2026 Policy Pillars around business regulation, workforce, housing, and childcare. With some big wins for the business community this session, there were still opportunities for business-friendly decisions and strong calls for Governor vetoes post session. The Governor has now signed and vetoed all bills that have passed the legislative session.
Of the bills the Chamber tracked this session, what passed, what failed, and what does this mean for your business?
Most Important for All Employers
HB26-1207: Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill requires private employers with 100 or more workers in Colorado to submit demographic workforce data from the federal EEO-1 form as part of their periodic reports to the Secretary of State starting July 1, 2027. This bill excludes federal, state, and local government entities, school districts, and higher education institutions.
Business Impact: This bill creates a new compliance burden for business with 100+ workers in Colorado by requiring them to submit EEO-1 demographic workforce data (race, gender, job category) to the Colorado Secretary of State as part of their periodic business filings, even if federal EEO-1 reporting ends. The new law also makes previously confidential EEO-1 data more publicly accessible through the Secretary of State’s business filing system.
SB26-093: Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage Verification (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill requires applicants for building or construction permits on projects costing more than $1 million to file a signed declaration under penalty of perjury verifying that all workers under the permit maintain valid workers’ compensation insurance before commending work. This bill also allows anyone to file a complaint alleging non-compliance, and requires the permitting agencies to revoke or suspend permits upon discovering violations.
Business Impact: This bill creates compliance burdens for construction businesses by requiring contractors to collect proof of workers compensation coverage for every working on projects over $1 million and file signed declarations under penalty of perjury before starting work. Contractors face permit suspension and revocation if violations are discovered.
HB26-1004: Continuation of the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill sought to extend the state’s Child Care Contribution Tax Credit for 10 more years, allowing taxpayers who make qualifying donations to child care-related facilities and programs to keep receiving a 50% income tax credit, up to $100,000. The bill is intended to encourage private support for child care and expand affordability and access across Colorado.
Business Impact: This credit incentivizes private donations, including from individuals and businesses, to child care programs, subsidizing a critical workforce support that enables employees to work reliably while keeping public funding needs lower. Extending the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit helps keep childcare affordable and accessible for working families, and supports child care providers in providing quality care.
SB26-001: Workforce Housing & Housing Tax Credit (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill gives local governments flexibility to use general fund and property tax revenue for workforce and affordable housing, and authorizes counties and municipalities to sell, lease, or acquire public property for affordable housing projects. This bill also updates Colorado’s Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit by allowing credits to be transferred to individuals, firms, or corporations without owning a project interest.
Business Impact: This bill helps businesses by addressing Colorado’s chronic housing shortage – the root cause of labor supply constraints that limit hiring and growth – by giving local governments more tools to build affordable and workforce housing.
SB26-137: Measures to Reduce Administrative Burdens (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill sought to require state agencies to review their rules at least every five years and to evaluate whether they are outdated, duplicative, or impose unnecessary burdens on businesses, consumers, or the state. It also gives lawmakers more tools to flag rules for further review or audit and clarifies the Attorney General’s role in litigation discovery.
Business Impact: For businesses, this bill is mostly a regulatory-relief bill. It should make state rules easier to navigate by forcing agencies to regularly review, update, or eliminate outdated and duplicative requirements. In practice, the hope is that this could reduce compliance costs and uncertainty over time, although the benefits depend on how aggressively agencies and lawmakers act on those reviews.
HB26-1317: Unified Postsecondary Talent Development System (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill creates a new Postsecondary Talent Development System Transition Advisory Committee to develop a transition plan integrating oversight of higher education and workforce development programs into the Department of Higher Education. The committee will commence July 1, 2026.
Business Impact: This bill benefits businesses by creating a unified postsecondary talent development system that will streamline Colorado’s fragmented workforce programs, making it easier for employers to find and partner with state programs for apprenticeships, sector training, and curriculum development. By better aligning higher education with employer needs, this bill will help close the skills gaps and prepare more Coloradans to fill in-demand jobs.
SB26-175: Adjust Experience Modification Factor in Workers’ Compensation (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Summary: This bill sought to let employers request their workers’ compensation experience modification factor (e-mod) to be revised when a claim closes at a lower cost than the open claim amount reported to the rating bureau, reducing the e-mod by at least 0.05 or bringing it from above 1.0 to 1.0 or below. Once the revision is approved, carriers must credit employers for the resulting premium change within the policy period, and the bill would take effect January 1, 2027.
Business Impact: Starting January 1, 2027, under this new law, businesses can request workers’ compensation e-mod revision when a claim closes for less than the open-claim amount reported to the rating bureau, which can lower their e-mod by at least 0.05. Carriers will have to credit their employer for the resulting premium change within the policy period, reducing the risk that employers overpay due to outdated reserve estimates.
HB26-1005: Worker Protection Collective Bargaining (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
Summary: This bill sought to update the Labor Peace Act to make collective bargaining easier by expanding bargaining rights, eliminating the second election for a union security agreement clause, and requiring good-faith bargaining by both employers and employees.
Business Impact: Businesses keep the current Labor Peace Act rules, including the second election safeguard before a union security agreement can be imposed. This helps preserve a more stable and competitive business climate.
HB26-1210: Prohibit Surveillance Price & Wage Setting (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
Summary: This bill sought to limit “surveillance pricing” and algorithmic wage-setting by restricting businesses from using surveillance data to set individualized prices to pay. It also sought to create disclosure, accuracy, and challenges requirements for businesses that use algorithmic systems in their price and wage-setting. Violations would be treat as deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
Business Impact: Businesses avoid a new Colorado restriction on surveillance pricing and algorithmic wage-setting, along with the bill’s compliance obligations and potential deceptive-trade-practice liability. This preserves businesses more flexibility to use data-driven pricing discounts and compensation tools.
HB26-1236: Arbitration Reform (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
Summary: This bill was an arbitration reform bill that sought to limit certain fee and waiver provisions in consumer and employment arbitration agreements, tighten standards for arbitrator neutrality, and added strong consequences for failing to pay arbitration rewards. It would have created increased compliance and litigation risks for businesses that use arbitration clauses.
Business Impact: Businesses keep the current arbitration framework, including flexibility to use arbitration agreements, fee structures, and representative-action waivers where allowed by federal law. This helps businesses avoid added compliance burdens and the risk of larger award exposure for delayed payments.
HB26-1054: Protections for Worker Safety (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Summary: This bill sought to create a state-level workplace safety regulations, in addition to federal workplace safety regulations, by requiring employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards and by giving Colorado officials and workers new enforcement tools. This bill would also have allowed the state to set its own safety standards if federal OSHA protections are weakened, making it a significant expansion of state-level oversight for businesses.
Business Impact: Businesses keep relying on the current federal OSHA framework and workplace safety guidelines rather than facing a new Colorado enforcement system.
Important for Workforce, Talent & Child Care
HB26-1078: Off-Campus Courses & Concurrent Enrollment Programs (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill helps create a stronger pipeline of skilled workers as high school students can now access hands-on technical training, certificate classes, and skilled trades courses through area technical colleges that prepare them for industry-recognized credentials and jobs. By expanding access to concurrent enrollment opportunities, the bill accelerates students’ entry into the workforce with usable skills employers desire.
SB26-019: Early Childhood Local System Consolidation (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill helps reduce fragmentation in Colorado’s early childhood system, creating a streamlined, one-stop structure that supports better childcare access which benefits businesses by reducing employee absenteeism, turnover, and helps caregivers reliably attend work.
SB26-020: Child Care Provider Licensing & Quality (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill helps childcare businesses and providers by limiting extra licensing fees, reducing startup and operations costs for providers. This bill also requires local governments to speed up delayed licensing processes and creates a task force to streamline licensing further, helping providers open and operate more quickly. For all employers, the bill strengthens Colorado’s child care system by improving quality and access.
SB26-040: Affordable Home Ownership Program (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill helps businesses by addressing Colorado’s housing shortage by expanding eligibility for affordable homeownership programs, and creating flexibility to sell units when qualified buyers are not found after 6 months. More affordable homeownership options means more workers can live closer to their jobs, reducing employee recruitment and retention challenges because of housing.
HB26-1014: Extend Colorado Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill gives businesses extended access to the Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit through 2034. This incentive helps businesses reduce tax liability while expanding or relocating to Colorado, making it more financially feasible to hire new workers at wages above the county average and supporting employee recruitment and retention.
HB26-1416: Transfers to General Fund & Colorado Economic Development Fund (Position: Support)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: While this bill does not have direct regulatory impact on businesses, it does move $1.2 million into the Colorado Economic Development Fund, which supports small business assistance and other economic development programs.
Important for Specific Industries
Technology & Artificial Intelligence
SB26-189: Automated Decision-Making Technology
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill removes heavy compliance burdens on businesses using AI for consequential decision-making that were included in the original 2024 Act. It no longer requires mandates around risk management programs, impact assessments, or a broad duty to prevent algorithmic discrimination, but instead focuses on consumer notice and disclosure obligations.
HB26-1030: Data Center & Utility Modernization (Position: Amend)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: This bill failing means that there is a major lack of incentive for data center development, specifically the 100% state sales and use tax exemption for 20 years. Without these tax breaks, Colorado can become less competitive for data center investment compared to other states offering similar incentives, potentially causing data center companies to locate elsewhere.
SB26-102: Large-Load Data Centers (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Data center businesses avoid new regulatory requirements. Without these guardrails, data center companies can build centers in Colorado additional compliance and reporting requirements proposed in this legislation.
Utilities & Infrastructure
HB26-1326: Sunset Public Utilities Commission (Position: Amend)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill benefits businesses by modernizing the Public Utilities Commission and providing specific regulatory changes: utilities can use energy impact bonds to recover costs more efficiently, web-based telecom providers must pay the same fees as traditional telecom companies, and rideshare companies must provide safety incident reports to riders. The bill also helps smaller natural gas pipeline operators by exempting them from the $5,000 minimum penalty for safety violations, and allows municipality owned utilities to appeal land use permit denials to the PUC instead of local courts.
Construction & Development
HB26-1119: Authority for Different Mill Levy Rates (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Businesses and developers avoid potential increases in land-related property taxes.
HB26-1036: Local Taxes on Vacant Residential Property (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Businesses are able to avoid higher property taxes on land that would have increased pre-development costs for commercial and housing projects, making it more difficult for developers to move projects forward. Small businesses, particularly retailers and office tenants, avoid higher costs that could be passed on to them when land taxes increased.
Restaurants, Retail & Hospitality
SB26-146: Restrict Single-Use Food Serviceware Distribution (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
Business Impact: Restaurants and food delivery businesses avoid new compliance requirements and mandates around stopping automatically providing single-use serviceware unless customers request or confirm it. Businesses also avoid required changes to delivery app systems to communicate this request and restrictions on providing since-use serviceware packaging and items for customers.
SB26-134: Payment Card Networks’ Fees
Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
Business Impact: Businesses avoid new operational burdens and costs as a result of ending interchange fees. Restaurants and retailers keep their current payment processing systems without disruption.
HB26-1012: Consumer Protections to Promote Fair Market Pricing (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Businesses avoid new price controls on “captive consumers” at airports, venues, hospitals, and festivals that would have limited their ability to set prices based on higher operating costs. Businesses also avoid the bill’s vague, undefined standards for “unreasonably excessive” pricing tied to the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, which would have exposed them to costly litigation, enforcement risk, and compliance burdens.
Alcohol Industry
HB26-1271: Alcohol Impact & Recovery Enterprises (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Alcohol manufacturers and wholesalers avoid new fees they would have been required to pay into the state’s three new Alcohol Impact and Recovery Enterprises. Beer, wine, spirits, cider, and apple wine businesses maintain their current cost structure without these additional regulatory fees.
HB26-1301: Hospital Funding (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Alcohol and marijuana businesses avoid significant tax increases on their products, reducing the risk of closures and job cuts in already struggling sectors facing rising costs, falling consumption, and tariffs.
Bills with Limited Direct Impact on Most Employers
HB26-1272: Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill passing has minimal immediate impact on businesses because it is requiring CDLE to collect data on temperature-related workplace injuries and illnesses and develop a voluntary model heat/cold prevention plan (TRIIPP) rather than imposing mandatory safety requirements or immediate compliance obligations on businesses. Businesses can use the model TRIIPP as a resource, but are not required to implement it.
HB26-1130: Public Restroom Baby Diaper Changing Station (Position: Oppose)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: Businesses avoid new compliance costs and obligations to purchase, install, and maintain baby diaper changing stations in public restrooms. Small businesses particularly benefit from avoiding these costs.
SB26-178: Health Insurance Affordability Measures (Position: Monitor)
Outcome: Passed and Signed into Law
Business Impact: This bill has minimal direct impact on businesses since it focuses on individual health insurance affordability rather than employer-provided coverage. The bills subsidies help self-employed owners and small business employees who buy individual market coverage reduce their health insurance rates from increasing significantly. The bill does not impose new fees, mandates, or costs on businesses.
SB26-049: Homeowner Natural Disaster Mitigation (Position: Support)
Outcome: Failed
Business Impact: The direct impact of this bill was minimal to businesses. However, residents and homeowners miss out on a tool to save for disaster mitigation through tax=advantaged catastrophe savings accounts, which would have reduced property damage from hail, wildfire, and wind events.
Stay Engaged
The 2026 legislative session included major debates around workforce development, housing affordability, business regulation, artificial intelligence, labor policy, and childcare access. While several bills created new compliance requirements for employers, many others expanded workforce supports, economic development tools, and housing solutions that can help Colorado businesses grow.
Join other business and community leaders in the Chamber’s Advocacy Network to stay informed of critical state and local advocacy updates, resources, and events.
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