What To Expect During Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Interim

Note: This alert was updated June 20 to include information on Colorado’s impending budget shortfalls. That information is in the last section. 

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Colorado’s 2025 regular state lawmaking period ended just over a month ago on May 7 and now policymakers’ attention is turning towards their traditional interim work before the 2026 session begins on Jan. 14. Yet, between Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) liberal veto use since the session ended as well as a possible “extraordinary” session in the summer to tackle issues that may arise from the proposed federal budget, there has been no shortage of activity in the last month. With those items in mind, please see below for a more detailed overview of what to expect from Colorado’s 2025 legislative interim.

2025 Session Vetoes and Signings

The 2025 lawmaking period saw 657 bills introduced with over 480 passing both the House and Senate. Of that total, Gov. Polis signed 476 into law and vetoed 11 before his 30-day veto period closed on June 6, setting a new personal record for the number of vetoes he has issued after seven sessions in office.

Upon the adjournment of a regular legislative session, the governor of Colorado has 30 days to sign, veto or opt to take no action on a bill. If the governor takes no action after the 30-day window elapses, bills automatically become law without the governor’s signature.

Of Polis’ 11 vetoes, some were not a surprise. For example, the governor signaled before the session and reemphasized during his January State of the State address that Senate Bill 5 (Worker Protection Collective Bargaining)—a proposal to eliminate the second election for union security required under Colorado’s longstanding Labor Peace Act—would not pass muster without a compromise between labor and the business community. Despite the governor’s office stepping in to mediate these discussions, both sides could not reach consensus.

Other vetoes, like House Bill 1004 (No Pricing Coordination Between Landlords) and House Bill 1122 (Automated Driving System Commercial Motor Vehicle), largely align with Polis’ approach to innovation and the use of new technologies in the marketplace. The former bill—which would have banned the use of algorithmic devices using certain data to issue rent pricing recommendations—could have the “unintended consequences of creating a hostile environment for providers of rental housing and could result in further diminished supply of rental housing based on inadequate data,” according to the governor.

The full list of 2025 bills vetoed by Gov. Polis is below:

• House Bill 1004 – No Pricing Coordination Between Landlords
• House Bill 1026 – Repeal Copayment for Department of Corrections Inmate Health Care
• House Bill 1065 – Jury Duty Opt-Out for Certain People
• House Bill 1088 – Costs for Ground Ambulance Services
• House Bill 1122 – Automated Driving System Commercial Motor Vehicle
• House Bill 1147 – Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court
• House Bill 1220 – Regulation of Medical Nutrition Therapy
• House Bill 1291 – Transportation Network Company Consumer Protection
• Senate Bill 5 – Worker Collective Bargaining
• Senate Bill 77 – Modifications to Colorado Open Record Act
• Senate Bill 86 – Protections for Social Media Users

However, while Polis touted his signing of a number of bills in a June 5 press release, one that he did not highlight perhaps earned the most attention in the waning days of the 30-day veto period. House Bill 1300 (Workers’ Compensation Benefits Proof of Entitlement) was another hotly contested measure between labor and the business community during the legislative session and, in its final form, would allow an employee seeking treatment under a workers compensation claim to refer themselves to a provider of their choice. This change from current law—which instead requires an employer to provide a list of four accredited providers to the injured worker for treatment—was notably opposed by Pinnacol Assurance, the state-affiliated insurer of last resort. Pinnacol, state and regional chambers of commerce, and other business stakeholders entered the 30-day veto period relatively confident the governor would reject the bill. Yet, in what some viewed as an eleventh-hour surprise, the governor signed the legislation only a few short days before the veto period ended. In his signing statement, Polis both contended that the change in law could accelerate the privatization of Pinnacol—a proposal the administration socialized in the 2024 interim—but acknowledged that refinements to HB-1300’s provisions may be needed.

2025 Interim Committees

During the period between legislative sessions, the Colorado General Assembly typically schedules over a dozen recurring interim committees to conduct research on potential areas of legislation for the upcoming session. This year, however, due to budget constraints, the General Assembly passed a bill limiting the number of interim committees as well as the number of bills that can be introduced by those committees. Committees scheduled to meet this interim include the Transportation Legislation Review Committee, the Wildfire Matters Review Committee and the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. Other previously scheduled interim committees have been put on hold, including the Legislative Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Committee; the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee; and the Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force, among others.

The Transportation Legislation Review Committee will meet on the following dates:

• Aug. 25
• Sept. 9
• Oct. 21

The Wildfire Matters Review Committee had its first meeting on June 12 and will meet again on the following dates:

• July 15
• Aug. 26

*Committee members will also visit the Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield on June 25

The Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee will meet on the following dates:

• June 30
• Aug. 20 (in Steamboat Springs as part of the Colorado Water Congress Summer Conference)
• Sept. 16
• Oct. 29

*Committee members travelled to Durango from June 3-5 for the Committee’s Southwest Water Tour, and members will attend the Colorado Water Congress Summer Conference in Steamboat Springs Aug. 19-21.

Additionally, the Joint Budget Committee will meet on June 18 to present its June Quarterly Revenue Forecast and again on Sept. 22 to present the September Quarterly Revenue Forecast.

General Assembly Leadership Developments

Last Thursday, the Senate minority leader election took place following Sen. Paul Lundeen’s resignation to become president and CEO of the American Excellence Foundation. The caucus convened and, after a nomination from Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, unanimously voted in of Sen. Cleave Simpson. Upon accepting the position, Simpson expressed his gratitude for Sen. Lundeen and his colleagues and pledged to be a leader for all Coloradans.

Because Simpson previously served as assistant minority leader, his election triggered a second vote to fill that role. Sen. Byron Pelton nominated Sen. Lisa Frizell, and the caucus again gave unanimous approval. Frizell accepted the nomination and shared her belief that the caucus has good days ahead. Lundeen’s seat is expected to be filled within the next few weeks, with two candidates (former State Representative Terry Carver and Lynda Zamora Wilson) already in the running. The caucus also briefly discussed the possibility of a special session. Sen. Kirkmeyer, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, noted she’s uncertain whether one will be called. If it is, she said it would likely take place in September or October, though she expressed doubt that a session would be necessary around artificial intelligence or Medicaid topics.

Potential 2025 Special Session

Overshadowing Colorado’s interim work for the remainder of this year is the prospect of a special (or “extraordinary” session) which may be called by the governor or legislature to tackle specific issues. Special sessions are relatively uncommon in Colorado, but the number of extraordinary lawmaking periods called in recent years has notably increased to address issues such as property taxes and the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been preliminary discussions about a potential special session at the end of this summer related to the federal budget outlined in H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Specifically, a special session may address implications of H.R. 1 on federal funding for Colorado’s State Medicaid coverage. H.R. 1 is expected to include significant cuts to Medicaid across the United States, and states like Colorado will be left to grapple with the fallout of those cuts. Under cost-estimates prepared for the House version of H.R. 1, the administrative cost to Colorado’s Medicaid program could exceed $57 million and Colorado’s reinsurance program could lose over $200 million in funding, which could require lawmakers to come back to the Gold Dome in order to address shortfalls.

Another potential subject for discussion during a special session may be the impacts of H.R. 1 on state-led AI regulation. As it stands now, the bill includes a 10-year moratorium on any state or local regulation and enforcement of “any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems.” If that provision survives final passage, it could have major implications for Senate Bill 24-205 (Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence), a first-of-its-kind AI consumer protection framework that establishes requirements on developers and deployers of AI to guard against discrimination by those systems.

SB24-205 is currently scheduled to take effect on Feb. 1, 2026, but after Senate Bill 25-318 (Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protections)—a follow-on bill that would have delayed the implementation of SB24-205 but also modified or expanded certain provisions—failed in the third-to-last day of this year’s session, a similar effort could unfold in a special session if one is called.

Importantly, there is some skepticism that a special session is needed to tackle AI, but it could certainly be packaged in a special session regarding other budgetary issues resulting from H.R. 1.

June 2025 Quarterly Budget Forecast

The Colorado General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee (JBC) met this past Wednesday to hear presentations from nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff as well as the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budget (OSPB) regarding the revenue forecast with a focus on impacts to the FY25-26 and FY26-27 budgets.

One of the oft-repeated refrains about the state budget during Colorado’s 2025 legislative session was “This year is bad, but next year will be worse” and, unsurprisingly, OSPB set the hearing’s tone early by revising the state’s general fund revenue estimate downward by $177 million for FY25-26 and by nearly triple that figure ($500 million) for FY26-27. However, as the briefings proceeded, both Legislative Council and OSPB—agencies that traditionally clash during forecasts, with the former being more conservative and the latter being more bullish—established a unified and troubling theme: the prospects for the state budget in the near term are bleak.

Moreover, neither Legislative Council nor OSPB shied away from the elephant in the room, warning that without significant changes to H.R. 1, the federal budget legislation also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Colorado’s fiscal prospects may worsen. H.R. 1, which is pending consideration in the Senate, is expected to include massive cuts to state funding for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and federal grants to state and local governments.

Specifically, OSPB Director Mark Ferrandino shared a grim projection when it comes to the chances of an impending recession in Colorado, citing an anticipated rise in unemployment and reduction in wages. Additional risk factors for a potential recession include tariffs on international trade implemented this spring, escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the expected fallout from H.R. 1, which Ferrandino said unequivocally will “wreak havoc” on Colorado’s state budget.

Ferrandino suggested that those cuts—paired with a possible recession—could result in a budgetary shortfall of anywhere between $1.6 to 2.6 billion. Correspondingly, the state’s general fund reserve could be reduced to just over 5%, well short of the traditional 15% held for emergency.  And while both Legislative Council Staff and OSPB agreed that H.R. 1 will likely have significant impacts on Colorado, including 100,000 Coloradans potentially losing Medicaid access and putting thousands of individuals’ SNAP benefits at risk, both projections were mired by uncertainty as state policymakers wait to see what final form H.R.1 will take. The Senate has already made or signaled significant changes to the House’s version from May 22, particularly around state and local tax and other tax provisions.

The JBC also heard and approved requests from various state agencies for supplemental funding for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends on June 30. Most of the funding requests were non-controversial and approved unanimously, including requests from the Department of Corrections, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the judicial branch’s Alternate Defense Counsel, the State Treasury Department and the state’s Capital Construction office.

However, while most of the requests were approved unanimously with little discussion, a supplemental funding request from the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the accompanying agenda item—titled “Addressing Fiscal Management Concerns at Colorado Department of Higher Education”—received significant scrutiny from the committee members. Committee members of both parties lambasted the department and the state controller’s office for what they described as “gross mismanagement” of department funds and other management practices, culminating in the revelation that CDHE had obligated funds to certain higher education institutions without seeking a necessary roll forward in spending authority for those funds from the legislature. The result of that inaction led to those moneys reverting to the state’s general fund, leading to a $30 million over-accounting earlier this year when the JBC was trying to formulate the FY25-26 Long Bill.

The JBC will meet again Sept. 22 for the third quarterly revenue forecast, by which time they expect to have a better sense of the impact H.R. 1 will have on the state budget and, correspondingly, the potential for a special session.

Contact a member of Brownstein’s Colorado State Government Relations team to answer any questions related to the 2025 legislative session and to help navigate the many new opportunities and challenges that will present themselves during the 2025 interim and going into the state’s 2026 legislative session.

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This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding Colorado’s 2025 legislative interim. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.