March 30, 2026 · 10,472 words · 21 speakers · 90 segments
Gabale, Bazley, Ball, Benavidez, Bridges, Bright, Carson, Catlin, Cutter, Danielson,
Danielson, excuse.
Doherty. Here.
Exum.
Frizzell, Gonzalez, Hendrickson, Judah, Kip, Kip, Kirkmeyer, Kirkmeyer. Excuse.
Colker, Lindstedt, Liston, Marchman, Marchman, Excuse, Mullica, Pelton B, Pelton R, Rich,
Roberts
Rodriguez
Simpson
Snyder
Sullivan
Wallace
Weissman
Zamora Wilson
Mr. President Let's do this. The morning roll call is 32 present, 0 absent, 3 excused We have a quorum. Can someone other than Senator Marchman, Senator Kipp, would you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Thank you. Would everybody in the chamber please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
approval of the journal. Before we do approval of the journal, Mr. Schoffler please add Senator Marchman to the roll. And now approval of the journal. Senator
Mark
Baisley.
Senator Mark Basinger. Good morning, Mr. President.
Good morning.
I move that the Senate Journal of Friday, March 27, 2026, be approved as corrected by the Secretary.
You've heard the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. No. What? But the ayes have it, and that motion is adopted. Senate Services. Correctly engrossed, Senate Bill 48. Correctly revised, House Bill 1011, 1133, 1144, 1200, and 1339. correctly re-revised House Bill 1090 and 1232 correctly enrolled Senate Bill 118. Will the clerk please re-add Senator Danielson to the roll.
Majority Leader Rodriguez Thank you Madam President Surprise surprise
The motion is to proceed out of order for an uncommon moment of personal privilege.
Thank you, sir.
You have heard the motion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. What? The I still have it, and the Senate will proceed out of order for moments of personal privilege. Senator Coleman.
Thank you very much, Madam President. Surprise, surprise. I request a moment of personal privilege.
Granted.
Thank you so much, Madam President. Members, we're here today to honor Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver. If you're here with Girls, Inc., please stand. Listen, Girls, Inc. Oh, yeah, we could do that, too. Let's clap it up for them. Girls Inc. Metro Denver was founded in 1983, established to meet the growing need for comprehensive, girl-centered programming in the Denver metro area. As an affiliate of the National Girls Inc. organization, whose history dates back to 1864, it's a part of a long-standing movement dedicated to empowering girls. From its beginnings in the West Colfax neighborhood, the organization now serves more than 2,500 youth annually through research-based programming grounded in its whole-girl approach. Through its three pillars, strong, healthy living, smart academic success, and bold leadership and self-sufficiency, Girls, Inc. equips girls with the skills, confidence, and support to thrive. Last year, 100% of Girls Inc. seniors graduated from high school and enrolled in college, a testament to the power of supportive relationships and opportunities that help girls reach their full potential. Today, we are honored to welcome a group of middle school participating students from Girls Inc. of Metro Denver to the Capitol. Their visit reflects a commitment to civic learning as they engage with local leaders, explore government spaces, and reflect on how young people can influence positive change in their communities. For more than four decades, Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver has helped prepare for the next generation of strong, smart, and bold leaders. Again, members, join me in welcoming Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver.
Senator Danielson.
Thank you, Madam President. And may I have a moment of personal privilege?
Thank you.
Just really quickly, folks, I wanted to echo what my colleague from Denver said. Girls, Inc. is an outstanding organization, and the women and girls involved in it are just incredible. So thanks for everything you do. I also wanted to just note my daughter received her science Think Outside the Box in the mail the other day, and I wanted to thank you for that and to let folks know that even in small ways, They're doing this program where if you sign up on their website, I think it is girlsincdenver.org. You can even get a science box for young girls to encourage STEM involvement, and it's free. And so they even offer services like that to just everyone across the state, and I wanted to extend my gratitude and encourage you to continue the excellent work you do for our communities and our girls. Thank you.
Thank you, and welcome again to the Senate. Third reading of the bills, final passage. Mr. Polk, before we do that, please add Senator Kirkmeyer to the roll.
Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. I move to lay over Senate Bill 66 until Monday, April the 6th.
The motion is lay over Senate Bill 66 to Monday, April the 6th. All those in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The eyes have it. Senate Bill 66 will lay over until Monday April the 6th Mr Schaffler please read the title of House Bill 1339 House Bill 1339 by Representatives Duran and Garcia and Senators Danielson and Cutter concerning a change in the name of the voluntary legal holiday observed on March 31st from Cesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers Day.
Senator Cutter. I move House Bill 1339 on third reading and final passage.
Further discussion? Senator Danielson.
Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, colleagues, for your rapid response here in the Senate.
Because tomorrow, Colorado would traditionally observe a holiday celebrating the life of a leader in the labor movement,
a leader who championed the rights of farmworkers for decades and co-founded the United Farmworkers Movement and the United Farm Workers Union. This is a movement and a workforce critical to our nation and to our state. This was a holiday that meant a great deal to me, personally, to participants in the movement, to the Latino community across Colorado, and to our broader Colorado community. But with the recent heartbreaking news of Cesar Chavez's sexual abuse of women and girls, including Dolores Huerta, the inspiring, effective, and brave co-founder of the farmworker movement, it became clear instantly that we needed to address the upcoming holiday, as we could in no way celebrate the man responsible for the abuse, pain, and suffering the survivors experienced. And so we come to you today to show the survivors everywhere that we see you, we believe you, and we support you. We can't continue to shield abusers, even if they are leading a just and critical movement. This bill will change the name of the holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworker Day. We continue to honor the cultural importance of farmworkers in Colorado. We honor the movement and all of its participants who have dedicated their lives to improving conditions for farmworkers. We recommit to the legislative and community action to continue toward the goals of the farmworker movement in the coming years. For the movement and survivors everywhere, I urge an eye on this bill.
Further discussion? There is further discussion. Senator Benavidez.
Thank you, Mr. President. Members, the only reason I'm speaking on third reading is to clarify and correct something that I said last week that was wrong. So I want to clarify it. I had said that the United Farm Workers, that there were no unionized farms here in Colorado, and that was wrong. There was a farm. It was the Mel Fennerman Farms in center Colorado. They grew lettuce, and AFL-CIO and UFW did unionize that farm for a few years. There was actually a court case in 1973 regarding disagreements on being able to have some access to farmers, and the judge ruled that allowed that. and it also provided that local police were not liable for enforcing those things before the court order. So I wanted to correct that because I said there had not been any And this came to me from one of my roommates who I also forgot to mention that a lot of young people college students during this time, they went to work for the farm workers at $5 a week. Usually they invested a year of their lives doing that. My roommate was one of them. This group of young people that did that, And I should say $5 a week is all they received, but they were guaranteed to get room and board. Families basically took them in churches that provided that for them. One of those people, besides my roommate, was a guy that some of you all may know, Mike Wilsack. He was one of the initial organizers of Janitors for Justice, which was the predecessor to SEIU. And he also talked to me to remind me of that. And so to talk about this movement being ongoing, these groups of people that worked for the Farm Workers Union that are here in Colorado, they meet annually. There was two years ago a major celebration of that at El Centro Suteo to talk about what the farm workers meant here in this state. So with that, I'd also urge a yes vote. Thank you.
Further discussion. Seeing no further discussion in the motion is the passage of House Bill 1339. Are there any no votes? With a vote of 35 ayes, 0 noes, 0 absent. Is there an excuse? House Bill 1339 is passed. Cosponsors, Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Rich, Mullica, Benavidez, Gonzalez, Judah, Marchman, Wallace, Mr. Majority Leader, Doherty, Kipp, Kirkmeyer, Amabile, Frizzell, Weissman, Catlin, Snyder, Pelton R., Sullivan, Roberts, Henriksen, Carson, Bridges, Mullica, Ball, Bright, Lindstedt, Exum, Zamora Wilson, Colker, Pelton B. Please add Senator Liston. Just two of us left. Senator Baisley, please add the president. Mr. Schauffler, please read the title of House Bill 1144. House Bill 1144 by Representatives Gilchrist and Basnicker and Senator Sullivan and Wallace concerning measures to prohibit the use of three-dimensional printing to manufacture firearms. Senator Sullivan.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move House Bill 261144 for third and final reading.
Further discussion? Seeing none, the motion is the passage of House Bill 1144. Are there any no votes? What? After all that solidarity, Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Frizzell, Kirkmeyer, Rich, Zamora Wilson, Baisley, Pelton B, Liston, Bright, Pelton R, Catlin, Carson. with a vote of 23 ayes, 12 no, 0 absence, 0 excuse, House Bill 1144 is passed. Co-sponsors, Senators, Kip, Judah, Gonzalez, Cutter, Doherty, Benavidez, Weissman, Colker, Amabile, Please add the president. Mr. Schaffler, please read the title of Senate Bill 48. Senate Bill 48 by Senator Hendrickson and Marchman, Representative Josephine Garcia, concerning removing the exception that authorizes a minor who is 16 years old or older to marry with judicial approval and in connection there with reducing an appropriation. Senator Hendrickson.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move Senate Bill 48 on third read and final passage and ask for an aye vote.
Further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the passage of Senate Bill 48. Are there any yes votes? Are there any no votes? Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Rich, Zamora Wilson, Frizzell, Kirkmeyer, Pelton B. Liston, Bright. Pelton R. Carson. Baisley. Catlin. With a vote of 23 eyes, 12 no, 0, absence, 0, excuse. House Senate Bill 48 is passed. Co-sponsors. Senators. Kip. Judah. Wallace. Danielson. Cutter. Amabile. Bridges, Doherty, Sullivan, Ball, Gonzales, Lindstedt, Colker, Exum, Senator 5. Senator Benavidez wanted to be a no vote, and so we need to... I'm on mute. We're still on it. Let's finish co-sponsors and then we will come back and redo the bill. Senators, Mullica, Roberts, Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. Having voted on the prevailing side, I move for the reconsideration of Senate Bill 48. The motion is reconsideration of Senate Bill 48 All those in favor say aye Opposed no But the motion is adopted and reconsideration is granted Mr. Schaffler, please read the title of Senate Bill 48. Senate Bill 48 by Senators Hendrickson and Marchman and Representative Joseph and Garcia concerning removing the exception that authorizes a minor who is 16 years old or older to marry with judicial approval and in connection therewith reducing an appropriation. Senator Marchman.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the repassage of Senate Bill 48 on third reading.
The motion is there's further discussion. Senator Hemrickson.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm confident that it will be more effective because it's moved by my co-prime.
Very good. We look forward to seeing the vote count change for the better. Seeing the further discussion, the motion is the passage of Senate Bill 48. Are there any no votes? Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Rich, Kuchmeier, Samora Wilson, Frizzell, Benavidez, Pelton B, B. Baisley. Bright. Liston. Carson. Pelton R. Catlin. With a vote of. We're voting for reconsideration of or passage of 48, Mr. Majority Leader. Oh, yeah. We're on 48, baby. I got you, man. With a vote of 22 ayes, 13 no, zero absence, zero excuse, Senate Bill 48 is passed. Co-sponsors. Co-sponsors on 48, if you raised your hand before, I already have you. Please add I already have you Please add the president Mr. Majority Leader Thank you Mr. President Having voted on the prevailing side I move for the reconsideration of House Bill 1144 Man what is going on this day Motion is reconsideration of House Bill 1144 All those in favor say aye Polls no The ayes have it that motion is adopted reconsideration is granted. Mr. Schaffler, please read the title of House Bill 1144. House Bill 1144 by Representatives Gilchrist and Basnicker and Senator Sullivan and Wallace concerning measures to prohibit the use of three-dimensional printing to manufacture firearms.
Senator Wallace. Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the repassage of House Bill 1144 on third reading and final passage. Seeing no further discussion in the motion is the passage of House
1144. Are there any no votes? Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Frizzell, Kirkmeyer, Zamora Wilson, Rich, Baisley, Pelton B, Liston, Bright, Catlin, Carson, Pelton R. with a vote Pelton B again with a vote of 23 I's 12 no zero absolute excuse House Bill 1144 is passed co-sponsors ah if you were added before you were already and I would like to add Senator Danielson and Senator Lindstadt as co thank you very much Terrible Mr Schauffler please read the title to House Bill 1200 House Bill 1200 by Representative Garcia-Sander and Martinez and Senator Pelton B. Concerning required payments upon registration of a vehicle for a member of the United States Armed Forces serving outside the state. Senator Pelton B.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move HB 26-1200 on third reading and final passage.
Further discussion? Seeing none, the motion is the passage of House Bill 1200. Are there any no votes? With a vote of 35-I-0-no-0, absent, and zero, excuse. House Bill 1200 is passed. Co-sponsors, Senators. Weissman, Mr. Majority Leader, Ball, Coker, Bridges, Exum, Bright, Roberts. No one else in the back row has their hand up. Carson, Helton R., Liston, Catlin, Baisley, Mullica. Please add the president. Mr. Schauffler, please read the title of House Bill 1011. House Bill 1011 by Representatives Duran and McCormick and Senators Rodriguez and Roberts concerning the transfer of certain pet animals in Colorado. Senator Roberts.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move House Bill 1011 on third reading and final passage and ask for an aye vote.
Further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the passage of House Bill 1011. Are there any no votes? Senators, Mr. Minority Leader, Rich, Frizzell, Zamora Wilson, Kirkmeyer, Bazley, Snyder, Liston, Henriksen, Catlin, Pelton B, Pelton R, Exum, Carson, Mullica, bright with got you Exum with a vote of 19 I 16 no zero absence zero excuse House Bill 10-11 is passed co-sponsors Senators co-sponsors on 10-11 Cutter Mr. Majority Leader, would you like more time to talk to the rest of the members for the Coast Post? Please add the President. Mr Schaffler please read the title of House Bill 1133 House Bill 1133 by Representatives Duran and Valdez and Senator Linstead concerning an environmental education program that is conducted pursuant to the Traveling Animal Protection Act Man, all by yourself. Senator Linstead. Thank you, Mr. President. I move House Bill 1133 on third reading and final passage. Further discussion. Senior further discussion in the motion is the passage of House Bill 1133. Are there any no votes? Man, what's going on? You didn't talk to anybody over here? Mr. Minority Leader. That's terrible. Got to work on that. Kirkmeyer. Frizzell. These are no votes. If you've already been called on for a no vote, please raise your hand for no. If you've already been called on, please raise your hand for no. Mr. Minority Leader, Senators, Frizzell, Kirkmeyer, Zamora Wilson, Rich, Pelton B, Pelton R, Roberts, Liston, Carson, Catlin, Wright, Baisley, with a vote of 23 ayes, 22 ayes, 13 no, zero absence, zero excuse. House Bill 1133 is, did you want to be a no on this as well? Oh, wow. House Bill 1133 is passed. Co-sponsors, Senator Wallace, Amabile, Cutter. Please add the President. Grant leave for JBC, Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. Pursuant to Senate Rule 21C, I move the Senate grant leave to the Joint Budget Committee to meet while the Senate is in session. You've heard the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Opposed, no. But the ayes have it, and that motion is adopted. You ain't got to go home, but you got to get about the Senate. General orders, second reading of the bill's consent calendar. Senator Hendrickson. Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate resolve itself in the Committee of the Whole for consideration of General Order's second reading of the bill's consent calendar. You've heard the motion. All those in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The motion is adopted. The Senate will resolve itself in the Committee of the Whole for consideration of General Order's second reading of the bill's consent calendar. Senator Henriksen will take the chair. The committee of the whole will come to order and the coat rule is relaxed. Mr. Schaffler, will you please read the titles of all of the bills and the general order second reading of bills consent calendar. House Bill 1257 by Representatives Gonzalez and Rootnell and Senators Liston and Mullica concerning the local regulation of massage facilities. House Bill 1095 by Representatives Sucla and Nguyen and Senators Pelton R. and Lindstedt concerning unpaid online access to public notices published in legal newspapers. House Bill 1089 by Representative Espinosa and Senators Snyder concerning mortgage modifications and in connection therewith enacting the Uniform Mortgage Modification Act. House Bill 1277 by Representatives Bradfield and Leder and Senators Doherty concerning the continuation of the Kidney Disease Prevention and Education Task Force and in connection therewith implementing the recommendation of the Department of Regulatory Ages and the department's 2025 sunset report for the sunset the task force. House Bill 1198 by Representative McCormick and Winter and Senator Cutter concerning increasing access to veterinary care and in connection therewith expediting the process by which a veterinarian is licensed by endorsement, clarifying the use of prescription drugs and compounded drugs by veterinarians and establishing a program for the donation of veterinary drugs. Majority of Rodriguez. Thank you Mr. Chair. I move for the passage of all the bills on general order, second reading of bill's consent calendar, and the accompanying committee reports, which are House Bill 1257 and the Local Government Housing Report, House Bill 1095 and the Local Government Housing Report, House Bill 1089, House Bill 1277, and House Bill 1198 and the Ag and Natural Resources Report. Any discussion on any of the committee reports? Seeing none, the motions of adoption of all the committee reports for the general order, second reading of bill's consent calendar, all those in favor say aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. Committee reports are adopted. Any discussion on any of the bills on the general order, secondary, and bills consent calendar? Seeing none, the motion is the adoption of all the bills on the general order, secondary, and bills consent calendar. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and the bills are adopted. Majority Leader Rodriguez. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the committee rise and report. Motion is for of the community of the whole to rise and report. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed no. Ayes have it. Committee of the whole rise and report. Senate will come back to order. Senator Henriksen. Thank you Mr. President. Your community of the whole has met and had a number of bills under consideration. Mr. Schauffler will you please read the report. March 30th, 2026, Mr. President, the committee that holds leave to report has had into consideration the following tax bills being the second reading thereof. Makes the following recommendations thereon. House Bill 1257, as amended. House Bill 1095, as amended. House Bill 1089. House Bill 1277. House Bill 1198, as amended. Passed in second reading. In order to revise and place in the calendar for third reading and final passage. Senator Henriksen. Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the report. The motions of the adoption of the committee of the whole report. Are there any no votes? with a vote of 35 ayes, 0, no, 0, absent or excuse. Committee of the Whole Report is adopted. House Bill 1287 is amended. 1095 is amended. 1089, 1277. 1198 is amended. Pass the second reading or revised. Place the counter for third reading and final passage. General orders. Second reading of the bill, Senator Henriksen. Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Senate resolve itself from the Committee of Whole for consideration of general orders, second reading of bills. You've heard the motion. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The motion is adopted. The Senate will resolve itself. Committee of the whole consideration of General Order, Segment of Bill's, and Senator Henriksen will take the chair. The committee will come to order, and the coat rule is relaxed. Majority Leader Rodriguez. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate to proceed out of order to take up Senate Bill 40. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of Senate Bill 40. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will proceed out of order for consideration of Senate Bill 40. Mr. Schoffler, will you please read the title to Senate Bill 40? Senate Bill 40 by Senator Simpson and Amabile and Representative Stewart Kaye concerning the Affordable Home Ownership Program.
Minority Leader Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move Senate Bill 40 and the local government and housing committee report. To the committee report Thank you Mr Chair Great work by the committee on this bill and again for after great anticipation and nearly month after the committee met we ready to proceed but the committee adopted a number of amendments. One really important granting dola some explicit authority for temporary rentals for unit and this bill has to do with Prop 123 workforce housing, where housing can't move over a period of time, allows them to do some short-term rentals before it comes back onto the market. It also created a short-term construction loan program, which we'll talk about a little bit more in depth. And then more importantly, it created some flexibility and average median income, whether to use the local AMY or statewide AMI. Excellent. Any further discussion on the committee report?
Seeing none, the motion is the adoption of the committee report. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The aye has it. The committee report is adopted. To the bill. Can I talk to the bill a little bit? Are you going to run the amendment? I will, but you want to talk to the bill? Senator Amabile.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So this is the long-awaited Senate Bill 40, and I want to say thank you to my co-prime who did all the work on this bill. And the work turned out to be a lot because a lot of people really care about this issue, and my colleague wanted to make sure we had it really dialed in and were considering everybody's ideas about how this policy should go. I wanted to be on this bill because I'm a huge believer in the power of home ownership to transform people and communities, to provide stability, to provide generational wealth, and to provide a place where people can really settle in and be a member of the community. And I know from my own experience, I bought a house early on in life. I was able to rent rooms in the house. I was able to refinance the house. I was able to do a lot of things that made my life workable because I own this house, and I want that for other people and that's why I'm on the bill.
Minori, Leo Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
So this has really been a conversation unfolding over really a two-year period where developers in my Senate district approached me in 2024 about the challenges, about some of the restrictions inside the Prop 123 funding and in particular the AMI standard. And in places, maybe I really thought it was particular to kind of rural resort communities, but maybe as we dug into this a little more, that's not just necessarily the case. But I had a developer in one of my communities got grant funding to construct 10 single family homes in their community, which is near completion of those units and trying to get people qualified to buy these workforce housings. So teachers and first responders, like it got to be really problematic for them because of the AMI standard, the local AMI standard, and no flexibility currently in adapting to the needs of the community. and this individual had houses had certificate of occupancy ready could only fill three of them and a whole backlog of teachers in particular that exceeded the 100 percent ami by in some instances hundreds of dollars and could not get into a workforce affordable housing And that started the conversation we spent all of last session thinking we could do this administratively an administrative fix. Towards the end of the session, it was just like we're not going to get an administrative fix. Pushed us to this spot, spent all of last summer and all of early part of this year trying to craft some legislation that affords some flexibility around the ami which i referenced in the committee report and then also the front end ratio of how you know you can't exceed currently can't exceed 35 of your total income towards your house payment so we worked in that space to create another layer of flexibility an application a waiver application and then very uniquely this opportunity to craft a loan program where nonprofits and government entities could potentially access funding for loan construction. And it was worked with the banking community, got it set up in here where just you could access for a short period, like a bridge loan, two-year period at a low interest rate. You couldn't renew it, so it was very limited in focus and thought we had a favorable path forward there. Then working with Dole over the last month and the advocates about how you really truly construct that loan program got a little bit complicated and nuanced. And last week we finally just reached the point to go, all right, look, rather than hold this bill up and try to, you know, fix this, get a really good fix in this loan program space, we were then presented with an option, I guess, to offer an amendment to the committee report. So I have an amendment. And just like that, there's an amendment at the desk.
Mr. Schauffer, will you please read L12? Amendment L12, amend the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I move L12.
So moved to the amendment.
So L-12 is an amendment to the committee report that what it does is take the loan program out of the conversation right now. It will remove it from the bill. Adding loan component was a second consideration above and beyond adjusting AMIs and the FEL ratio. So it also includes the amendment includes just some clarifying language about the waiver request for that FEL component. And the rest of it, again, was really about striking references to and the addition of a loan program in this conversation. I would ask for a yes vote on L-12.
Further discussion on L-12? Seeing none, the motion is the adoption of L-12 to Senate Bill 40. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. L-12 is adopted. To the bill.
seen a minute earlier or Simpson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So again, we've committed to continue this conversation about the loan component of this because it would be really important for developers to have access to low interest rate loans for that construction period, but we didn't want to continue to hold this up. We've been laying it over for more than a month now, trying to craft a path forward, but this gets us along the way a much needed step in the process so we can get this through without the loan and we're fine doing that and either work in the house on the loan or I can come back next year and work on a loan So I would ask for your support for 040 Seeing no further discussion the motion is the adoption of Senate Bill 40 All those in favor say aye Aye All those opposed no The ayes have it Senate Bill 40 is adopted
Majority Leo Rodriguez. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate proceed out of order to take up House Bill 1134. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of House Bill 1134. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. We will proceed on order for consideration of House Bill 1134. Mr. Schauffler, will you please read the title to 1134? House Bill 1134 by representatives Mabry and Velasco and Senators Amabile and Weissman concerning measures to ensure that municipal court defendants are subject to conditions similar to state court defendants.
Senator Weissman, thank you. We move House Bill 1134.
There is no committee report. Any discussion? Senator Mobley. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I just want to give a little bit of history. We started this bill last year because we found that municipal courts were sentencing people to vastly longer sentences than state courts could or would. And that seemed like an unfair imbalance between two court systems. people really should be able to rely on one set of rules and not have to navigate multiple sets of rules. And it shouldn't matter whether you committed the crime in Arapahoe County or across the street in another county to determine what the potential sentences could be. And along the way, last year, was a Supreme Court decision that was hanging out there about this very issue. But our bill reached the governor before the Supreme Court decided, and in his infinite wisdom, the bill was vetoed. And then the court decision came in, and in fact, that actually is something that we cannot and should not do. And so now this bill is an attempt to codify what happened and what the law actually is as laid down by the Supreme Court. and really pleased to have this back and really delighted to be working with my co-prime on this, what I think is a very important piece of legislation. Senator Weissman.
Thank you indeed. As the Senator from Boulder noted, this has been an effort long in the making, dating back to at least late 2024, but really the roots of these issues are years prior to that. We've done a lot of work in the legislature about making sure that court proceedings in the state court system are accessible. this bill seeks to make sure those same provisions apply in the municipal court context. Likewise, access to counsel where there is a risk of sentence of incarceration is fundamental in our justice system. We do some work here to make sure those provisions are robustly applied in the municipal court context, and further that we don't have any compensation methods that might risk a non-alignment between attorney incentives and the needs of representation on the part of a client. And as the Senator from Boulder noted, the Supreme Court spoke about the issue of sentencing. So that's not in the bill. But the court did not address those other two important aspects, transparency and access to counsel. That's what the bill is about. We ask for your support.
Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of House Bill 1134. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. 1134 is adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate proceed out of order to take up House Bill 1259. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of House Bill 1259. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will proceed our board for consideration of House Bill 1259. Mr. Schauffler, will you please read the title to House Bill 1259? House Bill 1259 by Representative Sirota and Senators Marchman and Bridges. Concerning changing requirements related to early childhood services and in connection therewith, clarifying or extending specified existing license and exemptions, updating early care and education provider reimbursement, modifying certain existing funding provisions for the universal preschool program, clarifying certain existing program eligibility and reporting requirements, and adjusting the membership or duties of specified early childhood advisory bodies. Senator Marchman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move House Bill 1259 and the Education Committee report. To the committee report. In education, we added one amendment that would push out the funding component to July 1 of 2027 so we could steer clear of the work the JVC is currently doing on the long bill. Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of the committee report to House Bill 1259. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and the committee report is adopted. To the bill, Senator Merchman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. House bill 1259 is a bill that has four main components the first is to keep access to the FFN family friend and and neighbor care that was going to be repealing that was and those are such critical caregivers for so many families in Colorado second the bill improves payment and reimbursement processes for providers to try to improve the timeliness of those payments. The third thing it does is strengthens coordination within early childhood systems and then finally it makes a few technical clarifications to program rules and funding structures including those related to universal preschool and other early childhood programs. So really it just updates these updates just help ensure more consistent implementation across the state and the intention is to decrease confusion for families and providers. I'd ask for your aye votes. Senator Rich.
Thank you Mr. Chair. We heard this bill in education last week and I was a no vote on this bill. I know that the Colorado Department of Early Education, they've certainly faced significant obstacles, but the primary concern that I have with this bill is the issue of preliminary eligibility determination and reimbursement. If a family is deemed ineligible, the county will cover the costs of educational services for that family, and there it is, an unfunded mandate. And I'm not sure why the county should be financially responsible for the ineligible family for said services. The bill also follows the trend of incremental expansion and reinforces an intrusive government role in schooling and child care. Government expansion, like the Universal Preschool Program and CCCAP leads to the major issues that are illustrated in the Department of Early Education today I just couldn get there as a yes and I urge a no vote on House Bill 1259 Thank you Senator Bright.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Welcome to the reason why I ran for this office. This very part of House Bill 1259, Section 12 on page 10 talks about expanding services for three-year-olds in elementary schools. I don't know if you guys have been to an elementary school lately, but fifth graders are getting pretty big, pretty tall, pretty energized. And within Section 12, we're injecting more three-year-olds into elementary school spaces. If I was allowed to have props in this room, I would bring a bunch of fifth graders and a bunch of three-year-olds, and I would have them exist in the same space for a while. And you would very quickly see that it's not safe. like our friendly chamber to the west. I ran for this office because I saw an injustice in the way that we were handling three-year-olds in the universal preschool program, and I tried to address it outside of this chamber and did not have much success. And I figured that the only way that I could have some input into this process would be to step into the inside rather than cheer and have some input from the outside. I fear that we're putting three-year-olds at risk within our preschool classrooms and in our elementary schools by putting more of them in those spaces with fifth graders. It's just a really tough place for them to be. The basis for which we've justified our three-year-old UPK system to date has been that those three-year-olds have IEPs, Individual Education Plans. And the reason why they have them is because they have a developmental delay. And so what we're doing is we're pulling three-year-olds out of their home process. We're pulling them out of their family child care home. We're pulling them out of their FFN provider. We're pulling them out of their child care center, and we're putting them into elementary schools with K through five fifth graders. That's a tough place for a three-year-old to survive. This bill asks for the increase of services to those three-year-old kids in those elementary school places by adding more typical three-year-olds that don't have IEPs. I feel like we're kind of headed in the wrong direction with this. And I know that this is more of an initiative of elementary schools than it is of say maybe the bill sponsor or bill sponsors or even the Department of Early Childhood I feel like they are headed in a direction of just trying to corner their preschool market And I think that's a tough justification. I can't sign up for it, can't sign on to the idea. and I will spend quality time in the rest of my term working to fix this. I wish we could have gotten Section 12 pulled out of this bill. Happy to work with the bill sponsors to get this addressed in a meaningful way. But I just wanted you all to know, since I work in this space, I live in this space, I wanted you to know why I was a no on this bill. It is very primarily to protect three-year-olds from being in spaces that are not safe for them. I would encourage a no vote on House Bill 1259 until such time that we can get this fixed. Thank you. The motion is the adoption of House Bill 1259. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. No. The ayes have it. 1259 is adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I move the Senate proceed out of order to take up House Bill 1050. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of House Bill 1050. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will proceed out of order. Mr. Schauffler, will you please read the title of 1050? House Bill 1050 by Representative Garcia, Sander, and Hammer, consider its Frizzell and Marchman concerning making it optional for a local education provider to provide an individualized readiness plan to a student who satisfies minimum requirements. Senator Marchman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move House Bill 1050 on second reading and the Education Committee report. To the Committee report. Great. In the education committee, we put in place a couple of provisions. One was to ensure that parent notification would happen, and the second was to ensure that the data that is received from the reports goes into a statewide and disaggregated school district report for all to see each year. I'd ask for an aye vote on the Education Committee report. Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of the Education Committee report to House Bill 1050. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The committee report is adopted. To the bill, Senator Frizzell. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have one very brief amendment to House Bill 1050. It is actually just a technical correction to the amendment that we ran in committee. There is an amendment at the desk. Will Mr. Schoffler, will you please read L-009? Amendment L-009. Senator Fezzell. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move amendment L to House Bill 1050 So moved to the amendment Thank you Mr Chair As I had previously described this is just a technical amendment making a small correction to the amendment that we ran in committee. Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of L-009 to House Bill 1050. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. And amendment L-09 is adopted to the bill. Senator Marchman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. House Bill 1050 is a real narrow measured approach to realign the kindergarten planning with data. What this does is if a student tests on their kindergarten readiness assessment fully proficient, they will no longer be put immediately on an IRP, which is a resource plan. Our hope is that this will give teachers and students more time to do the work of the classroom rather than worrying about these plans that are in place for 85% of our students who are already proficient. So I'd ask for your aye vote on this bill. The motion. Senator Frizzell. Thank you. I just want to piggyback on this is also an optional thing for school districts so that they can continue doing what they're doing today if they choose. However, there are some school districts that are really, because they have other assessment, they have many assessment tools available to them and limited resources. they feel that this is a really important measure to, one, create a stronger bond between parents and teachers, and also to make sure that we are freeing up teachers to do what they do best, which is engaging with kiddos in the classroom. I ask for your aye vote. Senator Bright. Thank you, Mr. Chair. House Bill 1050. I was a no vote in committee, and I feel like I owe you an explanation why. In this first year touch point of education to kids, I feel like they haven't really developed a trend line with regard to how ready they are for school yet. They have not developed multiple points, multiple data points on the path of saying, am I going to be successful in school or not? I understand if this bill was 100% about gaining efficiencies in our education process, man, count me in 100%. The challenge here is that it removes what I believe to be kind of a key portion of establishing that trend line of educational success in the name of efficiency. And so it's kind of like a give and a take. I could have easily voted yes. This would go through on consent. And I just wanted to bring up the point that an IRP, an individual readiness plan, is justified for all kids in that kindergarten, first grade year, just because they need that extra support and that double check and that extra set of eyes on making sure that They are trending properly. They could show in the first week or month that they're very ready or achieving the goals they need to achieve, and then a month after that or two, they're still kind of all over the place. We need to just make sure that our youngest are given the best opportunity they can and the most thorough process to be successful in school. And I feel like that individual readiness plan, we're giving that up in this bill for the name of efficiency. And maybe we should just think twice about should we actually give that up in the name of efficiency when it might cost some of our youngest kids in school. So for that reason, that was a no in committee. And anyway, I appreciate my colleagues for bringing this bill. The motion is the adoption of House Bill 1050. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. 1050 is adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate proceed out of order to take up House Bill 1127. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of House Bill 1127. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will proceed out of order for consideration of 1127. Mr. Schauffler, will you please read the title for 1127? House Bill 1127, my representatives Ruth and Alan Joseph and Senator Roberts concerning a report after motor vehicle crashes resulting in death. Senator Roberts. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move House Bill 1127 and the Transportation and Energy Committee report. To the committee report. Thank you, Mr. Chair. In committee, we adopted an amendment that clarified that personal identified information only needs to be shared to the extent to meet federal reporting requirements and then expanded the reporting requirements slightly to include crashes where somebody dies within 30 days after the event. I ask for an aye vote. Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of the committee report to House Bill 1127. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it and the committee report is adopted to the bill. Senator Roberts. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Colleagues, House Bill 1127 is about getting more information about some of the unfortunate and sad crashes that happen on our roadways as the result of drunk and impaired driving. This bill makes it explicitly clear that county coroners need to include in their reports to the state toxicology results that happen as the result of these deadly crashes. It does not apply to all cases of DUI, only when there is a deceased individual, when the county coroner becomes involved. This is designed to get us more information so we can track what's happening on our roadways in an attempt to make them safer. I ask for an aye vote. Seeing no further discussion, the motion is the adoption of House Bill 1127. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. 1127 is adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate layover Senate Bill 63 until Monday, April the 6th. The motion is to layover Senate Bill 63 until Monday, April 6th. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it and sample 63 is laid over. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate proceed out of order to take up House Bill 1120. The motion is to proceed out of order for consideration of House Bill 1120. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will proceed to have a row for consideration of House Bill 1120, Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move to lay over House Bill 1120 until Wednesday, April 1st. The motion is to lay over House Bill 1120 until Wednesday, April 1st. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and House Bill 1120 is laid over. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the Senate to take up House Bill 1007. The motion is for the committee to take up House Bill 1007. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it, and we will take up House Bill 1007. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move to lay over House Bill 1007 until Wednesday, April 1st. The motion is to lay over House Bill 1007 until Wednesday, April 1st. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it and 10-07 is laid over until April 1st. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I lay over the remainder of the calendar until Tuesday, March 31st. The motion is to lay over the remainder of the calendar until tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31st. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The remainder of the calendar is laid over until tomorrow. Mr. Majority Leader. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the committee rise and report. The motion is for the committee to rise and report. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, no. Ayes have it. The committee will rise and report. The Senate will come back to order. Senator Hemmingson.
Thank you, Mr. President. your committee of the whole has met and had a number of bills under consideration. Mr. Schauffler, will you please read the report?
March 30th, 2026, Mr. President, your committee of the whole begs leave to report it, has had in consideration the following attached bills, being the second reading thereof, and makes the following recommendations thereon. Senate Bill 40, as amended, passed on second reading, in order to engrossed and placed on the calendar for third reading and final passage. House Bill 1134, House Bill 1259, as amended. House Bill 1050, as amended. House Bill 1127, as amended. Passed on second reading, in order to revise and place on the calendar for third reading and final passage. Senate Bill 134, House Bill 1071, House Bill 1084, House Bill 1058, laid over until March 31st, 2026, and retaining their place in the calendar. House Bill 1120, House Bill 1007, laid over until April 1st, 2026, and retaining their place in the calendar. Senate Bill 63, laid over until April 6th, 2026, and retaining its place in the calendar. Senator Henriksen. Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the report. The motion is the adoption of the committee of the whole report. Are there any no votes? With a vote of 35 ayes, 0 no, 0 absence, 0 excuse. Committee of the Home report is adopted. Senate Bill 40 is amended. Passed second reading order. Grows. Place a count of third reading in the final passage. House Bill 1134. 1259 is amended. 1050 is amended. 1127 is amended. Passed second reading order. Revised. Place a count of third reading in the final passage. Senate Bill 134. House Bill 1071. 1084. 1058. laid over into 331-2026, placed on the calendar. House Bill 1120, 1007 laid over into 41-2026, placed on the calendar. Senate Bill 63 laid over into 4620-2026, placed on the calendar Consideration of resolutions Mr Schaffler please do title of HJR 1017 House Joint Resolution 1017 by Representatives Stuart K McCluskey and Senators Simpson and Roberts concerning calling on the federal government to fulfill their obligations to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe regarding water rights. Mr. Minority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. I move House Joint Resolution 26-1017. Further discussion. Mr. Minority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. We actually were intending to have council members from the Southern Ute here today, and they ended up not being able to make it today, but asked us to go ahead and move the resolution forward as of today. I didn't ask for it to be read at length, but would like to highlight within the resolution a recognition. Again, some of the challenges that both tribes have with water right, perfection, and use in the state of Colorado, So each of them have water stored in the Animus La Plata project, which is decreed for only municipal uses and is challenging for the tribes to access. And particularly the Mountain Ute, it's 120 miles away, no, it's not that far, 70 miles away to where their application of that water right is most needed. So the resolution as the title infers is about getting the federal government more engaged and active in this space of helping the tribes really perfect their water right the ute mountain ute also have water in mcfee reservoir that they use on the their farm and ranch enterprise which is an amazing operation if you have the opportunity to go see that it's really quite ingenious how the tribe use their water on their farm and ranch enterprise again and And we've had this discussion before about the Southern Ute and the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project and the Bureau of Indian Affairs' lack of investment that they're required to invest in. They are easily $100 million behind in infrastructure and upgrade investments in that project that the federal government is obligated to support. Southern Ute also have water stored in Viaceto Reservoir that likewise needs infrastructure improvements that the federal government is obligated for. And the last thing I'll mention, we had lots of conversation about this resolution, not particularly about all these individual projects, but if you all aren't tracking, the end of September, the interim guidelines for operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, interim guidelines crafted in 2007 expire. As of today, there is not an agreement on how the storage vessels on the Colorado River system are going to be operated going forward. It's been very problematic trying to figure out a path forward, and the tribe's role in these conversations is paramount and crucial to the survivability of the tribes and their perfection, again, of their water rights. So trying to weave in in this space, Colorado has not agreed, the upper basin states have not agreed on what the next steps look like after this interim operating guidelines expire in September. So there was some sensitivity about anything we might include in this resolution. Then the draft, the initial draft, the introduced version had a reference to a draft environmental impact statement and was really problematic, I think, to include a reference to a draft EIS in this resolution. So good conversations. The tribes got to a good spot. and happy to be a sponsor along with my good friend and my sponsor from Fursco to join me on this resolution Very important I know it not a binding resolution but it helps highlight the challenges And I say if you don not everybody does what I do I look every day I torture myself and look at the snowpack conditions in the state of Colorado So both tribes sit in the southwest corner of the state in the Animas and Dolores River watershed. And as of yesterday, nearly the end of March, they are now 9% of normal. The entire southern half of the state is 9, 11, and 12, that base in the Rio Grande and the Arkansas. The northern half of the state is not much better. So it's pretty appropriate to have this resolution today at this point in time in recognition of the challenges. and the need for the federal government to really weigh in heavily in this space. Further discussion? Senator Roberts. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank the good minority leader from Alamosa for his leadership on this and for his advocacy for our two tribal nations that exist within his Senate district and exist within our state. The settlement agreement that's mentioned in the resolution, I just want to note, was ratified by Congress in 1988. so close to 40 years ago and still has not been properly fulfilled and is not fulfilled on a yearly basis as the federal government is obligated to. So I think it is important for us to do everything we can to be a voice and support for our tribal nations that exist within Colorado. Now more than ever, given the snow and water situation we have on the western slope, the negotiations around the Colorado River are dire. and incredibly consequential to not just all of us on the western slope or in the san luis valley but our entire state every single constituent that all 35 of us have and we need to be conscious of what that means for colorado and of course what it means for our tribal nations and so i ask for your support on this resolution and encourage the federal government to step up and and fulfill their obligations to our to our tribal nations further discussion Seeing or further discussion, the motion is the adoption of HJR 1017. Are there any no votes? With a vote of 35 I, 0, no, 0, 0, 0, excuse, HJR 1017 is adopted. Co-sponsors. Mr. Minority Leader. Thank you, Mr. President. Without objection, I ask that the current roll call be added as co-sponsors. Seeing no objection, the current roll call will be added as co-sponsors. Thank you, members. Message from the Governor. I hate you all. Honorable members of the Colorado Senate, pursuant to the authority vested in the Office of the Governor of the State of Colorado, I have the honor to inform you that I have approved and filed with the Secretary of State the following acts. Senate Bill 32, Promoting Immunization Access approved on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 11 a.m. Senate Bill 34, Auraria Board Student and Faculty Participation approved on Friday, March 27, 2026 at 11 a.m. Announcements. Are there any announcements? Senator Colker.
Members, Education Committee will not be meeting today. We will be meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m. or 1.30 p.m.
Very good. Senator Frizzell.
Thank you, Mr. President. Okay, every year I stand at the podium with a plastic box, so I want you to close your eyes and imagine that this envelope is a plastic box. It's a stretch, I get it, but this is what we have. Members, the Denim Day. The story began in Italy in 1992 when an 18-year-old girl was raped by the 45-year-old driving instructor who was taking her to her very first driving lesson. He took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, removed her jeans, and raped her. She reported what happened, and the perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted. He was convicted and sentenced to jail. But a few years later, he appealed the conviction, claiming that the sex was consensual, and that led the Italian Supreme Court to overturn the conviction and release him. A statement from the court argued that because the victim was wearing very tight jeans, she had to help remove them, and by removing the jeans, it was not rape, but consensual sex. This became known throughout Italy as the jeans alibi. The women in the Italian parliament were so enraged by this verdict that they launched a protest, and they wore jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. And the protest was picked up by international media And today on the last Wednesday of April of every year is Denim Day We make a statement by wearing denim as a means of protest against the misconceptions that continue to surround sexual violence. So because we love being different in Colorado, we do Colorado ourselves in a weird way. We're not celebrating on the last Wednesday of April. We are celebrating on the first Wednesday of April, which coincidentally is April Fool's Day. So April 1st is Denim Day in Colorado, and we would love for you to put some money in the envelope and imagine it's a plastic box, and maybe by Wednesday we'll have a plastic box. You never know. So that we can all be wearing denim on Wednesday. Would love to have your support. Thank you so much.
Very good.
Senator Wallace. Thank you, Mr. President. I echo the sentiments of the good senator from Douglas County. And I just want to say that this is a friendly maybe friendly competition with the House And so as per usual let us show what the upper chamber can do We stand with survivors We help raise money for a good cause and we will once again put the house in its lower place Thank you, Mr. President.
Very good. Very good.
Senator Weissman. Thanks, Mr. President. This is to announce the business of the Judiciary Committee today, 1.30, Old Supreme Court. We have some confirmations followed by just two quick bills, 1234 and 1186. See you there.
Senator Pelton R. Thank you, Mr. President. It's that time again, time of week, tomorrow morning, 715, down in room 109 in the basement. Pastor Dan Fyle will be there giving us our Bible study, and while we're at it, we'll feed your belly. Thank you.
Further announcements. Mr. Majority Leader.
Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, we will be recessing as we need to read bills across the desk. There is no need to return. On that note Mr President I move the Senate recess until 12 p today You heard the motion All those in favor say aye Aye Oppose no Yes have it The Senate will recess until 12 p today You heard the motion All in favor say aye Opposed no You guys have it The Senate will recess until 1230 p today
Thank you. Thank you.