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DENVER, CO – The House today advanced legislation on a preliminary vote to improve collaboration between law enforcement agencies, helping to quickly identify firearms and generate leads for gun-related crimes.
“Our legislation ensures that Colorado law enforcement agencies are using this gun violence prevention tool to keep our communities safe from gun crimes,” said Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City. “eTrace allows firearm information to be shared across jurisdictions, helping law enforcement identify guns connected to serious crimes. Our legislation ensures that law enforcement agencies are on the same page so they can work together to keep illegal guns off of our streets and hold gun traffickers accountable.”
“This bill will improve coordination between law enforcement agencies to solve gun-related crimes and keep Colorado communities safe,” said Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Centennial. “By opting in to this existing federal tool, Colorado law enforcement agencies can have nationwide information at their fingertips to help solve crimes. This bill ensures that Colorado is a part of a coordinated effort with other jurisdictions to save lives.”
By September 1, 2026, HB26-1265 would require each law enforcement agency in Colorado to register with eTrace and opt in to eTrace’s feature that allows for collaboration.
Law enforcement agencies would be required to record information into eTrace when they:
Recover or confiscate firearms in connection with a criminal investigation,
Seize firearms in connection with domestic violence crimes, and
Obtain an abandoned, forfeited or discarded firearm.
eTrace, a bilingual service, allows for collaboration among all participating law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement can submit trace requests through eTrace to quickly determine the firearm’s origin, helping identify potential firearms traffickers and suspects in criminal investigations. Nearly 640,000 firearm trace requests were completed in fiscal year 2024.