SB25-008 would make it easier for Colorado residents who are survivors of crime or natural disasters, low-income or older to obtain government IDs < Back April 22, 2025 Bill to Streamline Colorado’s Necessary Document Program Passes Committee DENVER, CO – The House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee today passed legislation to streamline access to necessary identification documents for vulnerable and low-income Coloradans. SB25-008 passed committee by a vote of 9-4. “Without identification documents like driver’s licenses and birth certificates, it’s nearly impossible for Coloradans to open a bank account, secure housing or access health care,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood. “This bill removes barriers to obtaining IDs to help our most vulnerable community members, including low-income earners, unhoused Coloradans, and survivors of domestic violence or natural disasters. This program provides equitable access to legal documents, and this bill streamlines the program to help Coloradans get back on their feet.” Colorado’s existing Necessary Document Program requires Colorado residents who are victims of domestic violence, impacted by a natural disaster, low-income, disabled, experiencing homelessness, or elderly to pay the fees to acquire necessary documents like birth certificates and driver’s licenses. SB25-008 would update the program to allow eligible individuals to acquire these documents for free directly at the point of service. Eligible individuals still have to prove their full legal name, date of birth, identity, and lawful presence in the United States. SB25-008 would streamline administrative barriers to the Necessary Document Program without changing documentation requirements. Administrative challenges tend to delay vouchers. Additionally, vouchers are time-limited to 30 days after they are distributed to the client, which means they are often not able to be utilized before they expire. This bill would break down some of the complicated program structure that makes it more difficult for Coloradans to receive vouchers and expand the number of locations where individuals can obtain necessary documents. Previous Next

< Back May 14, 2019 REP. EXUM & REP. SNYDER’S BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW (May 14) – Gov. Polis signed bills sponsored by Colorado Springs Democratic Reps. Tony Exum and Marc Snyder into law today. This morning, Rep. Tony Exum, Sr. traveled to Pueblo to join Gov. Jared Polis as he signed into law SB19-065, a bill he sponsored with Senate President Leroy Garcia to create a peer-to-peer assistance program to help EMS paramedics who are struggling with the stresses of their job. “Being an EMS paramedic is one of the most stressful jobs out there,” said Rep. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs. “This new law will open doors for emergency medical providers to peer assistance when they are going through challenges in their life and are not able to perform their duties. This law puts a focus on mental health and can help ensure Colorado’s EMS workers are in the best shape physically and mentally to help save lives and respond to a crisis.” Rep. Exum is a retired battalion chief in the Colorado Springs Fire Department. SB19-065 is a bipartisan law that creates a fund that will pay for a peer health assistance program which will evaluate, assist, and counsel EMS paramedics who are dealing with the stresses of their job. Whenever an EMS worker becomes certified or renews their certification, a small fee of $2.55 will be applied to create the program within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Sometimes the toll and exposure to traumatic events in these positions can lead to depression, aggressive behaviors, substance abuse, and even suicide. This afternoon, another bipartisan Exum bill was signed into law at Centennial Elementary in Colorado Springs today. HB19-1013, will extend the low-income child care tax credit to help ease the childcare burden on roughly 32,000 hardworking families in Colorado for another eight years. “The high cost of child care places a burden on hardworking families in Colorado Springs and our state,” Rep. Exum said when the bill passed the House. “I was proud to sponsor this bill when I first got to the state capitol and hope we can continue helping thousands of Coloradan families afford child care every year.” Gov. Polis then signed a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs. “The goal of this program is to help those with traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries. This update will help expand services to Coloradans with brain injuries who deserve proper assistance,” said Rep. Snyder. HB19-1147 makes revisions to the traumatic brain injury program, including requiring the traumatic brain injury trust fund board to include members who have experienced a brain injury, family members of persons who have experienced brain injury, and those with specific personal or professional experience with traumatic brain injury. The Senate sponsor is Sen. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs. ### Previous Next

< Back April 17, 2019 HOUSE APPROVES PAIR OF BILLS TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH More than one million Coloradans experience mental health or a substance use crisis each year (Apr. 17) – The House approved two pieces of legislation that would increase access to mental health services for high-risk families and Coloradans. Rep. Lisa Cutter and Rep. Tom Sullivan’s bill will modernize behavioral health insurance coverage laws to align with federal law and close loopholes to increase access to mental health services for Coloradans. “Kids as young as nine and ten are attempting suicide in Colorado. This issue isn’t going away until we address it,” said Rep. Cutter, D-Evergreen. “Over one million Coloradans deal with a mental health issue, and over half of them aren’t getting the help they need. If we include regular mental health services into normal insurance coverage, then maybe we can work on tackling the high suicide rate in this state.” HB19-1269 strengthens prevention and screening laws to shift the current system away from expensive, late-stage treatment to early prevention; enforces and makes transparent existing state and federal parity laws; increases consumer protections; and eliminates gaps and loopholes in current law to ensure no more Coloradans fall victim to them. “Access to mental health isn’t an issue we can keep putting off and waiting on. We are frequently hearing stories of children and families dying by suicide which leaves many all over the state mourning over the loss of their loved ones,” said Rep. Sullivan, D-Centennial. “It’s time we take action and make it easier for people to access the mental health services they need.” Currently, state and federal laws require insurance carriers to provide equal coverage for mental health and physical care. However, many families are being denied coverage or are paying out-of-pocket costs for weeks or months for mental health care services because of loopholes in current law. HB19-1269 was approved with a bipartisan vote of 48-15. It was unanimously approved by the House Public Health Care and Human Services committee. It now heads to the Senate. The House also unanimously passed a bipartisan bill, HB19-1193, sponsored by Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, that would provide behavioral health support for high-risk families. “We need to stop criminalizing people who are just trying to get help,” said Rep. Herod. “This bill will give families the support they need to break their addictions, get healthy and get back on the right track.” HB19-1193 expands existing programs that provide access to substance use disorder treatment to pregnant and parenting women. This bill creates a child care pilot program for parenting women engaged in substance use disorder treatment. Previous Next

< Back January 31, 2023 Daugherty Bill Cracks Down on Insurance Plan Provider Fees DENVER, CO - The House Health and Insurance Committee today unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to expand payment options for health care insurance providers to protect them from fees charged by insurance carriers. It passed 11-0. “Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of supporting our health care providers within the medical community, “ said Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada. “When providers are required to accept reimbursements from insurance companies through virtual credit cards, they must pay a fee, which is often passed along to patients to cover. This bill creates payment options for our providers that will save them and their patients money while improving the sustainability of smaller providers, especially in more rural parts of our state.” Virtual credit cards (VCC) are one-time-use payment cards that don’t require bank account information for a health care claim payment to be made. The use of VCC became popular in 2014 after the Affordable Care Act required all health care insurers to allow providers to pay electronically. Insurance companies favored VCC payment options because of utilizing “cash back” or other revenue share features that came with VCCs, but VCCs charge providers fees between 2-5% to accept payments. Currently, some Colorado providers are forced to accept reimbursement payments through VCC payments, which makes the care they provide more expensive because of high fees associated with the VCC option. This bill expands payment options and requires Colorado providers to offer a method of payment that is not a credit card and does not require an additional fee paid by consumers. The bill also prevents the imposition of a fee for changing a payment method and requires an explanation of benefits be shared with each payment. Previous Next

< Back April 23, 2019 HOUSE GIVES PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO BILL TO HELP COLORADO WORKERS Just Transition’ bill would ensure state studies and prepares for future (Apr. 22) – The House gave preliminary approval to Speaker KC Becker and Rep. Rochelle Galindo’s bill to create the Just Transition Office within the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to support the livelihood of coal transition workers, their families and their communities, and to help provide these workers access to training and job opportunities. “The time to take action on climate is now, but we cannot work towards a clean energy economy without also working on solutions to support workers who are affected by this transition,” said Speaker Becker, D-Boulder. “Workers and communities whose livelihoods are threatened by shifting economic tides and advancements in technology need support. We can support these communities in this transition and that’s the intention of this bill.” Due to market forces, Colorado’s power sector is transitioning toward renewable energy resources and natural gas. This bill would help ensure communities and workers who are going to be impacted by this market driven transition away from coal won’t be left behind. The bill creates the Just Transition Office to provide critical benefits to workers who are laid off to help them get back up on their feet and award workforce and economic development grants to communities whose residents and local economies are disproportionately impacted by the decline of coal. “Weld County is a working class community and I come from a working class family. I’m a blue collar worker, so I understand the challenges of working people and the struggles they go through every single day to keep a roof over their head,” said Rep. Galindo, D-Greeley. “With this bill, we are looking out for workers whose livelihoods will be impacted by inevitable market shifts. We need to be responsive, cognizant and proactive – not reactive – for workers when addressing this market driven transition.” The bill was approved by a voice-vote. A recorded vote will take place at a later date. Previous Next

< Back February 12, 2020 CROWN ACT PASSES THE HOUSE Bill would ban hairstyle discrimination . DENVER, CO — Rep. Leslie Herod and Janet Buckner’s bill, HB20-1048 , known as the CROWN Act, today was approved by the House on third reading. The bill would explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture, hair type, and protect hairstyles like dreadlocs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, bantu knots, afros and headwraps. The bill was approved by the House by a vote of 42-21 and now moves onto the Senate for consideration. “Expressing your identity and culture through hairstyle is empowering, and Coloradans should never have to fear reprisal in the workplace for doing so,” said Rep. Herod (D-Denver). “Watching the powerful testimony of over one hundred community members last week confirmed what we already knew: hairstyle discrimination is far too common for black people and many other groups in Colorado. Today the House took a crucial step towards banning this racist practice once and for all.” “I’m proud that the House stood up against discrimination by supporting the CROWN Act today,” said Rep. Buckner (D-Denver) . ““It’s 2020 — we should leave absolutely no room for hairstyle discrimination in the workplace. I look forward to seeing the CROWN Act become law.” The C.R.O.W.N. Act stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” According to research from the Crown Coalition, a Black woman is 80% more likely to change her natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work, and 50% more likely to be sent home or know of a black woman sent home from the workplace because of her hair. Last week, the CROWN Act was approved by the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. Prior to that committee meeting, the Black Democratic Legislative Caucus of Colorado held a community hearing to hear from supporters of the bill regarding their experiences with hairstyle discrimination. Over 100 supporters attended the hearing. If the bill is enacted, Colorado would be the fourth state to pass the CROWN Act, following California, New York and New Jersey. ### Previous Next

New law prohibits deceptive advertising by anti-abortion centers < Back April 14, 2023 SIGNED! Bill to Crack Down on Deceptive Practices by Anti-Abortion Centers Becomes Law New law prohibits deceptive advertising by anti-abortion centers DENVER, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed legislation sponsored by Senators Faith Winter, D-Westminster, and Janice Marchman, D-Loveland, and Representative Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, to protect Coloradans seeking reproductive health care by prohibiting the use of deceptive advertising by anti-abortion centers (AACs). SB23-190 makes it a deceptive trade practice to share information or advertise providing abortion care, emergency contraceptives or referrals of either of these services when the service is not actually provided. This bill also clarifies it is a deceptive practice to advertise providing a “medication abortion reversal”. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists describes “medication abortion reversal” as “unproven and unethical,” and says that “claims regarding abortion ‘reversal’ treatment are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards'' of care. “We’ve made tremendous progress in Colorado to protect reproductive rights, but marginalized communities like people of color, low-income folks, young people, LGBTQIA+ communities, and immigrants still struggle to obtain the care they need - and AACs only make matters worse,” said Winter. “AACs use deceptive advertising practices to lure folks in and steer people away from abortions and other time-sensitive care by not providing them with the full, medically accurate spectrum of options. I’m proud of this new law that cracks down on AACs’ deceptive practices and makes reproductive health care more attainable and equitable for all Coloradans.” "Patients across Colorado deserve access to honest, factual medical information so they can make informed decisions about their own reproductive health care,” said McCormick. “Our law protects patients by putting an end to the deceptive advertising practices used by some anti-abortion centers to lure patients in under the guise that they offer the full range of reproductive health care when they do not. Deceptive practices put Coloradans at risk, limit their access to care and spread misinformation about the so-called ‘medication abortion reversal’ which is medically unethical and unproven.” “In Colorado and across America, maternal outcomes are declining, and anti-abortion centers that use deceptive advertising to draw in vulnerable people seeking care and misleading them with biased and inaccurate information about abortions and contraceptives are only making the problem worse,” Marchman said. “People who go to these centers looking for help are often misled and stigmatized – the exact opposite of the safe and essential care we are beholden to protect as elected officials. This new law will crack down on deceptive practices used by some of these bad actors, and is a proactive step we can take towards a future where Coloradans’ freedom to access essential and affirming reproductive health care is truly protected.” In Colorado, AACs outnumber abortion-providing clinics 51 to 20. Further, AACs particularly target locations that may lack a comprehensive clinic, often posting Spanish-language billboards in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations and offering free services to low-income communities. Anti-abortion centers are the on-the-ground presence of the national anti-abortion movement. Also known as crisis pregnancy centers or anti-abortion counseling centers, AACs pose as comprehensive reproductive health care clinics to intercept patients seeking abortion care, provide false information, and prevent people from seeking abortions. Previous Next

< Back May 2, 2022 GOVERNOR POLIS & STATE LEGISLATORS ANNOUNCE ADDITIONAL MONEY SAVING MEASURES FOR COLORADANS: PROPERTY TAX RELIEF Bipartisan legislation to provide real relief to Colorado homeowners and businesses builds upon bold work saving Coloradans money on universal preschool, putting $400 back in Coloradans’ pockets DENVER — Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis joined Senator Chris Hansen, Senator Bob Rankin, Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, and community leaders to announce another major money saving measure: bipartisan property tax relief to save Colorado homeowners and businesses money. Colorado currently has among the lowest residential property tax rates in the country, and today’s announcement builds upon the Polis Administration’s work since day one to provide property tax relief to Coloradans and put money back in the pockets of hardworking Coloradans. “I want to make sure we leave no stone unturned to ensure Coloradans can hold on to more of their hard-earned money. This property tax relief builds on our work to save people money including healthcare savings, free preschool, and sending out $400 rebates as quickly as possible,” said Gov. Polis. “We are acting now to provide immediate relief to homeowners and business owners, help people stay in their homes, and save you money.” The property tax relief package will provide $700 million in property tax relief over two years for homeowners and businesses. These savings will help families stay in their homes and remain in the neighborhoods they’ve lived in for decades, and will reduce costs for businesses statewide. “The cost of housing is at an all-time high here in Colorado and people are feeling the pain, which is why we’re working to provide immediate property tax relief that will help families all across the state save money, ” said Senator Chris Hansen, D-Denver. “This property tax relief package delivers help to homeowners and businesses as property values continue to rise, and will help more families to stay in their homes, all without cutting education funding or the critical services Coloradans depend on to thrive.” “With nearly every part of our state seeing rising home values, we are taking action quickly to save people money on their property taxes and housing costs,” said Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo. “Many small business owners won’t see their property taxes go up at all, even as their properties rise in value. This legislation will also improve the assessment process to make it more fair to taxpayers and builds on our work last year to provide property tax relief to Coloradans and make our state more affordable.” “We’re doing everything we can to put money back into people’s pockets,” said Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora. “Families are going to save thousands from our efforts to make housing more affordable, lower health care costs, reduce property taxes, make our tax code fairer for hardworking Coloradans, implement free universal preschool and send $400 and $800 refund checks early this September. With Colorado seeing one of the fastest job recoveries in the nation, we’re delivering on our promise to help people afford the rising cost of living by saving them money wherever we can.” Property tax relief is a part of the Polis Administration and legislature’s commitment to save Coloradans money, including saving people money on healthcare, making early childhood education and child care affordable, implementing universal preschool to help save families $4300 per year, reducing vehicle registration fees, cutting the cost of a state parks pass to $29, reducing payroll taxes, delaying any new fees on gas, and more. In a rapidly increasing real estate market, this property tax relief package, combined with the property tax reductions passed last year, will reduce property taxes for homeowners by an average of $274 in 2023 on a $500,000 home and will provide significant savings for every business in the state. Previous Next

< Back May 28, 2021 IT’S THE COLORADO COMEBACK, FOR KIDS! House advances bills to invest in early childhood education and care and provide schools with funding to make air quality improvements DENVER, CO– The House today passed two state stimulus bills to fund air quality improvement projects in public and charter schools and channel state and federal funds to support Colorado’s families by investing in our early childhood education and care providers. These bills are a part of the Colorado Comeback state stimulus , a package of legislation that will invest roughly $800 million into helping Colorado recover faster and build back stronger. The bills passed the House on Second Reading. “As we work to ensure our students and educators have the resources they need to close the COVID learning gap, we have to make sure that their learning environments are adequate, comfortable, and safe,” said Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver, sponsor of SB21-202. “Investing in the quality of the air our children breathe while they learn should be a basic priority, and I’m proud that we were able to provide this funding today.” “The COVID-19 pandemic forced far too many working parents, especially working moms, out of the workforce,” said Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood, sponsor of SB21-236. “This is a once in a generation investment in child care and early childhood education, and it’s just one of the many ways the legislature is working to offset the disparate impact that this economic downturn has had on women. I’m committed to providing young Colorado families with the support they need to help their children learn and grow in the critical early childhood years, all while continuing to pursue their professional goals and contribute to our economy.” SB21-202 , also sponsored by Rep. Colin Larson, would allocate $10 million for Building Excellent Schools Today grants to fund much-needed public school air quality improvement projects to improve air quality in as many public and charter school facilities as possible. Kids learn better in environments that are safe, clean, and healthy. Unfortunately, over the years, Colorado’s deferred maintenance of school facilities has grown, particularly in rural areas. These construction and capital projects will create good jobs, make long-term improvements to Colorado schools’ infrastructures, and provide safer, more constructive learning environments for students. SB21-236 , also sponsored by Rep. Tonya Van Beber, takes several steps to support child care providers and young families in Colorado. First, it creates the new innovative Employer-based Child Care Facility Grant Program and funds it with Colorado Comeback state stimulus dollars. The program would award matching grants to nonprofit, private, and government employers to retrofit and develop new, on-site or near-site, licensed child care facilities. These grants are meant to ensure that Coloradans have access to high-quality child care at their places of work as we come out of the pandemic, and would prioritize employers whose workforce earns below the area median income. The bill also sets up a framework to ensure hundreds of millions of federal dollars directed to the Child Care and Development (CCDF) fund can be spent effectively and efficiently by the Department of Human Services. These funds have already been disbursed by the federal government but require state approval to be properly implemented. SB21-236 sets up several new programs and adequately funds several others to ensure Colorado’s youngest kids, as well as their parents and early childhood professionals, can thrive. The seven programs in this category, as outlined in the bill’s fiscal note , include The Child Care Sustainability Grant Program, created in last year’s special session to provide financial support to licensed child care providers and neighborhood youth organizations that were at risk of closing their doors due to the pandemic. The bill also creates and funds several programs to foster innovation, recruit and retain educators, and support mental health wellness in the early childhood education and care sector. Previous Next

The County Commissioner Redistricting Integrity Act, sponsored by Representatives Amy Paschal and Chad Clifford, has passed the House and Senate and now heads to Governor Polis. < Back April 22, 2026 Bill to Improve County Commissioner Redistricting Heads to Governor Polis DENVER, CO – The County Commissioner Redistricting Integrity Act, sponsored by Representatives Amy Paschal and Chad Clifford, has passed the House and Senate and now heads to Governor Polis. HB26-1038 would ensure elected county commissioners do not draw their own district maps. “Our bill maintains local control while strengthening transparency and voter input in the county commissioner redistricting process,” said Rep. Amy Paschal, D-Colorado Springs. “Elected officials should not be allowed to draw their own maps without voter input. Representative democracy matters, and this bill will help create a fairer, more equitable county commissioner redistricting process that encourages voters to weigh in.” “One thing is clear: elected officials should not be allowed to draw their own district maps without voter input,” said Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Centennial. “This bill works to strengthen public trust and input in the county commissioner redistricting process, so the voice of Colorado voters is front and center. From bills that strengthen our gold-standard elections system to HB26-1038, we’re taking steps to defend democracy in Colorado.” The County Commissioner Redistricting Integrity Act ( HB26-1038 ) would require more voter input for county commissioner redistricting. Under current law, county commissioners' maps are the only partisan political office not drawn by an independent redistricting commission. This means elected county commissioners can draw their own district maps. This bill would require the independent county commissioner redistricting commission to create and make available a competitiveness formula for public comment. HB26-1038 upholds local control by allowing the board of county commissioners to appoint members to the independent redistricting committee and instruct them to create one or multiple maps to be selected by majority vote. Additionally, the board of county commissioners may reject a district map that does not meet statutory requirements. The board of county commissioners also retains the ability to remove members from the independent redistricting commission if they are disruptive or insufficiently engaged. Previous Next

Governor Polis today signed legislation sponsored by Senators Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Representatives Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins to protect Coloradans’ rights and freedoms by strengthening legal protections for emergency reproductive health care. < Back May 14, 2025 Signed! New Law Will Strengthen Emergency Protections for Reproductive Health Care DENVER, CO – Governor Polis today signed legislation sponsored by Senators Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, and Representatives Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins to protect Coloradans’ rights and freedoms by strengthening legal protections for emergency reproductive health care. “The people of Colorado deserve safe and accessible access to abortion and miscarriage care without exception, especially when lives are at stake in emergency situations,” said Gonzales. “We owe it to all Coloradans, and particularly the Coloradans most negatively impacted by barriers to reproductive care, to ensure that emergency care is always granted, no questions asked.” “The Trump administration has deeply eroded federal protections for reproductive health care, and it’s our responsibility to protect life-saving emergency care for pregnant people in Colorado,” said Froelich. “Our law ensures that emergency providers have the clarity they need to do their job and save lives – just have they have done since 1986. Our legislation rules out all ambiguity so pregnant people can receive the life-saving emergency care they need, including an abortion.” "In response to near total abortion bans in other states, the U.S. Supreme Court has so far done nothing, and the Trump administration has decided not to even ask it to try," said Weissman. "As a part of our efforts to protect Coloradans’ fundamental freedoms in volatile times, it is imperative that we clarify in state law to patients and providers alike that emergency care in Colorado will remain comprehensive and accessible." “Our state has been a leader in abortion care because Coloradans understand that access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care saves lives,” said Zokaie. “As the federal EMTALA law crumbles under the Trump administration, this law stands up to protect life-saving emergency care for pregnant patients. In states where reproductive health care is restricted, pregnant people are being denied emergency abortion or miscarriage care until it’s too late; we won't let that happen in Colorado.” SB25-130 ensures emergency access for pregnant people who need abortion or miscarriage care without discrimination based on financial need or the type of care required. It also creates clarity for providers by defining employment protections for individual health care providers, treatment log requirements, guidelines for transfers and discharges. The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a nearly 40-year-old law that requires hospitals to provide emergency medical treatment, including abortion and miscarriage care regardless of ability to pay. However, the Supreme Court is allowing states to deny pregnant people abortion care in life-threatening emergencies by sending cases back to lower courts. In response to threats to these federal protections, this new law will ensure that life-saving emergency care will remain protected in Colorado. Previous Next

The House today passed legislation on a preliminary vote to strengthen protections for Colorado’s mobile home park residents. < Back April 11, 2024 Legislation to Strengthen Protections for Mobile Home Park Residents Advances DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation on a preliminary vote to strengthen protections for Colorado’s mobile home park residents. HB24-1294, sponsored by Representatives Andrew Boesenecker and Elizabeth Velasco, would improve accessibility, strengthen guardrails in rent-to-own contracts, and update tenant protections. “It was clear that residents living in mobile home parks did not have enough legal protections, which is why we’ve made significant improvements over the years to Colorado’sMobile Home Park Act,” said Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins. “We’re continuing that work to improve the health, safety and financial protections for mobile home park residents by ensuring that both parties in a rent-to-own agreement are informed of their rights and responsibilities. This legislation helps to keep mobile home parks affordable, empowers our neighbors to stay in their homes and works to improve access to clean water.” “To support our neighbors living in mobile home parks, this bill improves language accessibility and housing security,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs. “Our bill would improve equity by requiring important information such as a water boil notice, to be communicated in both English and Spanish. We’re also working toward closing gaps in current law that would expand tenancy and rent protections and require more transparency for rent-to-own contracts. Keeping mobile home parks safe and affordable is the right thing to do for our communities and supports Coloradans living in affordable communities across our state.” HB24-1294 would close some of the remaining gaps in the Mobile Home Park Act that have left some park residents vulnerable to displacement and financial harm. Specifically, this bill would update owner and landlord responsibilities, strengthen tenant protections, ensure important park notices and meetings are accessible to Spanish speakers, and clarify the conditions of the sale of mobile homes and parks. The bill also establishes clear provisions for rent-to-own contracts by ensuring that both parties in a “rent to own” agreement are informed of their rights and responsibilities, such as the steps to exercise a purchase option, and the refundability of payments in the event a tenancy terminates prematurely. To improve accessibility, this bill would require that parkwide meetings, and written notices of potential evictions or rent increases, are communicated and accessible in both English and Spanish. Additionally, this bill would clarify the circumstances when park residents are protected against rent increases. Colorado Democrats have passed landmark legislation in recent years to strengthen protections for mobile home residents by improving water quality in mobile home parks ( HB23-1257 ), expanding protections provided under the Mobile Home Park Act (HB22-1287 ), and creating a pathway for residents to purchase the land under their mobile home ( HB20-1201 ). Previous Next