Controversial Political Matters Discussed
With just six days left until Colorado's 2025 legislative session concludes, lawmakers are working overtime Friday to push critical bills toward key votes. A handful of contentious discussions still linger unresolved. Our reporters are on the ground, delivering real-time updates from the Capitol.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
4:52 p.m. update: After its combative morning session and some swift floor work, the House has been locked in a debate over an immigration bill... but that's not all that's at stake.
Let's address the major points of contention:
Robots Taking Over (Sorta): Artificial Intelligence Regulation
- Colorado paved the way for AI regulation with its comprehensive law set to kick off in February 2026. Lawmakers attempted to delay the law's implementation for one year, exempting smaller businesses (500 employees or less) for the first 15 months. Unfortunately, these modifications failed late in the session due to time constraints, leaving the original law to take effect as planned.
- A last-ditch effort to amend a related bill to push back the deadline is highly improbable; some are holding out hope Governor Polis might call a special session to tackle this issue, though that would be an oddity.
- The tech industry is sweaty-palmed over possible competition issues and implementation challenges under the existing law[1][3].
Healthcare Drama: Insurance, Medicare, and More
- Several health-related bills remain hanging in the balance, including:
- Capping certain hospital reimbursement rates.
- Raising fees on private insurance policies to fund state programs.
- Reforming the regulation of pharmacy-benefit managers, which looks set to pass.
- Requiring large-group health plans to provide anti-obesity coverage, although its future is uncertain[2].
Business and the Environment: Where We Stand
- Some business-related bills teeter on the edge of approval, such as:
- Assessing the impact of environmental regulations on job creation.
- Requiring companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.
- Two tax-incentive bills have recently resurfaced, aiming to:
- Extend the advanced-industries tax credit program.
- Enhance tax benefits for businesses converting to employee ownership.
- Sadly, a proposal for new tax incentives to draw capital-intensive data centers has stalled and seems unlikely to proceed this session[2].
In essence, the most prominent unresolved debates revolve around modifying Colorado's groundbreaking AI law, ongoing health and insurance reforms, and business-related environmental and tax policy measures. The AI law changes debate has been the most high-profile and heated discussion as the session nears its end[1][2][3].
Stay tuned for more updates from the Colorado capitol as the clock ticks!
- Despite a last-ditch effort to amend a bill, Colorado's AI regulation law, scheduled to start in February 2026, remains on track to take effect as planned, triggering concerns within the tech industry about potential competition issues and implementation challenges.
- In the realm of healthcare, several bills are still undecided, including capping certain hospital reimbursement rates, raising fees on private insurance policies, reforming pharmacy-benefit managers' regulation, and requiring large-group health plans to provide anti-obesity coverage.
- Business-related environmental and tax policy measures also remain unresolved, with debates centered on assessing environmental regulations' impact on job creation, requiring companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, and reviving tax incentives for advance industries and employee-owned businesses.
