Weekly Legislative News & Updates

The Colorado Women’s Bar Association (CWBA) is dedicated to advancing policies that protect and support women and children. Through our Public Policy Committee and the work of our volunteers and lobbyists, we track legislation, provide testimony, and ensure our voices are heard at the Capitol. This critical advocacy is made possible by your support and the tireless efforts of our members and partners.

✔ SB25-001 – Colorado Voting Rights Act

SB25-001, currently under consideration by the House, creates the Colorado Voting Rights Act to protect voters from suppression, dilution, or unlawful voting prerequisites based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or confinement. It strengthens access for minority groups through multilingual ballots, improved voter registration for tribal members, and enhanced election participation methods. The bill also allows individuals to take legal action for violations, ensuring a more inclusive voting process. CWBA supports this bill, as it helps ensure every voice is heard and everyone can fully participate in democracy.

✔ SB25-276 – Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status

SB25-276 strengthens due process protections by limiting unlawful cooperation with ICE, preventing immigration-related jail release delays, expanding post-conviction relief, and protecting access to essential services and data privacy. The CWBA supports this bill to underscore the importance of the rule of law and to protect Colorado families unconstitutionally impacted by ICE. This bill passed through the Senate and has been introduced in the House.

✔ SB25-130 – Providing Emergency Medical Services

SB25-130—a key measure to ensure emergency abortion care may be provided in Colorado hospitals—continues to move after a long delay. It has now passed out of the Senate and been introduced in the House. This bill requires emergency departments, including labor and delivery units, to provide emergency care to all patients, log treatment or denial of care, and prohibit discrimination based on specific characteristics. It also mandates that providers be available at all times, with limited exceptions for religious beliefs. The CWBA supports this bill as part of its commitment to ensuring that women have access to critical healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare.

✔ HB25-1185 – Child Conceived from Sex Assault Court Proceedings

CWBA supports HB25-1185, which is now headed to the Governor’s office. The bill creates a clearer, more compassionate process for parents seeking to relinquish parental rights when a child was conceived as a result of sexual assault. It allows victims to submit documentation, including a sworn affidavit, and exempts them from certain relinquishment requirements, freeing them from ongoing legal obligations once a final order is granted. The bill also directs the state court administrator to develop a standardized form to assist with these proceedings by January 1, 2026.

✔ HB25-1309 – Protect Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care

Support for this bill is part of the CWBA’s ongoing commitment to reproductive healthcare and ensuring access to critical medical services. HB25-1309 protects access to gender-affirming health care by codifying treatments in statute and prohibiting insurance plans from denying or limiting medically necessary care as prescribed by a healthcare provider. It also exempts testosterone prescriptions from the prescription drug monitoring program's tracking requirements and secures related records. The bill passed through the House and has been introduced in the Senate. 

✔ HB25-1321 – Support Against Adverse Federal Action

HB25-1321 has successfully passed through both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly. The CWBA supports this legislation, recognizing its role in safeguarding essential state resources and programs that directly affect the lives and stability of women, children, and families. The measure appropriates $4 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act cash fund to the Governor’s Office for the purpose of responding to adverse federal actions that may jeopardize Colorado’s funding or state sovereignty. Authorized uses of the funds include the hiring of staff or contractors, reimbursement to the Department of Law for legal services, and the financing of other expenditures deemed necessary by the Governor. Additionally, the bill permits the receipt of gifts, grants, and donations to further support its implementation.

✔ SB25-008 – Adjust Necessary Document Program

The CWBA supports SB25-008 because it removes cost barriers to essential identification, unlocking access to healthcare, education, employment, housing, and public benefits. This bill updates the Necessary Document Program to help eligible Coloradans access vital documents like driver’s licenses and birth certificates for free, starting July 1, 2027. It allows self-attestation for eligibility while maintaining identity verification and waives Department of Revenue fees for identification documents. It passed through the Senate and is now under consideration in the House. 

✔ SB25-118 – Health Insurance Prenatal Care No Cost Sharing

CWBA supports SB25-118 as part of its commitment to ensuring access to reproductive healthcare. The bill, which recently passed out of Senate Appropriations and will soon be considered by the full Senate, requires health insurance policies that cover maternity care to provide prenatal visits without cost sharing. This measure promotes early and consistent access to essential pregnancy care.

✔ HB25-1291 – Transportation Network Company Consumer Protection

The CWBA supports this legislation, which strengthens efforts to prevent sexual and physical assault by increasing safety and accountability requirements for transportation network companies. It enhances background checks, limits driver hours, requires mandatory in-ride audio/video recording with opt-out options, and tightens driver identity verification before each ride. Having passed through the House, the bill will be considered by the Senate during the week of April 28.

✔ SB25-296 – Insurance Coverage for Breast Cancer Examinations

CWBA supports SB25-296 because it provides preventive healthcare for a condition that disproportionately impacts women. The bill, currently being considered by the Senate, ensures that health insurers cover breast cancer screenings, including diagnostic and supplemental exams, without cost sharing. It also relocates high-risk screening requirements and clarifies the parameters for these exams to improve access to crucial preventive care.

✔ SB25-086 – Protections of Users of Social Media

The CWBA supports this legislation because it strengthens online safety and transparency, giving families, children, and caregivers more tools to navigate the digital world securely. SB25-086 imposes new requirements on social media companies, including publishing clear policies, reporting on platform use by minors, and responding quickly to violations and law enforcement requests. The Governor vetoed this bill on April 24th; and on April 25th, the Senate voted to override that veto—the first such veto override since 1988!

✔ SB25-116 – Spousal Maintenance Guidelines

SB25-116 has passed through both chambers, and CWBA supports this bill and was actively involved in amending its language to ensure the right to no-fault divorce remains protected. The bill strengthens spousal maintenance proceedings by requiring courts to consider evidence of domestic violence, coercive control, economic abuse, litigation abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or unlawful sexual behavior. It also expands the timeframe for disclosing prior protection orders from two to five years. These changes help better protect survivors while preserving critical divorce rights in Colorado.

✔ SB25-050 – Racial Classifications on Government Forms

SB25-050, which has passed through the Senate, advances equity by ensuring Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian people are seen and counted in government data. The bill requires state and local government forms that request racial or ethnic information to include an option for individuals to identify as Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian. More accurate and inclusive data collection helps guarantee that public policies and programs reflect the true diversity of our communities, leading to more targeted and effective support for women, families, and other marginalized groups.

✔ SB25-063 – Library Resource Decision Standards for Public Schools

CWBA has been monitoring SB25-063, which has now passed through both chambers. The bill requires public schools to adopt written policies for acquiring, retaining, and reconsidering library resources, ensuring that any removals are conducted through a transparent, standards-based process. It protects school library staff from retaliation when acting in good faith under these policies and promotes public access to reconsideration decisions. Notably, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a related issue in Mahmoud v. Taylor.

✔ SB25-144 – Change Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Program

The CWBA supports this bill that improves protections for Colorado families. SB25-144 makes important updates to Colorado’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. It extends leave by up to 12 additional weeks for parents with a child in a neonatal intensive care unit and adjusts premium rates to maintain program stability. The bill ensures financial safeguards and requires refunds for employers who were mistakenly overcharged. It has now passed through both chambers of the General Assembly.

View the full list of bills CWBA is engaged with here. (Search for “Colorado Women’s Bar Association”; Reporting Year is “2025”)