2026 Legislative wrap-up, part 2

2026 Legislative wrap-up, part 2

by Karly Kaufman | Jun 5, 2026

Consumer Protections, Family Economic Security, federal action, Health, Housing, Immigration, Income, Language Access, Legal Advocacy, Legislative Updates, News, Public Benefits, Public Utilities, Research and Policy Analysis, Testimony, Workers

Click here to read our 2026 Legislative wrap-up, part 1.

Defending public programs

Another policy priority for CCLP was on defending public programs. We supported functional, person-centered public programs that improve health, meet changing needs, support the workforce, and lift Colorado's economy. There were six bills that fit this policy area including HB26-1096, Colorado Medicaid Access to Primary Care Services, and HB26-1327, Large Employer Worker Health-Care Support.

HB26-1096 would have allowed Direct Primary Care providers to charge Medicaid patients hundreds of dollars for services that are otherwise free. Bethany Pray, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at CCLP, originally provided testimony in opposition to the bill at the beginning of the session. After proposing amendments to the bill, along with partners in Colorado Medicaid managed care and other carriers, CCLP changed our position to amend. However, due to these added amendments, proponents of the bill postponed it indefinitely.

HB26-1327 aimed to address the problem of large corporations relying on the state to provide health insurance by paying their workers low enough wages to enroll in Medicaid. CCLP agrees corporations should pay their fair share, but ultimately opposed the bill because of the harm it could cause workers perceived to use Medicaid due to their age, disability, or income level. Katherine Wallat, Legal Director at CCLP, met with sponsors repeatedly to propose amendments and uplift concerns, as well as testified in opposition of the bill. It was ultimately postponed indefinitely.

CCLP also worked on and supported other bills that did not need testimony, including HB26-1235, Updates to Medicaid and HB26-1429, County Administration Public Assistance Programs. For HB26-1235, Pray met with the Department of Health Care & Policy Financing, the administrators of Medicaid in Colorado, to provide legal analysis and edit amendment language to ensure implementation of HR 1 data will be documented. Pray also negotiated throughout the session with the Governor's Office, agency staff, and counties on HB26-1429. Several of the suggestions we made were included in the bill. Both bills passed and were signed into law by Governor Polis.

Strengthening consumer rights

Our third and last policy priority area focused on protecting community members from exploitative business practices and working to break cycles of debt and poverty. From health to wages to price changes, CCLP played an integral part in several bills focusing on consumer protections. HB26-1267 and SB26-140, two of our priority bills, were central to this fight.

HB26-1267, also known as the Medical Debt Protection Act, would have prohibited medical creditors from collecting unpaid medical debts by pursuing non-patients, garnishing wages, seeking arrest or detainment, and more. CCLP proudly supported the bill. We wrote, led work on amendments, and provided testimony - Pray focused on extraordinary collections, while CCLP Litigation Director Annie Martínez dispelled misinformation about medical debt. Martínez also spoke at the Rally Against Medical Debt on May 8, 2026, stating medical debt is what happens when health care is treated like a market commodity instead of a human need. The bill will be back for the 2027 legislative session, with Javier Mabrey returning as its primary sponsor.

SB26-140 would have prevented Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) from reviewing the cost of hundreds of commonly prescribed medications that Coloradans struggle to afford every day. Pray provided testimony against the bill, arguing that the creation of the PDAB was a first in the nation opportunity for a patient-informed, deliberate, data-driven and very public process to determine if a drug is affordable for Coloradans. We were involved in drafting and reviewing amendments, and the bill was ultimately postponed indefinitely. Unfortunately, this effort is likely to return in the 2027 legislative session, driven by Big Pharma industry leaders.

The opposite of SB26-140 was SB26-138, Reducing Administrative Burdens on Health Care. CCLP took an amend position because we prioritize reducing administrative and economic burdens for patients, as mentioned by Pray in her testimony. We, along with Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, pushed proponents of the bill to make several amendments that better protect consumers and Hospital Discounted Care. The bill was signed into law.

CCLP also took a position on three bills focused on financial exploitation of various kinds, including HB26-1012, Consumer Protections to Promote Fair Market Pricing, HB26-1046, Regulated Earned-Wage Access Services, and HB26-1210, Prohibit Surveillance Price & Wage Setting. Income and Housing Policy Director Charles Brennan gave testimony for HB26-1012 which would have required delivery service apps, like Instacart or Grubhub, to provide consumers with the prices of the delivered goods and the goods available at a store. It also would have prohibited unfair or deceptive trade practices by charging unreasonably excessive prices for goods and serves. Brennan argued to restore basic market fairness and price transparency for Colorado consumers. Unfortunately, the bill was postponed indefinitely on March 3, 2026.

Chris Nelson, CCLP's Research & Policy Analyst, testified in opposition to HB26-1046, an industry-supported bill offering inadequate regulation of Earned-Wage Access providers, putting vulnerable Coloradans at risk of ongoing financial exploitation. The bill was laid over. Brennan also provided testimony in support of the HB26-1210, arguing businesses no longer compete for who offers the best prices or wages, but who has the most data and sophisticated algorithms. The bill would have prohibited businesses from using surveillance data and algorithms to set individualized prices for consumers or individualized wages for workers, while still allowing for standard pricing, discounting, and loyalty program practices. Unfortunately, Governor Polis vetoed the bill for the second year in a row.

Other bills

CCLP also took positions on bills that fit into more than one of, or were outside of, our legislative priority platform areas. This included legislation with legal and constitutional barriers, and as well as language access barriers.

As federal actions wreak havoc on communities across the country, CCLP supported bills focused on protecting Coloradans' constitutional rights, including SB26-005, Rights Violations in Immigration Enforcement Remedy and SB26-176, State Remedies for Constitutional Rights Violation. SB26-005 would have protected Coloradans rights in civil immigration enforcement. The bill passed, but the Governor vetoed it despite significant support from the legislature. SB26-176 was then introduced to allow Coloradans to hold federal actors accountable in constitutional rights violations. Despite strong testimony from Martínez and other constitutional scholars, SB26-176 was defeated by opponents' coordinated campaign to exaggerate and share misinformation.

Other legal legislation included HB26-1322, Civil Action for Conversion Therapy Survivors, which removes the statute of limitations for conversion therapy survivors, ensuring they are legally protected. Martínez provided testimony in support of the bill, arguing that trauma does not always reveal itself on a predictable timeline. The bill was signed into law and goes into effect on July 1, 2026.

As advocates of language access, CCLP opposed HB26-1201, Homeowners' Preferred Language Notice to Homeowners' Association, which would have required owners to provide "proof of need" prior to Homeowners Associations providing correspondence and notices in a language other than English. CCLP Community Engagement Director Morgan Turner testified against the bill, arguing it would have been a step back for language access. Thankfully, the bill was postponed indefinitely.

Looking to the future

CCLP is already planning for the 2027 legislative session. An effort we will once again be leading is a policy called ROBIN Alerts, developed by CCLP Policy Advocate Milena Tayah. Named after Tayah's grandmother who passed away due to an unplanned power outage, ROBIN Alerts proposes a standard minimum communications framework for utility providers across Colorado to alert electricity customers in case of power outages. After significant work on the policy this year, CCLP withdrew ROBIN Alerts from the 2026 session with the intent to have the bill introduced at the beginning of next year's legislative session.

Conclusion

In addition to the legislative session, CCLP continued to work on other policies at the state and federal level. We provided two public comments to the federal government, testified and gave comments to the Public Utilities Commission in Colorado, made a statement on the federal actions in Minnesota, and continued to convene with the Medicaid and SNAP work requirements group to address how HR 1's change in eligibility requirements impacts beneficiaries in Colorado.

This legislative session was nothing short of surprises, from great wins to some big losses. Through it all, CCLP was on the frontline advocating for the rights of every Coloradan. (Shoutout to our incredibly dedicated policy team: Charles Brennan, Annie Martínez, Chris Nelson, Bethany Pray, Chaer Robert, Milena Tayah, Morgan Turner, Katherine Wallat, and Laura Ware!) Even though the session is over, we will continue to monitor the bills that passed or signed into law to ensure implementation is successful.

This wrap-up provides information on some of the bills we focused on, but you can see all our bill positions in our 2026 bill tracker.

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