THE GOVERNOR'S  NEWSLETTER

January 2, 2026

Happy New Year, Colorado!

• HB25-1273 - Residential Building Stair Modernization: This law will cut through red tape and make it easier to build more homes that Coloradans can afford. 
• HB25-1272 - Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing: This law will break down barriers to building more townhomes in Colorado communities. 
• SB25-002 - Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures: This law will make it easier to utilize innovative modular housing to reduce costs and create more homes Coloradans can afford. 
• SB25-006 - Investment Authority of State Treasurer for Affordable Housing: Bipartisan law to unlock home-ownership opportunities across the state.
• SB25-167 - Invest State Funds to Benefit Communities: This law helps break down barriers to housing for teachers, increase homeownership, and support Colorado’s schools and workforce.

• SB25-310 - Proposition 130 Implementation: This law supports funding for local law enforcement agencies to help recruit peace officers by providing financial reimbursements and tuition assistance for initial and continuing education and training for peace officers, as well as pay incentives and bonuses. The bill also provides funding to ensure that the families of fallen officers get the support they need after losing their loved one in the line of duty. 

• SB25-161 - Transit Reform: This law modernized RTD’s mission to align with statewide goals to increase transit ridership, increase service, and decrease GHG emissions. It also created an independent accountability committee to evaluate and make recommendations on topics including the governance structure and compensation of the board, representation of local governments, and workforce retention. 
• SB25-030 - Increase Transportation Mode Choice Reduce Emissions: This new law helps increase transportation options to decrease pollution and congestion on Colorado roads. 

• In August, Governor Polis called a Special Session to mitigate the devastating impacts of H.R. 1 to the state budget. During that session he signed a number of bills to mitigate the harm of H.R. 1 and balance Colorado’s budget, which was immediately thrown out of balance by this federal legislation. Here’s what Colorado leaders said following the Special Session. 
• Since the beginning of the Trump administration, Colorado has successfully defended $868.08 million in federal funding that helps Coloradans access food, fund schools, protect public lands and natural resources, and keep Coloradans safe.

• This year Colorado was named the new host of the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027. Governor Polis signed HB25-1005 Tax Incentives for Film Festivals, to increase support and revenue for film festivals in Colorado and support the next generation of film makers.

• In the face of federal inaction to extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Coloradans are preparing to see their health care costs rise. To blunt the rise of these costs, Governor Polis signed HB25B-1006, but continues to call on Congress to take action and prevent a further increase in costs. 
• Governor Polis took urgent action to ensure that Coloradans had access to the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine after the Trump administration made it more difficult for Americans to get. 

• SB25-001 - Colorado Voting Rights Act: This law will strengthen Colorado’s gold-standard elections system and help more Coloradans make their voices heard at the ballot box. 
• HB25-1281 - Title Register & Drive Kei Vehicles: This law gives Coloradans the freedom to own and drive Kei vehicles, supporting better air quality and choice for Coloradans.
• SB25-014 - Protecting the Freedom to Marry: This law enforces the ballot measure approved by Colorado voters that protects every Coloradan’s right to marry who they love. 
• SB25-129 - Legally Protected Health-Care Activity Protections and SB25-183 - Coverage for Pregnancy-Related Services: This past November, voters from every corner of Colorado overwhelmingly voted to enshrine reproductive freedom into our state constitution. Gov. Polis and the legislature aligned state law with the will of voters to strengthen access to reproductive care, protect Coloradans’ privacy from Washington, DC, and safeguard freedoms.

• HB25-1320 - School Finance Act: This law implements Colorado’s student-focused school finance formula without bringing back the budget stabilization factor. It also increases per-pupil funding again to $11,864, an increase from FY24-25 of $412 per student, or an average of $9,000 per classroom. 
• SB25-315 - Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness Programs: This law realigns Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness administration and funding to ensure all students have the opportunity to graduate high school with postsecondary credit, an industry-recognized credential, or work-based learning experience.

• Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program (UPK) has seen success in the 2026-2027 enrollment. As of December 29th of this year, families have submitted 14,856 total 4-year-old applications for the 2026–27 program year. On the first day of enrollment alone, families submitted 5,913 applications, compared to 3,977 applications on opening day last year—an increase of 1,936 applications, representing a 48.7% uptick. 

• HB25-1267 - Support for Statewide Energy Strategies: This law builds on our EV success by empowering the Division of Oil and Public Safety to adopt retail EV charging rules to promote consistency and provide for a more seamless EV charging experience. 
• HB25-1269 Building Decarbonization Measures: This law will make it simpler for buildings to comply with statewide standards by complying with a local standard and will help achieve the administration’s 2030 carbon emission reduction targets.
• HB25-1165 - Geologic Storage Enterprise & Geothermal Resources: This law helps strengthen access to low-cost geothermal energy in Colorado.

• Governor Polis and the Colorado Department of Transportation completed the I-25 Greenland Wildlife overpass near Larkspur, which is North America’s largest wildlife overpass.

• In 2021, Governor Polis signed SB21-249 which created the $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass, which offers car, bike, and foot entry into all Colorado state parks at a lower cost while also giving back to Colorado’s outdoor community. In its second year being on sale , more than 1.5 million Coloradans purchased a pass raising $41 million to support Colorado state parks, local search and rescue volunteers and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.