In Colorado bill debate over social media and porn sites, when does protection of kids become overreach?
A trio of bills aimed at regulating the internet to protect children in Colorado have run into a wall of opposition — along with “concerns” from the governor — over worries they’d infringe on First Amendment rights.
The sponsors of Senate Bill 201, which would have required age verification to access online pornographic materials, killed their bill on the floor this week in an acknowledgement that Gov. Jared Polis would likely veto the measure. Two other bills aimed at adding social media regulations, in part to protect underage youth from criminal activity, are also in danger of being vetoed.
Taken together, the hurdles facing the three bills show the push and pull of balancing the protection of the state’s youth with concerns about impeding the free flow of information and violating rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
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Ammo sold in Colorado will soon be kept off of open shelves
Starting in summer 2026, ammunition sold in Colorado must be kept behind counters or in locked shelves under a law signed Friday by Gov. Jared Polis.
House Bill 1133 requires ammo be accessible to customers only with the help of a store employee. It also generally prohibits the sale of ammo to people under the age of 18, though it includes several exemptions that allow sales to people who are currently between 18 and 21; to those who’ve passed a hunter’s safety course; and to military servicemembers and police officers.
The law goes into effect July 1, 2026. Because it requires ammo be sold only with the assistance of store employees, the law effectively bans the ammo vending machines that were installed in at least three towns last year.
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Gov. Jared Polis, in first veto of year, rejects bill changing public records law — setting up potential override vote
Gov. Jared Polis rejected a bill that would have altered the state’s public records laws on Thursday, setting up a rare attempt by legislators to try to override the veto.
In a letter announcing his decision — the first veto of the 2025 legislative session — the governor wrote that Senate Bill 77 made some “administrative changes” to the Colorado Open Records Act that he considered fine, including requiring additional public information about the filing and costs of records requests.
But he wrote that it had two fatal flaws: The bill would’ve given government entities more time to respond to requests than currently allowed if they determined the request was for financial gain — requiring officials to make that determination themselves. It also would’ve created two classes within the public records law, requiring faster responses for journalists — sticking to the three days now considered reasonable — while allowing for delays of a couple additional days for everyone else.
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Can the Trump administration intervene on Colorado’s new gun-control law? Republicans hope so.
Colorado House Republicans sent a letter this week to request immediate intervention from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her office’s new 2nd Amendment Task Force to oppose the state’s sweeping new gun-control law.
But legal experts told The Denver Post that Bondi doesn’t have authority to nullify Senate Bill 3. Though the Justice Department could later file a lawsuit challenging it, the feds couldn’t unilaterally declare the measure unconstitutional in any binding manner — meaning the Republican state lawmakers’ request is unlikely to lead to its reversal anytime soon, if at all.
One expert, constitutional law professor Doug Spencer at the University of Colorado Law School, said the letter, sent Monday, mostly amounted to political posturing. The state House’s top Democrat, Speaker Julie McCluskie, called it a “cowardly” attempt to challenge legislation passed by a majority of lawmakers.
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Legislature approves Sand Creek Massacre memorial for Colorado Capitol
A statue memorializing the Sand Creek Massacre will soon adorn the Colorado State Capitol grounds — a milestone moment of awareness and healing from one of the darkest moments in state history.
The Colorado Senate unanimously approved a resolution approving its installation Monday. The House also unanimously approved it last week. Installation is planned to begin in 2026.
The statue, by sculptor Gerald Anthony Shippen, will depict the Cheyenne and Arapaho chiefs Black Kettle and Left Hand, as well as a Native American woman with a child. It will be placed on a pedestal on the western steps, where a statue of a Union soldier once stood.
“We end our healing run there, on the steps, and we just look in,” said Otto Braided Hair, a Northern Cheyenne descendant of the massacre and tribal representative.
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Flurry of floor votes, reproductive and election bill debates, and more in the Colorado legislature this week
The Colorado legislature’s two-week-long budget blitz has (mostly) ended, and we’re now in the final weeks of the 2025 legislative session.
That means a continuous flurry of floor votes in both chambers as sine die approaches in early May. In the House this week, representatives will debate House Bill 1321, which would dedicate $4 million to the governor’s office to defend against “adverse” action from the Trump administration, including possible criminal investigations, as we reported last week. That will likely be a tense debate: The House’s top Republican, Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, foreshadowed her concerns with the bill in brief comments on other legislation last week.
The House will also debate bills seeking to implement policies around book bans in schools; to allow small cars common in Japan — called “kei vehicles” — onto (most) Colorado roads; and to institute an easier licensing system for food trucks. House Bill 1174, which would cap certain hospital reimbursements, is also up for a first House vote this week.
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