New Colorado laws taking effect Jan. 1 — including rules on texting while driving and cage-free eggs

The new year will bring more than a dozen new laws to Colorado, from restrictions on texting while driving to car-seat age limits and new caps on medical malpractice lawsuits.

Nineteen laws that passed in 2024 will go into full or partial effect on Jan. 1, one of the largest and last implementation dates from this year’s legislative session. The new laws for 2025 include testing accommodations in licensing exams for Coloradans with disabilities; penalties for companies that violate the state’s child-labor laws; and new requirements for autopsies of minors, including no longer making them public records in most cases.

The new year also means some laws passed in earlier years are also set to kick in. Most notably, that includes House Bill 1289 from 2022. That law requires the state to provide Medicaid coverage to children and pregnant women, regardless of their immigration status.

Also kicking into full effect is House Bill 1343 from 2020. The law, which had a phased implementation in recent years, requires that all eggs sold in the state — from chickens, geese, turkeys — must come from a cage-free facility.

According to the state Department of Agriculture, “all egg producers in Colorado housing more than 3,000 egg-laying hens will need to comply with the requirements of a cage-free facility,” and all egg or egg products sold in the state must also show their compliance on their product labels.

Here is a closer look at several bills taking effect Jan. 1:

Texting while driving

Colorado drivers will be prohibited from using cellphones and most other handheld electronic devices under Senate Bill 65. Existing state law prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from texting or otherwise using handheld devices while driving, but the new law expands that, generally, to all drivers. Until now, adult drivers had been allowed to use handheld devices to make voice calls.

There will be exceptions to the new law. You can use your device in an emergency or if you’re a specific kind of employee or contractor who’s responding to a utility emergency. The law also doesn’t apply to certain government employees, like first responders or animal control officers.

Drivers can still use certain electronic devices, like a radio (including a HAM radio) or a prescribed medical device. But cellphones are out of bounds, unless they’re used through a headset or some other hands-free configuration.

Law enforcement can pull you over for using a device if they see you using it while driving and “in a manner that caused the (driver) to drive in a careless and imprudent manner.”

Firearm storage

One of several gun control bills passed last year, House Bill 1348, prohibits Coloradans from leaving firearms in their vehicles unless a gun is secured in a locked container that’s out of plain view. That includes in the trunk (so long as the trunk is locked), or in a locked glove compartment.

The law doesn’t apply to antique firearms or to guns stored in vehicles that are used on farms or ranches, while on the premises. The new regulations also don’t apply to law enforcement, military personnel or a state employee who works in hunter education.

Car seat rules

Under House Bill 1055, children riding in cars must remain in “child restraint systems,” like car seats, until they’re 9 years old, up from 8. Toddlers must stay in rear-facing car seats until they’re 2 years old and weigh 40 pounds, up from 1 year old and 20 pounds.

Children 2 and older can sit in a rear- or forward-facing device. The law also requires that children between ages 4 and 9, and who weigh at least 40 pounds, “must use a child restraint system or booster seat in a rear seat, if available.”

Kids under 18 will also be required to wear a seatbelt, regardless of where they sit in the vehicle. Under current law, children up to 15 years old must wear seatbelts, and older teens and adults must wear seatbelts when in the driver or front-passenger seat.

Gig driver protections

House Bill 1129 brings new transparency and protections for delivery drivers. Under the new law, companies like DoorDash and Grubhub will be required to show customers how much they’re paying. The company is also prohibited from decreasing the amount of money it pays to its drivers based on how much a customer tips, and it’s also required to pay the driver the entirety of a customer’s tip.

Additionally, companies must tell drivers paid on a per-trip basis how much those drivers will be paid for each “delivery task”; how many transactions are involved in each task; and the addresses, distance and estimated time it will take to complete the task. The company must also tell the drivers how much they were tipped. The law has similar requirements for drivers paid on a more time-based system, and it requires more aggregation of drivers’ travel.