OPINION: Progressive Progress During Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Session

By Colorado Governor Jared Polis

I completed the 2025 bill state-wide signing tour, signing bills passed by Democrats and Republicans during the landmark 2025 legislative session.

I signed 476 bills, 87.5% of which were bipartisan, breaking down barriers to housing Coloradans can afford, increasing funding for students and teachers, enhancing public safety, saving people money, protecting the domestic and wild animals Colorado calls home, and protecting and expanding access to outdoor recreation.

This session we continued delivering on our commitment to reduce the cost of living in our state by passing laws to build more housing people can afford, increase student funding to drive student success, improve public safety and more.

I am proud of the progress we delivered this year and was thrilled to travel the state from Grand Junction to Alamosa, Keenesberg, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Fort Collins and more to sign these transformational laws in the communities that make Colorado the best state in the nation to live, raise a family, and thrive.

More Housing Now

• HB25-1273 – Residential Building Stair Modernization will cut through red tape and make it easier to build more homes that Coloradans can afford.
• HB25-1272 – Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing will break down barriers to building more townhomes in Colorado communities.
• HB25-1211 – Tap Fees Imposed by Special Districts makes it cheaper and more efficient to build housing by ensuring tap fees do not delay the process, or increase the cost.
• SB25-002 – Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures will make it easier to utilize innovative modular housing to reduce costs and create more homes that Coloradans can afford.
• SB25-006 – Investment Authority of State Treasurer For Affordable Housing helps remove government barriers to housing Coloradans can afford, and unlocks new home-ownership opportunities through increasing access to for-sale housing.
• SB25-167 – Invest State Funds to Benefit Communities will help teachers create equity through homeownership and help teachers live in the communities they teach.
• I took Executive Action to help increase Colorado’s housing supply, reduce housing costs, and increase energy efficiency, by giving further guidance to state agencies on how to best support local governments who are taking needed action to deliver more housing and help ensure statewide compliance with strategic growth laws passed by the General Assembly and signed into law.

Improving Public Safety

• SB25-310 – Proposition 130 Implementation 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.
• HB25-1062 Penalty for Theft of Firearm cracks down on gun theft by reclassifying firearm theft as a class 6 felony regardless of the value of the firearm stolen.
• HB25-1171 – Possession of Weapon by Previous Offender Crimes adds first-degree motor vehicle theft to the list of criminal offenses that would make an individual ineligible to possess a firearm.
• SB25-281 – Increase Penalties Careless Driving adjusts penalties for persons convicted of careless driving,  making each individual seriously injured or killed in a careless driving event a separate violation and clarifies that careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death is an included crime for the purposes of the “Victim Rights Act”.
• A State Budget to Make Colorado Safer: I continue working to make Colorado safer for everyone and by signing this year’s budget, Colorado continues investing in preventing and addressing crime. This includes: Youth Crime Prevention, Supporting Crime Victims, $15 million ongoing for critical public safety communication infrastructure, and Funding for CBI’s Colorado Gangs Database.
• HB25-1146 – Juvenile Detention Bed Cap allows judicial districts to utilize more juvenile detention beds to ensure that individuals deemed high-risk do not re-enter communities before receiving the rehabilitative services they need.
• SB25-168 – Prevention of Wildlife Trafficking will crack down on wildlife trafficking to keep Coloradans and wildlife safe.

Supporting Schools and Our Workforce

• HB25-1320 – School Finance Act 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 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.
• HB25-1278 – Education Accountability System modernizes Colorado’s K-12 accountability system for the first time since 2009 to better measure student outcomes, including the creation of a new sub-indicator to support postsecondary and workforce readiness before graduation.
• HB25-1192 – Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement ensures that every student takes a course incorporating all financial literacy standards before they graduate high school, as well as practice filling out financial aid forms so that they are equipped with the know-how to plan for and secure their financial futures.
• HB25-1038 – Postsecondary Credit Transfer Website will support students by providing more information about how their credits earned through prior learning, concurrent and dual enrollment, and GT Pathways courses will transfer to each Colorado public institution.

Freedom

• SB25-001 – Colorado Voting Rights Act 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 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 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.
• Gov. Polis and Lt. Gov. Primavera have sounded the alarm over proposed Medicaid cuts Republicans in Congress want to make that will throw hundreds of thousands of Coloradans off their health care. Gov. Polis has been outspoken about federal cuts to wildfire prevention staff and AmeriCorps cuts.

Climate Goals, Air Quality

• HB25-1267 – Support for Statewide Energy Strategies 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 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 helps strengthen access to low-cost geothermal energy in Colorado.