The 2026 legislative session was marked by a major push to regulate artificial intelligence, a technology advancing at breakneck speed.
Colorado is at the forefront of AI policy, becoming the first state to pursue regulation on “algorithmic discrimination” by passing a law in 2024. Supporters have lauded the legislation, saying it’s necessary to put guardrails around AI. Critics called the measure heavy-handed and unworkable, and at least one major technology company, which left Colorado for Florida, had cited the AI law as a cause for concern.
On the other hand, U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen told Colorado Politics on Wednesday that, while Colorado and other states are beginning to assemble their own AI regulations, the federal is dragging its feet, falling behind China and allowing the industry to grow at a record pace.
In Colorado, lawmakers from both parties agree that AI oversight will require continual updates as the technology evolves.
During the 2026 session, legislators passed nearly half a dozen bills, all of which now await Gov. Jared Polis’s signature.
Below is a brief overview of those measures.
The bill: Senate Bill 189
What it does: The result of several years of work to establish one of the nation’s first policies regulating “consequential decisions” made by artificial intelligence technology, Senate Bill 189 is a revised version of the 2024 legislation was amended during a special session last year to delay its implementation date.
Polis had signed the 2024 law with reservation, expressing worries about its impact on the nascent but fast growing technology, while businesses called the measure unworkable. Supporters touted it as first in the nation.
The new bill requires developers of “automated decision-making technology” — defined as technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate output to make, guide, or assist in a decision, judgment, or determination concerning an individual — to disclose its intended use to deployers and users. The bill also requires developers to notify deployers of the categories of training data, known limitations, and instructions for appropriate use and human review.
The legislation includes user disclosure requirements. Under the measure, if a consumer alleges that the automated decision-making was used to make a consequential decision resulting in an “adverse outcome,” deployers would be required to provide a description of the role the technology played in influencing that decision.
The bill also grants consumers the right to request personal data, to have incorrect data used in automated decision-making corrected, and to request “meaningful human review” following a “consequential decision” resulting in an adverse outcome.
The bill passed by 34-1 in the Senate and 57-6 in the House. It was sponsored by Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver; Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver; House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge; and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver.
The bill: House Bill 1263
What it does: The legislation requires chatbot services to inform users that they are communicating with artificial intelligence and prohibits operators from providing minors with points or rewards that encourage engagement with the service. It requires operators to enact “reasonable measures” to prevent chatbots from producing sexually explicit material or statements that “simulate emotional dependence.”
Additionally, it requires chatbot operators to implement a protocol for user prompts that include mentions of suicidal ideation or self-harm, and prohibits operators from stating or implying that any information provided by a chatbot is endorsed by, or equivalent to, services provided by a licensed professional.
The bill passed on a 40-24 vote in the House and a 24-11 vote in the Senate. It was sponsored by Reps. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Sens. John Carson, R-Highlands Ranch, and Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora.
The bill: House Bill 1195
What it does: The bill prohibits therapists and social workers from using artificial intelligence to give recommendations or treatment plans to clients without clinician review.
Additionally, it requires therapists to have clients’ consent before using artificial intelligence to record or transcribe sessions, and it prohibits individuals from offering psychotherapy services unless they are a regulated professional.
The bill passed unanimously in the House and on a 33-2 vote in the Senate. It is sponsored by Reps. Gretchen Rydin, D-Littleton, and Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton.
The bill: House Bill 1139
What it does: The bill prohibits health insurance companies from basing coverage decisions solely on group data collected by AI systems. It also requires insurance companies’ AI systems to consider a patient’s medical or clinical history, along with other important factors, in coverage decisions.
House Bill 1139 passed on a 47-15 vote in the House and a 32-3 vote in the Senate. It is sponsored by Reps. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, and Sheila Lieder, D-Littleton, and Sens. Lisa Cutter, D-Evergreen, and Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada.
The bill: House Bill 1210
What it does: The bill prohibits the use of “price or wage setting algorithms” to determine the amount charged to a consumer or the wage offered to a worker.
House Bill 1210 passed on a 39-24 vote in the House and a 19-15 vote in the Senate. It is sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Rep. Javier Mabrey. D-Denver, and Sens. Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora, and Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora.