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Leg Team Update

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 22:17:26 GMT

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Today is day 102 of the Legislative session with only 18 days left to end on Wednesday, 5/13. The numbers to date are: S-179/19/11/3/5 and H-423/43/26/19/19.

No changes to the bills sent out on Monday’s LegTeam Update, but SJR26-024 (Concerning the designation of May 2026 as "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month") was passed in the Senate Chambers on Friday. Thanks to Sen. Hinrichsen for sponsoring the bill and Sen. Bright for speaking at the reading. Thanks also to those ABATE members in attendance showing support for the resolution: Larry, Kathy, Phill, Mike C., Jamie, Jan, Dave C. Diablo and his 2 sons. It passed unanimously in the Senate with everyone signing on as cosponsors. Since it was introduced as a joint resolution, it will go to the House next for a reading and a vote. Due to the few days left in the session, and the heavy workload, it might not be read in the House. I did speak to the Speaker of the House and the House Majority Leader about having it read on Friday, 5/1, but I haven’t confirmed it with the House sponsor yet. I’ll send out a notice for everyone to come to the Capitol when I find out if and when it’s going to be read. The Senate Chamber Session with the reading of the resolution can be seen on their website https://leg.colorado.gov/ . On the home page, click on “Watch & Listen” in the upper right-hand corner. Then click on “The Colorado Channel – Live Video”. Then click on “Senate” and select “Legislative Day 101”. The Resolution starts around timeline 37:00 and runs to 49:35 (with a shot of us ABATE members present in the Senate Chambers.

Leg Team Update

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:40:41 GMT

Leg Team Update 4/15/2026

As I'm writing this on 4/11/26, today is day 88 of the 120-day legislative session. The numbers so far are S- 159 bills introduced; 17 assigned to S-T&E; and 10 concerning transportations. Of the 17 bills assigned to S-T&E, 3 have been PI and 4 have passed through both chambers already. In the House we had 415 bills introduced; 42 assigned to H-THL; and 26 concerning transportations. Of the 42 assigned to H-THL, 17 have been PI and 13 have passed through both chambers already.

HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor has written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) is one of the House bills that has passed through both chambers already.

The big news this week is HB26-1394 (Concerning the conversion of the motorcycle operator safety training fund to a cash fund subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation). It passed through the H-APP committee on Monday, 4/6 with a vote of 10-1. This bill is one of 61 appropriation bills introduced to help balance the state budget (HB26-1410, also known as the Long Bill). On Thursday, 4/9, HB26-1394 passed through 2nd reading in the House, in less than a minute, with an ay////////e vote and zero opposition.

I don’t know the exact process behind the funding for the MOST Program that this bill changes, so I met with the aides for the Speaker of the House on Wednesday (3 times) to try to get clarification. As the bill explains: SECTION 2. Appropriation. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, $1,110,000 is appropriated to the department of public safety for use by the Colorado state patrol. This appropriation is from the motorcycle operator safety training fund created in section 43-5-504 (1), C.R.S. To implement this act, the division may use this appropriation for the motorcycle operator safety training program. The purpose of the bill is not to just take our money but to align MOST with the other state agencies in appropriating and tracking all agencies’ monies. This year there were 29 bills introduced to appropriate money to various agencies. HB26-1166 appropriated funds to the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS). I couldn’t figure out how much money it totaled but it had to be many billions of dollars because they distribute it to numerous agencies. The budget for the CSP is $230,285,050, so taking MOST’s $1.1M isn’t the real reason for the bill.

The big concern is that when CDPS appropriates money to CSP to be used for the MOST program is that the money really does get used by MOST. As the bill says “MAY” which I think should be changed to “MUST”. As I said, I don’t fully understand the process behind the funding, so Madam Speaker sent a letter on our behalf to CSP and CDPS asking for an explanation. She also mentioned that MOST should be spending money on stipends and other improvements for the MOST program to benefit Colorado motorcyclists. More on this later…

In addition to all the work I’ve been doing on this bill, I also secured a Senate sponsor and a House sponsor for resolutions for “May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month”. This year it’s been decided to have two separate resolutions, instead of a joint resolution – one Senate Resolution and one House resolution. That way it’s easier to get them passed and can be presented individually in each chamber. I’ll let you all know when this happens so we can get some motorcycle representation at the presentations (like last year).

Lastly, get more legislatively active, you just might have some fun!!!

Leg team Update

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:47:03 GMT

Leg Team update 4/26/2026

4/4/26

Today is day 81 of the legislative session and here are the numbers: S-154/17/10/4 and H-409/42/26/15. A quick update on a couple bills of direct concern to motorcyclists.:

HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor has written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) unanimously passed a hearing in the S-T&E Committee on Wed., 4/1 and is scheduled for a 2nd reading in the Senate on Monday, 4/6.

HB26-1329 (Concerning criminalizing certain motor vehicle activities, and, in connection therewith, criminalizing and creating penalties for motor vehicle racing, street takeovers, and stunt driving) was PI by the H-JUD Committee on Wednesday, 4/1 with a vote of 5-6.

As you probably know, the Joint Budget Committee has the task of drafting the Long Bill and balancing the State’s Budget and with Federal cuts this a quite a daunting job. In February the Legislature rushed through 29 bills appropriating funds to various state departments and agencies. This obviously wasn’t sufficient to balance the budget. On Thursday, 4/2, the House introduced 61 more bills drafted by the Joint Budget Committee. These bills are written to gather money for the state budget and you guessed it – HB26-1394 (Concerning the conversion of the motorcycle operator safety training fund to a cash fund subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation) is taking away our MOST money. You can read the bill at: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1394 , be sure to read the fiscal note too. They’re not taking all the money, but the bill allows for the possibility of them taking our money year after year, not just this year. I’ve reached out to the Board for advice on where we stand on this bill and what options we might have concerning this issue. I also reached out to a couple sponsors of the bill requesting a meeting to discuss the bill. Feel free to send me your ideas and concerns also, as ABATE is a membership driven organization and all members’ opinions are valued. More on this later….

HB26-1394, along with 46 other bills, is scheduled for a hearing in the H-APP committee on Monday, 4/6. These too will probably be rushed through the process with little discussion on each particular bill. I’ll see what I can do to give ABATE’s input.

leg team update 3/27/26

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 14:58:13 GMT

Leg Team Update 3/28/2026

3/28/26

Today is day 74 of the legislative session and here are the numbers: S-149/15/8/3 and H-343/42/24/14.

I met with the Executive Director, Danny Katz, of CoPIRG (Colorado Public Interest Research Group) this week to discuss the Right to Repair (R2R) for motor vehicles. CoPIRG has been instrumental in getting R2R bills passed for agricultural equipment (HB23-1011) and R2R for electronic equipment (HB24-1121). They‘ve been very active in many other consumer issues also. Check out their website at https://pirg.org/colorado/ . We had a brief but productive meeting on how to proceed with a R2R bill. With all the background work that needs to be done, we realize there isn’t enough time to pursue a bill this session but agreed to start something after this session. Getting all the stakeholders lined up and assessing the opponents, which there could be quite a few, is going to take time, so Danny suggested we start getting together in June already. I’ll keep the LegTeam updated so we can get as many people involved as possible, especially those directly affected by the R2R – all motor vehicles affected. It might be helpful if we get the Repair Acts, H.R. 1566 & S. 1379, included in the National Highway Bill, so reply to the Call to Action on these bills on the MRF website.

As far as the bills of direct concern to motorcyclists, there is no change.

HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor have written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) is scheduled for a hearing in the S-T&E Committee on Wed., 4/1.

HB26-1329 (Concerning criminalizing certain motor vehicle activities, and, in connection therewith, criminalizing and creating penalties for motor vehicle racing, street takeovers, and stunt driving) is scheduled for a hearing in the H-JUD Committee on Wed., 4/1.

As I mentioned before, a lot of interesting facts and figures are presented in the legislative declarations section of the bills (reasons for needing the bill). Here’s one that I found interesting about Colorado black bears: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1342 .

Lastly, “Do we really need this bill” this week is SB26-146 (Concerning restricting the distribution of single-use food serviceware). The bill prohibits a retail food establishment or third-party food delivery service from providing single-use food serviceware to a customer unless the customer requests it. Read the bill at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-146 .

Leg team Update

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:31:42 GMT

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3/21/26

Today is day 67 of the Legislative Session and here are the numbers: S-145/14/8/3 and H-339/42/24/11.

Here’s a brief update on transportation-related bills:

HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor have written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) is scheduled for a hearing in the S-T&E Committee on Wed., 4/1.

HB26-1329 (Concerning criminalizing certain motor vehicle activities, and, in connection therewith, criminalizing and creating penalties for motor vehicle racing, street takeovers, and stunt driving) is scheduled for a hearing in the H-JUD Committee on Wed., 4/8.

SB26-035 (Concerning an increase of traffic violation penalties) is assigned to the H-THL Committee.

HB26-1286 (Concerning a requirement that a commercial motor vehicle have a human present when the commercial motor vehicle is being driven by an automated driving system) was heard in the H-THL Committee on Wednesday. I attended the meeting and with 38 House Cosponsors I thought it would be a brief hearing. Wrong! This is quite the contentious bill. There were 10 witnesses against the bill, including CSP and CDOT, and 7 witnesses for the bill. With numerous questions from the committee for the various witnesses and a few amendments, the hearing lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes. It finally passed 12 to 1 with promises to continue working on the bill as it goes to 2nd reading in the House. More on this later.

Leg team Update 3/7/26

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 20:53:06 GMT

Leg team Update 3/7/2026

Today is day 53 of the Colorado Legislative Session. The numbers are: S-135/12/7/2 and H-325/40/23/6. In case you didn’t notice, there wasn’t a LegTeam Update last week as Val and I were on vacation.

As an update on previously mentioned bills:

Rep. Bradley’s bill, HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor have written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) passed the H-THL Committee hearing last week with a unanimous vote. It’s scheduled for 2nd reading on the House floor on Monday, 3/9.

SB26-035 (Concerning an increase of traffic violation penalties) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-035 . It passed the S-T&E Committee Hearing last week and was sent to the S-APP committee. The bill increases the penalties for illegally overtaking a vehicle on the left in a no-passing zone and increases the penalties for multiple speeding violations within a one-year, 2-year, or 5-year period.

SB26-003 (Concerning expanding the scope of the "Battery Stewardship Act" to cover the end-of-life management of electric vehicle batteries) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-003 . It also passed the S-T&E Committee Hearing last week and sent to the S-APP committee. The bill expands the scope of the "Battery Stewardship Act" to cover the end-of-life management of propulsion batteries, which are batteries that are primarily used to supply power to an electric or hybrid vehicle, and establishes requirements concerning propulsion batteries that differ from the requirements for the batteries currently contemplated by the "Battery Stewardship Act".

SB26-072 (Concerning increasing criminal penalties related to assaultive conduct with a motor vehicle, and, in connection therewith, adding the conduct of causing the death of another person with a motor vehicle to the crime of criminally negligent homicide) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-072 . The bill has 2 Senate sponsors and no House sponsors. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee but hasn’t been scheduled yet.

Another bill of interest is HB26-1286 (Concerning a requirement that a commercial motor vehicle have a human present when the commercial motor vehicle is being driven by an automated driving system). It can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1286 . The bill prohibits using an automated driving system to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless an individual who holds a commercial driver's license is in the vehicle, monitors the vehicle's driving, and intervenes, if necessary, to avoid illegal or unsafe driving. It’s scheduled for a H-THL Committee Hearing on Wednesday, 3/18, in room LSB-A at 1:30 pm.

Leg team Update 2/21/2026

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:05:45 GMT

Leg team Update 2/21/2026

Today is day 39 of the legislative session and here are the numbers: S-119/12/6/1 and H-286/34/19/4. For those of you paying attention, you’ll notice 4 numbers instead of the usual 3. The fourth number is the number of bills assigned to S-T&E and H-THL or transportation concerned bills assigned to different committees which have been PI (postponed indefinitely – killed).

Rep. Bradley’s bill, HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor have written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) is still scheduled for a H-THL Committee hearing on Tuesday, 2/24 upon adjournment in room LSB-A.

Her other bill, HB26-1125 (Concerning the assessment of penalties against a parent when a minor violates laws concerning the usage of certain electric vehicles, and, in connection therewith, authorizing the assessment of penalties against a parent for a minor's improper usage of an electrical assisted bicycle, electric motorcycle , electric scooter, or electric skateboard) is going to be pulled. I talked with her on Tuesday and she said she was going to pull the bill because of lack of support. She might try it again next year.

I’ll mention a few other bills that might not be a direct concern to motorcyclists but are transportation related.

SB26-035 (Concerning an increase of traffic violation penalties) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-035 . It only has one Senate sponsor and no House sponsors yet and is scheduled for a S-T&E committee hearing on Wednesday, 2/25 at 1:30 in room 352. The bill increases the penalties for illegally overtaking a vehicle on the left in a no-passing zone and increases the penalties for multiple speeding violations within a one-year, 2-year, or 5-year period.

SB26-003 (Concerning expanding the scope of the "Battery Stewardship Act" to cover the end-of-life management of electric vehicle batteries) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-003 . The bill expands the scope of the "Battery Stewardship Act" to cover the end-of-life management of propulsion batteries, which are batteries that are primarily used to supply power to an electric or hybrid vehicle, and establishes requirements concerning propulsion batteries that differ from the requirements for the batteries currently contemplated by the "Battery Stewardship Act". It currently has two Senate sponsors and two House sponsors. It is scheduled for a S-T&E Committee hearing on Wednesday, 2/25 also.

SB26-073 (Concerning increasing criminal penalties related to assaultive conduct with a motor vehicle, and, in connection therewith, adding the conduct of causing the death of another person with a motor vehicle to the crime of criminally negligent homicide) can be read at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-072 . The bill has 2 Senate sponsors and no House sponsors. It was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee but hasn’t been scheduled yet.

Lastly, I don’t know if this bill should be considered a “questionable” bill or a “Do we really need this bill”, but it is listed on the legislative website as one of the “Most Accessed Bills”. It’s SB26-097 (Concerning decriminalizing commercial sexual activity among consenting adults). It does have two Senate sponsors and two House sponsors and that’s all I’m saying about that!

Leg Team Update 2/14/26

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:35:25 GMT

Leg team update 2/14/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is day 32 of the legislative session and the numbers are: S-113/12/6 and H-212/24/12.

Rep. Bradley’s bill, HB26-1079 (Concerning a requirement that a minor have written permission to obtain an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle) is scheduled for a H-THL Committee hearing on Tuesday, 2/24 upon adjournment in room LSB-A. It has a second House Sponsor, Rep. Boesenecker, and one Senate sponsor, Sen. Bright. I won’t be able to attend the hearing but encourage anyone else to attend. It’s a relatively short bill, so it will probably be a short hearing. I don’t know of any opposition and it’s a pretty straight forward bill, but I don’t know if it will pass.

Another bill was introduced with the word “motorcycle” in it, so I went to the sponsor to discuss it. HB26-1125 (Concerning the assessment of penalties against a parent when a minor violates laws concerning the usage of certain electric vehicles, and, in connection therewith, authorizing the assessment of penalties against a parent for a minor's improper usage of an electrical assisted bicycle, electric motorcycle , electric scooter, or electric skateboard) is also sponsored by Rep. Bradley. It’s about holding parents responsible when a minor child violates restrictions put on stated electric vehicles. In the definitions it says that “electric motorcycle” means an off-highway motorcycle and includes electric dirt bikes. Read the entire bill at https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1125 . To avoid confusion, I suggested replacing the words “electric motorcycle” with “electric dirt bike”. I hope to have further discussions with Rep. Bradley about the bill before it comes to a H-THL hearing on Thursday, 2/26. This bill does have a Senate sponsor, Sen. Carson.

Elsewhere, I’m still waiting to hear from CoPIRG about a meeting to discuss a Right to Repair bill. Sen. Hinrichsen’s aide, Garrett, thought maybe a meeting could happen with Sen. Hinrichsen and CoPIRG at the Capitol sometime. More on this later.

The “questionable” bill of the week is HB26-1201 (Concerning a unit owner's notice to a homeowners' association that the unit owner prefers to receive correspondence in a language other than English). What if the homeowner’s association doesn’t know the unit owner’s language?

update

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:28:39 GMT

New update February 2026

Today is day 11 of the 2nd Regular Session of the 75th General Assembly. The numbers for today are S-31/8/4. (That’s 31 bills introduced, 8 assigned to S-T&E, with 4 concerning transportations, for those of you who don’t remember my explanation in last week’s update). The House numbers are H-68/4/5. Nothing of direct concern to motorcyclists yet.

I haven’t talked with Sen. Hinrichsen yet about a meeting of stakeholders for a Right to Repair Bill, but I hope to meet with him this week to discuss it further.

I got a draft bill from Rep. Bradley titled, “concerning a Requirement that a Minor have Written Permission to Obtain an Instruction Permit to Drive a Motorcycle”. In CRS 42-2-108 it states that the application for an instructional permit for a minor under 18 years of age, must be accompanied by an affidavit of liability which can be signed by “a responsible adult”. So, hypothetically, if your parents don’t want you to get a motorcycle permit, you could get your biker neighbor to sign an affidavit and get a permit without your parents’ permission. This bill would change that, requiring written permission from a parent or legal guardian. I hope to meet with Rep. Bradley this week.

Also, I hope to get more welcome letters distributed this week. Joint committee meetings are wrapping up, so committee meetings will start discussing regular session bills.

Only 109 days left in the session! Get more legislatively active, you just might have some fun!!!

Stump

Legislative Update

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:12:03 GMT

2026 session update

I haven’t talked with Sen. Hinrichsen yet about a meeting of stakeholders for a Right to Repair Bill, but I hope to meet with him this week to discuss it further.