| As the gavel falls on this legislative session, we stand at the close of a 120-day legislative journey marked by challenge, contention, and compromise. Passions clashed, ideologies collided, and voices rose in heated debate. The legislative wins were hard fought and overshadowed by the rising tide of anti-business, anti-employer sentiment permeating the gold dome.
The session was overshadowed by the fight over the Banking Sunset legislation. In October, the Division of Regulatory Agencies released their Sunset Report for the Division of Banking and Banking Board. The second recommendation in the report would “authorize a credit union to purchase the assets and liabilities of a state bank”. The CBA Board voted unanimously to amend this recommendation from the Sunset legislation. CBA developed a legislative strategy to remove this recommendation from the sunset legislation. The Sunset legislation was introduced in the House chamber, HB24-1351 Concerning the Sunset of the Division of Banking and Banking Board.
Given the composition of the Legislature, we knew our best opportunity for success would be in the Senate. It did not temper our efforts in the House to amend the bill. Having never lost a banking bill in the first committee or first chamber, losing this amendment on this bill was still a very difficult result for the CBA government relations team. With the bill moving to the Senate, we knew we had more than a fighting chance to amend the bill and to keep a clean Sunset bill through the Senate floor fight. We overwhelmingly secured the amended bill in the Senate. Early on we advised the Board this fight would take the entire session; little did we know it would go to the very last day! In the end, your association prevailed and produced clean Sunset legislation without any authority granted to credit unions. We may see separate credit union legislation next year, and we will be prepared.
From the first day to the final gavel of Sine Die, we navigated through the stormy seas of disagreement. CBA had a few good wins working with varying coalitions to fight legislation that would harm banking, employers, customers, and communities across the state.
HB24-1014 Concerning Deceptive Trade Practice Significant Impact was legislation that would have eliminated the requirement that a significant number of consumers be harmed before remedies are made available under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. This legislation would have harmed businesses and increased the number of lawsuits. The bill died in Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB24-1148 Consumer Lending would have amended the Colorado Uniform Consumer Credit Code to change the terms and interest rates a non-depository institution may charge in a consumer credit transaction. Initially, FDIC insured institutions were exempted from the legislation, but the bill was amended on the House floor. CBA joined a coalition of business and lending groups to defeat this bill in the Senate.
HB24-1151 Junk Fees Concerning Disclosure of Mandatory Fees in Advertisements would have prohibited a person or business from advertising a price for a product, good, or service that does not include all mandatory or nondiscretionary fees or charges. Initially, FDIC insured institutions were exempted from the bill, but as the legislation progressed, language was added that would have made the legislation difficult to interpret and implement. The CBA team collaborated with a large coalition to oppose the legislation in the Senate. The bill died.
We engaged in the sometimes messy, often difficult work of the legislative process, seeking common ground amidst the cacophony of disagreement.
HB24-1098 Concerning Just Cause Eviction is legislation that died in the 2023 legislative session to return this year. The bill requires a landlord to have a “just cause” to evict a tenant. CBA initially opposed this legislation to seek amendments to improve the bill. The coalition working on this legislation was not able to significantly impact this bill although some concessions were achieved. A landlord can evict for history of nonpayment of rent, if a tenant refuses to sign a new lease, when a tenant engages in conduct that is disturbing other or causing a nuisance.
HB24-1175 Right of First Offer/Right of First Refusal is legislation that was vetoed by the governor in 2023 and returned in 2024. CBA worked closely with the bill sponsors to amend this legislation so that we could work within the confines of the legislation. First the legislation sunsets in 5 years, so there is an end-date to the program. Additionally, the legislation addresses only multi-family affordable housing stock. If the certificate of affordable housing has expired and then the owner wants to sell, the legislation does not apply. CBA was able to reduce the timeframes in the legislation for local governments to offer during a right of first refusal. We clarified the language on matched cash offers and removed tolling language. Last year’s legislation included a private right of action; there is no private right of action in this legislation.
HB24-1259 Concerning Price Gouging in Rent Declared Disasters is legislation brought by the legislators representing the Marshall fire area. It was challenging working with the legislators and advocacy groups involved as they were unwilling to compromise. Understandably this was an emotionally charged piece of legislation. Notwithstanding that, CBA and the coalition required concessions on this bill. Simply, the bill prohibited price gouging of rent during a declared disaster. In the details, the cap on the rent increases was too low, the geographic area was too broad, and the time too long. The sponsors were only willing to compromise on rent calculations. It came down to a floor fight in the Senate, but again we prevailed with much better legislation.
HB24-1260 Concerning Prohibition Against Employee Discipline is anti-union busting legislation that goes beyond its legislative intent. This is captive audience legislation. The bill gives employees the “right not to be required to listen to speech”. Similar legislation was passed in Connecticut in 2022 and Minnesota in 2023. There is litigation in Minnesota challenging the law. We expect a similar result in Colorado.
Late bills are a reality of any legislative session.
SB24-205 Concerning Consumer Protections in Artificial Intelligence is a significant piece of legislation attempting to address AI systems and the risk of discrimination in the use of AI systems in business operations. There are structural concerns with this legislation as amended by the House and Senate. Banks have been afforded a qualified exemption in the legislation. We will seek full exemption through rulemaking within the attorney general’s office. The implementation date has been pushed to February 1, 2026, with the thought that additional legislation will be forthcoming in 2025. CBA is considering options with other coalition partners to submit a letter to the governor voicing our concerns with this legislation and urging a more measured approach.
HB24-1468 Concerning an Artificial Intelligence and Biometric Taskforce is the companion bill to the AI legislation. This bill expands the existing facial recognition taskforce to include AI and biometrics. We were successful in amending the bill to add a member who is an expert in finance and financial technology to be appointed by the Governor.
Finally, there were disappointments this legislative session. There were high hopes at the beginning of the session that the legislature would adopt construction defect reform this year. It did not come to fruition, but not for lack of trying by the bill sponsors and a strong coalition working the issue. The oil and gas industry spent much of the session under unnecessary attack. Compromise legislation was realized in the last days of the session.
Our success does not lie with one person. It is a team effort. Our contract lobbyist, Colorado Legislative Strategies, are highly respected and a force to be reckoned with at the legislature. Thank you to Melanie Layton, Garin Vorthmann, Andrew Wood, and Caroline Woodhouse. The CBA team is family, and they have had my back every day, but especially the past 120 days. Jen Waller is a phenomenal leader, boss and strategist. Thank you for saying “I told you so.” Last, but not least, to the bankers who testified at hearings, responded to my calls, emails and weekly meetings, my heartfelt appreciation.
In the end, we will remember this session not solely for its struggles, but for resilience, determination, and spirit of collaboration. We will celebrate the victories. ◼
Best, Alison
Alison Morgan, Director of State Government Relations |
