August 28, 2025
Colorado delays nation's first comprehensive AI law to June 2026
Industry lobbying pushed the enforcement date back five months
🤖AI Governance💡Technology📋Public Policy🔍Policy Analysis🏢Legislative Process
Colorado enacted SB 24-205 in May 2024 as the first comprehensive state law regulating AI systems used for consequential decisions
Governor Jared Polis signed it despite expressing reservations about its potential to stifle innovation
The law applies to both developers who build AI systems and deployers who use them to make decisions about people Consequential decisions include employment, education, financial services, housing, insurance, and government services — a scope broader than any prior U.S AI regulation.
Governor Polis convened a special legislative session in August 2025 specifically to address mounting industry opposition to the AI Act. The Colorado General Assembly passed SB 25B-004 on August 26, 2025, and Polis signed it two days later. The bill pushed the enforcement start date from February 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 — a five-month window that gives the 2026 regular legislative session time to negotiate further amendments before enforcement begins.
The Colorado Technology Association and other industry groups led the lobbying push for the delay, arguing businesses needed more time to build compliance programs, train staff, and understand documentation requirements. Small and mid-sized tech companies argued the law was especially burdensome for them. Critics of the delay, including consumer advocacy groups and the Center for Democracy and Technology, said industry had already had two years since the law passed in 2024 to prepare.
The Colorado AI Act draws a legal distinction between developers and deployers. Developers who build AI systems must exercise reasonable care to prevent algorithmic discrimination, disclose known risks to deployers within 90 days, and maintain public websites detailing what their AI systems do. Deployers who use AI systems must conduct annual reviews, complete risk-based impact assessments before deployment, and notify consumers when AI influences consequential decisions about them.
Violations carry a penalty of $20,000 per violation, enforced exclusively by the Colorado Attorney General. There is no private right of action — individuals cannot sue companies directly for algorithmic discrimination under this law. This means Colorado AG Phil Weiser's office is the sole check on the entire AI compliance system, a structural choice that concentrates enforcement power in a single government office with limited resources relative to the scale of AI deployment across the state.
Trump's Executive Order 14281, titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, creates tension with Colorado's law by targeting policies built around disparate impact — the same legal theory Colorado uses to define algorithmic discrimination. Legal analysts say the executive order could lay groundwork for the Department of Justice to challenge Colorado's law or provide a preemption argument for companies seeking to avoid compliance. Until a court rules, businesses must still prepare to comply.
Colorado lawmakers have signaled intent to negotiate substantive amendments to the AI Act during the 2026 regular legislative session
The outcome is uncertain: industry wants to narrow the law's scope, remove the developer-deployer distinction, or create safe harbors for companies that certify compliance in good faith
Consumer advocates want to strengthen enforcement and add a private right of action Both sides know the June 30 deadline creates leverage.
🤖AI Governance💡Technology📋Public Policy🔍Policy Analysis🏢Legislative Process
People, bills, and sources
Jared Polis
Governor of Colorado (D)
Phil Weiser
Colorado Attorney General (D)
Colorado Technology Association
State technology industry trade group
Matt Scherer
Senior Policy Counsel, Center for Democracy and Technology
Mike Weissman
Colorado State Representative (D), primary sponsor of SB 24-205
Donald Trump
President of the United States
What you can do
1
civic action
Contact Colorado legislators about AI Act amendments before June 2026
The 2026 legislative session will determine whether Colorado's AI Act survives with its consumer protections intact or gets weakened by industry amendments. Contact your state representative and senator to let them know you want strong AI accountability, not loopholes.
Hello, my name is [NAME] and I'm a constituent from [CITY/ZIP]. I'm calling about Colorado's AI Act, SB 24-205, which takes effect June 30, 2026. I'm concerned that industry lobbying could weaken the law's protections against algorithmic discrimination in employment, housing, and credit decisions. I want [REPRESENTATIVE NAME] to support maintaining strong consumer protections including the developer-deployer framework and robust Attorney General enforcement authority.
2
civic action
Ask if AI is being used in decisions about you
Under Colorado's AI Act, deployers must notify consumers when AI influences consequential decisions. Even before June 2026 enforcement begins, you can ask employers, lenders, insurers, and landlords whether AI affects decisions about you. Document their responses — this information matters if you need to file a complaint later.
When applying for a job, loan, insurance, or housing in Colorado, ask: 'Is AI or automated decision-making used in evaluating my application? If so, what system is being used, and how can I request a human review of the decision?'
3
civic action
Monitor federal AI preemption developments
Executive Order 14281 signals the Trump administration may try to preempt state AI regulations like Colorado's. When federal rulemaking processes open for public comment, your voice helps determine whether state-level consumer protections survive or get overridden by weaker federal standards.
When federal agencies open rulemaking for public comment on AI standards, submit your views on whether federal rules should preempt state consumer protections or allow states to maintain stronger local standards. Explain how AI decisions have personally affected you.