2026 General Assembly Session Report
2026 General Assembly session report
The Colorado General Assembly concluded the second session of the 75th General Assembly last Wednesday. CAHB lobbyist Rachel Lee has provided an in-depth legislative recap—available by clicking here. Rachel’s document includes a review of GAC-position bills, other bills of interest to the state’s business climate, and the politics of the session. As Rachel notes in her report, the 2026 session was guided by two main themes—the state budget and responses to federal actions.
A special thanks to GAC Chair Kelly Maves for her leadership and to all GAC committee members who met regularly and provided insightful comments and feedback on dozens of bills so the GAC could take a position. Mary Kay Hogan and Rachel Lee, along with CEO Ted Leighty, met with legislators, provided testimony and collaborated with stakeholders from the construction and housing industries and the broader business community on several bills that directly impacted our industry or the state’s business climate. Thank you to all CAHB members who helped support CAHB’s lobbying efforts and those who were able to testify in committee or meet with legislators.
The legislative wrap up includes updates on several key bills that the GAC and CAHB lobby team worked on during the session, as well as other key legislative areas including the state budget, property taxes, education and other issues.
CAHB asking Gov. Polis to veto Arbitration Reform legislation
CAHB engaged with a broad coalition to oppose HB26-1236, Arbitration Reform. The bill prohibits a provision in an arbitration agreement that waives a party's ability to participate in a representative action except as preempted by federal law and disallows the waiver of this prohibition. The bill also prohibits a provision in an arbitration agreement that requires an employee to an employer and employee contract or a consumer to a merchant and consumer contract to pay fees that substantially exceed the costs required to file a claim in state or federal court, except as preempted by federal law, and also prohibits an individual from serving as an arbitrator if the individual has a rule, policy, procedure or demonstrated pattern of conduct that discriminates or prevents, or has the effect of discriminating or preventing, a certain party or type of party from asserting their rights or prevailing in arbitration or that discriminates against an attorney.
CAHB offered amendments to limit the bill only to the problems expressed by the sponsors, but those were ultimately rejected. The coalition attempted to kill the bill in the Senate and in the House on concurrence, but it passed by just one vote. CAHB is now requesting a veto by Governor Polis.
Mark your calendars: CAHB summer meetings set for July 16 and 17 in Denver
The CAHB will hold its upcoming quarterly meetings—including the Political Funding and Government Affairs committee and Board of Directors—on July 17 in Denver. The meetings begin Thursday night, July 16, with a member reception. Information on locations and hotel accommodations will be coming soon. We hope to see you at the upcoming meetings.