That’s a wrap on the 2026 legislative session. The biggest headline from our work this session: HB26-1263, Protecting AI Chatbot Users from Harm, received its final passage on May 12th. Once signed, Colorado will have one of the strongest conversational AI child safety laws in the country.
In this final session digest, we’re recapping where each of the bills we’ve been tracking landed, what those outcomes mean for Coloradans, and what’s next, including the Mind Our Future Colorado gubernatorial forum on May 28th.
Final Status: The Bills We Tracked
PASSED — HEADED TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK! HB26-1263: Protecting AI Chatbot Users from Harm Sponsored by Sen. Jodeh, Sen. Carson, Rep. Camacho, and Rep. Mabrey
HB26-1263 received its final passage on May 12th. Once signed, Colorado will have the strongest conversational AI child safety law in the country.
The bill establishes common-sense minimum safety standards for conversational AI operators: it requires regular AI disclosures to users, mandates evidence-based protocols to respond to expressions of suicidal ideation and connect users to crisis services, and prohibits chatbots from presenting themselves as licensed mental or behavioral health professionals. For users under 18, the bill goes further — prohibiting features designed to create emotional dependence, banning gamification tactics that drive engagement, and blocking the production of sexually explicit content involving minors.
Getting here took months of substantive work. Sponsors and advocates engaged closely with families, tech experts, youth advocates, and industry stakeholders to make sure the bill is both legally and technologically feasible while delivering meaningful protection. Healthier Colorado’s policy team, which played a key role in shaping the legislation from the start, is available to discuss what passage means, what implementation will look like, and why Colorado is now leading the country on this issue.
We also want to offer one point of clarification where we know there has been some confusion: “technical feasibility.” Some of the bill’s opponents suggested that this language gave deference to individual tech companies to decide what their chatbot can feasibly do. That’s inaccurate.
Stay tuned for signing ceremony details — Healthier Colorado experts will be available for comment around that moment as well.
PASSED — HEADED TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK! SB26-131: Sports Betting Protections Sponsored by Sen. Ball, Sen. Pelton, Rep. Woodrow, and Rep. Woog
SB26-131 cleared its final vote and is now on its way to the Governor’s desk. The bill doesn’t roll back voter-approved sports betting or the benefits it provides to Colorado’s water conservation and infrastructure efforts. Instead, it strengthens the consumer protections and public health safeguards needed to make sure the system works as intended — restricting credit card use for sports gambling accounts, capping deposits at five per 24-hour period, banning bonus payout promotions, restricting advertising during live sporting events and peak viewing hours, and eliminating mobile push notifications soliciting bets.
The bill responded to a clear public health concern: since legalization in 2019, Colorado has become one of the most active sports betting markets in the country, and emerging data points to growing concerns about problem gambling — especially among young adults. SB26-131 brings common-sense, evidence-informed guardrails to that market without eliminating responsible recreational use.
Stay tuned for signing ceremony details — Healthier Colorado experts will be available for comment then as well.
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY — HEADED TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK! HB26-1260: Updates to Child Care Assistance Programs Sponsored by Rep. Garcia, Rep. Willford, Sen. Cutter, and Sen. Bright
A major win for Colorado families. HB26-1260 passed unanimously out of the Senate on April 30th and is now heading to the Governor’s desk. The bill updates the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) to support its long-term sustainability and gives the Department of Early Childhood the flexibility it needs to navigate the state’s current fiscal reality — at a moment when 19 counties have frozen new enrollments and only 11% of eligible families are reached by the program.
Stay tuned for signing ceremony details — Healthier Colorado experts will be available for comment on what the bill means for families and what comes next for the program’s implementation.
📊 The Bigger Picture
The bills Healthier Colorado prioritized this session share a common thread: making sure Colorado’s health-related policy keeps pace with the realities Coloradans are actually living. Whether that’s an unregulated AI chatbot a teenager is talking to at midnight, a child care program that’s freezing enrollments while costs climb, or a sports betting market that’s expanded faster than the guardrails around it — these are bills aimed at gaps where current policy hasn’t caught up to current life.
We’re available to talk through what these issues look like heading into the interim and the 2027 session and what implementation will look like for the bills that crossed the finish line.
⏪ ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Mind Our Future Colorado — Healthier Colorado and Children’s Hospital Colorado’s statewide initiative to make child and youth mental health a centerpiece of the 2026 governor’s race continues to build momentum. With Colorado ranking 41st in the nation for youth mental health and more than 40 healthcare, early childhood, business, and consumer groups signed on, the campaign is laying the groundwork for a candidate forum focused entirely on this issue. Read more.
Getting Healthier With… — CEO Jake Williams joined gubernatorial candidates in the activities that keep them physically or mentally healthy. The series features AG Phil Weiser, Greg Lopez, Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, and Sen. Michael Bennet. Watch the series.
Coming Up: Key Dates to Watch
Thursday, May 28 — Mind Our Future Colorado hosts a gubernatorial candidate forum focused entirely on child and youth mental health.