By Jeffrey A. Roberts
CFOIC Executive Director
An online clearinghouse of pre-introduced legislative proposals — an idea that died on the General Assembly’s calendar in 2024 — gained new life Monday when a Colorado House committee unanimously passed a measure that delays the project’s implementation until 2028.
Under House Bill 25-1069, lawmakers could opt to post drafts or titles of bills they are considering for an upcoming session “on a publicly accessible web page” on the legislature’s website.

“The idea behind this is to facilitate interactions with more and more stakeholders so as to ensure that all Coloradans are able to contribute their thoughts to particular bills,” said sponsoring Rep. Stephanie Luck, R-Penrose, the proponent of last year’s unsuccessful House Bill 24-1022, which passed the House but didn’t get out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Eliza Hamrick, a Centennial Democrat who is co-sponsoring HB 25-1069, called the measure “a significant advancement in how we as elected representatives engage with our constituents on the legislation that shapes our state.”
“This preemptive disclosure serves to foster greater public engagement and feedback, ensuring that our legislative processes are both transparent and responsive to the needs of the people we serve,” she said.
Creating the web page was expected to cost $63,840 in FY 2025-26, according to the bill’s fiscal note. But an amendment suggested by Luck and Hamrick gives the legislature’s IT staff three years to fold the clearinghouse of drafts into the automated system used for bills introduced during legislative sessions. Luck said the IT staff could then “absorb” the cost using existing funds.
The House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee voted 11-0 to send HB 25-1069 to the House Appropriations Committee.
Several people testified in favor of the measure. Donna LaBelle said the bill “would provide a connecting bridge between Colorado legislators and their constituents, which would be a mutually beneficial partnership.”
“As representatives,” she told the committee, “I’m sure you want to want to know what concerns the people of your districts have, and with the increased stakeholder participation that this forum would provide, you can receive real-time feedback. Your constituents would feel supported and heard.”
In written testimony, retired journalist Sandra Fish noted that 77 of 92 House bills and 48 of 86 Senate bills introduced so far were introduced on the session’s opening day. “Many of these bills could have been published in advance to give the public more time to view them,” she wrote.
Fish also noted that some other states, including New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Florida and Alabama, already post pre-introduced bills.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and the League of Women Voters of Colorado also expressed support for HB 25-1069. Under the bill, each posted draft would include a disclaimer saying it is not final and “may or may not be introduced” during the upcoming legislative session.
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