Lawmakers from Colorado’s House of Representatives have introduced their first 20 bills of the session, which are often their top priorities for the year. In 2026, priorities include labor, housing and consumer protections.

The very first bill read across the House desk, House Bill 1001, was introduced by sponsors last month during a press conference with Gov. Jared Polis. The bill would allow schools, nonprofit organizations, and transit centers to use underutilized land to build affordable housing.

“Colorado lacks over 100,000 homes, and we need creative solutions to address this housing shortage,” said sponsor Speaker Pro Tempore Andy Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, during the press conference. “The HOME Act, new legislation I’m sponsoring this session, will empower community organizations and schools to build affordable housing on their land that is often underutilized and centrally located. By reducing barriers, cutting red tape and leveraging existing land, we can help address Colorado’s housing shortfall by spurring the creation of affordable housing that is located where people live, work and play.” 

HB 1001 is sponsored by Boesenecker, Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, and Sens. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs, and Julie Gonzales, D-Denver.

The sponsors of last year’s bill to repeal an 80-year-old union law are taking a different approach this year, introducing the measure in the House, rather than in the Senate. The bill has one more change from last year — instead of being cosponsored in the Senate by Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, Sen. Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora, is backing the bill, alongside Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge.

House Bill 1005 would remove the current law’s requirement for a second election in order to establish a union security agreement at a unionized workplace. Colorado is the only state with a second election requirement in order to be able to mandate dues on non-union members, assuming a place decides to unionize.

Last year’s bill passed unanimously in both chambers but was vetoed by Polis, who wanted labor and business to reach a compromise.

Following an announcement last week that sponsors planned to reintroduce the bill during the 2026 session, Polis told Colorado Politics he is “frustrated” by the move and once again urged the two sides to come together to reach an agreement. HB 1005 is sponsored in the House by Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver.

Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, meanwhile, is working on a bill on domestic violence. House Bill 1009 would require law enforcement responding to domestic violence calls to conduct a “lethality assessment” to gauge a victim’s risk of serious injury or homicide. If officers determine that an individual is at high risk, they must connect that individual with a victim advocate.

The other sponsors are Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, R-Fort Lupton, and Sens. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, and Byron Pelton, R-Sterling.

In the last session, lawmakers passed House Bill 1090, which requires sellers to disclose the total price of goods and services, including any additional fees. This year’s House Bill 1012 builds on that measure by requiring individuals selling goods for delivery to disclose a comparison of the total price of the delivered goods and the total price of the goods available for purchase in a store.

The bill also prohibits individuals from charging “unreasonably excessive” prices to captive consumers, defined by the measure as people who lack realistic alternatives for a product or service, usually due to cost or monopolies.

House Bill 1012 is sponsored by Reps. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, and Kyle Brown, D-Louisville, and Sens. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora.