2026 Colorado legislative analysis: A year in which business concerns were heard
At a time when “do no harm” has become the bar for success set by Colorado business leaders each legislative session, even that goal seemed…
Energy & Environment
Death of second data-center bill ends all talk of incentives or safeguards
Environmentalists and technology industry leaders came into the 2026 legislative session with different goals on how to regulate or incentivize development of data centers in…
Sponsors heed business and utilities’ pleas, make changes to PUC reauthorization bill
After a pair of contentious committee hearings in which business groups and utilities asked for several big changes to a proposal authorizing continuation of the…
Despite bill death, negotiations on potential data-center incentives continue
The sponsor of a bill to make Colorado competitive for data-center attraction by offering significant incentives reluctantly killed his proposal Thursday — but the possibility…
Data centers, rising utility bills change legislative conversation on emissions cuts
As Colorado leaders have pushed utilities to cut emissions for years, they’ve done so with an underlying assumption that energy demand would remain flat. But…
Legislators advancing bill to clean up plastics regulation Polis signed last month
Roughly one month after Gov. Jared Polis warned while signing a bill regulating disposal of plastic pellets that the new law already needed a critical…
Many changes are requested but few are made as PUC sunset bill gets first OK
Colorado legislators took the first step in reauthorizing and updating the increasingly powerful Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, but they’ll have to decide in the…
Bill to limit use of rat poison meets its legislative end
The sponsor of a bill to sought to make it harder for people to use common forms of rat poison killed her effort this week,…
New law offers grants to replace older commercial trucks with newer gas-burning vehicles
Owners of aging and highly polluting diesel commercial trucks soon will be able to get state grants to help them buy newer and less-polluting —…
Colorado board adopts precedent-setting emissions controls for toxic air contaminants
Manufacturing plants, petroleum refineries and any facilities using gas-fired turbines must begin reducing emissions of five priority toxic air contaminants by 2027 under newly approved…