Major gun control vote, plus hearings for abortion bills this week in the Colorado legislature

Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post on Mar 24, 2025

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DENVER — The rhythm of the Colorado legislature’s 2025 session hit a snag Friday when members of the Joint Budget Committee delayed the budget’s introduction by a week, but several major bills are still set to work through the building in the coming days.

On Monday, House Republicans were fighting Senate Bill 3, the proposal to restrict access to certain firearms, during one of its last steps before it might end up at Gov. Jared Polis’ desk. The House was set to vote on the bill — which would require a background check and a training course to buy certain semiautomatic weapons — in the afternoon.

At the same time, the Senate also debated a pair of firearm bills: House Bills 1133 and 1238. Those proposals would restrict ammunition sales and increase the requirements to host gun shows, respectively.

Here’s what else is going on in the Capitol this week:

Abortion rights, protection bills in key hearings

House lawmakers will also debate two abortion-related bills. One, Senate Bill 183, would enable Amendment 79, the voter-approved measure that enshrined the right to abortion in the state consitution.

That will be heard by the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday after the full House finishes its work for the day. Committee meetings are when the general public, advocates, and opponents can testify publicly.

The full House will hear the second proposal, Senate Bill 129, later this week. It is currently scheduled for Monday, but the ongoing gun debates will likely delay the bill. It is aimed at protecting doctors who prescribe drugs to induce abortion from actions taken by other states that have criminalizing anti-abortion laws.

Sundance tax credit, wage theft bill

The Senate will have its first crack at a proposed tax credit aimed at luring the Sundance Film Festival to Boulder. The Senate Finance Committee will hear the bipartisan proposal Tuesday at 8 a.m. House Bill 1005 would deliver up to $34 million in tax credits and $5 million for small film festivals.

At the same time Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee will hear a proposal to beef up enforcement of wage-theft laws. House Bill 1001 has already passed its primary committee, where the substance of the proposal was debated.

The Appropriations Committee focuses on the costs of proposed bills — and it poses a potentially sharper hurdle than usual as lawmakers look to close a $1 billion spending gap.

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