The Second Regular Session of the 75th General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Opening day featured the traditional remarks from leadership in both the House and Senate chambers. Speaker Julie McCluskie delivered her final opening-day address, as she is term-limited in 2026. Both Speaker McCluskie and Senate President James Coleman reflected on the work accomplished over the past year, including the August special session, during which the state addressed a significant budget shortfall, which will be another issue that will need to be addressed this year. As is customary, both leaders also outlined their legislative agendas, which showed strong alignment across chambers.
Shared priorities emphasized by both the Speaker and Senate President included affordability, reducing healthcare costs, supporting education, environmental protection, expanding affordable housing opportunities, and continue to support workforce development. Colorado is once again facing a substantial budget shortfall, and—similar to last year—legislation with a negative fiscal impact on the state will be difficult to advance.
A recurring theme throughout the opening-day remarks from Speaker McCluskie, Senate President Coleman, and from Governor Jared Polis state of the state, was how Colorado will navigate its relationship with the federal government, particularly amid threats to withhold previously allocated federal funding.
On January 15, 2026, Governor Polis delivered his final State of the State address, highlighting the state’s accomplishments during his tenure. He outlined his priorities for the final legislative session, which closely mirror those of legislative leadership, while also emphasizing continued investment in transportation infrastructure, workforce development.
For additional details, please refer to the Governor’s press release on the State of the State Address.
The session will take a few weeks to fully ramp up, as SMART Act hearings and other procedural matters are underway. Despite this slower start, more than 90 bills were introduced on the first day. Historically, election years tend to produce fewer controversial bills; however, early indications suggest that may not be the case this year.
Please refer to the link below for the GreenCO Bill Tracker. We are using a new bill tracking database so there are some changes from our previous one. Please let us know if you have any questions and comments as we can make changes if needed.
Hicks & Associates stands ready to work diligently on behalf of the industry throughout the session. As Senate President Coleman concluded his opening-day remarks, “Let’s do this!”
