A slew of Democrat-backed housing bills are set to hit the midway point of the legislative process in the Colorado Capitol this week.
That includes House Bill 1090, which would prohibit certain fees charged by landlords, often known as “junk fees,” and require general transparency around hidden fees across industries. The bill passed its first House vote Friday and is set for its final vote in the chamber this week, potentially as early as Monday. It will then move to the Senate.
House Bill 1108 is also awaiting its final vote in the House before passing to the Senate. That bill would specify that landlords can’t require penalties for leases that were terminated early because of a tenant’s death. House Bill 1113, which targets the installation of nonnative turf in new apartment complexes, is similarly at its last hurdle before hitting halftime.
All of those bills are set for final House votes Monday.
Two other housing bills are set for a first vote in the House this week: House Bill 1004 would prohibit the use of rent-setting algorithms in Colorado, which, critics say, cost many Denver renters more than $1,600 every year; and House Bill 1169 — the so-called “YIGBY,” or Yes in God’s Backyard” bill — would make it easier for houses of worship and educational institutions to build housing on their properties.
Another housing bill — House Bill 1235 — is set for its first committee vote, in front of House Judiciary, on Wednesday. That bill would require jury trials for certain eviction proceedings, addressing uncertainty created by the state Supreme Court in a ruling late last year.
Here’s what else is going on in the Capitol this week. As always, legislative schedules are subject to change.
Gun votes
Speaking of halftime: The biggest gun bill of the session — Senate Bill 3 — is up for its first House vote, in front of the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday. That bill would limit the sale, purchase and transfer of semiautomatic firearms that accept detachable magazines and are gas-operated. That basically means those colloquially known as assault weapons, plus a small slice of available handguns.
The bill was heavily amended in the Senate before moving to the House in order to get Gov. Jared Polis and some holdout moderate Democrats on board. It’s now on a direct path to Polis’ desk.
The full House will debate House Bill 1238 this week after it passed committee last week. That measure would put new restrictions on gun shows, including security and age requirements, as well as ensure that sellers are following the state’s three-day waiting period. (That requires a person to wait three days between buying a gun and actually picking it up.)
Restaurant wages bill inches closer to House floor
One of the quietly controversial bills of the session, House Bill 1208, would lower the tipped minimum wage in the handful of Colorado cities that have a higher tipped wage than the state’s requirement.
The bill is backed by Democratic lawmakers who say it’s necessary to help struggling restaurants But the proposal’s also drawn criticism from other Democrats and from their allies in organized labor, who charge that the measure would only help restaurants by financially harming their workers.
The bill passed its first House committee two weeks ago and is set for another committee vote, in House Finance, on Monday. From there, it would move to the House floor.
Other notable votes this week
Speaking of quietly controversial bills: Senate Bill 71, a hospital-backed bill to protect a discount drug program, will get its first Senate vote, in the chamber’s Health and Human Services Committee, on Thursday.
There are plenty of other things afoot this week, folks.
A handful of Republican messaging bills are scheduled for committee votes Wednesday. They include a bill requiring state regulation of abortion clinics; a bill to limit medical treatment for minors without a parent’s consent; and a bill to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.
House Bill 1237, which would extend how late bars can stay open, is up for a first vote in the House’s Business Affairs and Labor Committee on Thursday. House Bill 1242, which would unwind recent changes to the state open-meetings law and change the state’s public record laws, will be in the House’s State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, also on Thursday.
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