Results worth reporting
101 bills that passed and failed in Colorado’s legislature this year that you need to know about
Colorado’s 2026 legislative session ended Wednesday, capping 120 days of debate and negotiation over hundreds of bills. The Colorado Sun and the Colorado Capitol News Alliance parsed through the roughly 650 measures considered by the legislature this year to find the ones that will most directly impact people’s lives — or would have had they passed. Here’s our annual list of 101 bills that passed and failed in Colorado’s legislature this year that you need to know about.
State senator defeats two Democratic rivals, securing lone spot on primary ballot for Colorado treasurer
[Senator Jeff Bridges will] appear uncontested on the June primary ballot, making him all but a lock to secure the Democratic nomination and advance to the general election in November. Given the GOP’s history of losses in Colorado, Bridges is also the favorite to become the state’s next treasurer… “He impressed me with his qualifications,” Gayle Dixon, a 74-year-old delegate from Pagosa Springs, said of Bridges. Bridges told delegates gathered at Memorial Hall in Pueblo that as treasurer he would find a way to invest state dollars in the state.
Educators, lawmakers unveil bill that would untie education funding from TABOR rules
“Every year on the joint budget committee, we feel the consequences,” [Sen. Jeff] Bridges said. “We make choices no one should have to make between classrooms and healthcare. Not because Colorado is failing — because the rules we operate under haven't kept up with reality. TABOR says, if the government wants to do more, you ask the people. That's what this bill does.” … “Our teachers do heroic work every single day, and yet Colorado has some of the lowest-paid teachers in the country. That doesn't reflect Colorado values. I don't believe it reflects what Colorado voters want,” Bridges said.
Governor signs new school funding formula into law, securing an extra $500 million for Colorado schools
Sponsor Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat and JBC chair, said the new law creates a school finance act that, for the first time, funds Colorado schools in an equitable way. “This matters because every kid deserves the chance to succeed no matter where they come from and for too long in this state … we have not been ensuring that the kids who need the resources are getting those resources. This formula… ensures that kids in our state are getting the resources they need. We know that different kids cost different amounts of money to get to where we want them to be, which is reading by 8 and ready by 18.”
Sen. Jeff Bridges op-ed: Got ideas how to cut $1 billion without harming Coloradans? I chair the budget committee. Call my cell.
“Unlike a household budget, Colorado’s budget is almost entirely just the necessities. We don’t have an entertainment category, so we can’t just skip the Dave Matthews concert and save a billion dollars. Any cuts hit the government equivalent of utility bills. Sure, we can turn down the thermostat a bit, but we can’t cut a billion dollars without real consequences for folks across our state… For anyone with ideas, my cell phone is 303-358-5551. Not kidding.”
Sen. Bridges, Rep. McLachlan solicit input on housing in Durango
State Sen. Jeff Bridges joined Rep. Barbara McLachlan in Durango Thursday to cap off the first day of a two-day tour soliciting input from local stakeholders on affordable housing in advance of next year’s legislative session… The lawmakers’ tour took them as far west as Dove Creek, through Mancos and Cortez, north to Silverton on Friday, and east to Bayfield and Pagosa Springs. “From Dove Creek to Denver, you have these challenges, (but) they look different,” [Sen. Jeff] Bridges said. “The solution in Dove Creek is going to be very different from the solution in Denver.” But, the senator said that across the state, he has heard a common cry that development infrastructure is lacking.
Get More Smarter:
Budget and TABOR
This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we already make the joke about the actor Jeff Bridges in the intro to the interview but we’ve got the Chairman of Colorado’s powerful Joint Budget Committee -- State Senator Jeff Bridges -- on the show to explain the insane math problem that is the Colorado state budget.
The economy is rolling along, unemployment is low, and revenue is more than enough to meet spending obligations, so why are we about to cut $1.2 billion from the state budget? Senator Bridges makes it make sense in this interview-only episode.
Get More Smarter: Campaign Interview
Our guest today in our seemingly never-ending quest to interview every viable democratic candidate for a major race in Colorado, friend of the pod Jeff Bridges joins us once more to explain his campaign for State Treasurer and his love for "T-pools."