Senate Majority Leader Tables Changes to Colorado AI Law, Admits 'Missteps'
There’s not enough time left in the legislative session to resolve areas of disagreement in Colorado’s proposal to overhaul its AI law, Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez (D) said Monday, tabling SB-318 (see 2504290017). The session ends Wednesday.
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Rodriguez said during a Senate Business Committee hearing that there may have been “missteps” in anticipating the law’s impact on smaller businesses and startups. “I would not assume that I had everything right” in passing the first-in-the-nation comprehensive AI bill, he said.
The bill would have extended the law’s enforcement date to January 2027 from February 2026. Rodriguez said he realized a few weeks ago that it would not be possible to balance the interests of consumers, businesses and Gov. Jared Polis (D), who had “reservations” about the bill when signing it in May 2024.
The plan is to work toward a compromise through the end of the year and introduce a new bill in early 2026, Rodriguez said.
Rep. Brianna Titone (D), who introduced the Assembly version, said in a statement Tuesday that she “was looking forward to making the agreed upon changes to last year's SB-205. I'm disappointed that negotiations got derailed this session but I know we can find a solution to create an environment for innovation with the necessary safeguards to protect consumers.”
During the hearing, Rodriguez highlighted a number of proposed changes to the AI law: new limits on risk management programs, expanded protections for small businesses, removal of the duty of care, removal of the rebuttable presumption, a reduced scope on the right to appeal, creation of a safe harbor program, and the removal of requirements for companies to proactively report algorithmic risks to the attorney general.