Saboteur: The Governor set the Legislature up for Failure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: August 28, 2025
Contact: Kjersten Forseth, 719-641-4674, Dennis Dougherty 303-253-4315
Saboteur: The Governor set the Legislature up for Failure
On August 6, the Governor of the State of Colorado called a special session regarding budgetary concerns, but added in a sentence about the need to “fix” artificial intelligence law in Colorado. He wanted the legislature to reduce the fiscal impact of SB24–205, which had no fiscal note when it passed, but now magically had a $5 million fiscal impact for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. He, and his office had no conversations with consumer and worker advocates, those impacted by artificial intelligence decisions every day in their lives. But the governor and his staff spent lots of time with big tech and Colorado businesses. Instead of working on a common bill with those advocating for workers and consumers, the governor got behind a bill that eviscerated all protections currently in law and replaced them with regulations that were a weak mirage of protection for consumers and workers, HB25B-1008.
“The special session should have been about one thing: standing up for Coloradans against the devastating cuts and corporate handouts in H.R.1. By bowing to the demands of tech giants, the Governor lost focus on that duty and failed to meet the moment” said Colorado AFL-CIO Executive Director Dennis Dougherty.
Despite a comprehensive bill introduced in the Senate pairing back requirements from SB24- 205 that the Governor had requested upon its signing back in 2024, he went all in on a bill to repeal it. The legislature spent many days and nights trying to negotiate the bill since the extraordinary session started on Thursday. The Governor’s Office was not engaged in helping those negotiations, instead his office injected into conversations with their own self interests. When a deal was announced, the Governor’s office provided no support for it.
The Governor added turbulence to the rough waters by attaching an inflated fiscal note to SB25B-004 (The AI Sunshine Act) from his own office, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) which he directly controls, to implement a bill to protect against discrimination. The bill requires the state to disclose when AI is used in making a decision profoundly impacting lives - unemployment insurance, probation in criminal cases, SNAP benefits, and more. As Senator Kirkmeyer pointed out in the Appropriations Committee, the fiscal note had no real explanation as to why they felt they needed at least $5 million per year and dozens of staff. The Governor’s office simply forced a fiscal note. The extent to which the state is using algorithmic decision systems to impact Colorado residents was never disclosed. Despite being asked last year as part of the AI task force, OIT has provided no information.
In the end, negotiations failed on both bills and the legislature kicked the can down the road another nine months. This gives tech giants - Google, Amazon, and Workday - more time to fight with billions of dollars against giving people the information they deserve to know when a computer is changing their life without human review.
The legislature tried and failed, but the blame lies at Jared Polis’ feet. By siding with tech giants he is failing Colorado workers, consumers, Colorado businesses, and our public institutions. Coloradans deserve better.
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