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Senate Finance fails to advance House Bill 1302 on reinsurance funding; bill is postponed indefinitely
Summary
Senate Finance considered House Bill 1302, which would have created a targeted reinsurance program and assessed fees to shore up homeowners and property insurance in high‑risk Colorado areas; the committee rejected a referral to Appropriations and then postponed the bill indefinitely by reverse roll call.
Senate Finance on its final meeting of the session heard debate on House Bill 1302, a proposal to use state-supported reinsurance to limit property-and-casualty premium increases in high-risk areas, but members declined to advance the measure and the bill was postponed indefinitely.
Sponsor Senator Snyder opened the discussion by citing a report the transcript referred to as "C3, the Colorado Competitive Council," saying disaster events and related costs have surged in recent decades. "Annual disaster related costs now range from about $1.7 billion to $4 billion," Snyder said, arguing the state must "get ahead" of escalating premiums.
Snyder described reinsurance as a mechanism that limits insurers' losses in major events and said reinsurance costs have risen sharply, noting the market "has jumped a 105% from 2017 to 2023." He said a statewide program that meaningfully affected premiums could require on the order of $200 million to $300 million, while House Bill 1302 proposed roughly $27,000,000 across programs including a veil program and a wildfire reinsurance program. "$25,000,000 is a drop in the bucket," he said.
Senator Mabile told the committee the proposal was a "smart creative solution," describing outreach with insurers, United Policyholders and other stakeholders and warning that without a response Colorado could face broad uninsured exposure similar to Florida or California.
Several members expressed reservations about the bill's approach. Senator Mullica said she understood the problem but questioned adding fees at a time when many working-class households are struggling. "This does add, you know, 1% fee," Mullica said, and she worried the burden would fall hardest on constituents least able to repair or replace homes.
After brief remarks, Senator Snyder moved to refer House Bill 1302 to the Appropriations Committee with a favorable recommendation. The clerk, Miss Ritterbush, took the roll; the chair announced the referral motion failed on a 6-to-2 vote.
Following that result, Senator Gonzales moved to postpone House Bill 1302 indefinitely and requested a reverse roll call. The chair said there was no objection and the committee PI'd the bill by reverse roll call.
The meeting concluded with the chair thanking members and staff; she said she did not expect to reconvene Senate Finance this year absent unusual developments.
Votes at a glance: Referral motion to Appropriations (moved by Senator Snyder) — referral failed, committee announced tally 6 No, 2 Yes. Subsequent motion (moved by Senator Gonzales) — House Bill 1302 postponed indefinitely by reverse roll call.
Note: The transcript refers to a report as "C3" and names a staffer, Katie Rudebesch, who was recognized by the chair; the transcript does not record a complete roll-call list of how individual members voted on the referral motion.
