Colorado Senate passes SB13 to remove cohabitation element from bigamy statute

The Colorado Senate adopted Senate Bill 13 on Feb. 10, 2026, a measure sponsored in the transcript by Senators Henriksen and Marchman that removes the cohabitation element from the state's bigamy statute.

Senator Marchman, identified on the floor as a co-prime sponsor, described the bill as "a common sense update" to modernize the criminal code and to remove language that allows the state to police private living arrangements. He said the cohabitation element is rarely prosecuted — citing one conviction in the last three years in his remarks — but that the clause is sometimes used by abusers in domestic-violence situations to deter victims from leaving.

"This bill focuses solely on removing the state's ability to police the private domestic living arrangements of consenting adults," Marchman said on the floor.

Marchman also told the Senate that the bill has "no appropriation, no significant impact on state revenues," framing the measure as fiscally neutral and intended to limit legal abuse and unnecessary court workloads.

The motion for final passage was called and the presiding officer announced that "Ayes have it," and the bill was ordered engrossed and placed on the calendar for final passage. The committee of the whole report later recorded the bill as passed when the committee report was adopted.

What happened next: the bill was included in the committee of the whole report adopted by the Senate; implementation will follow standard statutory enactment procedures and any administrative adjustments by prosecutors and courts.

The Senate did not record an individual roll-call tally for SB13 on the floor transcript beyond the voice adoption and committee report confirmation.