Senate passes exemption carving out critical infrastructure from Colorado's right-to-repair law
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Summary
After extensive floor debate about the definition and oversight of a critical-infrastructure exemption, the Senate approved Senate Bill 90, which creates an exemption for critical infrastructure from parts of Colorado's right-to-repair law while preserving a role for the attorney general to adjudicate disputes.
Senate Bill 90, presented as a technical fix to the state's right-to-repair framework, was debated by sponsors and opponents before passage. Senator Snyder (a sponsor) framed SB90 as aligning Colorado with other states by creating a critical-infrastructure exemption while preserving attorney-general oversight for disputes about what constitutes critical infrastructure. He said similar exemptions exist in several states and that Minnesota’s law has used comparable language without undermining right-to-repair outcomes.
Senator Carson (co-sponsor) said the bill strikes a balance between defending consumer repair rights and protecting critical infrastructure. Senator Bridal pushed back that the definition of critical infrastructure in the current draft was too broad and said sponsors and opponents planned to work on tightening language ahead of third reading; Bridal also raised concerns about online threats made against people involved in the bill process.
Supporters emphasized that the attorney general's existing consumer-protection authorities provide an oversight mechanism for disputes arising under the exemption. After discussion and assurances that sponsors and others will continue to refine the definition, the Senate adopted SB90 by voice vote and recorded the bill as passed in the transcript excerpt.
