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Votes at a glance: Colorado Senate advances school finance, health, insurance, environment and labor bills
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Summary
On April 28, 2026 the Colorado Senate adopted several conference reports and passed multiple bills to third reading or final passage, including measures on school finance, patient test-result timing, worker-classification for news delivery, homeowners insurance measures and a limit on single-use foodware unless requested.
The Colorado Senate on April 28 moved a large portion of its calendar forward, adopting conference committee reports and passing multiple bills to third reading or final passage.
The most consequential votes put the School Finance Act and several health and consumer-protection bills on track. The Senate adopted the first conference committee reports and repassed House Bill 14-11 (changes to health insurance benefits and an appropriation) and House Bill 14-10 (payment of the expenses of the executive, legislative and judicial departments for fiscal year beginning 07/01/2026). Both repassages were approved by recorded voice vote when reported: HB14-11 (34 ayes, 0 no, 0 absent, 1 excused); HB14-10 (34 ayes, 0 no, 0 absent, 1 excused).
Other bills adopted or advanced on April 28 included:
- Senate Bill 17 (out-of-network claims dispute resolution mechanisms): committee reports adopted and the bill passed second reading.
- Senate Bill 23 (School Finance Act): sponsors described an inflation adjustment to set the statewide base per-pupil funding for 2026–27 and a total program funding figure; the bill was adopted on second reading and ordered to third reading.
- Senate Bill 91 (exclusions for certain printed news deliverers in employment definitions): after extended debate about independent-contractor classification and potential effects on local papers and workers, the bill was adopted on second reading.
- Senate Bill 93 (workers' compensation declarations tied to permitting for high-value construction projects): committee amendments narrowed some coverage and the bill passed on second reading after debate about possible local-government workload and unfunded-mandate concerns.
- Senate Bill 146 (limitations on providing single-use food service ware unless the customer requests it): a long and sometimes pointed floor debate considered many amendments (exemptions for farmers markets, language-access concerns, bundled packaging); the bill passed on second reading and was placed on the calendar for third reading.
- Senate Bill 162 (allowing providers to hold sensitive cancer and genetic test results for up to 72 hours so clinicians can speak with patients): sponsor Senator Frizzell recounted a personal experience with alarming portal results and urged the protective measure; the bill's committee reports were adopted and the measure was adopted on the floor.
Several other bills (including SB45, SB114 and SB155) were amended and ordered engrossed for third reading. The Senate confirmed multiple gubernatorial appointments to the Colorado Brain Injury Trust Fund Board and recessed until 1 p.m.
Ending: Many of the bills adopted on April 28 were ordered to third reading and final passage; several were passed outright on the floor. Where a roll-call tally was given in the transcript it is included above; where the transcript records only voice adoption it is described as such.
