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Senate adopts bill imposing fee on some in‑game purchases to fund youth mental health
Summary
The Colorado Senate on May 12 adopted House Bill 14‑18, which creates a new 5% fee on certain in‑game purchases to be remitted to a newly created youth mental health enterprise; opponents warned the surcharge is industry‑specific and may raise legal risks, while supporters said it will generate critical funding for youth services.
House Bill 14‑18, a measure to assess a 5% fee on certain in‑game video‑game transactions and direct the proceeds to a newly created youth mental health services access enterprise, was adopted by the Colorado Senate on May 12.
The bill’s title and committee reports were read into the record before the Finance and Appropriations committee reports were adopted and an amendment (L‑33) clarifying the definition of “covered platform” was approved. “House Bill 14‑18 would impose a new 5% tax on in‑game video game purchases layered on top of Colorado's existing sales tax framework,” Senator Bazely said during floor debate, arguing the proposal amounted to a targeted surcharge on a single business model rather than a neutral tax on digital commerce. “By imposing an additional tax only when consumers engage in in‑game transactions, the legislation does not meaningfully distinguish between physical and digital goods,” Bazely added, and urged colleagues to vote no.
Senator Liston raised technical and compliance concerns, saying the bill would require some companies to determine whether customers are geographically present in Colorado and could impose remittance obligations on entities outside the United States. “This tax raises concerns under the Federal Internet Tax Freedom Act,” Liston warned, citing potential litigation risk.
Supporters stressed the bill’s revenue purpose. “Here's an opportunity to do something about youth mental health,” Senator Roberts said, urging passage and describing the funding as significant for youth programs. After debate, the presiding officer announced, “the ayes have it,” and the bill was adopted.
The bill as passed creates the youth mental health services access enterprise and the youth programming and protections enterprise, directs fee proceeds to those enterprises, and includes appropriations to support services for young people. Committee and floor amendments adjusted timing and narrowed or clarified definitions, and amendment L‑33 modified how “covered platform” is defined.
The next procedural step recorded on this transcript is that House Bill 14‑18 was placed on the calendar for third reading and final passage under the regular order; there is no further implementation detail or timetable in the floor record shown here.
