Concerning a limitation on the number of bills that a member of the general assembly may introduce in a regular legislative session.
Summary
HB26-1073 would change Colorado law to cap the number of bills a legislator may introduce in a regular session at three, with exceptions for appropriations bills and certain committee-recommended bills. The measure also allows additional bills in limited circumstances if chamber leadership approves them and if the bill is requested by a legislative committee, addresses an emergency that cannot wait until the next session, or corrects a technical or clerical error in a bill already passed during the same session.
The bill would add a new statutory section to the Colorado Revised Statutes, making the bill-introduction limit a matter of statute rather than only a joint legislative rule. It would apply beginning with the first regular session of the 76th General Assembly and would take effect after the referendum period unless challenged and approved by voters. By codifying the limit, the bill would affect the internal procedures of the General Assembly and the ability of individual lawmakers to file legislation in each regular session.
Impact
The bill would create section 2-2-328 in the Colorado Revised Statutes and impose a legal limit of three bills per legislator per regular session, subject to specified exceptions. It would also preserve and reference existing categories of exempt or committee-originated bills, including appropriations and bills recommended by interim or other authorized legislative committees, while giving chamber leadership a narrow gatekeeping role for additional bills in emergency, committee-requested, or technical-correction situations. The practical effect would be to reduce the number of bills individual members may introduce and to formalize session bill-introduction rules in statute rather than relying solely on joint legislative rules.
Sentiment
The available record shows limited public debate, with no committee transcript or recorded vote details provided, but the bill’s introduction suggests a procedural reform aimed at limiting bill volume and focusing legislative workload. Its referral to the House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs and subsequent postponement indefinitely indicate that it did not advance out of committee. Overall, the measure appears to have been treated as an internal legislative process bill rather than a policy bill affecting the public directly.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the reduction in each legislator’s ability to introduce bills, which could be viewed as improving efficiency and reducing clutter by supporters, but as restricting member prerogatives and constituent-driven legislation by opponents. Another potential issue is the discretion given to chamber leadership to authorize extra bills, which may raise concerns about unequal access or partisan control over which measures can proceed. The bill also distinguishes between ordinary member bills and committee-recommended or emergency measures, which may prompt debate over whether the exceptions are broad enough or too easily used to bypass the cap.