Concerning modifications to legislative interim activities, and, in connection therewith, reducing an appropriation.
HB26-1331 makes temporary changes to how the Colorado General Assembly’s interim committees operate during the 2026 interim, with some related changes extending into the 2026-27 fiscal year. The bill bars the Legislative Council from prioritizing interim committee or task force requests for that interim, limits interim committees to requesting no more than five draft bills and recommending no more than three bills for introduction, and generally restricts interim committees to meeting only during the interim period. It also suspends per diem and travel reimbursement for legislators serving on statutorily created interim committees during the 2026 interim.
The bill further pauses or limits the work of a number of specific committees and task forces, including the capital development committee, jail standards oversight committee, American Indian affairs interim committee, health insurance exchange oversight committee, behavioral health justice oversight committee, pension review commission and subcommittee, tax policy oversight committee, sales and use tax simplification task force, transportation legislation review committee, and water resources and agriculture review committee. In addition, it repeals the legislative emergency preparedness, response, and recovery committee and the statewide health care review committee. Many of these restrictions are temporary and are repealed effective July 1, 2027, indicating the bill is aimed at reducing interim legislative activity for a single cycle rather than permanently restructuring the committee system.
The bill amends multiple sections of Colorado statutes governing interim committees, legislative compensation, reporting duties, and committee authority. It temporarily suspends meetings, bill recommendations, reports, field trips, and certain review functions for named committees, and it removes expense eligibility for legislators and some task force members during the 2026 interim. It also reduces the legislative department’s 2026-27 appropriations by specified amounts for the General Assembly, Legislative Council, and Committee on Legal Services, subject to conditions tied to the companion appropriations bill.
The available context shows the bill passed and was signed by the Governor, and the lack of recorded committee transcript or vote detail suggests no documented public controversy in the provided materials. The overall posture of the bill appears administrative and budget-driven, focused on scaling back interim legislative activity and reducing spending. Its enactment indicates institutional support for the temporary reductions, at least at the final stage.
The main points of contention likely concern the breadth of the temporary shutdown of interim committee work and the reduction in legislator and member reimbursements. Committees with policy or oversight functions in areas such as health insurance, behavioral health, tax policy, transportation, water, pensions, and American Indian affairs are all affected, so stakeholders interested in those subject areas could view the bill as limiting oversight and delaying legislation. The bill also eliminates some committee activity entirely for the interim and repeals two committees, which may have raised concerns about reduced legislative capacity and diminished stakeholder input, even though the changes are temporary in many cases.