Concerning the provision of services to young people, and, in connection therewith, requiring certain social media platforms that provide online gaming services, products, and features to young people to impose a fee on each add-on transacti...
HB26-1418 would create two new state enterprises to collect fees from certain social media and online gaming platforms that are reasonably likely to be accessed by youth. The bill requires covered platforms to impose a 5% fee on each add-on transaction beginning January 1, 2027, with authority for the enterprise to adjust the fee later. Revenue would be split between a new Youth Mental Health Services Access Enterprise and a new Youth Programming and Protections Enterprise, with the first enterprise funding youth mental health peer navigator grants, crisis resolution services, and the existing youth mental health services program, and the second funding out-of-school time programs and enforcement of educational rights.
The bill also expands and reorganizes several existing youth-serving programs. It transfers operation of the youth mental health services program from the Behavioral Health Administration to the new enterprise beginning July 1, 2027, and increases the number of reimbursable therapy sessions from three to six per youth. It creates a youth mental health peer navigator grant program for entities that train young adults to provide prevention, peer support, and system navigation, and a crisis resolution team program for community-based de-escalation and stabilization services for youth in behavioral health crises. In addition, it creates a separate enterprise within the Department of Education to support out-of-school time grants and educational rights enforcement, and it requires covered platforms to list prices for certain youth-accessible gaming purchases in U.S. dollars at the point of sale.
In state-law terms, the bill adds new parts to Title 27 and a new article to Title 22, creates two continuously appropriated enterprise funds, and directs the Department of Revenue to collect and remit the fee revenue. It also amends the youth mental health services program statute to shift administration to the new enterprise, and it revises out-of-school time grant provisions so the new education enterprise participates in grant review and award decisions. The bill includes detailed findings intended to support enterprise status under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, states that the fee is not a tax, and provides appropriations for implementation and legal services.
The bill’s stated purpose is strongly pro-youth and pro-mental-health, and the legislative findings frame online gaming and social media as sources of predatory contact, compulsive use, anxiety, depression, and lost educational and developmental opportunities. Based on the bill text provided, there is no recorded committee transcript or vote history showing debate or amendments, but the measure ultimately was vetoed by the Governor on May 28, 2026. That veto suggests the bill was controversial or at least not acceptable in its final form, likely because it imposes a new fee on digital platforms and creates a novel funding structure tied to online transactions.
The main points of contention apparent from the text are the scope of the fee, the definition of covered platforms, and the bill’s attempt to structure the charge as an enterprise fee rather than a tax. Potentially affected parties include social media companies, online gaming platforms, app and game publishers, youth mental health providers, schools, out-of-school time program operators, and families seeking mental health or educational support services. The bill also raises policy questions about privacy, platform regulation, and whether the state can use youth-related harms from digital engagement to justify a mandatory fee on in-platform purchases.
The bill would add new statutory authority in Titles 22 and 27 to create two government-owned enterprises, establish dedicated enterprise funds, and direct fee revenue to youth mental health and youth programming services. It would amend existing youth mental health and out-of-school time statutes to shift administration and grant-making responsibilities to the new enterprises, expand reimbursement for youth therapy sessions from three to six, and require certain gaming-related purchases accessible to minors to display prices in U.S. dollars. It also creates a new deceptive trade practice for violating the pricing requirement and appropriates state funds for implementation and legal support.
The bill’s stated policy direction is strongly supportive of youth mental health, youth programming, and educational access, with legislative findings emphasizing harms associated with social media and online gaming and the need for prevention and early intervention. However, the absence of recorded committee discussion or votes limits insight into legislative debate. The Governor’s veto indicates that, despite the bill’s child- and youth-focused goals, it did not ultimately receive executive approval, suggesting significant concern about its structure, fee mechanism, or legal design.
The most notable contention is likely the bill’s requirement that covered social media and online gaming platforms impose and remit a fee on add-on transactions, which could be viewed by opponents as a tax, a regulatory burden, or an overreach into digital commerce. The bill anticipates that challenge by repeatedly asserting enterprise status and characterizing the charge as a fee, not a tax, but that framing itself is a likely point of dispute. Other likely flashpoints are the breadth of the “covered platform” definition, the use of youth gaming transactions to fund unrelated education and behavioral health programs, and the transfer of program control from existing agencies to newly created enterprises with continuous appropriations and bond authority. The veto suggests these issues were significant enough to prevent enactment.