KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Colorado

HB26-1023 • 2026

Political Party Liability for Accessibility Requirements

Under current law, a political party must ensure that any person, upon request, is able to participate in a precinct caucus or a party assembly with the use of a video conferencing platform or alterna

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. S. Luck, Rep. S. Woodrow, Sen. M. Baisley, Sen. R. Rodriguez, Sen. L. Zamora Wilson, Rep. S. Bottoms, Rep. B. Bradley, Rep. M. Brooks, Rep. J. Caldwell, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. K. DeGraaf, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. C. Espenoza, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. A. Hartsook, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. M. Martinez, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. C. Richardson, Rep. S. Slaugh, Rep. T. Story, Rep. L. Suckla, Rep. R. Taggart, Rep. E. Velasco, Rep. R. Weinberg, Rep. T. Winter, Sen. A. Benavidez, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. L. Cutter, Sen. L. Daugherty, Sen. T. Exum, Sen. L. Frizell, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. C. Kolker, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. K. Mullica, Sen. R. Pelton, Sen. K. Wallace
Last action
2026-04-27
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is listed as empty in the metadata; only that it was signed by the Governor on April 27, 2026.

Political Party Liability for Accessibility Requirements

This law clarifies that only eligible people can request video access to political meetings and limits lawsuits against individuals while allowing fines or damages against party committees.

What This Bill Does

  • Clarifies that only people who are otherwise eligible under state law may ask to join a caucus or assembly using video conferencing.
  • States that failing to make reasonable efforts for accessibility counts as discrimination based on disability in a place of public accommodation.
  • Requires lawsuits about these violations to be filed against the political party's central committee instead of individuals.
  • Protects individual members and volunteers from being held personally liable for breaking these rules.
  • Allows courts to order compliance or award actual money damages if a violation is found.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Political parties holding precinct caucuses or party assemblies
  • People eligible under state law who want to participate in political meetings using video tools
  • Central committees of political parties that may face lawsuits
  • Individual members and volunteers within political parties

Terms To Know

Precinct caucus or party assembly
A local meeting where a political group discusses candidates or rules.
Central committee
The main leadership group of a political party in an area that can be sued under this law.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The text does not specify the exact date when this law takes effect.
  • The summary defines reasonable effort but does not list specific steps parties must take to meet it.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.001

HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment changes the bill so that lawsuits about accessibility at local party meetings can only be filed against the specific central committee holding the event, rather than the entire state political party.

  • Removes a list of requirements on page 2 to simplify what must be done for video conferencing access.
  • Changes who can be sued by limiting legal action to only the central committee running the specific caucus or assembly.
  • Updates definitions so that lawsuits target members or volunteers of that specific central committee instead of the whole state party.
  • The amendment text does not explain exactly what requirements were removed from page 2, lines 5 through 8, only that they are deleted.
  • It is unclear how this change affects parties in states where a 'central committee' might be defined differently than the state party itself.
L.002

HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment adds a new rule that lets people sue political parties if they are denied access to caucuses or assemblies, allowing them to get money damages or a $3,500 fine for each event.

  • It allows anyone hurt by breaking the accessibility rules in section 1-1-116 to file a lawsuit in court.
  • If a judge finds that the law was broken, they can order the party to fix the problem and pay either real money damages or a $3,500 fine for each violation.
  • It counts every single caucus or assembly as one separate incident when calculating fines.
  • The amendment text does not explain what specific actions count as breaking section 1-1-116 regarding accessibility, so the exact rules being enforced are unclear from this document alone.
  • It is unknown if there are any limits on how much money can be claimed for 'actual monetary damages' besides the fixed $3,500 fine option.
L.005

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment changes the law so that political parties only need to provide video conferencing for people living in unserved areas.

  • The bill now limits who can request remote participation options like video calls.
  • The text does not define what an 'unserved area' means or how it is determined.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-27 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-04-16 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-04-16 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-04-16 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  6. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-03-26 Senate

    Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  8. 2026-03-04 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs

  9. 2026-02-26 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  10. 2026-02-25 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor

  11. 2026-02-24 House

    House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  12. 2026-02-19 House

    House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  13. 2026-01-14 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Official Summary Text

Under current law, a political party must ensure that any person, upon request, is able to participate in a precinct caucus or a party assembly with the use of a video conferencing platform or alternative means of participation. The failure of any political party to make a reasonable effort to comply with these accessibility requirements constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability in a place of public accommodation.
The act clarifies that only a person who is otherwise eligible pursuant to statute to participate in a precinct caucus or a party assembly may request video conferencing or another alternative means of participation. The act also clarifies that a person who is subjected to a violation of a political party's duties regarding these accessibility requirements may file suit only against the central committee of the political party holding the caucus or assembly. An individual, including a member of the central committee of the political party or a volunteer for a political party, may not be held liable for a violation of these accessibility requirements. Upon a finding of a violation of these accessibility requirements, a court may require compliance with the applicable accessibility requirement and either actual monetary damages or a statutory fine of $3,500 for each violation.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)