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HB26-1095 • 2026

Digital Publication for Legal Notice

Existing law requires a county or municipality to publish legal notices in a physical print newspaper. The act requires a newspaper to also publish these notices online, either on its own website or b

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. L. Suckla, Sen. W. Lindstedt, Sen. R. Pelton, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. E. Hamrick, Rep. C. Richardson, Rep. S. Slaugh, Rep. B. Titone, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. M. Snyder
Last action
2026-05-19
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date depends on whether a referendum petition is filed within ninety days after adjournment.

HB26-1095: Online Access to Legal Notices

This law requires newspapers in Colorado that publish legal notices to also make those same notices available online for free.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires newspapers publishing legal notices to post them on their own websites or link to a statewide website where the full text is available.
  • Mandates that these online legal notices must be free and cannot require payment, subscriptions, or paywalls to view.
  • Directs the statewide public notice website to list all newspapers that meet the requirements for publishing legal notices.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Newspapers in Colorado required by law to publish legal notices
  • Counties and municipalities that place legal notices for publication

Terms To Know

Legal notice
An official announcement required by law to be published, often about government actions or public meetings.
Statewide public notice website
A central online location where legal notices are stored and can be viewed for free.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not take effect immediately; it starts on August 12, 2026, unless voters challenge it.
  • If a referendum petition is filed within ninety days of the legislature ending its session, the public must vote to approve the law in November 2026 before it works.

Amendments

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

L.001

HOU Transportation, Housing & Local Government

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment allows local governments to post legal notices on their own websites if no suitable newspaper exists in the area.

  • It adds a rule that lets counties, cities, or special districts publish required legal notices online instead of in print when there is no qualifying newspaper nearby.
  • The new rule only applies if publishing in an adjacent county would not give enough notice to the public.
  • Posting on the government's own website under these conditions counts as meeting all publication requirements.
  • The amendment does not explain exactly what makes a newspaper 'qualifying' or how much notice is considered 'adequate.'
  • It only applies to situations where no suitable newspaper exists in the county and neighboring counties are also unsuitable.
L.002

HOU Transportation, Housing & Local Government

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment changes the law to require newspapers that publish legal notices in print to also make those same notices available for free on their websites.

  • Newspapers must post a copy of every printed legal notice online without charging anyone to read it.
  • A newspaper can meet this rule by either posting the full text directly on its site or providing a link to where the full text is located, such as a statewide public website.
  • The amendment does not explain what happens if a newspaper refuses to follow these new rules.
  • It does not specify how long the online notices must stay available on the websites.
L.007

SEN Local Government & Housing

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment requires newspapers to post legal notices on a free statewide website that lists which papers meet the law's requirements for each county.

  • Newspapers must publish required legal notices online at no extra cost to the person placing them.
  • The online posting must happen on a specific statewide website run by an organization representing most Colorado newspapers.
  • This new website must include a list of approved newspapers organized by county.
  • The amendment text cuts off before fully explaining how the 'organization' is chosen or what happens if no such group exists.
  • It does not specify exactly which counties are covered beyond mentioning they must be listed on the website.
L.006

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment changes the law to require newspapers that publish legal notices in print to also make those same notices available for free on their websites.

  • Newspapers must post a copy of every printed legal notice online without charging anyone to read it.
  • A newspaper can meet this rule by either posting the full text directly on its own website or providing a link to where the full text is available, such as an official state public notice site.
  • The amendment does not explain what happens if a newspaper refuses to follow these new rules.
  • It does not specify how long the online notices must stay on the website after they are published in print.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-19 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-12 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-12 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-05-12 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-04-14 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-04-01 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Laid Over Daily

  7. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee

  9. 2026-03-25 Senate

    Senate Committee on Local Government & Housing Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  10. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Local Government & Housing

  11. 2026-03-11 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  12. 2026-03-10 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Floor

  13. 2026-03-03 House

    House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  14. 2026-03-02 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  15. 2026-02-25 House

    House Committee on Transportation, Housing & Local Government Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  16. 2026-02-03 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Transportation, Housing & Local Government

Official Summary Text

Existing law requires a county or municipality to publish legal notices in a physical print newspaper. The act requires a newspaper to also publish these notices online, either on its own website or by providing a link on its website to a location where the full text of the notice is available, such as the statewide public notice website. Legal notices published online must be free to access and cannot be kept behind a paywall or subscription. The act also requires the statewide public notice website to include a list of newspapers that meet the requirements to publish legal notices.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 26-1095
BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Suckla and Nguyen, Duran, Hamrick,
Richardson, Slaugh, Titone;
also SENATOR(S) Pelton R. and Lindstedt, Carson, Gonzales J.,
Marchman, Snyder, Coleman.
CONCERNING UNPAID ONLINE ACCESS TO PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLISHED IN
LEGAL NEWSPAPERS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-70-103, amend (5);
and add (6) as follows:
24-70-103. Requisites of legal newspaper.
(5) When any legal notice is required by law to be published in any
newspaper, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost
to the person or entity placing the notice, place the notice on a statewide
website established and maintained by an organization representing a
majority of Colorado newspapers as a repository for the notices. THE
STATEWIDE PUBLIC NOTICE WEBSITE MUST INCLUDE A LIST OF NEWSPAPERS
THAT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION,
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act.
IDENTIFIED BY COUNTY.
( 6) WHEN ANY LEGAL NOTICE IS REQUIRED BYLAW TO BE PUBLISHED
IN A NEWSPAPER PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, THE NEWSPAPER SHALL ALSO
MAKE THE NOTICE AVAILABLE ON ITS WEBSITE WITHOUT CHARGE, AND THE
NEWSPAPER SHALL NOT REQUIRE PAYMENT OR SUBSCRIPTION TO ITS
PHYSICAL OR DIGITAL PRINT IN ORDER TO VIEW THE NOTICE. A NEWSPAPER
SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENT OF THIS SUBSECTION (6) EITHER BY POSTING
THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE ON ITS WEBSITE OR PROVIDING A LINK ON ITS
WEBSITE TO A LOCATION WHERE THE FULL TEXT OF THE NOTICE IS
AVAILABLE, SUCH AS THE STATEWIDE PUBLIC NOTICE WEBSITE ESTABLISHED
PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (5) OF THIS SECTION.
SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state
constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within
such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 26-1095
approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026
and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of
the vote thereon by the governor.
Ju~
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Vanessa Reilly
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 26-1095
James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE
Esther van Mourik
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE