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HB26-1342 • 2026

Negligently Luring Bears

Under current law, a person is guilty of a crime for placing food or edible waste in the open with the intention of luring a wild bear. The law requires a person to be given a warning for the first vi

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Rep. M. Lukens, Rep. K. Stewart, Sen. J. Marchman
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
House Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on the exact date the bill will take effect or whether it may be subject to referendum. These points are based on standard legislative processes and should be confirmed with additional sources.

Negligently Luring Bears

This bill changes Colorado law by lowering the mental state requirement from intention to criminal negligence for placing food or waste that attracts bears, removes the warning requirement for first-time offenders, and increases fines for repeat offenses.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the mental state required from intentional to criminal negligence when placing food or waste that attracts bears.
  • Removes the requirement that people receive a warning before being fined for their first offense.
  • Increases the fine for third or subsequent offenses from $2,000 to $5,000.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who negligently place food or waste that attracts bears in Colorado.

Terms To Know

Criminal negligence
A situation where someone fails to be reasonably careful and this failure leads to a crime being committed.
Misdemeanor
A criminal offense that is less serious than a felony but more serious than an infraction, often punishable by fines or short jail time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact date it will take effect.
  • It may be subject to referendum if enough people file a petition against it.

Amendments

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

L.001

HOU Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources

Passed [*]

Plain English: The amendment changes the law to make it a crime if someone places food or waste in a way that shows they were being very careless and there was a big chance of attracting a bear.

  • Changes the requirement from intentional luring of bears to criminal negligence, meaning placing food or edible waste carelessly where there is a substantial risk of attracting a bear.
  • The amendment text does not specify what constitutes 'substantial risk' and how it will be determined.
  • It's unclear if the original warning requirement before prosecution still applies under this new law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 House

    House Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  2. 2026-03-27 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

Under current law, a person is guilty of a crime for placing food or edible waste in the open with the intention of luring a wild bear. The law requires a person to be given a warning for the first violation.
The bill:
Lowers the mental state requirement from intention to criminal negligence;
Repeals the requirement that a first offense be given a warning; and
Raises the fine for a third or subsequent offense from $2,000 to $5,000.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Second Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED

LLS NO. 26-0394.01 Jery Payne x2157 HOUSE BILL 26-1342
House Committees Senate Committees
Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING NEGLIGENT BEHAVIOR THAT LURES BEARS.101
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov.)
Under current law, a person is guilty of a crime for placing food
or edible waste in the open with the intention of luring a wild bear. The
law requires a person to be given a warning for the first violation.
The bill:
!Lowers the mental state requirement from intention to
criminal negligence;
! Repeals the requirement that a first offense be given a
warning; and
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Stewart K. and Lukens,
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Marchman,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
! Raises the fine for a third or subsequent offense from
$2,000 to $5,000.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) The black bear, whose scientific name is Ursus americanus, is4
a species native to Colorado;5
(b) Black bears are culturally and ecologically significant to the6
state;7
(c) There are an estimat ed 17,000 to 20,000 black bears in8
Colorado;9
(d) As the state's population, development, and tourism continues10
to grow, constraints on wild habitat and food sources, including natural11
food failures driven by drought and other climatic conditions, are likely12
to increase, resulting in more human-black bear interactions and conflicts;13
(e) In 2024, the division of parks and wildlife received over 5,00014
reports of sightings and conflicts with black bears, which is 14.8% higher15
than the previous 5 years;16
(f) In 2024, the division of parks and wildlife spent nearly 6,00017
hours of staff time responding to human-black bear conflicts and spent18
nearly $800,000 in supplies, grants, and salaries related to human-black19
bear conflicts;20
(g) The majority of incident reports related to black bears involve21
black bears attempting to access human food sources, with over 50% of22
reported sightings and conflicts in 2024 linked to trash and food waste;23
(h) Human-black bear conflicts pose safety and health issues for24
both humans and black bears; and25
HB26-1342-2-
(i) In 2024, 68 black bears needed to be relocated and 98 were1
euthanized because of incidents with humans, many of which were the2
result of human negligence.3
(2) In order to avoid unsafe situations between black bears and4
humans, it is imperative, therefore, that Coloradans and visitors to the5
state properly manage attractants that might lure black bears into6
situations of human conflict.7
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 33-6-131, amend (1),8
(2), (3) introductory portion, and (3)(c) as follows:9
33-6-131. Luring bears - penalty - definition.10
(1) Unless otherwise permitted by commission rule, it is unlawful11
for any person to place A PERSON THAT WITH CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE12
LURES A WILD BEAR TO food or edible waste in the open with the intent of13
luring a wild bear to such BY PLACING THE food or edible waste IN THE14
OPEN COMMITS A MISDEMEANOR.15
(2) (a) This section shall DOES not apply to acts related to16
agriculture, as defined in section 35-1-102 (1). C.R.S.17
(b) For the purposes of AS USED IN this section, "food or edible18
waste" shall DOES not include live animals or food that is grown in the19
open prior to such THE food being harvested.20
(3) Any A person who THAT violates SUBSECTION (1) OF this21
section, shall be given a warning. Upon a second or subsequent violation22
of this section, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon23
conviction, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed:24
(c) Two FIVE thousand dollars for a third or subsequent offense.25
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date -26
applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following27
HB26-1342-3-
the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the1
general assembly (August 12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13,2
2026); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 13
(3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section,4
or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part5
will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election6
to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the7
date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.8
(2) This act applies to offenses committed on or after the9
applicable effective date of this act.10
HB26-1342-4-