On May 14, 2026, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a new Colorado AI Act, S.B. 26-189 (the “2026 Act”)1, which repeals and replaces the prior Colorado AI Act, S.B. 24-205, which had passed in 2024 (the “2024 Act”) and was originally scheduled to take effect on June 30, 2026.2 As a result, the 2024 Act will not take effect, and the 2026 Act goes into effect January 1, 2027. This enactment reflects both scrutiny from the federal government3 and Colorado’s governor4 for the 2024 Act’s broad, sweeping AI regulatory framework.

Compared with the 2024 Act, the 2026 Act narrows Colorado’s AI governance framework by removing several broad developer and deployer obligations, including imposing a duty of care on both developers and deployers to avoid algorithmic discrimination, and requiring deployers to implement risk management programs, conduct impact assessments and affirmatively report algorithmic discrimination information to the Colorado Attorney General. In its place, the 2026 Act imposes more tailored obligations, with key exceptions for HIPAA covered entities and business associates, as well as medical devices subject to FDA oversight.

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  1. S.B. 26-189, Concerning the Use of Automated Decision-Making Technology in Consequential Decisions, and, in Connection Therewith, Making an Appropriation (Colo. 2026) (to be codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 6-1-1701 to 1709) (effective Jan. 1, 2027), https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/116489/download.  ↩︎
  2. S.B. 24-205, Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence, 74th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2024), https://leg.colorado.gov/bill_files/47770/download. ↩︎
  3. President Trump’s December 2025 Executive Order criticized state AI laws as a “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes” and cited Colorado’s algorithmic-discrimination law as an example. Exec. Order No. 14,365, Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, 90 Fed. Reg. 58,499 (Dec. 16, 2025), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/16/2025-23092/ensuring-a-national-policy-framework-for-artificial-intelligence; Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ensures a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, White House (Dec. 11, 2025), https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/12/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-ensures-a-national-policy-framework-for-artificial-intelligence/. ↩︎
  4. In the signing statement for the 2024 AI Act, Governor Polis expressed that he signed SB 24-205 “with reservations,” warning that it imposed a complex compliance regime, risked a state law patchwork that could hamper innovation and competition, and needed refinement before taking effect. Letter from Jared S. Polis, Governor of Colo., to Members of the Colo. Gen. Assemb. (May 17, 2024). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i2cA3IG93VViNbzXu9LPgbTrZGqhyRgM/view.  Governor Polis convened a Colorado AI Policy Work Group to develop a revised policy framework, producing the 2026 Act.  See Press Release, Office of Governor Jared Polis, Colorado Artificial Intelligence Policy Workgroup Delivers Unanimous Support for Revised Policy Framework (Mar. 17, 2026), http://governorsoffice.colorado.gov/governor/news/colorado-artificial-intelligence-policy-workgroup-delivers-unanimous-support-revised-policy; see also S.B. 26-189, 75th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2026), https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-189. ↩︎