On May 7, the Colorado Senate passed SB 189, a bill that would repeal and replace the state’s Colorado AI Act enacted in 2024 and scheduled to take effect on June 30, 2026. If enacted, SB 189 would replace the current framework with a narrower statute focusing primarily on disclosure, recordkeeping, and consumer notice requirements for developers and deployers of “automated decision-making technology” (“ADMT”).
SB 189 largely tracks the draft bill Governor Jared Polis released in March, with a few additional changes, including:
- Employment Scope: SB 189 clarifies that a “consequential decision” includes decisions relating to “employment or an employment opportunity that creates or may create an employer-employee relationship.”
- Fraud Exemption: Similar to the Colorado AI Act, the governor’s draft bill would have exempted “activities relating to technologies used for . . . fraud prevention . . . excluding facial recognition” from the definition of “consequential decision.” SB 189 includes this exemption but removes the facial recognition carve out.
- Developer Obligations: SB 189 allows developers to satisfy the requirement that they disclose “notice of material updates” through “public release notes” provided they directly notify each deployer of the release.
- Cure Period: SB 189 shortens the cure period from 90 days in the governor’s draft bill to 60 days and requires an opportunity to cure only where the Colorado Attorney General determines that a cure is possible.
SB 189 directs the Attorney General to complete necessary rulemaking to implement its enforcement provisions by January 1, 2027. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recently indicated the state’s intention to delay enforcement of the Colorado AI Act, or any successor legislation, until required rulemaking is complete, suggesting that enforcement of SB 189 would likely begin only if rulemaking is finalized by January 1, 2027.
SB 189 now moves to the House for consideration. The legislature has until the end of the session on May 13, 2026 to pass the bill and send it to the Governor for signature. We will continue to monitor its progress and provide updates.