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House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Monday, March 2, 2026·3h 49m·▶ Watch / Listen

The committee advanced two contested firearms bills and a county commissioner election restructuring bill, while a third firearms dealer regulation bill remained unresolved after hours of testimony from over a dozen witnesses on both sides.

Key Actions

·HB 26-1265 – Law Enforcement E-Trace Registration & Data SharingPassed

+ 3 more actions

Controversies

Whether E-Trace constitutes a de facto gun registry in violation of federal law (HB 26-1265)

Representative Stephanie Luck argued the Firearm Owners Protection Act prohibits any 'system of registration of firearms, firearm owners or firearm transactions or dispositions' and asked whether requiring E-Trace participation forces law enforcement to violate federal law; she cited letters from members of Congress raising the same concern. Vice Chair Chad Clifford responded that E-Trace is an ATF federal system and not a violation of federal law. Representative Luck and Representative Lott Bottoms both voted no on this basis.

+ 5 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“In 2023, law enforcement recovered and traced nearly 9,000 crime guns in our state. 72% of those guns came from Colorado dealers. And between 2017 and 2021, half of all crime guns were found within 25 miles of where they were originally sold. This is not a problem of guns pouring in from other states. This is largely a local problem and it requires local solutions.”

Representative Manny Rutinel — Rutinel was presenting HB 26-1265, which requires law enforcement agencies to register for the ATF's E-Trace system and opt into collective data sharing, arguing the data justify a state-level mandate.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Amendment L001 to HB 26-1265 (limiting bill to crime-related firearms, eliminating fiscal impact)Passed
HB 26-1265 as amended — motion to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (7)Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Meg Froelich, Kenny Nguyen, Naquetta Ricks, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (3)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Stephanie Luck
Absent (1)Lisa Feret
Amendment L9 to HB 26-1203 (reducing citizen petition threshold from 8% to 5%)Passed
Yes (5)Carter, Espenoza, Ricks, Clifford, Madam Chair
No (2)Bottoms, Bradley
HB 26-1203 as amended — motion to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (8)Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Meg Froelich, Kenny Nguyen, Naquetta Ricks, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (3)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Stephanie Luck
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TranscriptPreview
The State Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee will come to order. Ms. King, please call the roll. Representatives Bottoms. Excused. Bradley. Excused. Carter. Excused. Espinoza. Here. Frey. Here. Froelich. Froelich, are you here visiting Luck? I am also here. Wynn Happy to be here. Ricks. Excused. Clifford. Here. Madam Chair here. All right, members, we do have a very long calendar today so we are going to get started. We will hear in this order House Bills 1265, House Bill 1203, House Bill 1126, House Bill 1072 and Senate Bill 004. We have sponsors here for House Bill 1265 who would like to begin. Representative Rootnell, welcome. Thank you Madam Chair and members of the committee for having us. I'm honored to present House Bill 261265 alongside my co prime sponsor, Representative Chad Clifford. Members, Colorado has a gun crime crisis. The data tells us exactly what is driving it. In 2023, law enforcement recovered and traced nearly 9,000 crime guns in our state. 72% of those guns came from Colorado dealers. And between 2017 and 2021, half of all crime guns were found within 25 miles of where they were originally sold. This is not a problem of…
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