House Judiciary

Tuesday, April 14, 2026·7h 37m·▶ Watch / Listen

The House Judiciary Committee killed a bill restricting sex offenders from mental health facilities near schools, advanced a school lockbox security bill and a survivor-rights bill, and heard lengthy divided testimony on a bill reclassifying extreme indifference murder — with district attorneys warning it would benefit mass shooters while sponsors cited racial disparities in charging.

Key Actions

·HB 26-1285 – Admission to Mental Health Residential FacilityPassed

+ 5 more actions

Controversies

Amendment L008 moved without sponsor notice — SB 26-95

Rep. Matt Soper moved amendment L008 on trauma-informed training without advance notice to the bill sponsors. Rep. Willford stated she was 'completely caught off guard' and called it contrary to collegial courtesy, while Rep. Froelich confirmed sponsors drafted L008 but explicitly did not want to run it. Rep. Soper apologized, acknowledging he had 'only received it just momentarily before,' and argued law enforcement had stayed away from testifying based on a belief the amendment would be accepted — a claim Rep. Had Clifford disputed by stating he was 'not aware of law enforcement that's been opposed to this.'

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“Bill 2612 85. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, Lord Khepros, you'll have three minutes stating the organization you represent. You may begin. Thank you, Mr. Chair, committee. My name is Lori Rose Khepros. I'm the director of sexual litigation for the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender. I'm testifying today on behalf of the Office of the State Public Defender. I've been working in public defense for almost 30 years and that means that I was around in the first round of moral panic that caused the General assembly to take up the question of”
Lori Rose Khepros, Colorado Office of the State Public Defender — Testifying against HB 26-1285's 1,000-foot buffer zone between mental health residential facilities and schools, citing SOMB research finding no public safety benefit to residency restrictions.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Postpone indefinitely HB 26-1285Passed

Yes (7)Clifford, Espenoza, Garcia, Soper, Carter, Mr. Chair, and others per roll Ball

Send SB 104 to Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendationPassed

Yes (7)Bacon, Clifford, Espenoza, Garcia, Carter, Mr. Chair, and others per roll Ball

No (1)Flanell

Adopt amendment L008 to SB 26-95 (trauma-informed training frequency)Failed

Yes (3)Flanell, Slaugh, Soper

No (7)Bacon, Clifford, Espenoza, Garcia, Carter, Mr. Chair, and others per roll Ball

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TranscriptPreview

The committee will come to order. Ms. Shipley, please call the roll. Representatives Bacon. Excused. Clifford. Here. Espinoza. Excused. Flinell. Excused. Garcia. Here. Kelty. Excused. Slaw. Here. Oprah. Excused. Okay. Here. Carter. Present. Mr. Chair. Here. All right, we're gonna hear four bills today, starting with House Bill 1285. Rep. Goldstein. Yep, There you go. All right, thank you, Chair Mabry. House Bill 1285 has been a very evolving adventure. I just want to set the stage for where it came from. A couple of years ago, a house that is transitional for people with disabilities, mental health disabilities, was established in the city of North Glenn, very close to an elementary school, and it raised a lot of concerns with the community. And they also, there were also a lot of concerns with the school district, which I am the president of their school board. We started having conversations about how we could take care of this problem. As a member of the Colorado association of School Boards, we talked a lot about this and with the state of North Glenn. And then, lo and behold, I was appointed to the House and took it on to carry this…

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