The Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 97, which would decriminalize commercial sexual activity between consenting adults in Colorado, but the bill's own sponsors moved to lay it over until June 2, 2026 — effectively ending its consideration for the 2026 legislative session. The motion passed 7-0 with no opposition testimony recorded.
Senator Hendrickson [transcript spelling] argued that some of the bill's biggest opponents knowingly and maliciously chose to misrepresent Senate Bill 97 as a legalization bill, seizing on and exacerbating public confusion rather than wrestle with the nuances of the very different decriminalization policy that 97 proposes, characterizing this as dishonest and productive of bad policy. The opponents are not named in the transcript.
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“What we most often heard from coalition members was that legislation would only truly benefit sex workers if fully decriminalized. Because sex work requires the participation of both the buyer and the seller in criminalizing the buyer, the transaction remains de facto illegal. And fearing legal penalties, the individuals engaging with sex workers might be less likely to agree on background checks and other safety measures often employed by sex workers.”
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Sign in to subscribeGood afternoon. The Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order on Wednesday, March 11th. Ms. Jensen, please start us off with a roll call. Senators Carson. President Daugherty. Here. Henriksen. Here. Wallace. Present. Zamora Wilson. Present. Roberts. Here. Mr. Chair. Present. All right, thanks, everyone, for being here and ready. One item of business on our agenda this afternoon is Senate Bill 97. We thank the sponsors for being ready to go before us, Senator Hendricks and Senator Cutter. However, you'd like to start us off concerning your plans on SB 97. Senator Cutter. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you, Committee, for hearing this bill today. I know it's been a lot for everyone. I really want to thank Senator Heinrichson and the House sponsors and really all of the advocates for their hard work and dedication to this bill. I was an enthusiastic yes when Senator Heinrichsen asked me to join him on this legislation. Many years ago, when I was helping organize the Women's March, a sex worker reached out asking to speak the night before the second march, and it was too late to fully vet and add speakers. But I have never forgotten that request…
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