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House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Thursday, March 12, 2026·2h 22m·▶ Watch / Listen

The committee killed HB 1254, a legislative audit enforcement bill giving the Legislative Audit Committee authority to recommend up to 3% budget reductions for non-compliant agencies, on a vote of 8 to 3, while advancing four other bills including HB 1252 (homeland security updates), SB 084 (state auditor privilege clarification), and two technical statutory revision bills.

Key Actions

·HB 1254 – Legislative Audit Committee Budget EnforcementFailed

+ 4 more actions

Controversies

HB 1254 – whether punitive budget reductions are the right enforcement tool for audit non-compliance

Representative Brooks and Representative Suckla (Sukhla) argued the bill provides a measured enforcement tool, while Vice Chair Clifford said she could not vote yes because the reinstatement mechanism was unresolved and urged sponsors to 'put this together as a bigger picture item and bring this into the next administration with something that have all the mechanisms worked out.' Madam Chair stated she was 'not convinced that punitive action will lead to compliance.' Representative Froelich said 'this is the neighbor telling the friend what to do instead of the friend's parents... you're taking away their allowance and their car keys.' Representative Luck countered that without this bill, the legislature's only alternative is the JBC stripping a full budget cycle — 'a sledgehammer.'

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“I don't know that you can fix that between now and seconds. And I'm certainly, certainly not going to vote yes on seconds or thirds with this in its current manner. So right now I am going to move to a no on your bill. I don't want you to stop working on this. However, I would like for you to put this together as a bigger picture item and bring this into the next administration with something that have all the mechanisms worked out. And if you do that, I will support it.”

Vice Chair Clifford — Vice Chair Clifford explaining her no vote on HB 1254, the audit enforcement bill, after expressing concern that the mechanism for restoring agency funds once compliant had not been resolved.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Move HB 1252 as amended to committee of the whole with a favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (8)Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Meg Froelich, Kenny Nguyen, Alex Valdez, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (3)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Stephanie Luck
Move HB 1254 as amended to committee of the whole with a favorable recommendationFailed
Yes (8)Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Meg Froelich, Kenny Nguyen, Alex Valdez, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (3)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Stephanie Luck
Move SB 084 to committee of the whole with a favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (6)Michael Carter, Lisa Feret, Kenny Nguyen, Alex Valdez, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (5)Cecelia Espenoza, Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Meg Froelich, Stephanie Luck
Move HB 1297 to committee of the whole with a favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (9)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Meg Froelich, Stephanie Luck, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (2)Kenny Nguyen, Alex Valdez
Move HB 1303 to committee of the whole with a favorable recommendationPassed
Yes (10)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Meg Froelich, Stephanie Luck, Alex Valdez, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford
No (1)Kenny Nguyen
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TranscriptPreview
The state house civic, military and veterans affairs committee will come to order. Ms. King, please call the roll. Representatives bottoms, bradley, carter. Present. Espinoza. Foray. Excused. Froelich. Here. Locke. Here. Wynn. Represent. Representative Wynn. Here. Valdez. Excuse. Clifford. Here. Madam Chair. Here. We have five bills on the agenda for today, and we'll start with House Bill 1252. Our sponsors are here and it looks like, Representative Morrow, you've been approved to join the bill. Yes, ma'. Am. So welcome. Who would like to begin? You both pointed at each other. Representative Morrow. Thank you, Madam Chair and committee members. This bill is brought to you today by us, but also the Colorado Department of Public Safety. This bill updates Colorado statutory framework for homeland security managing emergencies to better align with current operational needs. The bill designates the Office of Emergency Management as the primary state agency responsible for coordinating disaster recovery efforts, ensures that the personal identifiable information of disaster survivors is protected from public information requests, and makes changes to better represent current practices. And I'll hand it over to my co Prime Representative Bradfield. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you, committee for allowing us…
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