by Colleen Enos
When tasks are put off to the last minute, we assume that those responsible are procrastinators or that time just got away from them. We don’t typically think that what they did was intentional. Applying this logic to our state’s General Assembly would be wrong. The majority party plans the schedule of when bills will be debated in each chamber, how to introduce them, and enacts a plan of intentional obstruction. This process was taking place during the last three days of the legislative session. Controversial bills were saved for the very last moments.
On Monday morning, the State House Appropriations Committee met to discuss the final bills. Committee hearings are a place for the public to offer testimony and make their voices heard. Although the School Finance Act, SB26-023, was heard in the committee and non-impactful “clean-up” amendments were offered, there was no mention of government-funded part-time homeschool enrichment programs in any amendment. That is because the major amendment addressing this issue was being saved for the second reading on the House floor, the only chamber left to pass the bill since the State Senate had already passed it without the amendment. In this way, the public could not speak, opposition was minimized, and most representatives were unaware of the changes. The School Finance Act is mandated by law to pass successfully so that all school funding for the state is not jeopardized. The tactic worked as the bill was amended and then easily passed second reading and finally third reading the next day.
Other controversial bills were pushed through both chambers during those last three days. The college abortion bill, Abortion Medication Access on College Campuses, HB26-1335, passed on second reading in the Senate on Tuesday, May 12, and on third reading on Wednesday, May 13. The General Assembly adjourned on Wednesday, May 13. Turning every possible institution into a mandated pro-abortion advocate is a growing priority for the majority party in the Colorado legislature.
Parental rights were attacked again through HB26-1309, Abuse in Cases of Separation, which sounds noble but instead requires courts to determine whether “domestic violence” has occurred in separation custody cases. Domestic violence is defined in the bill as including “Coercive Control,” which captures things that a good parent does to protect their child. It also includes not affirming false gender identity and gender expression, which pits God’s truth about identity against the bill’s definition of “coercive control.”
Private and religious schools were the target as well when HB26-1141, Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools, was pushed through the Senate. The intent was to include private and faith-based schools in the bill so they would be held to a standard that strips away religious conscience protections. The phrase “public schools” was substituted in the bill with “discrimination in places of public accommodation” and specifically defined as an “educational institution, including an elementary or secondary school and an institution of higher education.” This language points to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, CADA, which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in its list of protected groups (CRS 24-34-601).
Legislation that would have helped parents protect their families, like HCR26-1002, Require Age Verification for Pornographic Material, which would have required individuals accessing pornographic material to be at least 18 years old, and HCR26-1004, Person’s Rights Related to Their Children, a Parental Rights Amendment to be placed on the ballot were both killed in the State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee in the House. However, legislation that harms families of faith seeking counseling for their loved ones, HB26-1322, Civil Actions for Conversion Therapy Survivors, passed both chambers and has been sent to the Governor. This bill is particularly egregious since it passed after the United States Supreme Court ruled Colorado’s law banning Conversion Therapy for minors unconstitutional based on viewpoint discrimination. Thus ended the 2026 Second Regular Session of the 75th General Assembly.
With the midterm elections taking place later this year, we have the opportunity to change Colorado’s leadership under the gold dome. We must apply the instruction in Proverbs 1:2-4, “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:2-4 NKJV). Then we will vote wisely and pray for the Lord to bless our state.
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