Colorado Lawmakers Advance Revised AI Law After Years of Debate
Key Takeaways
- Colorado lawmakers advanced a revised AI law under SB 189 that scales back many of the obligations from the state's original 2024 framework, shifting focus to "covered automated decision-making technology" that materially influences consequential decisions rather than broadly regulating high-risk AI systems.
- The Colorado AI law amendments remove requirements for deployers to conduct impact assessments and maintain risk management programs, while eliminating the vague "algorithmic discrimination" standard in favor of relying on existing anti-discrimination laws to address bias concerns.
- Despite the rollback, Colorado SB 189 AI regulation preserves transparency requirements, including developer disclosures about training data and system limitations, plus deployer obligations to notify consumers when automated decision-making technology is used in consequential decisions.
- The bill reflects a broader shift in state AI legislation, as momentum for comprehensive regulation has slowed following White House pressure and legal challenges, with states like Connecticut also scaling back their approaches this year.
- If you're a subscriber, click here for the full edition of this update. Or, click here to learn more about our MultiState.ai+ subscription.
Colorado became the first state in the nation to enact a comprehensive regulatory framework for artificial intelligence when lawmakers passed the AI Act 2024 (CO SB 205) that was set to take effect this year. But despite brief celebration as the first-in-the-nation broadly applied AI law, almost from the moment it was signed, there was broad agreement that the law would need to be revisited. Industry groups pushed back against what they claimed were vague and onerous obligations, and even supporters acknowledged that key provisions would require refinement before taking effect. Efforts to fix the law have proven difficult and politically fraught, but after years of debate, a new AI regulatory bill introduced this week may finally represent a framework that can command a broader consensus.
Last year, Colorado lawmakers attempted to address concerns with the artificial intelligence law but could not reach a consensus, opting instead to delay implementation by pushing the law’s effective date to June 2026. With just two weeks remaining in the current legislative session, the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Robert Rodriguez (D), has introduced a full rewrite. The newly introduced bill (CO SB 189) largely tracks the framework released by the governor’s AI policy working group, which we wrote about last month.
If you're a subscriber, click here for the full edition of this update. Or, click here to learn more about our MultiState.ai+ subscription.
