We’ve now entered the final stretch of the 2025 legislative session, with two weeks left and many bills left to pass (or kill). One major priority of the Colorado Chamber’s this session has been implementing regulatory reform to create transparency and address some of the major pressure points facing the business community.
A key component to that initiative is Senate Bill 306, which was introduced in the Senate yesterday and has its first hearing today. Members and staff of the Colorado Chamber will be testifying in support of the bill, advocating for a thoughtful and surgical approach to improving our regulatory environment.
This bill has a narrow but impactful focus – bringing certain state divisions and programs under a regular performance audit to address whether programs are operated in an effective and efficient manner – including whether regulations are outdated, duplicative, and accomplishing their intended goals. The divisions under the bill oversee industries and sectors that were found to have a disproportionate level of regulations compared to other states in the Colorado Chamber’s recent study. Utilizing the audit process to address regulatory complexity was also identified as a potential solution in the report.
The primary goal of this bill is to create regulatory transparency and identify where regulations can be improved. Some industries in Colorado face up to seven times more state-level regulations than the national median, and by focusing on a limited scope of programs, SB 306 simply allows the State Auditor to review whether certain divisions fulfilling their statutory duties.
The bill has broad support from leaders on both sides of the aisle, with a total of 25 sponsors in the House and Senate. It will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee today, April 24th.
View the Chamber’s recent press release on the bill here.