By Meghan Dollar
During Colorado’s 2025 special legislative session, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce was active in key legislation on behalf of our members. Those issues included health insurance, tax credits and artificial intelligence (AI). Below is a quick overview of the victories and work accomplished to protect businesses throughout the session.
Artificial Intelligence
Senate Bill SB25B‑004 was initially introduced to significantly amend Colorado’s current AI law, SB24‑205. The bill aimed to redefine terms, impose new disclosure rules, and establish enforcement mechanisms. While many of the provisions in SB25B-004 were very concerning, the Colorado Chamber took an amend position on the legislation with the intent to find compromise. Unfortunately, while the Chamber and our members were still submitting offers to the Senate sponsor, the House sponsors, along with consumer groups and unions, claimed a broad agreement had been reached on the bill. The Colorado Chamber and key members of the business community—particularly from the tech industry—corrected that narrative and strongly voiced that no agreement had been reached. As a result of the advocacy of this broad coalition led by the Colorado Chamber, SB25B‑004 was amended to delay the effective date of SB24‑205 until June 30, 2026. The Colorado Chamber lauded the effort to provide businesses more time to comply with the existing law.
Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise
During the 2025 legislative session, the Chamber of Commerce as well as a coalition of other business and insurance groups defeated HB25-1297 which sought to increase fees on companies to fill a funding gap in the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise (HIAE). This enterprise pays for two specific programs, the Colorado Reinsurance Program and Omni Salud. While the Colorado Chamber did not have a position on where the money went, we opposed HB25-1297 due to the additional costs it created on doing business in Colorado. HB25B-1006 was introduced with an entirely different funding structure including the sale of insurance premium tax credits and the transfer of funds from other state sources. The Colorado Chamber also worked with the House sponsors to include transparency measures in the legislation in the form of an audit and mandatory rule review. This was an additional piece that stems from the work of the Chamber to improve Colorado’s regulatory environment. Ultimately, the Chamber supported HB25B-1006 which passed and will become law.
Regional Home Office Tax Credit
Despite vocal opposition from the Colorado Chamber of Commerce and insurance-sector members, the state enacted HB25B‑1003, which repeals a long-standing reduced insurance premium tax rate for companies with home or regional offices in Colorado. The Chamber and insurance industry experts warned this change undermines a key incentive for insurers to maintain local operations, potentially triggering job losses and weakening Colorado’s competitiveness in attracting and retaining insurance-sector businesses. Without the stabilizing factor of the Regional Home Office Tax Credit, insurers may eliminate more Colorado-based roles, shift costs through higher premiums, or relocate operations, putting Colorado’s economy at a strategic disadvantage compared to other states.