Advocacy Report

State OSHA Bill Defeated by 1 Vote in Legislature - AGC Took Lead Role

AGC Position: Oppose

HB26-1054 Protections for Worker Safety is a bill that would have allowed the Attorney General’s Office, a Worker Organization, a Labor Organization, and individual or groups of employees to file a civil lawsuit against an employer (including construction firms) for unsafe practices, while leaving federal OSHA in place for CO. Another section of the bill would have authorized the Attorney General’s office to set up a State OSHA program in any area where the federal government relaces an OSHA requirement. AGC  opposed this bill all session along with the Colorado Chamber, Colorado Competitive Council and other coalition partners. In short, AGC was not having it. On the last day of the 120-day session, the bill was defeated on 3rd reading by one vote (17 yes and 18 no). The coalition effort to defeat the bill was helped by Governor Polis signaling he did not like the bill.

 

Extreme Temps Bill Approved After Amendments Turn it Into a Study Bill

AGC Position: Oppose

AGC took a lead role in reducing HB26-1272 Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections to a shadow of the 21-page mega bill from last year (which did not pass). Now the bill requires CDLE to study workplace injuries and illness from heat and cold, and determine if there is a problem to be solved. It also directs CDLE to make an employer TRIPP (temperature related injury and illness prevention plan) on or before July 1, 2028 and make it available to employers. The bill was approved by the legislature in the last week of the session and is expected to be signed by the Governor.

 

AGC Opposed Tax Increase Bills Defeated in Committee

AGC Position: Oppose

AGC is pleased to report that AGC Opposed HB26-1221 and HB26-1222 (bills that decoupled state tax policy from the tax breaks in the federal tax cut bill) were both postponed indefinitely at the request of the bill sponsors in the Senate Finance Committee in the last week of the legislative session. The sponsors determined they did not have the votes to get the bills out of committee due to coalition lobbying efforts and the threat of a veto by Governor. The demise of both bills means businesses, including construction firms, will not be burdened with a $357 million tax increase.

 

SB26-093 Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage Verification Approved with AGC Amendment

AGC Position: Oppose

As introduced, SB26-093 Workers Compensation Insurance Coverage Verification would have required anyone applying for construction building permits for projects of any size to provide proof of workers compensation insurance for every contractor and subcontractor working on the project. Applicants would also have been required to retain documents for the length of the project, and a permitting agency would have been required to revoke building permits if a lack of insurance was found. The AGC Legislative Committee voted to oppose the bill because it created more risk and delays and turned enforcement away from the CDLE Work Comp Division and towards city building departments – which didn’t want the role. AGC and CAHB (Colorado Assn of Home Builders) determined we could not garner the votes to kill the bill, so the two groups led an effort to amend the bill to instead require permit applicants to file a signed declaration with the permitting agency confirming that all contractors maintain workers’ compensation insurance. The amendment also removed the requirement for permitting agencies to proactively revoke permits, directing complaints about the lack of work comp insurance by a specific contractor to the CDLE Work Comp Division where those complaints belong. The bill was approved by the legislature, with the AGC/CAHB amendment, in the last week of the session and is being sent to the Governor for signature.

 

Data Center Bills Fail to Advance in Legislative Session

AGC was part of a coalition in the 2026 legislative session seeking to pass a business friendly data center bill that would have set reasonable environmental and utility energy use regulations - and sales & use tax exemptions similar to other states for qualifying data. That was HB26-1030. At the same time, environmental groups ran SB26-102, a bill with very tough environmental regulations and no tax exemptions. The two camps attempted to come to a compromise with one bill, but in the end that goal was not achieved and both bills were defeated.

 

AGC Legislative Committee Meets on May 19 to Review 2026 Legislative Session and Discuss June Primary Election

The AGC Legislative Committee will meet on May 19 to review the 2026 legislative session, discuss the June 2026 Primary Election and approve any AGC PAC contributions to state legislative candidates.

 

There are 50+ members of the AGC Legislative Committee and all member firms are eligible to have a representative on the committee. To check it out or join the committee email Nicole at the AGC office at nicole@agccolorado.org.

 

2026 AGC Bill Tracker

AGC is once again providing the AGC Bill Tracker for members to follow along with AGC positions and action on bills affecting the construction industry. The tracker is now live. You can access the bill tracker through the AGC Website at www.agccolorado.org/advocacy or access it from the button at the top of this weekly AGC Advocacy Report. The same link works all session so you can also bookmark it on your computer for easy access!

 

Denver Clarifies Prevailing Wage Ordinance

This week the Denver City Council amended the existing city ordinance on prevailing wage (an ordinance going back to the 1950’s), to make it clear that the prevailing wage ordinance applies to all construction projects in the city that receive any city funding. There was a recent city attorney opinion that the existing ordinance did not apply when, for example, there was a private affordable housing project on private land, that was receiving a subsidy from Denver. The city auditor thought the existing ordinance applied to that fact pattern, but the attorney did not. The action this week makes sure prevailing wage applies to both city and DEN projects, and private projects receiving city funds.

 

Denver Post Article on prevailing wage ordinance clarification

 

DRCOG Building Policy Collaborative - Construction Industry Engagement

When: Tuesday, May 19, 10:00–11:00 AM MT

 

Who: Builders, developers, architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, energy efficiency service providers, affordable housing partners, and other building industry stakeholders working in the Denver Metro Area.

 

What: A webinar hosted by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) introducing Power Ahead Colorado and the Building Policy Collaborative (BPC). The BPC is a regional initiative to improve building performance and advance alignment on building codes and policies across the Denver Metro Area through a voluntary partnership of local governments coordinating future code and policy updates. The presentation will focus on the BPC's policy and code goals and the anticipated timelines for policy development.

 

Attendees will walk away with:

• an overview of the BPC initiative and regional direction
• a preview the policy roadmap and timeline
• an understanding of how and when industry partners will be engaged in the future as policies are developed

Register: Register here for the webinar