Colorado’s AI compromise would focus regulations on informing consumers when the technology is used
Colorado’s AI compromise would focus regulations on informing consumers when the technology is used
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/01/colorado-ai-law-change-bill-introduced/
Publish Date: 2026-05-01 18:58:00
Source Domain: coloradosun.com
Companies that create and use artificial intelligence wouldn’t have to disclose how their systems help make decisions on things like hiring, loans and housing under a bill introduced Friday in the Colorado Senate.
But the long-awaited measure tweaking Colorado’s first-in-the-nation law regulating AI would still require companies and other organizations using AI to notify consumers if AI is being used to make such consequential decisions. They would also have to give consumers an opportunity to appeal.
The measure, Senate Bill 189, also makes a big change by pushing back the start date of the law regulating AI to January 2027 from June.
The measure — which aims to strike a narrow balance between allowing the AI industry to flourish while protecting the general public — is Colorado lawmakers’ third attempt to rewrite the 2024 law regulating artificial intelligence. The law was originally supposed to take effect in February, but the start date was pushed back to June to give the legislature more time to come up with a compromise between consumer advocates and organizations that want to use AI to interact with the public.
The new bill also comes as the U.S. Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against Colorado filed by Elon Musk’s xAI company alleging the state’s existing law is unconstitutional and jeopardizes the country’s position as “the global AI leader.”
When the original AI law passed, it created an uproar among tech companies over concerns it was too stringent and would stifle technological advances. Consumer advocates felt the law was too weak.
At the time, lawmakers, the governor and the tech industry agreed to work together to make changes before it took effect. But finding a solution has confounded the legislature for more than two years.
Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat, said the existing law — which he wrote — is more comprehensive than Senate Bill 189 in that it requires…
