Guided by our mission, values and strategic priorities and informed by those in our region who are furthest from opportunity and the organizations that support them, Rose Community Foundation takes positions on bills that either advance or inhibit an equitable and thriving Greater Denver region.

Read on for the list of 2023 state legislation the Foundation has formally endorsed. This page will be updated if the Foundation takes additional positions and as bill statuses evolve.

Introduced

• Fair and Family Friendly Restrooms (HB23-1057) 

  • To require non-gendered restrooms and installation of diaper changing stations in all restrooms in newly constructed or significantly renovated public buildings. Increasing the number of equitable and accessible restroom facilities is an important step toward ensuring parents, caregivers, people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals are able to find a safe and appropriate public place for the basic human functions of going to the bathroom and changing diapers.

• Remote Participation In Residential Evictions (HB23-1186)

  • To allow both parties in an eviction proceeding to choose whether to participate in-person or remotely. This change would allow around 8,000 more people per year to attend their eviction hearing, keeping thousands of Coloradans from being evicted simply because they cannot attend their hearing in person. No one should receive a default judgment solely because of an inability to take off work, find child care or borrow a car needed to attend a hearing in person.

• Gun Waiting Period (HB23-1219)

  • To establish a three-day waiting period before a firearms seller may deliver a gun to a purchaser. How quickly gun buyers can access their firearm can be the difference between life and death. Delaying access to firearms for a short period of time can create critical and life-saving barriers between thoughts of self-harm or harm to others.

• Access to Behavioral Health Services (SB23-091) 

  • To open up behavioral health services to Medicaid-insured youth by removing the prerequisite of a formal diagnosis in order to receive behavioral health care. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated behavioral health challenges for Colorado’s youth and has shined a light on long-standing health inequities. Removing barriers to behavioral health care would expand access to critical services and reduce disparities in care.

• Increasing Minimum Age to Purchase Guns (SB23-169)

  • To raise the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21. The area of the brain responsible for judgment and impulse control is not fully developed in 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds, making them more prone to aggressive and risky behavior and three times likelier to commit gun homicides. This bill would keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of young people who are more likely to commit gun crimes.

• Expanding Extreme Risk Order Petitions (SB23-170)

  • To expand Colorado’s red flag law to empower additional law enforcement members, educators and licensed medical and mental health care providers – professionals who are most likely to recognize warning signs – to seek an order before a tragedy occurs. Recent instances of gun violence have shown that, in some cases, currently eligible petitioners may refuse or fail to seek an extreme risk protection order despite dangerous red flags. This bill would enable other law enforcement, educators and health care professionals to help fill in these existing gaps and create greater public safety coverage across the state.

• Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care Protections (SB23-188)

  • To ensure criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against patients, providers and assistors of reproductive and gender-affirming care will not be recognized or enforced by the state of Colorado. As anti-abortion and anti-transgender states seek to impose restrictions and legal threats on individuals beyond their borders, Colorado needs strong shield legislation to protect those who receive or provide important health care services here.

• Insurance Coverage for Reproductive and Preventive Health Care (SB23-189)

  • To strengthen reproductive health care coverage and ensure critical preventive health services are enshrined in state law. High deductibles and gaps in coverage create barriers to reproductive health care access in Colorado, and a federal court case threatens to repeal patient cost-sharing limitations for other critical preventive care services, as well. Strengthening state coverage requirements for private health plans, including but not limited to reproductive health care, would significantly improve access to and affordability of critical preventive care.

• Transparency Against Deceptive Practices at Anti-Abortion Centers (SB23-190)

  • To prohibit the use of deceptive and dangerous advertising and practices by organizations that falsely pose as comprehensive reproductive health care clinics. Anti-abortion centers use deceptive tactics to intercept patients seeking abortion care, steer them away from time-sensitive reproductive health care procedures, and even push dangerous and illegitimate “abortion pill reversal” practices. Transparency and truth in advertising are essential to informed consent in medical decision-making, especially for time-sensitive services such as abortion and emergency contraception.

NOT INTRODUCED

• Eviction Court Data

  • To require extensive collection and publishing of eviction court data. Aggregated data on critical eviction indicators is not easily attainable in Colorado, making it difficult for even skilled researchers to fully understand why most evictions are filed, case outcomes, and the impact of those filings on renters, landlords and safety net systems. Data included in eviction court filings are one of the best tools policymakers and housing advocates have to quantify housing instability for Coloradans and make the case for needed policy changes.