The Colorado General Assembly is a third of the way through the 2017 legislative session and, so far, several familiar battles have been waged with familiar outcomes.

For the third year in a row, a religious exemptions bill was introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives and quickly defeated in committee. House Bill 1013, similar to laws in Indiana and North Carolina, would have allowed businesses and individuals to claim that their religion gives them permission to exempt themselves from the state’s non-discrimination laws. The Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region joined the Freedom for All Coloradans coalition to oppose the bill and educate lawmakers on the consequences and harms of enacting such a law.

Last week, three anti-abortion bills were introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives, including a “personhood” bill that would have prohibited abortions in nearly all circumstances. The bill was very similar to three proposed “personhood” ballot measures that Colorado voters have defeated by wide margins. The bill, House Bill 1108, was defeated by a vote of 6-5 in committee. ADL submitted testimony in opposition to the bill. The other two bills were defeated in committee after more than 11 hours of testimony and debate.

Looking forward to the remainder of the legislative session, ADL is closely monitoring bills that would restrict voting rights and funnel taxpayer dollars to private, religious education. The bills are unlikely to advance through both the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives. ADL will support a proposed piece of legislation titled, the “Ralph Carr Freedom Defense Act.” The bill is named after the late Colorado Governor Ralph Carr who opposed the internment of Japanese Americans. The bill would prohibit the state from assisting the federal government in registering or detaining any individual based solely on that person’s religion, national origin and other defining characteristics.

If you are interested in receiving Action Alerts on ADL’s priority bills, please contact Jeremy Shaver, Associate Director, at jshaver@adl.org. You may also learn more about the 2017 legislative session, including how to find your state lawmakers, at the Colorado General Assembly’s new website at:  http://leg.colorado.gov/.