Colorado § 24-74-101 - Legislative declaration.

§ 24-74-101. Legislative declaration.

(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(a) State agencies and political subdivisions increasingly collect residents' personal information to be able to provide a variety of services, including education, health care, financial assistance, and regulatory and enforcement activities designed to ensure the safety of Colorado residents;

(b) Colorado residents have a reasonable expectation that state agencies and political subdivisions will not disclose this information with outside actors for unintended purposes;

(c) Coloradans' access to government services, including services that can be crucial in a time of crisis, is key to the collective health and wellness of the state;

(d) All Coloradans should feel welcome to receive state and local services without fear of abuse of their privacy or data;

(e) Any role that a state agency or political subdivision plays in enforcing federal immigration laws can undermine public trust and deter persons from accessing these services offered by state agencies and political subdivisions;

(f) The United States and Colorado constitutions guarantee persons a legitimate expectation of privacy from unreasonable government intrusions;

(g) The federal government does not have the authority to command state or local officials to enforce or administer a federal regulatory program, as doing so would violate the tenth amendment to the United States constitution; and

(h) This article 74 is not intended to interfere with criminal investigations and proceedings authorized by judicial process or with the collection or sharing of information that may be necessary to provide Coloradans with government services and benefits.

(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that it is necessary to adopt this article 74 to protect individual rights and to further the preservation of the peace, health, and safety of Colorado residents. Therefore, the matters in this article 74 are declared to be matters of statewide concern.

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added, (SB 21-131), ch. 353, p. 2293, § 1, effective June 25. L. 2025: (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), (1)(e), and (2) amended, (SB 25-276), ch. 240, p. 1212, § 6, effective May 23.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 25-276, see section 1 of chapter 240, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.