Ban on certain semiautomatic firearms, wage theft bill on docket in Colorado legislature this week

A proposal to ban the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic firearms that receive detachable magazines will receive its first public hearing this week in the Colorado legislature, along with a handful of other priority bills from the Democratic majority.

Senate Bill 3 is the latest effort to restrict the types of firearms available in Colorado and, sponsors hope, reduce gun violence in the state. The last big swing at restricting high-powered firearms — a 2024 bill that would have defined and banned the sale of assault weapons — fell at the end of the last legislative session. The new bill includes Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat who opposed last year’s assault weapons ban, as a co-sponsor.

The new proposal is set to be heard by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the state Capitol. It is expected to draw dozens of advocates for and against increased gun regulations. Legislative hearings can also be followed live online.

Here’s what else can be expected under the Gold Dome this week, with the hearing schedule subject to change:

Wage theft prevention

Lawmakers are again looking to pass a bill to crack down on wage theft after Gov. Jared Polis vetoed last year’s attempt. House Bill 1001 will be heard Thursday afternoon by the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

That committee meets at 1:30 p.m. and it is scheduled to hear three bills.

Direct payment for college athletes

Lawmakers will also debate a law allowing universities to pay college athletes directly. Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, has identified it as one of his priorities this session.

House Bill 1041 would bring state law in line with recent case law and the rapidly shifting rules of the multibillion dollar college athletics industry. It will be heard Wednesday morning by the House Education Committee after the work of the full House concludes.

Health care, marriage

Rounding out the week, Senate committees on Thursday will hear proposals to remove the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and to commission an analysis of a single-payer public health care system.

Senate Bill 14 would remove language in state law restricting marriage to a man and a woman. It follows the statewide vote in November that removed similar language from the Colorado Constitution. The ban has been invalid since the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. The bill will be heard Thursday morning by the Senate state affairs committee after the meeting of the entire Senate concludes.

Senate Bill 45 would require the Colorado School of Public Health to analyze draft model legislation to create a publicly financed, nonprofit and privately delivered universal health care system. It is the third such attempt in three years, with the two prior efforts each failing to pass. It will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Thursday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

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