DENVER–Governor Jared Polis on Thursday vetoed a handful of bills, including a measure that would have banned use of certain computer algorithms to set rents in Colorado, this despite the bill receiving unanimous support from Polis’ fellow Democrats in the state legislature.
Proponents of House Bill 25-1004, which includes some of the most extreme-left members of the Democrat majority, contend use of such “algorithmic devices” allows rental property owners to collude with one another in setting and raising rental prices, and thus should be outlawed. But the legislative declaration of the bill itself acknowledges that “agreements or conspiracies between competitors to fix prices or other commercial terms” is already illegal under Colorado law. Governor Polis points to this in his veto letter as part of his reasoning for striking down the bill, going on to say that if such collusion is occurring, “violators should be held accountable.”
Polis also express concern about the potential for the bill to backfire and end up harming the Colorado rental market. “If signed today, this bill may have unintended consequences of creating a hostile environment fro providers of rental housing and could result in further diminished supply of rental housing based on inadequate data,” writes Polis, concluding that “The cost of rent is already too high.”
HB 1004 passed out of the the legislature along party lines. A similar measure died last year after majority Democrats clashed over proposed amendments.
Polis also vetoed three other bills on Thursday:
- House Bill 1122, which would have mandated a commercial driver’s license holder be present in any commercial vehicle being operated by an automated driving system. Polis’ veto letter is available here.
- House Bill 1026, which would have put an end to the state requiring modest co-payments on medical care for people in Colorado prisons and shifted the burden entirely to taxpayers. Polis issued an executive order to the Department of Corrections around the issue of inmate co-pays, and his veto letter is available here.
- House Bill 1088, which would have regulated how much ambulance service providers can charge, and created a new health insurance mandate around ambulance services, among other things. Polis’ veto letter is here.
This brings the number of Polis vetoes thus far this year to 11. Some other bills Polis has vetoed include include an effort to unwind Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, an attempt to give special privilege to journalists for access to public records, and a far-reaching regulatory effort against ridesharing companies.
