Colorado Legislature Passes Several New Laws Affecting Contractors

The Colorado General Assembly did not pass any major construction laws in its recent 2026 legislative session, but it did pass laws affecting landscape contractors, roofing contractors, and tax-exempt sales of certain construction and building materials. This article discusses HB26-1034, which modifies the standards applicable to the sale, lease, or rental of irrigation equipment in Colorado. In addition, this article summarizes SB26-001 addressing tax-exempt sales of building materials on public workforce housing projects. Finally, this article discusses SB26-155, which creates a government-owned enterprise called the Strengthen Colorado Homes Enterprise (the “Enterprise”) and a grant program to be administered by the Enterprise for the purpose of providing grants to Colorado homeowners to retrofit residential property with resilient roof systems subject to certain requirements related to roofing contractors.

New Bills Impacting the Colorado Construction Industry

HB26-1034: Modifications to Standards for Irrigation Equipment 

In 2023, the General Assembly enacted strict laws related to water and energy efficiency standards for certain appliances and fixtures sold, leased, or rented in Colorado, including water and energy efficiency standards for “irrigation controllers” and “spray sprinkler bodies.”HB26-1034 repeals the requirements applicable to irrigation controllers and spray sprinkler bodies. The new law was supported by the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and the Irrigation Association and is seen as a significant and positive outcome for landscape contractors due to ambiguities and uncertainty about the repealed law and its application. HB26-1034 may also reduce the cost of irrigation controllers and spray sprinkler bodies since they are no longer required to meet water and energy efficiency standards.

HB26-1034 takes effect on August 12, 2026* and is codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 6-7.5-102, 6-7.5-104, and 6-7.5-105.

SB26-001: Workforce Housing & Housing Tax Credit

Under existing law, a sales and use tax exemption applies to all sales of construction and building materials to contractors and subcontractors for use in the building, erection, alteration, or repair of structures, highways, roads, streets, and other public works owned and used by the federal government or the state government and its political subdivisions in their governmental capacities.  Applicable to contractors, SB26-001 clarifies that the definition of “governmental capacities” includes the building, erection, alteration, or repair of structures for workforce housing projects undertaken by counties.

SB26-001 takes effect on August 12, 2026,* except for the amendments related to recapture of credits found in Colo. Rev. § 39-22-5404, which take effect on January 1, 2027. The new law is codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-35-202, 31-15-713, 31-15-801, 29-1-204.5, 30-11-107, 39-22-5402, 39-22-5404, 39-22-5405, and 39-26-708.

SB26-155: Increase Access Homeowner’s Insurance Enterprise 

Applicable to the construction industry, SB26-155 creates a grant program to provide grants to Colorado homeowners to retrofit residential property with resilient roofs to reduce insurer losses due to things like hail and windstorms. The program is to be administered by the Strengthen Colorado Homes Enterprise (Enterprise).

The Enterprise Board will award grants to eligible homeowner applicants. A homeowner awarded a grant must:

• Have an insurable residential property located in Colorado that is covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy;
• Obtain all permits required by law for installation or retrofitting;
• Comply with all applicable building codes;
• Arrange and pay for inspections required by law and the terms of the grant program;
• Construct a roof that meets resilient roof system standards; and
• Select a contractor licensed in the state that:
• Is a member of a professional association that promotes best practices and ethical behaviors in the roofing industry;
• Attests that the contractor does not waive deductibles and agrees to repair, rather than replace, roofs when appropriate in accordance with rules adopted by the Enterprise Board; and
• Meets any other criteria established by the Board.

A contractor that is awarded bids and receives grant money from the grant program is prohibited from waiving homeowner’s insurance deductibles.

As a result of the new law, roofing contractors should watch for rules and policies adopted by the Enterprise related to resilient roof system standards and additional contractor requirements and ensure compliance with the new law before homeowners begin applying for grants.

SB26-155 takes effect on August 12, 2026* and is codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 10-4-2001 to 10-4-2006 and 10-4-405.

HB26-1001, HB26-1065, & SB26-001 – Additional Affordable Housing Bills

It is also worth noting that the legislature passed several bills related to affordable housing which may have the effect of encouraging construction of affordable housing units.

To learn more, read General Assembly Passes Laws Concerning Affordable Housing, Transit Near Affordable Housing, and Homelessness.

HB26-1272: Extreme Temperatures Worker Protections 

HB26-1272 requires the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (the Division) in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to begin collecting data about temperature-related injury or illness or temperature-related emergencies at worksites by January 15, 2027. A “heat-related injury or illness” is defined by the new law to mean a serious medical condition resulting from the body’s inability to cope with heat stress. Signs and symptoms of heat-related injury or illness may include headache, nausea, weakness, dizziness, elevated body temperature, muscle cramps, and muscle pain or spasms. A “temperature-related injury or illness” means cold- or heat-related injury or illness, or both.

The Division is further charged with developing a platform on the CDLE’s website where users can report temperature-related injury or illness or temperature-related emergencies and with collecting data from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, the Division of Workers’ Compensation, and the Center for Improving Value in Health Care. By July 1, 2028, the Division is also required to develop a model temperature-related injury and illness prevention plan (TRIIPP) to be made available to the public on its website.

HB26-1272 takes effect on August 12, 2026* and is codified at Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 8-14.4-101 and 18-14.4-101.5.

Our Team

BHGR’s Construction Group offers a depth of legal experience with complex horizontal, vertical, and subterranean construction projects. We proudly represent architects, design-build firms, engineers, general contractors, insurers, owners, subcontractors, suppliers, and sureties in public, private, and public-private partnership (P3) construction projects throughout the United States and around the world. If you have questions about the new laws highlighted in this article and how they may affect your business, contact us today.

*All bills discussed in this article that are effective on August 12, 2026 are, in fact, effective on that date unless a referendum petition related to the new law is timely filed and voted on in the November 2026 general election. Should that happen, the new law will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.