Colorado Bill on Maternal Health Equity and Continuing Education

CO Legislature Bill Search

Published January 1st, 2026

Detected March 4th, 2026

Summary

Colorado's HB26-1044 mandates measures to improve Black maternal health equity, including continuing education for obstetric professionals, public display of respectful maternity care principles, and enhanced reporting of severe maternal morbidity or death incidents. The bill introduces penalties for discriminatory or negligent misconduct by healthcare facilities and practitioners.

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What changed

Colorado Bill HB26-1044 introduces significant new requirements aimed at improving equity in maternal health, with a specific focus on Black maternal health. Key provisions include mandatory continuing education on cultural competence for obstetric professionals, requirements for health facilities to display respectful maternity care principles, and an expanded role for the CDPHE in data collection and reporting on maternal health outcomes and disparities. The bill also mandates reporting of severe maternal morbidity or death incidents where discriminatory or negligent misconduct is suspected, with investigations by CDPHE leading to potential regulatory board action.

Healthcare providers and facilities in Colorado must prepare to implement these new measures. This includes ensuring staff complete required continuing education, displaying the specified statements in birthing areas, and establishing protocols for reporting incidents of suspected discriminatory or negligent misconduct. The bill introduces substantial penalties, including license suspension or revocation and monetary penalties up to $250,000 per violation for health facilities, and monetary penalties for individual practitioners found to have engaged in misconduct leading to severe maternal morbidity or death. These penalties will fund a maternal health equity improvement fund. The CDPHE will report annually on maternal health outcomes and equity, with increased scrutiny on disparate outcomes for Black birthing parents.

What to do next

Ensure obstetric professionals complete at least one continuing education credit hour on cultural competence and equity in maternal care.
Develop and implement protocols for health facilities to publicly display respectful maternity care principles.
Establish procedures for reporting incidents of severe maternal morbidity or death potentially linked to discriminatory or negligent misconduct to CDPHE.

Penalties

Monetary penalties up to $250,000 per violation for health facilities; monetary penalties for healthcare practitioners found to have engaged in discriminatory or negligent misconduct leading to severe maternal morbidity or death; potential license revocation or suspension for health facilities.

Source document (simplified)

HB26-1044

Measures to Improve Black Maternal Health Equity

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Health Care & Health Insurance Professions & Occupations Public Health |
Concerning measures to improve equity in maternal health.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

The bill requires measures to improve equity in maternal health, including:

Requiring a physician, nurse, or nurse aide whose primary practice is in the area of obstetrics to complete at least one continuing education credit hour on the topic of cultural competence and equity in maternal care;
Authorizing the department of public health and environment (CDPHE), subject to available appropriations, to provide a health survey to all birthing parents and to compile the data;
Requiring a health facility that provides labor and childbirth services to publicly display in birthing areas a statement on respectful maternity care regarding principles and components, including freedom from harm, privacy, informed consent, and allowing a birthing parent to have a birthing companion present at the birth;
Requiring that the maternal health task force established by CDPHE includes at least one Black maternal health advocate; and
Requiring CDPHE to report annually to the general assembly, rather than every 3 years, concerning maternal health outcomes and equity, including outcomes for Black birthing parents and suspected or known causes of any disparate outcomes for Black birthing parents. In addition, the bill requires a health facility to report to CDPHE incidents of severe maternal morbidity or death of a birthing parent for which there is reasonable cause for the health facility to believe that racial discrimination, implicit or explicit bias, negligent clinical decision-making, denial of care, or other inequitable treatment (discriminatory or negligent misconduct) contributed to the severe maternal morbidity or death. CDPHE is required to investigate such incidents and report to the applicable regulatory board (regulator) if the investigation reveals that a health-care practitioner may have engaged in the discriminatory or negligent misconduct.

In addition to other penalties, the bill authorizes a regulator to impose and collect monetary penalties against a health-care practitioner that is found to have engaged in the discriminatory or negligent misconduct that led to severe maternal morbidity or death.

If a health facility has engaged in discriminatory practices, failed to follow evidence-based standards of obstetric care, or refused to act on known symptoms that resulted in severe maternal morbidity or death, CDPHE may revoke or suspend the health facility's license and impose and collect a monetary penalty of up to $250,000 per violation.

Those monetary penalties are deposited into the maternal health equity improvement fund created in the bill and will be used to provide support to families after preventable severe maternal morbidity or death and for other activities that are intended to reduce adverse maternal health outcomes.

The bill requires CDPHE's office of health equity to report aggregated and de-identified data concerning the incidents of discriminatory or negligent misconduct that resulted in preventable severe maternal morbidity or death.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Prime Sponsors

Representative

Regina English
Representative

Junie Joseph
Senator

Tony Exum
Senator

Adrienne Benavidez

Committees

House

Health & Human Services

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Status

Under Consideration

Introduced

Under Consideration

Related Documents & Information

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/03/2026 | Reengrossed | PDF |
| 03/02/2026 | Engrossed | PDF |
| 01/14/2026 | Introduced | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/27/2026 | PA1 | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/26/2026 | FN2 | PDF |
| 02/25/2026 | MEMO1 | PDF |
| 02/12/2026 | FN1 | PDF |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Refer House Bill 26-1044, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 13-0. | Vote summary |
Committee Report: PDF
| Date | Calendar | Motion | Vote | Vote Document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 03/03/2026 | Third Reading | BILL | 49 AYE 13 NO 3 OTHER | Vote record |

| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 03/02/2026 | L.006 | Second Reading | Passed [*] | PDF |
| 02/25/2026 | L.005 | HOU Health & Human Services | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/25/2026 | L.003 | HOU Health & Human Services | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/25/2026 | L.002 | HOU Health & Human Services | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/25/2026 | L.001 | HOU Health & Human Services | Passed [*] | PDF |
* Amendments passed in committee are not incorporated into the measure unless adopted by the full House or Senate.

** The status of Second Reading amendments may be subsequently affected by the adoption of an amendment to the Committee of the Whole Report. Refer to the House or Senate Journal for additional information.

| Date | Location | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/03/2026 | House | House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 03/02/2026 | House | House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor |
| 02/25/2026 | House | House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole |
| 01/14/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human Services |
Prime Sponsor

Rep. R. English | Rep. J. Joseph

Sen. A. Benavidez | Sen. T. Exum

Sponsor

Rep. N. Ricks

Co-Sponsor