Colorado County Commissioner Redistricting Bill HB26-1038

CO Legislature Bill Search

Published January 1st, 2026

Detected March 14th, 2026

Summary

Colorado bill HB26-1038 amends current law regarding county commissioner redistricting. It requires the appointment of independent redistricting commissions, modifies criteria for commission members, and introduces new measures for district competitiveness. The bill also allows for legal challenges to adopted plans.

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What changed

Colorado bill HB26-1038 significantly alters the process for county commissioner redistricting. Key changes include mandating the appointment of independent redistricting commissions, revising eligibility criteria for commission members, and granting boards the power to remove members for cause and direct modifications to proposed plans. Furthermore, commissions will be required to adopt and use a numerical measure of district competitiveness when determining district boundaries. The bill also removes the role of advisory committees, reassigning their duties to staff and the commissions, and explicitly permits any qualified county elector to challenge an adopted plan in district court.

This legislation will impact how county commissioner districts are drawn in Colorado. Local government officials responsible for overseeing redistricting must familiarize themselves with the new requirements for commission composition, selection, and the criteria for plan development, including the new competitiveness measure. The expanded grounds for challenging adopted plans may lead to increased litigation. Compliance will require careful adherence to the modified procedures and criteria outlined in the bill.

What to do next

Review HB26-1038 for specific requirements on independent commission appointment and member eligibility.
Incorporate new numerical measures of district competitiveness into redistricting plan development.
Understand the grounds for legal challenges to adopted redistricting plans.

Source document (simplified)

HB26-1038

County Commissioner Redistricting

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Elections & Redistricting Local Government |
Concerning county commissioner redistricting.

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

Under current law, certain boards of county commissioners must appoint county commissioner redistricting commissions to adopt plans to divide the relevant counties into as many county commissioner districts as there are county commissioners elected by voters of their district (plan). The bill requires these boards of county commissioners to appoint independent county commissioner redistricting commissions (commissions), modifies the criteria for who may serve on these commissions, allows these boards of county commissioners to remove members from the commission for cause, allows these boards of county commissioners to direct a commission to modify a proposed plan under certain conditions, and requires ~~the~~ these boards of county commissioners to adopt a final plan that was one of the final plans approved by ~~an independent county commissioner redistricting~~ a commission. The bill also removes the role of advisory committees in the process of adopting a plan and divides that role among staff and the ~~independent county commissioner redistricting~~ commissions. The bill explicitly allows any qualified elector of a county to challenge the adoption of a plan by an action in the district court.

Further, the bill requires ~~an independent county commissioner redistricting commission~~ a commission to adopt a numerical measure of county commissioner district competitiveness and to use that measure , and any other measure of competitiveness adopted by the commission, in determining county commissioner districts.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Prime Sponsors

Representative

Amy Paschal
Representative

Chad Clifford
Senator

Marc Snyder

Committees

House

State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Senate

State, Veterans, & Military Affairs

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Status

Under Consideration

Introduced

Under Consideration

Upcoming Schedule

1 meeting

Mon

Mar 16

Senate Third Reading of Bills - Final Passage

10:00 AM Senate Chamber

Related Documents & Information

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/13/2026 | Revised | PDF |
| 02/10/2026 | Reengrossed | PDF |
| 02/05/2026 | Engrossed | PDF |
| 01/14/2026 | Introduced | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/03/2026 | PA1 | PDF |

| Date | Version | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 02/13/2026 | First Revised Fiscal Note | PDF |
| 01/28/2026 | Initial Fiscal Note | PDF |

| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Refer House Bill 26-1038 to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 3-2. | Vote summary |
Committee Report: PDF
| Activity | Vote | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). | The motion passed on a vote of 9-2. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment C). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.003 (Amendment D). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment E). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.005 (Attachment F). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.006 (Attachment G). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment H). | The motion passed without objection. | Vote summary |
| Refer House Bill 26-1038, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. | The motion passed on a vote of 8-3. | Vote summary |
Hearing Summary | Committee Report: PDF
| Date | Calendar | Motion | Vote | Vote Document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 02/10/2026 | Third Reading | BILL | 40 AYE 25 NO 0 OTHER | Vote record |
| 02/05/2026 | Committee of the Whole | AMD (H.001) | 21 AYE 39 NO 5 OTHER | Vote record |

| Date | Amendment Number | Committee/ Floor Hearing | Status | Documents |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 02/05/2026 | L.009 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/05/2026 | L.008 | Second Reading | Lost [] | PDF |
| 02/05/2026 | L.010 | Second Reading | Lost [*] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.007 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.006 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.005 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.004 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.003 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.002 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | Passed [] | PDF |
| 02/02/2026 | L.001 | HOU State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs | 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 03/13/2026 | Senate | Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 03/10/2026 | Senate | Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole |
| 02/12/2026 | Senate | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs |
| 02/10/2026 | House | House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments |
| 02/06/2026 | House | House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments |
| 02/05/2026 | House | House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee |
| 02/02/2026 | House | House Committee on State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole |
| 01/14/2026 | House | Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs |
Prime Sponsor

Rep. C. Clifford | Rep. A. Paschal

Sen. M. Snyder

Sponsor

(None) Co-Sponsor