Source: Denver7

DENVER — Colorado state lawmakers approved a rewrite of the state's AI law that creates guardrails against algorithmic discrimination in consequential decisions about education, employment, housing, loans, insurance and healthcare. The legislation, labeled SB26-189, is based on recommendations from a task force convened by Governor Polis that included AI developers, companies that use the technology, and consumers, and it removes the previous statutory requirement for mandatory risk assessments in favor of an accountability framework to allocate responsibility when algorithmic discrimination causes harm. SB26-189 mandates clear notice to consumers when automated decision-making technology is used and grants individuals the right to request a human review of an adverse algorithmic decision. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, the bill would require AI developers to provide companies with descriptions of intended uses, categories of data used to train the system, known limitations and risks, and instructions for appropriate use and human review.

The Attorney General would be able to enforce the law under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. Supporters such as Assistant House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon framed the changes as needed to protect people whose lives are affected by automated decisions, while some companies had expressed concern under the earlier law about being held responsible for harms from systems they did not build. Labor representatives, including Robert Lindgren of Colorado’s AFL-CIO, called the bill a good first step but urged additional measures such as pre-deployment testing to better prevent discrimination. The governor’s office described the framework as “a nation-leading model” and said the governor looked forward to signing SB-189; the bill had been approved by lawmakers and was heading to the governor. The article records differing views on whether the rewrite goes far enough to prevent algorithmic bias and notes the bill’s practical disclosure and enforcement provisions without presenting any final judicial or administrative determination about the law’s ultimate effects.