Of the 26 bills relevant to Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem and the patients it serves that CBSA tracked during Colorado’s 2025 legislative session, Governor Polis has now signed into law all 22 bills which passed the General Assembly—even those bills that many had speculated might be at risk for a veto. 

Governor Polis had until June 6—30 days from the final day of session—to either sign or veto bills passed by the legislature. This week’s policy blog provides additional information about several key bill signings and signing statements from the Governor. 

The table above lays out the 26 bills CBSA tracked and engaged on in 2025, in alignment with CBSA’s Policy Priorities. Tracked legislation included bills focused on advancing innovation and economic development, responsibly and effectively improving healthcare access and affordability, ensuring a balanced and reasonable regulatory environment, and supporting education and workforce development. For a brief summary of each bill and CBSA’s engagement, please see CBSA’s Policy Blog from May 14, 2025. 

The State of Colorado’s 2025 Tracker of Governor’s Action on Bills summarizes the final actions taken by Governor Polis on each bill passed this session. Although Governor Polis did veto eleven bills, he did not veto any bills CBSA was tracking. The Governor holds signing ceremonies for some bills and simply signs some bills “administratively” (without a formal signing ceremony). This year, CBSA’s Vice President and Counsel for Policy + Advocacy, Amy Goodman, participated in a signing ceremony for one bill. 

Back, L to R: Drew Nesmith, Legislative Analyst, OEDIT; Senator Marc Snyder; Amy Goodman, Vice President and Counsel for Policy + Advocacy, CBSA; Dawn Conley, Senior Executive Director, Catalyst Campus for Technology & Innovation; Kevin O’Neil, Founder, Catalyst Campus for Technology & Innovation. Front: Governor Jared Polis 

On May 19, 2025, Governor Polis signed the bipartisan HB25-1157 - Reauthorize Advanced Industries Tax Credit, sponsored by Representatives Brianna Titone and William Lindstedt, and Senators Marc Snyder and Mark Baisley.  

“Colorado is a state of innovators, leading the way in the cutting-edge emerging technologies of the future. Advanced industries support hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, find solutions in every sector from transportation to health care and agriculture, and are leading the way. These tax credits will ensure that our advanced industries continue to drive our innovation and economy,” said Governor Polis.  

Below are several key bill signings and signing statements from the Governor: 

• SB25-071 – Prohibit Restrictions on 340B Drugs: Despite many stakeholders’ efforts imploring the Governor to veto this misguided bill, Governor Polis signed SB25-071 at Grand Junction Community Hospital on May 30. CBSA and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) sent a joint veto request letter to Governor Polis on May 13 and CBSA signed onto another veto request letter alongside a dozen other patient advocacy organizations on May 15. Governor Polis said in a May 30 press release, “We are focused on saving people money on health care, and costly prescription drugs can force Coloradans to decide between paying for prescriptions over food, housing, and other necessities. I am proud to sign a major new law to expand drug discounts and enable hospital providers to expand access to affordable care, including by lowering prescription medication costs. I continue to call on the federal government to grant Colorado’s waiver to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.” In a June 5 press release summarizing key bills, the Governor’s Office described SB25-071 as “legislation [that] helps save people money on healthcare by expanding drug discounts and help[s] hospitals lower prescription drug costs.” It is notable that these descriptions of the bill as “expanding drug discounts” do not align with how key proponents of the bill described it during the legislative session. 

• HB25-1094 – Pharmacy Benefit Manager Practices: When Governor Polis signed this PBM reform bill on May 30, he also released a Signing Statement, which highlighted the need to “reform business practices that drive up prescription drug prices or capture negotiated savings for intermediaries.” He said this bill “attempts to disrupt perverse incentives in the drug supply chain that increase corporate profits at the expense of patients and employers.” Governor Polis emphasized that Colorado is taking a “bold step as the first state in the nation to institute requirements on PBMs to ‘delink’ income from the list prices of drugs in HB 25-1094, and remove incentives for PBMs to push patients toward higher cost drugs.” At the same time, he said this approach is “not without risk” and that he is “directing the Division of Insurance to monitor closely the implementation of this law to ensure no unintended consequences impact our health insurance market.” 

• SB25-048 – Diabetes Prevention & Obesity Treatment Act: When Governor Polis signed this insurance coverage bill on June 3, which many expected he would veto, he also released a Signing Statement, in which he expressed that he “appreciate[s] the thoughtful efforts intended to narrow the scope of the legislation from the introduced version which mandated coverage for GLP-1s broadly to the final version, which included only requirements for the coverage of intensive behavioral or lifestyle therapy and bariatric surgery in the large group market.” He said, “I am intrigued by the bill’s requirement that carriers offering coverage in the large group market offer at least one plan that includes coverage for GLP-1 drugs. More choices are generally better for consumers, and I recognize the value of GLP-1 medications in improving the health and well-being of Coloradans. This is a way of ensuring that employers at least have the option to provide a plan to their employees that covers these important medications while avoiding significant premium increases in the rest of the market.” Governor Polis emphasized that he “appreciate[s] that there may be cost savings associated with weight loss and other aspects of improved health among people who take GLP-1 medications,” but maintained that “the long-term evidence on this issue is scant, and this is an area for greater academic exploration.”