Committee advances bill allowing banks to pause suspected elder fraud transactions; adopts amendment to match 2017 standard

The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee advanced House Bill 11-110 after hearing survivor testimony, academic and industry support, and adopting amendment L022 to align the bill with an existing 2017 Good Samaritan statutory standard.

Sponsor remarks framed the bill as a targeted tool to prevent elder financial exploitation by giving banks and credit unions a defined, temporary window to pause suspicious disbursements and notify law enforcement or adult protective services. "If we can enable the banks and the credit unions to pause the transaction before it goes through… then the older person is protected from having their money stolen out from under them," the sponsor said.

Multiple witnesses described real-world fraud and how a brief delay can stop transfers. Debbie Fox, who testified that she lost $58,000 in an online romance/loan scam, urged the committee to provide systems that let financial institutions act before funds are irretrievable. Eric Chess, clinical professor at the University of Denver, described research linking early signs of cognitive decline to impaired financial decision-making and said frontline financial professionals are often the first to detect those signs. Lashay Woodard, vice president of financial crimes at Ent (becoming Wings) Credit Union, described member cases in which slowing a transaction allowed staff to detect inconsistencies and prevent losses.

Agency and advocacy witnesses including Rebecca Lohrey (Director, Colorado Office of Financial Empowerment, Department of Law), AARP volunteers Alan Gordon and Steven Schwartz, and Rich Morrow of the Colorado Center for Aging supported the bill. They emphasized coordinated notification to adult protective services and law enforcement and noted that a similar legal protection for financial advisors passed in 2017. Sponsor-proposed amendment L022 inserts language (for example, "in good faith and exercising reasonable care") to make the bill consistent with that earlier statute; the committee adopted L022 without objection.

Senator Cowan moved to send the bill to the Committee of the Whole and requested an 'I' vote; the motion passed and was reported in the transcript as a 5–0 committee vote. Committee leadership asked that the measure be placed on the consent calendar. The committee adjourned after concluding the matter.

Provisions and next steps: The bill creates a limited, time-bound pause authority for trained staff at banks and credit unions, requires prompt internal review and notification to appropriate authorities if criteria are met, and provides a good-faith liability protection for institutions that act within the statutory standard. The recorded committee action advances the bill to the Committee of the Whole; full Senate consideration is the next step.