Committee advances guardianship reform bill to appropriations after fiscal debate

The House Finance Committee voted to advance House Bill 1100, a package of guardianship reforms that would create limited guardianship options and prioritize less-restrictive alternatives, sending the bill to the Appropriations Committee on a 7–4 vote.

Representative Stewart, the bill sponsor, said HB1100 updates Colorado’s guardianship statutes so courts can tailor support — for example, appointing guardians for limited tasks or timeframes instead of an all-or-nothing model. "This is one of those bills that addresses an issue that we've had in the law and also just a fundamental right to someone's access to their own health records," Stewart said, framing the bill as a human-rights and modernization effort.

Representative Espinosa, the bill's co-prime and a member of the Uniform Law Commission, said the bill adopts core uniform-law changes while tailoring them for Colorado; sponsors stressed they removed or narrowed provisions that drove the judiciary's initial fiscal concerns.

Advocates from disability organizations strongly supported the measure. Elizabeth Moran of The Arc of Colorado said the bill includes a bill-of-rights approach that clarifies what rights people under guardianship retain; Jack Johnson of Disability Law Colorado described technical reforms including proposals to adjust probate filing fees to help cover implementation costs. "Supported decision-making and less-restrictive alternatives should keep folks out of the court completely," Moran said.

Committee members questioned the sponsors on the fiscal note (discussed at roughly $1.4 million rising to $1.6 million in the next year), whether shifting costs to probate‑fee adjustments would burden families, and whether indigency waivers would protect low-income individuals. Sponsors said they are working with the Office of Public Guardianship and the judiciary to reduce the fiscal impact, that indigency waivers would cover many affected individuals, and that the amendment L2 tightened notice requirements and added alternatives such as guardians ad litem to reduce court workload.

Amendment L2 was adopted in committee and the motion to send HB1100 as amended to Appropriations passed 7–4. Several committee members said they supported the policy goals but could not support the measure at the finance stage because of unresolved fiscal questions; others said the amendments should reduce long‑term costs and improve protections.

What comes next: HB1100 will be considered by the Appropriations Committee, where sponsors said they will continue to seek funding offsets and technical refinement. Advocates urged continued attention to preserving voting, reproductive and other civil‑liberty protections while increasing guardianship alternatives and supports.