Lobbyist summarizes 2026 Colorado legislative session and bills affecting Northglenn

Adam Berg of Foster Graham Law Firm presented the city’s end-of-session legislative briefing and outlined major statewide themes likely to affect municipalities.

Berg said the state confronted a growing budget gap (the March forecast raised the deficit by roughly $1.2 billion) that influenced lawmakers’ willingness to advance bills with large fiscal notes. Key themes included Medicaid cost pressures, housing and land-use legislation, data center debates, artificial intelligence rules, and ongoing discussions about local control and agency rulemaking. "If you were a bill with a big fiscal note, you were going to struggle to get out of appropriations," he said.

Berg reviewed bills of particular municipal interest: a revised PUC bill that removed a mechanism allowing non-municipal utilities to override local land-use denials, a mental-health and public-safety bill (House Bill 1285) pursued with the Colorado Municipal League that produced mixed results, and transportation measures that excluded Northglenn from a proposed front-range passenger rail district. He also flagged an ongoing conversation about vacancy‑committee appointments to legislative seats and suggested that more work will come in the interim and next session on budget mechanics, Taber implications and agency rulemaking.

Berg reported that the city took positions on 68 measures and had a 68% alignment rate between its positions and eventual legislative outcomes (excluding pending vetoes). He told council members the governor was still signing and vetoing bills at the time of the briefing and that between nine and a dozen vetoes were possible.

Council members thanked Berg and his team for detailed updates and asked staff to make the end-of-session report available to residents. Berg and staff said they would continue to track rulemaking and interim work and return with updates as agencies implement new laws.

Next steps: continued monitoring of implementing rules and potential interim legislative activity; staff to share the end-of-session report with the public.