The No Kings Act, or SB26-176, will not be moving forward in the 2026 Colorado Legislative Session after it failed to pass out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, May 4.
The bill, which would have allowed Coloradans to sue federal officials and law enforcement for constitutional rights violations while maintaining their current ability to sue state and local officials, was killed in a 4 to 3 vote. Senators John Carson, Lindsey Daugherty, Byron Pelton, and Dylan Roberts voted against the No Kings Act. Senators Mike Weissman, Nick Hinrichsen, and Katie Wallace voted to advance the bill.
The below statement can be attributed to Ariane Frosh, ACLU of Colorado policy counsel.
“It is unfortunate that a bill that could have held the federal government accountable for trampling over the U.S. Constitution faced such an uphill battle from the very beginning. No one is above the law, not even the federal government, and this bill would have closed the accountability gap that allows federal officials and law enforcement to violate Coloradans’ constitutional rights with no consequences.
“However, misplaced speculation and opposition led by all twenty-three of Colorado’s district attorneys spread fear and confusion about the No Kings Act and what it would have done for everyone in Colorado. They lobbied against this bill on incorrect claims of increased liability for state and local officials, and they sacrificed the constitutional rights of Coloradans in the process. Legal experts, including scholars from Harvard Law School and over 160 former lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice, attested to the bill’s solid legal foundation and massive importance to curb the federal government’s lawlessness.
“While the state district attorneys feel they can turn a blind eye to the federal government’s constitutional infringements, we will continue to fight for the rights of all Coloradans through other avenues including advocacy and know your rights education. We know that a constitutional right that can’t be enforced is not a real right.”