Colorado Enacts SB 26-189, Replacing Original AI Act with Narrower ADMT Framework

On 14 May 2026, Governor Polis signed SB 26-189, repealing and replacing Colorado’s 2024 AI Act (SB 205) with a narrower regime focused on “automated decision-making technology” (ADMT) that materially influences consequential decisions. The new law removes mandatory risk management programs aligned to NIST AI RMF, annual impact assessments, and duty to self-report algorithmic discrimination harms to the AG. Employers using covered ADMT must retain three-year compliance records and provide clear notice before using ADMT in consequential decisions; workers retain rights to post-adverse-outcome explanations and meaningful human review. The law takes effect 1 January 2027; enforcement is additionally subject to a federal court pause issued 27 April 2026. Worker rights protections from SB 205 are substantially reduced under the new framework.