Jared Polis is the Democratic Governor of Colorado, serving a second term. In AI policy he is associated with the 2026 repeal and reenactment of the 2024 Colorado AI Act, which he signed in 2024 and replaced in 2026 with a disclosure-and-transparency framework.
AI legislation
Polis signed Colorado SB 26-189 (2026 — replaces 2024 Colorado AI Act) on May 14, 2026, repealing and reenacting the 2024 Colorado AI Act with a disclosure-and-transparency framework governing Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT). He had earlier signed the original Colorado AI Act (SB 24-205) in 2024.
In a press release dated May 13, 2026, Polis described the signing as "a big step in the right direction for Colorado, and a model for the rest of the country," stating that "[r]eplacing the old law that hasn't taken effect yet will boost Colorado innovation and entrepreneurship." The press release thanked Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, Senate President James Coleman, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, and described the bill as a product of the AI taskforce with stakeholder input from "consumers, advocates, developers and more." (Source: governorsoffice.colorado.gov)
The SB 26-189 signing was packaged with SB26-137 (Measures to Reduce Administrative Burdens, establishing five-year DORA rule reviews) under the framing "Making Colorado An Even Better Place to Do Business, Breaking Down Barriers and Reducing Regulation," presenting the AI-policy change as part of a broader deregulatory effort.
Position on state AI regulation
Within the state-AI-regulation arc, Polis is associated with the Colorado approach of partial retreat: preserving liability under existing Colorado anti-discrimination law and voiding indemnification workarounds, while dropping EU-AI-Act-style risk classification, impact assessments, and bias audits.
Litigation
Polis is a named defendant in xAI LLC v. Weiser (challenging the Colorado AI Act), xAI's First Amendment challenge to the 2024 Colorado AI Act. The May 14, 2026 signing of SB 26-189 moots much of that challenge by repealing the operative provisions, though the case remained active as of May 2026.
Relationships
- related: Colorado SB 26-189 (2026 — replaces 2024 Colorado AI Act), Colorado AI Act (SB 24-205) (signed by Polis 2024), xAI LLC v. Weiser (challenging the Colorado AI Act), State-Level AI Regulation, California Effect
- affiliated-with: Colorado state government