Most Recent Amendments to HB26-1037

A few updates have been documented since public testimony; the bill is being shaped subtlety before its tested on the House Floor.

The most notable amendment clarifies the bill’s proposed scope by changing mentions of “personal data” to “personal consumer data”, and expanding protections to include “widely distributed” information whether paywalled, subscription-based or a private social media account.

Other amendments were made in response to concerns officers had about civil liability. The bill’s language was slightly tweaked to accommodate some of their concerns, such as: Law enforcement can now request data that it is not lawfully allowed to be accessed or obtained. And”Prevailing” was added before “Plaintiff”.

Since the bill’s introduction and committee assignment on the first day of Colorado’s legislative session, January 14th, there has been little action. We are now halfway through the Regular Legislative Session, so it will begin moving through as it is considered or the bill will be struck down.

Written testimonial and the public support

Most people who submitted testimony on the 25th or spoke publicly about HB26-1037 supported it. Many said the bill ‘doesn’t go far enough’ to reign in the state’s surveillance capabilities, or to protect personal privacy from violations by law enforcement.

Fewer people have opposed the bill in public remarks. Most of them did so while representing the state as non-elected members of the state’s executive department. Including public safety officers, homeland security agents, and criminal prosecutors.

The bill nicknamed “the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act” has not changed significantly since last week’s News by Flora post.

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Opinions by Flora

The purpose of this bill is to check the power of the executive branch of our state government. Law administrators, officers and agents for the state fall under the executive branch. The judicial branch (aka the court systems) oversees administrative action and determine lawfulness under the constitutions of Colorado and the US. This is not an anti-Flock bill, as I have heard some refer to it as. It strengthens a fundamental protection guaranteed to any person in the US, inscribed in the Fourth Amendment.

The reason the bill has non-partisan support is because it builds trust with politically targeted groups who make up most of the public. Especially by promoting government transparency. The bill at least requires personal oversight from law enforcement, on top of the judiciary check on executive power. Executive power in the states have become increasingly broad and corruptible in the last 50 years, alongside the president. (Through neo-federalism and unitary policies, I’m not getting into this.)

In bills like HB26-1037, the US Bill of Rights meet tech gabble, internet capitalization and data commodification. The conversation about data and internet profiling obscures what is simple. When the government is allowed to profile the public, it can also compile databases that separate the public by associations, and likenesses. By streamlining enforcement and criminal apprehension falsehoods are concluded, dots get crossed and officer bias start to lead investigations. Allowing officers to subconsciously justify targeting people they suspect are criminals, rather than investigating suspected crime. (profiling)

People associate this bill with Flock, because Flock is not a government program it is a commercial third party. Law enforcement has used Flock to place targets around scenes of suspected crimes. The claim made by law enforcement is that they can link personal data, with individual movement. By accessing Flock, and tapping into a network of traffic cameras, business cameras and consumer cameras across cities. The catch: Flock has been prolifically wrong when providing identifying data to law enforcement, which has led to wrongful arrests. Improper searches and seizures invalidate investigations, harm victims further and injure anyone targeted unlawfully under suspicion of criminality.

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Feature Image by Florence Alden. June 2025