COLORADO KILLS ITS OWN AI LAW BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS — REWRITES IT FROM SCRATCH UNDER INDUSTRY PRESSURE Today was supposed to be the day Colorado’s landmark AI law took effect. Instead the state’s original Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence Act has been quietly shelved and replaced before it ever applied to a single business. Governor Jared Polis signed a replacement law, SB 26-189, in May, and that new law pushed the effective date to January 1, 2027. Colorado’s original 2024 legislation was the first comprehensive AI regulation passed at the state level in the United States. The original law required companies to implement risk management programs, conduct bias impact assessments, and report certain practices to the state Attorney General. The tech industry fought it hard. The working group that Polis convened to review it spent six months picking it apart. What emerged is considerably weaker. The duty of care aimed at preventing algorithmic discrimination is gone. Deployer obligations around impact assessments are scaled back or eliminated. What remains is a narrower transparency framework focused on disclosure requirements around automated decision-making tools. Critics say Colorado let the industry rewrite the rules designed to hold the industry accountable. Supporters say the original law was unworkable. Either way, the first big state AI law flinched before it ever went into force. Keywords: Colorado AI law 2026, AI regulation, SB 26-189, AI consumer protection, state AI legislation