The Colorado Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform (COPRRR), in the Executive Director’s Office at the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), released the 2025 sunset reports today. The reports have been sent to the Colorado General Assembly and are now available online at coprrr.colorado.gov.
Colorado strives to be at the forefront of balanced regulation and regulatory reform,” Patty Salazar, DORA Executive Director said. “Through the sunset process, we provide the General Assembly with comprehensive and thoughtful recommendations for changes to government programs. Protecting consumers while minimizing regulatory barriers for Coloradans is more important than ever.
This year, COPRRR conducted 22 sunset reviews of programs throughout Colorado state government to identify opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens while upholding consumer protection. Stakeholder feedback also presented opportunities to improve the effectiveness of organizational processes and procedures and modernize energy, workforce, and healthcare policy. Programs reviewed include those housed within DORA, the departments of Public Health and Environment, State, Public Safety, Human Services, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Colorado State University, and the State Forest Service.
“While consumer protection is front and center in all that we do, we also seek to find the balance between protecting the public and eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens,” Brian Tobias, Director of COPRRR, said. “Public participation is vital to the sunset process. When conducting sunset reviews, we strive to include as many interested parties as possible. We try to make hearing your voice as easy as possible. We implement various engagement strategies, such as accepting written comments, conducting in-person interviews, and holding town halls, among others. We also encourage you to contact us directly if you have questions or want to participate in any of our future reviews.
Report highlights include:
- Continuing professional regulation: Professions, such as physicians, physician assistants, anesthesiologist assistants, podiatrists, barbers and cosmetologists, bail bonding agents and real estate brokers were up for sunset review, and each of the reviews recommends continuing the regulation of these professions. Further, while the Division of Professions and Occupations is not scheduled to be repealed, statute requires that it undergo a review every ten years
- Continuing business regulation: Licensure of substance abuse treatment programs that administer controlled substances, subdivision developers, fire suppression system contractors and inspectors, hemodialysis centers and technicians, and barber and cosmetology businesses also underwent sunset review. The sunset reviews found continued regulation was necessary to protect the public.
- Continuing other programs or functions: A sunset review examined the Public Utilities Commission and recommends continuation of its regulation of investor-owned electric and gas utilities, taxis, transportation network companies and many others. The sunset review of the Colorado Securities Act, which requires securities to be registered with the Securities Commissioner, regulates securities industry firms and professionals and provides for various anti-fraud provisions, was recommended for continuation. Another sunset review recommended continuing the Professional Boxing Safety Act, which regulates combative sports in the state. The sunset review of the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act, which oversees pet breeders, kennels, shelters, rescues and others in the pet animal industry, recommended continuation. The sunset review of the water vessels registration program recommended continuation. The Cold Case Task Force sunset review recommended continuation of the Task Force, which provides subject matter expertise to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies across the state on the investigation of cold cases. Sunset reviews of the Forest Health Council and the Food Systems Advisory Council both recommended continuation. Although it has not met since 2020, the sunset review of the Compliance Advisory Panel recommended continuation because it is required by the federal Clean Air Act.
- Recommended for sunset: The Biomass Utilization Grant Program has been used sparingly and is recommended for sunset. The work of the Business Intelligence Center Advisory Board is largely complete, so the General Assembly should sunset it. Also recommended for sunset is the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee, which has not met since 2021. The Kidney Disease Prevention and Education Task Force will have completed its work by September 2026 and should be allowed to sunset.
The complete sunset reports and a schedule of future sunset reviews are available online at coprrr.colorado.gov.