DENVER, CO — Following passage in both the Colorado House and Senate, lawmakers join workers, small business leaders, and consumer advocates to call on Governor Jared Polis to sign House Bill 26-1210 into law.

The legislation would prohibit corporations from using personal data to set individualized prices and wages, practices commonly referred to as surveillance pricing and wage-setting. The bill, which would be the first true surveillance pricing legislation in the nation, is a key part of a Colorado affordability agenda aimed at lowering costs for consumers. 

“Colorado legislators stepped up to restore honest competition, one where prices are fair, transparent, and not secretly rigged against consumers and workers, while protecting the discounts and coupons they depend upon,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at American Economic Liberties Project. “If Gov. Polis is truly concerned about affordability for everyday Coloradans, he’ll sign this bill into law.”

HB26-1210 is led by Assistant House Majority Leader Rep. Jennifer Bacon (D–Denver) and Rep. Javier Mabrey (D–Denver), with Senate sponsors Sen. Mike Weissman (D–Aurora) and Sen. Iman Jodeh (D–Aurora).

“Colorado took a measured approach here,” said Rep. Jennifer Bacon. “This bill sets clear expectations for how data can be used without overcomplicating things for businesses or consumers.”

“We are trying to bring some transparency back into how prices are set,” said Rep. Javier Mabrey. “Right now, too much of this happens behind the scenes. This bill helps make those practices more visible and more consistent.”

“Opaque, individualized prices and wages hamper fair market competition, and prevent the regular forces of supply and demand from calibrating prices and wages,” said Sen. Mike Weissman. “Clear rules ensuring transparency will allow our markets to function properly for everyone participating in the Colorado economy.”

“This is about guardrails on the types of personal information that can be brought to bear on prices and wages,” said Sen. Iman Jodeh. “These guardrails create trust and ensure that each of us operate transparently in the marketplace. That trust matters for workers, consumers, and businesses alike.”

Coalition partners said the legislation reflects growing concern that data driven pricing practices are outpacing the rules governing them.

“Prices and wages should reflect the value of goods and services, not inferences about an individual consumer or worker,” said Hillary Jorgensen, Co-Executive Director of The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. “This bill is a step toward aligning price with value, thereby making our price-setting  systems more transparent and accountable.”

For workers, the impact can be immediate.

“You do not know what the person next to you is being offered for the same work,” said a Colorado rideshare driver who participated in a support rally earlier in the month. “There is no explanation for why rates change, and no way to know if you are being treated fairly.”

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