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Second Regular Session | 75th General Assembly
Colorado General Assembly

CLICS/CLICS2026A/commsumm.nsf
PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For HB26-1323

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, WATER & NATURAL RESOURCES
Date Mar 23, 2026       Location HCR 0107

HB26-1323 - Postponed Indefinitely
01:45:06 PM  
Representative Lindsay and Representative Velasco, co-prime sponsors, introduced House Bill 26-1323. The bill prohibits the wounding or killing (taking) of a beaver on public lands for recreational or commercial purposes. The Parks and Wildlife Commission may adopt rules to implement the prohibition.

The bill sponsors responded to questions from the committee.
02:03:56 PM  
Suzanne O'Neill, representing Colorado Wildlife Federation, testified in opposition to the bill. Timothy Gablehouse, representing Colorado Trout Unlimited, testified in opposition to the bill. Kathleen Curry, representing Ute Water Conservancy District, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Rick Cables, representing themself, testified in opposition to the bill. Heather Dutton, representing San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District and Colorado Water Congress, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Kevin Terry, representing Trout Unlimited, testified in opposition to the bill. Scott Fitzwilliams, representing themself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Reece Melton, representing Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, testified in opposition to the bill.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.
02:27:36 PM  

Brandon Melnikoff, representing Colorado Farm Bureau, testified in opposition to the bill. Brett Moore, representing Colorado Association of Conservation Districts, testified in opposition to the bill. Gaspar Perricone, representing Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project, testified in opposition to the bill. Dan Gates, representing Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, testified in opposition to the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment A). Mr. Bill Wombacher, representing Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority, East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District, and Legacy Water, testified in opposition to the bill. Ben Fickett, representing Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, testified in opposition to the bill. Scott Horak, representing themself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ivan James, representing themself, testified in opposition to the bill.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.

02:51:27 PM  
Landon Gates, representing Colorado Cattlemen's Association and Colorado Wool Growers Association, testified in opposition to the bill. Jennifer Burbey, representing Colorado Outfitters Association, testified against the bill. Sam Carkhuff, representing themself, testified in opposition to the bill. Mike Quartuch, Mark Vieira, and Boyd Wright, representing Colorado Parks and Wildlife, were available to answer committee questions.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.
03:08:10 PM  
Jen Clanahan, representing Colorado Nature League, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Johanna Hamburger, representing Animal Welfare Institute, testified in support of the bill. Delaney Rudy, representing Western Watersheds Project, testified in support of the bill. Eric Washburn, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Elaine Leslie, representing Coalition to Protect National Parks, testified in support of the bill.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.
03:31:52 PM  
Aubyn Royall, representing Humane World for Animals, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Nova Snow Robbins-Waldstein, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Anna Sundheim, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Genevieve Jacobi, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Alli Henderson, representing Center for Biological Diversity, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Steve Kudron, representing Town of Grand Lake, testified in support of the bill. Charles Seymour, representing themself, testified in support of the bill.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.
04:05:08 PM  
Christina Clayton, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Rhonda Dern, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Roland Halpern, representing Colorado Voters for Animals, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout (Attachment B). Sherri Tippie, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Rainer Gerbatsch, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Peter May, representing E3/KFM Kundalini Fire Management, testified in support of the bill. Brenda Lee, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Sheehan Meagher, representing Roaring Fork Audubon, testified in support of the bill.

The panelists responded to questions from the committee.
04:34:43 PM  
Mr. Jeffrey Hersch, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Valerie Hunter-Goss, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Deanna Meyer, representing Prairie Protection Colorado, testified in support of the bill.
04:52:20 PM  
Renee Mariotti, representing Colorado Sierra Club, testified in support of the bill. Michael Saul, representing Defenders of Wildlife, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Delia Malone, representing ColoradoWild, testified in support of the bill.
Vincent Su, representing themself, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Kirsten Heckendorf, representing Three Lakes Watershed Association, testified in support of the bill. The panelists responded to questions from the committee.

Additional written testimony can be found in Attachment C.  
05:05:32 PM  
The bill sponsors and committee members discussed amendment L.001 (Attachment D).

05:22:00 PM
 Motion Adopt amendment L.001
Moved Lindsay
Seconded Story
Garcia Sander
Goldstein
Johnson
Lindsay
Lukens
Martinez
Smith
Stewart K.
Story
Suckla
Winter T.
Mauro
McCormick
YES: 0   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  Pass Without Objection
05:22:17 PM  
The bill sponsors and committee members gave closing comments on the bill.
05:42:46 PM  
Closing comments continued.

05:45:15 PM
 Motion Refer House Bill 26-1323, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations.
Moved Lindsay
Seconded Mauro
Garcia Sander No
Goldstein No
Johnson No
Lindsay Yes
Lukens No
Martinez Yes
Smith No
Stewart K. No
Story Yes
Suckla No
Winter T. No
Mauro No
McCormick No
YES: 3   NO: 10   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  FAIL

05:45:45 PM
 Motion Postpone House Bill 26-1323 indefinitely using a reversal of the previous roll call. There was no objection to the use of the reverse roll call, therefore, the bill was postponed indefinitely.
Moved Mauro
Seconded Goldstein
Garcia Sander Yes
Goldstein Yes
Johnson Yes
Lindsay No
Lukens Yes
Martinez No
Smith Yes
Stewart K. Yes
Story No
Suckla Yes
Winter T. Yes
Mauro Yes
McCormick Yes
Final YES: 10   NO: 3   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS