Colorado Governor signs ‘Ban the Box’ bill into law

Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed several new bills into law Tuesday.

One of the bills Governor Polis signed was HB 1025, often called the “Ban the Box” bill which prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal history on the initial job application.

According to KRDO’s Denver affiliate, Representative Leslie Herod (D-Denver) was one of the sponsors of the bill.

“You no longer will have that box on the initial application that asks if you have a criminal history,” Herod said. “You can actually get a chance to tell your own story, to look an employer in the eye and say, “I’m ready to work.'”

Governor Polis also signed several other bills, one of which limits how much colleges can ask about an applicant’s criminal history before admission.

Another reclassifies several existing drug felonies as drug misdemeanors, reduces fines and jail time for drug misdemeanors, and creates a grant program to fund drug courts and behavioral health treatment.