Mayors of Colorado’s largest cities address state leaders, urging a focus on competency reform, AI legislation

COLORADO (KRDO) – As the 2026 legislative session kicks off, the mayors of Colorado's three largest cities – Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman – are sharing a joint letter addressed to state leaders outlining their legislative priorities for the year.

In the letter, addressed to Gov. Jared Polis and the state's general assembly, the mayors urged a focus on competency law reform, changes to AI legislation, and harsher penalties for crimes impacting local businesses. The group also urged protection of voter-approved funding that goes towards affordable housing and public safety.

This is the third time the three mayors, who represent a combined population of about 1.5 million Coloradans, have collaborated to share their legislative priorities.

Calls for reform to the state's competency laws

In the letter, the mayors strongly advocated for changing state statutes regarding individuals charged with crimes who are found incompetent to stand trial.

Under current state law, violent offenders may avoid prosecution after being found incompetent, even when there is clear evidence or an admission of guilt. Those individuals are often released back into the community without appropriate placement, supervision, or ongoing care.

"We support Governor Polis in his strong commitment to make Colorado one of the safest states in the nation. At the same time, cities across Colorado continue to face challenges involving justice-involved individuals who have not received the sustained care and treatment they need," the mayors wrote.

KRDO13 has extensively covered the push to change Colorado's competency laws. In recent years, we've tracked multiple examples of alleged crimes that have gone unpunished, due to a defendant's mental state making them unable to help in their own defense.

A Colorado Springs case recently brought renewed attention to the state’s competency laws after a local man, Joel Lang, admitted to hitting and killing Kristy Kerst, a mother of three, with his vehicle in November 2024. After he was ruled incompetent to stand trial, the charges against him were dismissed under the current state law.

"Colorado law currently protects those who are deemed incompetent and allows their cases to be dismissed even when they are caught in the act of a crime, or even admit to murdering someone to the police," Kerst’s daughter, Britany Visage, told KRDO13 during a 2025 protest advocating for changes to the state’s competency laws.

In the joint letter, the mayors pushed for reform to those laws and urged the governor to expand alternative placement options and provide local judges and district attorneys with greater flexibility in sentencing.

They also argued for increased investments in the state's Department of Human Services to allow for the creation of more treatment options.

"We believe mental health care and rehabilitation are essential to addressing crime, but they must be paired with appropriate placement and accountability to protect public safety," the mayors wrote in part. "These reforms are critical to ensuring individuals receive appropriate care while preventing future tragedies."

Addressing complications with AI legislation

Mobolade, Johnston, and Coffman also urged Colorado leaders to make changes to a 2024 law that regulates artificial intelligence systems, arguing that it could slow innovation and drive jobs out of the state.

The law was created to protect consumers from "algorithmic discrimination" by AI systems operating in the state; specifically, it aims to protect people from systems deemed "high-risk" because they make or substantially help make “consequential decisions” regarding the consumer.

During the 2025 special session, the law's implementation was delayed to June of this year, but the mayors now say this wasn't long enough – and argue that a durable solution still hasn't been created.

The mayors also say the law would impose millions in implementation costs at a time when the state is facing serious budget constraints.

"We support a collaborative legislative solution in the 2026 session that protects consumers while promoting innovation, clearly defines state and local responsibilities, reduces uncertainty for employers and investors, avoids unfunded mandates, establishes clear and reasonable liability standards, and aligns Colorado with emerging national trends," the mayors wrote.

Supporting local businesses with "reasonable" crime reform

In the letter, the mayors also advocated for increasing the penalties for certain crimes, particularly those that harm local businessowners and their livelihoods.

The letter points to a recent Colorado Supreme Court decision, which held that municipalities cannot subject defendants to longer sentences under their own local ordinances for crimes that already have sentencing guidelines under state law.

"State law has increasingly constrained the ability of local law enforcement to meaningfully hold to account criminals who harm business owners and their ability to support themselves," the letter reads in part. "As municipalities face further restrictions on their authority to detain, hold, or sentence shoplifters and repeat offenders, the burden of these policies falls squarely on small and locally owned businesses."

In response, Mobolade, Johnston, and Coffman urged state legislators to consider lowering the felony shoplifting threshold to a reasonable dollar amount that reflects what they called the "real and cumulative harm" of retail theft.

"Small businesses cannot continue to absorb losses under a weak statutory framework that allows individuals to steal repeatedly while facing few consequences," the mayors wrote.

Protecting voter-allocated funding for affordable housing

Finally, the mayors called for safeguarding voter-allocated funding designated for affordable housing and public safety, specifically citing Proposition 123 and Proposition 130.

Proposition 123, which was passed by voters in 2022, dedicates approximately $300 million in state tax revenue to funding affordable housing initiatives in the state every year. Meanwhile, Proposition 130 requires the state to provide $350 million in additional funding to help recruit, train, and retain local law enforcement officers.

In the letter, the mayors urged lawmakers to prioritize these voter-approved funds, even as they deal with statewide budgetary challenges.

"We ask that legislature refrain from redistributing funding that has been approved through the ballot for specific community purposes," the mayors wrote. "It is only through continued cooperation between the community, local governments, and the state that we will sustain and build upon the progress already achieved in these areas."

The 2026 legislative session is set to begin on Wednesday, Jan. 14.

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