Voces Unidas sets priorities for the 2026 legislative session

The new year brings a new legislative session in Colorado, and when the 2026 General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol in January, Voces Unidas will be there promoting policy solution important to rural Latino communities, as we have since 2021.

The challenges currently facing rural Latinos require us to build on prior work and focus on strengthening protections for immigrants and working families across the state. While we will take positions on many proposed bills over the course of the session, our emphasis will be on a set of core priorities.

We will prioritize passing worker protection legislation similar to the bill introduced last session to establish safety standards for hot and cold conditions. Our 2025 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda polling found that nearly 90 percent of Latinos support Colorado passing basic protections for workers who are required to work when temperatures are dangerously hot or cold. Colorado’s outdoor and indoor workers are overdue for increased protections to address the risk of injury, reduced productivity, and fatalities, and this will be a top priority for us in 2026.

We will engage on immigration policy that builds on existing state law to strengthen protections as federal hostility toward our community increases. This includes considering measures that require law enforcement officers to be clearly identifiable during public interactions, expand transparency around when and how local agencies cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, and ensure that entire law enforcement agencies—not just individual government employees—can be held accountable when state law is violated. This work is grounded in data from the 2025 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda, which shows strong majorities of Latinos oppose racial profiling and the use of masks to conceal the identity of immigration enforcement agents.

Strengthening housing affordability and protections will remain a central focus of our work, with continued attention to the rights and living conditions of mobile home park residents. Building on progress from past years, including Colorado’s 2023 mobile home park water testing law, Voces Unidas will continue advancing stronger protections informed by ongoing evaluation and lived experience.

We will also pursue environmental and climate policies that make communities more resilient to an ever-changing climate. Three out of four Latinos polled in the 2025 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda are concerned that their communities will be impacted by wildfire, flood, drought, or other climate-related disasters in the near future. Throughout the session, we will monitor climate-related bills and work with partners to address attacks on the Environmental Protection Agency and existing federal climate policies.

Veteran lobbyist Dave DeNovellis of Novel Strategies will assist us in these and other efforts by serving as Voces Unidas Action Fund’s contract lobbyist during the 2026 legislative session. Working with Dave, Voces Unidas Action Fund directly lobbies for or against legislation during the 120-day session. Additionally, we maintain a year-round presence at the State Capitol through our Denver office.

Rural Latinos play a critical role in shaping Colorado’s policy decisions, and we encourage community members to engage by joining us for our 20th annual Latino Advocacy Day in Denver, March 14–16. Each year, approximately 400 Latinos from across the state gather to learn about policy priorities and meet directly with lawmakers.

Community members can follow our positions during the 2026 legislative session through our Bill Tracker at www.vocesunidas.org, informed by the 2025 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda.