REALTORS® Urge Lawmakers to Fix Issues with Artificial Intelligence Legislation That Puts Service Providers at Risk
DENVER – Yesterday, at the request of bill sponsor Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, the Senate Committee on Business, Labor, and Technology voted to indefinitely postpone Senate Bill 25-318 “Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protections.” This legislation, which aimed to address unresolved issues from last year’s Senate Bill 24-205, was introduced with fewer than two weeks remaining in the 2025 session – echoing the last-minute push seen in 2024.
While much of the committee discussion was focused on the broader impact of SB24-205 on Colorado’s technology sector, including developers, investors, and related industries, users or deployers of loosely defined “high-risk artificial intelligence systems” were also collateral damage in the death of SB25-318. Among critical provisions in the bill was proposed language that would have narrowed the scope of AI restrictions in housing – clarifying a change from the open-ended “housing” in the 2024 bill to “housing with respect to the purchase or renting of a primary residence.” This language was crucial, as it would enable real estate professionals to use applications that harness publicly available data when assessing their safety prior to property showings.
“The hasty demise of Senate Bill 318 means workers in Colorado may be forced to work in unsafe situations next year,” said Brian Tanner, vice president of public policy for the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. “Under current law, anyone using identity or fraud verification applications to make what could ultimately be a consequential decision would be forced to disclose the use of the application even if for personal safety reasons.”
There is a history of violence against those in the real estate industry. Over the years, several high-profile murders of real estate agents have occurred where perpetrators took advantage of the sometimes-isolated nature of property showings. According to the 2024 National Association of REALTORS® Safety Survey, 495,000 REALTORS® reported fearing for their personal safety at work last year. Federal data also shows that 45 real estate professionals died from violence on the job in 2022-2023 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
“Everyone deserves a safe working environment,” says Dana Cottrell, a Summit County REALTOR® and president of the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. “In our rush to become the first state to protect consumers from artificial intelligence discrimination, we unintentionally endangered service providers in their everyday work. We urge every legislator to do the right thing and address this oversight before the law takes effect on February 1, 2026.”
The uniquely Colorado definition of a “high-risk artificial intelligence system” under SB24-205 captures practically any system where you get more information back, or outputs, than your inputs, even if the information received is publicly available and the system does not advise you on what to do with the information.
“Knowing as much information as possible before meeting or showing a property to a stranger is a critical safety measure,” added Cottrell. “This is why one in five REALTORS® use applications that help verify someone’s identity. Imagine going alone to a remote property to meet someone where you may only have a name and phone number —wouldn’t you want to know more about them?”
The Colorado Association of REALTORS® is the state’s largest real estate trade association representing over 23,000 members statewide. The association supports private property rights, equal housing opportunities and is the “Voice of Real Estate” in Colorado. For more information, visit https://www.coloradorealtors.com.