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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16257 City Clerk's Office Item # Q7 Background Paper for Proposed Resolution COUNCIL MEETING DATE: February 9, 2026 TO: President Mark Aliff and Members of City Council CC: Mayor Heather Graham VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk FROM: Harley Gifford, Deputy City Attorney SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION FROM THE CITY OF PUEBLO IN OPPOSITION TO COLORADO SENATE BILL 26-070, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE, AND HOME RULE AUTHORITY AND URGING THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO VOTE NO THEREON SUMMARY: Attached is a Resolution in opposition to Colorado Senate Bill 26-70 concerning prohibiting a government entity from accessing a database that stores historical location information. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: Not applicable to this Resolution. BACKGROUND: The bill prohibits a government entity from accessing a database that reveals an individual's or a vehicle's historical location information, subject to certain exceptions. The bill will create an act that is titled "Protecting Everyone from Excessive Police sharing historical location information with third parties or government agencies outside their jurisdiction, subject to certain exceptions, and makes historical location information not a public record for the purposes of the "Colorado Open Records Act". The bill requires a government entity that collects historical location information to adopt a policy to maintain compliance with the provisions of the regulatory scheme. An enforcement action is created for the attorney general to enforce the provisions of the bill. Historical location information obtained in violation of the prohibitions of the bill are inadmissible in trial. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no financial implications for the City in passing this Resolution. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable to this Resolution. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: Not applicable to this Resolution. ALTERNATIVES: City Council could choose not to publicly oppose Colorado Senate Bill 26-70. RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Resolution. ATTACHMENTS: 1. SB26-70 PEEPS Act RESOLUTION NO. 16257 A RESOLUTION FROM THE CITY OF PUEBLO IN OPPOSITION TO COLORADO SENATE BILL 26-070, COMMONLY KNOWN AS PUBLIC SAFETY, MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE, AND HOME RULE AUTHORITY AND URGING THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO VOTE NO THEREON WHEREAS, the City of Pueblo is a home-rule municipality under Article XX of the Colorado Constitution and possesses primary authority over matters of local concern, including public safety operations, policing practices, and municipal administration; and WHEREAS, the Pueblo City Council has a fundamental duty to protect the safety, property, and constitutional rights of the residents of the City of Pueblo; and WHEREAS, Colorado Senate Bill 26- proposes to broadly prohibit government entities from accessing or using databases containing intergovernmental data sharing, and create evidentiary exclusion and enforcement mechanisms; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the PEEPS Act is overbroad, imprecisely drafted, and insufficiently tailored, creating significant legal ambiguity as to what data, technologies, and routine municipal functions are prohibited or restricted; and WHEREAS, the PEEPS Act risks restricting lawful and widely used public safety tools, including but not limited to automated license plate reader data, traffic safety systems, emergency response information, and other location-based data essential to modern municipal operations; and WHEREAS, the PEEPS Act will materially interfere with lawful law enforcement investigations, emergency response, and victim protection by disabling access to information that is already subject to constitutional safeguards, judicial oversight, and statutory regulation; and WHEREAS, the PEEPS Act introduces evidentiary exclusion and enforcement provisions that expose municipalities to heightened litigation risk, suppression of evidence, and dismissal of criminal cases based on technical or interpretive compliance disputes rather than substantive constitutional violations; and WHEREAS, the PEEPS Act imposes additional administrative, training, and compliance obligations on municipalities without providing any state funding, staffing, or resources, thereby constituting an unfunded mandate that diverts limited local resources away from public safety services; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that existing federal and state constitutional law, statutory requirements, and civil liability frameworks already regulate access to location information and provide robust protections against unlawful government intrusion; and WHEREAS, the PEEPS Act represents a significant erosion of home rule authority by substituting a rigid, statewide prohibition for locally accountable decision making in matters of local concern; and WHEREAS, the City of Pueblo supports civil liberties, privacy protections, and constitutional policing, but rejects legislation that weakens public safety, undermines effective governance, and reflects distrust of local government rather than evidence based reform. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of Pueblo, for the above stated reasons, opposes the passage of Colorado Senate Bill 26- to vote no thereon. SECTION 2. A copy of this Resolution be transmitted to all members of the Colorado General Assembly and the Governor of Colorado. SECTION 3. The officers and staff of the City are authorized to perform any and all acts consistent with this Resolution to effectuate the policies and procedures described herein. SECTION 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon final passage and approval. INTRODUCED: February 9, 2026 BY: Brett Boston MEMBER OF CITY COUNCIL APPROVED: __________________________ PRESIDENT OF CITY COUNCIL ATTESTED BY: ________________________ CITY CLERK