Tackling affordable housing and construction litigation reform

This coming Tuesday, I will present to the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee Senate Bill 24-106 concerning legal actions based on claimed defects in construction projects, commonly known as construction defect litigation reform. I have worked on this issue for many years, dating back to my time as a member of the Arvada City Council. The overly litigious environment concerning construction defects, specifically for condominiums, has increased costs for builders over time, resulting in fewer new units than ever before.

Why should we care about condos? It's a known fact that Colorado has a housing affordability crisis and, as state legislators, we have an opportunity and duty to partner on solutions that can help address this issue. Access to affordable, quality housing is foundational to personal and financial stability, provides safety and life sustaining shelter, and is also a vehicle for reducing childhood poverty and increasing economic mobility and intergenerational wealth. That is why working towards affordable, attainable, and available housing in Colorado is a policy area that I am very passionate about and is the impetus for Senate Bill 106.

The need for this bill is clear. Coloradans deserve balanced public policy that addresses our housing affordability issue at its core. With Senate Bill 106, we are confident that we have crafted a balanced solution to reform construction liability litigation and still protect the rights of homeowners, provide additional housing choices, maintain high standards for construction professionals, help reduce building costs to produce attainably priced homes, and ultimately create more homeownership opportunities for Coloradans. To see the long list of communities and organizations from across Colorado that have come out in support of this bill, visit the Home Opportunity Alliance website.

Metro Mayors Caucus endorse SB24-106 on Construction Defects: The Metro Mayors Caucus includes both small towns of less than 500 and large cities that are home to hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. Collectively, MMC member jurisdictions comprise more than half of Colorado’s population.The Metro Mayors Caucus have endorsed Senate Bill 106 Right to Remedy Construction Defects, stating:

"We want to convey our shared concerns about the housing affordability issue that we currently face. There is not one city, town or community in Colorado that is immune to this challenge, and as Mayors we see the impacts firsthand. We are closest to the actual issue, as we are neighbors and friends with our residents and constituents, and we are keenly aware of how Colorado’s housing shortage and affordability crisis negatively impacts the people and businesses in our communities. We need more housing at affordable prices...and we need it now. That is why we are collectively expressing our support for SB24-106, sponsored by Senator Zenzinger, Senator Coleman, and Representative Bird."

To read the full letter of support, click HERE.

Colorado Springs City Council, Mayor Yemi issue joint proclamation supporting proposed State legislation to increase homeownership opportunities: The Colorado Springs City Council issued a joint proclamation with Mayor Yemi Mobolade this week in support of Colorado Senate Bill 24-106, the Right to Remedy Construction Defects act. “The City of Colorado Springs supports this legislation that will help bring down the building costs of affordably priced homes and create more opportunities to build wealth for residents of Colorado Springs through homeownership,” City Council and the Mayor state in the proclamation. They also note that since the State legislature passed construction liability litigation laws in 2001, the willingness of developers to engage in condominium projects in Colorado has decreased dramatically and condominium construction is 76% lower than it was from 2002-2008.

The proclamation states that Senate Bill 24-106 would allow for the construction of needed housing inventory by:      

• Lessening insurance costs by reducing the magnitude and frequency of claims.
• Providing other means to resolve disputes faster for homeowners.
• Ensuring that homeowners within an association are properly informed of the aspects of litigation that affects their property. 

The full proclamation can be found HERE. And to read Mayor Mobolade's guest column, GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would improve access to housing, click HERE.

City of Aspen endorses SB24-106, cites need for more affordable condos: The City of Aspen sent a letter this week endorsing SB24-106 on construction defect litigation reform, citing the challenges their community has faced firsthand with developing affordable housing and their belief that making changes to the Construction Defect Action Reform Act will help with the development of more affordable condominiums. They outline the changes to the cost of liability insurance and how it had risen in their area from $9,094 per unit in 2000 to $41,581 per unit in 2023.

To read the full letter, click HERE.

Habitat for Humanity endorse measure to build more condos: Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver came to the Capitol last week to lobby in favor of bills that they believe will move the needle for affordable homeownership. While they were there, advocates shared factsheets on a variety of bills endorsed by the nonprofit organization, including SB24-106. They believe this bill will help ensure more affordable homeownership opportunities for Coloradans. To learn more, click HERE.

Colorado Politics Opinion: State's scarce housing supply needs balanced legislative approach

By Rachel Zenzinger, James Coleman and Shannon Bird

Colorado has a housing affordability crisis and, as state legislators, we have an opportunity to partner on solutions this year to help address this issue. Why is this so important? Because access to affordable, quality housing is foundational to personal and financial stability, provides safety and life-sustaining shelter, and is also a vehicle for reducing childhood poverty and increasing economic mobility and intergenerational wealth. To that end, we have introduced SB24-106, a measure to help provide more attainable and affordable housing options in Colorado.

To continue reading, click HERE.

SB24-132 Evaluation Protections & Educators: Concerning extending evaluation protections to all educators. The bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee unanimously and sent to the full Senate on consent.

SB24-106 Right to Remedy Construction Defects: Concerning legal actions based on claimed defects in construction projects. The bill will be heard in the Senate Local Government & Housing Committee on Tuesday, March 5 at 1:30 pm.

HB24-1012 Front Range Passenger Rail District Efficiency: Concerning the operational efficiency of the front range passenger rail district. The bill will be heard in the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee on Monday, March 4 at 1:30 pm.

NEW! SB24-170 America 250 - Colorado 150 Commission: Concerning the America 250 - Colorado 150 commission. The bill was introduced and assigned to the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Commmittee.

NEW! HB24-1290 Student Educator Stipend Program: Concerning an appropriation to reduce financial barriers for students entering the educator workforce through the student educator stipend program. The bill was introduced and assigned to the House Education Committee.

NEW! HB24-1326 Bingo-Raffle Licensing Sunset Review: Concerning continuation under the sunset law of the licensing of certain games of chance including bingo, and, in connection therewith, implementing the recommendations of the 2023 sunset report of the department of regulatory agencies. The bill was introduced and assigned to the House State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee.

NEW! HB24-1340 Incentives for Post-Secondary Education: Concerning the creation of incentives against the state income tax for students pursuing post-secondary credentials. The bill was introduced and assigned to the House Education Committee.

March 2, 2024 KKTV: Several southern Colorado leaders back bill they say would bring more condos to the state

March2, 2024 Yahoo.com: Educators, lawmakers hold Taylor Swift-themed rally to celebrate funding

March 1, 2024 Colorado Public Radio: State leaders celebrate end of school budget shortfalls but some districts worry about the future of funding

March 1, 2024 The Denver Post: With nods to Taylor Swift, Colorado lawmakers declare break-up with education funding gap

March 1, 2024 KDVR: Educators, lawmakers hold Taylor Swift-themed rally to celebrate funding

March 1, 2024 BNN Breaking: Colorado Triumphs in Education: BS Factor Buydown Unlocks $15K per Classroom Boost

February 28, 2024 Colorado Springs Gazette: Are laws cracking down on car theft responsible for downward trend in Colorado?

February 28, 2024 Denver Channel 7: Gov. Polis signs bill changing oversight of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

February 27, 2024 Colorado Politics: Are laws cracking down on car theft responsible for downward trend in Colorado?

February 26, 2024 Colorado Politics: State's scarce housing supply needs balanced legislative approach

March 2, 2024 Mayor Yemi, 28 Colorado Mayors send letter to Colorado General Assembly supporting Right to Remedy Construction Defects Act

March 1, 2024 Governor Polis, State Legislators & Educators Celebrate Historic Education Funding

February 29, 2024 Governor Polis Signs Bills Into Law

February 27, 2024 Governor Polis Hands Out Dolly Parton Imagination Library’s One-Millionth Book in Colorado, Signs New Law

February 26, 2023 The Gazette: GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would improve access to housing

Legislative Town Hall Meeting: Education



Please join Rep. Brianna Titone and Sen. Zenzinger on Saturday, March 16 at 10:30 am for our monthly legislative town hall. The topic will feature education funding. The location for the town hall will be the Indian Tree Golf Course, 7555 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, CO 80003 (and NOT the library). For more information, click HERE.

Golden Mayor Laura Weinberg Endorses Zenzinger

“Rachel has been a great partner working on issues important to Golden and Jefferson County. I appreciate her thoughtful approach to finding solutions that honor the role of local government in addressing the impact of affordable housing and her willingness to address the issue with construction defects litigation reform. “

--Laura Weinberg, Mayor of Golden

Endorsements of Rachel Zenzinger's campaign for Jeffco Commissioner are pouring in! To view the latest, click HERE. If you'd like to join the list of supporters, please send an email to: rachelforcolorado@gmail.com. Also, please feel free to make a contribution to Rachel in her bid for commissioner by clicking HERE.