ColoradoColorado commission sets safety rules for covered combative sports
The law schedules Colorado’s combative sports office and commission for review before 2037 repeal and requires safety rules for sports the commission covers.
What it does
Colorado’s Office of Combative Sports and its commission are scheduled for review before repeal on September 1, 2037.
The commission must set health and safety rules for covered live combative sports matches, using safety data gathered by the office director.
Two physicians with relevant medical experience serve as voting members and advise the commission on participants’ health and match safety.
Promoters and matchmakers cannot have a financial stake in managing a participant; managers face limits on financial ties to promoters and matchmakers.
Argument forHealth rules informed by safety data and physician advice could help the commission address risks to people in covered matches.
Argument againstPeople who compete in or help run newly covered sports could face licensing steps, including when the commission adds a sport by rule.
More detail
The law schedules the Office of Combative Sports and its commission for repeal on September 1, 2037. This applies to Colorado’s Office of Combative Sports and the Colorado Combative Sports Commission. The office and commission are scheduled for review before repeal. The scheduled repeal date is September 1, 2037.
The commission must adopt health and safety rules, consider safety data gathered by the office director, and identify covered sports by rule. The rules cover live combative sports matches in Colorado. The defined sports include boxing, kickboxing, martial arts, mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai, plus other sports the commission identifies by rule. The commission must follow applicable state and federal law.
The law provides for a seven-member commission that includes two physician members who advise on health and match safety. The Senate president appoints one physician and the House speaker appoints one. Each must have relevant experience or training in emergency, sports, or combative sports medicine; both are voting members. The physician members may propose safety rules for the commission to consider and approve. The seven-member commission arrangement applies on and after September 1, 2026.
The law bars promoters and matchmakers from having a financial interest in managing a participant, and bars managers from specified financial ties to promoters or matchmakers. These restrictions cover promoters, matchmakers, managers, and participants in combative sports. A manager may receive payment from a promoter or matchmaker when it is owed under the manager’s contract with the participant.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jun 3Governor Jared Polis SignedBecame Law
- Jun 2Signed by the Speaker of the HouseMajor
- Jun 2Signed by the President of the SenateMajor
- Jun 2Sent to the GovernorTo Governor
- May 4House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
- Vote recorded REPASS. Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded CONCUR. Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded REPASS. Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded CONCUR. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 23House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Laid Over Daily
- Apr 22Senate Third Reading Passed - No AmendmentsPassed Senate
- Vote recorded BILL. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 21Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the WholeMinor
- Vote recorded Refer House Bill 26-1194 to the Committee of the Whole. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 21Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
- Apr 9Senate Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to AppropriationsMinor
- Vote recorded Adopt amendment L.007 (Attachment A). Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded Refer House Bill 26-1194, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 19Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Health & Human ServicesMinor
- Mar 16House Third Reading Passed - No AmendmentsPassed House
- Vote recorded BILL. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 13House Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to House Committee of the WholeMinor
- Vote recorded Refer House Bill 26-1194 to the Committee of the Whole. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 13House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
- Mar 3House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Amended to AppropriationsMinor
- Vote recorded Adopt amendment L.004 (Attachment C). Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded Refer House Bill 26-1194, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 11Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human ServicesIntroduced
Public SafetyGovernment & Ethics