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A proposal to decriminalize prostitution in Colorado is dead in the water before reaching its first vote.
If made law, Senate Bill 26-097 would have decriminalized commercial sexual activity between consenting adults, eliminating criminal penalties for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. The bill is scheduled for its first hearing on Wednesday, March 11, in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
However, sponsors intend to kill the bill on Wednesday because it lacks enough support to pass the committee, the Colorado Sun reported on March 9. State Senator Nick Hinrichsen, the bill’s lead sponsor, confirmed the report to Westword.
“The politics of this policy are difficult. Sometimes, however, hearing from those who are impacted by harmful policies is the only way to shift the politics,” says Hinrichsen, who was inspired to introduce the bill after speaking to a constituent who is a sex worker. “My greatest frustration with this bill isn’t that it won’t pass, it’s that sex workers in Colorado haven’t had a fair chance to tell their stories about how current laws endanger their safety and autonomy in a variety of ways. Their lives matter.”
Under the bill, Colorado would have been just the second state in the nation to allow prostitution, behind Nevada, which permits prostitution at licensed brothels in certain counties. Colorado’s law would have gone even further, though, making it the first state to remove all criminal penalties for prostitution.
The measure needs support from at least four of the seven Judiciary Committee members to advance to the full Senate.
The GOP has publicly united against the bill; Senate Republicans sent a mass email on March 6, urging residents to testify in opposition to the measure during the upcoming committee meeting. Multiple Democratic senators also declined to support the proposal, as Democrats control the Judiciary Committee five to two. The bill is sponsored by four Democratic legislators: State Senators Hinrichsen and Lisa Cutter, and State Representatives Lorena García and Rebekah Stewart.
“This is a victory,” Republican Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis said online in response to the bill’s failure. “Legalizing prostitution would have sent the wrong message about the dignity of women, the health of our communities, and the kind of society we want to build. Colorado should be working to protect people from exploitation, not normalize it.”
Hinrichsen says many critics of the bill “chose to misrepresent what the policy actually does, and actively sought to push the impacted community back into the shadows.” Supporters argue that decriminalizing prostitution would improve safety for sex workers, rather than forcing them to operate underground.
When asked if he plans to reintroduce the bill in a future legislative session, he says: “I hope, someday soon, their voices can be heard, and that the policy will be brought back for future consideration.”
Ten organizations registered in support of the bill as of March 9, including the ACLU of Colorado, Bread and Roses Legal Center, Colorado Freedom Fund, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights (COLOR), and the Women’s Foundation of Colorado.
Nearly two dozen organizations registered in opposition, including the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council, County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Colorado Catholic Conference, Colorado Hospital Association, Colorado Municipal League and eleven different cities, towns and counties throughout the state.
