The Colorado Legislature approved a bill that would require social media companies to comply with search warrants within 24 hours of receiving one, though a potential veto from Governor Jared Polis looms.

House Bill 26-1255 would also require social media companies that restrict a user’s account to report to the user’s local law enforcement agency within 24 hours any threats of imminent and specific harm. It barely passed the Senate on an 18-17 vote Wednesday, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, with five Democrats joining Republicans in voting against the bill.

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Bill sponsors say the measure comes in response to last year’s Evergreen High School shooting. Social media accounts apparently belonging to the suspect in the Evergreen shooting were filled with white supremacist content, posts exhibiting a fascination with mass shootings and reposted videos that “were explicitly antisemitic or depicted people in Nazi uniforms.”

A similar bill, Senate Bill 26-11, was already signed into law. It mandates that social media companies must acknowledge they received a court-ordered search warrant within eight hours and must comply within 72 hours. Online platforms must also staff a hotline with workers available to answer questions from Colorado law enforcement about search warrants.

The bill was amended multiple times in both chambers of the Legislature, but the governor is still skeptical.

Eric Maruyama, spokesperson for Polis, said the governor was proud to sign SB-11 to ensure social media companies respond to law enforcement warrants, but he has concerns that HB-1255 will infringe on free speech.

“(T)he Governor’s Office has expressed these concerns to sponsors but the bill was not improved,” Maruyama said in a statement. “He will review the final version of the bill if it reaches his desk.”

The House bill contains a 24-hour response time because when there is an imminent threat, “hours could make a big difference,” bill sponsor Representative Tammy Story, an Evergreen Democrat, said. Senator Lisa Cutter, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, is the Senate sponsor of the bill.

U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, is sponsoring federal legislation in response to the Evergreen shooting. Her bill would require social media and telecommunications companies to respond to FBI subpoenas and warrants within 72 hours, instead of 35 days currently allowed.

Last year, Polis, a Democrat, vetoed 11 bills, a personal record in his time in the office.