Senate Bill 24-189 Summary

• Adds "transgender identity" as a protected characteristic under Colorado's bias-motivated crimes statute (C.R.S. 18-9-121), alongside existing protections for race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, physical or mental disability, and sexual orientation.

• Defines "transgender identity" as identity based on an individual's gender identity or expression being different from that typically associated with their sex at birth.

• Expands the definition of "sexual orientation" to mean a person's orientation toward sexual or emotional attraction and the behavior or social affiliation that may result from the attraction, rather than limiting it to specific categories.

• Applies the new protections to both bias-motivated crimes and harassment charges under C.R.S. 18-9-111 (Kiana Arellano's Law), making crimes motivated by a person's transgender identity a class 1 misdemeanor.

• Takes effect July 1, 2024, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.