Douglas County joins opposition to bill limiting police data access

Douglas County officials warned that HB26-1037 could make it harder for investigators to follow digital leads in crimes families already fear, including car theft and child exploitation. Douglas County, Castle Rock and Parker joined a coalition of 23 district attorneys and police chiefs opposing the bill, arguing that it would cut off a practical tool police use to find people and connect evidence.

The measure, titled Ban Government Purchase of Personal Data from Third Party, would prohibit law enforcement and other government entities from purchasing or otherwise obtaining certain personal data from third parties in exchange for anything of value. It would also bar agencies from sharing that data with one another, with exceptions for a valid warrant, subpoena or court order, emergency threats to life or physical safety, consent, and data tied to missing or exploited children through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The bill also creates a private cause of action and would exclude data obtained or shared in violation of the law from trial and other court proceedings, subject to exceptions.

That makes the local warning more than political theater. The bill’s text does restrict access to some data sources, so county leaders are not inventing a threat from scratch. Their argument is that investigators often rely on paid databases such as LexisNexis to pull together information that is already public but difficult to assemble quickly, and that cutting off those tools could slow investigations before officers can identify a suspect or protect a victim. Supporters, including the ACLU of Colorado, say the same restrictions are the point: they describe HB26-1037 as a privacy and government-transparency measure meant to stop warrantless consumer-data purchases.

The bill’s child-protection exception is notable in Douglas County because the county now sits in Colorado’s newly created 23rd Judicial District with Elbert and Lincoln counties. That district was established on January 14, 2025, the first new judicial district in the state since 1965. The exemption for missing- and exploited-child cases also matters because the federal Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, created in 1998, was built to support investigations into online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The fiscal note adds another layer to the debate. It estimated $334,689 in appropriations for fiscal year 2026-27, with projected ongoing state expenditures of $407,010 in fiscal year 2026-27 and $386,010 in fiscal year 2027-28, along with 3.0 full-time employees. The bill was laid over at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on February 25 and was scheduled to return on April 22, leaving lawmakers to decide whether HB26-1037 is a privacy safeguard or a real operational constraint for police in Douglas County and across Colorado.