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Read. Follow. Verify.Colorado requires earned-wage access service providers to obtain a license and comply with fee caps
Last action · May 14, 2026: House Committee on Appropriations Lay Over Unamended - Amendment(s) FailedSponsors: Sean Camacho and 3 others
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What This Bill Would Do
The bill requires earned-wage access service providers to obtain an annual license administered by the assistant attorney general, while permitting current providers to operate until their license application is approved or denied. It sets strict consumer protections, capping service fees at $5 for advances under $75 and $7 for advances over $75, prohibiting late fees, interest, and credit score checks, and mandating a free-of-cost option for consumers.
Earned-wage access companies operating in Colorado will face mandatory licensing fees, annual reporting requirements, and strict financial penalties for missed deadlines or non-compliance. Consumers gain explicit protections, including fee caps, zero-cost advance options, overdraft fee reimbursements, and bans on debt collection lawsuits or credit reporting for unpaid advances.
- Earned-wage access services allow employees to draw against their earned wages before their normal payday, operating similarly to short-term advances. context
- The Uniform Consumer Credit Code governs consumer credit transactions, charges, and lending practices within the state. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Earned-wage access service providers
Providers must secure annual licenses, pay regulatory fees, maintain specific accounting records, submit annual reports, and comply with strict fee caps and collection prohibitions.
Consumers using earned-wage access services
Consumers gain access to capped service fees, a zero-cost advance option, overdraft fee reimbursements, and protections against debt collection lawsuits and credit reporting.
Employers
Employers are prohibited from entering into agreements that mandate employee use of earned-wage access services and cannot receive a portion of service fees from providers.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do current earned-wage access providers have to shut down while waiting for a license?
What are the maximum service fees a provider can charge?
Can a provider sue me if I cannot repay my advance?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- May 14, 2026HouseHouse Committee on Appropriations Lay Over Unamended - Amendment(s) Failed
- Feb 19, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse Committee on Finance Refer Amended to Appropriations
- Jan 14, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced In House - Assigned to Finance
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Licensing for Earned-Wage Access
The measure shifts earned-wage access providers from an unregulated or lightly regulated status into a formalized licensing framework under the assistant attorney general.
Connected Entities
Sources
leg.colorado.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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