Running a Charity Auction? Colorado Just Cut a Major Red Tape Hurdle for Your Auctioneer.

What This Bill Actually Does

Under current law, specifically the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act, anyone who is compensated to help raise money for a charity is usually classified by the state as a paid solicitor. That label triggers a heavy administrative burden designed to prevent fraud. If you fall under that definition, you have to register with the Secretary of State, pay annual fees, file advance solicitation notices, and most painfully, secure a $15,000 surety bond. If you actually take custody of the donated money, you're also required to deposit it into a federally insured bank account within two business days and file detailed financial reports at the end of the campaign. Because of how broadly the law was written, professional auctioneers calling bids at your kid's school fundraiser or a local animal rescue gala got swept into this regulatory net right alongside professional telemarketers.

House Bill 26-1025 cuts a direct, common-sense carve-out specifically for these auctioneers. It amends existing state law (C.R.S. 6-16-103) to explicitly state that an individual providing auctioneer services to a charitable organization is not a paid solicitor. This exemption applies whether the auctioneer is charging their standard professional flat rate, taking a commission, or generously volunteering their time and talent for free on a Saturday night. By removing that label, the bill instantly drops the requirement for the $15,000 bond, the background registrations, and the burdensome prep-and-post campaign financial filings.

However, there is one major guardrail built into this legislation: the money rule. To legally qualify for this exemption, the auctioneer cannot "directly receive or handle contributions or charitable funding on behalf of the charitable organization." In plain English, the auctioneer can work the room, hype up the crowd, and call the winning bids, but they cannot run the cash register. The charity's staff or volunteers must be the ones swiping the credit cards, collecting the checks, and managing the checkout desk. If the auctioneer touches the money or processes the payments, they instantly revert to being a paid solicitor and are subject to all the old regulations, fees, and penalties.

What It Means for You

If you sit on the PTA, volunteer for a local nonprofit, or serve on a philanthropic board, you already know how stressful it is to plan the annual fundraising gala. Hiring a professional auctioneer is often the secret ingredient to maximizing those big-ticket items, but finding one who is fully compliant with the state's strict paid solicitor rules has historically been a headache. A lot of highly talented local auctioneers simply refused to take on charity gigs because they didn't want to deal with maintaining a $15,000 bond or filing a mountain of state paperwork just to help you raise money for a good cause.

This bill directly broadens your talent pool and lowers the barrier to entry. By stripping away the red tape, your organization will have a much easier time booking professional auctioneers for your events, potentially at a lower cost since they no longer have to pass their state compliance fees down into your contract. However, this also means your event logistics have to be absolutely airtight. You can no longer rely on an all-inclusive, turnkey auction service where the auctioneer's private team handles the payment processing and cuts you a check at the end of the night. Your organization's volunteers or staff must handle every single financial transaction to keep your auctioneer legally in the clear.

Here is what you need to do to prepare for this shift:

• Audit your event checkout process: Ensure your nonprofit has the volunteer power, training, and technology (like Square, BidPal, or Greater Giving) to handle all cash and credit card transactions directly.
• Update your vendor contracts: If you are booking an auctioneer for a late 2026 event, ensure your contract explicitly states that your organization, not the auctioneer, retains full custody of all funds. This protects both you and your vendor.
• Watch the calendar: This law goes into effect in August 2026. That means your spring and early summer galas still operate strictly under the old rules. Plan your compliance strategy accordingly.

What It Means for Your Business

For professional auctioneers, event production companies, and independent contractors, this legislation is a massive win that directly lowers your cost of doing business and removes major operational liabilities. Until now, taking on a charitable gig in Colorado meant you had to fork over a $175 annual registration fee to the Secretary of State, jump through expensive hoops to maintain a $15,000 corporate surety bond, and file detailed solicitation notices before and after every single event. The state actually estimates that about 15% of all registered paid solicitors in Colorado are just auctioneers trying to stay legally compliant so they can work charity events.

House Bill 26-1025 wipes that slate clean, but it demands strict operational discipline in return. You are fully exempt from the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act if and only if you keep your hands entirely off the money. If your business model historically involved running the payment processing for the charity, acting as a temporary bank, and cutting them a net check at the end of the week, you need to pivot immediately. Touching the funds legally voids your exemption, meaning you'd be operating as an unregistered paid solicitor—a violation that carries hefty fines, potential audits, and serious reputational damage.

If you run an event planning agency, this also shifts how you staff your clients' charity galas. You will need to clearly delineate between the "entertainment" (the auctioneer) and the "treasury" (the charity's checkout team). This actually presents a great value-add opportunity: you can offer specialized consulting or training to your clients' volunteers on how to run a seamless, legally compliant checkout desk while the auctioneer sticks strictly to the microphone.

Here are the specific action items your business should tackle:

• Plan your bond cancellation: If you only maintain your $15,000 bond for Colorado charity gigs, you can plan to let it lapse after August 12, 2026. Do NOT cancel it before the law officially takes effect.
• Revise your Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Update your client intake forms and standard contracts to explicitly state that the client organization is 100% responsible for all payment processing, invoicing, and fund custody.
• Check your out-of-state operations: If you are an auctioneer based in a neighboring state who travels to Colorado for gigs, this removes the need for you to register as a foreign entity just to call a charity auction—provided you let the locals handle the cash.

Follow the Money

The fiscal footprint of this bill is practically a rounding error for the state budget, which is a big reason why it is flying through the Capitol with zero friction. The state currently charges a $175 registration fee and an identical annual renewal fee for paid solicitors. Because the state estimates that up to 15 auctioneers will no longer need to register, the Department of State Cash Fund will see a very minor revenue drop of up to $2,625 per year starting in Fiscal Year 2026-27.

Interestingly, because this specific fee revenue is subject to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), that tiny $2,625 drop in state revenue also means a corresponding drop in the total pool of money the state is required to refund to taxpayers. Since TABOR refunds are paid out of the General Fund, decreasing the cash fund revenue actually frees up a corresponding $2,625 in the General Fund for the state to spend or save. Meanwhile, the Department of State has confirmed it will not need to hire any new staff or ask for additional budget to implement this change; they just need to update a few fact sheets and website portals, which they can handle comfortably within their existing workload.

Where This Bill Stands

HB26-1025 is currently cruising on the legislative fast track with broad, bipartisan support. Introduced in mid-January by Representatives Jarvis Caldwell and Matthew Martinez, it breezed through the House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee and officially passed its final Third Reading in the House on February 18, 2026, without a single amendment slowing it down.

The bill now heads over to the Senate, where it is being championed by Senator Dylan Roberts. Given the complete lack of organized opposition, the clean fiscal note, and the highly practical nature of the fix, it is highly likely to pass the Senate quickly and land on the Governor's desk for a signature. Assuming the legislative session wraps up on May 13 as planned, and barring any highly unlikely citizen referendum petitions, this law will officially take effect at 12:01 a.m. on August 12, 2026.