First Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. 25-0746.01 Renee Leone x2695
SENATE BILL 25-128
Senate Committees House Committees
Agriculture & Natural Resources
A BILL FOR AN ACT
C
ONCERNING REPEALING CERTAIN PROVISIONS THAT PROHIBIT AN101
EMPLOYER FROM INTERFERING WITH AN AGRICULTURAL102
EMPLOYEE'S ACCESS TO SERVICE PROVIDERS , AND, IN103
CONNECTION THEREWITH , REPEALING PROVISIONS THAT104
PROHIBIT AN EMPLOYER FROM INTERFERING WITH AN105
AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYEE 'S ACCESS TO SERVICE PROVIDERS ON106
PRIVATE LAND.107
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov
.)
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Pelton B. and Roberts,
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
McCormick and Winter T.,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. The bill repeals current state law provisions that, in part, govern
agricultural workers' key service providers' access to private property.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) On June 25, 2021, the governor signed Senate Bill 21-087 into4
law, including the agricultural worker key service provider access5
provisions;6
(b) On June 23, 2021, after the general assembly passed Senate7
Bill 21-087, the United States supreme court announced its decision in8
Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 594 U.S. 139 (2021), which involved a9
California regulation that granted certain third parties a right of access to10
agricultural employers' property to meet with employees;11
(c) In Cedar Point Nursery, the court held that the access12
provision "appropriates a right to invade the [employers'] property and13
therefore constitutes a per se physical taking" because it "appropriates for14
the enjoyment of third parties … the [employers'] right to exclude.";15
(d) The court found that such an access provision cannot be16
regarded as a mere regulatory restriction on the use of property, as "the17
right to exclude is 'universally held to be a fundamental element of the18
property right'";19
(e) For these reasons, the court ruled that the access provision was20
a per se physical taking requiring just compensation under the fifth and21
fourteenth amendments to the United States constitution;22
(f) Both the United States and Colorado constitutions contain23
takings clauses that prohibit the government from taking private property24
SB25-128-2- without just compensation;1
(g) The fifth amendment to the United States constitution,2
applicable to the states through the fourteenth amendment, provides: "nor3
shall private property be taken for public use, without just4
compensation.";5
(h) The Colorado constitution provides that "until [just6
compensation] shall be paid to the owner, or into court for the owner, the7
property shall not be needlessly disturbed, or the proprietary rights of the8
owner therein divested";9
(i) The Colorado constitution's prohibition on takings is similar to10
the United States constitution's takings clause with one critical exception,11
which is that the Colorado constitution provides that compensation shall12
be paid prior to a taking; and13
(j) The court's ruling in Cedar Point Nursery establishes that14
certain agricultural worker key service provider access provisions in15
Senate Bill 21-087, like the California regulation, constitute a taking by16
appropriating an employer's fundamental property right, the right to17
exclude.18
(2) Therefore, based on Cedar Point Nursery, the general19
assembly now determines that certain agricultural worker key service20
provider access provisions, including those set forth in section 8-13.5-20221
(1)(b), Colorado Revised Statutes, are unconstitutional and unenforceable22
as applied to any location, as referenced in that section, that is privately23
owned.24
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 8-13.5-202, repeal25
(1)(b) and (1)(c) as follows:26
8-13.5-202. Agricultural workers - right of access to key27
SB25-128
-3- service providers. (1) (b) An employer shall not interfere with an1
agricultural worker's reasonable access to key service providers at any2
location during any time in which the agricultural worker is not3
performing compensable work or during paid or unpaid rest and meal4
breaks, and with respect to health-care providers during any time, whether5
or not the agricultural worker is working.6
(c) To ensure that agricultural workers have meaningful access to7
services, the director of the division shall promulgate rules regarding8
additional times during which an employer may not interfere with an9
agricultural worker's reasonable access to key service providers, including10
periods during which the agricultural worker is performing compensable11
work, especially during periods when the agricultural worker is required12
to work in excess of forty hours per week and may have difficulty13
accessing such services outside of work hours. The rules must be14
proposed on or before October 31, 2021, and adopted on or before15
January 31, 2022.16
SECTION 3. Applicability. This act applies to conduct occurring17
on or after the effective date of this act.18
SECTION 4. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,19
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate20
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for21
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state22
institutions.23
SB25-128
-4-