Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser appeared at The Colorado Sun’s SunFest festival earlier this month where he discussed everything from his 2026 gubernatorial bid to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to his office’s lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Here are the highlights from what the Democrat said.
TABOR
Weiser said changing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights cap on government growth and spending in Colorado is his preferred way to address how TABOR affects the funding of state programs and services.
TABOR is the 1992 state constitutional amendment passed by voters that requires voter approval of all tax increases. It sets the spending and growth cap based on annual increases in inflation and population.
What is TABOR?
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, is a 1992 constitutional amendment that requires voter approval for all tax increases in Colorado. It also caps government growth and spending, mandating that tax revenue collected in excess of the cap be refunded to taxpayers. The cap is calculated using inflation and population rates.Read more
However, Weiser didn’t have an answer to how the cap should be changed if he’s elected Colorado’s next governor in 2026. Instead, Weiser said he would seek the input of people across the state.
“That’s, to me, what honest, bottom-up leadership looks like,” the Democrat said. “I do believe to be a public servant — a servant leader — you can’t just say ‘I’ve always liked your ideas. Listen to me.’ It’s got to be, ‘Hey, what are your ideas?’ or ‘What do you think about some ideas? How do I make them better?’”
Weiser did say he thinks the part of TABOR that requires voter approval for tax increases is “totally fine — that’s accepted.”
Union organizing
The attorney general also didn’t offer total support for removing a requirement in Colorado’s Labor Peace Act that 75% of workers at a company sign off before a union can negotiate with a business over union security.
Union security is the term for when workers are forced to pay fees for collective bargaining representation — whether or not they are members of their workplace’s union. Unions are required to bargain on behalf of all workers at a company, including nonmembers. That’s why unions feel it’s only fair that union security be imposed to cover the cost of things like lawyers and negotiating experts.
The union security vote in Colorado is required after a majority of workers vote to unionize.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser talks with the Sun’s Jesse Paul at Colorado SunFest on May 16, 2025 at the University of Denver campus. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)Senate Bill 5, which would have eliminated the second vote requirement, was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis. Weiser didn’t directly answer a question about whether he would sign the bill if he was governor.
“The questions about these thresholds is not necessarily, call it, a binary,” Weiser said. “There’s a range of proposals that were put forward that deserve to be figured out, and the way to do that is through an open process, through true collaboration and listening.”
He added: “I believe we’ve got to change the Labor Peace Act to address some of the antiquated requirements it has, and I believe the way to do that is with the process of having rigorous engagement, working together. That process this year came really close. The process, if it’s left to me, is one that I will bring to a conclusion to change this law. What I’m worried about right now is we’re facing a potential set of ballot wars, and no one’s going to win.”
Senate Bill 5 was a priority for unions and Democrats at the Capitol.
Artificial intelligence
Unlike Polis, Weiser opposes a Republican proposal to enact a federal moratorium on state artificial intelligence laws.
“That’s the opposite of what it should be doing,” said Weiser, who has been heavily involved in tech issues during his legal career.
In lieu of federal AI regulations, Weiser said states should be allowed to experiment with how to restrict the technology.
As for Colorado’s first-in-the-nation artificial intelligence law, which is set to take effect next year and seeks to prevent the technology from being used to discriminate against people, Weiser said changes must be made. Tech companies and leaders have warned the policy, passed in 2024, is unworkable and will stifle innovation.
Polis and Weiser are among those who have called for tweaks.
(The legislature took no action this year and a special session may be in store as a result. The AI law will take effect in February 2026 if nothing is done before then.)
“It’s not a great situation to have a law set to go into effect that the governor, myself and the person who led it acknowledge is problematic and needs to be changed,” he said.
Donald Trump
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office has filed or joined some 20 lawsuits against the Trump administration over everything from federal funding to immigration.
“Trump one versus Trump two. This is worse,” Weiser said. “This is harder. Our team is ready, and we did learn lessons in Trump one, because we brought a number of lawsuits. Not as many as we’ve already brought in Trump two.”
Weiser said his office has struggled to keep up with the Trump-related workload.
“I asked the legislature for three more people, which doesn’t come remotely close to demands we’re facing. We have stretched ourselves to meet this moment,” he said.
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Weiser vs. Michael Bennet
We asked Weiser about his gubernatorial primary race against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
“I’ve known Michael Bennet for a long time. He’s a great public servant. I am so happy he’s in the Senate,” Weiser said to laughs. “Colorado can have a great outcome in this election. Michael Bennet for Senate. Phil Weiser for governor.”
Weiser said Bennet’s seniority and experience in the Senate make him a powerful voice for Colorado in Washington and in the Democratic Party nationally. “We need him there fighting for us,” he said.
However, Weiser also took a swing at Bennet for supporting some of Trump’s cabinet nominees.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, left, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser during the kick-off event of Human Rights Campaign and One Colorado to mobilize voters. The event included remarks from HRC-endorsed candidates, local nonprofit leaders and activists supporting pro-equality, pro-choice and pro-democracy on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 in Edgewater, CO. (Kim Cook/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign)“He’s had a different approach to the Trump administration than I have,” Weiser said. “He’s supported a number of the cabinet picks, thinking it would give him a relationship that would help get things done for Colorado. I’ve ended up suing a number of those picks that he has supported, because I see no other choice when someone is breaking the law and harming Colorado.”
Weiser said he’s not worried that starting with lower name recognition than Bennet could hurt his chances in the primary. And he said he’s not interested in being appointed to the U.S. Senate should Bennet win the gubernatorial race.
“There are people in Congress right now with federal experience who’d be better picks for the Senate,” he said.
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