Backfill: Colorado's HB26-1195 has been binding law since 08-12, missed until today

What happened

🕰 CAUGHT LATE — Colorado's "Psychotherapy Artificial Intelligence Restrictions" act (HB26-1195) was signed 2026-06-03 and took effect 2026-08-12; this thread had no record of it until today's backfill. It bars licensed, certified, or registered psychotherapy providers from letting an AI system conduct therapeutic communication with a client except during synchronous, real-time interaction where the professional, the AI, and the client are all actively participating together; from generating therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans without the professional's review and approval; or from using AI to detect emotions or mental states as a stand-in for professional judgment. AI use for administrative/supplementary tasks stays permitted if the professional retains full responsibility. Separately, the act makes it unlawful for anyone — individual, corporation, or entity — to provide, advertise, or offer psychotherapy services to the public in Colorado unless delivered by a regulated professional. (Colorado General Assembly — HB26-1195, Forbes)
This is a different branch of government from the Chatbot Safety Act rulemaking already on this thread, enacted first, and already binding. The AG's Chatbot Safety Act rules (proposed 08-11, this thread's prior Colorado entry) come from the Department of Law and don't bind until 2027-01-01. HB26-1195 came through the legislature, was signed 06-03 — five weeks before the AG's rules were even proposed — and has been in force for a week already. Track both as distinct Colorado actions: the AG's rules govern consumer-facing chatbots generally; HB26-1195 governs licensed psychotherapy specifically and is the more direct answer to the "AI posing as a therapist" question this thread otherwise tracks through Character.AI litigation.

Sources 2

Colorado General Assembly — HB26-1195 leg.colorado.gov primary source
Forbes forbes.com high 0.83 disputed / split

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The Projection

Backfill: Colorado's HB26-1195 has been binding law since 08-12, missed until today

What happened

Sources 2

The wider story