Update: Colorado Governor did sign Senate Bill 25-003 into law on April 10, 2025.
Commissioners: State Law Could Cost County Millions of Dollars
Trevor Phipps
Despite the fact that Senate Bill 25-003 (the latest anti-gun measure) was recently passed by state lawmakers, making its way onto Governor Jared Polis’ desk, the Teller County sheriff and commissioners still aren’t throwing in the political and legal towel.
In fact, they have launched a massive final effort to gun down the legislation and are ready for a court battle if necessary.
The political and legal stakes are extremely high, as Teller leaders have contended with an extremely progressive and liberal state legislature that is intent on passing more restrictive gun control bills, even though Colorado is a state populated by many who own their own firearms and use these weapons for sporting and recreational purposes.
Ever since the anti-gun legislation hit the state Senate floor at the beginning of the year, the Teller County commissioners have said that this is a way for the state government to force citizens to buy back their Second Amendment rights. Moreover, the commissioners label the bill an “unfunded mandate” that could end up costing Teller taxpayers a pretty penny.
The approved bill would require a special certificate and training for those who wish to purchase or sell any semi-automatic firearm that has a removal magazine. Experts say the types of firearms targeted by the bill account for the vast majority of pistols and rifles that are sold and bought by Colorado residents.
At first, the costs to startup the training program would come out of Colorado Park and Wildlife (CPW) Division monies. But now, the state plans on borrowing around $3 million from CPW funds that are supposed to go towards parks and wildlife in order to launch the mandated firearm safety program.
Then, the costs of offering the training will mostly be placed on individual counties within the state. According to Teller County Commissioner Erik Stone, the new version of the bill (after it has been amended several times) states that counties must pay for the training, but then they can charge the citizens taking the classes a fee to recuperate the funds.
“We’re not going to do that,” Stone said. “Because we are not going to play in their game of charging you fees to buy back your Second Amendment right. So, those are costs we’re going to have to figure out a way to absorb and we don’t know how that’s going to impact Teller County overall for our entire budget.”
According to the commissioners’ resolution, the sheriff estimates that if the bill passes, the county will have to pay around $1.4 million to implement the training and fingerprinting system. Then, the county will have to dish out around $500,000 per year to maintain the new system.
Impacts of “Jared Polis Gun Ban”
For the past few months, the sheriff and the commissioners have been holding town hall meetings and talking about how SB 25-003 is unconstitutional because it restricts the citizens’ rights guaranteed to them by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Ever since the state legislative session started, the sheriff and county commissioners have spent several days a week at the state Capitol testifying against this bill and other anti-gun laws. But in the end, they have gotten frowned upon by state lawmakers who contend that it isn’t the sheriffs’ responsibility to fight for the citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
Along with deeming the bill as unconstitutional, Teller officials say that forcing the county to implement the training creates an unfunded mandate for every county in Colorado. In Teller, the training program is expected to cost between $500,000 and $600,000 per year, but that cost will be much higher for counties with larger populations. Moreover, smaller counties that have a population lower than 10,000 will find the costs difficult to cover without reducing other services.
In one video produced by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Commissioner Stone and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell also maintained that if the bill gets passed, it will hurt local gun shops and reduce sales tax revenue in the county. They also said that people in other states are already talking about boycotting Colorado for hunting trips and even state park visits.
Additionally, Stone and Mikesell both agreed that if the Jared Polis Gun Ban gets signed, there will be negative consequences that state lawmakers probably haven’t really considered. “What happens if someone steals your guns, and I am supposed to give them back to you, but I am unable to because you didn’t go out and get your class for firearms? Mikesell questioned. “Now the issue goes, what do I do with the firearms? Well, they have to be destroyed. So, unfortunately you just lost out on what may be tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Because some firearms are worth that kind of money now and some people have them as more of a retirement nest egg then as a firearm for pleasure.”
This action would probably have killed the legislation. However, from the get-go, political insiders admitted this option was not very likely but was worth pursuing so area leaders could go on record as adamantly opposing the bill. Elected leaders now have hinted that a court injunction will probably be filed to stop the legislation and the unfunded mandates. The county commissioners and sheriff agree that the law is unconstitutional. Another option mulled is for the counties, which oppose the bill, to just not enforce the requirements.
