House Bill 1041, which would allow the University of Colorado and other in-state higher education institutions to provide financial compensation for student-athletes, took another step forward on Monday.

The bill on student-athlete name, image and likeness (NIL) passed through the Senate education committee by a vote of 6-1.

The bill has cleared three of five hurdles and will now be sent to the Senate floor for a vote. If it passes in the Senate, it will go to Gov. Jared Polis for final approval to become a law.

Co-sponsored by Rep. Lesley Smith, a former CU-Boulder regent, and senators James Coleman and Judy Amabile, the bill has received bipartisan support throughout the process, but not without some pushback over an open records exemption included.

Under current Colorado law, schools and athletic associations are not allowed to pay student-athletes directly.

NCAA rules have prohibited schools and athletic associations from paying student-athletes, as well, but in October, a judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement in the U.S. House vs. NCAA antitrust case. That will allow schools across the country to compensate student-athletes. Final approval is expected at a hearing on April 7.

Once the House vs. NCAA settlement is approved, NCAA schools that opt in may distribute up to about $20 million during the 2025-26 school year to their student-athletes through revenue sharing.

The Big 12 Conference has mandated that all of its schools, including CU, opt in to the settlement, but in order for CU to comply, House Bill 1041 needs to become a law

Throughout the process, legislators have expressed almost unanimous support of the student-athletes receiving compensation. However, there are some who disagree with the open records exemption.

According to the bill, money spent on NIL agreements will be available each year to the public, breaking it down by sport and gender, without identifying individual students or the financial details of their contracts.

Senator Paul Lundeen, who is on the Senate education committee, proposed an amendment Monday that would have allowed the amount of the contracts to be revealed with redacted names.

However, Coleman argued that the House provided exclusions for personally identifiable information, including the student athletes’ names, social security numbers and the contract amounts.

Tim Regan-Porter, the CEO of the Colorado Press Association, and others in the media testified Monday in favor of the amendment, arguing for the value of the contract information being public.

Ultimately, however, the amendment failed by a 4-3 vote. The bill then passed through the committee 6-1, with Lundeen being the only committee member to vote against it.