---
type: "Bill"
title: "Use of Aircraft in Search and Rescue Operations"
description: "The act extends immunity from civil liability for damage or injury, other than that which arises from gross negligence or willful misconduct, to an individual, nonprofit organization, for-profit corporation, private organization, or other person (person) that voluntarily operates or arranges for the use of a helicopter, or assists as a helicopter crew member, during backcountry search and rescue operations (search and rescue operations), if the person:"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2024A"
identifier: "HB 24-1309"
citation: "Colorado HB 24-1309 (2024A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dylan Roberts", "Elizabeth Velasco", "Janice Rich", "Rick Taggart"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 12
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-02-14T07:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2024-05-03T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fd28cb96-7a1b-404c-8871-676890ac402e"
source_url: "https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1309"
source_hash: "bc19de069e3aa96af450635ebeadd4300e82257c6a65c0787fa184eea0511fc0"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-co"]
---

# Colorado HB 24-1309 (2024A) — Use of Aircraft in Search and Rescue Operations

The act extends immunity from civil liability for damage or injury, other than that which arises from gross negligence or willful misconduct, to an individual, nonprofit organization, for-profit corporation, private organization, or other person (person) that voluntarily operates or arranges for the use of a helicopter, or assists as a helicopter crew member, during backcountry search and rescue operations (search and rescue operations), if the person:

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2024a_hb1309_s_agr_001.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (03/06/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (04/25/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (02/14/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (03/05/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_h_awn_01.pdf)
6. **Reengrossed (03/07/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_ren.pdf)
7. **Rerevised (04/02/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_rer.pdf)
8. **Revised (04/01/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024A/bills/2024a_1309_rev.pdf)
9. **Signed Act (05/03/2024)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2024a_1309_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- BILL — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- BILL — **63–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Dylan Roberts — primary (person)
- Elizabeth Velasco — primary (person)
- Janice Rich — primary (person)
- Rick Taggart — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-05-03T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-25T06:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-25T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2024-04-25T06:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2024-04-02T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-04-01T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments
- **2024-03-27T06:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-11T06:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Agriculture & Natural Resources `introduction`
- **2024-03-07T07:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-03-06T07:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee
- **2024-03-04T07:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2024-02-14T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fd28cb96-7a1b-404c-8871-676890ac402e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).