The Colorado legislature approved legislation Friday that seeks to prevent the doxxing of health care workers and other employees.

The state Senate passed House Bill 1041 in a final 23-9 vote on Friday, following the state House of Representatives’ 52-10 approval last month. The bill will now be sent to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration.

If enacted, the bill would add health care workers — as well as code enforcement officers, child representatives and animal control officers — to the list of people who can request to have their personal information removed from government websites after they receive threats to their safety. Personal information includes home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

Bill seeks privacy protection for health care workers, code enforcement officers, others

“People deserve to do their job without fear for their lives and safety, and the safety of their family,” said Sen. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “It’s unbelievable what can happen to one who only wants to do their job. It is really easy to be able to intimidate and threaten someone just by looking at the internet.”

This legislation comes as 31% of hospital nurses in September 2021 reported experiencing an increase in workplace violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by National Nurses United.

Though the bill received bipartisan support, all lawmakers who voted against the bill are Republicans.

Some opponents have previously denounced the bill because they argue privacy protection should be afforded to everyone equally; however, these privacy protections are already in place for other workers including law enforcement.

The bill would not prohibit access to records by county officials or certain other individuals if the access is related to a real estate matter. Under the bill, threats would include any threats made to the individual’s family as well as to their own life.

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