Proposition 135: Prohibit Surgery on Minors in Response to Perception of Sex or Gender
Statewide — all of Colorado
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Placed on the ballot by citizen initiative. The Blue Book lists 14 statewide measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot.[1][2]
- Campaign-finance complaint (allegation, not a finding): a complaint filed Sept. 11 by Barbara Cardell, program director of the Positive Women's Network, alleges that the Protect Kids Colorado and Protect Our Children issue committees did not report petition-circulation work by Taylor Petition Management as payments or in-kind contributions for the Proposition 134 and 135 petitions (Colorado Politics, Sept. 22). Protect Kids Colorado board member Kevin Lundberg told Colorado Politics the organizers are cooperating with the Secretary of State's office and “Our intention is to be as transparent as we possibly can.”[7]
The question on the ballot
Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes modifying existing law by prohibiting surgery on a minor for the purpose of altering the minor's biological sex characteristics, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting any health-care professional or other person from knowingly performing, prescribing, administering, or providing any surgery to a minor for the purpose of altering the minor's biological sex characteristics and prohibiting the use of state or federal funds, Medicaid reimbursement, or insurance coverage to pay for this type of surgery?[1]
Prohibits surgery on a minor performed to alter biological sex characteristics as a treatment in response to the minor's perception of sex or gender, and bars state or federal funds, Medicaid reimbursement and insurance coverage from paying for it. It does not list specific procedures; the prohibition turns on the purpose of the surgery. Male circumcision, treatment of verifiable disorders of sex development, and non-surgical care such as counseling are not restricted. The Blue Book reports that Colorado's three large pediatric surgical providers say they do not perform gender- or sex-based surgeries on transgender patients under 18. Fiscal impact: minimal added state and local workload and legal costs, and minimal savings in health program spending.[1]
A YES vote means
Prohibits surgeries on minors that would alter their biological sex characteristics as a treatment in response to a minor's perception of sex or gender, and prohibits the use of government funds or health insurance to pay for the surgeries.
A NO vote means
Maintains Colorado law, which protects access to surgery altering minors' biological sex characteristics and allows public and private health insurance programs to pay for these surgeries.
The law today
Per the Blue Book: gender- and sex-based surgeries that are medically necessary may currently be covered by private insurance or public health programs or paid out of pocket, and Colorado law protects access. The Blue Book says it is unknown how many minors receive such surgeries; a Harvard-affiliated study of 2019 insurance claims found 2.1 per 100,000 youths aged 15 to 17 and 0.1 per 100,000 aged 13 to 14 had at least one gender-affirming surgery, and none were found at 12 or younger. Children's Hospital Colorado, Rocky Mountain Children's and Denver Health report they do not perform such surgeries on transgender patients under 18.[1]
Official fiscal estimate
Per the Blue Book: minimal added workload and costs for the Department of Regulatory Agencies (rules and complaints) and for state and local agencies employing health care professionals (policy updates, possible legal costs); possibly minimal savings in Medicaid and in state and local employee health insurance if coverage of the surgeries ends.[1]
Arguments made for
Arguments made against
- Blue Book argument against: "The measure creates an overly broad ban on gender- and sex-based surgeries that interferes with needed care for both transgender and non-transgender minors."[1]
- Blue Book argument against: "The measure delays medically recommended care, even when parents, patients, and medical providers all agree the care is necessary."[1]
On record in support
- Protect Kids Colorado: sponsor and registered supporting issue committee; led by executive director Erin Lee (Colorado Sun).[3][4]
- Protect Our Children: registered supporting issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- Colorado's Catholic bishops: reported by the Colorado Sun as organizing signature-gathering drives for Protect Kids Colorado's three measures.[4]
On record in opposition
- Families Not Politics: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- No on 134 and 135: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- Protect Trans Kids: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- The People's No: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- Vote Common Sense: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
- People for a Fair Colorado: registered opposing issue committee (Secretary of State list).[3]
Campaign money
Supporting: Protect Kids Colorado had raised $160,000 and Protect Our Children had reported no contributions (Colorado Politics, Sept. 25). Opposing: Families Not Politics had raised about $1.7 million through Oct. 13, with major donors including the ACLU, One Colorado and its nonprofit campaign arm, COLOR and Merle Chambers (Colorado Sun); The People's No had raised $200,000 (Colorado Sun); No on 134 and 135 had raised $867 (Colorado Politics, Sept. 25).[5][6]
Research notes & limits
Source: the official 2026 Blue Book (Legislative Council Staff, nonpartisan), which gives the ballot title, the 'what your vote means' text, an analysis with arguments for and against, and the fiscal impact. Its 'for' and 'against' arguments are the staff's own summaries of the main arguments on each side, not statements from named campaigns; the booklet points to the Secretary of State's page for supporting and opposing organizations, which was not reviewed here. Ballotpedia is cited only for the certified-measure count. Ballotpedia notes a separate road-funding initiative was certified but withdrawn after its proponents reached an agreement with the state, so it is not on the ballot. The petition-reporting complaint is unresolved at the time of research. See the Amendment 81 note on finance sourcing.
Sources · 7
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 State Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book) · Colorado Legislative Council Staff · 2026-09-10 Official record
- 2.Colorado 2026 ballot measures · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-18 Reference
- 3.Amendments and Propositions on the 2026 Ballot: information and contacts (certified measures, registered issue committees) · Colorado Secretary of State · 2026-10-19 Official record
- 4.Proposition 133 explained: Colorado voters to decide if child sex trafficking should be punishable by life in prison · The Colorado Sun · 2026-10-01 News report
- 5.Colorado ballot measure committees raise more than $20 million for 2026 election · Colorado Politics · 2026-09-25 News report
- 6.Millions in untraceable conservative money flooding into Colorado election · The Colorado Sun · 2026-10-14 News report
- 7.Campaign finance complaint targets backers of transgender ballot measures over petitions · Colorado Politics · 2026-09-22 News report