An interim legislative committee tasked with working on Colorado's opioid crisis advanced four bills on Monday but rejected the proposal to set up facilities where people can use illegal drugs under the supervision of medical professionals. 

The Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee turned down the "safe injection sites" proposal, identified in draft legislation as "overdose prevention centers," based on concerns about a possible veto from Gov. Jared Polis.

A similar effort in the 2023 session died in a Senate committee last spring also for the same reason — a veto threat from the governor.

The draft legislation considered by the committee Monday would have established a five-year pilot program in municipalities that have authorized those facilities.

Five years ago, the Denver City Council authorized such centers, the only local government to do so. However, those centers never opened because the city is waiting on required state authorization to put its plan into motion.

In a statement to Colorado Politics, Polis spokesman Conor Cahill said the governor "has been clear with Coloradans and the legislature that he is opposed to these drug use sites."

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