The 60-Day Cure Period in SB 26-189: How It Works and How to Prepare

One of SB 26-189's most significant features is the 60-day cure period. Before the Colorado Attorney General can pursue penalties for a violation, the company must be given 60 days to remedy the issue. This provision fundamentally shapes compliance strategy — it rewards preparedness over perfection.

How the Cure Period Works

Under SB 26-189, the Attorney General holds exclusive enforcement authority through the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. When the AG identifies a potential violation, the company receives notice and has 60 days to cure the violation. If the violation is cured within that window, no penalties attach.

The statute does not define what constitutes a sufficient cure. Based on the Consumer Protection Act framework, a cure likely requires both stopping the violating conduct and remedying the harm to affected consumers — for example, providing the required notice to consumers who should have received it, or establishing the human review process that was missing.

What the Cure Period Does Not Protect Against

The cure period is not a free pass. Repeated violations of the same type may not receive a new cure period each time. Violations that cause irreversible harm may not be fully curable. And the cure period only applies to Attorney General enforcement — it does not apply to reputational damage, loss of business relationships, or insurance coverage implications.

Building a Cure Response Plan

Organizations should build a cure response plan now, while there is no enforcement pressure. The plan should include several components.

Detection mechanisms. You cannot cure what you do not detect. Implement monitoring that identifies compliance gaps — missing consumer notices, late adverse-decision notifications, unprocessed human review requests, and gaps in documentation records.

Response team. Designate a cross-functional team (legal, compliance, product, engineering) responsible for cure responses. Define roles, escalation paths, and decision-making authority before a violation occurs.

Remediation playbooks. For each major obligation (pre-decision notice, post-adverse-decision notice, consumer data rights, meaningful human review), pre-build a remediation playbook. The playbook should answer: What do we do in the first 24 hours? How do we identify all affected consumers? What is the remediation sequence? How do we document the cure?

Communication templates. Prepare template communications for the Attorney General's office, for affected consumers, and for internal stakeholders. Under time pressure, pre-drafted templates prevent delays and errors.

Testing. Run a tabletop exercise at least annually. Simulate a cure scenario: the AG has notified you of a violation, the clock is running, and you need to cure within 60 days. Time your response and identify bottlenecks.

The Strategic Advantage

Companies that invest in cure readiness gain a measurable advantage. A documented AI governance program, current vendor documentation, functioning consumer rights processes, and a tested cure response plan collectively demonstrate good faith. If a violation does occur, the organization can cure quickly and credibly — and the existence of the program itself is evidence that the violation was inadvertent rather than systemic.