On March 2, the Colorado House passed HB 1271 on second reading. The bill must still pass on third reading, but generally when bills pass on second reading, they also pass on third reading. The bill eases the length of time that an independent candidate must not have been a member of a qualified political party. The existing law says if an independent candidate was registered into a qualified party for even one day at any point in the 17 months before an election, that person cannot run. The bill eases that to eleven months before the general election.