A committee of lawmakers is investigating gaps in Colorado’s cellular network and looking at ways the state can improve connectivity. On Tuesday, lawmakers made their first calls for possible measures to address the problem.

The Cell Phone Connectivity Interim Study Committee, composed of six House members and six nonvoting members, was created this year at the request of the Legislature by two committee members: Rep. Matt Soper (R-Delta) and Rep. Jennifer Bacon (D-Denver).

“I am working hard to create a future where no one in our state has to wonder if their cellphone can dial a number in an emergency,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat and chair of the committee.

The committee has met four times so far and heard presentations from experts in the telecommunications, broadband and wireless industries as well as representatives from various Colorado government agencies.

Senator Dylan Roberts (D-Frisco), Senator Nick Hinrichsen (D-Pueblo) and Senator Rod Pelton (R-Cheyenne Wells) are also members of the committee. The six non-voting members appointed by the governor are representatives of the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and the cell phone industry.

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On Tuesday, lawmakers gave the bill’s authors general concepts for policies they plan to consider.

Here are the four legislative proposals from the committee members:

1. The first bill introduced by Roberts would direct the state to broadly examine how its agencies could become more involved in promoting cellular connectivity in Colorado.

Soper said he would also like to be involved in drafting the bill.

2. The second idea, which Soper proposed, would require the state to provide incentives for wireless companies, including grants and property tax exemptions, as well as tax breaks for underserved areas of the state. Bacon supported the proposal, and Henrichson said he would be happy to work on the idea.

3. Lukens proposed a third bill that would improve the permitting process for cell towers and other regulations. Soper and Bacon will work with Lukens on the bill.

4. Soper called for the final bill, which would examine ways to prevent theft or damage to the state’s cellular and critical communications infrastructure.

The draft laws are not yet very detailed and are being worked out between the legislators and the authors.

The committee, which can only recommend three bills for the 2025 legislative period, will meet again this year on October 1 to discuss the bills.

The legislative session, in which the bills are examined by the 100-member legislature, begins in January.