HB 1396: Disaster Emergency Fund Changes - Colorado

Rerevised → Final Act · 4 edits · May 26, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the Colorado Disaster Emergency Fund to include new definitions for 'close out' and 'unencumbered' funds, establishes a $200 million annual cap on unencumbered balances with automatic transfers to the General Fund, and sets specific timelines for closing out federally declared (3 years) versus state-only (8 years) disasters.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Disaster Emergency Fund by adding explicit requirements for reporting closed disasters and enforcing a spending cap, while clarifying the definitions used to manage the fund.

DEFINITION

Added definitions for 'close out' (the process of completing disaster response and returning funds) and 'unencumbered' (funds not reserved for a specific disaster).

FISCAL

Established a $200 million annual limit on unencumbered balances in the Disaster Emergency Fund, requiring excess funds to be transferred to the General Fund.

TIMELINE

Set a 3-year timeline to close out federally declared disasters and an 8-year timeline for state-only disasters.

REQUIREMENT

Updated reporting requirements to include specific identification of closed disasters and the amounts of money transferred back to their original sources.

Revised → Rerevised · 1 edit · Apr 16, 2026

MINOR

The bill was re-revised to include all amendments adopted in the Senate, updating the status to '3rd Reading Unamended' for the Senate. Substantively, the emergency closure timeline for state-only disasters was modified to extend the deadline from four years to eight years after the last recorded revenue or expenditure.

Scope change

The bill's applicability regarding the duration of emergency declarations for state-only disasters was expanded.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the Department of Public Safety to close out a state-only disaster emergency was extended from four years to eight years after the last financial activity was recorded.

Reengrossed → Revised · 5 edits · Apr 15, 2026

MODERATE

The bill text was updated from a 'Reengrossed' version to a 'Revised' version, reflecting amendments adopted during the second reading in the Senate. The changes primarily involve updating the legislative history headers, dates, and reading statuses to accurately reflect the bill's current procedural stage.

Scope change

The bill's substantive scope and applicability remain unchanged; the modifications are procedural updates to the document's metadata.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title from 'REENGROSSED' to 'REVISED' to indicate the current legislative status.

Added a header indicating the bill includes amendments adopted on second reading in the second house.

Updated the Senate Bill Summary date to April 11, 2026, and the reading status to '3rd Reading Unamended'.

Adjusted the House Bill Summary date to April 15, 2026, and the reading status to '2nd Reading Unamended'.

Corrected the date associated with the disaster reporting timeline requirement to April 9, 2026.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 2 edits · Apr 11, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include all amendments adopted during the House of Introduction, updating the header and date to reflect the new version. A significant substantive change was the removal of Section 3, which previously established a 90-day post-adjournment window for filing referendum petitions to block the bill. This deletion means the act will now take effect immediately upon final adjournment without the possibility of voter intervention via referendum.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding public oversight was reduced by removing the referendum petition window.

TIMELINE

Deleted Section 3, which previously allowed citizens to file a referendum petition within 90 days after the legislative session ended to stop the bill from taking effect.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' and changed the date to April 11, 2026, to reflect the inclusion of all amendments.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify the reporting requirements for the Disaster Emergency Fund, specifically detailing how much unencumbered money must be transferred back to its original source after a disaster is closed. The amendment also added a specific timeline for closing out disasters and updated the bill's status from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed', indicating it has passed the House with amendments.

Scope change

The scope of reporting requirements was expanded to include specific details on fund transfers and closing timelines.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for quarterly reports to include the specific amount of unencumbered money transferred back to the original source of funds.

TIMELINE

Instituted a specific timeline for closing out disasters based on the amendment date of April 9, 2026.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill status header from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect that the bill has been amended and passed the House.

Disaster Emergency Fund Changes

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