The act creates the strengthen Colorado homes enterprise (enterprise), which is a government-owned business created in the division of insurance (division) in the department of regulatory agencies. The enterprise is governed by a 7-member board (board), including the commissioner of insurance (commissioner), or their designee; members with expertise in home hardening, risk mitigation, resilient roof systems, and insurance underwriting or actuarial analysis; and members representing the interests of insurance companies, consumers, and counties. The primary purpose of the enterprise is to impose and collect an annual fee (fee) from an admitted insurance company that offers multiperil homeowner's insurance policies in the state and is subject to certain filing requirements with the division, not including the fair access to insurance requirements association (insurer). The enterprise shall use fee revenue to provide business services to insurers that pay the fee, including:Reducing insurer losses and administrative expenses due to hail damage claims by defraying the cost of retrofitting residential property by providing grants for the installation of resilient roof systems (grants). At least 85% of the fee revenue must be used for grants to Colorado homeowners to retrofit residential property to reduce insurer losses due to hail and windstorms.Analyzing data on hail losses to identify areas of the state to target for installation of resilient roof systems;Setting standards for resilient roof systems and awarding workforce training grants for installing and certifying resilient roof systems;Creating codes of conduct for roofing contractors to ensure roofs are properly and appropriately installed;Evaluating roofing protocols to ascertain if the protocols meet science-based, certifiable standards; Conducting or contracting with a third party to conduct a study to analyze insurance risk in high-risk wildfire areas of the state; andImproving market stability throughout the state. Beginning in the 2027 calendar year, the amount of the fee imposed and collected by the enterprise is an amount equal to 0.5% of the total premium collected by an insurer on multiperil homeowner's insurance policies in the state in the immediately preceding calender year. The insurer shall not surcharge the fee amount to policyholders. The enterprise may lower or cease collecting the fee from an insurer in any calendar year to ensure that total fee revenue does not exceed $100 million in the first 5 years of the enterprise's existence. In awarding grants, the board shall prioritize homes that are the homeowner applicant's (applicant) primary residence and shall consider other criteria, including applicant income, the age of the roof, the size of the home, the number of grant applicants, whether the home is in a locality with hail-resistant building codes, and whether the applicant lives in a location that has historically had a higher susceptibility to extreme weather events. In order to ensure the necessary workforce, fee revenue may also be used to award grants to defray the costs of training and certification related to installing and certifying resilient roof systems. A contractor that is awarded bids and receives money from a grant is prohibited from waiving homeowner's insurance deductibles. In addition, the board shall use fee revenue to conduct or contract with a third party to conduct a study to analyze insurance risk in high-risk wildfire areas of the state, including an analysis of market competition in those areas and the impact of a high risk program on the potential losses in the high-risk wildfire areas of the state and the availability of homeowner's insurance in those areas. The board or third party conducting the study shall engage with relevant stakeholders that include, at a minimum, representatives of reinsurers and reinsurance brokers, insurers writing homeowner's insurance contracts or policies in Colorado, individuals with expertise in complex financial instruments and debt instruments, and consumers or other individuals with expertise in wildfire mitigation. The board shall send the study to certain committees of the general assembly. The board shall adopt rules and policies for the regulation of the enterprise's affairs and the conduct of enterprise business, including standards for resilient roof systems and standards for contractor-specialized training in the installation of impact-resistant roof systems. No sooner than January 1, 2027, and upon the commissioner adopting rules, an insurer offering multiperil homeowner's insurance for property or risks located in the state is required to submit an annual filing to the commissioner that includes the number of policies in force, the number of homes that have installed a resilient roof system, the discount applied to homes due to the presence of a resilient roof system, and the wind and hail claims frequency and severity for homes with and without a resilient roof system. $66,250 is appropriated from the legal services cash fund to the department of law to provide legal services to the department of regulatory agencies to implement the act. The appropriation is from revenue received from the department of regulatory agencies that is continuously appropriated to the department of regulatory agencies from the strengthen Colorado homes enterprise fund. The appropriation to the department of law is based on an assumption that the department of law will require an additional 0.3 FTE to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the access to opportunity task force (task force) to study and report on how to expand access to effective public schools to address opportunity gaps. The act requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, the governor, the state board of education, the commissioner of education, and the department of education on or before January 1, 2027. If the first meeting of the task force is not until after July 31, 2026, then the report deadline is 5 months after the task force's first meeting. The act specifies that the task force will only conduct a study and prepare a report if the department of education receives sufficient gifts, grants, and donations.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a lawyer or law firm, in connection with providing legal services concerning a legal right arising in whole or in part in Colorado (legal services), from:Providing any portion of legal fees or revenues to a nonlawyer or an organization that economically participates in the provision of legal services or shares in the profits of legal fees or revenues and is owned or controlled by one or more nonlawyers (alternative business structure);Entering into a financial or contractual arrangement with an alternative business structure, which arrangement relates to providing legal services;Forming an entity recognized under Colorado law with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of the entity consist of providing legal services;Practicing with or in the form of a professional company authorized to provide legal services if a nonlawyer owns an interest in the company or a nonlawyer has the right to direct the judgment of a lawyer; andCompensating a person that provides administrative or nonlegal business services to a lawyer or law firm unless the compensation is not contingent upon a percentage of legal fees or revenues and not determined by reference to recoveries, settlements, or other case outcomes. The act exempts certain arrangements, activities, and organizations from the prohibitions in the act. The act also creates a private right of action that allows the following persons to enforce the prohibitions in the act:A person to whom a lawyer or law firm provides legal services that are alleged to be in violation of the act; andA law firm doing substantial business in Colorado that has suffered or may suffer a loss in revenue due to a violation of the act by another law firm, which law firm doing substantial business is not eligible for recovery of economic damages. A person may seek economic damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and any other relief the circumstances may require for violations of the act. If a court determines that a lawyer, law firm, or other person has violated the act, the court must order the funds received or paid in violation of the act to be disgorged and paid to the state treasurer, except to the extent that the funds are paid as economic damages to a plaintiff. The state treasurer must deposit any disgorged funds into the general fund. The act repeals on September 1, 2029.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act caps at $400 the amount that a health-care entity or health-care provider may charge for a record request made by a patient's attorney or the attorney of the patient's personal representative pursuant to an authorization in compliance with the federal 'Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996', a valid subpoena, or a valid court order, if the requested record exceeds 664 pages. The health-care entity or health-care provider may charge a reasonable fee above the cap if the record request requires the health-care facility or health-care provider to segregate, withhold, or redact protected health information in order to comply with applicable law or the scope or limitations of the authorization in compliance with the federal 'Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996', a valid subpoena, or a valid court order. Beginning January 1, 2028, and every even-numbered year thereafter, the act requires the $400 limit to be adjusted for inflation. The act requires the requested medical records to be delivered in electronic format if the requestor requests electronic format, the original records are stored in electronic format, and the records are readily producible in electronic format. The act requires the health-care facility or health-care provider to provide the requestor with an invoice for the records provided in response to the record request within 30 days of receiving the request, and the health-care facility or health-care provider must provide the records upon payment of the invoice. If the health-care facility or health-care provider is unable to comply with the request for records within 30 days after the request, the health-care facility or health-care provider must send written notice of a 30-day extension to the requestor. The health-care facility or health-care provider must provide the records to the requestor at no cost if the records were not provided within 30 days or without written notice of an extension, unless the delay is due to a force majeure event. In the case of a force majeure event, the health-care facility or health-care provider must provide written notice to the requestor within 5 business days of becoming aware of the force majeure event. The 30-day time frame to respond to a request for records commences upon resolution of the force majeure event.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a testing entity to provide accommodations for an individual with a disability who is taking an exam for professional licensing. The current definition of 'testing entity' includes a private entity or a state or local governmental entity offering such an exam and having control over testing accommodation decisions. The act changes the definition of 'testing entity' to include any person, business, or state or local government agency that offers an examination or course related to an application, license, certification, or credential for secondary or postsecondary education, professional, or trade purposes. The act further requires a testing entity to offer the exam or course in a place and manner that is accessible to an individual with a disability or offer an alternative accessible arrangement in order to accommodate an individual with a disability who has met the requirements to receive the accommodation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the nonemergency medical transportation broker (broker) to establish the transportation community advisory board (TCAB) and requires the state department of health care policy and financing (state department) to collaborate with the TCAB prior to establishing rules and processes for the safety and oversight of nonmedical transportation services and nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) services. The act requires, in collaboration with the TCAB, certain rules for NEMT the state department must adopt. The state department may impose trip caps or market-share restrictions on a transportation provider (provider) as part of corrective action plan. The act requires providers to use vehicles equipped with 2-way video cameras and a video recording system when transporting members. The act establishes how the broker must roll out their implementation and requires the broker to provide all providers with software, a communication toolkit, training, and technical assistance to facilitate NEMT services. The broker may encourage medicaid members (members) to book transportation services at least 2 days before their requested transportation date, and the broker shall accept and make reasonable efforts to fulfill same-day and next-day transportation requests. The act requires providers, only after all service regions have been implemented, to accommodate member requests for preferred or alternate drivers when operationally feasible. The act requires the broker, and, if there is no broker, the providers to verify that individuals using the transportation services are eligible members during the scheduling of transportation services. The act prohibits the broker from operating, owning, or controlling a provider in Colorado. The act requires the broker to provide their trip assignment rules and procedures to the state department for approval and for publication on the state department's website. The act allows a transportation network company to provide NEMT services when a provider is unavailable. The state department shall ensure all transportation providers, drivers, and vehicles are credentialed, and services provided by noncredentialed drivers or in noncredentialed vehicles are not eligible for reimbursement. The act prohibits the state department from denying payment of services to providers if the provider provides scheduled transportation services in good faith based on the information provided by the broker or if the provider had no knowledge of an inaccuracy and the provider followed all applicable rules and procedures. Subject to available appropriations, the act requires the state department to audit providers and audit the broker annually. The act requires the state department to categorize all NEMT expenditures as medical services and make changes to the NEMT program as necessary to obtain medical services federal match rates for NEMT services. The act also eliminates the requirement that the state department provide transportation services as an administrative cost. The act reduces appropriations to the state department from the general fund by $76,639 and from the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee cash fund by $20,941,853.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the ibogaine research pilot program (pilot program) in the behavioral health administration (BHA) to research the safety and effectiveness of using ibogaine to treat mental health conditions and substance use disorders. The act requires the BHA to establish a committee to review pilot program site applications and make recommendations to the BHA on which applicants to accept. The BHA may select up to 5 ibogaine pilot sites. The act allows the BHA to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations and establishes the ibogaine research pilot program cash fund. The pilot program is contingent on the BHA receiving sufficient gifts, grants, and donations to administer the pilot program and award grants to the selected ibogaine pilot sites to help with financing needs. Under current law, the division of natural medicine advisory board consists of 15 voting members, 8 of whom must have general expertise and experience related to natural medicine and 7 of whom must have specialized expertise and experience in various areas of natural medicine. The act amends the expertise and experience requirements to apply equally to all 15 voting members. The act adds that a facilitator of natural medicine services is not liable for a physical or psychological injury that a participant may experience as a result of the facilitator's performance or supervision of the natural medicine services that a participant receives, unless the injury is the result of the facilitator's intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or a deviation from the recognized standard of care. The act authorizes the state licensing authority for natural medicine or natural medicine product (state licensing authority) to adopt rules related to the administration, manufacturing, and use of ibogaine. The act sets requirements for how the state licensing authority must prioritize reviewing applications for licensure to facilitate natural medicine services and allows the state licensing authority to set different licensing fees depending on the type of natural medicine the applicant is seeking licensure for. The act allows the state licensing authority to accept gifts, grants, and donations from public or private sources and requires gifts, grants, or donations received to be deposited in the regulated natural medicine division cash fund. The act requires the BHA to work to secure federal research and development funding available through the advanced research projects agency for health within the federal department of health and human services, or other available funding, in order to advance research on the use of ibogaine for the treatment of serious mental illness. The act updates the powers and duties of the director of the division of professions and occupations to include adopting rules that guide the use and administration of ibogaine. A licensee seeking to cultivate, manufacture, dispense, or administer ibogaine shall, in consultation with Indigenous communities, establish a benefit-sharing plan that directly benefits those Indigenous communities. The act:Updates definition of 'administration session' to include the use of regulated natural medicine and regulated natural medicine product that the participant purchases to consume during the administration session;Prohibits a person from advertising bona fide harm reduction services or bona fide support services offered for remuneration, advertising natural medicine or natural medicine products, or using harm reduction services or support services to conduct sales of natural medicine;Clarifies that the state licensing authority is not required to conduct routine, periodic, or pre-operational inspections as a condition of licensure unless expressly required;Requires state licensing authority to adopt rules regarding licensing privileges and restrictions of a limited regulated natural medicine sales license and eligibility requirements for an applicant to obtain a limited regulated natural medicine sales license;Allows the state licensing authority to adopt rules regarding the application procedures and license requirement for a healing center to operate a temporary premises; and requirements for cultivation, manufacture, testing, or dispensing of ibogaine;Allows the department of public health and environment to issue a temporary premises permit to a licensed natural medicine healing center if certain conditions are met and allows a healing center to apply for a temporary premises permit;Prohibits a healing center licensee from selling regulated natural medicine or regulated natural medicine product unless a co-located limited regulated natural medicine sales licensee conducts the transaction in accordance with certain requirements; andAllows the director of the natural medicine division to issue an order to cease and desist if the director determines that a person is acting or has acted without a license to operate a natural medicine business or to own, grow, harvest, transfer, manufacture, supervise, provide, or administer natural medicine.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The state private activity bond program funds privately developed projects by allowing the state and its political subdivisions to issue tax-exempt private activity bonds. The federal internal revenue code limits the total amount of tax-exempt private activity bonds that a state and its political subdivisions may issue each year by imposing a private activity bond ceiling (state ceiling). Existing law specifies a formula to allocate the ability to issue tax-exempt private activity bonds up to the state ceiling and initially allocates 50% of these bonds among several state issuing authorities through direct allocations as determined by the department of local affairs (department). On September 15 each year, with a few exceptions, each state issuing authority is required to relinquish unused portions of its direct allocation which is then further allocated pursuant to law. The Colorado agricultural development authority is one of the state issuing authorities to which the department may allocate a portion of the state ceiling. The act changes the date on which the Colorado agricultural development authority is required to relinquish the unused portion of its direct allocation from September 15 to November 15 each year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
This bill updates how Colorado state colleges and universities receive performance-based funding starting in the 2027-28 fiscal year. It renames "performance funding" to "results-informed funding" and modifies the metrics used to calculate these funds, including graduation rates, student retention, and Pell-eligible student enrollment. The legislation also introduces a new definition for "co-located degree partnerships" and excludes students in these programs from certain graduation rate calculations. Additionally, the bill changes how funding components are ordered and removes requirements for sequential calculation of funding amounts.
The act requires, beginning July 1, 2027, a private entity conducting business in the state that employs 100 or more workers (employer) to include demographic workforce data collected through the United States equal employment opportunity commission's 'Employer Information Report' (EEO-1 data) in periodic reports to the secretary of state. An employer is required to provide the EEO-1 data to the secretary of state even if the federal government repeals or discontinues the federal requirement to submit the EEO-1 data to the United States equal employment opportunity commission.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates and allows taxpayers to claim a refundable tax credit, in addition to the child tax credit and the family affordability tax credit, in an amount determined by the amount and age of the taxpayer's children and the taxpayer's income. The total amount of the new tax credit is adjusted annually based on legislative council staff projections, such that the total amount of the new tax credit claimed in an income tax year is projected to be the same as the amount of revenue raised by the repeal of the downloadable software sales and use tax exemption elsewhere in the act. Beginning January 1, 2027, the act repeals the downloaded software sales and use tax exemption so that all software that is available for repeated sale and license qualifies as tangible property and thus is subject to sales and use tax. The act exempts from sales and use tax downloaded software governed by a negotiable license agreement or developed for use by a particular user. For each July, August, November, and December in 2027 and 2028, the act allows a qualifying retailer in the food or drink industry to deduct from state net taxable sales the lesser of state net taxable sales or $14,000. Currently, 15% of the net revenue collected as sales and use tax is credited to the general fund, less 1.655% (allocation percentage), which is credited to the housing development grant fund. Beginning January 1, 2027, and until December 31, 2028, the act reduces the allocation percentage to 1.629%. Beginning January 1, 2029, the allocation percentage is 1.625%. Beginning July 1, 2026, the act creates a sales and use tax exemption for a retailer selling food or drink (retailer) whose sales of prepared food exceed 25% of the retailer's sales revenue equal to 100% of the price the retailer paid for gas and electricity. A retailer whose sales of prepared food are 25% or less of the retailer's sales revenue is allowed a credit against the sales taxes otherwise due equal to 0.5% of the retailer's prepared food sales revenue. The repeal of the downloadable software sales and use tax exemption applies to the sale, storage, use, and consumption of tangible personal property on or after January 1, 2027. Provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill No. 26-1221 and House Bill No. 26-1222 not becoming law. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $48,326 from the general fund to the department of revenue for tax administration system support and personal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act clarifies an existing requirement for the criminal conviction of a property owner by requiring that one or more criminal charges be brought as a prerequisite to any nuisance abatement or forfeiture proceeding. Existing law provides an exception to the conviction requirement for noninnocent owners who are not subject to criminal charges that no criminal conviction is necessary of the nonowner criminal defendant if the plaintiff proves its case by clear and convincing evidence that the property subject to the forfeiture proceeding is traceable proceeds of the charged offense or related criminal activity. The act clarifies this exception to first require a conviction of the nonowner criminal defendant before the noninnocent owner's property may be forfeited, while retaining other various exceptions that allow forfeiture actions to proceed against the interest of a claimant. The act establishes a right for indigent civil asset forfeiture defendants to access forfeiture defense counsel and creates a procedure for the appointment of forfeiture defense counsel in nuisance abatement and forfeiture proceedings. The state court administrator shall enter into a contract for services with a private contractor who regularly provides legal services for indigent clients or litigants to provide a legal defense to a civil asset forfeiture proceeding. The private contractor is subject to certain reporting requirements. The act creates a forfeiture defense counsel fund (fund) to pay for contracted forfeiture defense counsel who are authorized to represent persons against whom a nuisance abatement or forfeiture proceeding has been filed in connection with criminal charges. The fund is capped at $500,000, and starting in state fiscal year 2027-28, no general fund money is allowed to finance the fund. The balance of the fund over $500,000 is credited to the law enforcement community services grant program fund. The act transfers any unexpended and unencumbered money from the law enforcement community services grant program fund to the forfeiture counsel defense fund. The act alters the disposition of property and proceeds ordered forfeited in a nuisance abatement or forfeiture action. Currently, forfeited property and proceeds are applied first toward restitution and cost recovery for a list of stakeholders, and of the remainder, 50% is granted to the local governmental body with authority over the seizing agency, 25% is granted to the local behavioral health administrative services organization, and 25% is granted to the law enforcement community services grant program fund. The act amends the disposition of the remainder so that 50% is granted to the local governmental body with authority over the seizing agency, 25% is granted to the fund, and 25% is granted to the local behavioral health administrative services organization. The act appropriates $556,750 to the judicial department from the fund for civil asset forfeiture defense contracting and $55,000 to the department of local affairs from the fund for civil asset forfeiture portal administration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
