Colorado Bills

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-286: Petroleum Products Fees & Penalties

The act allows the director of the division of oil and public safety (division), on and after August 15, 2025, to impose a civil penalty of not more that $5,000 per day for the retail distribution of reformulated gasoline that violates the applicable fuel quality specification when the federal environmental protection agency (EPA) requires the sale of reformulated gasoline in a nonattainment area in the state. "Nonattainment area" is defined as an area of the state that the EPA has designated as being in nonattainment with a national ambient air quality standard. On or before August 15, 2025, the division is required to notify, through the division's email system, any owner of a gas station that is located in a nonattainment area of the penalty amount established by the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Environment

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-036: State Patrol Bonding Exception

The act creates an exception to the requirement that a member of the Colorado state patrol be bonded by a surety company or insured with third-party crime insurance if the Colorado state patrol is self-insured with the Colorado state office of risk management and is eligible to be compensated from the state self-insured property fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · House Jun 4, 2025

HB 25-1061: Community Schoolyards Grant Program

The act creates the community schoolyards grant program (grant program) in the division of local government (division) within the department of local affairs (department). The grant program is a 2-part grant program that includes: The planning and design grant program (planning program), which awards up to $150,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the planning and design of a community schoolyard; and The capital construction and improvement grant program (construction program), which awards up to $850,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the capital construction of a community schoolyard. The purpose of the grant program is to address inequities in underserved and underfunded schools and communities, specifically communities socially or economically affected by the development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels subject to taxation, by: Making community schoolyards accessible to the broader community outside of school hours; Improving physical activity and mental health opportunities for students and community members; and Incorporating natural landscapes, natural playgrounds, and recreational spaces that promote adaptation; sustainability; resilience; and hands-on learning across subject matters, including science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. On or before January 15, 2026, the division shall implement a timeline for the planning program and the construction program (programs), which must include, at a minimum: Announcing each of the programs; Accepting applications from eligible applicants for each of the programs; Selecting the grant recipients for each of the programs; Distributing grant money to the grant recipients for each of the programs; and Establishing reporting timelines and requirements for each of the programs. On or before January 15, 2028, the division shall compile a report summarizing the grant recipient reports from the programs. The division shall submit the report to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate; the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee; and the senate local government and housing committee, or their successor committees. For the 2025-26 and 2026-27 state fiscal years, the department shall use $4 million from the local government mineral impact fund or the local government severance tax fund for the grant program. The division may use up to 5% of the funds it receives for the grant program to pay for the direct and indirect costs of administering the grant program. The division may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of the grant program. The grant program is repealed, effective January 1, 2030. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $50,000 is appropriated to the department for use by the division from the reappropriated funds from the local government mineral impact fund and the local government severance tax fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-075: License to Sell Vehicles Criminal Offense

The act changes the time period for which a licensee's or applicant's prior conviction of or plea of no contest to specific crimes requires the motor vehicle dealer board (board) to revoke or deny a license to the licensee or applicant from a 10-year period to a 3-year period beginning on the date of conviction or the end of incarceration, whichever date is later, if the applicant or licensee has not been convicted of any other criminal offense during the 3-year period. After the 3-year period, the board may only consider the individual's application or license; except that the board may consider a conviction for a crime that is directly related to the auto industry at any time. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-070: Online Marketplaces & Third-Party Sellers

The act requires an online marketplace to alert a law enforcement agency if the online marketplace knows or should have known that a third-party seller is selling or attempting to sell stolen goods to a consumer in Colorado, unless the online marketplace has received a notice from the law enforcement agency that the same third-party seller is suspected of selling or attempting to sell the same stolen goods on the online marketplace to a consumer in Colorado. An online marketplace is required to establish: A mechanism that allows the online marketplace to timely and confidentially communicate with a law enforcement agency; and Internal policies, systems, and staff to monitor product listings to detect and prevent organized retail crime.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · House Jun 4, 2025

HB 25-1234: Utility Consumer Protection

The act prohibits the department of human services (department) from requiring an applicant for the low-income home energy assistance program (program) to provide their citizenship or immigration status on an application for assistance under the program, unless that information is required as a condition of eligibility for the program. The department is also prohibited from sharing the citizenship or immigration status of an applicant for or recipient of assistance under the program with any federal law enforcement agency, unless disclosure is required by law or court order. If an individual applies for assistance under the program and the individual's application is denied due to insufficient or incomplete documentation, the department must provide notice to the applicant that their application has been denied and provide the applicant at least 60 days to correct or complete the application. The investor-owned public utility of which the applicant is a customer must place a disconnection hold on the applicant's utility service for no more than 60 days while the customer's application is pending review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Immigration

signed · Colorado · House Jun 4, 2025

HB 25-1161: Labeling Gas-Fueled Stoves

The act requires the department of public health and environment (department) to establish a page on the department's public website with credible, evidence-based information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves. The act prohibits a retailer from selling, attempting to sell, or offering to sell, in a store, a new gas-fueled stove to a consumer in the state unless a yellow adhesive label on the display model for the gas-fueled stove bears the phrase "Understand the air quality implications of having an indoor gas stove." Following this phrase, the adhesive label must include a website link or a quick response (QR) code or other machine-readable code that a potential consumer may use to access the web page established by the department with information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves. Before transacting an online sale of a new gas-fueled stove to an address in the state, a retailer is required to post the content of the adhesive label on the internet website where the online sale occurs. The act specifies that a retailer that violates the requirements of the act commits a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Environment

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-162: Railroad Safety Requirements

The act requires that, immediately after a railroad notifies the state's watch center in the department of public safety (watch center) of an emergency involving a train, the watch center must notify the public utilities commission (commission) and the office of rail safety (office) of the incident. The commission is required to submit a report to specified committees of the general assembly on the information reported by railroads regarding an emergency involving a train. A crew member of a train operated by a railroad may communicate with first responders during an emergency situation after notifying the railroad dispatch. A crew member has discretion in determining the appropriate response to the emergency situation, including cutting the railroad crossing. A railroad employee or a crew member is immune from civil liability and is not liable in civil damages for actions taken in good faith in the course of a response to an emergency situation involving a train. The act eliminates the shared authority that the commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation had to inspect and investigate railroads and grants the commission alone the authority to engage in inspection, investigation, and enforcement activities regarding the following railroads: A class I railroad; A railroad operating on any line that was used by class I railroads as of July 1, 2024; and A passenger railroad. The act requires the office to gather, analyze, and assess information, including: Data to create a more comprehensive understanding of railroad safety; Wayside detector information; Information regarding blocked public crossing locations; Information regarding railroad maintenance activity; An assessment of the state's ability to respond to a large-scale release of hazardous materials from railroad transportation; The best practices for ensuring financial responsibility for response, cleanup, and damages from major rail events, including reviewing best practices from other states; and Communication issues impacting railroad lines in the state. Beginning on or before July 1, 2027, a railroad regulated by the commission is required to pay a fee to cover the costs incurred by the commission and the office in relation to the act. The commission shall determine a methodology for calculating the fee by rule, and the commission may include specified criteria in the calculation. The total amount collected pursuant to the annual fee must not exceed $2,900,000 in a calendar year. A railroad regulated by the commission must pay the fee in equal quarterly installments and is subject to penalties and interest if they fail to timely pay the fee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Transportation

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-122: Extending Organ & Tissue Donation Fund

The act extends the Emily Keyes - John W. Buckner organ and tissue donation awareness fund indefinitely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-167: Invest State Funds to Benefit Communities

Section 1 of the act requires, in addition to othr existing uses, that interest and income earned on the investment of the money in the public school fund to be used to pay for the costs of administering a newly created shared equity down payment assistance program. Section 2 requires at least one member of the public school fund investment board (board) to have expertise in community investments, requires the board to direct the state treasurer to securely invest money deposited in the public school fund in a manner that prioritizes specified new investment objectives, and authorizes the board to enter into contracts with investment advisors or other investment professionals to provide advice on community investments. Section 3 extends the time frame under which the state treasurer may make up a loss of principal to the public school fund by taking actions which lead to gains in the fund from 18 to 24 months. Section 4 creates a new community investment portfolio (portfolio) within the public school fund, and requires the state treasurer to invest at least 20% of the public school fund's value into the community investment portfolio by July 1, 2032. Money in the portfolio must be invested in community investments, and allowable community investments include: Bonds issued by Colorado school districts and charter schools; Certificates of participation issued by Colorado school districts and charter schools; Mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations secured by residential real estate, the majority of which is owned by public school employees; Loans to the Colorado middle income housing authority for a revolving loan fund that funds rental housing developments that include preferences for public school employees; Bonds issued by the middle income housing authority that fund rental housing developments which include preferences for public school employees; Bonds or mortgage-backed securities issued by the Colorado housing and finance authority that fund rental housing developments that include preferences for public school employees or mortgages secured by residential real estate, the majority of which is owned by public school employees; Mortgage revenue bonds that support public school employee mortgages with interest rates of 3% or less; Loans to community development financial institutions or nonprofits with a history of providing affordable home ownership financing that fund: Housing that includes preferences for public school employees; or Low-interest mortgages secured by residential real estate that is owned by public school employees; Down payment shared appreciation products secured by residential real estate that is owned by public school employees; and Other investments that support public purpose of the portfolio. The educator first home ownership program (program) is created within the portfolio. Subject to a specified limitation, the treasurer shall invest the following amounts in the program by the following dates: By July 1, 2028, the greater of 6% of the fund's value or $100 million; and By July 1, 2030, the greater of 12% of the fund's value or $200 million. The treasurer shall aim to invest a target of 75% of the money in the program into the shared equity down payment assistance program for public school employees. The shared equity down payment assistance program must be established by July 1, 2026. Once the shared equity down payment assistance program is established: The public school fund investment board shall purchase from the program manager the mortgage products created through the shared equity down payment assistance program; and The public school investment board may provide notice of any discontinuation of future investments that the program manager has not already committed to the shared equity down payment assistance program, which notice must be provided at least 6 months prior to discontinuation. The treasurer shall aim to invest a target of 25% of the money in the program into allowable community investments. The program manager shall establish underwriting criteria and other guidelines for the shared equity down payment assistance program so that the shared equity down payment assistance program: Prioritizes first-time home buyers that use the home as a primary residence; Provides shared equity down payment assistance to public school employees and aims to help as many public school employees as possible achieve affordable home ownership; and Allows appreciation-sharing between the shared equity down payment assistance program and the borrower. Unless investments in the shared equity down payment assistance program have been discontinued and there is no fund money invested in the shared equity down payment assistance program, the program administrator shall present an annual report to the board on program outcomes. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, section 5 appropriates $375,900 from interest or income earned on the investment of the money in the public school fund to the department of the treasury. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✗ Education ✓ Housing

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-305: Water Quality Permitting Efficiency

Current law requires the division of administration (division) within the department of public health and environment to report annually to the water quality control commission (commission) and to include in the report any regulatory or legislative recommendations the division may have. The act requires the report to also include: Information on the division's timing in considering and issuing water quality permits (permits); and For the report submitted in 2026, a detailed discussion of how the division has prioritized reducing the permit backlog, implemented recommendations from water quality permittees (permittees) for permitting efficiency, and increased safe drinking water program inspections. The act requires the division, upon receipt of an application to modify a permit, to limit its review and its approval or denial of the application to the scope of the specific requests contained in the application. The act requires the commission to adopt rules on or before December 31, 2026, that establish procedures whereby the division, prior to giving public notice of a complete permit application for an individual permit and the division's preliminary analysis of the application, may provide a period of public notice and review of a preliminary draft prepared by the division. If a period of public notice and review is required by rules of the commission, the period of public notice and review may not exceed 14 days, and the purpose of the review is limited to identifying errors in the division's preliminary draft. On or before December 31, 2027, the division must propose rules to the commission that establish a time frame during which the division will either grant or deny applications for each type of permitting action. On or before June 30, 2028, the commission shall adopt rules based on the division's proposal. The rules must establish the time frames for permitting actions. The act requires the division to consider current debt service on existing local government water infrastructure when developing schedules of compliance for new effluent limits in local government permits. Any schedule of compliance for new effluent limits in local government permits must, consistent with state and federal law, consider the local government's financial capability to repay existing debt on water infrastructure or to fund water infrastructure upgrades before requiring new water infrastructure upgrades. To the extent allowable under federal law, the division may issue compliance schedules in a local government permit for a new effluent limit in excess of 20 years. The act states that, on and after May 1, 2026, after an application for permit modification or permit renewal has been pending before the division for 60 days, or for any application for permit modification or permit renewal that is pending before the division as of May 1, 2026, or if the division informs an applicant that the division will not process an application for preliminary effluent limitations, the applicant and the division may mutually agree to use a qualified and independent nongovernmental contractor (contractor) under the direction of the division to provide the division with technical assistance in completing the permit action. An applicant shall bear the contractor's costs for any technical assistance provided by the contractor and shall pay the contractor for such costs. The division may charge an applicant an additional fee in an amount not exceeding 10% of the contract amount for contract administration, technical review, and additional permit processing, which fee is credited to the clean water cash fund. The act requires the division, upon a permittee's request, to make available to the permittee all documents, data, and information the division relied upon in developing the permittee's permit modification or permit renewal, except to the extent that such materials are protected by an applicable privilege or exception. The act makes the following transfers of money: On July 1, 2025, $111,000 from the water quality improvement fund to the drinking water cash fund; On July 1, 2025, $3,518,564 from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the clean water cash fund; On July 1, 2026, $3,002,435 from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the clean water cash fund; and On July 1, 2026, $516,129 dollars from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the drinking water cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,904,599 to the department of public health and environment. This appropriation consists of $446,315 from the drinking water cash fund and $2,458,284 from the clean water cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $160,611 to the department of law. This appropriation is from reappropriated funds received from the department of public health and environment. The act also makes and reduces certain appropriations as adjustments to the 2025 general appropriations act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

signed · Colorado · Senate Jun 4, 2025

SB 25-017: Measures to Support Early Childhood Health

The act implements and describes the operation of the pediatric primary care practice program (primary care program) in the department of early childhood (department). The purpose of the primary care program is to provide funding and support to a pediatric primary care medical practice (medical practice) to integrate into the medical practice a professional who specializes in whole-child and whole-family health and well-being. The department shall contract with an implementation partner (primary care partner) to implement, operate, and administer the primary care program. The primary care partner shall create and implement a team-based, research-informed pediatric primary care practice evidence-based model (evidence-based model). The evidence-based model must be a comprehensive approach to guide pediatric care medical practices to deliver services to children from birth to 3 years of age and their families. The primary care partner shall: Establish an application and selection process with the department for select medical practices to participate in the primary care program; Review applications from medical practices and select applicants to participate in the primary care program; Work with selected applicants to complete assessments on the applicants' community health-care systems, health and well-being practices, and related concerns; and Train and support the medical practices selected to participate in the primary care program to maintain fidelity to the evidence-based model. The executive director of the department may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of the primary care program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Topics ✓ Healthcare

Bill results