The bill creates the time-to-eat task force (task force) in the department of education (department) to evaluate Colorado school districts' and other states' policies regarding scheduled lunch time (time-to-eat policies) and repeals the task force, effective January 1, 2025. The bill creates the safe and healthy play grant program in the department to assist schools in implementing programs that support social and emotional learning through play.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2033, the bill creates a new refundable state income tax credit for a qualified licensed veterinarian and a registered veterinary technician (veterinary professional) working full-time in an underserved area or under-resourced area (underserved area) and for a buyer of a veterinary practice in an underserved area. The department of agriculture (department) is required to certify tax credits for eligible veterinary professionals and buyers of a veterinary practice in an underserved area in an amount not to exceed, in aggregate, $2 million in any tax year. No later than July 1, 2025, the department is required to promulgate rules for issuing a tax credit certificate to an eligible veterinary professional working full-time in an underserved area and for a buyer of a veterinary practice in an underserved area using the recommendations of an advisory board (board) that consists of 3 licensed veterinarians, 3 registered veterinary technicians, 3 agricultural animal producers, and 3 representatives from animal welfare nonprofits chosen by the commissioner of agriculture. The department must promulgate rules that include criteria for the determination of which geographic areas of the state fall within the definition of an underserved or under-resourced area. The department must also promulgate rules that determine a mechanism to determine the tax credit amount the department is able to certify to an eligible veterinary professional working full-time in an underserved area that is no less than $5,000 and no more than $30,000 and to a buyer of a veterinary practice in an underserved or under-resourced area that is no less than $10,000 and no more than $200,000. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, an individual aged 17 years or younger (minor) is liable to the state for income tax on earned income. The bill allows a subtraction from federal taxable income of an amount equal to the earned income of a minor. An employer is not required to deduct income tax from the wages of a minor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill establishes a state income tax credit (credit) for the sale or lease of land, crops, livestock and livestock facilities, farm equipment and machinery, grain storage, irrigation equipment, or water used for agriculture (agricultural assets) to certain agricultural producers for income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2031. There are 3 different credits that may be earned by a qualified taxpayer. For the sale of an agricultural asset to a beginning farmer or rancher or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, a qualified taxpayer may earn a credit equal to 5% of the lesser of the sale price or fair market value of the agricultural asset up to a maximum credit of $32,000 for one income tax year. For the lease of an agricultural asset to a beginning farmer or rancher or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, a qualified taxpayer may earn a credit equal to 10% of the gross rental income in each of the first, second, and third years of the rental agreement, up to a maximum credit of $7,000 for one income tax year. For the lease of an agricultural asset to a beginning farmer or rancher or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher for a period of 20 years or more, a qualified taxpayer may also earn a credit equal to 2% of the gross rental income for each year after the first 3 years of the extended term lease, up to a maximum amount of $2,000 per income tax year. The credit is refundable and may not be carried forward. To claim the credit, a qualified taxpayer must apply to the Colorado agricultural value-added development board (board) for a credit certificate (certificate). The board will evaluate the application and issue a certificate if the taxpayer qualifies for the credit. If a certificate is issued, the qualified taxpayer must attach it to the taxpayer's income tax return and submit it to the department of revenue to claim the credit. The board may issue rules to administer the credit. The aggregate amount of credits issued in one calendar year cannot exceed $2 million. After certificates have been issued for credits that exceed an aggregate of $2 million for all qualified taxpayers during a calendar year, any claims that exceed the amount allowed are placed on a wait list in the order submitted and a certificate is issued for use of the credit in the next income tax year. No more than $2 million in claims shall be placed on the wait list in any given calendar year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires that prior to adding a person found responsible for child abuse or neglect (person) to the automated child welfare system (system), a county department of human or social services must provide, within 14 days, a written notice to the person of the opportunity for a hearing to appeal the finding. The written notice must include, among other things: Information about the factual history of the case and detailed information about the appeals process; Information about how the person may obtain, at no cost to the person, a complete copy of the record that will be added to the system, subject to redactions required by law; Information about how the person may request a complete copy of the law enforcement record, if any, of the alleged incident of child abuse or neglect; Information about the office of the child protection ombudsman; and Information about the office of the respondent parents' counsel. When a hearing is requested, the bill requires an administrative law judge to contact the parties to schedule the hearing, which must take place no later than 120 days after the date the person requests a hearing. The bill describes the rights accorded to the person. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2026, the bill allows a refundable state income tax credit, which is intended to offset the various expenses that licensed teachers often incur throughout an academic year for classroom supplies, professional development costs, supplemental educational materials, field trips, and other items that improve the quality of the educational services that they provide, to a licensed teacher who is employed as a teacher in a public school on a full-time basis for at least one-half of an academic year (eligible teacher) during the income tax year for which the credit is claimed. The amount of the credit is $1,000 for an eligible teacher who is employed for the equivalent of an entire academic year and $500 for a teacher who is employed for one-half of an academic year. Two eligible teachers who file a joint income tax return may each claim the credit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
If approved by the voters of the state at the 2024 general election, the concurrent resolution will amend the state constitution to create a new annual property tax revenue growth limit (district limit) for each jurisdiction that levies property tax (district). The district limit limits a district's property tax revenue growth for any property tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2025, to an amount equal to the sum of: The amount of revenue generated by the district's mill levy for the immediately preceding property tax year (base revenue); plus An amount equal to the base revenue multiplied by a percentage equal to the percentage change allowed for state revenue growth under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) plus 2 percentage points; plus The net dollar amount of district property tax revenue gained from newly taxed property such as new construction and lost from newly untaxed property such as taxable improvements to real property that are destroyed. If the estimated amount of property tax revenue subject to the district limit that will be generated by a district's current mill levy will exceed the district limit, then the mill levy must be reduced so that the amount of property tax revenue generated does not exceed the district limit unless maintenance of the current mill levy is approved: By the voters of the district for a district that has not received voter approval to exceed its TABOR fiscal year spending and property tax revenue limits; or By the governing body of the district for a district that has received such voter approval. Notwithstanding the TABOR voter approval for a mill levy increase above the mill levy for the prior year, if a district's mill levy is reduced as required to comply with the district limit, the district may increase the mill levy to any rate up to the pre-reduction rate without voter approval so long as the increase does not cause the district's property tax revenue to exceed the district limit. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
Section 1 of the bill creates an online database managed by the department of personnel that includes information on all grant opportunities that are funded by state money or administered by the state. The database must be created by December 31, 2025, and reviewed and updated on an annual basis. Section 2 creates the grant assistance to rural communities program. This program, administered by the department of local affairs, provides assistance in accessing state grants to entities in rural communities, which are defined as counties with populations of fewer than 25,000 residents and municipalities with populations of fewer than 10,000 residents that do not border another municipality with a population of 10,000 residents or more. The bill directs the department to designate at least one full-time equivalent employee, who resides in a rural community or whose principal place of employment is in a rural community, to implement the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill establishes that evidence that a person has engaged in an unfair or deceptive trade practice constitutes a significant impact to the public. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill establishes a process by which a student, parent, or member of the community may object to a library resource in a school or public library. Each library resource that is reconsidered pursuant to the process must be evaluated based on standards applied by a committee for school libraries and a director of a public library. Members of the committee for school libraries are appointed by the superintendent of the school district, and the committee covers reconsideration requests in all schools in the district. For public libraries, the director is selected by the library's board of trustees and covers the library or libraries in the library district. A library resource may not be removed while a request for reconsideration is pending. A principal, librarian, media specialist, other employee, contractor, or volunteer may refuse a directive to remove a library resource if such an individual has a good faith belief that the directive conflicts with law or policy established pursuant to the bill, and such an individual may not be subjected to retaliation. The bill prevents the state board of education from waiving the requirements of the bill as they are applied to public schools, district charter schools, and institute charter schools. The bill specifies that it is a discriminatory practice and unlawful for anyone to discriminate against anyone in the selection, retention, reconsideration, or display of a library resource. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the reentry workforce development cash assistance pilot program (pilot program) in the department of corrections (department) to provide cash assistance to persons who enroll and participate in workforce services or training programs after incarceration. The pilot program provides a total payment of up to $3,000 to eligible persons for basic life expenses. The bill requires the department to contract with an organization to administer the pilot program, perform an annual survey of pilot program recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law requires the department of education (department) to award an annual stipend of $1,600 to teachers, school counselors, principals, and school psychologists who hold national board certification and who are employed by a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school of a school district, or an institute charter school (local education provider). The bill extends the $1,600 stipend to qualified librarians and school social workers who hold national board certification and who are employed by a local education provider. Current law allows the department to award an additional $3,200 annual stipend to teachers, principals, school counselors, and school psychologists who are employed in a low-performing, high-needs school. The bill allows the department to also extend an additional $3,200 stipend to librarians or school social workers who are employed in a low-performing, high-needs school. The additional $3,200 stipend is also extended to teachers, librarians, school counselors, school psychologists, or school social workers (national board-certified educators) who are employed in a rural school district. The bill allows the department to extend an additional $3,200 stipend to national board-certified educators who are employed as math teachers in any school. If a national board-certified educator transfers employment from one low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district to another low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district, the educator remains eligible for the additional stipend. However, if a national board-certified educator leaves employment with a low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district, the educator is no longer eligible for the additional stipend. If a national board-certified math teacher transfers schools as a math teacher, the educator remains eligible for the additional stipend. However, if a national board-certified educator who is a math teacher stops teaching math, the educator is no longer eligible for the additional stipend. If there are insufficient funds, the department shall reduce the amount of each stipend by the same percentage that the deficit bears to the amount required to fully fund the total number of national board-certified educators who qualify for the stipend. A national board-certified educator who is employed as a principal or an administrator in a school and maintains a national certification is eligible for a stipend. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
