This bill designates May 2026 as "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month" in Colorado to promote rider safety and encourage shared road awareness. The resolution aims to highlight the importance of motorcycle rider training and education while reminding all drivers to be alert around motorcycles. It does not create new laws or change existing regulations but serves as a formal recognition to raise public awareness about motorcycle safety.
This bill designates a specific section of Interstate 25 in Denver County, stretching from Mile Marker 204.51 to 213.13, as the Governor Roy Romer Memorial Highway to honor his public service. The legislation authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations and place signs marking this stretch of road, while also allowing for cooperation with local authorities to maintain those signs. This measure directly affects the state's transportation department and the communities along the designated highway by creating a permanent tribute to former Governor Roy Romer.
Under current law, 28.9% of the revenue the state collects from the retail delivery fee is credited to the multimodal transportation and mitigation options fund (fund). Of the money from the retail delivery fee that is credited to the fund, currently 85% is allocated to the commission for local multimodal projects and 15% is allocated to the commission for state multimodal projects. Beginning on July 1, 2026, the act changes how the fund allocates and expends retail delivery fee revenue between state and local multimodal projects so that 70% of the fund is allocated to the commission for local multimodal projects and 30% of the fund is allocated to the commission for state multimodal projects.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes the boundaries of the front range passenger rail district (district) to include certain listed municipalities, any municipality whose governing body and, if necessary, electors, consent for the municipality to be included in the district, certain listed metropolitan districts, and any metropolitan district that is not within a municipality, whose governing body consents for the metropolitan district to be included in the district, and that is identified for inclusion in the district by a district board (board) resolution. The act requires that directors of the board appointed on or after July 1, 2026, reside within the district, unless that director is already serving on the board. The act allows the board to create subdistricts within the district. The only voting members of a subdistrict board must be directors appointed by an entity that includes territory within the subdistrict and directors who reside within the subdistrict. The act requires that any action by a subdistrict to establish or increase a tax or create a multiple-fiscal year debt must be submitted to a vote of the registered electors of the subdistrict. Before submitting a tax question to the voters, the district or subdistrict must certify that it has made every reasonable effort to secure federal, state, or special purpose authority funding. Lastly, the act changes the method for determining the distribution of the costs of a district or subdistrict election. Under the new method, the costs of such an election are reimbursed in the same method and manner as state primary, coordinated, general, congressional vacancy, special legislative, or recall elections conducted after July 1, 2024. The act also requires that any constitutionally required notice for a district or subdistrict election be included in the ballot information booklet.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines school zones as all roadways within at least 1,000 feet of a school property boundary, except state highways unless they are designated as part of a school zone with the written approval of the Colorado department of transportation, and including school zones established before August 12, 2026, that are 200 feet or more from a school property boundary. A school zone must have appropriate signs posted indicating it is a school zone and that the penalties and surcharges within the school zone will be doubled. The act allows a local government that has jurisdiction over a school zone to reduce the size of a school zone after first holding a public hearing, but the act does not allow a school zone to be reduced to less than 200 feet from a school property boundary. Additionally, the act does not prohibit local governments from expanding school zones to beyond 1,000 feet from a school property boundary. The act limits requirements the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality must complete regarding placing and using an automated vehicle identification system along a safe route to school. The act allows a local government to designate a portion of a roadway immediately adjacent to a school property boundary as a school street and requires the local government to post signs indicating it is a school street if the local government has jurisdiction to do so. The local government may close a school street to traffic. If there is traffic on the school street, the maximum speed limit is 10 miles per hour and vehicles must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users. The local government may suspend additional traffic provisions on the school street that endanger pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users.(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.)
Beginning on January 1, 2027, the act authorizes an optional collision prevention fee (fee), which is collected at the time of registration of a passenger motor vehicle, light-weight truck, motorcycle, or recreational vehicle (motor vehicle). An individual may decline to pay the fee when registering a motor vehicle, and nonpayment of the fee does not affect the individual's ability to register the motor vehicle. In connection with imposing the fee, the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise (enterprise) within the department of transportation (department) is required to collaborate with:The department of revenue and county clerks to develop language to notify individuals about the fee, including explicit language regarding the ability to decline to pay the fee and the fact that nonpayment of the fee will not affect an individual's ability to register a motor vehicle; andThe department of revenue, the department, county clerks, the division of parks and wildlife, and other impacted stakeholders to conduct a public outreach campaign to educate the public about the fee and what benefits the fee will provide. The enterprise is required to initiate the public outreach campaign as soon as practicable and must develop and deliver customer-facing educational materials to county clerks on or before December 1, 2026.The fee amount is set at $5 and, beginning in state fiscal year 2028-29, the enterprise is allowed to adjust this fee amount upward for inflation. 75% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the newly created collision prevention fund (fund), which is continuously appropriated to the enterprise for use in the following ways:To fund wildlife safe passage projects, defined as one or more projects that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity by providing wildlife road crossings;To provide matching money as required by federal grant programs relating to wildlife safe passage projects; To expend for administrative and personnel expenses related to those purposes; andTo promote the fee and fund to maximize participation in the optional fee, in collaboration with the department of revenue, impacted stakeholders, and interested organizations.In determining which wildlife safe passage projects the enterprise will undertake, the enterprise is required to:Consult with the division of parks and wildlife (division) and the Colorado wildlife and transportation alliance;Consult with the tribal government if the project is on or adjacent to tribal land;Consult with relevant local governments with jurisdiction over the area of the proposed project and any relevant local organizations engaging in work to reduce vehicle collisions;Consider studies concerning the prioritization of wildlife within the state;Consider whether the wildlife safe passage project is related to a bridge or tunnel project undertaken by the enterprise; andIn consultation with the division, consider opportunities for landowner agreements or additional conservation efforts that may be necessary to ensure the continued functionality of infrastructure associated with a proposed wildlife safe passage project. 25% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the wildlife cash fund and continuously appropriated to the division to provide services related to wildlife connectivity and wildlife crossing-related conservation efforts. The act also modifies the process for the keep Colorado wild pass fee, which is an existing optional fee paid at the time an individual registers a motor vehicle, to align with the process for the collision prevention fee by removing the presumption that an individual who declines to pay the keep Colorado wild pass fee is presumed to decline to pay that fee in subsequent years with respect to registration of the same motor vehicle. With this change, an individual must affirmatively opt out of the payment of both the keep Colorado wild pass fee and the collision prevention fee each year that the individual registers the motor vehicle. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year:$53,516 is appropriated from the DRIVES cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; Of funds appropriated from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund to the department of natural resources for use by the division, $778 is reappropriated to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; and$19,940 is appropriated from the legal services cash fund, from revenue received from the department from the collision prevention fund, to the department of law to provide legal services for the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes requirements for the regional transportation district (RTD) relating to paratransit and accessible transportation, the composition of the board of directors, coordination with the subregional service councils, and reporting requirements. Paratransit and accessible transportation. On or before December 31, 2026, RTD is required to contract with an independent third-party entity for a comprehensive paratransit service study (study) that includes:A needs assessment of the population, needs, and service gaps for riders with disabilities in the district;A cost-benefit assessment;A definition of measurable performance metrics related to access, reliability, equity, and cost-effectiveness;An assessment of opportunities for RTD to collaborate with local and regional partners to address service gaps; Engagement with paratransit users, riders with disabilities, service providers, and other key stakeholders;An assessment of system performance; andAn assessment of barriers for paratransit riders and riders with disabilities to access a low-income fare discount. The study must be completed by June 30, 2027. On or before December 31, 2027, RTD is required to complete, adopt, and begin implementing an accessible transportation service plan that is informed by the study. Composition of RTD board of directors. The act ends the terms of the current 15 elected members of the RTD board of directors (board) on January 1, 2029, and replaces the board with 5 members elected from director districts and 4 at-large appointed members. 5 members constitute a quorum for the new board. Board members serve 4-year terms; except that the new member terms are staggered such that, on January 1, 2031, 4 of the 9 members' terms expire. At the November 2028 general election, 5 new members are elected, 2 of which are elected to 2-year terms. At every general election in an even-numbered year thereafter, the number of members to be elected at the election equals the number of member terms expiring on January 1 of the following year. On or before the day of the November 2028 general election, the governor shall appoint 4 new board members. On or before the day of the November general election in every even-numbered year thereafter, the governor shall appoint 2 new board members to replace the members whose terms will expire the following year. Members may serve up to 2 4-year terms, and any term that lasts for fewer than 2 years does not count towards the member's 2-term limit. On or before September 15, 2027, the office of legislative legal services and the legislative council staff are required to apportion the composition of the board so that the 5 elected directors will represent, to the extent practical, the people of the district on the basis of population. After the federal census in 2030, and after each federal census thereafter, the independent legislative redistricting commission is required to apportion the composition of the board so that the 5 elected directors will represent, to the extent practical, the people of the district on the basis of population. The 4 appointed board members are appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. Of the 4 members:One member is appointed from a list of at least 3 nominees provided by the Denver regional council of governments;One member must be a current or former member of the union that represents the largest collective bargaining unit of RTD employees; and2 members are appointed at the governor's discretion. The 4 appointed members must represent diverse geographic areas of the district and are collectively required to possess expertise related to public finance, land use and multimodal transportation planning, transit operations, and transit agency programs serving disproportionately impacted communities. The governor may remove an appointed member for malfeasance in office, neglect of duty, failure to regularly attend meetings, or any other cause that renders the member incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the board. A member to be appointed is required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest prior to confirmation and any conflicts that arise during the member's term to the board. Failure to disclose a conflict, or taking action on a matter in which the member has an undisclosed conflict of interest, constitutes cause for removal by the governor. The board may elect one member as chairperson of the board, one member as chairperson pro tempore of the board, and one or more individuals as secretary and treasurer of the board. The annual salary for an elected or appointed member whose term begins on or after January 1, 2029, is increased from $12,000 to $36,000, and the salary for the board chairperson is 150% of the salary of the other board members. Subregional service council coordination. Beginning in 2027, RTD is required to provide dedicated staff to co-chair and support each subregional service council (council) and must work with council members to identify a local leader to also co-chair each council. Beginning in 2028, the councils are required to make recommendations to the RTD board on:Aligning RTD transit services with local and regional plans;Implementing joint projects to address service gaps;Leveraging existing intergovernmental agreements and projects for expanded service delivery;Identifying strategies to expand funding; andConsiderations of equity, ridership, demand, and long-term regional growth. The RTD board is required to meet at least twice a year to receive recommendations from the councils. Reporting requirements. RTD is required to report to the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee and the senate transportation and energy committee, or their successor committees, on the following:On or before December 31, 2027, progress toward the recommendations made to RTD by the 2025-2026 RTD accountability committee created in Senate Bill 25-161. RTD is also required to submit this report to the governor.On or before January 31, 2027, and on or before each January 31 thereafter: RTD's budget and financial performance;Ridership;The implementation of Senate Bill 25-161, including RTD's progress on delivering the projects identified in its 10-year strategic plan and its comprehensive operational analysis;Aligning with state climate goals; andThe implementation of this act, including RTD's progress on implementing the accessible transportation service plan;On or before January 31, 2028, the study and accessible transportation plan; and Annually beginning in 2028, the recommendations from the councils and RTD's responses to the recommendations. RTD is also required to report this information to the transportation legislation review committee.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill makes street takeovers, coordinated street takeovers, racing and drag racing, and stunt driving (prohibited motor vehicle activities) illegal on highways and roadways. More specifically, the bill states that a person shall not:Intentionally engage in a prohibited motor vehicle activity;Coordinate or facilitate an event the person should reasonably know is a street takeover, a race or drag race, or stunt driving;Ride as a passenger in a motor vehicle the person should reasonably know is participating in a street takeover, a race or drag race, or stunt driving;Intentionally cause the movement of traffic to slow, stop, or be impeded in any way because of a street takeover, a race or drag race, or stunt driving;Drive a motor vehicle to carry fuel for a motor vehicle the person should reasonably know is involved in a street takeover, a race or drag race, or stunt driving; orKnowingly be a spectator to a race, drag race, or street takeover prohibited by the bill. The bill imposes penalties for a person that engages in a prohibited motor vehicle activity. The bill also imposes penalties for a person that engages in a prohibited motor vehicle activity and then eludes or attempts to elude a peace officer. Lastly, the bill states when and how a peace officer may, or a presiding court may issue an order to, impound, immobilize, or seize a motor vehicle involved in a prohibited motor vehicle activity.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act requires certain transit agencies that have at least one million unlinked passenger trips in the most recent year, and that are not the Colorado department of transportation or a regional transportation authority that provides funding for but does not directly provide transit services (covered transit agencies), to take specific actions to increase transit access. On and after June 30, 2027, a covered transit agency shall ensure that clear, up-to-date transit system maps are displayed at all rail stations, bus stations, and bus rapid transit stops and that information on fare rates and structures and eligibility requirements and application instructions for fare discount programs is available online and displayed in all transit vehicles and at all rail stations, bus stations, and transit stops with a covered shelter. A covered transit agency may meet these requirements by displaying summary information and a link or quick response (QR) code to a website with detailed information. A covered transit agency is not required to replace its fixed signage, displays, or maps solely to comply with these new requirements and, instead, is only required to update the required information upon the regularly scheduled replacement of any signage, displays, or maps. On and after June 30, 2027, a covered transit agency shall ensure that all publicly available information that it disseminates related to accessing its transit services, including fare structures, transit maps, service schedules, and the rights and responsibilities of transit riders, is translated into languages that are widely spoken in any county in which the covered transit agency operates or that are required by a covered transit agency's existing language access plan. A covered transit agency may use an existing language access plan to satisfy these language access requirements. Covered transit agencies are required to annually report their progress on the action areas required by the act, and other required information, to the governor and a joint meeting of the transportation committees of the general assembly beginning on or before January 31, 2028, and on or before each January 31 thereafter. Covered transit agencies must post this annual report on a publicly accessible website. Covered transit agencies are only required to report information that they already collect and may satisfy any of the information required to be reported by referencing or including a link to a publicly accessible official report that includes the required information.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
