The act creates the postsecondary talent development system transition advisory committee (transition committee) to develop a transition plan that includes recommendations to integrate oversight of higher education and workforce development programs (transition plan). The transition committee shall begin meeting by July 1, 2026, and shall submit the transition plan by November 1, 2026, to the joint budget committee; the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee; the house of representatives education committee; the senate business, labor, and technology committee; and the senate education committee. The transition plan must include recommendations about the structure of the department of higher education (department), including a recommendation to rename the department; recommendations about transitioning various offices, agencies, programs, and functions to the department or other state agencies; and recommendations about how the department will coordinate with the department of education's postsecondary workforce readiness and student support activities. Effective July 1, 2028, the executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education is renamed the executive director of the department (executive director). The governor appoints, with the consent of the senate, the executive director.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Maddy summaryThis bill brings Denver School of Science and Technology charter schools into the Denver Public Schools division of the Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA), allowing their employees to participate in the same retirement benefits as other Denver public school workers. The legislation also changes the PERA Board of Trustees by adding one voting member elected by Denver Public Schools employees and removing a non-voting ex officio member from that division. Additionally, the bill extends the deadline for charter school employees to purchase additional retirement service credit for years worked before affiliation, moving the cutoff date from November 1, 2006, to July 1, 2026. These changes affect Denver public school employees, retirees, and the governance structure of the state's public employee retirement system.
The act prohibits using an automated driving system to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless an individual who holds a commercial driver's license is in the vehicle, monitors the vehicle's driving, and intervenes, if necessary, to avoid illegal or unsafe driving. The individual must be in the driver's seat if hazardous materials are being transported. The penalty is $1,000 for a first offense, is $2,000 for a second offense, and doubles for each subsequent offense. The act does not apply to a light-duty vehicle or a truck-mounted attenuator. The prohibition is repealed September 1, 2031. The chief of the Colorado state patrol will analyze the act's effects on commercial vehicle safety on highways. By November 1, 2030, the chief of the Colorado state patrol will issue a report to the relevant committees of the house of representatives and senate. The report must make recommendations as whether to continue the prohibition and, if continued, any recommended legislation to improve the prohibition. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, $14,357 is appropriated to the department of revenue from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes the following changes to the 'Labor Peace Act':Specifies that employees' right to bargain collectively includes the right to bargain collectively concerning any mandatory subject of bargaining;Eliminates the requirement for a second election to negotiate a union security agreement clause in the collective bargaining process;Declares that it is not an unfair labor practice for an employer to refuse to agree to a lawful proposal made by the exclusive representative of the employees, or for the exclusive representative of the employees to refuse to agree to a lawful proposal made by the employer, concerning a mandatory subject of bargaining if the refusing party has bargained in good faith with the other party; andRequires employers and employees, through their exclusive representative, to bargain in good faith.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act:Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2026-27 budget year by $208.60 to account for inflation;Sets a new statewide base per pupil funding amount for the 2026-27 budget year at $8,900.40; andSets the total program funding for the 2026-27 budget year at $10,178,856,871. Under current law, there are 2 total program formulas that are used to determine a school district's total program, commonly referred to as the old formula and the new formula. A school district's funded pupil count is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the new formula, for the 2026-27 budget year and each budget year thereafter, a school district's funded pupil count is calculated by determining the greater of the school district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year or the average of the district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year and the immediately preceding 2 budget years. However, the act requires that when specified conditions are met, a school district's funded pupil count is the school district's online pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's supplemental kindergarten enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's extended high school pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the greater of:The school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year;An amount equal to 50% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus an amount equal to 30% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year, plus an amount equal to 20% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year that is 2 years preceding the budget year; orAn amount equal to 97% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year. A school district's cost of living factor is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the old formula and the new formula, the act requires the cost of living factor that was used for the 2025-26 budget year to apply in the 2026-27 budget year. Under current law, for the 2026-27 budget year, a district's total program is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year; orThe amount calculated for the 2025-26 budget year under the old formula plus an amount equal to 30% of the difference between the amounts calculated between the old formula and the new formula. The act clarifies that for the 2026-27 budget year, if the calculation under the new formula is less than the calculation under the old formula, then that district's total program for the 2025-26 budget year is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year under the old formula; orThe amount calculated for the 2026-27 budget year under the old formula. The act permits a school transformation grant recipient that is implementing a priority improvement or turnaround plan to use the grant award to plan for and implement rigorous redesign strategies. The act changes the provisions that determine the amounts of total program that school districts and the state charter school institute distribute to their charter schools. Related to the changes of these provisions, the act repeals at-risk supplemental aid for charter schools. The act exempts from a future repeal the general assembly's legislative declaration that using state education fund money for maintaining a website that explains major categories in the chart of accounts for local education providers is a permissible use of state education fund money. The act repeals the scheduled repeal of, resulting in a continuation of, a statute that authorizes contingency reserve fund payments to be used for rural or small rural school districts if an unusual financial burden would be caused by the withholding of local property taxes due to a delay in filing the audit report due to extraordinary problems that could not have been reasonably foreseen or prevented by the rural or small rural school district. The act adds an assistant superintendent, a vice principal, and an assistant principal to the list of eligible school employees who may receive a salary without a reduction in public employees' retirement association (PERA) benefits if the service retiree meets specified conditions. The act permits a local education provider to request that the department of education approve the local education provider's use of pencil and paper to complete any or every portion of a state assessment for grades 3 or 4 and requires that the local education provider be responsible for costs owed to the vendor that are associated with the administration of the assessment using pencil and paper. The act authorizes the state board of education to adopt rules that are necessary to determine the district of residence of a child with a disability for a circumstance that is not described under law. The act repeals the requirement that $500,000 be distributed to administrative units that enroll children with disabilities and instead requires that $1 million be distributed to fund reimbursements for administrative units that pay tuition or education expenses that ensure a free appropriate public education for a student in out-of-home placement who has an individualized education program. The act requires the department of education to engage stakeholders concerning public placements in facility schools and on the issue of whether to make recommendations concerning such placements to the state board of education regarding rules or to the general assembly regarding statutes. Under current law, each participating school food authority that satisfies certain requirements is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant and an amount to increase wages or stipends for individuals employed to prepare and serve school meals. The act clarifies that a charter school that operates under a participating school food authority is eligible for the awards. The act:Prohibits a board of cooperative services (BOCES) from acting as a statewide authorizer of programs or schools; andLimits a BOCES to operating a school or program outside the geographic boundaries of its school district members, unless specified conditions are satisfied. The act permits a local education provider to offer one or more part-time programs for homeschool students if specified conditions are satisfied. The act requires an authorizer contracting with an education management provider to maintain appropriate independence from, and oversight of, the education management provider. The act prohibits a school district from creating a contract school that is a full-time complete educational program offered exclusively by a private entity pursuant to a contract with the public entity. The act appropriates:$3,755,558 to the department of education from the state education fund for the state share of districts' total program;$313,395 to the department of education from the state education fund for management and administration for information technology services and for use by school district operations for administration related to public school finance; and$3,385,203 to the department of education from the state education fund for school district operations for costs associated with holding charter schools harmless for changes in the distribution of total program funding. The act adjusts the 2026-27 long bill by decreasing:$8,502,195 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for the state share of districts' total program funding; and$3,504,995 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for use by school district operations for at-risk supplemental aid.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires an institution of higher education (institution) that operates a student health center to provide abortion medication to all students enrolled at the institution. The act requires an institution that has an on-site prescription drug outlet or other outlet to maintain a stock of and provide access to abortion medication to students enrolled at the institution. The act requires an institution that does not have an on-site prescription drug outlet or other outlet to either submit a prescription for abortion medication to an off-campus prescription drug outlet or other outlet or dispense abortion medication through the institution's student health center if permitted by the student health center's licensure. The act prohibits an institution from knowingly providing personally identifiable information contained in a student's patient records, billing records, or precise location data related to accessing abortion medication in response to a request from another state seeking to impose liability for accessing abortion medication. An institution is not required to provide access to or stock abortion medication if doing so would jeopardize an institution's federal grant participation, require the institution to deviate from generally accepted billing practices, modify the generally accepted standards of medical practice, or conflict with the institution's sincerely held religious beliefs or practices.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act permits a county or municipal jail (local detention facility) to conduct a strip search of a person who is detained in the local detention facility, only:When the facility is conducting intake of the detained person who has come in from outside the facility and a strip search upon intake is part of the detention facility's policy;When 2 personnel of the facility have determined and reasonably believe the detained person is concealing a controlled substance, a dangerous instrument, or contraband; or Under a circumstance or set of conditions in which there has been a prior incident of possession of a controlled substance, a dangerous instrument, contraband, or any other item that creates grave danger to property or injury to persons and substantially obstructs the performance of the institutional functions of the local detention facility, the circumstance or set of conditions give rise to a substantial likelihood that a similar incident may occur again, and the local detention facility has a written policy authorizing a strip search under the circumstances or set of conditions. The act requires that each local detention facility document the number of, reason for, and results of a strip search in a report that each facility must submit annually to the jail standards advisory committee and the Colorado attorney general. The act requires detention facility personnel to record strip searches via body-worn camera and limits access to the recordings. The act requires each sheriff to coordinate with the sheriff's body-worn camera vendor to implement a tag for strip searches in body-worn camera footage tagging options and ensure that strip search footage has the most restrictive level of access available within the sheriff's body-worn camera system. The act requires local detention facilities to have a policy detailing staff protocol for responding to suspected, alleged, or witnessed sexual abuse and requires staff to report suspected, alleged, or witnessed sexual abuse. The act creates whistleblower protection policies for jail staff and creates a right of action against a local detention facility for a staff member who was subject to an adverse employment action because the staff member disclosed information to the proper supervising authority about sexual abuse or sex-based harassment in the local detention facility. The act requires local detention facilities to inform prisoners of their rights and the resources available to them if they are a victim of sexual abuse while in jail and allow sexual assault advocates to access prisoners who request advocacy services. The act requires local detention facilities to designate a 'Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003' (PREA) coordinator and requires jails to provide the coordinator's contact information to prisoners and the public. The act requires the removal of peace officers standards and training board (P.O.S.T. board) certification from any peace officer who is found by an administrative law judge, hearing officer, or internal investigation to have sexually abused a prisoner in a local detention facility. The act appropriates $38,916 to the department of law from the P.O.S.T. board cash fund for P.O.S.T. board support.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes a local government with permitting authority over land uses (local government) to designate one or more areas within the jurisdiction of the local government as renewable energy reinvestment areas for the siting of renewable energy and energy storage system projects (eligible projects). In designating an area as a renewable energy reinvestment area, the local government must hold at least one public hearing and hold at least one public hearing for any construction permit applications required for a proposed eligible project in the renewable energy reinvestment area or must designate the area as part of an urban renewal plan or county revitalization plan and ensure that any outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities is consistent with statutory requirements. A local government cannot designate an eligible site within tribal lands without first consulting with the tribe with jurisdiction over the lands. If an eligible project is sited in a renewable energy reinvestment area, an urban renewal authority or county revitalization authority (authority) may distribute tax increment revenue to finance or reimburse costs associated with the eligible project if the renewable energy reinvestment area is included in the authority's urban renewal plan or county revitalization plan. In response to a request made by a local government or an eligible project developer for information regarding a designated renewable energy reinvestment area, a utility is required to acknowledge the request and provide the requestor readily available information within 30 days after the request is made. The Colorado energy office is required to consolidate, publish on its website, and periodically update technical and informational resources concerning the process for siting, permitting, and developing eligible projects in renewable energy reinvestment areas.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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.)
The act creates the 'Transit Investment Area Act' to facilitate the financing of transit and rail station infrastructure. Specifically, the act:Allows a local government and a transit agency to jointly undertake a transit investment project. To finance the project, the local government may apply to the Colorado economic development commission (commission) to designate a transit investment area and an approved financing entity;Authorizes the approved financing entity, which may be a newly created transit investment authority, a county revitalization authority, a metropolitan district, or an urban renewal authority, to receive state sales tax increment revenue. This revenue consists of the state sales tax collected in the designated area above a base amount, plus an additional 20% to account for out-of-area deliveries.Permits the financing entity to issue bonds and use the state sales tax increment revenue to finance eligible improvements related to the transit project;Prohibits the financing entity from using the state sales tax increment revenue to acquire property through eminent domain;Requires projects to comply with specified hiring, apprenticeship, and workforce standards;Caps the commission's approval authority at no more than 3 transit investment projects in any calendar year and no more than 6 in total and caps the total state sales tax increment revenue dedicated to all projects at $75 million per fiscal year; andAuthorizes the commission to revoke project approval if substantial work does not commence within 5 years and requires financing entities to submit annual reports and independent financial audits. The act requires the Colorado office of economic development, in consultation with the department of local affairs and the department of transportation, to publish a transit and housing investment zone map on or before October 30, 2026. The act creates the Colorado affordable housing in transit and housing investment zones tax credit (tax credit). The tax credit is administered in the same manner as the Colorado affordable housing in transit-oriented communities income tax credit; except that the tax credit is awarded in connection with housing projects in transit and housing zones. The act authorizes the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to allocate up to $8,333,333 in tax credits each calendar year beginning in the 2027 calendar year through the 2033 calendar year. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $213,349 to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)