SB 25-144: Change Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Prog - Colorado

Revised (04/24/2025) → PA1 (02/26/2025) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Act to extend leave eligibility for parents of newborns in neonatal intensive care units and adjusts premium rates for future years. The changes affect how long parents can take leave and how the program is funded going forward.

Scope change

The bill expands eligibility for additional paid leave from four weeks to twelve weeks for parents with children receiving inpatient care in neonatal intensive care units, effective for claims on or after January 1, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Extended paid family and medical leave from four weeks to twelve weeks for parents whose children are receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit, effective for claims arising on or after January 1, 2026.

FISCAL

Changed premium rate structure: from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, the premium is 88/100% (88 hundredths) of wages per employee, down from the previous 90/100% rate.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement that the director must adopt premium rates by rule for future calendar years, with specific criteria including maintaining fund balance of at least six months' worth of projected expenditures and minimizing premium rate volatility.

Added cap that premium rates shall not exceed 1.2% (one and two-tenths of one percent) of wages per employee.

TIMELINE

Added requirement that the division provide public notice in advance of January 1st of any premium changes.

Rerevised (04/25/2025) → Revised (04/24/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text shows formatting and metadata updates rather than substantive policy changes. The header was updated from 'REREVISED' to 'REVISED' with a slightly modified description of the amendment status. The House sponsorship list was truncated, removing several co-sponsors, while the Senate sponsorship remained unchanged. The reading status line was removed, indicating the bill is no longer marked as '3rd Reading Unamended'.

TECHNICAL

Removed the '3rd Reading Unamended' date stamp from the header, indicating the bill's procedural status was updated or the document version was reset.

Updated the document header description from 'REREVISED' to 'REVISED' with a slightly altered phrase regarding amendments adopted on second reading.

Removed seven House co-sponsors (Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Brown, Camacho, Duran, Froelich, Garcia, Hamrick, Jackson, Joseph, Lieder, Lindsay, Lukens, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Smith, Stewart K., Stewart R., Story) from the House sponsorship list, leaving only Willford and Zokaie.

PA2 (04/21/2025) → Rerevised (04/25/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to include all amendments adopted in the Second House, expanding the list of House sponsors and adding a '3rd Reading Unamended' status. The substantive content regarding premium rates and effective dates was removed, suggesting this version represents a different stage of the legislative process where certain sections were deleted or replaced.

Scope change

The bill's scope appears to have been significantly altered as sections 2 and 3 regarding premium rates and effective dates were removed, though the exact replacement content is not shown in this diff.

REQUIREMENT

Removed provisions limiting premium rates to 1.2% of wages and public notice requirements for premium changes

TIMELINE

Removed the 90-day petition period and referendum provisions regarding effective date

TECHNICAL

Added House sponsorship names and reading status information

Changed document status from 'PREAMENDED' to 'REREVISED' to reflect all adopted amendments

Final Act (05/02/2025) → PA2 (04/21/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Colorado's paid family and medical leave program by extending leave duration for parents of newborns in NICU care and adjusting premium rates. The key changes increase available leave from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for specific situations and temporarily lower the premium rate for 2026 before returning to a formula-based system.

Scope change

The bill expands eligibility for additional leave benefits to parents whose children require NICU care, and modifies the premium financing structure for the program.

ELIGIBILITY

Added eligibility for an additional 12 weeks of paid leave for parents with children receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit, effective January 1, 2026

FISCAL

Changed the premium rate from 0.9% to 0.88% of wages for the 2026 calendar year, before reverting to a formula-based calculation for 2027 and beyond

TIMELINE

Extended the maximum total leave duration from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for qualifying circumstances

TECHNICAL

Updated bill formatting and sponsorship information to reflect current legislative session status

Signed Act (05/30/2025) → Final Act (05/02/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act to increase the maximum leave duration from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for certain circumstances. It also adjusts premium rates for 2025 and 2026, correcting a typo in the 2025 rate and establishing a fixed 0.88% premium rate for 2026 before the standard formula takes effect in 2027.

Scope change

The bill expands eligibility for additional paid leave by adding a specific provision for parents whose children require inpatient neonatal intensive care.

ELIGIBILITY

Increased maximum paid leave from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for individuals with serious health conditions related to pregnancy complications or childbirth.

Added new eligibility provision granting an additional 12 weeks of paid leave for covered individuals whose children receive inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit.

FISCAL

Corrected a typo in the 2025 premium rate from 'one hundred thirty-fivc percent' to 'one hundred thirty-five percent' and established a fixed 0.88% premium rate for 2026.

TIMELINE

Clarified that the standard premium rate formula applies to claims arising on or after January 1, 2026, with the fixed 0.88% rate applying through December 31, 2026.

Reengrossed (03/19/2025) → Signed Act (05/30/2025) · 4 edits · May 30, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act to extend benefit duration and adjust premium rates. The changes increase available leave weeks for specific situations and establish a fixed premium rate for 2026 before transitioning to an annually calculated rate starting in 2027.

Scope change

The bill applies to paid family and medical leave claimed on or after the act's effective date, which is contingent on a potential referendum petition process.

ELIGIBILITY

Extended maximum paid leave from 12 weeks to 16 weeks for pregnancy complications or childbirth complications, and added 12 weeks for children receiving inpatient care in neonatal intensive care units, effective for claims on or after January 1, 2026.

FISCAL

Set a fixed premium rate of 0.88% of wages per employee for the 2026 calendar year, replacing the previous 0.9% rate.

TIMELINE

Established that starting in 2027, the premium rate will be annually calculated by the director to maintain fund solvency while minimizing rate volatility and capping the rate at 1.2% of wages.

REQUIREMENT

Removed a requirement for the department to issue full refunds to employers who were overcharged premiums due to miscalculations or program errors.

Engrossed (03/18/2025) → Reengrossed (03/19/2025) · 4 edits · Mar 19, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to include additional Senate sponsors and updated the bill summary note to indicate it is now available at third reading unamended. The effective date section and applicability provisions were removed from the text, which may indicate these provisions were moved to a different section or the text was restructured.

Scope change

The bill's scope or applicability appears unchanged in substance, but the effective date and applicability sections were removed from this version, suggesting a structural reorganization of the text.

TECHNICAL

Added five new Senate sponsors (Amabile, Coleman, Cutter, Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Michaelson, Jenet, Snyder, Sullivan, Weissman) to the bill sponsorship list.

Updated the bill summary note to indicate the reengrossed version is available at third reading unamended, dated March 19, 2025.

TIMELINE

Removed Section 3 which contained the effective date (90 days after final adjournment) and referendum petition provisions.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed Section 3(2) which stated the act applies to paid family and medical leave claimed on or after the applicable effective date.

Introduced (02/05/2025) → Engrossed (03/18/2025) · 3 edits · Mar 19, 2025

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify eligibility for extended paid leave for parents of infants in neonatal intensive care units, adjust premium calculation deadlines, and add requirements for refunding overcharged premiums to employers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to clarify that extended leave benefits apply to parents of children receiving inpatient care in neonatal intensive care units, and new refund requirements were added for employers.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that the additional 12 weeks of paid leave applies to parents whose children are receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit for the duration of that care.

TIMELINE

Changed the deadline for the director to adopt premium rates for future calendar years from November 1 to September 1 of the preceding year.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that the department must issue full refunds to employers who were overcharged premiums due to miscalculations or program errors before implementing any premium rate adjustments.

Change Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance Prog

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