The act repeals the requirement for the department of higher education to contract for the use of an online platform by institutions of higher education in Colorado that assists students in accessing public benefits.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the pay for success contracts program administered by the office of economic development and eliminates the pay for success contracts fund (fund) and the pay for success contracts account (account). The state treasurer must transfer all of the money in the fund and the account to the general fund on June 30, 2026.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act reduces by $5.2 million the appropriation for the Colorado academic accelerator grant program for the 2023-24 state fiscal year, which is available for expenditure through the 2026-27 state fiscal year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires most state agencies and institutions of higher education that receive an appropriation for capital construction to set aside an amount of money equal to the recorded depreciation of the capital asset that was acquired, repaired, improved, replaced, renovated, or constructed with the appropriation (annual depreciation-lease equivalent payment) to pay for the long-term maintenance costs of the capital asset. Currently, the money that state agencies or institutions of higher education set aside for maintenance costs is credited to the capitol complex renovation fund. The act repeals the annual depreciation-lease equivalent payment requirement. Currently, the department of personnel uses the money in the capitol complex renovation fund (fund) for capital construction needs for existing state-owned buildings in the capitol complex. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $15,263,000 from the fund to the general fund on June 30, 2026. The act also requires the state treasurer to transfer the remaining balance of the fund on June 30, 2027, to the general fund and then repeals the fund. In addition, the act repeals a reporting requirement in connection with the use of the money in the fund. The act also repeals the capitol complex master plan implementation fund, including its ongoing transfers to the fund. The act decreases multiple cash fund and general fund appropriations made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to various state departments for annual depreciation-lease equivalent payments.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2025, the general assembly authorized the department of the treasury (department) to sell insurance premium tax credits (tax credits) to insurance companies that incur state premium tax liability. The act allows the department, following the department's application process for insurance companies to purchase tax credits from the department, to sell tax credits to other entities that contract with the department. An entity that contracts with the department to purchase tax credits may transfer the tax credits once to an insurance company. The insurance company is not permitted to further transfer the tax credits following the transfer to the insurance company.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning on or before July 1, 2028, the act extends certain application, accounting, and notice provisions already in place for federal survivor benefits awarded to a child or youth who is in foster care (child or youth) to federal supplemental security income benefits (SSI), which are monthly payments awarded to a child or youth with a disability and limited resources. The act adds requirements for a county department of human or social services (county department) to follow specified procedures for identifying a child or youth with a disability who may qualify for SSI and for documenting the disability. If the county department determines that a child or youth may be eligible to receive SSI, the county department is required to initiate the application process within 45 days after receiving certain information. If a child or youth is receiving SSI, the county department must document how the money is spent in the state's child welfare case management system. If legal custody of a child or youth receiving SSI or federal survivor benefits is transferring from a county department to another individual, the act requires the county department to reassess the designation of the representative payee or fiduciary receiving and managing federal benefits on behalf of the child or youth. The reassessment must be performed in consultation with interested parties and in compliance with federal requirements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes a local government or a special district (local government) to enter into an agreement with one or more entities for the purpose of providing the local government with service from a thermal energy network. A local government that is authorized by law to issue bonds may issue bonds for the purpose of financing thermal energy infrastructure, interconnections, or customer connections within the jurisdiction of the local government. The act increases the net electric generating capacity of a community geothermal garden from 5 megawatts to 25 megawatts. The act requires the Colorado energy and carbon management commission (commission) and the Colorado geological survey to collect data and information related to geological resources in the state. The commission shall make recommendations to encourage safe and effective development of geothermal resources and report those recommendations to the general assembly on or before November 15, 2026. The act requires investor-owned electric utilities (utilities) to identify small-scale geothermal projects and large-scale geothermal projects (geothermal projects). The utility must solicit proposals for the development of small-scale geothermal projects of up to 25 megawatts of net electric generating capacity and large-scale geothermal projects that are greater than 25 megawatts of net electric generating capacity. The utility shall submit applications for the development of the geothermal projects to the public utilities commission if the utility receives a bid in response to the request for proposals. The public utilities commission must review the application and approve, conditionally approve, deny, or modify the application within 120 days after receiving the application.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Risk assessments assess a parolee's criminogenic needs and risk of recidivism and are used to guide parole supervision planning, identify appropriate interventions, and establish parole supervision levels or categories. The act requires the department of corrections (department) to establish a risk assessment quality review team to develop policies and implement practices that determine whether risk assessments are completed accurately and consistently and to ensure a sustained process of review and training. For its 'SMART Act' hearing beginning in 2027, and each year thereafter, the department is required to include information concerning reviewed risk assessments, including findings and measures implemented to mitigate recent high error rates in risk assessments. The act clarifies that risk assessment outputs are criminal justice records for purposes of public inspection. The act prohibits an agreement that prohibits the disclosure of information in a risk assessment output that is subject to disclosure under the law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act expands the definitions of 'grandparent' and 'great-grandparent' in the context of court-ordered family time to account for situations in which the child's father or mother is deceased. To align with changes enacted in 2023 that address kinship and relative placements more broadly, the act repeals language specific to grandparent placements in child welfare cases and the types of evidence a court considers in connection with a grandparent's past abusive or neglectful conduct. When a child or youth is removed from the home, the act requires the court to prioritize the child's or youth's temporary placement with a relative or kin, unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that temporary placement with the relative or kin is not in the best interests of the child.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes the following changes to the legislative department cash fund (fund):Transfers $12,674,766 from the fund to the general fund;Establishes a fund limit, equal to $8 million for the state fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2025, and, thereafter, adjusts the fund limit proportionally with the percentage change in total general fund appropriations for the legislative branch;Limits reversion of unexpended appropriations to the fund to prevent the balance from exceeding the fund limit and annually transfers any portion of the fund that exceeds the balance to the general fund;Excludes money in the congressional redistricting and legislative redistricting accounts (redistricting accounts) and gifts, grants, and donations in the fund from any calculations related to the fund limit;Codifies that any money received related to public records requests is deposited into the fund and that the house of representatives, the senate, and the legislative service agencies are authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations; andClarifies that the interest and income in the redistricting accounts in the fund are transferred to the general fund, along with other interest and income from the fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows an injured person to bring a cause of action for claims of injury caused by sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (efforts) against a licensed mental health professional and allows the cause of action to be commenced at any time without limitation. Specifically, the act applies to a civil cause of action brought against a licensed mental health professional who seeks to direct a patient toward a predetermined sexual orientation or gender identity outcome or eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of a particular sex or gender. The act permits the injured individual, or the individual's personal representative or estate if the individual is deceased, to recover economic, noneconomic, and exemplary damages, and any other damages deemed appropriate by the court. A cause of action may be brought as a survival action within 5 years after the death of the person who underwent efforts.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, each subscriber to a community solar garden receives a net metering credit to their electric bill. The community solar subscriber organization can choose between a fixed bill credit or a bill credit that is adjusted annually. The act states that, on and after October 1, 2026, a subscriber organization may choose a fixed bill credit for the subscriber organization's income-qualified subscribers and a bill credit that changes annually for the subscriber organization's other customers. The public utility providing the bill credit must adjust the fixed bill credit annually to ensure that the credit remains aligned with changes in electricity rates over time. A public utility is permitted under current law to recover its prudently incurred costs to facilitate a timely interconnection of a distributed energy resource. The act prohibits a public utility from requiring an interconnection customer to pay the costs associated with interconnection facilities and upgrades until 30 days before the public utility incurs the costs. The act allows a public utility to require an interconnection customer to provide security for the estimated full costs of interconnection at the time of mutual execution of an interconnection agreement. The act requires a public utility with more than 500,000 customers in the state to, on or before August 15, 2026, convene a working group to accelerate distributed generation interconnection. The working group is tasked with discussing, if applicable, a cluster and batch study process for interconnection studies and a process for the public utility to accept a surety bond for interconnection upgrade work. The working group is also directed to discuss, and the public utility is required to implement, a process for third-party interconnection studies and upgrades. On or before December 15, 2026, the public utility is required to file a notice with the public utilities commission (commission) that includes a report on any recommendations of the working group. The public utility is directed to make appropriate filings to implement any recommendations of the working group that require commission approval on or before January 1, 2027. The act specifies that any interconnection upgrades and related utility construction work performed by a contracted third party must meet applicable safety, reliability, labor, and technical standards. The act amends the definition of 'dispatchable distributed generation' and requires the commission to evaluate the size of off-site renewable distributed generation or storage facility and installation limitations as part of a future renewable energy standard compliance plan.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
