Beginning July 1, 2023, the act grants the public employees of a county with a population of 7,500 people or more (county employees) the right to: Organize, form, join, or assist an employee organization or refrain from doing so; Engage in collective bargaining; Engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; Communicate with other county employees and with employee organization representatives and receive and distribute literature regarding employee organization issues; and Have an exclusive representative at formal discussions concerning a grievance, a personnel policy or practice, or any other condition of employment. The act clarifies that county employees may participate fully in the political process. Additionally, the act: Grants the exclusive representative of county employees the right to access county employees at work, through electronic communication, and through other means, including employee orientations; Requires counties to honor county employee authorizations for payroll deductions for the exclusive representative; Clarifies that specific rights of county employers are not impaired unless otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement; Clarifies that nothing in a collective bargaining agreement restricts or usurps the existing authority granted to county commissioners; Requires the director of the division of labor standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment (director) to enforce, interpret, apply, and administer the provisions of the act and, in doing so, to adopt rules, hold hearings, and impose administrative remedies; Authorizes the director or any party of interest to request a district court to enforce orders made pursuant to the act; Sets forth the process by which an employee organization is certified and decertified as the exclusive representative of county employees; Sets forth the process by which an appropriate bargaining unit is determined; and Requires the county and the exclusive representative to collectively bargain in good faith. The act states that the collective bargaining agreement is an agreement negotiated between an exclusive representative and a county, with the approval of the board of county commissioners of the county, that must: Be for a term of at least 12 months and not more than 60 months; and Provide a grievance procedure that culminates in final and binding arbitration. The act prohibits a collective bargaining agreement from: Delaying the prompt interviewing of county employees under investigation; Permitting a county employee to use paid time for a suspension from employment; Permitting the expungement of disciplinary records under certain circumstances; and Imposing limits on the period of time for which a county employee may be disciplined for incidents of violence. The act describes the dispute resolution process that the exclusive representative and a county must follow if an impasse arises during the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement. The act sets forth the actions taken during the collective bargaining process by a county or an exclusive representative that are unfair labor practices. To implement the act, $326,092 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of labor and employment and from that appropriation, $59,142 is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services for the department of labor and employment. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority special license plate for motor vehicles. An applicant qualifies for issuance of the license plate if the applicant is a member of the sorority and pays all required taxes and fees. In addition to the standard motor vehicle fees, the applicant must pay 2 one-time fees of $25 for issuance of the license plate. One fee is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other to the licensing services cash fund. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $27,437 is appropriated for use by the division of motor vehicles in the department of revenue (department) to implement the act, of which amount $2,129 is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, with certain exceptions, an insurance company that is formed by authority of any other state or government (foreign insurance company) may not transact business in Colorado until it has first appointed, in writing, the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) to be the true and lawful attorney of the company in and for Colorado, upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against the company may be served with the same effect as if the company existed in Colorado. However, an insurance company that maintains a home office or regional home office in Colorado is not subject to this requirement but must instead file with the commissioner the name of a person designated to receive service of process. The act removes the requirement that a foreign insurance company appoint the commissioner as its lawful attorney for receipt of service of process and instead requires each insurance company to designate a registered agent for receipt of service of process, regardless of whether the insurance company maintains a home office or regional home office in Colorado. However, service of process may be made on the commissioner if: An insurance company fails to appoint or maintain a registered agent as required; An insurance company's registered agent cannot be found with reasonable diligence; or An insurance company's certificate of authority is revoked. If an individual reasonably relies on the list of registered agents maintained by the commissioner and serves otherwise valid process on the registered agent of an insurance company so designated in the list, and it is later determined that the registered agent listed by the commissioner is not the correct registered agent properly designated by the company, then: The individual may serve process upon the commissioner; and If the individual uses due diligence to serve the commissioner, the applicable statute of limitations is tolled for the period of time beginning when the incorrect registered agent received service of process and ending when the commissioner receives service of process.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under Colorado law, the public utilities commission (PUC) regulates transportation network companies, which are commonly known as ridesharing companies, and the services they provide to ensure that the services are provided in a safe manner and that the drivers are financially responsible. Prior to the act, ridesharing companies were exempt from regulation if they provided services to a school, a school district, the federal government, a state, a political subdivision of a state, or a tax-exempt entity. The act removes this exemption. The act also requires ridesharing companies that provide school-related services and are paid by a school or school district to: Enter into a contract that includes safety provisions for student transportation; Use a technology-enabled integrated solution that provides end-to-end visibility using the global positioning system for the transportation network company, the student's legal guardian, and the person that scheduled the ride; Ensure that each driver providing the service receives training in mandatory reporting requirements, safe driving practices, first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, education on special considerations for transporting students with disabilities, emergency preparedness, and safe pick-up and drop-off procedures; and Not use a driver who has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to certain offenses. The PUC is required to coordinate with the department of education to promulgate rules implementing minimum safety standards for transportation network companies when providing services provided under a contract with a school or school district. A ridesharing company must notify the commission, the school or school district, and the student's legal guardian of any safety or security incidents that involve providing services for students to or from a school, school-related activities, or school-sanctioned activities. The commission is directed to promulgate rules implementing this requirement. In addition, the rules must require a ridesharing company to report information related to driver background checks, insurance coverage, and data reporting, consistent with the type of service provided, as it relates to service for students. The PUC must review and, if necessary, update the rules once every three years. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2021, the state received $3,828,761,790 from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund as part of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal funds). The act modifies administrative requirements established by the United States department of the treasury (treasury) related to these federal funds, which were implemented through the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund, by: Establishing deadlines for a subrecipient, which is a person that carries out a program or project on behalf of the state but is not a program or project beneficiary, to expend or obligate this money, and if not, to return this money to the state for the state to either expend or return to treasury, depending on the timing; Requiring the state controller to determine whether money has been obligated; Requiring the state controller to transmit to the treasury any money that was obligated by December 31, 2024, but not expended by December 31, 2026; Requiring the department of revenue to provide the state controller with any information about any increases in the state's net tax revenue, which is necessary for calculating the state's revenue reductions for 2022 and 2023; Clarifying that the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller apply to a person regardless of whether the person is a beneficiary or a subrecipient and regardless of whether the person receives the money directly from a department or from a subrecipient; and Permitting the state controller to report any expenditures to the treasury as a government service to the extent of the reduction in the state's revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to the revenues the state collected for the state fiscal year 2018-19. The act substitutes money from the general fund or from a cash fund that included money that originated from the general fund for allocations of the federal funds that were made in 2021, as follows: $29,894,004 from the housing development grant fund; $36.5 million from the highway users tax fund that was distributed to counties, cities, and incorporated towns; $10 million from the Colorado startup loan program fund; and $98.5 million from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund. The act transfers the following amounts from the economic recovery and relief cash fund: $70 million of federal funds to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund to be used by the executive branch for any expenditures necessary to respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19; $15 million of federal funds to the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund; $1,437,172 of federal funds to the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund; and $10 million that originated from the general fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund. House Bill 22-1409, concerning additional funding for the community revitalization grant program, required the state treasurer to transfer $20 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the community revitalization fund. The act reduces the transfer to $19,278,042, with $4,478,042 from money in the economic relief cash fund that originated from the general fund and the remainder from money in the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund that originated from the general fund. House Bill 22-1379, concerning transfers from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to provide additional funding for the management of certain natural resources, appropriated $15 million of federal funds from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the department of natural resources for use by the Colorado water conservation board. The act expands the allowable uses of this money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds educators to the list of protected persons whose personal information may be withheld from the internet if the protected person believes dissemination of such information poses an imminent and serious threat to the protected person or the safety of the protected person's immediate family. Under current law, the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA) definition of "personnel file" does not include the specific date of an educator's absence from work. The act amends the CORA definition of "personnel file" to include the specific date of an educator's absence from work. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning in the 2022-23 budget year, the act directs the department of education (department) to annually distribute to each eligible school district and each eligible institute charter school an amount of state money as a matching amount to the property tax revenue the eligible district receives from mills levied for additional revenue (override mills). To determine the amount, if any, of state matching money, the department shall annually calculate for each district: The district's maximum number of override mills; and The number of override mills the district may be expected to levy toward the district's maximum number of override mills (override mill capacity), based on the district's median household income. If a district's override mill capacity is less than the maximum number of override mills, the district is eligible to receive matching state money. The department must calculate each eligible district's mill levy match amount as provided in the act. An institute charter school that is located within an eligible district is eligible to receive a distribution of state money equal to the eligible district's per pupil mill levy match amount multiplied by the institute charter school's pupil enrollment. The department must calculate and distribute in June of each budget year the mill levy match amounts from the mill levy override match fund (fund) created in the act. The act transfers $10 million from the general fund to the fund for the 2022-23 budget year. For the 2022-23 budget year, the act appropriates $10,041,238 to the department to implement the act, $10 million of which is from the fund and $41,238 of which is from the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a district charter school or an institute charter school, upon approval of the authorizing school district board of education or the state charter school institute (CSI), respectively, to develop and administer an enrollment preference plan to give enrollment preference to children with disabilities. In exercising the enrollment preference plan for children with disabilities, a district charter school and an institute charter school shall ensure compliance with the obligation to provide a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment pursuant to the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act". A district charter school or an institute charter school may allow parents to voluntarily provide information regarding the existence of a child's disability. The act allows the department of education (department) to designate a charter school network or charter school collaborative that meets specified criteria as an administrative unit for the purpose of providing special education services to children with disabilities. If the department designates a charter school network or charter school collaborative as an administrative unit, a district charter school or institute charter school that is within the charter school network or is participating in the charter school collaborative is required to amend its district charter contract or institute charter contract, respectively, to reflect that the district charter school or institute charter school is participating in the administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative. If the parents of a child with a disability remove the child from enrollment in the alternative administrative unit in which a district charter school or institute charter school participates after the annual count date to determine state funding for children with disabilities, that alternative administrative unit continues to be deemed the child's administrative unit of residence for the remainder of the school year and may be required to pay the tuition charge for excess costs to the administrative unit of attendance that enrolls the child for the remainder of the school year. The act further clarifies provisions concerning the payment of tuition for excess costs when a child with a disability is enrolled in a district charter school or institute charter school that participates in an alternative administrative unit that is a charter school network or charter school collaborative. The act further clarifies that if a child with a disability who is enrolled in an alternative administrative unit is placed by an IEP team in an approved facility school or other private setting for special education purpose, the child continues to be enrolled in the alternative administrative unit until certain circumstances occur. The act allows a district charter school or an institute charter school, upon the department's approval of the administrative unit of a charter school network or charter school collaborative, to enter into an agreement to participate in the existing alternative administrative unit. After the department approves an application for the reorganization of the administrative unit to include the district charter school, the district charter school is required to amend its district charter contract to reflect that the district charter school is participating in the existing alternative administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative. The institute charter school is required to amend its institute charter contract to reflect that the institute charter school is participating in the existing alternative administrative unit of the charter school network or charter school collaborative. The act allows a district charter school, upon approval of the CSI, to enter into an agreement with the CSI to participate in the CSI's administrative unit. After the department approves an application for the reorganization of the CSI's administrative unit to include the district charter school, the district charter school is required to amend its charter contract to reflect that it is participating in the CSI's administrative unit. The act clarifies that a school district or the CSI shall not require a district charter school or an institute charter school, respectively, to participate in an alternative administrative unit as a condition of approval of its application or approval or renewal of its contract with the school district or the CSI. The act specifies that a charter school collaborative may provide special education and related services to participating schools as authorized by the contract creating the charter school collaborative. Participating charter schools of the charter school collaborative shall share costs and financial support for special education and related services. The act clarifies that a district charter school is not required to pay its authorizing school district for federally required educational services that are not available to the district charter school. The act appropriates $375,000 from the general fund to the department for use by the CSI to distribute to eligible institute charter schools. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires: The department of higher education (department), in consultation with state institutions of higher education (institutions) and a business organization or industry representative, to develop and implement a process that encourages institutions to identify incremental achievements on the path to degree completion, organize stackable credentials, and identify how credentials may be evaluated and then may become stacked into stackable credential pathways to provide increased access to employment and may result in a degree; The department to facilitate the creation of stackable credential pathways for at least 3 growing industries by January 1, 2024, and at least 2 more growing industries by January 1, 2025; The general assembly to appropriate $1 million to the department from the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund for the 2022-23 fiscal year; and The department of higher education to submit a report to the education committees regarding implementation of the act that includes data collected by institutions to measure the total number of credits, credentials, certificates, and professional licenses earned in each pathway at each institution and the funding allocated and distributed to implement the act. The act requires the department to allocate and disburse funds to community and technical colleges and local district colleges to fund student access to nondegree credential programs. The general assembly is required to appropriate $1.8 million to the department for this purpose for the 2022-23 fiscal year. The act requires the general assembly to appropriate $800,000 to the department of education for the adult education and literacy grant program for the 2022-23 fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the requirement that an institution of higher education (institution) must classify a student, other than a nonimmigrant alien, as an in-state student for tuition purposes if the student has attended a Colorado high school for 3 years and been admitted to college within 12 months of graduating or completing an equivalency examination. Instead, the act requires an institution to classify a student as an in-state student for tuition purposes if the student: Either attended a public or private high school for one year immediately preceding the date the student graduated from a Colorado high school or was physically present in Colorado for at least one year immediately preceding the date the student successfully completed a high school equivalency examination in Colorado; and Has been physically present in Colorado for at least 12 consecutive months prior to enrolling in an institution. The act clarifies that a student who is classified as an in-state student because the student meets the requirements in the act is an in-state student for the purposes of determining whether an institution meets the minimum required percentage of in-state students in an incoming freshman class. Because the act repeals the requirement to be admitted to college within 12 months of graduation, the act also repeals the exception to that requirement for a student who does not have lawful immigration status and graduated or successfully completed the equivalency examination prior to September 1, 2013. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires all public higher education institutions (institutions) in Colorado to provide to Colorado resident students who have been in foster care or, following an adjudication as neglected or dependent, in noncertified kinship care in Colorado at any time on or after reaching the age of 13 (qualifying students), financial assistance for the remaining balance of the student's total cost of attendance in excess of the amount of any private, state, or federal financial assistance received by the student (remaining balance financial assistance). Subject to available appropriations, the act requires the Colorado commission on higher education to provide to an institution money to cover 50 percent of the remaining balance financial assistance provided by the institution to qualifying students. The institutions are required to designate an employee to serve as a liaison to qualifying and prospective qualifying students. The act requires the department of higher education to designate four full-time equivalent employees as foster care student navigators to provide guidance to prospective qualifying students with selecting institutions and programs and to assist students with completing an institution's application for admission, the free application for federal student aid, and, if eligible, the application for a Chafee ETV grant. School district and state charter school institute child welfare education liaisons are required to provide students in out-of-home placement with information and assistance regarding remaining balance financial assistance for qualifying students. The act appropriates $2,610,575 from the general fund to the department of higher education for aid for foster students. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates in the department of higher education (department) the inclusive higher education grant program to provide grants to state institutions of higher education for the purpose of establishing, or expanding existing, inclusive higher education programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The act requires the department to contract with an organization that has demonstrated success in assisting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attend institutions of higher education to administer the grant program, perform annual evaluations of the grant recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. The act appropriates $450,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
