The act requires a school district that is considering submitting to its voters a ballot question concerning capital construction to solicit proposals from its charter schools about their capital construction needs. The act specifies the solicitation process requirements and requires the school district to notify a charter school that submitted a proposal whether the school district will include the charter school's capital construction needs in the school district's ballot question or questions. If the school district decides not to include the charter school's capital construction needs in the ballot question, the notification must include the school district's reasons for the exclusion and must include an opportunity for the charter school to address issues raised by the school district. If the school district and charter school mutually agree to the content of the charter school's proposal, a school district that voluntarily submits to its voters a ballot question for the charter school's capital construction needs is not required to comply with the required solicitation process.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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.)
This 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 implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its 2025 sunset review of the 'Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act' (PACFA) as follows:Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the commissioner of agriculture's (commissioner) function of licensing pet animal facilities in accordance with the PACFA for 8 years, until 2034;Section 3 amends the PACFA's pet animal advisory committee (committee) membership structure by requiring the commissioner, on or before December 1, 2026, to appoint 15 members with certain specifications. Section 3 also specifies that members appointed to the committee on or before December 1, 2026, may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms of 4 years.Section 4 prohibits the importation of certain pet animals into the state without a valid certificate of veterinary inspection by an accredited veterinarian in the state of origin issued within 10 days prior to the pet animal's arrival in Colorado;Section 5 increases the current maximum fee amount of $700 for a pet animal facility license application to $1,500;Section 6 raises the maximum civil penalty amount for a violation of the PACFA or of a rule adopted pursuant to the PACFA from $1,000 per violation to $2,500 per violation;Section 7 states that a person that chooses to request a hearing in response to a cease-and-desist order issued by the commissioner for a violation of the PACFA or of a rule adopted pursuant to the PACFA must do so within 30 days after the issuance of the cease-and-desist order;Section 8 requires the commissioner to develop an administrative process for an interested person to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule by the commissioner;Section 9 amends House Bill 26-1011 concerning the transfer of certain pet animals in Colorado, by clarifying that the prohibition on a broker selling, leasing, offering to sell or lease, bartering, auctioning, or otherwise transferring ownership of a dog or cat does not apply to the sale, transfer, or adoption of a dog or cat to or by a pet store prior to January 1, 2028; andSection 10 relocates the statute that establishes the pet overpopulation authority (authority) so the authority is no longer subject to sunset review as part of the PACFA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning June 1, 2027, a person convicted for the first time of certain offenses related to driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is required to hold an interlock-restricted license for a consecutive period of nine months following reinstatement of the person's driver's license prior to being eligible to obtain any other driver's license, except in limited circumstances. If a person's driving privileges have been revoked for one year or more because of a refusal related to certain offenses related to driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, current law authorizes the person to apply for early reinstatement with an interlock-restricted license after the driving privilege has been revoked for 2 months. Beginning June 1, 2027, the 2-month waiting period is repealed. Under current law, a financial assistance program (assistance program) is available to assist people who apply for an interlock-restricted license and are unable to pay the full cost of an approved ignition interlock device. The act restricts eligibility for the program to those who satisfy certain income criteria. A certified ignition interlock manufacturer (manufacturer) must provide a person who is eligible for the assistance program certain discounts on installation of, lease charges for, and removal of an interlock device. The manufacturer must provide certain information regarding the assistance program at the time the interlock device installation appointment is scheduled and when a person executes an interlock device lease or service agreement. The act appropriates $15,225 to the department of revenue to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires an operator of a social media platform (operator) to ensure that its social media platform provides a streamlined process to allow law enforcement agencies to contact the social media platform. The process must be available to law enforcement agencies at all times and make available a staffed hotline for the purposes of:Receiving and responding to questions about search warrants;Acknowledging the receipt of a search warrant within 8 hours after receipt; andProviding status updates on search warrant compliance to a requesting law enforcement agency. With certain exceptions, an operator must comply with a search warrant within 24 hours if certain conditions apply. A court may reasonably extend this time if the court makes a written finding that the operator or social media platform has shown good cause for the extension and that an extension would not cause an adverse result. The act sets forth enforcement options for the attorney general and district attorneys regarding operators' compliance with search warrants. The act requires an operator to report to a social media platform user's (user's) local law enforcement agency within 24 hours if the operator's social media platform takes any one of certain described adverse actions against a user. A violation of the reporting requirement is a violation of the 'Colorado Consumer Protection Act'. In current law, 'social media platform' is defined as an internet-based service, website, or application that satisfies certain criteria, including having more than 100,000 active users in Colorado. The act removes this criterion. The act makes conforming amendments as necessary to Senate Bill 26-011, as enacted in the 2026 regular legislative session, to have Senate Bill 26-011 conform with the provisions of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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 creates a jury selection working group (working group) in the judicial department to identify best practices and make recommendations for statutory or rule changes to improve jury selection. The act details the working group's membership and duties, and requires the working group to submit a final report of the working group's recommendations to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and the senate and to each supreme court justice. If recommendations for rule changes are made, the Colorado supreme court shall respond to the recommendations and post the response on its website for public access.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
HB 1306 creates a special Colorado license plate for vehicles, requiring owners to pay a $50 initial donation to the Wild Horse Fund and a $25 one-time fee to obtain the plate. To renew the plate annually, owners must make an additional $25 donation to the fund. All collected funds support the state’s wild horse population management program, as specified in the bill. This option is available to any Colorado resident who qualifies for standard vehicle registration.
The act extends for an additional 10 years the availability of the state income tax credit allowed to a taxpayer who makes a qualifying monetary contribution to promote child care in the state equal to 50% of the total value of the contribution, not to exceed $100,000, through income tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2038.(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 clarifies the conduct by which a person can commit criminally negligent homicide to include proximately causing the death of another person while operating or driving a motor vehicle with criminal negligence. The act repeals the class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense of a person being the proximate cause of death to another person while driving a motor vehicle, while clarifying it can be charged as a class 5 felony elsewhere in statute.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
