Budget & Taxes

The act increases funding for county child abuse prevention services and programs by changing the source of reimbursement money transmitted to the Colorado child abuse prevention trust fund (trust fund) from money received for all prevention services and programs identified in the federal Title IV-E clearinghouse (prevention services clearinghouse) to money received by the Colorado department of early childhood and identified in the prevention services clearinghouse.     The act continues the trust fund and Colorado child abuse prevention board indefinitely.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the general assembly anticipates that the department of human services will receive $150,000 in federal funds to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) is a nonprofit institution with experience administering clean energy financing programs and is the designated green bank for the federal environmental protection agency's region 8. The CCEF administers an on-bill repayment program (program) to help finance certain energy-related upgrades installed at a utility customer's premises that are associated with the utility meter. Under the program, in partnership with Colorado-based utilities, the CCEF finances energy-related upgrades that are then repaid through a customer's monthly utility bill payments.     The bill directs the state treasurer to, on August 15, 2026, execute a loan agreement with the CCEF for a low-interest loan of $50 million from the unclaimed property trust fund.The purpose of the loan is to capitalize and expand the CCEF's on-bill repayment program and to accelerate utility adoption of the program.     The Colorado energy office is required to review the design of the program before August 1, 2026. The bill specifies certain requirements for the program and for a utility to access the funding for the program, including requirements related to disclosures, notices, transfers of responsibility for an on-bill repayment obligation, and interest rates.     The CCEF is required to submit annual reports to the joint budget committee, the Colorado energy office, and the state treasurer detailing the deployment of the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act authorizes the clean fleet enterprise (enterprise) to incentivize, support, and accelerate the replacement of a truck that is part of a fleet and that is powered by a diesel-fueled internal combustion engine, is a model year of 2009 or earlier, and is registered, operable, and capable of independent roadway operation (aging diesel truck) with a diesel truck that is a model year of 2018 or later (new diesel truck) until December 31, 2031. The act also allows the enterprise to provide funding or financing through grant programs, rebate programs, revolving loan funds, or other strategies to help owners and operators of aging diesel truck fleets finance the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks to reduce the up-front costs of acquiring new diesel trucks until December 31, 2031.     The enterprise may use the clean fleet enterprise fund to provide money to support the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, but the enterprise is required to ensure that it does not expend more than 20% of the fund's income during a state fiscal year for the support.     To qualify for any money provided by the enterprise for the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, the act requires a purchaser of the new diesel truck to surrender an aging diesel truck to the seller of the new truck. The seller of the new diesel truck must decommission the aging diesel truck by drilling a hole in the engine's block and cutting the chassis rails in half. The seller must be an authorized dealer of new diesel trucks who must certify that the new diesel truck meets all state and federal emissions and safety standards for its model year.     The enterprise must prioritize applications to replace aging diesel trucks from businesses that are privately owned, independently owned, or have limited access to capital. The enterprise is not allowed to accept an application from the owner or operator of a motor vehicle fleet that owns, leases, or operates more than 50 heavy-duty motor vehicles or from a business entity with annual gross revenue exceeding $100 million. The enterprise is required to prioritize the replacement of an aging diesel truck that has a model year of no later than 2006.     The act expands the business purpose of the enterprise to include providing incentives and support for refrigerated transport units powered by zero emission technology. The act allows the enterprise to exercise its rights and powers without regard to the state 'Procurement Code'.     The act requires the enterprise to annually prepare a report that includes the estimated pollution reduction benefits of the enterprise. The enterprise must seek to ensure that all projects funded by the enterprise achieve measurable results and outcomes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill establishes the adult mental health services program (program) to facilitate access for adults to mental health services, including substance use disorder services, and to respond to identified mental health needs. The program reimburses providers for up to 6 mental health sessions with an adult and may provide additional reimbursement, subject to available money. The adult mental health program enterprise (enterprise), created in the bill, creates, operates, and funds the program. The enterprise is required to enter into an agreement with a vendor to create or use an existing website or web-based application as a portal that is available to adults and providers to facilitate the program. The department of human services is required to annually report to the general assembly about the program.The bill establishes the internet-enabled mental health access grant program (grant program) to award grants to entities that use the internet to facilitate mental health services. The enterprise administers the grant program. The enterprise shall annually report to the health and human services committees of the house of representatives and the senate about the grant program.The bill creates the mental health services enterprise as a government-owned business within the behavioral health administration for the business purpose of imposing and collecting a surcharge on internet service account holders in Colorado and to use the surcharge revenue to create, operate, and fund the adult mental health services program and internet-enabled mental health access grant program. Each internet service provider shall collect from its account holders located in Colorado the mental health services access surcharge and remit the surcharge to the enterprise.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)