For civil actions filed on or after January 1, 2025, the act increases the cap on damages for noneconomic loss or injury from $250,000 to $1.5 million, and, starting January 1, 2028, and every 2 years thereafter, adjusts the damages cap based on inflation. Current law specifies who may sue for wrongful death. The act adds a sibling of the deceased as a party who may bring a wrongful death action in certain circumstances. The act imposes a wrongful death damages cap of $2.125 million, and, starting January 1, 2028, and every 2 years thereafter, adjusts the damages cap based on inflation. Beginning January 1, 2025, the act incrementally increases the medical malpractice wrongful death damages limitation to $1.575 million over the course of 5 years. Thereafter, the cap is adjusted biennially for inflation. Existing law limits the amount recoverable for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice actions to $300,000. Beginning January 1, 2025, the act incrementally increases the noneconomic damages limitation to $875,000 over the course of 5 years. Thereafter, the cap is adjusted biennially for inflation. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act clarifies that venue for filing a motion or complaint for a civil protection order is proper in any county where any one of the acts or behaviors that are subject to the motion or complaint occurred. The act authorizes a judge or magistrate to continue the temporary protection order for a period of not more than one year after the date when the permanent protection order hearing takes place. If the temporary protection order is continued for one year and the petitioner seeks a permanent protection order, the act requires the petitioner to file a motion at least 14 days before the scheduled hearing notifying the court and the respondent of the petitioner's intent to pursue a permanent protection order on the date of the scheduled hearing. The act requires the court to encourage the petitioner to notify the respondent if the petitioner intends not to appear at the permanent protection order hearing, but the court shall neither require the petitioner to attend nor assess attorney fees or costs against the petitioner for choosing not to attend the hearing. The act prohibits service upon the respondent and upon the person to be protected if the temporary protection order is denied or if the petitioner moves to vacate the temporary protection order prior to the court receiving confirmation that the respondent was personally served or had actual knowledge of the request for a civil protection order. If the temporary protection order is based in whole or in part on an act of domestic violence, and the act of domestic violence involved the threat of use of physical force, use of physical force, or attempted use of physical force, the act requires the citation to inform the respondent that the respondent must refrain from possessing or purchasing a firearm or ammunition for the duration of the order and must relinquish, for the duration of the order, a firearm or ammunition in the respondent's immediate possession or control or subject to the respondent's immediate possession or control. The act requires the court to grant additional continuances at the petitioner's request if the petitioner is unable to serve the respondent and if the petitioner is able to show the petitioner has made reasonable efforts to serve the respondent or that the respondent is evading service. The act clarifies that a municipal court shall include in the order a provision awarding temporary care and control of any joint or shared minor children of the parties involved for a period of not more than one year after the date on which the temporary care and control is awarded in the temporary protection order. If there is no pending or existing domestic relations or juvenile case in district court involving joint or shared children, the act prohibits the petitioner from being required or instructed to file a complaint for a protection order in district court when the petitioner is otherwise eligible to file for a civil protection order in county court. The act requires temporary protection orders and permanent protection orders to be written and communicated in simple and plain language. The act requires a judge to order a temporary protection order be made permanent if the judge finds that the respondent engaged in a behavior constituting grounds for the issuance of a civil protection order on the basis of sexual violence and that a risk or threat of physical harm or the threat of psychological or emotional harm exists to the petitioner. The act prohibits the court from awarding any costs or assessing any fees, including attorney fees, against a petitioner seeking a civil protection order. The act prohibits a state or public agency from assessing fees for service of process against a petitioner seeking a civil protection order as a victim of domestic abuse, domestic violence, stalking, or sexual violence. As part of a request for a temporary or permanent protection order in a case involving domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking, the act authorizes the court to enter an order directing a wireless telephone service provider to transfer the financial responsibility for and rights to a wireless telephone number to the petitioner if the petitioner: Is not the account holder; and Proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner and any minor children in the petitioner's care are the primary users of each wireless telephone number that the petitioner requested be transferred. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act states that a court shall not delay permanency planning for a child or youth for purposes of maintaining financial support for a kinship foster care home or a non-certified kinship foster care home, unless there are exceptional circumstances as approved by the court. Prior to transferring temporary legal custody of a child or youth to a relative or kin, the court shall make findings that the relative or kin was advised regarding the differences between kinship foster care and non-certified kinship care, including, but not limited to, financial assistance, custody requirements, and long-term financial support options. The act allows the state department of human services (state department) to promulgate rules to modify the requirements for kinship foster care homes, including training topics for kinship foster care certification. Emergency financial assistance for a kinship foster care home is expanded to include goods needed for the child's basic care, including beds, clothing, and transportation costs, and limited rental or housing assistance not to exceed a 60-day subsidy. The act clarifies the definitions regarding foster care homes, kinship foster care homes (kinship home), and non-certified kinship foster care homes (non-certified kinship home). A kinship home is a home that has been certified by a county department of human or social services (county department) a child placement agency to provide 24-hour care for relatives or kin who are less than 21 years of age. A kinship home is eligible for the same foster care reimbursement, assistance, and other supports as foster care homes. "Kinship foster care home" does not include a non-certified kinship home. A non-certified kinship home means a relative or kin who has a significant relationship with the child or youth and who has either chosen not to pursue the certification process or who has not met the certification requirements for a kinship home. The act formally establishes the process by which a kinship home may apply for certification from a county department or child placement agency. A county department or child placement agency, upon the completion of the required background checks, may issue a one-time provisional certificate for a period of 6 months to an applicant at a specific location who is requesting provisional certification, if requested by the applicant. If the applicant completes the required background checks, the county department or child placement agency shall make payment beginning with the completion of the fingerprint background check. The county department or child placement agency shall complete the certification process within the timelines promulgated by rule of the state board of human services. The applicant has the right to appeal any denial of certification. The state department, a county department, or a child placement agency has the right to revoke a kinship home's certification for cause. Prior to issuing a certificate or subsequent certificate to an applicant to operate a kinship home, a county department or a child placement agency shall conduct a fingerprint-based criminal history record check (fingerprint check) through the Colorado bureau of investigation. The applicant shall pay, unless otherwise paid by a county department, the costs associated with the fingerprint check to the Colorado bureau of investigation. The county department or child placement agency to which the kinship home applied for certification shall extend the provisional certification by an additional 60 days if the applicant can demonstrate that the applicant did not cause the delay in completing all the requirements for certification. A kinship home may opt out of the provisional certification process and remain eligible for supports through sources other than foster care maintenance. Kinship foster care homes are eligible for financial reimbursement and supports at the same rate as foster care homes, as established in rules promulgated by the state board of human services. Non-certified kinship care homes are eligible for financial assistance and supports at 30% of the foster care rate, increasing to 50% beginning in the 2026-27 state fiscal year, based on the age of the child or youth receiving care. The state department shall reimburse the county departments 90% of the amounts expended by county departments for kinship foster care and non-certified kinship care daily rates to support financial assistance. The kinship foster care rate and non-certified kinship care rate are exempt from the state close-out process. The state department shall collaborate with the department of education, the department of public health and environment, and the department of health care policy and financing to develop an interagency resource. The state department shall prominently post the resource on the state department's website. The act directs the state department and the judicial department to collect data on the number of children who are placed with certified and non-certified kin through a dependency and neglect case, regardless of who has custody of the child or youth. The state department shall make the data available on its website on or before October 1, 2025. On or before October 1, 2025, the state department shall study and report to the general assembly the feasibility of using federal funds, including, but not limited to, federal IV-B, IV-E, or TANF funds, or other grant funding to provide or reimburse for the provision of brief legal services or legal representation of relative and kin caregivers. On or before August 1, 2025, and every August 1 thereafter until August 1, 2030, the state department shall submit a report to the joint budget committee on the implementation of non-certified kinship care homes, the impacts to the number of placements with kinship foster care homes, and the impacts to the number of placements with county departments in their ability to support providers. The state department shall submit data provided by county departments as a supplement to the report. The act makes conforming amendments to align statutory sections related to foster care homes with kinship homes. The act makes the following appropriations to the department of human services for the 2024-25 state fiscal year: $190,672 from the general fund for use by the administration and finance division; $5,516,580 from the Colorado long-term works reserve for use by the office of children, youth, and families for child welfare services; and $1,221,710 from local funds for use by the office of children, youth, and families for child welfare services. The act anticipates that the department of human services will receive $6,459,409 in federal funds to be used by the office of children, youth, and families for child welfare services. The act appropriates $55,748 to the department of public safety for the 2024-25 state fiscal year for use by the biometric identification and records unit. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the executive director of the department of local affairs (director), no later than December 31, 2024, to develop reasonable methodologies for conducting statewide, regional, and local housing needs assessments and reasonable guidance for a local government to identify areas at elevated risk of displacement. The act requires the director, no later than November 30, 2027, and every 6 years thereafter, to conduct a statewide housing needs assessment that analyzes existing and future statewide housing needs and to publish a report, based on the statewide housing needs assessment and regional and local housing needs assessments accepted by the department, identifying current housing stock and estimating statewide housing needs. The act requires each local government, beginning December 31, 2026, to conduct and publish a local housing needs assessment. The act outlines the process for a local government conducting a local housing needs assessment and for determining when a local government is exempt from conducting a local housing needs assessment. The act requires local governments to submit local housing needs assessments to the department of local affairs (department), which shall publish those assessments on the department's website. Relatedly, the act allows a regional entity to conduct a regional housing needs assessment. If a regional entity conducts a regional housing needs assessment, the act requires the regional entity to submit the assessment both to each local government in the region and to the department, which shall publish those assessments on the department's website. A housing action plan is an advisory document that demonstrates a local government's commitment to address housing needs and that guides a local government in developing legislative actions, promoting regional coordination, and informing the public of the local government's efforts to address housing needs in the local government's jurisdiction. The act requires a local government with a population of either 5,000 or more or 1,000 or more if the local government either participated in a regional housing needs assessment or is a rural resort community to make a housing action plan no later than January 1, 2028, and every 6 years thereafter. The act identifies the specific elements that a housing action plan must include, explains how a local government may update a housing action plan, requires a local government to report its progress in implementing the plan to the department, and requires a local government to submit a housing action plan to the department, which shall publish each accepted housing action plan on the department's website. The act requires the director to develop, by no later than June 30, 2025: A standard affordability strategies directory; A long-term affordability strategies directory; and A displacement risk mitigation strategies directory. The act establishes the minimum required elements for all three directory types. The act also requires the director to submit a statewide strategic growth report to the general assembly no later than October 31, 2025, and develop and publish, in consultation with relevant state agencies, a natural land and agricultural interjurisdictional opportunities report no later than December 31, 2025. The act requires the division of local government (division) to provide technical assistance and guidance through a grant program, the provision of consultant services, or both to aid local governments in: Establishing regional entities; Creating local and regional housing needs assessments; Conducting a displacement risk analysis with a state-created tool; Identifying and implementing strategies included in the standard affordability strategies directory, long-term affordability strategies directory, or displacement risk mitigation strategies directory; Making and adopting a housing action plan; Enacting laws and policies that encourage the development of a range of housing types, including regulated affordable housing, or mitigate the impact of displacement; and Creating strategic growth elements in master plans. The act creates the continuously appropriated housing needs planning technical assistance fund to contain the money necessary for the division to provide this technical assistance and guidance. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $10.5 million from the local government severance tax fund and $4.5 million from the local government mineral impact fund to this fund. Further, the act directs the division to serve as a clearing house for the benefit of local governments and regional entities in accomplishing the goals of the act. The division shall report on the assistance requested and provided under the act. On and after December 1, 2027, for any grant program conducted by the department, the Colorado energy office, the office of economic development, the department of transportation, the department of natural resources, the department of public health and environment, or the department of personnel and administration that awards grants to local governments for the primary purpose of supporting land use planning or housing, the act requires the awarding entity to prioritize awarding grants to a local government that: Has completed and filed a housing needs assessment; Has adopted a housing action plan that has been accepted by the department; Has reported progress to the department regarding the adoption of any strategies or changes to local laws identified in the housing action plan; and Is the subject of a master plan that includes a water supply element and a strategic growth element. In the case of a local government that is not required to do any of the above, the department is required to prioritize that local government in the same way that it prioritizes a local government that has done all of the above. On or before June 30, 2025, the act requires the department to designate criteria for the designation of a neighborhood center by a local government. If a local government designates a neighborhood center, the local government must submit a report to the department describing the neighborhood center. Furthermore, on or after December 31, 2026, the act requires certain grant programs to prioritize projects supporting or concerning neighborhood centers. The act modifies the requirements of both county and municipal master plans so that those master plans must include: A narrative description of the procedure used for the development and adoption of the master plan; No later than December 31, 2026, a water supply element; and No later than December 31, 2026, a strategic growth element. The water supply element in a county or municipal master plan must identify the general location and extent of an adequate and suitable supply of water, identify supplies and facilities sufficient to meet the needs of local infrastructure, and include water conservation policies. The strategic growth element in a master plan must include: A description of existing and potential policies and tools to promote strategic growth and prevent sprawl; An analysis of vacant and underutilized sites and the use of those sites for the development of housing; and An analysis of underdeveloped sites that are not adjacent to developed land for the use of those sites for residential use. The act requires both counties and municipalities to submit their master plan and any separately approved water or strategic growth element to the division for the division's review. The act prohibits a unit owners' association of a common interest community from, through any declaration or bylaw, rules, or regulation adopted or amended by an association on or after July 1, 2024, prohibiting or restricting the construction of accessory dwelling units or middle housing if the zoning laws of the association's local jurisdiction would otherwise allow such construction. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $583,864 is appropriated, from reappropriated funds received from the department of local affairs from the housing needs planning technical assistance fund, to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department of local affairs for the implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires state agencies and public entities to comply with digital accessibility standards on or before July 1, 2024. The act provides a one-year extension to July 1, 2025, of immunity from liability for failure to comply with the digital accessibility standards for an agency that demonstrates good faith efforts toward compliance or toward resolution of any complaint of noncompliance. To be eligible for the extension, the act requires the agency to post quarterly reports on progress and create a process for redress for inaccessible digital products. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 24, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds the following rights to the rights of higher education students: Cost transparency regarding a postsecondary education program; A seamless transfer of course credit for courses in the guaranteed transfer pathway matrix and a timely response on whether transfer credit will be accepted by a public institution of higher education (institution); The right to appeal an institution's decision not to accept a student's request to transfer credits; and The right to know what work-related experiences or prior learning opportunities are awarded postsecondary credit at the institution at which the student is enrolled. The act makes changes to the statewide common course numbering system, now referred to as the guaranteed transfer pathway matrix (matrix), to guarantee certain course transfer credits between community colleges, local district colleges, and area technical colleges. The department of higher education (department), beginning in January 2026, shall include as part of its "SMART Act" presentation a compilation of information regarding courses in the matrix. The act provides the department with exclusive authority to bring an enforcement action against an institution that violates the provisions related to the matrix. The act requires the department to establish an appeal process if an institution wrongfully denies a student's transfer credit. The act requires an institution to issue a decision to a student regarding the acceptance or denial of transfer credits within 30 days after the student is admitted to the institution. APPROVED by Governor May 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the ninth-grade success grant program (grant program) provides funding to local education providers and charter schools to implement a ninth-grade success program to assist ninth-grade students to develop the skills needed to successfully graduate high school and succeed in their education and careers. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriated $2 million from the state education fund to the department of education (department) for the grant program and reduced the general fund appropriation in the long bill for the grant program by $792,444. The act requires the general assembly to appropriate $2 million from the state education fund to the department for the grant program in the 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28 state fiscal years. Under current law, the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement (office) submits an annual report to the state board of education, the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, and the governor regarding findings and recommendations to reduce the student dropout rate and increase graduation and completion rates. Starting with the report submitted in March 2026, the act requires the office to include certain ninth-grade performance measures for each public school, school district, the charter school institute, and the state as a whole. APPROVED by Governor May 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Maddy summaryThis bill aims to improve transparency by requiring employers to make certain documents related to workplace harassment complaints available to the public. It directly affects businesses and organizations that handle such complaints, mandating that they disclose specific records upon request. The key provision establishes a clear process for accessing these documents, ensuring that information about harassment investigations is not kept entirely private. By setting these rules, the legislation seeks to increase accountability and allow the public to review how harassment cases are managed in the workplace.
If the state exceeds its constitutional fiscal year spending limit, it is required by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) to refund the excess state revenues (TABOR refunds). The act concerns the 4 TABOR refund mechanisms: a reimbursement to counties for lost property tax revenue, an income tax rate reduction, a sales and use tax rate reduction, and a sales tax refund. The first mechanism through which excess state revenues are refunded is a reimbursement paid to counties for allocation to local governments to offset the reduction in property taxes resulting from property tax exemptions for qualifying seniors, veterans with disabilities, and spouses of veterans who died in the line of duty or as a result of a service-related injury or disease (homestead exemptions). Additionally, for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, the reimbursement to local governments to offset the reduction in property taxes resulting from the newly reduced valuation for assessment of qualified-senior primary residences created in Senate Bill 24-111, concerning a reduction in the valuation for assessment of qualified-senior primary residence real property, joins the homestead exemptions reimbursement as the first TABOR refund mechanism. The temporary income tax rate reduction is active for income tax years 2024 through 2034. To refund excess state revenues from fiscal year 2023-24, the income tax rate for income tax year 2024 is temporarily reduced from 4.40% to 4.25%. After that year, if the amount of excess state revenues exceeds the projected total amount of TABOR refunds issued as reimbursement to counties for the homestead exemptions and the qualified-senior primary residence valuation reductions, then the state individual income tax rate is temporarily reduced by the following percentages according to the total amount of excess state revenues remaining after the homestead exemptions reimbursement and the qualified-senior primary residence reimbursement are paid (remaining excess state revenues): If the remaining excess state revenues are above $300 million but less than or equal to $500 million, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.04%; If the remaining excess state revenues are above $500 million but less than or equal to $600 million, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.07%; If the remaining excess state revenues are above $600 million but less than or equal to $700 million, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.09%; If the remaining excess state revenues are above $700 million but less than or equal to $800 million, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.11%; If the remaining excess state revenues are above $800 million but less than or equal to $1 billion, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.12%; If the remaining excess state revenues are above $1 billion but less than or equal to $1.5 billion, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.13%; and If the remaining excess state revenues are above $1.5 billion, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced by 0.15%. The sales and use tax rate reduction refund mechanism is active for fiscal years 2024-25 to 2033-34. Under this mechanism, if the amount of remaining excess state revenues is greater than $1.5 billion, as annually adjusted by a percentage equal to the percentage of allowable increase in state fiscal year spending, and exceeds the projected total amount of TABOR refunds issued as reimbursement to counties for the homestead exemptions and the qualified-senior primary residence valuation reductions, plus refunds issued through the temporary income tax rate reduction, then the state sales and use tax rates are temporarily reduced by 0.13%. Under the sales tax refund mechanism, all qualified individuals receive an identical refund amount unless the amount of excess state revenues to be refunded would make that identical refund exceed a certain threshold, in which case the excess state revenues are instead refunded through a 6-tier refund mechanism based on the qualified individual's adjusted gross income. The identical refund amount above which the 6-tier mechanism is triggered is tied to annual federal internal revenue service calculations of sales tax paid in the state by family size and income level; except that, if, by September 1 of any year, the executive director of the department of revenue has not received advice from the internal revenue service that such an identical refund is regarded as a refund of sales tax and not as an accession to wealth, the identical refund threshold remains the existing rate of $15. An individual may claim the sales tax refund by filing an income tax return or a specified assistance grant application by October 15 of the calendar year following the taxable year for which the refund is being claimed. Whether the TABOR refund mechanisms are triggered and, if so, how many of the mechanisms are triggered depends on the amount of excess state revenues remaining after reimbursement to counties for the homestead exemptions and the qualified-senior primary residence valuation reductions as follows: If remaining excess state revenues are less than or equal to $300 million, TABOR refunds are distributed only through the tiered or flat sales tax refund mechanism; If remaining excess state revenues are greater than $300 million but less than or equal to $1.5 billion, TABOR refunds are distributed first through the income tax rate reduction and then through the tiered or flat sales tax refund mechanism; and If remaining excess state revenues are greater than $1.5 billion, TABOR refunds are distributed first through the income tax rate reduction, next through the sales and use tax rate reduction, and finally through the tiered or flat sales tax refund mechanism. If there are not sufficient excess state revenues to pay the full amount of an income tax rate reduction refund mechanism or the sales and use tax rate reduction refund mechanism, then the affected refund mechanism is not triggered. The act also repeals statutory sections related to TABOR refund mechanisms that are no longer applicable, including the 4-tier sales tax refund mechanism to refund excess revenues from fiscal year 1997-98. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $59,443 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue for personal services and tax administration IT system support. APPROVED by Governor May 14, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE May 14, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the time-to-eat task force (task force) in the department of education (department) to evaluate Colorado school districts' and other states' policies regarding scheduled lunch time (time-to-eat policies) and repeals the task force, effective January 1, 2025. The bill creates the safe and healthy play grant program in the department to assist schools in implementing programs that support social and emotional learning through play.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)