The act requires school personnel to address a student by the student's chosen name and to use the student's chosen name in school and during extracurricular activities. The act deems it discriminatory to knowingly or intentionally use a name other than the student's chosen name or knowingly or intentionally avoiding or refusing to use a student's chosen name, unless done at the request of the student. The act allows a student who is subject to discrimination as a result of a failure or refusal to address the student by the student's chosen name to file a report with the school or a federal civil rights complaint. The act requires a school to implement a written policy outlining how the school will honor a student's request to use a chosen name. APPROVED by Governor April 29, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 29, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act requires a coroner of a county with a population greater than 150,000 who is elected on or after November 5, 2024, to be either a death investigator certified by and in good standing with the American board of medicolegal death investigators or a forensic pathologist certified by and in good standing with the American board of pathology. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Colorado Youth Advisory Council Review Committee. The bill requires the department of public health and environment (department) to conduct or cause to be conducted a gender-affirming health-care provider study (study). The study must determine: The number of gender-affirming health-care providers and facilities in each region, without disclosing identities of providers; The resources available to gender-affirming health-care providers and facilities in the state; Threats to gender-affirming health-care providers; The number of patients seeking gender-affirming health-care services in each region, including the ratio of patients to providers in each region, without disclosing identities of patients or providers; The types of gender-affirming health-care services that patients seek; The prevalence and impact of nonprescribed treatments; and The availability of insurance coverage for different types of treatment. The bill requires the department and any third party that the department contracts with to conduct the study to seek input from specified persons. The department is required to submit a report on or before December 31, 2026, including its findings and recommendations, to specified committees of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Colorado Youth Advisory Council Review Committee. The bill creates the licensed school mental health professional loan repayment program (program) in the department of higher education. The purpose of the program is to provide loan repayment of up to $10,000 to eligible school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers who provide mental health services to students who have limited access to mental health services. The commission on higher education (commission) administers the program. The bill creates in the state treasury the licensed school mental health professional loan repayment program fund. The bill requires that the commission submit an annual report to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate on or before October 31 of each year the program is operational. The program repeals on July 1, 2029. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The Colorado youth advisory council (advisory council) is set to repeal September 1, 2023. The act continues the advisory council until September 1, 2028. The act renames the Colorado youth advisory council review committee as the Representative Hugh McKean Colorado youth advisory council review committee. The act appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the Colorado youth advisory council cash fund. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Effective January 1, 2024, the act requires each newly constructed building and each building with qualifying restroom renovations that is wholly or partly owned by a state department, state agency, state institution of higher education, county, city and county, or municipality (public entity) to: Provide a non-gendered restroom facility or a multi-stall non-gendered facility on each floor where restrooms are available in a newly constructed building and wherever a restroom is accessible to the public in a building in which a restroom is being renovated; Ensure that all single-stall restrooms are not gender specific restrooms; Allow for the use of multi-stall restrooms by any gender if certain facility features are met under the International Plumbing Code and the Colorado Fuel Gas Code; Provide at least one safe, sanitary, and convenient baby diaper changing station that is accessible to the public on each floor where there is a public restroom in a newly constructed building and wherever a restroom is accessible to the public in a building in which a restroom is being renovated, in each gender-specific restroom if only gender-specific restrooms are available, and in each non-gendered single-stall or multi-stall restroom or provide such a changing station in an easily accessible location with equivalent privacy and amenities as a restroom; Ensure that each baby diaper changing station is cleaned with the same frequency as the restroom in which it is located, or restrooms on the same floor or in the space if it is not within a restroom, and maintained, repaired, and replaced as necessary to ensure safety and ease of use. Beginning July 1, 2024, but no later than July 1, 2026, a building that is wholly or partially owned or leased by a public entity must ensure that signage for the building or the portion of the building leased or owned by the public entity complies with the following signage requirements, subject to available appropriations: Include signage indicating the presence of a baby diaper changing station with a pictogram that is void of gender in all restrooms with baby diaper changing stations, include signage with a pictogram void of gender in all non-gendered restrooms, and include signage with a pictogram void of gender in all single-stalled restrooms; and Indicate in the central building directory, if such a directory exists, the location of any baby diaper changing station and of any non-gendered restroom with a pictogram void of gender. The act requires the department of personnel to complete a survey that determines the number and locations of signs needed to comply with the act signage requirements and requires the survey be provided to the general assembly and the capital development committee. The requirements of the act pertaining to baby diaper changing stations and providing a non-gendered single-stall restroom or a non-gendered multi-stall restroom in specified locations do not apply: To the extent that compliance with a requirement would result in failure to comply with applicable building standards governing the right of access for individuals with disabilities; To a project that has already progressed through the design review process, budgeting, and final approval by the governing body that has final approval over capital construction project expenditures as of the effective date of the act, or to a building designated as a certified historic structure. Beginning on July 1, 2025, the act requires a building that is wholly or partially owned by a public entity that is a newly constructed building that is accessible to employees or enrolled students, or a building undergoing a qualifying restroom renovation to: Provide a non-gendered single-stall restroom or a non-gendered multi-stall restroom; Ensure that any single-stall restroom is not a gender-specific restroom; and Allow for the use of a multi-stall restroom by any gender if certain facility features are met pursuant to the International Plumbing Code or the Colorado Fuel Gas Code as adopted by the state plumbing board. The act clarifies that an employee with a designated workplace in a public building may undertake the complaint process for alleged discriminatory or unfair practices including the failure to comply with providing the required amenities to all genders, as required, with the Colorado civil rights division charged with the enforcement of the Colorado anti-discrimination act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $450,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of personnel for use by the office of the state architect. To implement the act, the office may use $400,000 for statewide planning services and $50,000 for a restroom survey of state-owned buildings. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 2 of the act defines clean hydrogen (clean hydrogen) as hydrogen that is: Derived from a clean energy resource that uses water as the source of hydrogen; or Produced through a process that results in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rates that are less than 1.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen, as set forth in applicable federal law. Section 2 also requires, no later than September 1, 2023, the public utilities commission (commission) to initiate an investigatory proceeding to consider issues related to projects that result in the production of clean hydrogen by an investor-owned utility (clean hydrogen projects). Section 2 also requires, no later than December 1, 2024, the commission to adopt rules that establish clean hydrogen project requirements, including, if the commission determines cost recovery for clean hydrogen projects is appropriate, rules that require an investor-owned utility to present a clean hydrogen project to the commission for the commission's approval, unless the Colorado energy office (office) files a notice with the commission stating that the federal department of energy has extended or otherwise altered the deadline for funding of a project that is part of an application for federal funding by various entities that may include the production, transport, and use of clean hydrogen (hydrogen hub project). Section 2 also requires that, in reviewing a clean hydrogen project application, the commission consider whether it is in the public interest for an investor-owned utility to invest in a clean hydrogen project, the potential contribution of the clean hydrogen project in meeting the state's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, and various other issues. If the clean hydrogen project is proposed to be sited in an area that would affect a disproportionately impacted community, the commission shall analyze the applicant's cumulative impacts analysis and determine whether the clean hydrogen project will have a positive effect on the disproportionately impacted community. Section 2 also requires that an investor-owned utility provide notice to the commission of any application for federal funding as part of a hydrogen hub project. Section 2 also requires an investor-owned utility that operates a clean hydrogen project approved by the commission to submit an annual report that reports various details about the clean hydrogen project to the commission. If the clean hydrogen project includes the use or consumption of clean hydrogen by the investor-owned utility, the investor-owned utility shall also report the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rates of the clean hydrogen project separately by each production facility and use. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2033, section 3 creates a state income tax credit in specified amounts per kilogram of clean hydrogen used for hard to decarbonize end uses, for operating a heavy-duty vehicle, or for aviation (tax credit). Any taxpayer seeking to claim the tax credit must first apply for and receive a tax credit certificate from the office. The tax credit may be claimed for an amount not to exceed $250,000 in a tax year. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $360,758 from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund to the department of regulatory agencies for the following uses: $241,532 for use by the commission for personal services; $24,060 for use by the commission for operating expenses; and $95,166, which is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services to the department of regulatory agencies. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $12,861 from the general fund to the department of revenue, which is reappropriated to the department of personnel for the purchase of document management services. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bridge and tunnel enterprise (BTE) in the department of transportation (department) completes tunnel projects and finances, repairs, reconstructs, replaces, and maintains designated bridges in the state. A designated bridge is a bridge that is part of the state highway system and that the department has identified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and has rated as poor. The act expands the scope of the BTE to include the completion of preventative maintenance bridge projects, which are projects that involve a treatment or strategy to extend the service life of a fair-rated or good-rated bridge by preventing, delaying, or reducing deterioration. The act authorizes the BTE to repair, reconstruct, replace, and maintain a bridge that the department has rated as fair if the fair-rated bridge is included as part of a project to repair, reconstruct, replace, or maintain a designated bridge. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Except in certain circumstances, the act requires a landlord to accept from a prospective tenant a portable tenant screening report (screening report). A landlord may require that the screening report was prepared by a consumer reporting agency (reporting agency) within the previous 30 days, at the prospective tenant's request and expense, and made directly available to the landlord by the agency. The act specifies information that must be included in a screening report, including verification of employment and income, rental and credit history, and criminal history. If a prospective tenant provides a screening report, the landlord shall not charge the prospective tenant either an application fee or a fee for the landlord to access or use the screening report. Prior to collecting any tenant information that would generate an application fee, a landlord shall advise a prospective tenant that the landlord accepts screening reports and is prohibited from charging an application fee or other fee to a prospective tenant who provides a screening report. A landlord is not required to accept a screening report or to provide the advisements required in the act if the landlord does not accept more than one application fee at a time for a dwelling unit or, if a dwelling unit is rented to more than one occupant, does not accept more than one application fee at a time for each prospective tenant or tenant group for the dwelling unit, and if the landlord refunds the total amount of the application fee to each prospective tenant within 20 calendar days after written communication from the prospective tenant or the landlord declining to enter into a lease. If a prospective tenant submits a rental application that results in a landlord obtaining a consumer report relating to the prospective tenant, the landlord shall also provide a copy of the consumer report to the prospective tenant and advise the prospective tenant of the tenant's right to dispute the accuracy of the consumer report with the reporting agency. A landlord that violates the provisions of the act is liable for $2,500, plus court costs and attorney fees, but if the landlord cures the violation within 7 calendar days after receiving notice of the violation, the landlord is to pay the prospective tenant a penalty of $50 and is otherwise not liable for damages. The act authorizes the attorney general to independently initiate and bring an action to enforce the "Rental Application Fairness Act". APPROVED by Governor May 4, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill requires a delivery network company (DNC) or a transportation network company (TNC) operating in the state to provide various disclosures to their drivers and to consumers of the DNC or TNC regarding payments that a consumer makes to the DNC or TNC and the amount that the DNC or TNC then pays to a driver. The bill also requires transparency with regard to the procedures that govern a determination by a DNC or TNC to terminate a driver from, or rehire a driver on, the DNC's or TNC's digital platform and authorizes a driver who has been terminated to seek administrative review of the termination. The division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment may impose fines against DNCs and TNCs for violations of the bill or require a DNC or TNC to rehire a wrongly terminated driver, and a consumer or driver aggrieved by a violation may file a civil suit against the DNC or TNC that committed the violation. The director of the division is required to adopt rules regarding the disclosures related to payments made to drivers and driver termination and rehire policies. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)