Rep. Regina English

The act prohibits food processing plants from selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product. The act also requires food processing plants to clearly label cell-cultivated meat as cell-cultivated meat. The department of public health and environment (department) is required to inspect food at a food processing plant if the department has reasonable cause to believe that: Cell-cultivated meat sold or offered for sale by the plant is misbranded as a meat product; or The plant is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required. If, after an inspection, the department has reasonable cause to believe that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the food processing plant shall not sell the product or offer it for sale until the department determines whether it is misbranded or unlabeled in violation of the act. If the department determines that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue an embargo order requiring the food processing plant to dispose of the cell-cultivated meat by means other than by sale to purchasers in Colorado. The department, the attorney general, or the district attorney in the district where cell-cultivated meat is being offered for sale or sold may petition the district court to enforce a stop order or an embargo order. The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill prohibits the use of seclusion on a student of a school district, district charter school, or institute charter school on certain property or while the student is participating in an off-campus, school-sponsored activity or event. The bill requires the state board of education (state board) to promulgate or amend existing rules to reflect the prohibited use of seclusion. The bill amends existing reporting requirements to ensure that incidents of seclusion are reported.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

A public school contracting entity (entity) that executes a contract on or after July 1, 2026, with a vendor or provider of a curated digital research collection (collection) shall include in the terms of the contract a termination clause stating that the contract is materially breached and that grounds for termination exist if the collection contains advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or uniform resource locators (URLs) and when notified of the advertisement, promotion, or URLs the vendor does not remove the items within 3 days after receiving the notice. All vendors must certify that collections are free of advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs. If a vendor violates the terms of the contract, the entity is entitled to reimbursement and may pursue remedies for breach of contract. A public school employee, contractor, or volunteer shall report, and students, parents, guardians, legal custodians, or community members (interested parties) may report if a collection is found to contain advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs. The report must include the name of the digital collection and the title of the document, the reference number, or keywords used to access the collection. The entity shall notify the vendor or provider and the department of education (department) of each reported incident. The vendor or provider shall remove the advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs within 3 business days after receiving notice. The bill requires public schools to annually notify interested parties of the reporting procedures. Public schools shall include the annual notification on their websites. Public schools may include information on their websites regarding how to make a report. If a public school contracts or enters into an agreement with a public library that promotes a collection, the public school shall annually disclose the details of the contract or agreement by email to the local school district board of education and parents, guardians, or legal custodians of students enrolled in the public school. If any material changes to the contract or agreement occur, the public school shall send an email notification to the local school district board of education, parents, guardians, or legal custodians of students enrolled in the school. The department is required to annually report to the general assembly on the number of reports that occur each year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires the division of criminal justice (division) in the department of public safety to apply for and accept and expend federal or other available grant money to improve the state's response to mass shootings, including grant money to support services for victims of mass shootings. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act permits Emily Griffith technical college (college) to offer an associate of applied science degree program (degree program) with approval from the state board for community colleges and occupational education (board). The degree program must include a registered apprenticeship program and certain transferable general education courses. In considering the college's request to offer a degree program, the board shall consider student and workforce demand, alignment with registered apprenticeship programs, cost-effectiveness for students and the state, and accreditation and licensing requirements. An approved degree program is eligible to receive federal "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act" funds. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the division of fire prevention and control, which hosts the wildfire information and resource center website and provides information regarding active wildfires on the website, to include hyperlinks to websites that display emergency information and wildfire updates for each county in Colorado and to coordinate with county governments in order to provide the hyperlinks. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law authorizes public hospitals with fewer than 50 beds to enter into collaborative agreements with other hospitals or hospital affiliates to engage in activities to increase access to health care. The act changes the law to allow public and private, nonprofit hospitals that are not owned by or affiliated with a health system that is comprised of 3 or more hospitals to enter into collaborative agreements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The unclaimed utility deposits program (program) helps finance electric and gas utility bill payment assistance for income-qualified households. The program is partially funded by electric and gas utilities' contributions of money that are owed to utility ratepayers but that have remained unclaimed by the ratepayers for more than 2 years. The act clarifies that a municipally owned electric or gas utility may elect to participate in the program or develop a similar mechanism for utilizing unclaimed utility deposits for utility bill payment assistance. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summarySJR 25-008 designates March 3, 2025, as "Buy Colorado Day" (also called "303 Day") and March 3-10, 2025, as "Buy Colorado Week" to encourage Coloradans to support local businesses. The resolution urges residents to spend money at homegrown Colorado brands and enterprises, highlighting the state's diverse business community including restaurants, breweries, agricultural producers, and retailers. This symbolic measure has no legal force and serves as a recognition of Colorado's economic contributions, not a new policy or requirement. It directly affects all Coloradans by promoting a voluntary shift in consumer behavior toward local spending.

Maddy summarySJR 25-018 recognizes April 2025 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and designates April 30, 2025, as Colorado Denim Day. The resolution symbolically supports the annual Denim Day observance, which began in Colorado in 2013, to raise awareness about sexual violence and honor the work of organizations like the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA). It highlights ongoing challenges such as evidence kit backlogs and the need for survivor support services, without creating new laws or funding. This is a ceremonial resolution, not a policy change, aligning Colorado with the global Denim Day movement that uses wearing jeans to protest attitudes condoning sexual assault.