The act prohibits an individual or entity from selling, offering or advertising for sale or adoption, bartering, or giving away a pet animal that, at the time of transfer, is physically located at or on any public street, highway, right-of-way, parkway, median strip, park, recreation area, outdoor market, parking lot, or other public space. Pet animal facilities licensed under the "Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act" are exempted from the prohibition, as are sales of livestock. In addition, pet animal owners, breeders, handlers, or trainers are exempted while transporting a pet animal to or from or exhibiting or competing at an event that is licensed, regulated, or sanctioned by a nationally recognized registering organization. The act also exempts hunting dogs that are bred or trained for lawful hunting. The act clarifies that nothing precludes a statutory or home rule town, city, county, or city and county from regulating the transfer of pet animals in public spaces. An individual or entity that violates the prohibition commits a class 2 misdemeanor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under current law, the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind coordinates and advocates for the provision of, and access to, services and resources for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind (services and resources). Sections 1 through 11 of the act create the communication services for people with disabilities enterprise (enterprise) and the division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (division) within the department of human services to provide these services and resources. Section 8 creates the Colorado division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind cash fund (cash fund). Telecommunications relay services (TRS) are provided for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind in the state through a monthly surcharge that voice service providers collect from their telephone customers (monthly surcharge) and through a charge that sellers of prepaid wireless telecommunications services impose at the point of sale (charge). Under current law, the public utilities commission (commission) imposes the monthly surcharge and charge, and the amounts collected are disbursed for the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind to provide services and resources; for the state librarian to provide reading services for the blind and print-disabled; and for the talking book library. Sections 4 and 15 transfer the authority to impose the monthly surcharge and charge to the enterprise, while maintaining the commission's responsibility for collecting the monthly surcharge from voice service providers. Money disbursed for services and resources is credited to the cash fund for use by the enterprise and the division. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $5,550,636 of monthly surcharge and charge amounts collected by voice service providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services retailers to the departments of human services, education, regulatory agencies, revenue, personnel, and law to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
As it relates to unlawful detention of real property, the act expands current exceptions and protections for tenants who are victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse to include victims of unlawful sexual behavior and stalking (victim-survivor). If domestic violence or domestic abuse was the cause of an alleged unlawful detention of real property, current law requires the tenant to document the domestic violence or domestic abuse through a police report or a valid civil or emergency protection order (required documentation). The act expands the required documentation to include a valid criminal protection order, a self-attestation affidavit or a letter signed by a qualified third party from whom the tenant sought assistance. If a tenant has been alleged to have committed unlawful detention of real property due to nonpayment or late payment of rent and the tenant has provided the landlord with the required documentation, the act requires the landlord to offer the tenant a repayment plan no later than 3 business days after serving a demand for unpaid rent or no later than 3 business days after receiving the required documentation. Within 7 days after receipt of the repayment plan, the act requires the tenant to accept the landlord's repayment plan or propose an alternative. If a landlord has written or actual notice that a tenant is a victim-survivor, the act requires the landlord to make all reasonable efforts to perfect service through personal service to the tenant. The act requires the court to suppress, or continue suppressing, any related court records upon receiving the victim-survivor's motion or petition to suppress the record, the required documentation, and an assertion that public access to the records poses a risk to the defendant's safety or the safety of a family member of the defendant's household. The act makes changes to certain court procedures as the procedures relate to victim-survivors. If a tenant who is a victim-survivor terminates a lease and provides the required documentation, the tenant is not liable for damage to the dwelling unit caused by the responsible party or during the course of an incident of unlawful sexual behavior, stalking, domestic violence, or domestic abuse. The act requires the tenant to pay no more than one month's rent after vacating the premises only if the landlord has incurred economic damages as a direct result of the early termination and the landlord has provided documentation of the economic damages to the tenant within 30 days after termination of the rental or lease agreement. The act prohibits a landlord from assigning a debt allegedly owed by a tenant who is a victim-survivor to a third-party debt collector unless the landlord provides the tenant with documentation of the economic damages incurred by the landlord and provides at least 90 days' written notice to the tenant. If a tenant provides notice to the landlord that the tenant is a victim-survivor and provides the required documentation, the act prohibits the landlord from preventing the tenant from changing the locks and prohibits the landlord from imposing fees on, taking any adverse action against, or otherwise retaliating against the tenant for changing the locks or taking other reasonable safety precautions. The act authorizes a tenant to bring a civil action against a landlord for violating provisions related to housing protections for victim-survivors. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Amends the definition of "employer" for purposes of wage and hour laws to include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer; Prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction below a worker's applicable minimum wage; Allows the director of the division of labor standards and statistics (division) to waive the penalty for an employer's failure to pay claimed wages or compensation within 14 days after a written demand if certain specified conditions are met; and Requires a court to find that an employee pursued a wage claim that lacked substantial justification before awarding an employer reasonable costs and attorney fees in a civil action for unpaid wages or compensation. In such an action, the court may pursue all equitable relief to deter future violations and prevent unjust enrichment. Current law limits the ability of the director of the division to adjudicate claims for nonpayment of wages or compensation to $7,500 or less. The act increases this threshold over the years by increasing the maximum amount to $13,000 for claims filed from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, and in an amount specified by the director of the division to adjust for inflation beginning January 1, 2028. The act also requires the division, in adjudicating wage claims, to determine whether a violation is willful. For each violation: The director shall publish on the division's website the names of all employers found to be in violation and whether the violation was willful; and If the violation was willful and is not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding that there was a violation, the division must notify all government bodies with the authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on the employer's license, permit, registration, or other credential of the unremedied willful violation. Additionally, the division may report an employer found to have violated a law related to wages and hours to any government body with authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on the employer's license, permit, registration, or other credential. The act also repeals language requiring the division to issue a determination on a wage complaint within 90 days and clarifies that a city or county may enact and enforce wage laws within the city or county's jurisdiction. An employer found to have misclassified an employee as a nonemployee must pay a fine in the following amounts, in addition to any other relief ordered: For a willful violation, $5,000; For a violation not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding, $10,000; For a second or subsequent willful violation within 5 years, $25,000; or For a second or subsequent willful violation not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding, $50,000. The director of the division must adjust these fine amounts for inflation by January 1, 2028, and every other year thereafter. The act also decreases the amount of time the division must wait before paying an employee out of the wage theft enforcement fund from 6 months to 120 days. Current law prohibits an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee for taking protection under wage and hour laws or the law related to the employment of minors. The act expands this provision to specify additional protected behavior and expands the prohibition to include other persons in addition to employers. The act also: Requires a fact finder to consider the time between an individual's exercise of a protected activity and an employer's adverse action when determining whether an employer has retaliated against the employee or worker; Specifies that it is a violation to use an individual's immigration status to discriminate or retaliate against an employee or worker who has engaged in protected activity; and Allows the division to order reasonable attorney fees and costs after investigating a discrimination or retaliation claim. Between August 1, 2027, and October 1, 2027, the division must report to the joint budget committee on its progress in implementing the act. In state fiscal year 2025-26, $328,210 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment for use by the division to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the wild horse project and transfers the statutory duties concerning wild horse management and support to the department of agriculture (department). The act repeals and replaces the wild horse stewardship program and the wild horse fertility program with support efforts managed by the department and with an immunocontraception program managed by the department. The act authorizes the department to provide immunocontraception and material support in herd management areas to keep wild horse populations at appropriate management levels. The material support may include: Using state employees or contracting with others to administer immunocontraception; Providing funding to or administrative support to other state agencies, federal agencies, and nonprofit entities to hire employees or contract with agents to administer immunocontraception; Coordinating events where immunocontraception is administered; Buying or funding the purchase of equipment or technology; and Coordinating with educational institutions to provide training, certification, or internships to individuals administering immunocontraception. The department may primarily address federally protected wild horses but may also address other wild horses. The department may, when reasonable and effective, engage private entities and individuals in wild horse advocacy, funding, promotion, and education, including through the use of iconic wild horse imagery and the development of a logo and brand. The department may provide staff, resources, or information to: Develop a system of shared equipment and staff expertise to loan out; Develop training programs and certifications; Cooperate with the federal bureau of land management to develop additional training, holding, or adoption opportunities; and Cooperate with the department of corrections to create and expand opportunities for people confined in a correctional facility. The act creates a wild horse advisory committee. The wild horse advisory committee has the same makeup as the current wild horse working group with different appointing authorities authorized. The advisory committee will meet at least once every year and may have additional meetings as necessary. The advisory committee advises the commissioner of agriculture and the department concerning: Financial and material support for wild horse adopters, sanctuaries, preserves, and refuges; The content and delivery of outreach, education, training, and certification; Working with the federal bureau of land management and wild horse preserves, sanctuaries, and refuges to coordinate herd management; Coordinating or assisting with wild horse adoption compliance checks; Coordinating and cooperating with other entities to ensure comprehensive information about adoption and adoption success is widely publicized and is available to the public; Any different or additional scientifically proven immunocontraceptive fertility control method the department may consider using; and Humane, nonlethal alternatives to long-term confinement for wild horses that are taken off-range or held in federal facilities. The wild horse advisory committee sunsets on September 1, 2030. Before the repeal, the advisory committee is scheduled for sunset review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a voluntary procedure by which an individual may elect to contribute a portion of their state income tax refund as a donation to the animal protection fund (fund). For the income tax years immediately following the year in which the executive director of the department of revenue (department) files written certification with the revisor of statutes that a line on the income tax return form has become available and that the animal protection fund voluntary contribution (contribution) is next in the queue established pursuant to statute, the executive director of the department shall ensure that the Colorado state individual income tax return form contains a line by which each individual taxpayer may designate the amount of the contribution, if any, that the individual wishes to make to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department of agriculture. Unlike many other types of permitted voluntary contributions, the contribution is not subject to sunset review and is not subject to repeal if the contribution generates no more than $50,000 during the period between January 1 and September 1 of a tax year. The act requires the department to determine annually the total amount donated through the contribution and report that amount to the state treasurer and to the general assembly. The state treasurer shall credit that amount to the fund. All interest derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund is credited to the fund. The general assembly shall appropriate annually from the fund to the department its costs of administering money designated as contributions to the fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $11,606 from the fund to the department for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Colorado law prohibits an insurer from refusing to insure or increasing a premium for a homeowners insurance policy or a dwelling fire insurance policy based on the breed or mixture of breeds of a dog that is kept at a dwelling unless the dog is known to be dangerous or has been declared to be dangerous. The act adds that this provision applies to all residential structures used for a residence and occupied by an owner or renter. The "Colorado Housing Act of 1970" provides financing for building or rehabilitating affordable housing. The act requires each housing development that receives financing to authorize tenants of the affordable housing to own or keep one or 2 dogs or cats, subject to reasonable conditions as defined by the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the Colorado disability opportunity office to develop a comprehensive community integration plan (plan) for implementing its obligation to provide qualified individuals with disabilities with opportunities to live, work, and be served in the least restrictive settings possible. The act requires the plan to include specified elements and that the plan must be reviewed and updated every 3 years. The act establishes that public and governmental entities (entities) shall administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting that is appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities. The act establishes when entities are required to provide home- and community-based services (services) to qualified individuals with disabilities. If an entity cuts services, the act requires the entity to assess whether the service cut increases the risk of institutionalization for qualified individuals with a disability receiving services. An entity is not required to comply with the provisions of the act if it can establish that doing so would require a fundamental alteration of its program. The act does not create a new private right of action for entities that fail to comply with it and does not create a standard different than federal law. The bill appropriates $658,410 from the disability support fund to the department of labor and employment for the Colorado disability opportunity office to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law includes a pilot program for complementary and alternative medicine in the department of health care policy and financing (department) for an eligible person with a disability. The act converts the pilot program into an ongoing program and changes the name of the program to the "complementary and integrative health program" (program). The act extends the program to September 1, 2030, and clarifies that the program covers persons with a primary condition of multiple sclerosis, a brain injury, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, or cerebral palsy when one of these diagnoses directly results in a total inability for independent ambulation. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,637 to the department from the general fund. The department may use $65,487 for personal services and $1,150 for operating expenses. This appropriation is based on the assumption that the department will receive $66,637 in federal funds for these services. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates an additional $1,214,019 to the department from the general fund. The department may use the appropriation for medical and long-term care services for medicaid eligible individuals. This appropriation is based on the assumption that the department will receive $1,214,019 in federal funds for these services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning January 1, 2026, the act allows the department of health care policy and financing (department) to reimburse community health workers for services rendered to medicaid members after receiving any necessary federal authorization. Reimbursement for community health worker services is subject to available appropriations. The act postpones until January 31, 2027, the requirement for the department to report to the general assembly on community health worker utilization and costs in the medicaid program. The act reduces the appropriations to the department from the general fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year by $1,364,558 and the healthcare affordability and sustainability cash fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year by $342,750. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)