Rep. Lorena García

The act establishes a procedure allowing a federal firearms licensee (licensee) to request a firearm serial number check prior to purchasing a firearm from an individual and requires a local county sheriff's office or police department to complete the serial number check within 3 days after the request. The firearm serial number check must include information regarding whether the firearm is stolen, lost, or is involved in an open criminal investigation. If a licensee is located within incorporated city limits, they must request the firearms serial number check from the police department within its city limits. If a licensee is located in an unincorporated part of the county, they must request a firearms serial number check from the sheriff's department of the county in which it is located. A police department or sheriff's office may charge a reasonable fee to complete the firearm serial number check. The act also allows a licensee to perform a firearm serial number search themself if the federal government allows the licensee access to the federal government's firearm tracing program. The licensee is still subject to the reporting requirements if the licensee performs the firearm serial number search themself. The act imposes a penalty on a licensee if the licensee fails to file a report with law enforcement when the licensee reasonably believes, knows or should know, or becomes aware that a person sold or attempted to sell a firearm that is stolen, lost, or involved in an open criminal investigation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the office of gun violence prevention (office) in the department of public health and environment (department) to post the office's gun violence prevention materials (materials) in an accessible manner on the office's website for school districts, boards of cooperative services, district charter schools, institute charter schools, and the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind (local education providers) to access and distribute to parents, guardians, and legal custodians of elementary or secondary school students. The act requires each local education provider to: Provide the materials in a written or electronic format to students' parents, guardians, and legal custodians at the beginning of each school year; and Post the materials or a link to the materials on the local education provider's website. Beginning in January 2026, and in January every year thereafter, the department shall include in its "SMART Act" hearing information concerning the materials. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the following regarding the application for a license to practice medicine in Colorado (application) and the questionnaire accompanying the form for a license renewal (questionnaire): The Colorado medical board (board) must consider the recommendations of the Federation of State Medical Boards and the requirements of the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" when developing the application questions; The application and questionnaire must not require the disclosure of personal medical or health information that is not relevant to the applicant's ability to provide safe, competent, and ethical patient care at the time of application; The application and questionnaire must not include questions seeking information about past health-related conditions that do not impact an applicant's ability to practice safe, competent, and ethical patient care at the time of application; and The board shall include information in the application about the board's peer health assistance program, the applicant's ability to self-refer to the peer health assistance program at any time, and the applicant's ability to self-refer in lieu of disclosure to the board. The act clarifies that an individual subject to the licensing requirements of the "Colorado Medical Practice Act" is not required to disclose a physical illness, physical condition, behavioral health disorder, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder that no longer impacts the individual's ability to practice the applicable health-care profession or occupation with reasonable skill and safety to patients or clients. Current law requires that if a health-care professional has a physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral or mental health disorder that renders the person unable to practice the applicable health-care profession or occupation with reasonable skill and safety to patients or clients, the licensee, registrant, or certificate holder shall notify the regulator that regulates the person's profession or occupation of the physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral or mental health disorder. The act requires that a health-care professional must additionally provide notice of a substance use disorder and specifies that the health-care professional is required only to provide notice of a current physical illness, physical condition, behavioral health disorder, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law allows a person who is committed, imprisoned, or arrested (person in custody) the right to communicate with an attorney or family member by making a reasonable number of telephone calls or through any other reasonable manner. The act adds the attorney's authorized representative to those whom a person in custody can communicate with. Current law allows a person in custody the right to consult with an attorney. The act requires a peace officer or person employed at a place of confinement to provide an attorney or the attorney's authorized representative the ability to initiate communication with a person in custody through telephone calls, interactive audiovisual conferencing, or any other reasonable method of electronic communication, as determined by the jail or correctional facility administration. The communication must be private, unrecorded, and without cost to the confined person and attorney or the attorney's representative, subject to all reasonable administrative and operational procedures. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The "Identity Theft and Financial Deterrence Act" was set to repeal September 1, 2025. The act implements the department of regulatory agencies' recommendations to: Continue the "Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Deterrence Act" until September 1, 2036; Repeal the identity theft and financial fraud board; and Repeal the current cash fund funding structure; allow appropriation of money from the general fund to the department of public safety (department); and allow the department to accept gifts, grants, and donations to staff the Colorado investigators unit. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $653,345 from the identity theft and financial fraud fund to the department for use by the Colorado bureau of investigation and decreases appropriations made to the department for use by the Colorado bureau of investigation from the identity theft and financial fraud fund by $653,345. Money appropriated to the department to staff the Colorado investigators unit is subject to available appropriations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal authorization to determine a member's eligibility for reenrollment without checking federally approved electronic data sources or requesting additional information if the member's income consists solely of social security income or another source of stable income or assets or if the member's income or assets have not changed since the initial verification during the application process. The act requires the department to modify the questions asked by medical professionals when verifying a member's need for long-term services and supports and allows a treating licensed medical professional who has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with a member to sign the documentation necessary to verify a member's need for long-term services and supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known or determined to be Indian children under state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 1 of the act amends the state public financing cash fund (fund) statute in 2 ways. First, the act removes the limit on the amounts included in the issuance or incurrence of certain financial obligations by the state that the state treasurer credits to the fund. Second, the act modifies the fund so that bond counsel approval is no longer needed before money in the fund is used to reimburse the state treasurer for certain verifiable costs. Section 2 allows the state treasurer to use a security token offering for state capital financing and adopt rules as necessary to do so. Section 3 creates a new special purpose authority: The building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars authority (authority). The authority's primary purpose is to finance infrastructure projects that are ready for construction or commencement. As used in this context, an infrastructure project includes the development, construction, repair, improvement, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, or ownership of: A transportation infrastructure project, an infrastructure project in a transit-oriented community, a county courthouse facility, a transportation facility; utility infrastructure; renewable energy infrastructure; recycling infrastructure; energy efficiency infrastructure; an education facility; water infrastructure; information technology capital construction; affordable and accessible housing infrastructure; or digital, social, or other infrastructure related to economic development. The powers of the authority are vested in a 13-member board with the following membership: The state treasurer or the state treasurer's designee; The state architect or the state architect's designee; The chair of the capital development committee of the general assembly or any successor committee; A member of the capital development committee of the general assembly or any successor committee who is the longest serving member on the committee and who is a member of the major political party other than the party of the chair of the committee; A representative of a statewide organization representing counties, appointed by the governor; A representative of a statewide organization representing municipalities, appointed by the governor; The executive director of the Colorado education and cultural facilities authority or their designee; A representative of a statewide organization of general and specialty commercial construction contractors, appointed by the governor; A representative of a statewide employee organization representing building and construction trade workers, appointed by the president of the senate; An individual representing service employees, appointed by the state treasurer; An individual with a background in finance who has experience with pension fund management, appointed by the state treasurer; and An individual with a background in commercial lending representing an institution insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation, appointed by the state treasurer. The state treasurer or the state treasurer's designee serves as the chair of the board and is required to call the first meeting of the board no later than January 1, 2026. Among other powers, the authority may: Make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments as necessary to achieve the authority's purposes, including contracting with the officers, personnel, and consultants of the state treasurer to achieve its purposes; Charge to and collect from state agencies and persons fees and charges in connection with the authority's loans or other services; Issue and sell building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonds, payable solely from the building urgent infrastructure and leveraging dollars bonding fund created within the authority; Invest and deposit money; Finance or participate in the financing of eligible projects or any interest in such a project; except for projects that are within the statutory authority of the Colorado housing and finance authority; and Facilitate the funding of infrastructure projects. The infrastructure and long-term development assistance program (program) is created in the authority to allow the authority to provide financing for eligible projects. The act requires the authority to develop policies and procedures necessary to implement the program. At a minimum, the policies and procedures must specify application criteria, an application process, and a selection process for the authority to determine which eligible projects it will finance or assist in financing through the program. The authority must pay for such financing out of the eligible project revolving fund created in the authority. The act also requires that the authority allow the Colorado educational and cultural facilities authority a right of first refusal for the financing of eligible projects. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that, under current law, the department of public health and environment may use up to 10% of appropriated money to administer and manage project grants concerning public water systems and wastewater treatment works in small communities. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the legislative council to approve agreements between the director of research of the legislative council and nonpartisan organizations to place nonpartisan legislative policy fellows (fellows) in the legislative council staff. The act also specifies the types of work that fellows may do, requires the director of research to retain supervisory authority over fellows, including over the terms and conditions of the fellowship, and requires any work product produced by a fellow during the fellowship to remain the property of the general assembly during and after the conclusion of the fellowship. The legislative council is prohibited from approving any agreement between the director of research of the legislative council and a nonpartisan organization that is registered as a lobbyist with the secretary of state to place a fellow in the legislative council staff. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)