Rep. Lorena García

The act requires a gun show promoter to prepare a security plan and submit the security plan to each local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the gun show. The act places certain requirements on a gun show promoter, including requiring the promoter to: Have liability insurance for the gun show; Implement security measures at the gun show, including monitoring all entrances and exits and providing video surveillance of the gun show parking area and main entrance and exit; Prohibit persons under 18 years of age from entering the gun show unless the person is accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or guardian; For each customer who leaves with a purchased firearm, verify that the firearm has been delivered in compliance with the required the 3-day waiting period; and Post certain notices at the gun show. Violating any of the above provisions is unlawful gun show management, which is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that a second or subsequent offense is a class 1 misdemeanor and, in addition to the criminal penalty, the promoter is prohibited from acting as a gun show promoter for 5 years. The act defines a "gun collectors show" as an event sponsored to facilitate the purchase, sale, offer for sale, or collection of only curios or relics or antique firearms, and not any other type of firearm. Gun collectors shows are not gun shows under the act. The act prohibits a person from participating in a gun show as a gun show vendor if the person is not a federal firearms licencee, does not hold a valid state firearms dealer permit, has been convicted of a second offense of unlawful gun show vendor activity as described in the act, or has not completed a gun show certification for the gun show promoter as required in the act. Unlawful participation in a gun show as a gun show vendor is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that a second or subsequent offense is a class 1 misdemeanor. Before participating in a gun show, a gun show vendor is required to certify to the gun show promoter that the vendor satisfies the requirements to be a gun show vendor and will comply with federal, state, and local laws while participating in the gun show. While participating in a gun show, a gun show vendor shall display copies of the vendor's federal firearms license and state firearms dealer permit, keep firearms unloaded and securely affixed to the vendor's countertop or wall, display ammunition in accordance with state and federal law, and include with each sold firearm written information describing secure storage and lost or stolen firearm reporting requirements. Violating any of these provisions is unlawful gun show vendor activity, which is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that a second or subsequent offense is a class 1 misdemeanor and the person is prohibited from participating as a vendor at a gun show. The act maintains the requirement in existing law that a gun show vendor conduct a background check for each firearm transfer at a gun show, but removes the maximum fee a licensed gun dealer may charge for each background check conducted at a gun show. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires each institution of higher education (institution) in Colorado to create and adopt a policy and a process to support the ability of an admitted or enrolled student with a disability (student) to voluntarily self-disclose the student's disability and to engage in an interactive process with the institution to receive an academic adjustment. The adopted policy must, at a minimum, include information that: Describes the institution's process to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Outlines documentation that the institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Provides information on the available disability resources and academic adjustments provided to students with disabilities; and Describes an appeals process for academic adjustment decisions that focuses on documentary review. Each institution shall publish the policy on the institution's website in an accessible format. The act describes the type of documentation that an institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of public health and environment (department), to the extent that funding is available as part of the department's green business network, to: Provide annual training that includes food waste prevention and reduction strategies; Develop a food waste reduction guidance document (document); Place the document on the department's public website; and Update the document at least annually. The act suggests means by which retail food establishments may donate or resell safe food. The act states that, on and after January 1, 2026, grocery stores are encouraged to: Clearly display the ingredients of items of prepared food; and Use "best if used or frozen by" dates rather than "sell by" dates upon prepared items of food. Current law provides civil and criminal immunity to a farmer, retail food establishment, correctional facility, school district, hospital, or processor, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of food that donates items of food to a nonprofit organization for use or distribution in providing assistance to individuals in need. The act extends this immunity to apply to: Faith-based organizations that donate food; and Food donations to faith-based organizations and individuals. The act also clarifies that the immunity from liability applies regardless of whether the donated food is alleged to have caused illness or death. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits a person's failure to appear from forming the basis of a municipal criminal charge against the person. The act clarifies that, for purposes of the act, failure to appear includes contempt of court for the failure to appear or any other term used by a municipality to refer to a person's failure to appear at a scheduled court date. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the Colorado pet overpopulation authority (authority) to distribute money to encourage a pet animal facility, a pet animal rescue, and a spay and neuter organization located in Colorado (animal welfare facility) to trap, neuter, and return to its habitat a free-roaming domestic cat that may have a caretaker and is not socialized to humans (community cat). The adopt a shelter pet account in the pet overpopulation fund (account) provides the funding for these services. The authority will allocate funding pursuant to the direction of the authority's board of directors (board). The authority must not favor a particular animal welfare facility's shelter model over another when allocating money to an animal welfare facility. A pet animal facility must be licensed and in good standing with the department of agriculture and located in Colorado to be eligible for money to support trapping, neutering, and returning to the community a community cat (trap-neuter-return). An animal welfare facility allocated money for trap-neuter-return may spend the money only on: Trapping, sterilizing, vaccinating, and ear-tipping community cats in Colorado; Veterinary care for the treatment and sterilization of community cats in Colorado; Training for community cat caretakers and animal control personnel in humane trapping and trap-neuter-return protocols in Colorado; and For an animal welfare facility that is a spay and neuter organization, veterinary materials and support for mobile clinics in Colorado. The act changes the composition of the board and board member qualifications as follows: Replaces the representative of the Colorado federation of animal welfare agencies or its successor organization with one representative of an animal shelter; Replaces the representative of an association organized for Colorado animal control officers with one representative of a Colorado animal control agency; Replaces the member of an animal rescue organization with one person who is a member of a pet animal rescue; Modifies the qualifications of the representative from western Colorado by requiring that the person represent an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue or be a veterinary professional licensed with the state board of veterinary medicine located in western Colorado; Adds one representative from southern Colorado and one representative from eastern Colorado, both of whom must represent either an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue or be a veterinary professional licensed with the state board of veterinary medicine located in their respective regions; and Adds one representative of a pet animal facility located in a county with a population of 50,000 or less. The board member who represents the general public must not also be on the board of any animal welfare organization. Any other board member may be a member of a board or subcommittee of a board of an animal welfare organization, but no more than one member of the board may be on the board or subcommittee of the board of the same animal welfare organization. A member of the board shall recuse themself from any board action or vote if they have a conflict of interest, including a vote on any allocation of funding to the board member. The board must annually publish on the pet overpopulation fund website the name of each grantee receiving money from the pet overpopulation fund, the amount of money provided to a grantee, when a grantee received a grant, and the names of each board member. The act requires at least 70% of all money awarded for grants from the pet overpopulation fund to be used for animal welfare facilities that are headquartered and located in a Colorado county with a population of 200,000 or less and requires the board to consider awarding at least 50% of the funds designated for these rural communities to counties with a population of 50,000 or less. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires an individual who completes a certificate of death to record the decedent's sex to reflect the decedent's gender. If an individual who completes a certificate of death is presented with a document memorializing the decedent's gender (gender document), the individual must record the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document. If a gender document is not presented and an individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains objects to the sex recorded by the individual who completes the certificate of death, the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains may state their objection to the individual who completes a certificate of death before the certificate of death is filed, and the individual who completes the certificate of death must record the sex as the gender reported by the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains. If a gender document is presented to the office of state registrar of vital statistics in the department of public health and environment (state registrar) for a decedent that died in the state, the state registrar must issue an amended certificate of death for the decedent that changes the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document. The state registrar must also amend the certificate of death to reflect a legal name change if the appropriate legal name change documentation is submitted to the state registrar. An individual with the right to control the disposition of a decedent's remains may file a claim seeking an order of the court to amend the information recorded on the decedent's certificate of death. The act requires the department of public health and environment to add a gender field to the certificate of death form and the electronic death registration system. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that the child of an inbound active duty military member (member) who has an existing individualized education program (IEP) or existing section 504 plan is eligible for open enrollment, remote enrollment, and guaranteed matriculation. The act requires the school district, district charter school, or an institute charter school (local education provider) where the child enrolls to ensure the student receives the appropriate services and accommodations, consistent with the child's existing IEP or section 504 plan, without unreasonable delay upon enrollment. The act requires each local education provider to take reasonable steps to notify members and their families of their rights, including providing information on special education services to prevent inadvertent exclusion and to ensure members and their families are fully informed of available supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summaryThis resolution authorizes Colorado's General Assembly to file a lawsuit challenging whether the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), specifically Section 20 of Article X in the state constitution, violates the guarantee of a "republican form of government" under the state constitution and U.S. Constitution. It directs the Committee on Legal Services to hire legal counsel (excluding those involved in prior TABOR litigation) to sue in state district court, seeking a court determination on TABOR's constitutionality regarding legislative authority over taxes and spending. The suit focuses solely on whether TABOR undermines the General Assembly's role as a representative legislative body.

The act amends various statutes governing the operations of the department of public health and environment (department) regarding disease control. Specifically, sections 1 through 9 of the act: Repeal the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee (GEEERC); Direct the state board of health to review and amend, as necessary, the department's emergency response and recovery plan every 3 years; and Require the executive director of the department or, if the executive director is not the chief medical officer, the chief medical officer to convene a group of subject matter experts to develop crisis standards of care to be used in responding to a public health emergency. Sections 10 through 18 modify school immunization provisions as follows to: Allow the records of a physician assistant to be used to create an official certificate of immunization for a student; Extend the period within which a student whose certificate of immunization is not up to date to comply with immunization requirements to attend school from 14 days after notice of noncompliance is received to 30 days after receipt of the noncompliance notice; Extend from February 15 to April 15 the deadline for a school to distribute the annual letter to parents specifying the school's aggregate immunization rates and the immunization requirements applicable for the next school year; Direct the state board of health, in adopting rules establishing immunization requirements, to take into consideration, as appropriate and in addition to the recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices, the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Physicians; For purposes of out-of-state campers attending a licensed children's residential camp, allow the camp to maintain an out-of-state immunization record for an out-of-state camper, rather than the state's official certificate of immunization; Remove gendered pronouns and replace them with gender-neutral language; and Repeal the requirement for schools to notify the department and the local public health agency when a student is suspended or expelled from school for noncompliance with immunization requirements. Section 19 extends from July 15 to September 15 the date by which the department is required to submit to the general assembly an annual report summarizing health-care-associated infections data received from health facilities in the state. Section 20 repeals the requirement for certain health-care providers to offer a hepatitis C screening test to individuals born between 1945 and 1965 and instead directs the state board of health to adopt standards, consistent with recommendations from the federal centers for disease control and prevention, for hepatitis C screening tests. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act defines a "specified semiautomatic firearm" as a semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine or a gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. The act excludes certain types of firearms and specified models of firearms from the definition of "specified semiautomatic firearm". The act prohibits knowingly manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, or purchasing a specified semiautomatic firearm on or after August 1, 2026; except that a person may transfer a specified semiautomatic firearm to an individual residing in another state or a federally licensed firearm dealer. The act exempts certain manufacture, transfers, sales, and purchases from the prohibition, including specified transactions involving law enforcement agencies and peace officers, the department of corrections, armored vehicle businesses, military forces, gunsmiths, educational programs, and historical societies and museums; transfers that occur by operation of law or because of the death of a person; and conduct involving firearms for use solely as a prop for a film. Additionally, the prohibition does not apply to the transfer or sale of a specified semiautomatic firearm to, and receipt or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm by, a person who: Completed a hunter education course certified by the division of parks and wildlife (division) and, within 5 years before making the purchase, completed a basic firearms safety course; Within 5 years before making the purchase, completed an extended firearms safety course; or Completed an extended firearms safety course more than 5 years before making the purchase and completed a basic firearms safety course within 5 years before making the purchase. Unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that a second or subsequent offense is a class 6 felony. The department of revenue shall revoke the state firearms dealer permit of a dealer who unlawfully manufactures, distributes, transfers, sells, or purchases a specified semiautomatic firearm. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall deny the transfer of a firearm to a person who was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm within 5 years prior to the transfer. A person convicted of felony unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm is prohibited from possessing a firearm and certain other weapons. The act sets minimum requirements for the instruction included in, and length of, a basic firearms safety course and an extended firearms safety course. The act requires the division to establish the course requirements for a basic or extended firearms safety course. In order to enroll in a basic or extended firearms safety course, a person must hold a valid firearms safety course eligibility card (firearms course card) issued by a sheriff. The act sets the requirements to be issued a firearms course card, which includes completing a name-based background check, paying a processing fee set by the sheriff, and paying the firearms training and safety course record fee established by the division. A sheriff shall issue a firearms course card to an applicant; except that a sheriff shall deny an application if the applicant cannot lawfully possess a firearm under state or federal law or the sheriff cannot positively identify the applicant. A sheriff may deny an application for a firearms course card if the sheriff has a reasonable belief that documented previous behavior by the applicant makes it likely the applicant will present a danger to themself or others if the applicant holds a card. A sheriff shall revoke an issued firearms course card if the cardholder cannot lawfully possess a firearm under state or federal law and may revoke an issued card if the sheriff has a reasonable belief that documented previous behavior by the applicant makes it likely the applicant will present a danger to themself or others. The act sets forth the process for judicial review of the denial or revocation of a firearms course card. The act requires the division to develop and maintain a firearms training and safety course record system (system) that includes records of persons who hold a valid firearms course card and who have completed a hunter education course, a basic firearms safety course, or an extended firearms safety course. The system must allow: A sheriff to electronically enter information about each person who was issued a firearms course eligibility card; The instructor of a basic or extended firearms safety course to request and receive information about whether a person holds a valid firearms course card; The instructor of a hunter education course or a basic or extended firearms safety course to electronically enter into the system information about each student who completes a course; and A federal firearms licensee to electronically request and receive information about whether a person has completed the courses necessary to purchase a specified semiautomatic firearm. The act creates the firearms training and safety course cash fund, which consists of firearms training and safety course record fee remitted to the division by a sheriff and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division. The director of the division may report to the state treasurer an amount of money to transfer between the firearms training and safety course cash fund from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund. Within 3 days after receiving a report, the state treasurer shall make the reported transfer. By June 30, 2030, the total amount of the transfers to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund reported by the director of the division must be equal to the total amount transferred from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund, plus fair market interest. On or before December 31 of each year, the division shall submit a report to the house of representatives and senate judiciary committees, or their successor committees, about the expenses incurred by the division to implement the act, and any additional resources the division needs to effectively implement the act. The act requires the division in the department of revenue responsible for issuing state firearms dealer permits to publish and make publicly available guidance about specific models of specified semiautomatic firearms to which the act applies. The act makes the unlawful sale, transfer, or possession of a large-capacity magazine a class 1 misdemeanor. Existing law prohibits possession of a dangerous weapon. The act defines "rapid-fire device" and classifies rapid-fire devices as dangerous weapons under Colorado law. The act repeals the definition of "machine gun conversion device" and removes machine gun conversion devices from the list of dangerous weapons. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the bill appropriates $100,000 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology from funds received from the department of natural resources from the firearms training and safety course cash fund. The general assembly appropriated money to the department of revenue to implement House Bill 24-1353, concerning requirements to engage in the business of dealing in firearms. The act further appropriates unspent money from that appropriation to the department of revenue for expenditure until the close of the 2025-26 state fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)