Rep. Michael Carter

The act adds kidney function screening services as mandated preventive health-care services for which insurance policies or contracts in the state must provide total-cost coverage. Coverage for kidney function screening services will be implemented for all large employer health benefit policies or contracts issued or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, and coverage will be implemented for all individual and small group health benefit plans issued or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2028, as long as the state is not required to defray the cost of the coverage of the kidney function screening services.     The act permits the exclusion of the 'State Employees Group Benefits Act' from this mandate and exempts certain high deductible plans from having to provide total-cost coverage for such services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a joint committee of five legislators to inform the Governor that the current legislative session is about to end. The committee, composed of three House members and two Senate members, will also ask the Governor if he has any final messages for the assembly. Although the bill was introduced in 2026, it was ultimately not passed as the Senate laid it on the table. Its primary function is a procedural step to ensure proper communication between the legislature and the executive branch at the conclusion of a session.

The act requires the secretary of state to refer a ballot issue at the November 2026 general election to seek voter approval for the state, beginning in the 2026-27 state fiscal year, to retain and spend an amount of state revenue equal to the amount of state public K-12 education funding in excess of the limitation on state fiscal year spending and to increase state public K-12 education funding by up to 2% per year for 10 years.     The act directs legislative council staff to determine the amount of state public K-12 education funding and describes how legislative council staff will make that determination.     The act creates a positive factor to increase state public K-12 education funding. The amount of the positive factor compounds annually for 10 years. The positive factor for the 2026-27 budget year is 2% of the program foundation calculated for the 2025-26 budget year. For the 2027-28 through 2034-35 budget years, it is the sum of 2% of the prior year's program foundation plus the prior year's positive factor. For the 2035-36 budget year and beyond, it is the sum of 2% of the 2034-35 program foundation plus the 2034-35 positive factor.     A district's share of the positive factor is calculated proportionally based on the district's total program under the new school finance formula relative to the statewide total program.     A district may only use its positive factor funding for increasing teacher pay, improving teacher retention, lowering class sizes, and increasing access to career and technical courses.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the children's account consists of an amount of money equal to the amount of state revenues that the state retains for a given fiscal year pursuant to voter approval of the act. For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2027, the account consists of that same amount minus an amount equal to the total dollar amount of warrants issued by the state treasurer to reimburse local governments for property tax exemptions. Money in the account must first be spent to pay districts their positive factor, then any remaining funds are appropriated for disability services and school services and to increase annual contact hours, and finally to programs prioritizing child care and full-day preschool.     The act directs the state auditor to conduct and publish a report on excess state revenues for each state fiscal year that the state retains and spends state revenues in excess of the limitation on state fiscal year spending. That report must include descriptions of:The amount of state revenues that the state retained and spent that would otherwise have been in excess of the limitation on state fiscal year spending; andHow the state expended the state revenues that the state retained and spent that would otherwise have been in excess of the limitation on state fiscal year spending.     Beginning August 1, 2027, the act requires each local education provider to post, online for free public access in a format that can be downloaded and sorted, its actual expenditures of any positive factor received.     Lastly, the act updates provisions regarding the expanded earned income tax credit, the family affordability tax credit, and the affordable housing financing fund to ensure that voter approval of the act does not adversely impact those programs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act adds the state board of parole as an entity that may approve an application for early parole for an offender who has successfully completed a specialized program as provided in current law. The offender must have been convicted of a certain predicate felony and committed the felony when they were younger than 21 years old.     The state board of parole can approve or deny the application if the governor has not acted on the application within 60 days after receiving the board's recommendation. If the governor acts on the application within 60 days, the governor's decision is final. If the governor does not act on the application, the state board of parole's decision is final.     Under current law, there is a specialized program for juveniles and young adults convicted as adults that must include components that allow an offender to experience placement with more independence in daily life. The act requires the specialized program to include programming that requires an offender to acknowledge the impact of crime on victims and the ongoing trauma that crime survivors experience, as well as the offender's own trauma.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2024, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 24-205, which created consumer protections in interactions with artificial intelligence systems. The act repeals and reenacts those provisions with new requirements regarding the use of automated decision-making technology in consequential decisions.     The act defines an 'automated decision-making technology' (ADMT) as a technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate output, including predictions, recommendations, classifications, rankings, scores, or other information that is used to make, guide, or assist a decision, judgment, or determination concerning an individual. The act defines a 'consequential decision' as a decision that relates to an individual's access to, eligibility for, or compensation related to education, employment, housing, financial or lending services, insurance, health-care services, or essential government services and public benefits.     The act requires the developer of an ADMT (developer) that is used to materially influence a consequential decision (covered ADMT), starting January 1, 2027, to provide a deployer of a covered ADMT (deployer) with technical documentation describing the covered ADMT's intended uses, categories of training data, known limitations, and instructions for appropriate use and human review. Developers must notify deployers of material updates or modifications to the covered ADMT. Both developers and deployers are required to retain records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the act for at least 3 years.     The act establishes consumer notice requirements, mandating that deployers provide clear and conspicuous notice to consumers at the point of interaction with a covered ADMT. A deployer is required to provide a consumer with a plain language description of a covered ADMT's role within 30 days after the covered ADMT makes a consequential decision that results in an adverse outcome for the consumer. The attorney general must adopt rules to clarify these post-adverse outcome disclosure requirements by January 1, 2027.     Consumers have the right to request personal data and correction of factually incorrect personal data used by a covered ADMT. The act also grants consumers the right to request meaningful human review and reconsideration following a covered ADMT making a consequential decision resulting in an adverse outcome.     The attorney general is directed to enforce the act through the 'Colorado Consumer Protection Act', and a violation of the act is deemed a deceptive trade practice. Before initiating an action before January 1, 2030, the attorney general must provide the developer or deployer with a 60-day notice and opportunity to cure the alleged violation, if a cure is deemed possible. The act does not create a new private right of action but establishes how fault is allocated between developers and deployers in civil actions alleging unlawful discrimination under existing law.     Specified entities are exempted from the requirements of the act to the extent the entities comply with other legal obligations.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summaryThis bill is a Senate Joint Resolution that formally recognizes the Colorado Mining Association for its 150th anniversary in 2026. It highlights the organization's historical significance and its role in supporting Colorado's mining industry, which contributes billions to the state's economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs. The resolution acknowledges the association's partnerships with state and federal agencies in promoting safety, environmental stewardship, and responsible mineral development. This measure does not change any laws or policies but serves as an official acknowledgment of the association's contributions to Colorado's history and economy.

Under current law, if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of another person, the person commits first degree murder. The bill requires that the person:Cause the death of more than one person;Cause the death of one person and cause serious bodily injury to 2 or more persons by means of a deadly weapon;Cause the death of a child who is under 12 years old; orCause the death of a peace officer, emergency medical service provider, emergency medical care provider, or firefighter engaged in the performance of their duties.     The bill creates a new charge of murder in the second degree if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of only one other person.      The bill expands the conduct by which a person can commit criminally negligent homicide to include proximately causing the death of another person while operating or driving a motor vehicle with criminal negligence.     The bill creates the offense of aggravated vehicular homicide by operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or other drugs and causing the death of another person when the person also:Has been convicted twice of driving under the influence or driving while ability impaired;Has been convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault;Commits the offense while eluding or attempting to elude law enforcement;Commits the offense while in flight from the commission of another felony offense, not including a traffic offense; orCommits the offense while driving at a high rate of speed, creating an imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person.      The bill creates the new offense of negligent vehicular homicide if a person drives a motor vehicle with criminal negligence and causes the death of another person. Negligent vehicular homicide is a class 5 felony.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The act acknowledges the human-animal bond as a life-enhancing resource that impacts the length and quality of human life. The act authorizes the health disparities and community grant program (grant program) to award grants to entities that support the human-animal bond if the grant program is appropriated additional funds for that purpose by the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under Colorado law, a private property owner is prohibited from retaining more than 5% of a construction contract as retainage if the contract is at least $150,000. The act authorizes a contractor to submit a retainage bond in lieu of withholding retainage, and a private property owner must accept the retainage bond and not withhold the retainage if the retainage bond meets the act's standards. A subcontractor may require the contractor to submit a bond in lieu of retainage for the subcontractor's portion of the retainage. The contractor may require the subcontractor to submit a like bond to the contractor.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill creates the state temporary hospitality event permits (hospitality permit) where marijuana may be consumed, but not sold or distributed, at the event premises for a temporary hospitality event (event). Other licensees are permitted to participate in the event. To be issued a hospitality permit, the applicant must hold an active marijuana hospitality business license, apply for the hospitality permit, and pay the application fee. Application standards are set. The state licensing authority sets the application fee to offset the direct and indirect costs of issuing a hospitality permit.     A marijuana hospitality business or a participating licensee is prohibited from:Operating an event for longer than 72 hours;Hosting more than 15 events per year;Selling, transferring, or distributing marijuana at the event premises during an event; andTransferring the hospitality permit to another person.     To hold an event at a specific event premises, the applicant must apply for and be issued an event premises permit (premises permit) by the local licensing authority. Standards are set for the application process. To qualify for a premises permit, the licensee must demonstrate that the event premises comply with applicable zoning, fire, and public health laws and comply with the bill. Standards are set for an application for and the issuance of the premises permit.     In order for event premises to be used, the local jurisdiction must adopt a resolution or ordinance authorizing events within the jurisdiction. The local jurisdiction may impose reasonable conditions and limitations.     If a premises permit application is denied, the applicant may request a hearing within 7 days after the denial. If a hearing is requested, the local licensing authority shall hold a hearing to determine if the denial is justified. The local licensing authority sets the fee to issue a premises permit.     The state licensing authority must adopt rules. Both the state and local licensing authorities may enforce the bill and marijuana laws at the events and on the event premises. The state licensing authority and a local licensing authority may separately or jointly inspect permitted events or event premises.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)