Rep. Gretchen Rydin

Risk assessments assess a parolee's criminogenic needs and risk of recidivism and are used to guide parole supervision planning, identify appropriate interventions, and establish parole supervision levels or categories.     The act requires the department of corrections (department) to establish a risk assessment quality review team to develop policies and implement practices that determine whether risk assessments are completed accurately and consistently and to ensure a sustained process of review and training.     For its 'SMART Act' hearing beginning in 2027, and each year thereafter, the department is required to include information concerning reviewed risk assessments, including findings and measures implemented to mitigate recent high error rates in risk assessments.     The act clarifies that risk assessment outputs are criminal justice records for purposes of public inspection. The act prohibits an agreement that prohibits the disclosure of information in a risk assessment output that is subject to disclosure under the law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows an injured person to bring a cause of action for claims of injury caused by sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (efforts) against a licensed mental health professional and allows the cause of action to be commenced at any time without limitation.     Specifically, the act applies to a civil cause of action brought against a licensed mental health professional who seeks to direct a patient toward a predetermined sexual orientation or gender identity outcome or eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of a particular sex or gender.     The act permits the injured individual, or the individual's personal representative or estate if the individual is deceased, to recover economic, noneconomic, and exemplary damages, and any other damages deemed appropriate by the court.     A cause of action may be brought as a survival action within 5 years after the death of the person who underwent efforts.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the availability of the conservation easement tax credit from income tax year 2031 through income tax year 2036. The act also prohibits the division of conservation from issuing any additional credit certificates or amending previously issued credit certificates as a result of the additional authority granted by the act for a donation made prior to the effective date of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the Colorado bureau of investigation to transmit a list of missing children to the Colorado department of education (department) instead of each school district and requires the department to notify the bureau if the department's list of enrolled students includes information about a missing child.     The act repeals the requirement for a school district, board of cooperative services, district charter school, or institute charter school to have paper and pencil assessment policies for state-administered assessments in public schools.     The act allows a school district or a charter school network with 1,200 students or fewer to submit a single plan to satisfy school district, school network, or school accreditation plan requirements.     The act prohibits the department from representing as mandatory a voluntary data collection request to a school district, the state charter school institute, or a public school and prohibits the department from conditioning any benefit unrelated to a specific grant on the completion of a voluntary data collection request.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows off-campus courses to be included in concurrent enrollment programs when the off-campus courses meet the requirements for concurrent enrollment programs and the requirements of an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education.     The act provides that additional concurrent enrollment courses shall not be approved after July 1, 2028 unless the general assembly indicates in a footnote in the general appropriations act that the department of education (department) has sufficient funding for course and audit oversight requirements to allow approval of additional concurrent enrollment courses.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,056 from the general fund to the department and reduces the general fund appropriation for the college opportunity fund program by $80,178 with a corresponding decrease in reappropriated funds for the regents of the university of Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that an educational institution denies a person the full and equal enjoyment of a place of public accommodation when the educational institution:On the basis of a protected class, excludes a student from participation in, denies a student the benefits of, or otherwise subjects a student to discrimination in any of the educational institution's programs or activities;Denies educational services, benefits, or opportunities to a student or group of students by treating them differently from a similarly situated student who is, or group of students who are, part of a different subgroup of students within the same protected class; orHas actual notice that a hostile environment based on a protected class exists at the educational institution but fails to take prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to eliminate the hostile environment, end the harassment that gave rise to the hostile environment, and prevent the harassment from recurring.     The act adds pregnancy and parental status as characteristics that may constitute a protected class for the purpose of 'harassment or discrimination' at an elementary or secondary public school.     The act requires each public institution of higher education (institution) to designate an individual to serve as the Title VI coordinator for the institution. The Title VI coordinator is responsible for ensuring the institution's compliance with the requirements of Title VI of the federal 'Civil Rights Act of 1964', enforcing the institution's Title VI grievance procedures, identifying institutional issues related to Title VI compliance, and aggregating and making publicly available data about alleged violations of Title VI at the institution.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law states that a child or youth named in a petition related to dependency and neglect proceedings is a party to the proceedings and has a right to attend and fully participate in all hearings related to the case. The act affirms that as a party to the proceedings, the child or youth has legal standing regarding all matters related to the child's or youth's interests and the right to have the child's or youth's interests fully represented by the guardian ad litem or counsel for youth throughout the proceedings, including appeals.     If a county department of human or social services (county department) seeks dismissal of a petition prior to the adjudicatory hearing and the child or youth, through the child's or youth's guardian ad litem or counsel for youth, objects to the dismissal and articulates a basis upon which the child is abused or neglected, the court shall set a hearing to determine whether or not the county department has a reasonable basis to dismiss the case. If the court determines that the county department shows a reasonable basis for dismissal, the court shall dismiss the case. If the county department does not show a reasonable basis to dismiss the case, the court must allow the case to proceed.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the public utilities commission (commission) may assess a civil penalty in an amount up to $550 against a transportation network company (TNC) if the TNC had written notice of a TNC driver's violation of certain prohibitions against discriminating against riders and the TNC failed to reasonably address the violation. Additionally, a driver is required to report to the TNC any refusal by the driver to provide services to a rider, and the TNC is required to annually report all such refusals to the commission.     The act removes the condition that a TNC first have written notice of a driver's violation of the discriminatory prohibitions before a civil penalty may be assessed against the TNC, increases the maximum civil penalty to $1,300, and requires the commission to consider certain mitigating and aggravating factors in determining whether to assess a civil penalty and the amount of a penalty assessed. The act also requires:A TNC to mandate and provide education to drivers concerning the transportation of riders with service animals;A TNC to provide monthly, rather than annual, reporting to the commission regarding drivers' refusal to provide services;A TNC to provide a mechanism to allow a consumer to report a driver's refusal to provide transport to the consumer directly on the TNC's digital platform, which information must be included in the TNC's monthly report; andThe commission to aggregate and anonymize the TNCs' monthly reports and make the anonymized reports available to the public.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the repeal date of the open educational resources grant program and the Colorado open educational resources council (council) to November 1, 2031. The act increases representation from public institutions of higher education on the council from 12 to 15 members.     The act extends the requirement for the department of higher education (department) to prepare and submit an annual report regarding open educational resources to December 31, 2031.     The act appropriates $275,000 to the department for use by the Colorado commission on higher education and higher education special purpose programs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the commission on medicaid (commission) to develop recommendations regarding implementation of new federal medicaid policy changes that go into effect in 2026, 2027, and 2028 and to support Coloradans impacted by those policy changes.     The commission is required to:Convene at least 6 times but no more than 12 times between May 14, 2026 and December 11, 2026;Invite relevant state agency representatives and medicaid stakeholders to present and provide feedback on commission recommendations; andContract with a technical advisor to assist the commission in writing and submitting a report to the general assembly and the governor documenting the commission's process and any recommendations by December 11, 2026.     The act appropriates $500,000 to the legislative department from the general fund to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)