Rep. Naquetta Ricks

The act authorizes the owner of a trailer to register the trailer for as long as the owner owns the trailer. The trailer must be class B or class D personal property. To register the trailer, the owner must pay: 2 years of annual specific ownership tax; and $55.82 to cover fees. Upon the transfer of ownership of the trailer, the owner is required to notify the department of revenue of the transfer. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act amends and makes additions to existing law concerning security deposits that tenants submit to landlords and the conditions under which a landlord may retain all or part of a security deposit. For the purposes of security deposits, the act expands the definition of "normal wear and tear". Under current law, a landlord may not retain a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear and, if actual cause exists for retaining any portion of a security deposit, the landlord must provide the tenant: A written statement listing the exact reasons for the retention (written statement); and The difference between any sum deposited and the amount retained. The act states that a landlord may not retain a security deposit to cover any damage or defective condition that preexisted the tenancy and, if the landlord delivers the written statement within fourteen days after a written request by the tenant, the landlord must also deliver any relevant documentation in the landlord's possession or control. Upon a landlord's or tenant's request, if reasonable and practicable, the act requires a landlord and tenant to conduct a walk-through inspection, either in person or via a telecommunication-assisted interactive walk-through, of the dwelling unit to identify in writing any damage or defective conditions that are beyond normal wear and tear and that did not preexist the tenancy. The landlord must provide a walk-through inspection at a time that is mutually convenient to the parties, before the termination of the lease or the surrender of the premises, and after the tenant has had the opportunity to remove furniture. A landlord wrongfully withholds a security deposit or any portion of it if the landlord: Fails to timely provide the written statement and any required documentation; Provides a written statement that fails to list the exact reasons for retaining any portion of the security deposit; Fails to timely return the difference between any sum deposited and the amount retained; or Retains a security deposit or any portion of it in bad faith. A landlord retains a security deposit or any portion of it in bad faith if the amount retained: Unreasonably exceeds the amount of actual damages; Is retained without actual cause; Is an amount the landlord knew or should have known exceeded the actual damages; or Is retained solely or in part for an unlawful, retaliatory, or discriminatory purpose. A landlord is presumed to have retained an unreasonable amount of a security deposit if the amount retained is 125% or greater than the amount of the actual damages. In any court action brought by a tenant under the act, the landlord bears the burden of proving the amount of actual damages the landlord incurred. Under current law, upon cessation of a landlord's interest in a dwelling unit, the person in possession of a tenant's security deposit must either transfer the security deposit to the landlord's successor in interest or return the security deposit to the tenant within a reasonable time. The act states that this must be done within 60 days after cessation of the landlord's interest in the dwelling unit. If a landlord's payment refunding a tenant's security deposit or any portion of it is returned to the landlord, the landlord must hold the payment for at least one year after receiving it and must disburse the payment to the tenant within 15 calendar days upon the tenant's request. A landlord does not have actual cause to retain any amount from a security deposit for the replacement of carpet or painting unless there is substantial and irreparable damage to the carpet, or substantial damage to the paint, that exceeds normal wear and tear and did not preexist the tenancy. If a landlord has actual cause, the landlord may retain only the minimum amount necessary to replace the carpet or to repaint in the area that is damaged. A landlord may not deem carpet substantially and irreparably damaged if it has not been replaced with new carpet within the 10 years preceding the termination of the lease or surrender of the premises. The act takes effect January 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a school district, a charter school, an institute charter school, a board of cooperative services, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind (local education provider) to satisfy certain requirements concerning installation, inspection, and maintenance of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools if the local education provider undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund. The requirements established in the act concern: Ventilation verification assessments, which include assessments of an HVAC system's filtration, ventilation exhaust, economizers, demand control ventilation, air distribution and building pressurization, general maintenance requirements, and operational controls ; The preparation of HVAC assessment reports; The review of HVAC assessment reports by mechanical engineers, who make recommendations regarding necessary repairs and improvements, suggest pathways to reduce emissions, and estimate associated costs; HVAC adjustments, repairs, upgrades, and replacements; and The preparation of HVAC verification reports, which must be maintained for at least 5 years and made available to the public upon request. The act establishes mandatory criteria that an HVAC contractor must satisfy in order to perform work described in the act. A local education provider that undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund must do so using only contractors on the certified contractor list established by the department of labor and employment, unless the local education provider determines that there were no responsive, eligible subcontractors available to fulfill the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing portions of the contract. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the executive director of the department of revenue to allow a sales and use tax license and a sales and use tax exemption certificate to be searchable by the name and identification number of the sales and use tax licensee or the sales and use tax exemption certificate holder. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act amends the definition of a "portable tenant screening report" (screening report) to specify that a prospective tenant using a housing subsidy is not required to include a credit history report, a credit score, or an adverse credit event with the tenant's screening report. The act also repeals language allowing a landlord to require a tenant to make a screening report directly available to the landlord through a consumer reporting agency or third-party website. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the Colorado sexual assault forensic medical evidence review board (board), consisting of the attorney general, or their designee, as board chair; the executive director of the Colorado district attorneys' council, or their designee; and various members appointed by the attorney general or the governor. The board's duties include reviewing and monitoring processes related to sexual assault response, making recommendations to improve sexual assault response, and submitting an annual report concerning its duties. The act creates a notification requirement under the "Victim Rights Act" that requires a law enforcement agency to notify a victim every 90 days when the law enforcement agency has not received the results of the forensic medical evidence DNA analysis from an accredited crime laboratory. The act requires an accredited crime laboratory to endeavor to analyze forensic medical evidence within 60 days after its receipt. The act expands public reporting requirements concerning forensic medical evidence and DNA evidence backlogs. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $112,365 from the general fund to the department of law for use by the administration division to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a foreign third-party litigation funder (funder) that enters into a litigation financing agreement (agreement) to disclose and submit certain information to the Colorado attorney general. The act prohibits a funder from: Utilizing a domestic entity as a means of providing litigation financing to a party or attorney in a civil action; Deciding, influencing, or directing an attorney with respect to the conduct of the civil action or any settlement or resolution of the civil action; Assigning rights to profits other than the right to receive a share of the proceeds awarded in the civil action as outlined in the agreement; or Sharing proprietary information, or information affecting national security interests obtained as a result of the agreement for the civil action, with anyone who is not a party or an attorney. The act subjects an agreement to discovery under the Colorado rules of civil procedure and Colorado rules of evidence. The act deems an agreement entered into by a funder void if the funder fails to comply with the activity and disclosure requirements. A funder's failure to comply with the requirements of this act constitutes a deceptive or unfair trade practice. The act allows the attorney general to bring legal action against a funder to enforce compliance with the act, impose fines, prohibit a funder from operating in this state, or impose any other sanction the attorney general deems appropriate for a violation of the activity or disclosure requirements. The act requires the department of law to include information about funders in its annual "SMART Act" hearing annually, beginning in January 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act amends the statutes that require a person to possess a permit in order to boot a vehicle to apply any application, without the appropriate consent, of a device intended to prevent the normal operation of a motor vehicle. The act allows the public utilities commission (commission) to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a permit to immobilize a vehicle for felonies and immobilization-related offenses. An applicant must disclose each person that is an owner, a principal, an officer, a member, a partner, or a director of the vehicle immobilization company (company) in an application. The commission is authorized to deny an application for or suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a permit of a company based on a determination that it is not in the public interest for the company to possess a permit. The determination is subject to appeal. Possession of a permit is rebuttably presumed to be not in the public interest if a company has willfully and repeatedly failed to comply with the relevant law. The act adds the following new duties for companies: Before immobilizing a vehicle, the company must document the vehicle's condition and the reason for the immobilization. Standards are set for the documentation, including taking photographs. Upon demand by an authorized or interested person, the company must provide copies of the photographs, and if the company does not provide the photographs and a vehicle is damaged, it creates a rebuttable presumption that the company damaged the vehicle or did not have authority to immobilize the vehicle; A company shall display its name, the permit number, and a phone number of the company on each company vehicle used in immobilization. Standards are set for the display. The representative of a company must have business identification visibly worn at all times while immobilizing a vehicle or accepting payment; If a vehicle has been immobilized by a company, another company must not immobilize the vehicle; If a company applies more than one immobilization device to a vehicle, the company may not charge more than once for the removal of all the immobilization devices; A company must provide, upon request, evidence of the company's commercial liability insurance coverage; A company must immediately accept payment and release the vehicle if offered in cash or by valid major credit card; Upon request, a company must disclose accepted forms of payment; A company must provide an itemized act showing each charge and the rate for each fee incurred as a result of an immobilization and any fee that caused the immobilization; and A company may not pay money or provide other valuable consideration for the privilege of immobilizing vehicles. A company is prohibited from immobilizing a vehicle on private property unless: The immobilization is ordered or authorized by a court order, an administrative order, or a peace officer or by operation of law; or The company has received permission for each individual immobilization, within the 24 hours immediately preceding the immobilization, from a specified person. The company must retain the permission for 3 years. A property owner with tenants must give each tenant adequate notice of parking regulations as outlined in the act. A company may not immobilize a vehicle in a parking space or common parking area without the company or property owner giving 24 hours' written notice at least 24 hours before immobilizing the vehicle, unless the vehicle owner or operator has received a previous notice for parking inappropriately in the same manner. Standards are set for the notice. The company or property owner need not give the notice if one of the following apply but must place a notice on the immobilized vehicle that contains the phone number of the company, the normal operating hours of the company, and the phone number to contact the company outside of normal operating hours if: The vehicle is parked a second or subsequent time in the same inappropriate manner; The vehicle is parked in a designated and marked fire zone or is effectively obstructing a fire hydrant; The vehicle is inappropriately using reserved parking for people with disabilities; The immobilization is ordered or authorized by a court order, an administrative order, or a peace officer or by operation of law; The vehicle blocks a driveway or roadway enough to effectively obstruct a person's access to the driveway or roadway; The vehicle is parked in a designated, rented, or purchased parking space of a resident; or The vehicle is parked in a parking lot marked for the exclusive use of residents. To immobilize a vehicle on private property normally used for parking, the following must be provided upon entering the private property: Notice of the parking regulations; and Notice that a violation of the regulations subjects the vehicle to immobilization at the vehicle owner's expense. Unless the immobilization is based on an order given by a peace officer, a company may not immobilize a vehicle on private property because the vehicle's registration has expired. For a company to immobilize a vehicle, the property owner must have posted signage that meets the size, visibility, and placement standards of the act and contains the following information: The restriction or prohibition on parking; The times of the day and days that the restriction is applicable, but, if the restriction applies 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, the sign must say "Authorized Parking Only"; Notice that violating the regulation subjects the violating vehicle to be immobilized at the vehicle owner's expense; and The name and telephone number of the company authorized to perform immobilization on the private property. A company may not patrol or monitor property to enforce parking restrictions on behalf of a property owner. A company may not immobilize a vehicle because the vehicle is inoperable if the vehicle is owned by a resident and is parked in the resident's designated, rented, or purchased parking space or driveway or in a mobile home lot that is leased or owned by the resident. If a company has immobilized a vehicle on private property, the company must give a written notice of the person's ability to make a complaint to the commission in accordance with the standards of the act. A company must release a motor vehicle either within 120 minutes after being contacted outside the company's normal business hours or within 90 minutes during the company's normal business hours. A company must immediately release a vehicle without charge to a towing carrier when evidence is presented that the towing carrier has authorization to conduct a nonconsensual tow or law-enforcement-directed tow. A company must immediately release an immobilized vehicle if the person retrieving the vehicle pays $60 and the person signs a form affirming that the authorized or interested person owes the company payment for the appropriate fees. A company may remotely release an immobilization device from a vehicle. The company shall retrieve the immobilization device within 120 minutes after releasing it. The driver must move the immobilization device from the road so that it is not a hazard to vehicles or pedestrians unless the driver has a physical limitation that makes moving the device unreasonably difficult or impossible. The driver need not return the device to the company or a location specified by the company. A company must charge a reduced release charge set by the commission and immediately release the vehicle if the vehicle is released after an employee of or agent of the company starts to immobilize the vehicle but before the agent or employee leaves the private property. A company must retain evidence of giving the notices and disclosures required in the act for 3 years and provide the evidence to the commission or an enforcement official upon request. Generally, the act does not apply to an immobilization that is: Ordered by a peace officer or technician directed by a peace officer; In a parking space that serves a business if the parking space is on commercial real estate; Ordered by a municipality, county, or city and county; or On federally leased land used for commercial parking purposes. A violation of the act is generally a deceptive trade practice and is subject to enforcement by the attorney general's office or a district attorney. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of higher education (department), subject to available appropriations, to develop and maintain a free, publicly accessible online platform (platform) to provide current and potential students who are pursuing postsecondary education in Colorado with relevant information about which credits and courses, work-related experiences, and prior learning opportunities are transferable to or between the state's public institutions of higher education (institution). On or before January 1, 2026, an institution may submit to the department for inclusion in the platform: A comprehensive record, from the fall 2023 term onward, of the institution's awards of postsecondary transfer credit for all courses that the institution has identified as having learning outcomes equivalent to corresponding offerings at other institutions; and Descriptions of the institution's policy on work-related experiences or prior learning opportunities, and the credentials, licenses, or apprenticeship certificates for which the institution awards postsecondary academic credit. Using the data provided by an institution, the department shall include in the platform information about the transferability to or between institutions for several sources of postsecondary academic credit. These sources include courses in the statewide common course numbering system, now referred to as the guaranteed transfer pathway matrix, and credits earned through various standardized tests. A not-for-profit private institution of higher education may, but is not required to, submit applicable information for inclusion in the platform. The act creates the postsecondary transfer credit platform cash fund to accept gifts, grants, and donations for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the platform. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the state board of education (state board) to adopt standards related to Black historical and cultural studies (standards). Local education providers shall incorporate the standards into courses for public elementary and secondary school students in the state no later than 2 years after the state board adopts the standards. The act aligns the timeline for the development, adoption, and integration of the standards with the 6-year cycle that the state board of education currently uses for revising the state academic standards. The act creates the Black historical and cultural studies advisory committee (committee) in the department of education (department) to recommend standards and related materials and to provide technical assistance at the request of local education providers implementing the standards. The committee's recommendations must include updates to the state's history and civics standards and must advance developmentally appropriate but comprehensive instruction that features factual accounts of the struggles and contributions of Black Americans in all fields of endeavor. Using the committee's recommendations, the department will create and maintain a resource bank of research-based, scholarly articles and promising program materials and curricula pertaining to Black historical and cultural studies. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $19,225 from the general fund to the department for costs related to content specialists. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)