The SmartWay transport partnership program of the United States environmental protection agency (EPA) is a voluntary public-private program under which a business that transports freight for organizations that ship freight or that coordinates the transportation of freight for and hires transportation services providers on behalf of organizations that ship freight can register with the EPA as a registered SmartWay carrier partner or a registered SmartWay logistics company partner (SmartWay partner) for the purpose of measuring, benchmarking, and improving its logistics operations so that it can reduce its environmental footprint. The bill requires the state, when contracting for the transportation of freight or the coordination of the transportation of freight, to give preference to a transportation services provider that is a SmartWay partner.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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The federal "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act", which became law in December 2017, added distributions for elementary or secondary school expenses for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school as qualified distributions from a qualified state tuition program, also known as a 529 account, thereby allowing, on the federal level, income tax-free distributions for elementary and secondary school such expenses in addition to already authorized income tax-free distributions for higher education expenses. The bill amends Colorado law to ensure that a taxpayer may not claim a deduction for contributions to qualified state tuition programs for elementary or secondary school expenses for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school and clarifies that such expenses are not qualified distributions. The bill includes an appropriation to the department of revenue for $11,040 from the general fund. (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 allows an active member of the armed forces of the United States or a veteran of the armed forces of the United States, or a dependent of the member or veteran, to be eligible for in-state tuition status at a community college, regardless of whether the person satisfies Colorado domicile or residency status. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the local school food purchasing program, the act: Makes technical changes to when a local education provider may apply to the program and when the department of education (department) selects providers; Requires the department to ensure geographic and district pupil size diversity among providers; Changes the limit for the number of lunches that all local education providers provided in the prior year to 10 million; Changes the reimbursement formula to $0.05 for every meal that the local education provider provided in the previous year; and Specifies that if the department does not spend the full appropriation for the program, up to 5% of the appropriation is available to the department in the following year to pay for the required evaluation and report.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For renewal of an educator license, the act requires teachers, special services providers, principals, and administrators to complete 10 clock hours of the professional development required during the term of the license relating to increasing awareness of laws and practices relating to the education of students with disabilities in the classroom, including educating students with behavioral concerns or behavioral disabilities. The laws and practices include but are not limited to child find and inclusive learning environments. A licensee who has less than 3 years left in the license renewal period on June 30, 2020, has until the end of the next license renewal period to complete the professional development content requirement and may use classes and activities completed during a 5-year look-back period to comply with the content requirement. Nothing in the act prevents the licensee from applying a single professional development course to one or more content or hour requirements established in law. The act also requires each educator preparation program, alternative teacher program, and alternative principal preparation program to include course work that provides educator candidates or alternative teachers or principals with an overview of federal laws relating to the education of students with disabilities, individualized education programs, and child find and that teaches educators effective special education classroom practices, including but not limited to inclusive learning environments. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Currently, Colorado residents who display a disabled veteran's license plate are allowed free entrance to any state park or recreation area, not including campgrounds, on any day of the year that such park or area is open. The act allows a Colorado resident to acquire a free transferable annual state parks pass by presenting the same documents required for a Colorado disabled veteran's license plate at a regional office or the central office of the division of parks and wildlife, or at any other locations the division determines. Thus, Colorado residents who are veterans with disabilities will be able to obtain free access to state parks without acquiring a Colorado disabled veteran's license plate. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law authorizes the board of directors of a conservancy district (board) to participate in the development of parks and recreational facilities within the district. The act permits a board to consider such participation a current expense of the district. The act also authorizes a board to participate in artistic and beautification projects that improve the aesthetic appearance of waterways within the district and to consider such participation a current expense of the district. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds 2 voting positions to the Colorado youth advisory council for representatives from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and reduces the number of at-large members from 5 to 3. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the college trust scholarship program (scholarship program) in the department of higher education (department) to disburse scholarship awards to institutions of higher education, as defined in the bill, on behalf of eligible graduates who are awarded a high school diploma from a Colorado public high school prior to enrolling in the fourth year of high school. The savings to the state due to the student graduating high school early is used for the scholarship award and to add money to the state education fund to eliminate the budget stabilization factor applied to total program funding under the public school finance formula. The scholarship award is equal to the greater of a portion of the average state share amount of the statewide average per pupil funding for public elementary and secondary schools or $3,000. The scholarship award is disbursed to the postsecondary program on behalf of the eligible graduate and may be used for the eligible graduate's cost of attendance for the postsecondary program, as determined by the department. An eligible graduate must enroll in a postsecondary program by the eligible graduate's twenty-first birthday or the eligible graduate forfeits the award; except that the department has the ability to waive this requirement in exceptional or unforseen circumstances. An eligible graduate may continue to use any unused portion of the scholarship award until the eligible graduate's twenty-sixth birthday, at which time the unused portion of the scholarship award is forfeited. Forfeited scholarship awards are transferred to the state education fund to be used first to eliminate the budget stabilization factor in the public school finance formula. The bill requires the department to report annually to certain committees of the general assembly certain information relating to the scholarship program. The bill creates the college trust scholarship fund and specifies the characteristics of the fund. Interest and income from the fund and any money from forfeited scholarships is transferred to the state education fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)