Rep. Ryan Gonzalez

A manufacturer of spirituous liquors (manufacturer) that seeks to serve and sell alcohol beverages acquired from wholesalers licensed in the state (wholesaler) at the manufacturer's licensed premises and any approved sales room is required to apply for a permit from the local and state licensing authorities for on-premises consumption for each location where the manufacturer will serve and sell alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler.     Prior to issuing the permit, the local licensing authority shall provide public notice and consider the reasonable requirements of the neighborhood, zoning restrictions, and other local licensing concerns. The act includes fees that a permit applicant must pay to a local licensing authority. Upon approval from the local licensing authority, a manufacturer shall apply to the state licensing authority for a state permit. If the state permit is approved:The manufacturer must serve sandwiches and light snacks if selling and serving alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler; andThe proceeds from the sale of alcohol beverages acquired from wholesalers must not account for more than 50% of the manufacturer's gross annual revenue from alcohol beverage sales.      The state permit is valid until the expiration of the local permit or for one year after the date of issuance of the state permit, whichever is sooner, unless the permit is inactive, suspended, or revoked.     If a manufacturer does not obtain a permit from the local and state licensing authority to serve and sell alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler, the manufacturer may purchase and use common alcohol modifiers to combine with the manufacturer's spirituous liquors to produce cocktails for consumption on and off the sales room premises.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the implementation dates for capping family copayments for child care at 7% of family income, for paying child care providers in advance of the provision of services, and for utilizing grants and contracts to improve access to child care for underserved populations to August 1, 2028.     The act modifies existing reporting requirements to include the total amount of child care assistance program (CCCAP) allocation that is spent by the department and each county on administrative expenses, county indirect expenses, program implementation costs, and direct service expenses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the Colorado job growth incentive tax credit (credit) may only be allowed by the economic development commission (commission) through state income tax year 2026. The act amends the Colorado job growth incentive tax credit to authorize the commission to allow new credit awards through state income tax year 2034. The act also extends the commission's annual reporting requirement through September 1, 2042.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a school district that is considering submitting to its voters a ballot question concerning capital construction to solicit proposals from its charter schools about their capital construction needs. The act specifies the solicitation process requirements and requires the school district to notify a charter school that submitted a proposal whether the school district will include the charter school's capital construction needs in the school district's ballot question or questions. If the school district decides not to include the charter school's capital construction needs in the ballot question, the notification must include the school district's reasons for the exclusion and must include an opportunity for the charter school to address issues raised by the school district.     If the school district and charter school mutually agree to the content of the charter school's proposal, a school district that voluntarily submits to its voters a ballot question for the charter school's capital construction needs is not required to comply with the required solicitation process.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends for an additional 10 years the availability of the state income tax credit allowed to a taxpayer who makes a qualifying monetary contribution to promote child care in the state equal to 50% of the total value of the contribution, not to exceed $100,000, through income tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2038.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies 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 act repeals the class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense of a person being the proximate cause of death to another person while driving a motor vehicle, while clarifying it can be charged as a class 5 felony elsewhere in statute.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act:Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2026-27 budget year by $208.60 to account for inflation;Sets a new statewide base per pupil funding amount for the 2026-27 budget year at $8,900.40; andSets the total program funding for the 2026-27 budget year at $10,178,856,871.     Under current law, there are 2 total program formulas that are used to determine a school district's total program, commonly referred to as the old formula and the new formula.     A school district's funded pupil count is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the new formula, for the 2026-27 budget year and each budget year thereafter, a school district's funded pupil count is calculated by determining the greater of the school district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year or the average of the district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year and the immediately preceding 2 budget years.     However, the act requires that when specified conditions are met, a school district's funded pupil count is the school district's online pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's supplemental kindergarten enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's extended high school pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the greater of:The school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year;An amount equal to 50% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus an amount equal to 30% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year, plus an amount equal to 20% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year that is 2 years preceding the budget year; orAn amount equal to 97% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year.     A school district's cost of living factor is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the old formula and the new formula, the act requires the cost of living factor that was used for the 2025-26 budget year to apply in the 2026-27 budget year.     Under current law, for the 2026-27 budget year, a district's total program is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year; orThe amount calculated for the 2025-26 budget year under the old formula plus an amount equal to 30% of the difference between the amounts calculated between the old formula and the new formula.     The act clarifies that for the 2026-27 budget year, if the calculation under the new formula is less than the calculation under the old formula, then that district's total program for the 2025-26 budget year is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year under the old formula; orThe amount calculated for the 2026-27 budget year under the old formula.     The act permits a school transformation grant recipient that is implementing a priority improvement or turnaround plan to use the grant award to plan for and implement rigorous redesign strategies.     The act changes the provisions that determine the amounts of total program that school districts and the state charter school institute distribute to their charter schools. Related to the changes of these provisions, the act repeals at-risk supplemental aid for charter schools.     The act exempts from a future repeal the general assembly's legislative declaration that using state education fund money for maintaining a website that explains major categories in the chart of accounts for local education providers is a permissible use of state education fund money.     The act repeals the scheduled repeal of, resulting in a continuation of, a statute that authorizes contingency reserve fund payments to be used for rural or small rural school districts if an unusual financial burden would be caused by the withholding of local property taxes due to a delay in filing the audit report due to extraordinary problems that could not have been reasonably foreseen or prevented by the rural or small rural school district. The act adds an assistant superintendent, a vice principal, and an assistant principal to the list of eligible school employees who may receive a salary without a reduction in public employees' retirement association (PERA) benefits if the service retiree meets specified conditions.     The act permits a local education provider to request that the department of education approve the local education provider's use of pencil and paper to complete any or every portion of a state assessment for grades 3 or 4 and requires that the local education provider be responsible for costs owed to the vendor that are associated with the administration of the assessment using pencil and paper.     The act authorizes the state board of education to adopt rules that are necessary to determine the district of residence of a child with a disability for a circumstance that is not described under law.     The act repeals the requirement that $500,000 be distributed to administrative units that enroll children with disabilities and instead requires that $1 million be distributed to fund reimbursements for administrative units that pay tuition or education expenses that ensure a free appropriate public education for a student in out-of-home placement who has an individualized education program.     The act requires the department of education to engage stakeholders concerning public placements in facility schools and on the issue of whether to make recommendations concerning such placements to the state board of education regarding rules or to the general assembly regarding statutes.     Under current law, each participating school food authority that satisfies certain requirements is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant and an amount to increase wages or stipends for individuals employed to prepare and serve school meals. The act clarifies that a charter school that operates under a participating school food authority is eligible for the awards.     The act:Prohibits a board of cooperative services (BOCES) from acting as a statewide authorizer of programs or schools; andLimits a BOCES to operating a school or program outside the geographic boundaries of its school district members, unless specified conditions are satisfied.     The act permits a local education provider to offer one or more part-time programs for homeschool students if specified conditions are satisfied.     The act requires an authorizer contracting with an education management provider to maintain appropriate independence from, and oversight of, the education management provider. The act prohibits a school district from creating a contract school that is a full-time complete educational program offered exclusively by a private entity pursuant to a contract with the public entity.     The act appropriates:$3,755,558 to the department of education from the state education fund for the state share of districts' total program;$313,395 to the department of education from the state education fund for management and administration for information technology services and for use by school district operations for administration related to public school finance; and$3,385,203 to the department of education from the state education fund for school district operations for costs associated with holding charter schools harmless for changes in the distribution of total program funding.     The act adjusts the 2026-27 long bill by decreasing:$8,502,195 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for the state share of districts' total program funding; and$3,504,995 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for use by school district operations for at-risk supplemental aid.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes changes to the dispute resolution process between health insurance carriers (carriers) and out-of-network health-care providers (providers) by requiring a carrier to provide, with each payment made to a provider, a remittance advice that: Identifies when the associated health benefit plan is regulated by the state and when the payment is made pursuant to services received from an out-of-network provider or at an out-of-network facility; andProvides the carrier's median in-network reimbursement rate for out-of-network claims.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act eliminates the requirement that the general assembly annually appropriate money to the department of public health and environment for the comprehensive human sexuality education grant program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a court to sentence a defendant convicted of second degree assault by strangulation in an enhanced range as a crime of violence subject to mandatory incarceration if the defendant has previously been convicted of second degree assault by strangulation. A previous conviction must be set forth in the complaint, indictment, or information for the present act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)