Rep. Yara Zokaie

Under current law, the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind coordinates and advocates for the provision of, and access to, services and resources for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind (services and resources). Sections 1 through 11 of the act create the communication services for people with disabilities enterprise (enterprise) and the division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (division) within the department of human services to provide these services and resources. Section 8 creates the Colorado division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind cash fund (cash fund). Telecommunications relay services (TRS) are provided for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind in the state through a monthly surcharge that voice service providers collect from their telephone customers (monthly surcharge) and through a charge that sellers of prepaid wireless telecommunications services impose at the point of sale (charge). Under current law, the public utilities commission (commission) imposes the monthly surcharge and charge, and the amounts collected are disbursed for the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind to provide services and resources; for the state librarian to provide reading services for the blind and print-disabled; and for the talking book library. Sections 4 and 15 transfer the authority to impose the monthly surcharge and charge to the enterprise, while maintaining the commission's responsibility for collecting the monthly surcharge from voice service providers. Money disbursed for services and resources is credited to the cash fund for use by the enterprise and the division. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $5,550,636 of monthly surcharge and charge amounts collected by voice service providers and prepaid wireless telecommunications services retailers to the departments of human services, education, regulatory agencies, revenue, personnel, and law to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Amends the definition of "employer" for purposes of wage and hour laws to include an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer; Prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction below a worker's applicable minimum wage; Allows the director of the division of labor standards and statistics (division) to waive the penalty for an employer's failure to pay claimed wages or compensation within 14 days after a written demand if certain specified conditions are met; and Requires a court to find that an employee pursued a wage claim that lacked substantial justification before awarding an employer reasonable costs and attorney fees in a civil action for unpaid wages or compensation. In such an action, the court may pursue all equitable relief to deter future violations and prevent unjust enrichment. Current law limits the ability of the director of the division to adjudicate claims for nonpayment of wages or compensation to $7,500 or less. The act increases this threshold over the years by increasing the maximum amount to $13,000 for claims filed from July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, and in an amount specified by the director of the division to adjust for inflation beginning January 1, 2028. The act also requires the division, in adjudicating wage claims, to determine whether a violation is willful. For each violation: The director shall publish on the division's website the names of all employers found to be in violation and whether the violation was willful; and If the violation was willful and is not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding that there was a violation, the division must notify all government bodies with the authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on the employer's license, permit, registration, or other credential of the unremedied willful violation. Additionally, the division may report an employer found to have violated a law related to wages and hours to any government body with authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial conditions on the employer's license, permit, registration, or other credential. The act also repeals language requiring the division to issue a determination on a wage complaint within 90 days and clarifies that a city or county may enact and enforce wage laws within the city or county's jurisdiction. An employer found to have misclassified an employee as a nonemployee must pay a fine in the following amounts, in addition to any other relief ordered: For a willful violation, $5,000; For a violation not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding, $10,000; For a second or subsequent willful violation within 5 years, $25,000; or For a second or subsequent willful violation not remedied within 60 days after the division's finding, $50,000. The director of the division must adjust these fine amounts for inflation by January 1, 2028, and every other year thereafter. The act also decreases the amount of time the division must wait before paying an employee out of the wage theft enforcement fund from 6 months to 120 days. Current law prohibits an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee for taking protection under wage and hour laws or the law related to the employment of minors. The act expands this provision to specify additional protected behavior and expands the prohibition to include other persons in addition to employers. The act also: Requires a fact finder to consider the time between an individual's exercise of a protected activity and an employer's adverse action when determining whether an employer has retaliated against the employee or worker; Specifies that it is a violation to use an individual's immigration status to discriminate or retaliate against an employee or worker who has engaged in protected activity; and Allows the division to order reasonable attorney fees and costs after investigating a discrimination or retaliation claim. Between August 1, 2027, and October 1, 2027, the division must report to the joint budget committee on its progress in implementing the act. In state fiscal year 2025-26, $328,210 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment for use by the division to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act consolidates damages provisions for individuals with disabilities who experience discrimination in places of public accommodation or a violation of their civil rights with the general protections under the "Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act" (CADA) for all protected classes. With the consolidation of these provisions, the allowable remedies under CADA are a court order requiring compliance with the applicable section of CADA, attorney fees and costs, and either actual monetary damages and damages for noneconomic loss or injury or a statutory fine of $5,000 that is payable to each plaintiff for each violation. An award of damages for noneconomic loss or injury is capped at $50,000, and a defendant is entitled to a 50% reduction of the cap on a noneconomic loss or injury award if the defendant corrects the violation within 30 days of the complaint being filed and did not knowingly or intentionally make or cause to be made the violation. A defendant that cannot correct the violation in 30 days but shows good faith effort to correct the violation may be allowed up to 3 additional 30-day periods to correct the violation and be entitled to the 50% reduction of the cap on a noneconomic loss or injury award. Additionally, for discriminatory advertising in violation of CADA and as an alternative to seeking redress from the Colorado civil rights commission, a person aggrieved by such violation may bring a civil action and, upon a finding of a violation, is entitled to a court order requiring compliance with the section of CADA prohibiting discriminatory advertising, attorney fees and costs, and either actual monetary damages and damages for noneconomic loss or injury or a statutory fine of $5,000 that is payable to each plaintiff for each violation. An award of damages for noneconomic loss or injury is capped at $50,000, and if a defendant is a small business, it is entitled to a 50% reduction of the cap on a noneconomic loss or injury award if it corrects the violation within 30 days of the complaint being filed and did not knowingly or intentionally make or cause to be made the violation. The act adds the provision of a recommendation letter signed by an individual's treating medical professional recommending testing accommodations as a method for an individual with a disability to demonstrate the need for a testing accommodation on a licensing exam. The act appropriates $100,305 from the legal services cash fund to the department of law to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Colorado law prohibits an insurer from refusing to insure or increasing a premium for a homeowners insurance policy or a dwelling fire insurance policy based on the breed or mixture of breeds of a dog that is kept at a dwelling unless the dog is known to be dangerous or has been declared to be dangerous. The act adds that this provision applies to all residential structures used for a residence and occupied by an owner or renter. The "Colorado Housing Act of 1970" provides financing for building or rehabilitating affordable housing. The act requires each housing development that receives financing to authorize tenants of the affordable housing to own or keep one or 2 dogs or cats, subject to reasonable conditions as defined by the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act directs the Colorado disability opportunity office to develop a comprehensive community integration plan (plan) for implementing its obligation to provide qualified individuals with disabilities with opportunities to live, work, and be served in the least restrictive settings possible. The act requires the plan to include specified elements and that the plan must be reviewed and updated every 3 years. The act establishes that public and governmental entities (entities) shall administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting that is appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities. The act establishes when entities are required to provide home- and community-based services (services) to qualified individuals with disabilities. If an entity cuts services, the act requires the entity to assess whether the service cut increases the risk of institutionalization for qualified individuals with a disability receiving services. An entity is not required to comply with the provisions of the act if it can establish that doing so would require a fundamental alteration of its program. The act does not create a new private right of action for entities that fail to comply with it and does not create a standard different than federal law. The bill appropriates $658,410 from the disability support fund to the department of labor and employment for the Colorado disability opportunity office to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning on July 1, 2027, the act adjusts aspects of the necessary document program (program) administered by the office of health equity (office) in the department of public health and environment, which program assists certain populations of Colorado residents with paying the fees to acquire necessary documents related to an individual's identity, citizenship, or other vital statistics. The act clarifies that an individual who is eligible under the program may obtain necessary documents without charge at participating division of motor vehicles locations, participating vital statistics offices, or participating mobile units or from authorized representatives that offer driver's licenses, identification card services, or vital statistics certificates and reports. The act establishes that an individual may self-attest to the individual's eligibility under the program. The act does not change the identity verification requirements that may be required to obtain a necessary document. The act also specifies that, subject to available appropriations, an individual who is eligible for the program is not subject to the fees charged by the department of revenue for driver's licenses or identification cards. The act authorizes the office to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations to support the program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act eliminates the requirement for a second election to negotiate a union security agreement clause in the collective bargaining process. VETOED by Governor 5/16/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act caps the maximum incarceration sentence for a municipal violation that has a comparable state law crime at the same length as the state-level offense. If a comparable state-level offense does not exist, the maximum period of incarceration is capped at the maximum for a state-level petty offense. Mandatory minimums and increased penalties based on prior convictions are prohibited unless the person is convicted of a municipal offense for which there is a comparable state offense or of an infraction that allows imposition of the same mandatory minimum or increased penalties based on prior convictions. The act also caps a consecutive municipal sentence at 2 times the highest charge in the case. The act clarifies that municipal court defendants have a right to counsel and that municipal defense counsel have the same notice, case information, and opportunity to meet with their clients as do state-level defense counsel. Current law prohibits paying indigent municipal defense counsel on a fixed or flat-fee payment structure if the municipality prosecutes domestic violence cases. The act applies the prohibition to all municipalities. All municipal court proceedings are required to be open to public observation. Virtual observation is required for all in-custody proceedings, and prompt resolution of municipal cases is required. VETOED by Governor 5/16/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act adjusts several state tax expenditures as follows: Section 2 of the act allows an individual to present a copy of their federal tax return to be exempted from the medical marijuana registry application fee; Section 3 requires insurance companies, when submitting certain filings with the division of insurance, to submit the total annual dollar amount of premiums collected or contracted for on policies or contracts of insurance covering property or risks in Colorado during the previous calendar year from entities that are exempt from taxation; Section 4 ensures that the valuation for assessment for qualified-senior primary residence real property is reduced for the property tax years commencing on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026; Section 6 adds the amount of any overtime compensation excluded or deducted from a taxpayer's federal gross income to that taxpayer's federal taxable income for purposes of determining the taxpayer's state taxable income; Section 7 expands the definition of local government to include counties for purposes of the alternative transportation options tax credit; Section 8 modifies the tax credit for qualified costs incurred in preservation of historic structures by removing the 5% increase in the percentage of rehabilitation expenses incurred in a rehabilitation in a disaster area for the rehabilitation of a commercial structure that are applicable for the tax credit; Section 9 extends the tax credit for monetary contributions to promote child care, so that the tax credit is available through income tax years commencing before January 1, 2030, rather than January 1, 2026; Section 10 limits the existing business personal property tax credit so that a taxpayer may only claim the tax deduction for income tax years commencing before January 1, 2026; Section 12 clarifies and modifies definitions for the qualified care worker tax credit; Section 13 allows the executive director of the department of revenue to direct employers who make payments of compensation other than wages to withhold an amount that approximates an employee's income tax due to the state from that employee's compensation; Section 14 expands the definition of agricultural commodities to include products regulated under article 10 of title 44 for purposes of the pesticides, fertilizers, and spray adjuvants wholesale sales tax exemption; Section 15 ensures that, beginning July 1, 2025, interstate telephone and telegraph services are subject to state sales tax; Section 16 exempts the sale of medical marijuana to an individual who presents a valid electronic benefits transfer card or certain other identification from sales tax; and Section 17 modifies the enterprise zone tax credit for income tax years beginning January 1, 2026, by limiting the total amount of the credit that may be claimed to $2 million, providing an exemption process for that limit, and prohibiting certain taxpayers from claiming that credit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 1 of the act specifies that the short title of the Act is the "Kelly Loving Act". Sections 2 through 5 provide that, if at any point following the issuance of a license to marry or a civil union license, a party to the marriage or civil union presents the issuing county clerk and recorder with appropriate documentation of that party's name change and requests the issuance of a new license to marry or civil union license, the county clerk shall issue a new license to marry or civil union license that reflects the party's name change. After a new license to marry or civil union license is issued, the effective date of the marriage or civil union remains the date listed on the original license to marry or civil union license. Section 6 provides that, if a local education provider, an educator, or a contractor chooses to enact or enforce a policy related to names, that policy must be inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a name that differs from the student's legal name. Section 7 requires a dress code adopted by a school district board of education or by an institute charter school board for a charter school authorized by the charter school institute must allow each student to choose from any of the options provided in the dress code policy. Section 8 defines the term "chosen name" for purposes of the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act" as a name that an individual requests to be known as in connection to the individual's disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry, so long as the name does not contain offensive language and the individual is not requesting the name for frivolous purposes. Section 8 also includes "chosen name and how the individual chooses to be expressed" as forms of gender expression for purposes of the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act." Section 10 repeals a provision of law that limited the state registrar to amending a gender designation for an individual's birth certificate only 1 time upon the individual's request without the submission of a court order. Sections 11, 12 and 13 change the number of times that the department of revenue may amend a sex designation on an individual's driver's license, identification card, or identification document upon the individual's request from 1 to 3. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)