Rep. Matt Soper

The executive committee of the legislative council (executive committee) is authorized to adopt policies regarding the ability of members of the general assembly to remotely participate in interim committee meetings and in legislative proceedings during a disaster emergency. The act expands the executive committee's authority to adopt policies to allow remote participation in meetings of any joint committees comprised of members from both chambers that are held at any time of the year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summaryThis House Memorial honors the life and service of former Colorado Representative Carl Miller, who passed away in August 2025. The document formally recognizes his contributions to Colorado through his work in local government, the mining industry, and public service, including his role in establishing the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. It extends condolences to Miller's family and pays tribute to his dedication to his community and state during his career as a state representative and public utility commissioner.

The act modifies the Colorado agricultural future loan program (program) to permit certain eligible entities to receive funding from the program. An eligible entity is defined as an entity that is certified by the division of conservation (division) or an entity that:Is a district that has authority to conduct water activities, an irrigation district, or a ditch and reservoir company; andHas a letter of support from an entity certified by the division.     The act directs the commissioner of agriculture to adopt rules that prioritize awarding loans to eligible entities that seek to acquire and conserve agriculturally productive land and to transfer ownership of that land to an eligible farmer or rancher who qualifies for a loan from the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a court is required to release a person on a personal recognizance bond if the person was charged with an offense for a violation with a maximum penalty that does not exceed 6 months' imprisonment and the court cannot require the person to give security of any kind for their appearance for trial other than their personal recognizance, unless certain conditions exist. The bill clarifies that these provisions apply in both state and municipal courts. The bill adds to the conditions for which a person may be required to give security that the defendant previously failed to appear in court 2 or more times in the present case.Existing law prohibits a court from imposing a monetary condition of release for a defendant charged with a traffic offense, petty offense, or comparable municipal offense, or a municipal offense for which there is no comparable state misdemeanor offense, with specified exceptions. The bill adds exceptions for:A petty offense for theft, criminal mischief, or arson, or a comparable municipal offense, or a municipal offense involving threats of violence, injury, or property damage, if the defendant has previously failed to appear in court 2 or more times in the present case; andAny other petty offense, traffic offense, or a comparable municipal offense, or a municipal offense for which there is no comparable state offense, if the defendant has previously failed to appear for a court proceeding 2 or more times in the present case and has another pending charge for the same offense in the same jurisdiction.The bill states that if a defendant's counsel is present at a court proceeding as required by a court and the defendant is not present, with the exceptions of trial, arraignment, contested hearings, and hearings in which a witness or victim is testifying before the court, the defendant's absence may not be considered a failure to appear. The bill applies the exceptions involving previous instances of a defendant's failure to appear for a municipal court proceeding only when, prior to issuing a warrant for the arrest of the defendant for the previous failure to appear, the court conducted a search to determine whether the defendant was being held in a correctional facility or county jail, and at the time of the previous failure to appear, the court had certain processes in place governing failures to appear.The bill requires municipal courts to not consider a person's absence from a place and time specified in a summons or summons and complaint as a failure to appear if the person's counsel is present on their behalf.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Maddy summaryThis bill approves specific updates to eligibility lists for two Colorado water funding programs. It adds new drinking water projects (like Delta County's distribution system) and modifies existing entries (such as adding "green infrastructure" to Loveland's project), while deleting completed projects (like Kiowa's). These changes determine which local water districts, municipalities, and property associations can access financial assistance from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund and Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. The bill does not create new funding rules but formally adopts the Commission's proposed list adjustments.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution honors Bob Holder, a wildlife manager from Colorado who has dedicated 50 years to protecting wildlife resources in southern Colorado. The measure formally recognizes his contributions to conservation efforts, including his work with black bear education, wildlife enforcement, and habitat preservation through land acquisitions and conservation easements. The resolution expresses gratitude for his service and directs that a copy be sent to Holder as a token of appreciation upon his retirement.

Maddy summarySJR 11 is a commemorative resolution designating a specific segment of U.S. Highway 34 (between Wilson Ave. and North County Rd. 23H) as the "Sgt. John 'Jack' Thurman Memorial Highway" in honor of a World War II Marine Corps veteran. The bill, which has no policy or funding provisions, simply names the highway section to recognize Sergeant Thurman's service at Iwo Jima, his military awards, and his post-war contributions as an architect and community leader in Colorado. It authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations for signage and explore maintenance agreements with local governments. This is a ceremonial designation with no direct impact on residents or new laws.

The bill imposes certain requirements on persons engaged in campaign consulting services, which are professional services to promote the election, retention, recall, or defeat of a candidate. Campaign consultants and consulting firms are not allowed to knowingly:Represent an interest adverse to their client without first obtaining the written consent of the client after full disclosure; Provide campaign consulting services in support of opposing candidates in the same election without first obtaining the written consent of both candidates after full disclosure; or Disclose, to provide material benefit to an opposing candidate in the same election, confidential information that relates to a candidate on behalf of whom the consultant or consulting firm provided campaign consulting services and that was gained in the course of the campaign consulting for that candidate.     An aggrieved person may file a civil suit alleging a violation of these requirements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act broadens the definition of 'ranch' for purposes of property taxation to mean a parcel of land that is predominantly used for grazing livestock for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit. A ranch must operate through a pasture-based operation, which is newly defined as a method of livestock management where pasture-grazed livestock have regular access to open pasture and derive a majority of their diet through grazing.     The act also broadens the definition of 'farm' for purposes of property taxation to mirror the predominant use language in the definition of 'ranch'. With this change, a farm means a parcel of land that is predominantly used to produce agricultural products that originate from the land's productivity for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill makes the following changes to the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA):Excludes from the definition of a "public record" a written document or electronic record that is produced by a device or application that is used to assist an individual with a disability or individuals with language barriers to facilitate communication if the written document or electronic record has been produced to facilitate communication in lieu of verbal communication;Requires a public entity to post any rules or policies adopted pursuant to CORA, including any records retention policy, and to post information for members of the public regarding how to make a public records request; Changes the reasonable time to respond to a CORA request from 3 to 5 working days and changes the extension of time for the response period if extenuating circumstances exist from not exceeding 7 additional days to not exceeding 10 additional days;Adds an extenuating circumstance that allows extension of the response period when the custodian is not scheduled to work within the response period;If public records are in the sole and exclusive custody and control of a person who is not scheduled to work within the response period, requires a custodian to provide all other available responsive public records within the response period and to notify the requester of the earliest date on which the person is expected to be available or that the person is not expected to return. The requester may make a subsequent request for additional responsive records, if any, on or after the date the custodian provides.Allows a custodian to determine that a request, other than a request for a contract or other information delivered using computer data extraction methods that require minimal human intervention for retrieval, is made for the direct solicitation of business for pecuniary gain and provides a 30-day response period for such request; requires the custodian to provide written notice of the custodian's determination to the requester and permits the requester to appeal the determination to the district court; and allows a custodian to charge the requester for the reasonable cost of directly responding to the request notwithstanding the allowance for the first hour of research and retrieval to be free of charge and notwithstanding the statutory cap on fees which otherwise would apply;In addition to the prohibition on disclosing public elementary or secondary school students' addresses and telephone numbers, prohibits disclosure of any other student information that could be used to directly contact, address, or send a message to a student through any means or method;Allows a requester to ask a custodian for a reasonable breakdown of costs that comprise the fee charged for the research and retrieval of requested public records and requires a custodian to provide such a breakdown upon request;Clarifies that the custodian of records for a public entity must allow a requester to pay any fee or deposit associated with a request for public records with a credit card or electronic payment if the public entity allows members of the public to pay in this manner for any other service or product provided by the public entity;Allows a custodian to treat a CORA request received within 14 calendar days of another CORA request for information pertaining to facially similar content and made by the same person as one request for purposes of calculating the fee that the custodian may charge the requester for research and retrieval of responsive public records;Requires a custodian who fails to respond to a request for inspection within the applicable time period to provide the requester with one additional hour of research and retrieval time without charge for each calendar day that the response is late; andClarifies that if a custodian imposes any requirements concerning the prepayment or payment of a fee in connection with a request for inspection of public records, the requirements must be in accordance with the custodian's adopted rules or written policies and must not be inconsistent with the provisions of CORA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)