Rep. Larry Suckla

Maddy summarySJR 3 is a procedural resolution scheduling a joint meeting of Colorado's Senate and House of Representatives on January 16, 2026, to hear a message from representatives of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council and Southern Ute Tribal Council. It directs the appointment of a six-member committee (three from each chamber) to escort tribal representatives to the session. The resolution recognizes the tribes' historical and cultural contributions to Colorado but does not create new laws or policies. This is a formal procedural step to facilitate the tribal message, not a substantive legislative change.

The act requires a metropolitan district that is a party to a lease or rental agreement that was effective as of January 1, 2025, or later and was filed with the county assessor's office in support of a claim for a property tax exemption based on the use of the property for purposes of the metropolitan district to file with the county assessor's office a statement (statement) describing: The metropolitan district's use of the leased property; The metropolitan district's authority to use the leased property for the metropolitan district's purposes; Any use of the leased property by a private person for private purposes; and Any disclosure filed by a member of the board of directors of the metropolitan district in accordance with certain laws that govern disclosures of conflicts of interest. If the statement includes a disclosure that relates to the leased property and is filed by a member of the board of directors of the metropolitan district in accordance with certain laws that govern disclosures of conflicts of interest, the county assessor shall, within 14 days of receipt of the statement, submit the statement to the metropolitan district's governing body. Within 63 days of receipt of the statement, the governing body shall issue a written decision including findings of fact and a conclusion as to whether the leased property is used for a public purpose. If the governing body concludes that the leased property is not used for a public purpose, the leased property is not exempt from taxation, and the county assessor shall implement the governing body's decision. The decision of the governing body is not subject to appeal and does not give rise to any private right of action. The act clarifies that a leasehold interest in real or personal property that is owned by a private person and that has been leased to the state or a political subdivision of the state, the use and possession of which has been leased back to a private person for private purposes, is taxable to the owner. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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.)

If a service member's driver's license expires while they are serving on active duty outside of Colorado, the driver's license expiration date is extended for 3 years or until 90 days after the service member returns to the state. The act designates the service member's dependents as also subject to the extension of their driver's license expiration date. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals an obsolete provision that: Authorized the department of public health and environment to award grants to 3 state institutions of higher education in state fiscal year 2006-07; and Required each recipient of a grant award to report to committees of the general assembly on or before March 15, 2007, regarding the use of the grant money awarded.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law states that an employer shall not interfere with an agricultural worker's reasonable access to key service providers (KSP) at any location when the worker is not performing compensable work and with respect to health-care providers at any time. The act exempts an employer's property from this provision; except that the act prohibits an employer from interfering with a worker's access to KSP through remote channels on the employer's property. The act also removes language referring to health-care providers. Current law states that the division of labor standards and statistics (division) may adopt rules regarding additional times that an employer may not interfere with a worker's reasonable access to KSP. The act clarifies that such rules must apply only to locations other than the employer's property. Lastly, the act states the division shall not adopt rules that: Infringe upon an employer's private property rights; or Conflict with the common law rights of an individual to access private property in a time of emergency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to seek and accept gifts from private or public sources for the primary care fund. The act authorizes a federally qualified health center (FQHC) to establish a separate subsidiary company for the purpose of providing fee-for-service services outside of the FQHC's standard cost report if the subsidiary is providing fee-for-service services that have historically been provided and reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis and if HCPF determines that the subsidiary's reimbursements would be budget neutral. Upon receiving any necessary federal authorization, HCPF is required to reimburse a subsidiary of an FQHC on a fee-for-service basis for services that are eligible for fee-for-service reimbursement. A subsidiary that receives reimbursement is authorized to pass through money received from the reimbursement directly to the FQHC operating as the subsidiary's parent corporation. Services reimbursed to an FQHC's subsidiary are excluded from the FQHC's cost report. The act requires HCPF to exclude all costs associated with a subsidiary company from the calculation of a FQHC's reimbursement rates and requires a FQHC that establishes a separate subsidiary company to include the costs associated with the subsidiary in its cost report that is necessary to calculate reimbursement rates. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Individuals applying for hunting or fishing licenses in Colorado must also purchase a Colorado wildlife habitat stamp. The division of parks and wildlife in the department of natural resources uses the money collected from the Colorado wildlife habitat stamp for the benefit of wildlife habitat or access to wildlife habitat in the state. The Colorado wildlife habitat stamp program (program) is scheduled to repeal, subject to a sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies, on July 1, 2027. The act continues the program indefinitely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the future of severance taxes and water funding task force (task force). The department of natural resources is required to contract with a third party to conduct a study on severance taxes and water funding and develop recommendations for ways to continue funding water needs and energy impact grants in the face of decreasing severance tax revenue (study). The study must focus on identifying ways to alleviate the need to transfer revenues derived from severance taxes to the general fund and to replace severance tax revenue that was previously transferred to the general fund. The purpose of the task force is to work with the third party to conduct the study and develop recommendations. No later than January 15, 2026, the third party must submit a draft report, detailing the results of the study and any recommendations, to the department of natural resources and the task force for review. The task force is required to provide input on the draft report. No later than July 15, 2026, the third party must submit a final report, which incorporates the input of the task force, to the water resources and agriculture review committee (committee). The task force must present the final report to the committee during the 2026 legislative interim. The act changes the manner in which a credit allowed against severance tax in taxable years commencing January 1, 2026, but prior to January 1, 2028, is calculated. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $198,592 is appropriated from the severance tax operational fund to the department of natural resources to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

A kei vehicle is the smallest road-legal, 4-wheeled vehicle in Japan and is imported into the United States as a used vehicle. The act defines a kei vehicle as a motor vehicle for the purposes of the "Uniform Motor Vehicle Law" and the "Certificate of Title Act". These acts govern issuing a certificate of title, registering a motor vehicle, and the rules of the road for motor vehicles. The act authorizes a kei vehicle to operate on the roads and requires a kei vehicle to be issued a certificate of title, be registered, and obey motor vehicle traffic laws. Driving a kei vehicle on a roadway that has a speed limit greater than 55 miles per hour or on a limited-access highway is prohibited. For emissions testing, a kei vehicle is tested not using a dynamometer but using a 2-speed idle test. The vehicle must pass the emissions standards for the year it was manufactured. The department of revenue, the Colorado state patrol, and the agents or contractors of these agencies may not require a vehicle to have an inspection because it is a kei vehicle or has the design or manufacturing parameters of a kei vehicle. And a kei vehicle may not be declared not roadworthy because of its design or manufacturing parameters. Kei vehicles are included in the motor vehicle dealer and powersports vehicle dealer statutes, and this requires a person to be licensed as a dealer to sell kei vehicles at retail. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)