Rep. Matt Martinez

The act requires the state board of education (state board) to adopt standards related to Black historical and cultural studies (standards). Local education providers shall incorporate the standards into courses for public elementary and secondary school students in the state no later than 2 years after the state board adopts the standards. The act aligns the timeline for the development, adoption, and integration of the standards with the 6-year cycle that the state board of education currently uses for revising the state academic standards. The act creates the Black historical and cultural studies advisory committee (committee) in the department of education (department) to recommend standards and related materials and to provide technical assistance at the request of local education providers implementing the standards. The committee's recommendations must include updates to the state's history and civics standards and must advance developmentally appropriate but comprehensive instruction that features factual accounts of the struggles and contributions of Black Americans in all fields of endeavor. Using the committee's recommendations, the department will create and maintain a resource bank of research-based, scholarly articles and promising program materials and curricula pertaining to Black historical and cultural studies. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $19,225 from the general fund to the department for costs related to content specialists. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the office of just transition (office) in the department of labor and employment to prioritize awarding funding to support tier one and tier 2 coal transition communities experiencing socioeconomic impacts of coal closures and for opportunities for economic diversification, local community input, feasibility studies of specific proposed projects, and needs assessments. The office is required to use money appropriated to the just transition cash fund after July 1, 2025, to support programs that support targeted investment in coal transition communities by collaborating with coal transition communities and eligible entities, state and regionally recognized governmental and economic development entities, employee organizations that represent coal transition workers, and workers who are not affiliated with employee organizations to implement the most effective projects and programs for those communities. The act requires the office to annually report to the joint budget committee and at the annual "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearings of the senate local government and housing committee and the house transportation, housing, and local government committee about the grants awarded by the office during the preceding state fiscal year, their recipients, and the purpose for which they were awarded. A public entity may invest public funds only as allowed by law. The act specifies that the investment of a payment or settlement to offset the socioeconomic impacts to a community or government from the closure of a coal mine or coal power generating station is not subject to these investment limitations. The act allows the executive director of the department of local affairs to establish a policy preference for awarding up to 70% of the money credited to the local government severance tax fund to just transition communities for a 3-year period beginning January 1, 2026. The act extends the deadline for the submittal by the director of the Colorado energy office of the findings and conclusions of assessments of advanced energy solutions in the northwestern and west end of Montrose county and in southeastern Colorado from July 1, 2025 to December 19, 2025, and makes the requirement that the findings and conclusion be submitted contingent on the director having sufficient federal money to support the submittal. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act refers 2 ballot issues to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election concerning funding for the healthy school meals for all program. Section 2 refers a ballot issue to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election to allow the state to retain and spend state revenue that would otherwise need to be refunded for exceeding the estimate in the ballot information booklet analysis for Proposition FF and to allow the state to maintain the increases in state taxable income established in Proposition FF that would otherwise need to be decreased. If voters reject the ballot issue, the state will both: Refund $12,430,388 to individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more and claimed itemized or standard state income tax deductions greater than $12,000 for single tax return filers and $16,000 for joint tax return filers; and Adjust the limit on itemized deductions established in Proposition FF to a level that would have reduced the amount of income tax revenue attributable to these itemized deductions by $12,430,388. If voters approve the ballot measure: The state will not refund $12,430,388 to individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more and claimed itemized or standard state income tax deductions greater than $12,000 for single tax return filers and $16,000 for joint tax return filers; and The increases in federal taxable income as a result of Proposition FF will stay at the levels established by Proposition FF. Section 3 refers a ballot issue to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election to allow the state to increase taxes by $95 million annually by increasing state taxable income to support the healthy school meals for all program. If voters approve the ballot issue: Income tax deductions for individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more will be reduced from current levels to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers; and The state will allocate the additional revenue generated by the reduction in income tax deductions to the healthy school meals for all program. If voters reject the ballot issue, income tax deductions will not be reduced, and there will not be any additional revenue to be allocated to the healthy school meals for all program. In addition to the income tax changes and potential refunds that may result from voters approving or rejecting the ballot issues described in sections 2 and 3, the act also changes the healthy school meals for all program cash fund (fund) and healthy school meals for all programs. If voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 2 and reject the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 3, $1 million is transferred annually from the fund to local school food purchasing programs. If voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 3, regardless of whether the voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 2: The permissible distribution of local food purchasing grants is modified; Certain school food authorities are allowed to collaborate to implement advisory committees; The duties of an advisory committee are clarified; and The distribution of funds from the fund is changed so that the amounts distributed through local food purchasing grants for increasing wages or providing stipends for individuals whom the participating school food authority employs to directly prepare and serve food for school meals and through the local school food purchasing technical assistance and education grant program are modified based on the amount of money in the fund. NOTE: Certain provisions of the act are contingent on the results a measure concerning Proposition FF refunds or Proposition FF revenue increases being either approved or not approved by a majority of voters at the November 2025 statewide election.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In current law, the sentencing structure for theft, except for auto theft, is based on the value of the item stolen. The act exempts theft of firearms from that sentencing structure and makes theft of a firearm a class 6 felony, regardless of the firearm's value. The act appropriates $324,225 from the general fund to the judicial department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) regarding the motorcycle operator training (MOST) program, as contained in the department's sunset review of the MOST program, as follows: Lowers the required minimum age to be a MOST instructor from 21 to 18 years of age; and To align with the placement of the MOST program within the Colorado state patrol rather than the department of transportation, clarifies that a MOST vendor must meet standards promulgated by the Colorado state patrol rather than by the department of transportation. The act also makes the following changes to the MOST program that were not included in the department's sunset review: Continues the MOST program in the office of the chief of the state patrol in the department of public safety (chief) for 5 years, until September 1, 2030; and Allows the chief to expend money from the MOST fund for a tuition benefit paid to MOST vendors to be passed on to eligible students in the form of reduced costs for eligible courses, as established by the chief by rule.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In addition to individuals who may already request that their address included in certain records be kept confidential (address confidentiality) under certain circumstances, the act allows an individual or the spouse of an individual who is or has been a peace officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, emergency medical service provider, or emergency communications specialist (first responder) to also request address confidentiality for voter registration records that are in the custody of a county clerk and recorder or in the centralized statewide registration system maintained by the secretary of state (secretary) and financial disclosures that certain public officials are required to file with the secretary. A first responder may request address confidentiality with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the first responder who is making the request for address confidentiality resides. The secretary is required to approve the application form for a request for address confidentiality. Each county clerk and recorder is required to make the address confidentiality request application forms available in their office, provide the address confidentiality request application forms to interested persons by United States mail, email delivery, or facsimile transmission, and to process applications for address confidentiality without imposing a processing fee or any other charge. The custodian of any records specified in the act that concern a first responder who has requested address confidentiality is required to deny, with limited exceptions, the right of inspection of the first responder's address contained in the records on the ground that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law states that a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of an individual commits a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense. The act expands current law to include careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury and states that if a person commits careless driving and thereby causes the serious bodily injury or death of more than one individual, each individual injure or killed is a separate violation. The act also clarifies that careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death is an included crime for the purposes of the "Victim Rights Act". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known or determined to be Indian children under state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under the federal 340B drug pricing program (340B program), a covered entity, including certain hospitals, programs, and federally qualified health centers (covered entity), that serves patients with low income receives discounted outpatient drugs (340B drugs) from manufacturers that participate in the federal medicaid and medicare programs. Unless the receipt of 340B drugs is prohibited by the federal department of health and human services, the act prohibits a manufacturer, third-party logistics provider, or repackager in this state, or an agent, contractor, or affiliate of those entities, including an entity that collects or processes health information, from directly or indirectly denying, restricting, prohibiting, discriminating against, or otherwise limiting the acquisition of a 340B drug by, or delivery of a 340B drug to, a covered entity, a pharmacy contracted with a covered entity, or a location otherwise authorized by a covered entity to receive and dispense 340B drugs. The act also prohibits a manufacturer from directly or indirectly requiring a covered entity, a pharmacy contracted with a covered entity, or any other location authorized to receive 340B drugs by a covered entity to submit any health information, claims or utilization data, or other specified data that does not relate to a claim submitted to certain federal health care programs, unless the data is voluntarily furnished or required to be furnished under federal law. The act defines "340B savings" as the difference between the aggregated market rate costs and the aggregated acquisition costs for 340 B drugs. Certain hospital covered entities are prohibited from using 340B savings for certain purposes. A violation of the prohibitions in the act is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" (protection act), and the violator is subject to the enforcement provisions and penalties contained in the protection act. In addition, a person regulated by the state board of pharmacy (pharmacy board) that violates the provisions of the protection act may be subject to discipline by the pharmacy board against the person's license, certification, or registration, as well as other penalties. The act requires certain hospital covered entities to annually report to the department of health care policy and financing certain information concerning 340B savings and costs relating to providing charity care. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act removes the term "homosexuality" from the definition of sexual conduct in the sexually explicit materials harmful to children part of the "Colorado Criminal Code". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)