Rep. Jennifer Bacon

Section 2 of the act increases the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program by: Allowing an eligible transit agency that operates in an area in which ozone-causing traffic levels are typically highest during a different period than June 1 to August 31 of a calendar year to identify a different period of the calendar year for its "ozone season" in an application for a grant to offer fare-free service during the identified period; Specifying that if the Colorado energy office (CEO) awards a grant for a year to a transit association or to the regional transportation district in an amount that is less than the applicable maximum amount allowed by law, then the maximum amount of such a grant that the CEO may award for the next year is increased by an amount equal to the amount that could have been but was not awarded for the prior year; Specifying that a grant recipient may use grant money for reasonable marketing expenses incurred to raise awareness of free service and increase ridership and to conduct rider surveys to better measure the impact of the program on ridership and vehicle miles traveled in private motor vehicles; Clarifying that an eligible transit agency may use grant money to expand free services or free routes or increase the frequency of service on routes for which free service is already offered; and Allowing the regional transportation district to use grant money to cover the full costs, rather than up to 80% of the costs, of providing at least 30 days of free transit on all services that it offers. On or before November 30, 2023, section 3 requires the department of transportation to complete a study and study report of the boundaries of the transportation planning regions of the state (TPRs), the membership of the transportation advisory committee and the special interim transit and rail advisory committee, and the consistency and transparency of the transportation planning process across the transportation planning regions. The study must include consideration of specified matters and shall not include any recommendation that, if adopted, would reduce the number of rural TPRs. Before June 1, 2024, the transportation commission, taking into consideration the findings of the study, is required to initiate updates to its rules concerning the statewide transportation planning process and TPRs. On and after September 1, 2023, section 5 requires the governing body of the transportation planning organization for each TPR to include at least one voting representative to represent all transit agencies in the TPR. The representative must be appointed by the transit agency or, if multiple transit agencies provide service in the transportation planning region, by agreement of the transit agencies. Section 4 defines the term "transportation planning organization" as used in section 5. Section 6 increases the maximum rate of sales or use tax, or both, that a regional transportation authority (RTA) may impose, with voter approval, from one percent to 2%. Section 6 also makes permanent the existing power of a RTA to impose, with voter approval, a uniform mill levy of up to 5 mills, which power would otherwise expire at the end of the 2028 property tax year. APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 28, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires the department of education (department) to cap standardized summative assessments administered to the minimum extent possible, if requested by the local education provider. The bill requires the department to apply for a federal waiver for federal assessment requirements. The bill requires the department to support, through various means, local education providers and schools to innovate new assessments.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

In 2009, the general assembly enacted legislation to merge the Denver public schools retirement system into the public employees' retirement association (PERA), effective January 1, 2010. The merger legislation created a Denver public schools (DPS) division within PERA and set the employer and member contribution rates for that division. The merger legislation also required PERA to calculate a true-up beginning January 1, 2015, and every fifth year thereafter, to determine whether the DPS employer contribution rate must be adjusted to assure the equalization of the DPS division's ratio of unfunded actuarial accrued liability over payroll to the PERA school division's ratio of unfunded actuarial accrued liability over payroll at the end of the 30-year period that began on January 1, 2010 (equalization of the 2 divisions). If necessary, the PERA board is required to recommend that the general assembly adjust the DPS total employer rate to assure the equalization of the 2 divisions. The general assembly enacted the last true-up for the equalization of the 2 divisions in 2015. In furtherance of the true-up for the equalization of the 2 divisions, beginning on July 1, 2023, the bill reduces the total employer contribution rate for the DPS division from 10.4% to 7.15% of salary. The bill does not alter the employer or member contribution rate for any other division of PERA. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act enacts the softbound volumes of the Colorado Revised Statutes 2022 and the subsequent changes approved by the voters at the general election on November 8, 2022, as the positive and statutory law of the state of Colorado and establishes the effective date of said publication. APPROVED by Governor February 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE February 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a state or local government agency (agency), including an institution of higher education, that uses or intends to develop, procure, or use a facial recognition service (FRS) to file with its reporting authority a notice of intent to develop, procure, or use the FRS and specify a purpose for which the technology is to be used. For a state agency, the reporting authority is the office of information technology in the governor's office; for a local government agency, the reporting agency is the city council, county commission, or other local government agency vested with legislative powers. After filing the notice of intent, the agency must produce an accountability report that includes certain information and policies regarding the proposed use of the FRS. The act establishes requirements for the adoption, implementation, disclosure, and updating of accountability reports. The act also requires an agency using an FRS to subject to meaningful human review any decisions that result from such use and produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning individuals. An agency must test the FRS in operational conditions before deploying the FRS in a context in which it will be used to make such decisions. An agency using an FRS must conduct periodic training of all individuals who operate the FRS or who process personal data obtained from the FRS. An agency must maintain records that are sufficient to facilitate public reporting and auditing of compliance with the agency's facial recognition policies. The act also prohibits a law enforcement agency (LEA) from: Using an FRS to engage in ongoing surveillance; conduct real-time or near real-time identification; or start persistent tracking unless the LEA obtains a warrant authorizing such use, such use is necessary to develop leads in an investigation, the LEA has established probable cause for such use, or the LEA obtains a court order authorizing the use of the service for the sole purpose of locating or identifying a missing person or identifying a deceased person; Applying an FRS to any individual based on the individual's religious, political, or social views or activities; participation in a particular noncriminal organization or lawful event; or any other characteristic protected by law; Using an FRS to create a record depicting any individual's exercise of rights guaranteed by the first amendment of the United States constitution and by section 10 of article II of the Colorado constitution; Using the results of an FRS as the sole basis to establish probable cause in a criminal investigation; or Substantively manipulating an image for use in an FRS in a manner not consistent with the FRS provider's intended use and training. An agency must disclose its use of an FRS on a criminal defendant to that defendant in a timely manner prior to trial. In January of each year: Any judge who has issued or extended a warrant for the use of an FRS during the preceding year, or who has denied approval of such a warrant during that year, must report certain information to the state court administrator; and Any agency that has applied for a warrant or an extension of a warrant for the use of an FRS to engage in any surveillance must provide to the agency's reporting authority a report summarizing nonidentifying demographic data of individuals named in warrant applications as subjects of surveillance. The requirements of the act do not apply to: An agency that is required to use a specific FRS pursuant to a federal regulation or order or that uses an FRS in partnership with a federal agency to fulfill a congressional mandate, fulfill aviation security directives, or comply with federal law; that uses an FRS in association with a federal agency to verify the identity of individuals presenting themselves for travel at an airport; or that uses an FRS in connection with a physical access control system in order to grant or deny access to a sterile area of an airport; The use of an FRS solely for research purposes by a state agency, so long as the use does not result in or affect any decisions that produce legal effects concerning individuals or similarly significant effects concerning individuals; or A utility. The act also prohibits a school district or a public school, charter school, or institute charter school from contracting with a vendor for the purchase of, or services related to, an FRS until July 1, 2025. However, the prohibition does not apply to a contract: That was executed before the effective date of the act; or For the purchase of, or for services related to, a generally available consumer product that allows for the analysis of facial features in order to facilitate the user's ability to manage an address book or images for personal or household use. The act also creates a task force for the consideration of FRSs (task force) and requires the task force to examine and report to the joint technology committee of the general assembly concerning the extent to which state and local government agencies are currently using FRSs and provide recommendations concerning the extent to which such agencies should be permitted to continue to do so, including certain specific considerations. The task force must submit a report on or before October 1, 2023, and on or before each October 1 thereafter, to the joint technology committee. The report must include a recommendation as to whether the scope of the issues for study by the task force should be expanded to include consideration of artificial intelligence other than FRSs, or even artificial intelligence itself, and whether the membership of the task force should be adjusted accordingly. The task force is repealed, effective September 1, 2027, subject to a sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies. The act also states that an individual may authorize an agent to access and process the individual's personal data or other information held by a controller and that is otherwise accessible to the individual, and such an authorization does not constitute cybercrime. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $11,109 from the general fund to the legislative department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a study in the department of education (department). The department is required to contract with a third party to conduct the study. The third-party contractor (contractor) is required to examine the amendments to the Title IX regulations of the federal "Education Amendments of 1972" (Title IX) issued by the United States department of education's office for civil rights. The contractor is required to consult with the department, a sexual misconduct advisory committee within the department of higher education, a K-12 advocacy organization, and a Colorado student government organization. The study must include an examination of the following: Best practices for prevention, notification, training, and responding to sex-based discrimination and harassment in public schools; The gaps between state and federal law regarding Title IX; and Whether Title IX regulations place limits on state law and whether the Colorado general assembly may adopt more stringent standards in state statute. The act establishes that if the department contracts with a public university as the contractor, the department shall submit the results of the study on January 31, 2023, to the education committees of the general assembly. If the department contracts with a contractor that is not a public university, the department shall submit the results of the study on March 30, 2023, to the education committees of the general assembly. The act appropriates $57,850 from the general fund to the department to conduct the study. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)