On April 1, 2022, the act transfers: $4,113,216 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; and $950,690 from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends deadlines related to COVID-19 relief programs within the Colorado office of economic development and international trade that are dedicated to accelerating the recovery of negatively impacted industries and businesses. Specifically, the act extends the: COVID-19 relief programs for small businesses spending authority for technical assistance from June 30, 2022, to December 31, 2023, and the reporting deadline from November 1, 2022, to November 1, 2023, and adds another report due on November 1, 2024; Closing of the applications deadline for the small business accelerated growth program from December 31, 2022, to October 31, 2023; and Deadline for eligible events to occur under the Colorado meetings and events incentive program from December 31, 2022, to June 30, 2024, and the reporting requirement due dates through July 1, 2025.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the date by which the department of health care policy and financing shall administer the reproductive health-care program from January 1, 2022, to July 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, money in the ARPA account in the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund as a result of fund savings and federal matching dollars must be used in accordance with the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (ARPA) to implement or supplement the implementation of home- and community-based services. The act authorizes money in the ARPA account to be used for a purpose that is ineligible for a federal match but otherwise authorized pursuant to the ARPA if the general assembly appropriates the money for that purpose. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes an appropriation and requires the department of health care policy and financing to distribute the money appropriated for supplemental, state-only payments to urban Indian organizations to address health-care disparities among the urban Indian community. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $70,825 from the general fund to the department of health care policy and financing for use for other medical services for state-only payments to urban Indian organizations. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $48,025 from the general fund to the department of health care policy and financing for use for other medical services for state-only payments to urban Indian organizations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires the state department of health care policy and financing to obtain a vendor to provide a comprehensive care coordination and treatment training model (model) for persons who work with persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring behavioral health needs by January 1, 2022. The act removes that deadline. Current law requires case-management agencies, mental health centers, and other program-approved service agencies in the state to nominate providers to participate in the model training designed and provided by the selected vendor no later than March 1, 2022. The act removes that deadline and requires that providers be nominated to participate in the model training no later than 60 days after a vendor is obtained to provide the model training. Current law requires providers participating in the model training to complete the training no later than March 30, 2023. The act removes that deadline and requires that the model training be completed no later than one calendar year after a provider is nominated to participate in the model training. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the state treasurer to transfer $2 million from the coal transition workforce assistance program account (account) to the just transition cash fund (fund) on March 7, 2022, and directs the general assembly to appropriate $150,000 from the fund to the department of higher education for allocation to the Colorado school of mines to expand the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals Initiative for U.S. Basins (CORE-CM initiative) in the Greater Green river and Wind river basins. Additionally, the act modifies the account as follows: Removes the requirement that the department of labor and employment (department) expend specified percentages of money in the account by specified fiscal years; and Removes the prioritization of account expenditures first for programs that directly support coal transition workers, thereby allowing the department to also expend money in the account for programs that support coal transition workers' family members and other household members. The act also: Repeals the $7,000,000 appropriation from the account to the department, made pursuant to House Bill 21-1290, concerning funding to provide just transition for coal transition workers and coal transition communities, for the 2020-21 state fiscal year; Appropriates from the account to the department, for the coal transition workforce assistance program, $500,000 for the 2021-22 state fiscal year and $2 million for the 2022-23 state fiscal year; Appropriates from the fund to the department, for authorized investments in just transition programs for communities, $1,295,000 for the 2021-22 state fiscal year and $555,000 for the 2022-23 state fiscal year; and Appropriates $150,000 to the department of higher education for allocation to the Colorado school of mines to expand the CORE-CM initiative.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The general assembly recognizes that the actual funded pupil count and the at-risk pupil count for the 2021-22 budget year are lower than expected when the appropriation amount for the state share of total program funding was established during the 2021 legislative session, resulting in a decrease in total program funding for the 2021-22 budget year. In addition, local property tax revenue and specific ownership tax revenue are higher than anticipated, resulting in an increase in the local share of total program funding. The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain total program funding after application of the budget stabilization factor at the amount of the original appropriation for the 2021-22 budget year. The act decreases the appropriation for the state share of total program funding by $139,565,749 in cash funds from the state education fund and adjusts the 2021-22 state fiscal year long bill accordingly. The act appropriates $91,433,760 in cash funds from the state education fund to the department of education to distribute to school districts and institute charter schools that received lower than anticipated funding for at-risk pupils for the 2021-22 budget year. The appropriation is additional funding and does not affect a district's or institute charter school's total program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the equity diversity and inclusion task force (task force) established through a partnership agreement entered into pursuant to the "Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act" (partnership agreement) to contract for a pay equity study to assess pay inequities specific to gender, race, and other protected classes; to provide recommendations to alleviate pay inequities; and to comply with any other specifications set by the state personnel director, the task force, or the partnership agreement. A final report including findings and recommendations from the study must be provided by the contractor performing the study to the members of the general assembly, the governor, and the executive director of Colorado workers for innovative and new solutions, a certified employee organization pursuant to the "Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act". $500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the division of human resources in the department of personnel for expenses in connection with the pay equity study. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, but before January 1, 2030, the bill creates an income tax credit (tax credit) for any employer that: Creates a clean commuting plan to implement strategies to increase the use of alternative transportation options and reduce the number of measurable vehicle miles driven by its employees in single-occupancy vehicles when commuting to and from their work site (clean commuting plan) for the purpose of reducing automobile-related air pollution, traffic congestion, and transportation costs, particularly for essential workers and workers earning under $40,000 per year; Conducts an employer commuter survey to determine how its employees commute to and from their work site; and Offers 2 or more alternative transportation options to some or all of its employees in furtherance of the employer's clean commuting plan. The amount of the tax credit is 50% of the amount spent by the employer to provide alternative transportation options to some or all of its employees. In addition, the bill requires the executive director of the department of transportation (director), in coordination with the Colorado energy office and metropolitan planning organizations, to create an annual commuter survey for employers to use to determine how their employees commute to and from their work site. The director and the Colorado energy office are required to determine the content of the commuter survey and the form and manner in which the commuter survey will be completed and returned to the department of transportation. Beginning in specified calendar years, in an effort to reduce the number of employees who commute to and from their work site in a single-occupancy vehicle, employers with over 100 employees are required to: Annually conduct a commuter survey of its employees and submit the completed commuter surveys to the department of transportation by April 30 of the year in which the survey was conducted; Offer its employees qualified transportation fringe benefits allowed pursuant to federal law; Offer its employees commuter choice information in electronic or hard copy format and update the information every 6 months; and Offer a cash allowance in lieu of a parking space under certain circumstances. The bill requires that any private sector employer that wishes to claim the tax credit participate in the employer commuter survey and submit the results of the survey to the department by April 30 of the year in which the survey is conducted, even if the employer's participation in the commuter survey is not otherwise required. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, and for each state fiscal year thereafter through the 2029-30 state fiscal year, of the money allocated to the transportation commission for state multimodal projects from the multimodal transportation and mitigation options fund, the transportation commission is required to allocate $250,000 to each of the transportation management associations and transportation management organizations operating in a nonattainment area for the purposes of assisting employers in creating a clean commuting plan and complying with the requirements of the bill. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
