Rep. Emily Sirota

The microgrids for community resilience grant program (grant program) in the division of local government in the department of local affairs provides grants for cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities to purchase microgrid resources for eligible rural communities located within their service territories. Under current law, the grant program is set to repeal on September 1, 2026. The act continues the grant program indefinitely by removing the repeal date.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 20 of article X of the state constitution (the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights or TABOR) defines 'fiscal year spending' as excluding 'collections for another government' and 'damage awards'. Although TABOR does not define either 'collections for another government' or 'damage awards', the TABOR implementing statutes define both terms. The act clarifies both of these definitions for state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2025.     The act clarifies that 'collections for another government', as used for the purpose of determining whether specific money received by the state is subject to the TABOR limitation on state fiscal year spending, includes:Revenue from the excise tax and sales and use tax on gasoline used as fuel for the propulsion of specified aircraft that is collected by the state and distributed to governmental or airport entities operating a federal aviation administration-designated public use airport; andRevenue from fees that are collected by the department of public safety for the purpose of criminal history record checks and that is transmitted to the federal bureau of investigation for a required federal component of such criminal history record checks.     The act also clarifies that 'damage award', as used for the purpose of determining whether specific money received by the state is subject to the TABOR limitation on state fiscal year spending, includes money from certain sources that is deposited in the crime victim compensation fund of each judicial district.     The act specifies that for fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2026, the general assembly shall appropriate money to the district attorney in each judicial district in an amount equal to 20% of the total amount of money in the fund in that judicial district for administrative costs and to the court executive in each judicial district in an amount equal to 2.5% of the total amount of money in the fund in that judicial district for administrative costs.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,250,000 from the general fund to the judicial department for use by state courts administration for victim's compensation administration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows money collected from the hospital provider fee to be used to maximize reimbursement through state-directed payments for physician services at Denver health and hospital authority.     The act appropriates $3,527,482 from the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee cash fund to the department of health care policy and financing to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act adds the Trinidad correctional facility, the Arkansas Valley correctional facility, and the Arrowhead correctional facility to the list of correctional facilities where the department of corrections may install broadband infrastructure.     The act extends the repeal date of the broadband infrastructure cash fund to July 1, 2028.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, as a supplement to the state accountability system in the department of education, a local accountability system may be established by a local education provider to measure the performance of public schools and school districts in achieving student success and system effectiveness. The act repeals the local accountability system law, which includes the local accountability system grant program.     The act reduces the members of the accountability, accreditation, student performance, and resource inequity task force from 26 to 25 by removing the task force member who is a superintendent who represents a rural school district that participates in the repealed local accountability system grant program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

On July 1, 2027, the act repeals the decarbonization tax credits administration cash fund, which is subject to annual appropriation to the department of revenue and the Colorado energy office to pay for the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation and administration of various decarbonization tax credits.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For the purpose of calculating inflation based on the consumer price index for the 2025 calendar year, the act requires the index to be determined by averaging the 2 semiannual reports produced by the United States bureau of labor statistics for the 2025 calendar year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act provides that the motorcycle operator safety training fund is no longer immediately and continuously available for use by the office of the chief of the state patrol in the department of public safety (office), and instead is available to be expended by the office subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly.     $1,110,000 is appropriated from the motorcycle operator safety training fund to the department of public safety for use by the Colorado state patrol for the motorcycle operator safety training program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act eliminates the requirement for the department of education (department) to administer a state assessment in social studies to elementary school students and specifies that the department is only required to administer a state assessment in social studies to students enrolled in seventh grade in a public school.     The act also eliminates the requirement that the department administer a state assessment in social studies in a representative sample of public schools each year.     The act reduces by the appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department of education from the state education fund for the statewide assessment program by $302,835.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals the requirement for the general assembly to appropriate money in the 2026-27 state fiscal year for the out-of-school time program grant program (grant program).     The act reduces the appropriation for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department of education for use by the grant program by $1,750,000.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)