For state fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2025, the act requires that: The state treasurer transfer any unappropriated balances or otherwise unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the capital construction fund (fund) or the information technology capital account of the fund (IT subaccount), or any otherwise unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund or the IT subaccount at the end of a fiscal year to the general fund; All unexpended or unencumbered money from an appropriation from the fund or the IT subaccount to a state agency or state institution of higher education reverts to the general fund at the end of the period for which the money is appropriated; and All interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund and the IT subaccount be credited to the general fund. The act also requires the state treasurer to make the following transfers on July 1, 2025: $129,498,033 from the general fund to the fund; $500,000 from the general fund exempt account of the general fund to the fund; $20,557,433 from the general fund to the IT subaccount; and $3,230,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the IT subaccount.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under current law, if a consumer consents to an automatic renewal contract for a good or service through an online medium, the person that sells the good or service may provide the consumer with an opportunity to cancel the automatic renewal contract either online or in person. The act changes this provision to state that the person that sells the good or service is required to provide the consumer with an opportunity to cancel the automatic renewal contract online if the consumer consented to the automatic renewal contract through an online medium. If the consumer consented to the automatic renewal contract through other means, the person is required to provide the consumer with an online cancellation link or an in-person mechanism for canceling the automatic renewal contract. The person that sells the good or service may display a discounted offer, a retention benefit, or information regarding the effects of cancellation if the person simultaneously displays a direct link to cancel the automatic renewal contract. The attorney general may adopt rules to implement and enforce the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
At the November 2024 statewide election, voters approved proposition 130, which requires the state to provide $350 million in additional funding to local law enforcement agencies to improve recruitment, training, and retention of local law enforcement officers and to provide a $1 million death benefit to the family of a first responder who is killed in the line of duty. The act modifies and implements proposition 130. The act creates the peace officer training and support fund (fund), and establishes a formula by which the department of public safety (department) disburses $350 million in additional funding to local law enforcement agencies from the fund for permissible purposes. Permissible purposes include initial and continuing education and training for peace officers and the compensation of peace officers. Beginning July 1, 2026, the formula requires the department to disburse an amount to each law enforcement agency equal to the total of $15,000 and an amount multiplied by the number of P.O.S.T-certified officers, noncertified deputy sheriffs, and detention officers budgeted by a local government for the law enforcement agency. Law enforcement agencies and local governments may not use these funds to supplant or supplement other spending. Local governments must include evidence of compliance with the no supplanting or supplementing requirement in their annual audit and provide a copy of this audit to the department. The department must review a subset of the audits provided by local governments for compliance with the requirements of the act. The act also establishes funding for the fund. First, the act directs the state treasurer to transfer $15 million from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2026. Second, the act directs the state treasurer to issue warrants from the general fund totaling $500 million to the public employees' retirement association (PERA) between July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025. Beginning July 1, 2027, until the state treasurer has transferred a total of $350 million from the general fund to the fund: The amount of each annual direct distribution made by the state to PERA is reduced by the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million, up to a maximum of $35 million; and The state treasurer annually transfers an amount equal to the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million, up to a maximum of $35 million, from the general fund to the fund. However, beginning July 1, 2027, and each July 1 thereafter until the state treasurer has transferred a total of $350 million from the general fund to the fund, the state treasurer is required to transfer at least $15 million from the general fund to the fund regardless of the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million. The general assembly may annually appropriate to the department no more than 2.5% of the amount that the state treasurer annually transfers from the general fund to the fund for the department's direct and indirect costs of administering the distribution of money from the fund. The act clarifies that the $500 million in the warrants that the state treasurer issues to PERA are included in the general fund reserve. Accordingly, the act prohibits a future general assembly from lowering the general fund reserve to an amount less than $1 billion. If the general assembly does so reduce the reserve, the general assembly shall also make corresponding reductions to the direct distributions made by the state to PERA. The act also requires the governor to adjust general fund expenditures so that they do not result in the general fund reserve being reduced to an amount less than $1 billion. The act establishes a process by which the department distributes a $1 million death benefit to the family of a first responder who dies on or after November 5, 2024, as either the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained while performing official duties as a first responder or because of an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of the first responder's employment or service as a first responder. These payments are paid out of the death benefit fund, which is created in the act. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the death benefit fund on both July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027, and to make annual transfers from the general fund thereafter as necessary to ensure that the fund maintains a balance of $10 million. The act also requires a survivor of an eligible first responder to deduct an amount equal to the amount of any death benefit received from their federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state income tax liability unless the survivor qualifies for a corresponding federal income tax deduction. The act also requires the department to provide technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and local governments in complying with the requirements of the act and allows the executive director of the department to adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. For the 2025-26 fiscal year, $5,046,967 is appropriated from the death benefit fund to the department for implementation of the death benefit program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines "knowing misconduct" as a voluntary act or omission or series of acts or omissions consciously performed by a crime laboratory employee (employee) as a result of effort or determination in which the employee is aware that the employee's conduct is improper or deceptive and involves mishandling physical evidence or data or results, incorrectly performing forensic testing, presenting misleading or false results, concealing material information, or presenting false sworn testimony about evidence. The act defines a "significant event" as an act or omission by an employee that is a gross deviation from the standard operation procedures or accreditation requirements of the crime laboratory, or requirements in law that were applicable at the time of the act or omission of the employee, that could substantially negatively affect the integrity of the crime laboratory activities. The act requires an employee to report witnessed or discovered knowing misconduct or a significant event (collectively, "wrongful action") within 7 days of witnessing or discovering the wrongful action to the director of the crime laboratory (director) or to the employee's immediate supervisor, who shall report it to the director. A director who receives a report shall investigate the alleged wrongful action. As part of the investigation, the director must compile a list of all cases that the employee worked on. At the conclusion of the investigation, the director shall prepare a written final report. When an investigation is of alleged wrongful action in a pending case, the director shall notify each district attorney who has jurisdiction over the pending case about the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, if the investigation determines that the employee did not engage in wrongful action, the director shall deliver the final report to each district attorney who received notice of the investigation and to each district attorney who has jurisdiction over any case that was subject to investigation. If the investigation determines that the employee engaged in wrongful action, the director shall deliver the final report and all discoverable materials to each district attorney who has jurisdiction over any case that the employee worked on in an official capacity. If an investigation concerning wrongful action by a crime laboratory occurred after July 1, 2014, and before July 1, 2025, and the investigation resulted in criminal allegations filed against the employee or a sustained internal affairs action by the department supervising the employee, the director shall, as soon as practicable but no later than September 1, 2025, prepare a final report and provide the final report to all district attorneys with jurisdiction over any criminal case that is identified in the final report that is pending or has resulted in a conviction in that jurisdiction. Upon receipt of a notice from a director about an investigation into alleged wrongful action in a pending case, a district attorney shall notify the defendant in the case of the investigation. If the case involved a crime listed in the "Victim Rights Act", the district attorney shall also notify the victim about the alleged wrongful action, if the charges have been filed but the trial has not begun. A district attorney who receives a final report of an investigation that determines that a crime laboratory employee engaged in wrongful action in any case shall notify the defendant in that case, and each defendant whose case was reviewed as part of the investigation, of the determination of wrongful action. The act establishes a defendant's right to counsel in matters involving an employee's wrongful action and a right to investigate the wrongful action, to request discovery related to the wrongful action, and to seek post-conviction relief based on the wrongful action. The act permits a court to enter a protective order related to discovery requests. The act establishes a process for a defendant convicted in a case involving an employee's wrongful action to petition for post-conviction relief based on the wrongful action. If the defendant's petition for post-conviction relief asserts facts that, if true, demonstrate that a wrongful action was material to the case, the court shall decide the claim upon the merits after an evidentiary hearing. At the evidentiary hearing, the defendant has the burden to show that the employee committed the wrongful action and that the wrongful action is material to the case. If the defendant meets their burden, the court shall vacate the defendant's conviction and grant a new trial. The act makes all records related to an investigation criminal justice records and makes release of the records governed by the existing law governing criminal justice records; except that the custodian of a final report that concludes that a crime laboratory employee engaged in wrongful action may deny inspection of the report if there is an ongoing criminal investigation or criminal case. The act appropriates $140,433 from the general fund to the judicial department for use by the state courts. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the office of gun violence prevention (office) in the department of public health and environment (department) to post the office's gun violence prevention materials (materials) in an accessible manner on the office's website for school districts, boards of cooperative services, district charter schools, institute charter schools, and the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind (local education providers) to access and distribute to parents, guardians, and legal custodians of elementary or secondary school students. The act requires each local education provider to: Provide the materials in a written or electronic format to students' parents, guardians, and legal custodians at the beginning of each school year; and Post the materials or a link to the materials on the local education provider's website. Beginning in January 2026, and in January every year thereafter, the department shall include in its "SMART Act" hearing information concerning the materials. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law allows a person who is committed, imprisoned, or arrested (person in custody) the right to communicate with an attorney or family member by making a reasonable number of telephone calls or through any other reasonable manner. The act adds the attorney's authorized representative to those whom a person in custody can communicate with. Current law allows a person in custody the right to consult with an attorney. The act requires a peace officer or person employed at a place of confinement to provide an attorney or the attorney's authorized representative the ability to initiate communication with a person in custody through telephone calls, interactive audiovisual conferencing, or any other reasonable method of electronic communication, as determined by the jail or correctional facility administration. The communication must be private, unrecorded, and without cost to the confined person and attorney or the attorney's representative, subject to all reasonable administrative and operational procedures. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Law enforcement is required to report to the peace officers standards and training board (P.O.S.T. board) certain information related to peace officer conduct for inclusion in a searchable database. The act requires the head of the law enforcement agency providing the report to certify the accuracy of the information in the report. When certain peace officer conduct is reported, the peace officer is entitled to a show cause hearing. Upon request of the P.O.S.T. board, the agency providing the report shall provide the P.O.S.T. board with all documents relevant to the discipline for which the peace officer was placed in the database. If a law enforcement agency refuses to provide the records, the P.O.S.T. board may subpoena the records. If the court grants the subpoena, the court may order the law enforcement agency to pay the P.O.S.T. board's attorney fees, costs, and fees related to the subpoena. The act prohibits the P.O.S.T. board from including information in the database if the information is received from an agency that does not employ or has not employed the subject of the information. If an agency fails to report the information, the agency is subject to a fine. A peace officer who is included in the searchable database can appeal the officer's inclusion in the database. When a peace officer is added to the database, the P.O.S.T. board shall provide the officer with information on its website about how to appeal that action. The act requires the peace officer's disciplining law enforcement agency to provide the P.O.S.T. board with all documents relevant to the discipline for which the officer was placed in the database. If a law enforcement agency refuses to provide the records, the P.O.S.T. board may subpoena the records. If the court grants the subpoena, the court may order the law enforcement agency to pay the P.O.S.T. board's attorney fees, costs, and fees related to the subpoena. The act gives the P.O.S.T. board the authority to remove entries from the database that are in error. Under current law, the P.O.S.T. board shall permanently revoke a peace officer's certification and record that information in the database if the officer is found civilly liable for the use of unlawful physical force or is found civilly liable for failure to intervene in the use of unlawful force and the incident resulted in serious bodily injury or death to another person. The act gives the P.O.S.T. board the discretion to permanently revoke a peace officer's certification in those cases. If a law enforcement agency is investigating a peace officer for an incident that could result in a database report, the law enforcement agency shall inform the peace officer of the agency's duty to report that information and the consequences of the reporting. The act prohibits a law enforcement agency from agreeing to a settlement with a peace officer that includes the agency agreeing to not report the information to the database. Current law requires a law enforcement agency to provide a peace officer's personnel records, when they receive a waiver for the records, to another law enforcement agency that is considering employing the peace officer. The act requires a law enforcement agency or governmental agency that submits the waiver to another agency and does not receive the records to report that fact to the P.O.S.T. board. The P.O.S.T. board may contact the agency, and if the agency does not provide the disclosure within 6 calendar days, the P.O.S.T. board shall not provide the agency with P.O.S.T. board funding for a period of one year and the agency may be subject to fines. The act allows a person to maintain their P.O.S.T. certification if they are not working as a peace officer but are working for a law enforcement agency in a non-peace-officer role and they maintain the annual P.O.S.T. board training requirements. In 2024, the general assembly provided temporary peace officer status to administrators of judicial security. The act makes the status permanent. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund that is designated to hold money received from the firearm and ammunition excise tax (Proposition KK) for certain behavioral health-related purposes. Current law requires $8 million that is received from Proposition KK to be transferred to the behavioral and mental health cash fund. The act requires this money to instead be transferred to the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer the Proposition KK money in the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund. Current law repeals the behavioral and mental health cash fund on July 1, 2032. The act changes the repeal date to July 1, 2027. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows the Centennial correctional facility-south c-tower to be used to temporarily house protective-, close-, and medium-custody inmates for the duration of the Sterling correctional facility access controls project (project). The use of the Centennial correctional facility-south c-tower is permitted only after the department of corrections (department) determines that there are no suitable beds available to house an inmate in another department facility. The act requires the department to, at least 30 days prior to relocating any inmates, provide a structured relocation plan to the joint budget committee and the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee, or their successor committees, and to update those committees during the project. The plan must include, but is not limited to: What programs or classes will be available to the inmates; What behavioral health and medical care will be available; What employment opportunities will be available and the rate of pay for each employment opportunity; What recreational opportunities will be available; What visitation opportunities will be available; How many hours a day an inmate will be allowed out of their cell based on their medium- or close-custody level or protective custody status; Whether, prior to transfer, the department plans to conduct a reclassification or other custody review on any medium-security inmate to determine whether the inmate is appropriate to progress or have an override to minimum-restrictive custody; and An estimate of how long inmates will be temporarily held at Centennial correctional facility-south c-tower and if the relocations will be based on the duration of the project at the Sterling correctional facility. The act also requires the department to provide updates on the status of the access controls project at its "SMART Act" hearing required by section 2-7-203. The act appropriates $1,829,000 from the general fund to the department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The act implements the legislative recommendations of the child support commission by: Updating the child support guidelines schedule; Updating the monthly incomes eligible for a reduced low-income adjustment; and Replacing the current parenting time credit with a formula that provides parents credit for all overnights spent with that parent. The act appropriates $137,250 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services to the department of human services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)