Sen. Katie Wallace

Colorado law prohibits an insurer from refusing to insure or increasing a premium for a homeowners insurance policy or a dwelling fire insurance policy based on the breed or mixture of breeds of a dog that is kept at a dwelling unless the dog is known to be dangerous or has been declared to be dangerous. The act adds that this provision applies to all residential structures used for a residence and occupied by an owner or renter. The "Colorado Housing Act of 1970" provides financing for building or rehabilitating affordable housing. The act requires each housing development that receives financing to authorize tenants of the affordable housing to own or keep one or 2 dogs or cats, subject to reasonable conditions as defined by the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act directs the Colorado disability opportunity office to develop a comprehensive community integration plan (plan) for implementing its obligation to provide qualified individuals with disabilities with opportunities to live, work, and be served in the least restrictive settings possible. The act requires the plan to include specified elements and that the plan must be reviewed and updated every 3 years. The act establishes that public and governmental entities (entities) shall administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting that is appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities. The act establishes when entities are required to provide home- and community-based services (services) to qualified individuals with disabilities. If an entity cuts services, the act requires the entity to assess whether the service cut increases the risk of institutionalization for qualified individuals with a disability receiving services. An entity is not required to comply with the provisions of the act if it can establish that doing so would require a fundamental alteration of its program. The act does not create a new private right of action for entities that fail to comply with it and does not create a standard different than federal law. The bill appropriates $658,410 from the disability support fund to the department of labor and employment for the Colorado disability opportunity office to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The environmental justice advisory board in the department of public health and environment (advisory board) advises the environmental justice ombudsperson, develops recommendations related to adverse environmental effects on disproportionately impacted communities, and supports the implementation of a grant program to finance environmental mitigation projects. The act adds to the advisory board a voting youth member and a nonvoting youth member, which members are between 14 and 21 years of age. The act also requires the Colorado energy office (office), on or before December 31, 2025, to develop and post on its website best practices for the adoption and financing of clean energy resources in schools. The office is required to periodically update the best practices and post the updates on its website. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In the 2024 regular legislative session, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 24-005, concerning the conservation of water in the state through the prohibition of certain landscaping practices, which: Prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2026, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing any person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable property within the local entity's jurisdiction; and Requires a local entity, on or before January 1, 2026, to enact or amend its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects on applicable property in accordance with the new requirements. The act expands the definition of "applicable property" to include a multifamily residential housing premises property that includes more than 12 dwelling units (applicable residential real property). The act prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2028, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing a person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable properties that include multifamily residential housing premises property. The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects to regulate the installation of nonfunctional turf and include consideration of applicable residential real property. The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects within the local entity's jurisdiction to regulate the installation of turf to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property. Local entities must also regulate the installation of turf when enacting or amending its laws on and after January 1, 2028, to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes a definition of "mobile food establishment" to mean a retail food establishment that is operated from a vehicle, can change location, and is intended to operate from a commissary kitchen. The act establishes a reciprocal food safety license between the city and county of Denver (Denver) and other local governments throughout the state. The department of public health and environment (CDPHE) issues a statewide health department license (state license) based on the state health code to mobile food establishments that is valid in all local government jurisdictions throughout the state except for Denver. Denver issues a Denver-specific retail food license (Denver license) to mobile food establishments that is based on Denver's health code and that is only valid within Denver's jurisdiction. The act establishes reciprocity between these two licenses so that the state license is valid in Denver and the Denver license is valid across the state. The act requires the owner or operator of a mobile food establishment that wishes to take advantage of this reciprocity to provide a copy of either their Denver license or the state license to the local government in which they intend to operate or to Denver at least 14 days in advance of when they intend to operate. When a mobile food establishment is operating in a local government jurisdiction, including Denver's jurisdiction, the mobile food establishment must comply with all laws of the local government and is subject to inspection and enforcement by the local government. For a mobile food establishment with a state license that intends to operate in Denver, the mobile food establishment must submit certain documentation including, if requested, a summary of any violations within the previous calendar year related to the license or the operation of the mobile food establishment. The act also establishes that a fire safety permit that has been issued to a mobile food establishment by a local government is valid in any other local government jurisdiction if the fire safety permit was issued: By a local government that has adopted the most recent international fire code or a fire code that has incorporated the minimum standards for mobile food establishments developed by the division of fire prevention and control; and After completing an inspection by a certified fire inspector. The act requires that a mobile food establishment send a copy of the fire safety permit to the local government in which they intend to operate at least 14 days in advance of operation. While operating in a local government's jurisdiction, the mobile food establishment must comply with that local government's fire safety code and is subject to inspection and enforcement by the local government. The act authorizes the division of fire prevention and control to adopt minimum codes and standards for the operation of mobile retail food establishments for use by local governments. The act takes effect January 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning January 1, 2026, the act allows the department of health care policy and financing (department) to reimburse community health workers for services rendered to medicaid members after receiving any necessary federal authorization. Reimbursement for community health worker services is subject to available appropriations. The act postpones until January 31, 2027, the requirement for the department to report to the general assembly on community health worker utilization and costs in the medicaid program. The act reduces the appropriations to the department from the general fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year by $1,364,558 and the healthcare affordability and sustainability cash fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year by $342,750. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the legislation inside advisory council (council) to identify, examine, and discuss the issues, interests, and needs affecting people who are incarcerated and to formally advise and make recommendations to the general assembly regarding those issues, interests, and needs. The act: Requires the director of the legislative council to use a request for proposal process to contract with and designate a nonprofit organization to assist the council; Establishes membership requirements of the council; Outlines the duties of the council, including reporting requirements; Requires the council to report during the department of corrections' annual "SMART Act" presentation to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives, or their successor committees, beginning in January of 2027; and Creates an advisory review committee, consisting of 5 voting legislative members and 5 nonvoting council members to meet no more than 3 times during the interim and recommend no more than 3 bills during each interim.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act updates energy use benchmarking and performance standard requirements for owners of certain buildings (covered building owners), including: A requirement to meet 2040 performance standards, as adopted by the air quality control commission (commission), in consultation with the Colorado energy office (office) and in consideration of recommendations made by a task force convened by the office; Authorizing an alternative compliance mechanism for covered building owners to comply with certain performance standards; and Updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the benchmarking requirements to an amount up to $577 for a first violation and up to $2,300 for each subsequent violation and, on and after January 1, 2030, updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the performance standard requirements to an amount up to $2,300 for every 30 days that the covered building owner is in violation and up to $5,800 for every 30 days for a subsequent violation. The commission shall adopt rules to annually adjust the penalty amounts for inflation.The act also creates a building decarbonization enterprise (enterprise) to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, and other programmatic assistance to covered building owners to effectively and efficiently implement building decarbonization measures, including energy efficiency measures, electrification measures, energy upgrades, and participation in utility on-bill repayment programs. The enterprise is authorized to impose and collect from covered building owners an annual building decarbonization fee to cover the enterprise's costs in providing the financial, technical, and programmatic assistance. The fees are credited to the building decarbonization enterprise cash fund (cash fund) for use by the enterprise to implement the act.The act clarifies that a local government is not required to adopt an energy code solely as a result of having adopted a wildfire resiliency code.For state fiscal year 2025-26, $3 million is appropriated from the cash fund to the office of the governor for use by the office for the enterprise's implementation of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows, but does not require, an eligible patient to request from a manufacturer the manufacturer's individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, which is a drug, biological product, or device that is unique and produced exclusively for use by an individual patient based on the patient's own genetic profile. The manufacturer must be operating within an institution that operates under federal rules for the protection of human subjects. An eligible patient is an individual who has: A life-threatening or severely debilitating illness, as attested to by the patient's treating physician; Considered all other treatment options currently approved by the United States food and drug administration; Received a recommendation from the patient's treating physician; Given written, informed consent for the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device; and Documentation from the treating physician that the individual meets the definition of "eligible patient". The act authorizes, but does not require, a manufacturer to make the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device available to an eligible patient at no charge, but the manufacturer may require payment to cover the cost. If any harm is caused to the eligible patient resulting from the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, a private right of action cannot be brought against the manufacturer or against any other individual or entity involved in the care of the eligible patient with regard to the eligible patient's use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, so long as the manufacturer, individual, or entity complied with the law and exercised reasonable care. The act prohibits disciplinary action against a health-care provider's license based on the health-care provider's recommendations regarding the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device. The act does not affect a health-care insurer's obligation under current law relating to coverage for an insured's participation in a clinical trial. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires a party petitioning the court for dissolution of marriage or legal separation (petition) to disclose to the court the existence of any prior temporary or permanent restraining orders and civil protection orders, any mandatory restraining orders and protection orders, and any emergency protection orders entered against either party within 2 years prior to the filing of the petition. The act extends the time frame for the disclosure of any orders entered to within 5 years prior to the filing of the petition. In a proceeding for spousal maintenance, current law requires the court to consider a list of relevant factors. The act adds to the list of factors whether a spouse has engaged in domestic violence, coercive control, economic abuse, litigation abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or unlawful sexual behavior against the other spouse. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)