Current law requires the general assembly to transfer money to the preschool programs cash fund from the general fund or the state education fund in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 state fiscal years. Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the amount transferred is required to increase by the rate of inflation. The act repeals those requirements and instead requires the general assembly to appropriate money to the department of early childhood (department) for the 2023-24 state fiscal year for purposes of the Colorado universal preschool program. Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, and each year thereafter, the amount appropriated must increase annually by the rate of inflation. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
At the November 2022 general election, Colorado voters approved proposition FF. Proposition FF created the healthy school meals for all programs (program) and increased taxes to pay for the program. The act creates the healthy school meals for all program general fund exempt account (account). The department of revenue will deposit the revenue resulting from the tax increase in proposition FF into the account. The department of education (department) will use the tax revenue in the account to implement the program. To the extent that there is not enough money in the account for the department to implement the program, the department may expend money from the general fund for amounts appropriated for the program. The act also allows for expenditures in excess of appropriations from the fund for limited purposes and clarifies how the appropriations made for the program will be shown in the annual general appropriations act. Appropriations from the account are excluded from the amount that is used to calculate the statutory general fund reserve, and the unrestricted balance in the account at the end of a fiscal year is excluded from the state general fund surplus. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $115,339,107 from the account to the department of education and $14,786 from the account to the department of law. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to make 2 transfers to the state emergency reserve cash fund (fund) on June 30, 2023. First, the state treasurer is required to transfer $20 million from the general fund to the fund. Second, the state treasurer is required to transfer $10 million from the revenue loss restoration cash fund that originates from the general fund to the fund. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act permits the department of law to use money appropriated to the department for litigation management to address unanticipated state legal needs. The department is prohibited from using that money for employee salary increases, promotions, reclassifications, or bonuses, or to offset personal services deficits in the department. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires transfers to be made on July 1, 2023, from the general fund and the general fund exempt account of the general fund to the capital construction fund and the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund as follows: $233,361,030 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; $60,308,481 from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund; and $500,000 from the general fund exempt account of the general fund to the capital construction fund. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the cap on the amount of money the department of education (department) may expend on administrative costs for the school transformation grant program. For the 2023-24 budget year, $115,785 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for the school transformation grant program. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, an institution of higher education (institution) receives funding through a fee-for-service contract for specialty education services provided by the institution. Colorado state university and the university of Colorado school of medicine created a partnership that created a 4-year branch campus for university of Colorado medical school students in Fort Collins (partnership). The act allows the use of specialty education services funding for the partnership. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a mechanism to set the hourly rate for attorney time for attorneys who contract with the office of alternate defense counsel, the office of the child's representative, or the office of the respondent parents' counsel. The rate for fiscal year 2023-24 is $100 per hour. The hourly rate must be increased annually by no more than $5 each year until it is at least 75% of the rate set in the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986" for indigent representation in federal court. The hourly rate may be adjusted in subsequent fiscal years to maintain the hourly rate at or above 75% of the rate set in the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986". APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On July 1, 2023, the state treasurer is required to transfer $4,913,753 from the state employee reserve fund to the general fund. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Starting no later than January 1, 2024, The act requires the division of criminal justice (division) in the department of public safety (department) to contract with a third party every 5 years to conduct a financial audit of community corrections programs and report findings to the joint budget committee and the division of criminal justice by July 1, 2025. $100,000 is appropriated to the department from the general fund for use by the division for administrative services. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)