Sen. Rachel Zenzinger

Veterans who have disabilities may obtain a special license plate without paying taxes or fees for the plate or the vehicle. For additional vehicles, the veteran pays the normal fees plus 2 one-time fees of $25, one of which goes to the highway users tax fund and the other goes to the licensing services cash fund.The act creates a license plate that honors United States women veterans who have disabilities. The requirements and benefits are substantially the same as they are for a disabled veteran license plate.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $5,481 is appropriated for use by the division of motor vehicles to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act appropriates $15,000,000 from the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund and the federal coronavirus recovery fund to the department of higher education for the Colorado opportunity scholarship initiative's displaced workers grant.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

On July 1, 2021, the state treasurer is required to transfer $124 million from the general fund to the state highway fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act expands the necessary referral services authorized by the Colorado 2-1-1 collaborative (collaborative) to include necessary referrals for behavioral health services and other social service resources in the state for Coloradans, particularly for individuals who are unemployed, regardless of whether they receive benefits.The act requires the department of human services' office of behavioral health to contract with the collaborative to hire and train specialized personnel. The act also requires the office of behavioral health to collaborate with the collaborative to engage in targeted marketing and outreach, and to ensure the marketing and outreach are targeted to traditionally underserved communities, such as immigrant, low-income, and communities of color.The act also requires the collaborative to coordinate with the department of labor and employment (department) to target, conduct outreach, and market to individuals who are unemployed, regardless of whether they receive benefits, and may need referrals for behavioral health services and other social service resources. The department is required to update its unemployment application web page and specified websites to include contact information for the collaborative.For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, $1,000,000 is appropriated to the department of human services (state department) from the general fund to implement the act. Any money that is not spent before July 1, 2021 is further appropriated to the state department for the 2021-22 state fiscal year for the same purpose.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $5,741 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by the division of unemployment insurance to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of personnel (department) to create and maintain an inventory of unused state-owned real property and to determine whether the unused state-owned real property identified is suitable for construction of affordable housing, child care, public schools, residential mental and behavioral health care, or for placement of renewable energy facilities, or if such property is suitable for other purposes. The act defines unused state-owned real property as real property owned by or under the control of a state agency, not including the division of parks and wildlife in the department of natural resources and not including the state board of land commissioners or any state institution of higher education.The department is authorized to seek proposals from qualified developers to construct affordable housing, child care, public schools, residential mental and behavioral health care, or to place renewable energy facilities on unused state-owned real property that the department has deemed suitable. Budget requests for those purposes must be made through the current budgetary process; except that budget requests may not be made through a request for a supplemental appropriation.The department is authorized to enter into contracts with qualified developers for proposals to construct affordable housing, child care, public schools, residential mental and behavioral health care, or to place renewable energy facilities, on unused state-owned real property that the department has deemed suitable, subject to available appropriations. Prior to entering into contracts, the department must first submit a report to capital development committee (CDC) that outlines the anticipated use of the property. The department may not enter into contracts without the approval of the CDC.The act creates the unused state-owned real property cash fund to which the state treasurer is required to credit all proceeds from the sale, rent, or lease of unused state-owned real property.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of human services (state department) to establish procedures to approve recovery support services organizations for reimbursement of peer support professional services. The act also gives the executive director of the state department rule-making authority to establish other criteria and standards as necessary.The act permits a recovery support services organization to charge and submit for reimbursement from the medical assistance program certain eligible peer support services provided by peer support professionals.The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing to reimburse recovery support services organizations for permissible claims for peer support services submitted under the medical services program.The act requires contracts entered into between the state department's office of behavioral health and designated managed service organizations to include terms and conditions related to the support of peer-run recovery support services organizations.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $28,654 is appropriated to the state department from the general fund for use by the office of behavioral health to implement this act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law limits the content areas in which a person who holds an adjunct instructor authorization may teach. The act allows a school district or charter school to employ a person who holds an adjunct instructor authorization to teach in all content areas in order to address recruiting challenges and establish a diverse workforce.The act requires the department of education (department) to direct resources to publicize existing teacher preparation programs to facilitate entry into the teaching profession. The act also requires the department to provide technical support to school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools to assist them in accessing the existing programs and in recruiting individuals to pursue teaching careers.The act requires the department of higher education, in collaboration with the department of education, the state board for community colleges and occupational education, and the deans of the schools of education and academic administrators in Colorado institutions of higher education, or their designees, to design a teaching career pathway for individuals to enter the teaching profession. The act outlines the components of the teaching career pathway program.The act creates the teacher recruitment education and preparation program (TREP program) in the department. Two of the main objectives of the TREP program are to increase the number of students entering the teaching profession and to create a more diverse teacher workforce to reflect the ethnic diversity of the state. A qualified TREP program participant may concurrently enroll in postsecondary courses in the 2 years directly following the year in which the participant was enrolled in the twelfth grade of a local education provider. The act outlines the selection criteria and requirements for the TREP program.The act creates the educator recruitment and retention program (ERR program) in the department to provide support to members of the armed forces, nonmilitary-affiliated educator candidates, and local education providers to recruit, select, train, and retain highly qualified educators across the state. The state board of education shall promulgate rules to implement the ERR program. The act outlines the eligibility criteria and program services.The act adds criteria for the commission on higher education to select eligible applicants for the educator loan forgiveness program.The act requires the university of Colorado health and sciences center to establish and operate an educator well-being and mental health program to provide support services for educators serving students in Colorado's public elementary and secondary schools.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $9,132,856 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of education to implement the act. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $942,542 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the act. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $2,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the educator loan forgiveness fund. The department of higher education is responsible for the accounting related to the appropriation for the educator loan forgiveness fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the renewal period for professional teacher, special services educator, principal, and administrator licenses from 5 to 7 years. The act allows for a professional teacher, special services educator, principal, or administrator who is partially through the current 5-year licensing cycle to have that extended to 7 years for that particular cycle.The act makes the following appropriations through adjustments to the long bill:The cash funds appropriation from the educator licensure cash fund made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2021-22 state fiscal year to the department of education for the office of professional services is decreased by $292,532, and the related FTE is decreased by 4.0 FTE. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $2,922,976 is appropriated to the department of education. This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement this act, the department may use this appropriation for the office of professional services. Any money appropriated not expended prior to July 1, 2022, is further appropriated to the department for the 2022-23 state fiscal year for the same purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill creates the Colorado recycling and composting infrastructure enterprise (enterprise) within the department of public health and environment (department) to develop and modernize the recycling and composting infrastructure in the state. The enterprise is authorized to issue revenue bonds.The bill creates the Colorado recycling and composting infrastructure enterprise grant program (grant program) within the department to provide grants to eligible entities to: Create new or expand existing recycling, recovery, and composting operations;Create markets for recycled materials, including the use of food service packaging as feedstock in the production of new products; andFacilitate recycling, composting, litter cleanup, and education efforts concerning recycling and composting practices. The bill creates the Colorado recycling and composting infrastructure enterprise board (enterprise board) to administer the grant program and submit an annual report concerning the grant program.The bill creates the Colorado recycling and composting infrastructure enterprise grant program cash fund (cash fund) and requires the enterprise board to award grants from the cash fund.The bill allows the executive board to promulgate rules to implement the grant program and requires the solid and hazardous waste commission (commission) to promulgate rules establishing a process for calculating the rates at which common types of food service packaging are being recycled or composted in the state, based on recently available data. On or before January 1, 2025, the commission must use the process to calculate such rates. Thereafter, the commission must recalculate each rate at least every 2 years. The enterprise board must evaluate the rates and advise the commission regarding their accuracy.The bill requires the enterprise to determine and impose a fee on food service packaging that is initially sold or offered for sale in the state, as follows:On and after January 1, 2022, and until January 1, 2030, the enterprise shall impose a fee in an amount to be determined by the enterprise but which may not exceed three-tenths of a cent on each unit of the food service packaging;On and after January 1, 2030, and until January 1, 2035, if the food service packaging is a type of food service packaging for which the commission has calculated a recycling or composting rate that is less than 50%, the enterprise shall impose a fee in an amount to be determined by the enterprise but which may not exceed six-tenths of a cent on each unit of the food service packaging; andOn and after January 1, 2035, if the food service packaging is a type of food service packaging for which the commission has calculated a recycling or composting rate that is less than 75%, the enterprise shall impose a fee in an amount to be determined by the enterprise but which may not exceed one cent on each unit of the food service packaging. The enterprise shall collect the fee from the distributor that initially sells the food service packaging into the state. All money collected as fees must be deposited into the cash fund.The bill requires the commission to conduct an assessment of the state's recycling and composting infrastructure on or before January 1, 2022, including examining the types of food service packaging being collected, processed, recycled, or composted in the state.The bill creates the stakeholder advisory committee on recycling (advisory committee) in the department of public health and environment (department) and requires the advisory committee to: Conduct a literature review of various policy concepts relating to post-consumer recycled content requirements for packaging; Review rates and time frames in which post-consumer recycled content may be feasibly required for all packaging applications and materials; and Submit a report on or before July 1, 2022, to subject matter committees of the general assembly, which report must include recommendations in subject matter areas in which the advisory committee achieved consensus and note dissenting opinions in subject matters in which the advisory committee failed to achieved consensus. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the bill appropriates $139,775 to the department for use by the division of environmental health and sustainability to implement the bill. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

For the 2020 property tax year, the existing statute corrects the total program mill levies for school districts that are not subject to constitutional property tax revenue restrictions but whose mill levies were erroneously reduced. Each school district that levies a higher number of mills as a result of the correction must grant a tax credit for the number of mills by which the levy is increased.The act requires the department of education to adopt a correction schedule to begin phasing out the tax credits in the 2021 property tax year. The correction schedule must apply consistently to each affected school district; must require each district's tax credit to phase out as quickly as possible, but by no more than one mill per year; and must ensure that the tax credits are fully phased out in 19 years.The act specifies that, until the general assembly determines that stabilizing the state budget no longer requires a reduction in the appropriation for the state share of total program, the general assembly shall annually ensure that the savings to the state share that occurs as a result of the decrease in the temporary property tax credits is appropriated to fund a portion of the state share of total program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)