Sen. Rachel Zenzinger

General fund transfer to highway users tax fund for state fiscal year 2019-20. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $100 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund on July 1, 2019, for allocation to the state highway fund, counties, and municipalities in accordance with the existing "second stream" allocation formula, which allocates the money as follows: 60% to the state highway fund; 22% to counties; and 18% to municipalities.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Telecommunications - assistance to customers with disabilities - talking book library - appropriation. The act authorizes the use of money in the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund (fund) to support talking book library services for persons who are blind and physically disabled. $250,000 is appropriated from the fund to the department of regulatory agencies, which amount is reappropriated to the department of education for the Colorado talking book library. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

School leadership pilot program - appropriation. The act creates the school leadership pilot program (program) to provide professional development for public elementary, middle, and high school principals. During the 2019-20 budget year, the department of education (department) is directed to design and implement the program or contract with a nonprofit entity or institution of higher education (contracted entity) to design and implement the program. The program must include identification of high-quality school principals who will interact with the school principals selected to receive professional development through the program. The program must also include professional development in distributive and collaborative leadership skills with the goal of improving educator retention, school climate and culture, and student outcomes. School principals may apply to receive professional development through the program during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 budget years. The department or the contracted entity must review the applications and select the participants. Subject to available appropriations, the department must provide grants to the employers of the school principals who participate in the program either as high-quality school principals or to receive professional development. By March 15, 2020, the department must report to the education committees of the general assembly concerning the design of the program. By January 15, 2022, the department must report to the education committees concerning implementation of the program, including recommendations for whether the program should be continued. The program is repealed, effective July 1, 2022. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the act appropriates $272,929 from the general fund to the department to implement the program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Registration - special license plates - Mesa Verde National Park. The act creates the Mesa Verde National Park license plate. To be issued the plate, an applicant must pay 2 one-time $25 fees and make a donation to a nonprofit organization selected by the department of revenue.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Nursing home penalty cash fund - reserve - grant cap - repeal related program sunset. The act repeals the current reserve for the nursing home penalty cash fund and instead requires the medical services board to establish a minimum reserve that limits expenditures for grants. The annual cap on expenditures for grants, which is $250,000 or possibly a lesser amount depending on whether the fund balance exceeds $2 million, is repealed and the sunset review of the use of grants and the related nursing home innovations grant board is also repealed.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Complementary and alternative medicine for a person with a spinal cord injury - pilot program - continuation - report. The act continues the department of health care policy and financing's pilot program that allows an eligible person with a spinal cord injury to receive complementary or alternative medicine until 2025. The act requires the independent evaluation of the pilot program and associated report to be completed no later than January 1, 2025.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Notice and preparation for elections - accessibility for voters with disabilities - independent and private marking of ballot - electronic voting device - appropriation. The secretary of state is required to establish procedures to enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot or use an electronic voting device that produces a paper record using nonvisual access, low vision access, or other assistive technology in order for the voter to vote in a mail ballot election. The secretary of state is required to include in the procedures a method by which a voter with a disability may request such a ballot. A voter with a disability who requests that a ballot and balloting materials be sent by electronic transmission may choose electronic mail delivery or, if offered by the voter's jurisdiction, other electronic means. The designated election official in each jurisdiction charged with distributing a ballot and balloting materials is required to transmit the ballot and balloting materials to the voter using the means of transmission chosen by the voter. A voter with a disability who receives a ballot via electronic means must print the ballot and such ballot must be received by the election official in the applicable jurisdiction before the close of polls on the day of the election. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $50,000 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state for use by the information technology division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Educator loan forgiveness program - appropriation. The act makes changes to the teacher loan forgiveness program, renaming it the educator loan forgiveness program (program) and revising the eligibility criteria for the program. The program: Repays up to $5,000 of qualified educational loans for up to 5 years for teachers and other educators employed in qualified positions under the program; and Targets teachers and other educators employed in hard-to-fill positions due to geography or content area. The department of education (department) is required to annually identify the content shortage areas that qualify for the program. Subject to available appropriations, the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) shall approve up to 100 new participants in the program each year, and the act specifies the criteria the commission shall use to prioritize applicants, if necessary. The program includes the educator loan forgiveness fund, and the commission shall adopt policies that ensure that loan repayment is made only on qualified loans for educators in qualified positions. The commission shall prepare an annual report for the general assembly that includes information concerning the content shortage areas identified by the department and information concerning the program participants. The act extends the repeal date of the program to 2033. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $623,969 to the department of higher education for use by the Colorado commission on higher education. Of that amount, $123,969 is for administrative expenses, requiring 1.4 FTE, and $500,000 is for student loan repayments. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Submission of statewide ballot issue for approval of transportation revenue anticipation notes - delay from 2019 to 2020. Before the enactment of the act, state law, enacted by Senate Bill 18-001, required that a ballot issue seeking approval for the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) be submitted to the voters of the state at the November 2019 statewide election. Upon approval of the ballot issue, the requirement, enacted by Senate Bill 17-267, that the state execute 3 separate tranches of up to $500 million each of lease-purchase agreements in state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 for the purpose of funding transportation would have been repealed. The act: Delays the requirement that the ballot issue be submitted for one year by requiring it to be submitted at the November 2020 general election rather than the November 2019 statewide election; Amends the ballot issue to reduce the amount of TRANs authorized to be issued by $500 million to offset the additional $500 million of lease-purchase agreement transportation funding that becomes available because the approval of the ballot issue at the November 2020 general election will repeal only the 2 state fiscal year 2020-21 and 2021-22 tranches of lease-purchase agreements, rather than the 3 state fiscal year 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 tranches of lease-purchase agreements; and Extends from 20 to 21 years the period for which, as enacted in Senate Bill 18-001, annual $50 million transfers from the general fund to the state highway fund are required.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Public school capital construction - increase in state financial assistance - adjustment to formula for determining total financial assistance for charter schools - financial assistance for full-day kindergarten facilities - appropriations. Law in effect before May 21, 2019, required the greater of the first $40 million of state retail marijuana excise tax revenue or 90% of the revenue to be credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund (assistance fund) and limited the maximum total amount of annual lease payments payable by the state under the terms of all outstanding lease-purchase agreements entered into as authorized by the "Building Excellent Schools Today Act" (BEST) to $100 million. Beginning July 1, 2019, the act: Requires all state retail marijuana excise tax revenue to be credited to the assistance fund; Increases the maximum total amount of BEST annual lease payments to $105 million for state fiscal year 2019-20 and to $110 million for state fiscal year 2020-21 and each state fiscal year thereafter; Changes the percentage of the state retail marijuana excise tax revenue credited to the assistance fund that is further credited to the charter school facilities assistance account of the assistance fund for distribution to charter schools from 12.5% to a percentage equal to the percentage of pupil enrollment statewide represented by pupils who were enrolled in charter schools for the prior school year; and Changes the total amount of money annually appropriated from the state education fund for charter school capital construction from a flat amount of $20 million per year to $20 million per year annually adjusted for changes in the percentage of students included in the statewide funded pupil count who are enrolled in charter schools. The act also: During state fiscal year 2018-19, transfers $4.25 million from the assistance fund to the charter school facilities assistance account of the assistance fund; For state fiscal year 2020-21, requires the general assembly to appropriate $160 million from the assistance fund for use by the public school capital construction assistance board (BEST board) in providing financial assistance for public school capital construction in the form of BEST matching cash grants only; On July 1, 2019, transfers $25 million from the assistance fund to the full-day kindergarten facility capital construction fund (kindergarten facility fund); Requires the BEST board to accept applications from applicants that will provide a full-day kindergarten educational program for the 2019-20 school budget year (state fiscal year 2019-20) for formula-based grants for that budget year of the $25 million transferred to the kindergarten facility fund and authorizes applicants to spend the grants to acquire furniture, fixtures, or other fixed or moveable equipment, excluding construction equipment, that is needed to conduct a full-day kindergarten educational program or a preschool educational program; Specifies a grant distribution formula that takes into account an applicant's per pupil funding, size factor, and percentages of enrolled pupils who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, are English language learners, or are special education students; Requires any of the $25 million that is not actually distributed as grants during the 2019-20 school budget year due to some eligible applicants not applying for grants or applying for grants in amounts that are less than the amount that the distribution formula would otherwise provide to be transferred back to the assistance fund; Increases the state fiscal year 2018-19 appropriation from the charter school facilities assistance account of the assistance fund to the department of education for state aid for charter school facilities by $4.25 million; and Makes appropriations for state fiscal year 2019-20 as follows: $50 million from the assistance fund to the department of education for BEST matching cash grants; $25 million from the kindergarten facility fund to the department of education for the formula-based grants authorized by the act; $5 million from the assistance fund to the department of education for the increased BEST annual lease payments authorized by the act; and $656,559 from the state education fund to the department of education for state aid to charter school facilities.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More