Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-015 designates a specific portion of Colorado State Highway 58 as the "Officer Evan A. Dunn Memorial Highway." This action honors Officer Evan A. Dunn, a Golden Police Department officer who died in the line of duty. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations for the initial placement of memorial signs and to explore a cooperative agreement with the City of Golden for their maintenance.

The act changes the tuition assistance program for eligible members of the Colorado National Guard (member) to a tuition waiver program (program). The act allows a member, upon being accepted for enrollment at a designated institution of higher education (institution), to pursue studies that lead to a postgraduate degree, a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, or a certificate of completion with all tuition waived. For a member, the tuition waiver must not exceed more than 65 credit hours at a designated 2-year institution of higher education and no more than 130 credit hours at a designated 4-year institution of higher education; except that the total credit hours for a member who attends both a 2-year institution and a 4-year institution must not exceed more than 145 credit hours. The department of military and veterans affairs (department) shall administer the program. In order to qualify for the program, a member must: Be accepted by an institution; Be in good standing with the Colorado National Guard; and Complete a Colorado application for state financial aid or a free application for federal student aid. Each institution shall determine if a member enrolled with the institution remains in satisfactory academic standing in accordance with the academic policies of the institution and is making progress toward the completion of the requirements of the education program in which the member is enrolled. If the institution finds that the member is not in satisfactory academic standing in accordance with the academic policies of the institution or is not making progress toward the completion of a degree, the member must reimburse the department for the amount of the tuition waived for that academic term. The act makes an appropriation of $562,787 to the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law restricts construction defect negligence claims unless the negligence claim arises from a construction defect which results in actual damage to or loss of the use of real or personal property; bodily injury or wrongful death; or a risk of bodily injury or death to, or a threat to the life, health, or safety of, the occupants of the residential real property. Section 1 of the bill changes this restriction so that all construction defect claims are restricted unless the claim arises from a construction defect that causes: Actual damage to real or personal property caused by the violation of a building code, manufacturer's instructions, or industry standard; Actual loss of the use of real or personal property; Bodily injury or wrongful death; or An imminent and unreasonable risk of bodily injury or death to, or an imminent or unreasonable threat to the life, health, or safety of, the occupants of the residential real property. Sections 2 through 12 modify existing warranty of habitability laws by repealing recent updates and reenacting the laws as they were prior to the updates. The modifications include repealing certain procedures for both landlords and tenants when a warranty of habitability claim is alleged by the tenant; repealing a rebuttable presumption that a landlord failed to remedy an uninhabitable premises in certain conditions; modifying requirements regarding notice given to a landlord of an uninhabitable premises; and modifying other laws related to rental agreements, records, and procedures for remedying uninhabitable premises. Section 13 repeals law that allows the attorney general to independently initiate and bring actions to enforce laws relating to the warranty of habitability. Section 14 makes a conforming change to law governing county courts' jurisdiction over cases involving tenant's remedies in warranty of habitability cases and tenant's remedies in cases of unlawful removal. Section 15 modifies the statement included in a summons issued to a defendant in a court proceeding regarding an action for possession brought by a landlord. Sections 16 through 20 repeal provisions related to evictions of residential tenants, including repealing: Requirements that a landlord and residential tenant participate in mandatory mediation prior to commencing an eviction action if the residential tenant receives cash assistance; A prohibition on a law enforcement officer's ability to execute a writ of restitution until 30 days after the entry of judgment if the residential tenant receives cash assistance; Requirements that a written demand include a statement that a residential tenant who receives cash assistance has a right to mediation prior to the landlord filing an eviction complaint; Requirements that a written rental agreement include a statement that current law prohibits source of income discrimination and requires a nonexempt landlord to accept any lawful and verifiable source of money paid directly, indirectly, or on behalf of a person; and Requirements that prohibit a written rental agreement from including a waiver of mandatory mediation or a clause that allows a landlord to recoup any costs associated with mandatory mediation. Sections 21 and 22 require any provision of any energy code adopted by a county or municipality on or after January 1, 2026, to be cost effective. "Cost effective" means, using the existing energy efficiency standards and requirements as a base of comparison, that the economic benefits of the proposed energy efficiency standards and requirements will exceed the economic costs of those standards and requirements based upon an incremental multi-year analysis.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act suspends legislative interim committee activities during the 2025 legislative interim (interim). Specifically, the act: Prohibits the legislative council of the general assembly from prioritizing any requests for interim committees, including task forces, for the 2025 interim; For an interim committee that meets during 2025 interim, limits the number of bills the committee can request to be drafted to 5 and can recommend for introduction to 3; Prohibits meetings, field trips, and legislative recommendations and reports by, and suspends for one year certain reports required to be submitted to, existing interim committees, including the legislative emergency preparedness, response, and recovery committee; legislative oversight committee for Colorado jail standards; statewide health care review committee; Colorado health insurance exchange oversight committee; opioid and other substance use disorders study committee; pension review commission and pension review subcommittee; legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy; and sales and use tax simplification task force; and Prohibits members serving on statutorily created interim committees from receiving per diem and travel expenses for attending interim committee meetings during the 2025 interim except for attendance at a meeting of the wildfire matters review committee, the water resources and agriculture review committee, and the transportation legislation review committee. The act removes the authority of the Colorado youth advisory council review committee to recommend legislation through the interim committee process. The act reduces appropriations made in the legislative department's budget bill by $272,355. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act defines an electronic fence detection system, which is a security system that is used in conjunction with a fence and is not located on real property that has been designated by a local government as exclusively for residential use. An electronic fence detection system includes a detector that, when contacted, causes an alarm system to transmit a signal to the business, a monitoring company authorized by the business owner, or law enforcement. The act allows a local government to impose installation or operational requirements for an electronic fence detection system within the local government's adopted process for the permitting of alarm systems. In addition, the act allows a local government to require a permit for the installation or use of an electronic fence detection system if the permit is not in addition to any permit generally required for the installation or use of any other alarm system. Lastly, the act allows a local government to inspect an electronic fence detection system. A local government may impose less stringent or more stringent requirements for or prohibit the installation or operation of an electronic fence detection system that is located in a residential area. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions, for and during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, except as otherwise noted. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires each school district, beginning in the 2025-26 budget year, and each budget year thereafter, to report the total amount of additional mill levy revenue, stated as a dollar amount, that the school district is authorized to collect and that the school district distributes to the institute charter schools within the geographic boundary of the school district. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning with the 2025-26 budget year, and each budget year thereafter, the state charter school institute (institute) shall not distribute a portion of its appropriated mill levy equalization funds to multi-district online schools that are authorized by the institute. Beginning in the 2024-25 budget year, if the institute receives additional mill levy revenue from a school district for an institute charter school within the geographic boundary of the school district, the general assembly shall deduct the additional mill levy revenue from the amount necessary to fully fund mill levy equalization. The act decreases an appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for use by the institute for mill levy equalization by $1,008,494. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act exempts 2024-25 state fiscal year supplemental appropriations for student financial aid from annual appropriation requirements for student financial assistance. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that the department of higher education may distribute financial assistance from an allocation authorized for student financial assistance programs to undergraduate students who attend participating private institutions of higher education and who participate in the college opportunity fund program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)