Current law requires the state librarian in the department of education to oversee the Colorado imagination library program (program) and to contract with a Colorado nonprofit organization (contractor) to operate the program. The act relocates the program to the department of early childhood (department). Effective June 30, 2024, the rights, powers, duties, functions, and obligations concerning the program are transferred to the department. The act transfers the contractual obligations with the contractor to the department. Before the rights, powers, duties, functions, and obligations concerning the program are transferred to the department on June 30, 2024, the department may enter into an interagency agreement with the department of education for the administration of the program. The act authorizes the contractor to enter into contracts with book vendors or publishers to provide additional age-appropriate, high-quality books to children enrolled in the program at no cost to families. APPROVED by Governor February 27, 2024 EFFECTIVE February 27, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The new twenty-third judicial district exists beginning January 7, 2025. The act makes changes so that the judicial district drug offender treatment board and the local juvenile services planning committee may begin work before the new judicial district exists. APPROVED by Governor February 27, 2024 EFFECTIVE February 27, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, there is a community crime victims grant program (program) and associated cash fund (cash fund) that provides funding for support services to crime victims. The act reduces the current general fund appropriation for the program by $4 million and requires that $4 million be transferred from the general fund to the cash fund. The act appropriates $1 million in fiscal year 2023-24 to the department of public health and environment from the cash fund for the program. The act exempts the cash fund from the statutory reserve limit and makes the cash fund subject to annual appropriations. APPROVED by Governor February 27, 2024 EFFECTIVE February 27, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the state funding for senior services contingency reserve fund (fund) in the department of the treasury to aid the state office on aging in addressing unforeseen circumstances experienced by an area agency on aging or a provider of eligible services. The act sets criteria that must be met for an area agency on aging or a provider of eligible services to receive money from the fund. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, the act appropriates $2million from the fund to the department of human services for use by the office of adults, aging, and disability services. The fund is repealed, effective September 1, 2029. Prior to repeal, the fund is subject to a sunset review. APPROVED by Governor February 27, 2024 EFFECTIVE February 27, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the following transfers to be made on April 1, 2024: $18,971,100 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; and $3,275,000 from the preschool programs cash fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund. APPROVED by Governor February 27, 2024 EFFECTIVE February 27, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2025, the bill reduces both the individual and the corporate state income tax rates from 4.40% to 4.0%. The bill also exempts the rate reductions from the existing statutory requirements that tax expenditure legislation include a tax preference performance statement in a statutory legislative declaration and repeal after a specified period of tax years. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Section 2 of the bill, for property tax year 2023, reduces the valuation for assessment to 25% for lodging property and nonresidential property that is not lodging, agricultural, or renewable energy production property, producing mines, or lands or leaseholds producing oil and gas. Additionally, the valuation of assessment for lodging property and improved commercial property is 25% of an amount equal to the actual value minus the lesser of $60,000 or the amount that reduces the valuation for assessment to $1,000. Sections 3 and 4 , for property tax year 2023, reduce the valuation for assessment for multi-family residential real property and residential real property that is not multi-family to 6.5% of the amount equal to the actual value of such property minus the lesser of $80,000 or the amount that causes the valuation for assessment of the property to be $1,000. Section 5 makes a conforming amendment. Sections 6 and 7 modify the backfill mechanism established by Senate Bill 22-238 to offset reductions in local governmental entities' property tax revenue in order to require the backfill to be paid with unrestricted money in the general fund, including money that would otherwise have been required to be retained as a reserve to the unrestricted general fund year-end balance for the state fiscal year 2022-23. Additionally, the process established by Senate Bill 22-238 requires that the state treasurer issue a warrant to county treasurers for disbursement to local governmental entities no later than April 15, 2024. Section 6 also allows the warrant to be expedited if a county treasurer completes the reporting requirements regarding property tax revenue lost to local governmental entities on or before February 15, 2024. Section 8 creates the property tax task force (task force). The task force consists of both members of the general assembly and individuals who are not members of the general assembly. The purpose of the task force is to develop a permanent and sustainable tax structure for the state of Colorado. The task force is required to: Convene by December 1, 2023; Meet as many times as necessary in 2023; and Submit a report by December 31, 2023, to the finance committees of the house of representatives and the senate. After the task force makes its report the task force is disbanded. Sections 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 delay several property tax deadlines for the 2023 property tax year. Sections 10 and 11 modify provisions in the "Local Government Budget Law of Colorado" for the 2024 fiscal year to account for impacts on a local government's budget due to changes to the assessed valuation of property within the local government's boundaries pursuant to the bill. Section 17 waives the accrual of interest on delinquent property tax payments for the first payment of property taxes for the 2023 property tax year if a payment is made within 10 days after the mailing by the county treasurer of the property taxpayer's tax statement or notification of an electronic statement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
For each transportation project identified in the 10-year transportation plan (plan) prepared by the department of transportation (department) under the direction of the transportation commission (commission), section 1 of the act requires the following information to be specified and regularly updated as circumstances change: The time frame for project completion; The total estimated amount of funding required to complete the project; and Accounting for the total estimated amount of funding for the project, and the amount of funding from each funding source that has been allocated for the project or is anticipated to be allocated for the project. The plan must always identify specific funding sources and amounts that taken together account for full funding for each project identified in the plan but may indicate, both with respect to the plan generally and with respect to any specific project, the extent to which and reasons why the source and amounts of funding listed are uncertain and subject to change. Section 1 also requires the department to provide to state and local government elected officials a designated and readily available department contact to receive and respond to their questions about the status and funding of specific transportation projects and to inform such elected officials of the existence of the designated contact and the means by which the designated contact may be reached. Section 2 requires the department to annually report to the transportation legislation review committee (TLRC) on the status of project delivery for the projects identified in the plan and requires the commission to include an update on the plan in its annual proposed budget allocation plan presented to the joint budget committee. As part of its reporting to the TLRC, the department is required to provide guidance to the TLRC as to how to access and understand the plan, and the TLRC may, if it determines that the plan does not include all the information required by section 1, instruct the department to ensure that any missing required information is promptly added to the plan. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the amounts of transfers from the general fund to the capital construction fund and from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund that are scheduled to be made on July 1, 2023, as follows: The transfer from the general fund to the capital construction fund is increased by $14,607,257, from $233,361,030 to $247,968,287; and The transfer from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund is increased by $3,605,507, from $60,308,481 to $63,913,988. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)