The act implements and describes the operation of the pediatric primary care practice program (primary care program) in the department of early childhood (department). The purpose of the primary care program is to provide funding and support to a pediatric primary care medical practice (medical practice) to integrate into the medical practice a professional who specializes in whole-child and whole-family health and well-being. The department shall contract with an implementation partner (primary care partner) to implement, operate, and administer the primary care program. The primary care partner shall create and implement a team-based, research-informed pediatric primary care practice evidence-based model (evidence-based model). The evidence-based model must be a comprehensive approach to guide pediatric care medical practices to deliver services to children from birth to 3 years of age and their families. The primary care partner shall: Establish an application and selection process with the department for select medical practices to participate in the primary care program; Review applications from medical practices and select applicants to participate in the primary care program; Work with selected applicants to complete assessments on the applicants' community health-care systems, health and well-being practices, and related concerns; and Train and support the medical practices selected to participate in the primary care program to maintain fidelity to the evidence-based model. The executive director of the department may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of the primary care program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act requires a metropolitan district that is a party to a lease or rental agreement that was effective as of January 1, 2025, or later and was filed with the county assessor's office in support of a claim for a property tax exemption based on the use of the property for purposes of the metropolitan district to file with the county assessor's office a statement (statement) describing: The metropolitan district's use of the leased property; The metropolitan district's authority to use the leased property for the metropolitan district's purposes; Any use of the leased property by a private person for private purposes; and Any disclosure filed by a member of the board of directors of the metropolitan district in accordance with certain laws that govern disclosures of conflicts of interest. If the statement includes a disclosure that relates to the leased property and is filed by a member of the board of directors of the metropolitan district in accordance with certain laws that govern disclosures of conflicts of interest, the county assessor shall, within 14 days of receipt of the statement, submit the statement to the metropolitan district's governing body. Within 63 days of receipt of the statement, the governing body shall issue a written decision including findings of fact and a conclusion as to whether the leased property is used for a public purpose. If the governing body concludes that the leased property is not used for a public purpose, the leased property is not exempt from taxation, and the county assessor shall implement the governing body's decision. The decision of the governing body is not subject to appeal and does not give rise to any private right of action. The act clarifies that a leasehold interest in real or personal property that is owned by a private person and that has been leased to the state or a political subdivision of the state, the use and possession of which has been leased back to a private person for private purposes, is taxable to the owner. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the regional planning roundtable commission (commission) within the department of local affairs (department). The commission is a 21-member appointed board with members who serve 3-year terms; except that specified members serve initial terms of 2 years. After an initial meeting to elect a chair and establish its procedures and operation framework, the commission will only meet when a local government requests assistance in addressing a regional opportunity or challenge. In so meeting, the commission shall: Define a region for purposes of establishing a regional roundtable to assist in addressing the regional opportunity or challenge; Considering local expertise, suggest who should serve on the regional roundtable established in connection with addressing the regional opportunity or challenge; and Identify state resources available to assist in addressing the regional opportunity or challenge. The commission may also assist in establishing an integrated planning framework that considers, at a minimum, specified topics. The commission must annually report to specified committees of the general assembly regarding any assistance that it has provided to local governments. The act allows the department to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations to cover the costs of implementing the act. Only after the department has received sufficient gifts, grants, or donations to implement the act is the commission created and able to meet. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The office of legislative workplace relations (OLWR) was established in 2019 as an entity within the office of legislative legal services to provide services to the general assembly, its members and employees, and the legislative services agencies. Specifically, the OLWR is directed to provide services related to employee relations, training, compliance, workplace culture, and workplace harassment, including investigations of complaints under the general assembly's policies on workplace expectations and workplace harassment. The act rebrands the OLWR as the legislative human resources division and directs the division to provide human resource services to the legislative branch, which includes the existing services required by law and additional services, such as benefits administration, compensation and classification, hiring and recruitment, and new employee onboarding, within available resources. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a civil cause of action for a peace officer if the peace officer reports or discloses conduct that is in violation of, or the peace officer reasonably believes is in violation of, any law or policy and the report or disclosure is a contributing factor in the employer of the peace officer's decision to take adverse employment action against the peace officer. A peace officer may seek the following damages: Reinstatement; Back pay with interest; Any other equitable relief the court deems appropriate; Compensatory damages for other pecuniary losses, emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses; and Reasonable attorney fees and costs. The act creates an affirmative defense to the action if the peace officer's employer would have taken the action that forms the basis of the suit against the peace officer based on a legitimate nonretaliatory basis. The action is not subject to the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act". The statute of limitations to bring the action is 2 years. The act does not apply to an employee who provides false information or who does not follow internal reporting and administrative procedures related to whistleblower conduct. All law enforcement agencies shall provide a training to employees or a workplace posting, or both, regarding the requirements of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends and makes additions to existing law concerning security deposits that tenants submit to landlords and the conditions under which a landlord may retain all or part of a security deposit. For the purposes of security deposits, the act expands the definition of "normal wear and tear". Under current law, a landlord may not retain a security deposit to cover normal wear and tear and, if actual cause exists for retaining any portion of a security deposit, the landlord must provide the tenant: A written statement listing the exact reasons for the retention (written statement); and The difference between any sum deposited and the amount retained. The act states that a landlord may not retain a security deposit to cover any damage or defective condition that preexisted the tenancy and, if the landlord delivers the written statement within fourteen days after a written request by the tenant, the landlord must also deliver any relevant documentation in the landlord's possession or control. Upon a landlord's or tenant's request, if reasonable and practicable, the act requires a landlord and tenant to conduct a walk-through inspection, either in person or via a telecommunication-assisted interactive walk-through, of the dwelling unit to identify in writing any damage or defective conditions that are beyond normal wear and tear and that did not preexist the tenancy. The landlord must provide a walk-through inspection at a time that is mutually convenient to the parties, before the termination of the lease or the surrender of the premises, and after the tenant has had the opportunity to remove furniture. A landlord wrongfully withholds a security deposit or any portion of it if the landlord: Fails to timely provide the written statement and any required documentation; Provides a written statement that fails to list the exact reasons for retaining any portion of the security deposit; Fails to timely return the difference between any sum deposited and the amount retained; or Retains a security deposit or any portion of it in bad faith. A landlord retains a security deposit or any portion of it in bad faith if the amount retained: Unreasonably exceeds the amount of actual damages; Is retained without actual cause; Is an amount the landlord knew or should have known exceeded the actual damages; or Is retained solely or in part for an unlawful, retaliatory, or discriminatory purpose. A landlord is presumed to have retained an unreasonable amount of a security deposit if the amount retained is 125% or greater than the amount of the actual damages. In any court action brought by a tenant under the act, the landlord bears the burden of proving the amount of actual damages the landlord incurred. Under current law, upon cessation of a landlord's interest in a dwelling unit, the person in possession of a tenant's security deposit must either transfer the security deposit to the landlord's successor in interest or return the security deposit to the tenant within a reasonable time. The act states that this must be done within 60 days after cessation of the landlord's interest in the dwelling unit. If a landlord's payment refunding a tenant's security deposit or any portion of it is returned to the landlord, the landlord must hold the payment for at least one year after receiving it and must disburse the payment to the tenant within 15 calendar days upon the tenant's request. A landlord does not have actual cause to retain any amount from a security deposit for the replacement of carpet or painting unless there is substantial and irreparable damage to the carpet, or substantial damage to the paint, that exceeds normal wear and tear and did not preexist the tenancy. If a landlord has actual cause, the landlord may retain only the minimum amount necessary to replace the carpet or to repaint in the area that is damaged. A landlord may not deem carpet substantially and irreparably damaged if it has not been replaced with new carpet within the 10 years preceding the termination of the lease or surrender of the premises. The act takes effect January 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The division of water resources in the department of natural resources (division) is responsible for administering water rights and issuing water well permits, among other duties. Under current law, after having received a permit to appropriate designated groundwater or construct a well outside the boundaries of a designated groundwater basin, a permit holder is required to construct the well within one year after the date of issuance of the permit. If the well is not constructed within one year, the permit expires; except that the ground water commission (commission) in the division or the state engineer, as applicable, may grant a single one-year extension. The act extends the time frame for construction of a well to 2 years, eliminating the need for the commission or the state engineer to approve a one-year extension to the initial one-year construction time frame, except for permits issued for federally authorized water projects. The act also removes the requirement that the commission or state engineer must mail a certified letter to the permit holder before a permit can be formally expired. The act allows the commission or state engineer to reinstate an expired permit if the applicant for reinstatement of the permit can show that the well was completed in a timely manner and submits a $30 fee. Under current law, the division engineer of each water division is required to decennially present to the water court a list of water rights that meet the criteria for abandonment. The act splits this decennial abandonment process into 2 batches, grouped by water division and spaced 5 years apart, beginning with 2030 and 2035. The act maintains the requirement that the abandonment process be performed every 10 years in each water division. The act extends certain time frames relating to the well permitting process. Lastly, the act eliminates final permitting requirements for non-Denver Basin bedrock aquifer wells in the designated basins. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a school district, a charter school, an institute charter school, a board of cooperative services, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind (local education provider) to satisfy certain requirements concerning installation, inspection, and maintenance of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools if the local education provider undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund. The requirements established in the act concern: Ventilation verification assessments, which include assessments of an HVAC system's filtration, ventilation exhaust, economizers, demand control ventilation, air distribution and building pressurization, general maintenance requirements, and operational controls ; The preparation of HVAC assessment reports; The review of HVAC assessment reports by mechanical engineers, who make recommendations regarding necessary repairs and improvements, suggest pathways to reduce emissions, and estimate associated costs; HVAC adjustments, repairs, upgrades, and replacements; and The preparation of HVAC verification reports, which must be maintained for at least 5 years and made available to the public upon request. The act establishes mandatory criteria that an HVAC contractor must satisfy in order to perform work described in the act. A local education provider that undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund must do so using only contractors on the certified contractor list established by the department of labor and employment, unless the local education provider determines that there were no responsive, eligible subcontractors available to fulfill the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing portions of the contract. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends the definition of a "portable tenant screening report" (screening report) to specify that a prospective tenant using a housing subsidy is not required to include a credit history report, a credit score, or an adverse credit event with the tenant's screening report. The act also repeals language allowing a landlord to require a tenant to make a screening report directly available to the landlord through a consumer reporting agency or third-party website. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On or before September 1, 2025, the act requires the office of school safety (office) to convene and oversee a work group to develop best practices for the use of trauma-informed practices to conduct school safety drills. The act requires the work group to convene its first meeting no later than 56 days after the office receives $50,000 of gifts, grants, or donations for the purpose of the work group or receives an in-kind donation with a value of $50,000 as part of a public-private partnership agreement. No later than one year and one month after the office receives $50,000 of gifts, grants, or donations or receives an in-kind donation with a value of $50,000, the act requires the work group to develop recommendations to support schools in training school personnel on the use of trauma-informed practices in conducting school safety drills, how to best conduct school safety drills in a trauma-informed manner, and how to best respond to a school safety incident. The act requires that the work group be entirely funded by gifts, grants, and donations, including in-kind donations as part of a public-private partnership agreement. If by June 30, 2027, the work group has not received $50,000 in gifts, grants, or donations or an in-kind donation with a value of $50,000 as part of a public-private partnership agreement, the state treasurer must transfer any money received for purposes of the work group to the state education fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)