Sen. Iman Jodeh

The act defines a solar sales company as an entity that: Transacts with a consumer to sell, or negotiate or execute a contract for the sale of, a residential solar electric system or residential battery energy storage system (system); or Transacts with a consumer to lease or enter into a power purchase agreement for a system. The act requires a solar sales company to provide to a consumer certain disclosures when entering into an agreement with the consumer for the purchase or lease of a system or a power purchase agreement for a system (agreement). The act also specifies the terms that an agreement must contain, including payment terms and contact information for the solar sales company. A solar sales company is required to retain a copy of a signed agreement for at least 4 years after the date the agreement is entered into. The personal information of a consumer must be maintained consistent with applicable data privacy laws. In the event of a sale of a system, the consumer has at least 3 business days after the date of the transaction to cancel the agreement without financial penalty, besides any nonrefundable deposits. The act requires a solar sales company to conduct a welcome call with the consumer, which welcome call must include certain disclosures. The consumer's 3-day cancellation period does not begin to run until the welcome call is conducted. The act describes the terms that any financing documents must contain if the purchase of a system is financed. The act sets forth requirements for a salesperson of a solar sales company and prohibits a solar sales company from using written or digital sales materials with names, logos, pictures, or other indicia of association with a public utility, cooperative electric association, or municipal utility, unless the solar sales company has received express, written consent from the relevant utility to do so or is complying with federal fair use laws. A solar sales company is also prohibited from representing that the solar sales company is affiliated with, sponsored by, or approved by a state incentive program without the express, written consent of the state agency in charge of the state incentive program. The act requires a solar sales company to provide certain warranties for the installation and workmanship of a residential solar electric system. Lastly, the act requires an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers that offers financial incentives for a system to provide certain information about the offered incentives to customers. A violation of the requirements of the act is enforceable as a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". The act's requirements apply to agreements between a solar sales company and a consumer that are entered into on or after July 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires an employer or the employer's insurer to use the division of workers' compensation's (division) utilization standards when responding to a request for authorization from a treating physician, and, if they do not, the director of the division may deem the services as authorized, reasonable, and necessary and require payment for the services by the employer or the employer's insurer. The act provides injured workers control over the selection of their primary treating physician in workers' compensation cases, allowing them to choose from any level I or level II accredited physician through the division subject to geographic limitations. The act creates the mechanism by which an injured worker may select the treating physician and requires the employer or insurer to choose the physician when an injured worker is unable or unwilling to select the treating physician. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The department of public health and environment (department) is required to conduct a study of capital needs for rural and frontier hospitals throughout the state (study). The rural and frontier hospital capital needs study task force (task force) is created and is required to oversee the study. The study must measure the number of studied facilities that are not compliant with current and relevant design and building code standards for health-care facilities, identify the age of core facilities and any additions to those facilities, and estimate the costs for renovating or replacing facilities identified as having capital needs. No later than 18 months after the first meeting of the task force, the department is required to complete the study and compile the results of the study into a report. The department is required to present the report to the respective health and human services committees of the senate and house of representatives. The task force is made up of the following 7 members who must be appointed no later than 2 months after sufficient funding has been secured for the implementation of the act: 3 members who work in rural or frontier hospitals; One member who is an architect professional; One member who is a construction contractor professional; One member who represents hospitals; and One member of the general public who lives in a rural area or frontier area. In addition to overseeing the study, the task force is responsible for developing and approving the parameters of the study and overseeing the department's report. The task force may also facilitate contracting with a private sector consulting company to assist with data compilation, research, and outreach to rural and frontier hospitals. The task force is required to hold its first meeting within 2 months of all appointments being made to the task force and meet at least quarterly after the first meeting until the study and the report are complete. The requirements imposed on the department, the task force, and any third party in connection with the study are contingent upon money being available through gifts, grants, or donations for the purpose of conducting the study. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Existing law permits an individual to request a self-pay estimate of the total cost of an anticipated health-care service (self-pay estimate) from the designated billing or patient services personnel representing the health-care provider or health-care facility providing the service. Unless the patient suffers a medical emergency or other unforeseen circumstance that affects the services provided, statute states that the final cost of the health-care service must be no more than 15% higher than the self-pay estimate or $400, whichever is less. The act corrects the mistake in the statutory language by clarifying that the $400 qualifier relates to the permissible dollar amount above the cost estimated in the self-pay estimate rather than the qualifier itself reflecting the maximum allowable cost of the health-care service, regardless of the service provided. Further, when referencing the exception in statute that, due to an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, the total cost of services may exceed the self-pay estimate by more than 15% or $400, the act removes the erroneous qualifier, "whichever is less", as that language is inapplicable when the exception applies. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the community schoolyards grant program (grant program) in the division of local government (division) within the department of local affairs (department). The grant program is a 2-part grant program that includes: The planning and design grant program (planning program), which awards up to $150,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the planning and design of a community schoolyard; and The capital construction and improvement grant program (construction program), which awards up to $850,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the capital construction of a community schoolyard. The purpose of the grant program is to address inequities in underserved and underfunded schools and communities, specifically communities socially or economically affected by the development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels subject to taxation, by: Making community schoolyards accessible to the broader community outside of school hours; Improving physical activity and mental health opportunities for students and community members; and Incorporating natural landscapes, natural playgrounds, and recreational spaces that promote adaptation; sustainability; resilience; and hands-on learning across subject matters, including science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. On or before January 15, 2026, the division shall implement a timeline for the planning program and the construction program (programs), which must include, at a minimum: Announcing each of the programs; Accepting applications from eligible applicants for each of the programs; Selecting the grant recipients for each of the programs; Distributing grant money to the grant recipients for each of the programs; and Establishing reporting timelines and requirements for each of the programs. On or before January 15, 2028, the division shall compile a report summarizing the grant recipient reports from the programs. The division shall submit the report to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate; the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee; and the senate local government and housing committee, or their successor committees. For the 2025-26 and 2026-27 state fiscal years, the department shall use $4 million from the local government mineral impact fund or the local government severance tax fund for the grant program. The division may use up to 5% of the funds it receives for the grant program to pay for the direct and indirect costs of administering the grant program. The division may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of the grant program. The grant program is repealed, effective January 1, 2030. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $50,000 is appropriated to the department for use by the division from the reappropriated funds from the local government mineral impact fund and the local government severance tax fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act changes the time period for which a licensee's or applicant's prior conviction of or plea of no contest to specific crimes requires the motor vehicle dealer board (board) to revoke or deny a license to the licensee or applicant from a 10-year period to a 3-year period beginning on the date of conviction or the end of incarceration, whichever date is later, if the applicant or licensee has not been convicted of any other criminal offense during the 3-year period. After the 3-year period, the board may only consider the individual's application or license; except that the board may consider a conviction for a crime that is directly related to the auto industry at any time. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits the department of human services (department) from requiring an applicant for the low-income home energy assistance program (program) to provide their citizenship or immigration status on an application for assistance under the program, unless that information is required as a condition of eligibility for the program. The department is also prohibited from sharing the citizenship or immigration status of an applicant for or recipient of assistance under the program with any federal law enforcement agency, unless disclosure is required by law or court order. If an individual applies for assistance under the program and the individual's application is denied due to insufficient or incomplete documentation, the department must provide notice to the applicant that their application has been denied and provide the applicant at least 60 days to correct or complete the application. The investor-owned public utility of which the applicant is a customer must place a disconnection hold on the applicant's utility service for no more than 60 days while the customer's application is pending review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires that, immediately after a railroad notifies the state's watch center in the department of public safety (watch center) of an emergency involving a train, the watch center must notify the public utilities commission (commission) and the office of rail safety (office) of the incident. The commission is required to submit a report to specified committees of the general assembly on the information reported by railroads regarding an emergency involving a train. A crew member of a train operated by a railroad may communicate with first responders during an emergency situation after notifying the railroad dispatch. A crew member has discretion in determining the appropriate response to the emergency situation, including cutting the railroad crossing. A railroad employee or a crew member is immune from civil liability and is not liable in civil damages for actions taken in good faith in the course of a response to an emergency situation involving a train. The act eliminates the shared authority that the commission, the department of public safety, and the department of transportation had to inspect and investigate railroads and grants the commission alone the authority to engage in inspection, investigation, and enforcement activities regarding the following railroads: A class I railroad; A railroad operating on any line that was used by class I railroads as of July 1, 2024; and A passenger railroad. The act requires the office to gather, analyze, and assess information, including: Data to create a more comprehensive understanding of railroad safety; Wayside detector information; Information regarding blocked public crossing locations; Information regarding railroad maintenance activity; An assessment of the state's ability to respond to a large-scale release of hazardous materials from railroad transportation; The best practices for ensuring financial responsibility for response, cleanup, and damages from major rail events, including reviewing best practices from other states; and Communication issues impacting railroad lines in the state. Beginning on or before July 1, 2027, a railroad regulated by the commission is required to pay a fee to cover the costs incurred by the commission and the office in relation to the act. The commission shall determine a methodology for calculating the fee by rule, and the commission may include specified criteria in the calculation. The total amount collected pursuant to the annual fee must not exceed $2,900,000 in a calendar year. A railroad regulated by the commission must pay the fee in equal quarterly installments and is subject to penalties and interest if they fail to timely pay the fee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the Emily Keyes - John W. Buckner organ and tissue donation awareness fund indefinitely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires the division of administration (division) within the department of public health and environment to report annually to the water quality control commission (commission) and to include in the report any regulatory or legislative recommendations the division may have. The act requires the report to also include: Information on the division's timing in considering and issuing water quality permits (permits); and For the report submitted in 2026, a detailed discussion of how the division has prioritized reducing the permit backlog, implemented recommendations from water quality permittees (permittees) for permitting efficiency, and increased safe drinking water program inspections. The act requires the division, upon receipt of an application to modify a permit, to limit its review and its approval or denial of the application to the scope of the specific requests contained in the application. The act requires the commission to adopt rules on or before December 31, 2026, that establish procedures whereby the division, prior to giving public notice of a complete permit application for an individual permit and the division's preliminary analysis of the application, may provide a period of public notice and review of a preliminary draft prepared by the division. If a period of public notice and review is required by rules of the commission, the period of public notice and review may not exceed 14 days, and the purpose of the review is limited to identifying errors in the division's preliminary draft. On or before December 31, 2027, the division must propose rules to the commission that establish a time frame during which the division will either grant or deny applications for each type of permitting action. On or before June 30, 2028, the commission shall adopt rules based on the division's proposal. The rules must establish the time frames for permitting actions. The act requires the division to consider current debt service on existing local government water infrastructure when developing schedules of compliance for new effluent limits in local government permits. Any schedule of compliance for new effluent limits in local government permits must, consistent with state and federal law, consider the local government's financial capability to repay existing debt on water infrastructure or to fund water infrastructure upgrades before requiring new water infrastructure upgrades. To the extent allowable under federal law, the division may issue compliance schedules in a local government permit for a new effluent limit in excess of 20 years. The act states that, on and after May 1, 2026, after an application for permit modification or permit renewal has been pending before the division for 60 days, or for any application for permit modification or permit renewal that is pending before the division as of May 1, 2026, or if the division informs an applicant that the division will not process an application for preliminary effluent limitations, the applicant and the division may mutually agree to use a qualified and independent nongovernmental contractor (contractor) under the direction of the division to provide the division with technical assistance in completing the permit action. An applicant shall bear the contractor's costs for any technical assistance provided by the contractor and shall pay the contractor for such costs. The division may charge an applicant an additional fee in an amount not exceeding 10% of the contract amount for contract administration, technical review, and additional permit processing, which fee is credited to the clean water cash fund. The act requires the division, upon a permittee's request, to make available to the permittee all documents, data, and information the division relied upon in developing the permittee's permit modification or permit renewal, except to the extent that such materials are protected by an applicable privilege or exception. The act makes the following transfers of money: On July 1, 2025, $111,000 from the water quality improvement fund to the drinking water cash fund; On July 1, 2025, $3,518,564 from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the clean water cash fund; On July 1, 2026, $3,002,435 from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the clean water cash fund; and On July 1, 2026, $516,129 dollars from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the drinking water cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,904,599 to the department of public health and environment. This appropriation consists of $446,315 from the drinking water cash fund and $2,458,284 from the clean water cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $160,611 to the department of law. This appropriation is from reappropriated funds received from the department of public health and environment. The act also makes and reduces certain appropriations as adjustments to the 2025 general appropriations act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)