Sen. Robert Rodriguez

The act modifies legislative interim committee activities during the 2026 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 2026 interim;For an interim committee that meets during the 2026 interim, limits the number of acts the interim committee can request to be drafted to 5 and can recommend for introduction to 3;Prohibits members serving on statutorily created interim committees and state entities from receiving per diem and travel expenses for attending interim committee meetings during the 2026 interim;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 capital development committee; legislative oversight committee for Colorado jail standards; American Indian affairs interim committee; legislation inside advisory council review committee; Colorado health insurance exchange oversight committee; legislative oversight committee concerning the treatment of persons with behavioral health disorders in the criminal and juvenile justice systems; pension review commission and pension review subcommittee; legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy; and sales and use tax simplification task force;Prohibits meetings and other activities of the transportation legislation review committee and the water resources and agricultural review committee during the 2026-27 state fiscal year; andRepeals the legislative emergency preparedness, response, and recovery committee and the statewide health care review committee.     The act decreases the appropriations in House Bill 26-1333, concerning the payment of the expenses of the legislative department, for the 2026-27 state fiscal year for the legislative department as follows:The general fund appropriation for the general assembly is decreased by $183,699;The general fund appropriation for the legislative council is decreased by $161,162, and the related FTE is decreased by 1.9 FTE; andThe general fund appropriation for the committee on legal services is decreased by $108,336, and the related FTE is decreased by 1.4 FTE.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act increases participation, representation, and support for individuals 55 years old or older in the Colorado workforce and in organizations related to employment and the workforce by:Beginning in 2027, requiring the state work force development council (council), the Colorado commission on the aging, and other entities to meet twice a year, collect data, and work collaboratively on issues related to individuals in the workforce who are 55 years old or older;Beginning in 2028, and each year thereafter, requiring the department of labor and employment and the department of human services to jointly submit a report compiling the data collected by the council, the Colorado commission on the aging, and other entities to the general assembly and requiring the department of labor and employment, during the department's annual 'SMART Act' hearings, to summarize the report to certain legislative committees; andRequiring that the council, the commission on higher education, and the advisory committee to the commission on higher education, or their successor entities, each have at least one member serving on their governing entity that is at least 55 years old and either is actively involved in or has interest, knowledge, or experience in advocating for the interests of individuals who are 55 years old or older as related to the functions of each entity.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following changes to the legislative department cash fund (fund):Transfers $12,674,766 from the fund to the general fund;Establishes a fund limit, equal to $8 million for the state fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2025, and, thereafter, adjusts the fund limit proportionally with the percentage change in total general fund appropriations for the legislative branch;Limits reversion of unexpended appropriations to the fund to prevent the balance from exceeding the fund limit and annually transfers any portion of the fund that exceeds the balance to the general fund;Excludes money in the congressional redistricting and legislative redistricting accounts (redistricting accounts) and gifts, grants, and donations in the fund from any calculations related to the fund limit;Codifies that any money received related to public records requests is deposited into the fund and that the house of representatives, the senate, and the legislative service agencies are authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations; andClarifies that the interest and income in the redistricting accounts in the fund are transferred to the general fund, along with other interest and income from the fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning July 1, 2026, act requires the county treasurer to provide notice of delinquent property taxes on a mobile home written in English and Spanish, and to include a statement explaining how and where a mobile home owner may obtain language translation or interpretation services. The county treasurer is required to provide the multilingual notice by mail and by personal service to the mobile home owner at the mobile home.     The act modifies the process for collection of delinquent property taxes on a mobile home by allowing a county treasurer, at their discretion, to sell a tax lien on a mobile home, strike off a tax lien to the county, or determine the taxes to be uncollectible and recommend cancellation to the board of county commissioners. A tax lien must be sold in accordance with the provisions for tax lien sales on real property. The act extends the redemption period for mobile home owners whose property is subject to a tax lien to any time within 3 years from the date of the tax lien sale, or at any time before the execution of a certificate of ownership to the mobile home. Like a real property owner, an individual who both owns a mobile home and is a person with a legal disability at the time a certificate of ownership to the mobile home is issued is also allowed an extended redemption period of up to 9 years from the issuance of a certificate of ownership to their mobile home. If the mobile home owner has not exercised the right of redemption at least 3 years from the date of the tax lien sale, the purchaser or lawful holder of the certificate of purchase may apply for public auction of a certificate of option for treasurer's certificate of ownership to the mobile home, using the same procedures used for issuance of a treasurer's deed to real property. Any surplus resulting from the public auction that is deemed overbid proceeds must be disbursed to the persons entitled to receive them by law.     The act specifies that if a mobile home that is subject to a tax lien or stricken off to the county is located on real property that is not owned by the mobile home owner, then the underlying landowner has a right of first refusal to pay the delinquent taxes owed on the mobile home and all other fees, costs, and expenses incurred by the county treasurer in connection with the tax lien sale process and obtain a certificate of purchase for a tax lien on the mobile home; except that an owner of a mobile home park does not have a right of first refusal unless the owner is an association of mobile home owners. If an underlying landowner exercises this right, no tax lien will be sold or stricken off to the county.     When a tax lien is stricken off to the county under certain circumstances, the act allows the most recent mobile home owner to redeem the mobile home after 1 year but no later than 3 years from the date of strike off by paying the amount of delinquent taxes plus interest, fees, and costs. If a mobile home is not redeemed, and after notice to the last-known owner and any lienholder of record, the treasurer or county assessor may declare the mobile home abandoned, remove the mobile home from the county tax roll, and authorize the removal and disposal of the mobile home; except that, if an occupant of a mobile home establishes proof of ownership, the most recent mobile home owner has only a 1 year redemption period, after which the treasurer may issue the occupant a certificate of ownership for the mobile home.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows child care centers for school-age children operated on school district, district charter school, or institute charter school property to satisfy requirements for staff training or minimum square footage of floor space per child by providing to the Colorado department of early childhood (CDEC) documented evidence of compliance with substantially similar requirements imposed by the Colorado department of education (CDE) unless CDE's requirements do not meet federal grants-in-aid requirements, in which case, CDEC shall require the child centers to meet federal grants-in-aid requirements.     The act adds a public health agency to the list of entities that CDEC shall accept certification from as satisfactory proof of valid certification of a playground facility.     The act directs CDEC to review the process regarding materials waivers and the process for undue hardship appeals at least annually.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

When the prison bed vacancy rate in correctional facilities and state-funded private contract prisons falls below 3% for 30 consecutive days, current law requires the department of corrections (department) to notify certain individuals and entities (notification) and implement prison population management measures. The act increases the threshold prison bed vacancy rate to 4% before the prison population management measures to go into effect. The act includes additional individuals and entities that are required to receive the notification and requires the notification to occur within 48 hours of the vacancy rate falling below 4% for 30 consecutive days. The act requires the individuals and entities that receive the notification to acknowledge receipt of the notification and confirm compliance with the prison population management measures. The act requires additional prison population management measures, including requiring the department to request expanding community corrections capacity and make referrals to the parole board, and requiring notified individuals and entities to consider alternatives to prison sentences for certain offenders.     The act appropriates $303,812 to the department to implement the act. The act decreases the appropriation for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department for inmate daily rate payments to local jails by $478,778.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) in its 2025 sunset review of the public utilities commission (commission) as follows:Sections 1 and 3 of the act continue the commission for 7 years to September 1, 2033;Sections 4, 8, 10, 11, 16, and 17 authorize the commission to send communications by email;Sections 20 through 22 modernize certain processes, provide additional transparency, and clarify inconsistencies in certain energy statutes by:Aligning the renewable energy standard with the statutes governing clean energy targets and removing the requirements for municipally owned utilities to submit an annual compliance report to the commission regarding renewable energy standard requirements and for qualifying wholesale utilities that comply with electric resource planning to also demonstrate compliance with electric resource standards;Directing the commission to perform a study to identify any barriers to joint procurement by electric utilities with regard to advanced technology generation resources;Section 23:Prohibits an individual from impersonating a transportation network company (TNC) driver (driver). An individual who violates the prohibition commits a class 2 misdemeanor. An individual who impersonates a driver during the commission of a felony offense commits a class 6 felony. A TNC is required to conduct periodic checks utilizing facial recognition software or equally or more effective technology, as approved by the commission, to prevent driver impersonation in accordance with rules adopted by the commission. The periodic check requirement does not apply to a TNC that predominantly contracts to serve public or private schools or the government and complies with at least 90% of the commission's rules regarding safety standards for TNCs that contract with schools or school districts.Requires a TNC to provide information about the commission, including information about how a rider may contact the commission to file a complaint using a TNC's digital network, to a rider in accordance with rules adopted by the commission; andRequires commission staff who process TNC customer complaints to receive training in trauma-informed practices;Section 25 expands the types of drivers who need to have criminal history record checks performed to include drivers who are employed by any motor carriers and contract carriers;Section 28 requires the commission to perform a market study to determine if the current systems of regulating intrastate contract and common carriers optimally balance consumer protections with industry and regulatory efficiency and to report its findings and recommendations based on the study to the general assembly by January 1, 2028;Sections 29 and 30 replace the current inspection requirements for a charter bus, children's activity bus, fire crew transport, luxury limousine, off-road scenic charter, and large-market taxicab with a requirement that these vehicles be inspected on a schedule and to a standard set by rules adopted by the commission;Sections 31 through 36 and 38 update the state railroad regulation requirements to mirror current federal law and to repeal obsolete provisions;Section 39 removes the $500 fee cap paid by companies to access the Colorado no-call list, replaces it with a $1,000 fee cap, and requires conforming list brokers, which are companies that purchase the no-call list and sell it to other companies, to pay a fee established by the commission by rule;Section 41 authorizes the commission to administratively assess a filing fee schedule for filings related to communication services, telecommunications services, and basic emergency services to help finance the commission's telecommunications-related work and exempts members of the public filing complaints and public utilities subject to certain revenue-based fees imposed by the commission from paying the filing fees;Section 43 aligns the usage of money collected from charges related to the provision of 911 services with federal requirements by clarifying that the money may be expended for public safety radio equipment outside of a public safety answering point only if the equipment is used for dispatching emergency service providers to respond to 911 calls;Section 44 authorizes the commission to adopt rules that establish caps on rates charged by penal communications service providers on intrastate penal communications services provided for intrastate communications with individuals in correctional facilities and to enforce the intrastate rate. Section 44 also authorizes the commission to adopt rules requiring penal communications service providers to report outages and imposing penalties for penal communications service providers' failure to comply with commission requirements. Section 44 also requires:Penal communications service providers to cooperate with commission staff when the staff is performing biannual testing of penal communications services;The commission to develop flyers informing the public how to file complaints to the commission about penal communications services; and Correctional facilities to post the flyers;Section 45 exempts small operators of natural gas pipelines from the minimum $5,000 civil penalty required for violations of pipeline safety laws and authorizes the commission to impose a lesser civil penalty against a small operator;Section 46 directs the commission to perform a study identifying all privately owned water utilities in the state and assessing their financial conditions and needs;Section 47 requires investor-owned electric utilities to provide interconnection information and certificates to taxpayers requesting the information for purposes of claiming the federal clean electricity investment credit; andSection 48 requires the commission, on or before December 1, 2026, to open one or more miscellaneous proceedings to investigate ways to streamline energy planning proceedings, to integrate gas and electric system planning, and to make customer programming more efficient. The commission shall solicit stakeholder feedback in its investigation and, on or before November 30, 2027, shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to legislative committees with jurisdiction over energy matters.     The act also implements the following changes regarding the commission and its work:Section 2 requires electric and gas investor-owned utilities, including combined utilities, to file annual summaries of anticipated regulatory filings with the commission starting in 2027 and requires the commission to make the filings publicly available on its website, hold informational meetings regarding the filings, and submit annual reports to the general assembly summarizing the commission's major adjudicated cases and rule-makings from the previous year. Starting September 1, 2026, the commission is required to include in each of its decisions a summary of public comments received on the matter.Sections 4 through 8 concern commission authority, personnel, and management functions, with section 4 stating that the commission, acting through its director, has authority over the commission's budgeting, purchasing, planning, and related management functions, including human resources, and section 7 requiring the director of the commission to hire or designate an equity analyst to assist the commission's work regarding equity impact proceedings and to staff an equity task force appointed by the director;Section 4 also requires the governor to consider appointing commissioners with knowledge of the regulated industries and with a diversity of experience and understanding of public interest considerations. Finally, section 4 authorizes the commission to hold weekly meetings and, beginning July 1, 2027, requires a majority of the commissioners attending the weekly meetings to attend in person.Sections 9 and 12 provide that, with certain exceptions, adjudications must first be heard by an administrative law judge. Section 12 also requires the commission, by March 31, 2027, to adopt rules regarding the format of en banc commission and hearings and meetings presided over by a single hearing commissioner with respect to whether the hearings are held in person, virtually, or a hybrid of in-person and virtual participation.Section 13 requires that commission rules regarding review of an application must prescribe that an application may only be deemed incomplete if it does not meet the commission's application requirement. Section 13 also provides that the commission's failure to act upon an application within 120 days, or within an extended time granted by the commission not to exceed an additional 130 days or, under extraordinary conditions, not to exceed an additional 90 days, constitutes an approval of the application by operation of law. An unopposed permissive motion for intervention is deemed approved if the commission does not deny the motion within 30 days after its filing.Section 14 increases the maximum civil penalty applicable to public utilities for intentional violations of public utilities law from $2,000 to $7,500, applies such civil penalties to a public utility's violation of a tariff, and requires the commission to consider factors such as utility size, harm caused, and mitigating circumstances or actions in assessing the civil penalties. Section 14 also requires that civil penalties assessed against and collected from electric and gas utilities be credited to the public utilities commission fixed utility fund (fixed utility fund) to be used for affordability programs or outreach and engagement of income-qualified customers and disproportionately impacted communities.Section 15 provides guidance for intervenor compensation in commission proceedings by authorizing the commission to award an intervenor compensation if the commission determines that the intervenor made a unique substantial contribution that provided material assistance to the commission in developing the record in a proceeding and incurred reasonable costs in the proceeding. The commission may adopt rules regarding intervenor compensation, including rules for intervenor petitions for compensation and guidelines for determining reasonable costs incurred and material assistance.Under current law, money in the legal services offset fund is continuously appropriated to the department to offset its costs of legal representation in matters involving public utilities law. Section 18 shifts the appropriation to the commission to offset its costs of legal representation in such matters.Section 21 removes verification of municipally owned utilities' voluntarily filed clean energy plans by the division of administration in the department of public health and environment;Section 22 requires the commission, on or before December 31, 2027, to adopt rules establishing minimum quality-of-service metrics for investor-owned electric and gas utilities in the state;Section 24 requires the department to consult with the director of the commission regarding annual TNC permit fees and increases the maximum annual TNC permit fee to $161,250. Likewise, section 26 requires the department to consult with the director of the commission in setting certain administrative fees on motor carriers, and section 40 requires the department to consult with the director of the commission on computation of revenue-based fees owed by utilities.Section 27 provides that a person may apply to a court for enforcement of a commission order, decision, or rule regarding noncompliance by a motor carrier without having first exhausted administrative remedies; andSection 37 requires the commission to engage an independent third-party consultant to conduct a study on how the commission may modernize its personnel, organizational, and budgetary structures, which study must include an evaluation and recommendations regarding the commission's size, compensation, and funding mechanisms for equity objectives. On or before November 1, 2026, the commission shall submit an initial report, and on or before November 1, 2027, a final report, on the study's findings and recommendations to legislative committees with jurisdiction over energy matters.     For state fiscal year 2026-27, section 49 appropriates $298,448 to the department with:$232,712, including $157,712 from the fixed utility fund and $75,000 from the motor carrier fund, for personal services;$16,048 from the fixed utility fund for operating expenses; and$49,688 of the amount appropriated from the fixed utility fund for reappropriation to the department of law for legal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a volunteer lobbyist to register and file a registration statement attesting they are not being compensated. The act exempts volunteer lobbyists from registration fees.     The act provides that the judicial department may designate one individual for the judicial department and one individual for each independent agency in the judicial department who may lobby on behalf of the judicial department or an independent agency in the judicial department (judicial lobbyist). A person designated by a principal executive department to be responsible for lobbying a state official or employee on behalf of the department (legislative liaison), a judicial lobbyist, or an individual who lobbies on behalf of the offices of the governor or lieutenant governor as a member of the governor's cabinet or as a personal staff employee in the offices of the governor or the lieutenant governor (governor's lobbyist) must register with the secretary of state annually.     In addition to annually registering with the secretary of state, a legislative liaison, judicial lobbyist, or a governor's lobbyist must file a monthly disclosure statement with the secretary of state (disclosure statement). The act provides that a legislative liaison, judicial lobbyist, or a governor's lobbyist must indicate on the disclosure statement the bill number of any legislation for which they have lobbied or will lobby a covered official and their position regarding the legislation. The legislative liaison, judicial lobbyist, or a governor's lobbyist must update their position on the disclosure statement within 72 hours of a change in position.     The act prohibits a statewide elected official or member of the general assembly from being a legislative liaison or governor's lobbyist for a period of 2 years following vacation of office.     $91,000 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the title board must set a ballot title for an initiative petition that is brief, does not conflict with another title for an initiative petition filed for the same election, and is in the form of a question that may be answered 'yes/for' or 'no/against' and that unambiguously states the principle of the provision sought to be added, amended, or repealed by the initiative. The act adds a requirement that the title board write a ballot title using accessible language, which means plain language that is understood by the widest possible audience. In determining whether a ballot title is written using accessible language, the title board may consider whether the title:Avoids using legal, technical, or specialized terminology when possible;Clearly identifies the principal change in law or policy proposed by the proposed statutory or constitutional amendment;Avoids unnecessary qualifiers, double negatives, and overly complex phrasing;Organizes clauses so that the effect of a 'yes/for' or 'no/against' vote is readily understood; andPresents necessary information within the ballot title in a logical and readable order.     In addition, current law requires that specific language appear in the ballot title for certain initiatives that increase or reduce tax revenue. For initiatives that reduce state tax revenue or local district property tax revenue through a tax change, this required language must appear at the beginning of the ballot title. For initiatives that increase tax revenue for any district through a tax change, this required language must appear directly after language required by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. The act modifies these statutory provisions so that the required ballot title language must only be substantially similar to the specific statutory language and may appear anywhere in the ballot title.     The act applies to initiative petitions submitted to the secretary of state for title setting on or after the effective date of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act defines school zones as all roadways within at least 1,000 feet of a school property boundary, except state highways unless they are designated as part of a school zone with the written approval of the Colorado department of transportation, and including school zones established before August 12, 2026, that are 200 feet or more from a school property boundary. A school zone must have appropriate signs posted indicating it is a school zone and that the penalties and surcharges within the school zone will be doubled.     The act allows a local government that has jurisdiction over a school zone to reduce the size of a school zone after first holding a public hearing, but the act does not allow a school zone to be reduced to less than 200 feet from a school property boundary. Additionally, the act does not prohibit local governments from expanding school zones to beyond 1,000 feet from a school property boundary.     The act limits requirements the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality must complete regarding placing and using an automated vehicle identification system along a safe route to school.     The act allows a local government to designate a portion of a roadway immediately adjacent to a school property boundary as a school street and requires the local government to post signs indicating it is a school street if the local government has jurisdiction to do so. The local government may close a school street to traffic. If there is traffic on the school street, the maximum speed limit is 10 miles per hour and vehicles must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users. The local government may suspend additional traffic provisions on the school street that endanger pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)