The act continues the department of agriculture's (department) oversight of the "Commodity Handler and Farm Products Act" for 7 years, until 2032. The act also increases the limit for qualifying as a "small-volume dealer" from $20,000 of farm products or commodities purchased per year to $45,000. The act permits the commissioner of agriculture (commissioner) to periodically adjust the small volume dealer limit. The act explicitly excludes marijuana from the definition of "commodity" under the "Commodity Handler and Farm Products Act". Under current law, civil penalties collected by the department are deposited into the inspection and consumer services cash fund (fund). The act requires those civil penalties to be transferred to the general fund rather than the department's fund. Under current law, a dealer or commodity handler must file a bond or irrevocable letter of credit (bond or credit) with the commissioner. The bond or credit is intended to cover any claims of injury submitted by a producer or owner against the dealer or commodity handler. The act prohibits a producer or owner from submitting a claim and collecting reimbursement from the bond or credit if the producer or owner is also the owner of at least 5% of the voting shares of the dealer or commodity handler or the dealer's or commodity handler's parent company. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act extends the availability of the advanced industry investment tax credit (credit), which can be claimed by a qualified investor that makes a qualified investment in a qualified small business that is in an advanced industry, from December 31, 2026, through December 31, 2031. The act expands the definition of "qualified investment" by eliminating prohibitions against a qualified investor having more than 30% of the voting power in a qualified small business before the investor makes a qualified investment in the qualified small business and more than 49% of the voting power in a qualified small business after making a qualified investment in the qualified small business. The act changes the definition of "qualified investor" by clarifying that an entity subject to income tax may qualify as an investor; except that a C corporation, including any limited liability or other legal entity treated as a C corporation for federal and state income tax purposes, is not a qualified investor. A qualified investor may include a partner, shareholder, or beneficiary that is allocated a credit, but does not include: A person that had control of a qualified small business for 6 months preceding or following the date of the investment in the qualified small business; A founder, employee, or contractor or a spouse of a founder, employee, or contractor of a qualified small business; A person that has invested more than $50,000 in the qualified small business or owns more than 10% of the qualified small business on a fully diluted basis. The act authorizes the Colorado office of economic development (office), which administers the credit, to certify a small business as a qualified small business through October 1, 2031. A small business certified as a qualified small business must report to the office as requested to confirm the certified small business's status as a qualified small business. The office may require a qualified small business to provide information to confirm that a qualified investment has been made in the qualified small business, the intended use of the qualified investment, and the expected number of new employees that will be hired by the qualified small business as a result of the qualified investment. A qualified small business that receives a qualified investment is required to report data relevant to the impact of the credit and development of the qualified small business annually to the office for 5 years following a qualified investment. The office may assess a penalty against a qualified small business that does not meet this reporting requirement. The office may issue $4 million in credits per calendar year for the years through the 2026 calendar year for which the credit is currently available. The act decreases the cap to $2.5 million per calendar year beginning with the 2027 calendar year through the 2031 calendar year. If the qualified investor receiving a credit is a trust, the qualified investor may allocate the credit between the trust and its beneficiaries in any manner determined by the trust. The office shall issue a credit certificate to a trust beneficiary and a trust beneficiary may claim the amount indicated on the credit certificate. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows, but does not require, an eligible patient to request from a manufacturer the manufacturer's individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, which is a drug, biological product, or device that is unique and produced exclusively for use by an individual patient based on the patient's own genetic profile. The manufacturer must be operating within an institution that operates under federal rules for the protection of human subjects. An eligible patient is an individual who has: A life-threatening or severely debilitating illness, as attested to by the patient's treating physician; Considered all other treatment options currently approved by the United States food and drug administration; Received a recommendation from the patient's treating physician; Given written, informed consent for the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device; and Documentation from the treating physician that the individual meets the definition of "eligible patient". The act authorizes, but does not require, a manufacturer to make the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device available to an eligible patient at no charge, but the manufacturer may require payment to cover the cost. If any harm is caused to the eligible patient resulting from the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, a private right of action cannot be brought against the manufacturer or against any other individual or entity involved in the care of the eligible patient with regard to the eligible patient's use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device, so long as the manufacturer, individual, or entity complied with the law and exercised reasonable care. The act prohibits disciplinary action against a health-care provider's license based on the health-care provider's recommendations regarding the use of the individualized investigational drug, biological product, or device. The act does not affect a health-care insurer's obligation under current law relating to coverage for an insured's participation in a clinical trial. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends the "Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act" and the "Colorado Land Reclamation Act for the Extraction of Construction Materials" to: Contemplate the expedited issuance of reclamation-only permits to persons desiring to conduct reclamation-only operations after September 1, 2025, on less than 5 acres; and Update restrictions and requirements concerning the posting and forfeiture of financial warranties relating to mine reclamation projects. The act prohibits the office of mined land reclamation from issuing a reclamation-only permit to a mining operation at which: Toxic or acidic chemicals used in extractive metallurgical processing are present on site; Acid- or toxic-forming materials will be exposed or disturbed as a result of mining operations; or Uranium is developed or extracted, either by in situ leach mining or by conventional underground or open mining techniques. The act also enacts the "Interstate Mining Compact" and ratifies Colorado's membership in the associated Interstate Mining Commission. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a person who is 72 years of age or older to choose to temporarily or permanently opt out of jury service. The judge or jury commissioner may require documentation in support of the opt-out of jury service. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $10,066 from the general fund to the judicial department for use by the state courts to implement the act. VETOED by Governor May 16, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act relocates the definition of "utility company betterment" within the statute on local government utility relocation arrangements to clarify that the definition applies to the entire statutory section. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the repeal date of the reporting section of the "Colorado Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund Act", which is otherwise scheduled to repeal in full on July 1, 2027, from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2030. The extension is to account for a prior legislative extension, from November 1, 2026, to November 1, 2029, of the deadline for the submission of a report on the evaluation of the trust fund that the department of early childhood is required to submit to the health and human services committees of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes the Colorado water conservation board (board) to administer a water supply measurement and forecasting program to collect and disseminate data on snowpack levels, investigate technological advances in snowpack measurement and water supply forecasting, and collect other data that the board determines will assist in those efforts. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $104,608 is appropriated to the department of natural resources (department) from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for the department to implement the act. Of the money appropriated, $15,960 is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates the following amounts for the 2025-26 state fiscal year from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects: Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000 (section 1 of the act); Continuation of the floodplain map modernization program, $500,000 (section 2); Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $500,000 (section 3); Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $200,000 (section 5); Continuation of the water forecasting partnership project, $2,000,000 (section 6); Continuation of the Arkansas river decision support program, $300,000 (section 7); Continuation of technical assistance for the federal irrigation improvement cost-sharing program, $500,000 (section 8); Decision support systems model enhancements to support the Colorado water plan, $1,000,000 (section 9); Support for the basin implementation plan analysis and updates, $4,500,000 (section 10); Continuation of the Colorado watershed restoration and wildfire ready watershed programs, $5,000,000 (section 11); Support for a statewide turf analysis, $1,400,000 (section 12); Support for the Yampa river and Walton creek confluence restoration project, $2,000,000 (section 14); and Support for the south fork focus zone irrigated acreage retirement, $6,000,000 (section 15). Section 4 directs the state treasurer to transfer up to $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB litigation fund on July 1, 2025. Section 13 directs the state treasurer to transfer $500,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the plant health, pest control, and environmental protection cash fund on July 1, 2025, and makes an appropriation of that amount to the department of agriculture for use by the conservation services division for the Colorado soil health program. Section 16 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $12,978,500 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the North Poudre Irrigation Company to support the park creek expansion project. Section 17 appropriates $29,200,000 from the water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB to award grants that will help implement the state water plan. Sections 18, 19, 20, and 21 eliminate the office of water conservation under the CWCB and the water efficiency grant program, transfer remaining money from the water efficiency grant program cash fund to the severance tax perpetual base fund, and make conforming amendments accordingly. Current law authorizes the governor to appoint a director of compact negotiations. Section 22 states that the governor or the executive director of the department of natural resources shall appoint the director of compact negotiations within 30 days after a vacancy of the position. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a permit that is issued by the department of transportation (department). The permit authorizes the holder to, for a fee, install or remove tire chains or alternate traction devices at a location designated in the permit. The department may place conditions on the permit concerning the safe and orderly movement of traffic. The department is instructed to avoid issuing permits in a manner that creates a monopoly-type situation for a permit holder at a specific location. The department may charge a fee to issue a permit to an applicant. The fee must be set in an amount to offset the direct and indirect costs of issuing these permits. The department will adopt rules to implement the act. The rules must include: The procedures for issuing a permit, the procedures for revoking a permit, and the qualifications to be issued a permit; and A requirement that the individuals installing tire chains or alternate traction devices wear reflective clothing and use appropriate signs and traffic control devices. A rental car company is required to notify its car renters of the requirements of and penalties for violating the chain law. Colorado law already authorizes the department to close roads during winter weather conditions unless a motor vehicle meets traction equipment requirements. The act also authorizes a 4-wheel-drive vehicle with tires that are imprinted by a manufacturer with a mountain-snowflake, "M&S", "M+S", or "M/S" symbol or that are all-weather rated by the manufacturer to travel on roads that the department restricts for winter weather conditions. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)