The act appropriates the following amounts for the 2026-27 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, $2,500,000 (section 6);Continuation of Colorado decision support system operation and maintenance, $750,000 (section 7);Support for water plan agency actions, $1,350,000 (section 9);Continuation of the Colorado watershed restoration and flood mitigation projects, $5,000,000 (section 10); andContinuation of the upper Colorado river commission planning, $750,000 (section 11). Section 4 directs the state treasurer to transfer up to $6,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the CWCB litigation fund on or before July 1, 2026. Section 8 restores the fish and wildlife resources fund balance by transferring $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the fish and wildlife resources fund. Section 12 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $151,500,000 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the city of Fort Collins to support the Halligan water supply project. Section 13 authorizes the CWCB to make a loan in an amount of $20,166,670 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the Lower Latham Reservoir Company for the Jurgens reservoir construction project. Section 14 appropriates $37,700,000 from the water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB to award grants that will help implement the state water plan. Section 15 clarifies that the money that is currently in the turf replacement fund is appropriated for designated purposes to the CWCB until June 30, 2028. Any money remaining in the turf replacement fund on July 1, 2028, is transferred to the CWCB construction fund. Section 16 makes technical corrections so that money appropriated in 2025 is available to the department of natural resources executive director's office for the purpose of paying for a study by the Colorado water center at Colorado state university. Under current law, the CWCB may authorize loans up to $10 million from the CWCB construction fund or severance tax perpetual base fund without legislative authorization. The act increases that amount to $30 million (section 17).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryHB 1307 extends the Colorado Medical Board's existence until September 1, 2035 (replacing a prior 2026 sunset date) and implements several specific changes to medical licensing. It creates a new "administrative license" for physicians performing non-patient work (like research design or quality management) starting January 1, 2027, exempting them from continuing medical education requirements. The bill also exempts natural medicine facilitators (with a specific license) from needing a medical license to facilitate certain services, and modifies renewal rules for foreign teaching physicians and board procedures. These changes directly affect physicians seeking administrative roles, natural medicine facilitators, and the Medical Board’s operational structure.
The microgrids for community resilience grant program (grant program) in the division of local government in the department of local affairs provides grants for cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities to purchase microgrid resources for eligible rural communities located within their service territories. Under current law, the grant program is set to repeal on September 1, 2026. The act continues the grant program indefinitely by removing the repeal date.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the postsecondary talent development system transition advisory committee (transition committee) to develop a transition plan that includes recommendations to integrate oversight of higher education and workforce development programs (transition plan). The transition committee shall begin meeting by July 1, 2026, and shall submit the transition plan by November 1, 2026, to the joint budget committee; the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee; the house of representatives education committee; the senate business, labor, and technology committee; and the senate education committee. The transition plan must include recommendations about the structure of the department of higher education (department), including a recommendation to rename the department; recommendations about transitioning various offices, agencies, programs, and functions to the department or other state agencies; and recommendations about how the department will coordinate with the department of education's postsecondary workforce readiness and student support activities. Effective July 1, 2028, the executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education is renamed the executive director of the department (executive director). The governor appoints, with the consent of the senate, the executive director.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act:Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2026-27 budget year by $208.60 to account for inflation;Sets a new statewide base per pupil funding amount for the 2026-27 budget year at $8,900.40; andSets the total program funding for the 2026-27 budget year at $10,178,856,871. Under current law, there are 2 total program formulas that are used to determine a school district's total program, commonly referred to as the old formula and the new formula. A school district's funded pupil count is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the new formula, for the 2026-27 budget year and each budget year thereafter, a school district's funded pupil count is calculated by determining the greater of the school district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year or the average of the district's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year and the immediately preceding 2 budget years. However, the act requires that when specified conditions are met, a school district's funded pupil count is the school district's online pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's supplemental kindergarten enrollment for the budget year, plus the school district's extended high school pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus the greater of:The school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year;An amount equal to 50% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year, plus an amount equal to 30% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year, plus an amount equal to 20% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the budget year that is 2 years preceding the budget year; orAn amount equal to 97% of the school district's pupil enrollment for the preceding budget year. A school district's cost of living factor is a figure that is used as a part of determining a school district's total program. Under the old formula and the new formula, the act requires the cost of living factor that was used for the 2025-26 budget year to apply in the 2026-27 budget year. Under current law, for the 2026-27 budget year, a district's total program is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year; orThe amount calculated for the 2025-26 budget year under the old formula plus an amount equal to 30% of the difference between the amounts calculated between the old formula and the new formula. The act clarifies that for the 2026-27 budget year, if the calculation under the new formula is less than the calculation under the old formula, then that district's total program for the 2025-26 budget year is the greater of:The district's total program amount for the 2024-25 budget year under the old formula; orThe amount calculated for the 2026-27 budget year under the old formula. The act permits a school transformation grant recipient that is implementing a priority improvement or turnaround plan to use the grant award to plan for and implement rigorous redesign strategies. The act changes the provisions that determine the amounts of total program that school districts and the state charter school institute distribute to their charter schools. Related to the changes of these provisions, the act repeals at-risk supplemental aid for charter schools. The act exempts from a future repeal the general assembly's legislative declaration that using state education fund money for maintaining a website that explains major categories in the chart of accounts for local education providers is a permissible use of state education fund money. The act repeals the scheduled repeal of, resulting in a continuation of, a statute that authorizes contingency reserve fund payments to be used for rural or small rural school districts if an unusual financial burden would be caused by the withholding of local property taxes due to a delay in filing the audit report due to extraordinary problems that could not have been reasonably foreseen or prevented by the rural or small rural school district. The act adds an assistant superintendent, a vice principal, and an assistant principal to the list of eligible school employees who may receive a salary without a reduction in public employees' retirement association (PERA) benefits if the service retiree meets specified conditions. The act permits a local education provider to request that the department of education approve the local education provider's use of pencil and paper to complete any or every portion of a state assessment for grades 3 or 4 and requires that the local education provider be responsible for costs owed to the vendor that are associated with the administration of the assessment using pencil and paper. The act authorizes the state board of education to adopt rules that are necessary to determine the district of residence of a child with a disability for a circumstance that is not described under law. The act repeals the requirement that $500,000 be distributed to administrative units that enroll children with disabilities and instead requires that $1 million be distributed to fund reimbursements for administrative units that pay tuition or education expenses that ensure a free appropriate public education for a student in out-of-home placement who has an individualized education program. The act requires the department of education to engage stakeholders concerning public placements in facility schools and on the issue of whether to make recommendations concerning such placements to the state board of education regarding rules or to the general assembly regarding statutes. Under current law, each participating school food authority that satisfies certain requirements is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant and an amount to increase wages or stipends for individuals employed to prepare and serve school meals. The act clarifies that a charter school that operates under a participating school food authority is eligible for the awards. The act:Prohibits a board of cooperative services (BOCES) from acting as a statewide authorizer of programs or schools; andLimits a BOCES to operating a school or program outside the geographic boundaries of its school district members, unless specified conditions are satisfied. The act permits a local education provider to offer one or more part-time programs for homeschool students if specified conditions are satisfied. The act requires an authorizer contracting with an education management provider to maintain appropriate independence from, and oversight of, the education management provider. The act prohibits a school district from creating a contract school that is a full-time complete educational program offered exclusively by a private entity pursuant to a contract with the public entity. The act appropriates:$3,755,558 to the department of education from the state education fund for the state share of districts' total program;$313,395 to the department of education from the state education fund for management and administration for information technology services and for use by school district operations for administration related to public school finance; and$3,385,203 to the department of education from the state education fund for school district operations for costs associated with holding charter schools harmless for changes in the distribution of total program funding. The act adjusts the 2026-27 long bill by decreasing:$8,502,195 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for the state share of districts' total program funding; and$3,504,995 from the appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for use by school district operations for at-risk supplemental aid.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning on January 1, 2027, the act authorizes an optional collision prevention fee (fee), which is collected at the time of registration of a passenger motor vehicle, light-weight truck, motorcycle, or recreational vehicle (motor vehicle). An individual may decline to pay the fee when registering a motor vehicle, and nonpayment of the fee does not affect the individual's ability to register the motor vehicle. In connection with imposing the fee, the statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise (enterprise) within the department of transportation (department) is required to collaborate with:The department of revenue and county clerks to develop language to notify individuals about the fee, including explicit language regarding the ability to decline to pay the fee and the fact that nonpayment of the fee will not affect an individual's ability to register a motor vehicle; andThe department of revenue, the department, county clerks, the division of parks and wildlife, and other impacted stakeholders to conduct a public outreach campaign to educate the public about the fee and what benefits the fee will provide. The enterprise is required to initiate the public outreach campaign as soon as practicable and must develop and deliver customer-facing educational materials to county clerks on or before December 1, 2026.The fee amount is set at $5 and, beginning in state fiscal year 2028-29, the enterprise is allowed to adjust this fee amount upward for inflation. 75% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the newly created collision prevention fund (fund), which is continuously appropriated to the enterprise for use in the following ways:To fund wildlife safe passage projects, defined as one or more projects that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity by providing wildlife road crossings;To provide matching money as required by federal grant programs relating to wildlife safe passage projects; To expend for administrative and personnel expenses related to those purposes; andTo promote the fee and fund to maximize participation in the optional fee, in collaboration with the department of revenue, impacted stakeholders, and interested organizations.In determining which wildlife safe passage projects the enterprise will undertake, the enterprise is required to:Consult with the division of parks and wildlife (division) and the Colorado wildlife and transportation alliance;Consult with the tribal government if the project is on or adjacent to tribal land;Consult with relevant local governments with jurisdiction over the area of the proposed project and any relevant local organizations engaging in work to reduce vehicle collisions;Consider studies concerning the prioritization of wildlife within the state;Consider whether the wildlife safe passage project is related to a bridge or tunnel project undertaken by the enterprise; andIn consultation with the division, consider opportunities for landowner agreements or additional conservation efforts that may be necessary to ensure the continued functionality of infrastructure associated with a proposed wildlife safe passage project. 25% of the revenue from the fee is credited to the wildlife cash fund and continuously appropriated to the division to provide services related to wildlife connectivity and wildlife crossing-related conservation efforts. The act also modifies the process for the keep Colorado wild pass fee, which is an existing optional fee paid at the time an individual registers a motor vehicle, to align with the process for the collision prevention fee by removing the presumption that an individual who declines to pay the keep Colorado wild pass fee is presumed to decline to pay that fee in subsequent years with respect to registration of the same motor vehicle. With this change, an individual must affirmatively opt out of the payment of both the keep Colorado wild pass fee and the collision prevention fee each year that the individual registers the motor vehicle. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year:$53,516 is appropriated from the DRIVES cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; Of funds appropriated from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund to the department of natural resources for use by the division, $778 is reappropriated to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles; and$19,940 is appropriated from the legal services cash fund, from revenue received from the department from the collision prevention fund, to the department of law to provide legal services for the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a court to sentence a defendant convicted of second degree assault by strangulation in an enhanced range as a crime of violence subject to mandatory incarceration if the defendant has previously been convicted of second degree assault by strangulation. A previous conviction must be set forth in the complaint, indictment, or information for the present act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows for a county, a landowner in the town, or a registered elector in the town to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) to determine a town is abandoned when a town:Has no board of trustees or town clerk;Is unable to hold an election; andOwns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents. The act authorizes the department of public health and environment to transfer up to $100,000 from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund to the department of public safety to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of a town's water system if an application for abandonment of the town has been filed with the secretary and the town has a water system that is failing or is likely to fail.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the division of brand inspection (division) in the department of agriculture and the state board of stock inspection commissioners in the department of agriculture to receive reports of lost or stolen livestock. On or before December 31, 2026, the division shall implement procedures that:Facilitate efficient coordination with law enforcement, including procedures to ensure that reports of stolen livestock are provided to relevant law enforcement within 24 hours after the division receives a report of stolen livestock; andEnsure that the public is notified of lost or stolen livestock. The procedures implemented by the division may vary by geographic region depending on the needs of the region.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a local government or a tribal government desiring to receive funding from the statewide affordable housing fund to have filed with the division of housing of the department of local affairs (division) a commitment specifying how, within a 3-year cycle, affordable housing units within the local or tribal government's territorial boundaries will be increased by 3% each year over the baseline number of affordable housing units (baseline number). The baseline number resets every 3 years for the next cycle. To be eligible for funding from the statewide affordable housing fund, a local or tribal government is required to file a commitment with the division and achieve the 3% increase over the baseline number each year during the 3-year cycle. The act changes the requirements for the 3-year cycle beginning on January 1, 2027, and each 3-year cycle thereafter. A local government desiring to receive funding from the statewide affordable housing fund is no longer required to increase affordable housing units by 3% above the baseline each year, but is instead required to meet the target increase number of affordable housing units (target increase number). The target increase number equals the average annual number of permits for new housing units or functional equivalents of permits for new housing units that have been issued over the past 3 years within the jurisdiction of the local government, multiplied by the number of years of the upcoming 3-year cycle to which the local government is committing, multiplied by:0.10 if the average annual job growth rate in the county in which the local government is located is significantly lower than the statewide median annual job growth rate over the past 3 years, as determined by the division;0.15 if the average annual job growth rate in the county in which the local government is located is close to the statewide median annual job growth rate over the past 3 years, as determined by the division; or0.20 if the average annual job growth rate in the county in which the local government is located is significantly higher than the statewide median annual job growth rate over the past 3 years, as determined by the division. The act requires the division to establish specific numerical ranges for the job growth rate thresholds. The act permits a local government that desires to be eligible for funding from the statewide affordable housing fund but is unable to achieve the 3% annual increase in affordable housing units for the 3-year cycle beginning on January 1, 2024, to file a good faith effort waiver with the division. To be eligible, the local government must have achieved at least 65% of the targeted annual increase. The division may, in its discretion, grant a good faith effort waiver to a local government that filed for a waiver on or after June 15, 2026, but before November 1, 2026, and complied with other requirements of the act. The act permits a government that desires to be eligible for funding from the statewide affordable housing fund but is unable to meet the target increase number in affordable housing units for the 3-year cycle beginning on January 1, 2027, to file an adjustment waiver with the division. The adjustment waiver must be supported by verifiable data and propose a revised annual increase of at least one unit per year. The division may, in its discretion, grant an adjustment waiver to a government that filed for a waiver and complied with other requirements of the act. To determine whether a local government has achieved the target increase number for the 3-year cycle beginning on January 1, 2027, and for each 3-year cycle thereafter, an affordable housing unit that satisfies the following criteria counts for one affordable housing unit plus the following corresponding additional unit amount:Unless local governments have a written agreement otherwise, a unit developed with money from multiple local governments may be counted by each local government as a percentage of one unit proportional to the percentage of funding it provided;A unit that is developed on land donated by the local government qualifies for an additional 0.10 of a unit. The 0.10 of a unit qualifies for the local government that donated the land.An affordable housing unit that is developed with money provided by multiple local governments qualifies for an additional 0.10 of a unit for each local government that provided money;A unit that is developed to be for-sale housing and that meets certain affordability requirements qualifies for an additional 0.20 of a unit; andA unit that is restricted to be rented or sold to a household with an annual income of at or below 40% of the area median income, including a supportive housing unit, qualifies for an additional 0.20 of a unit. If affordable housing is developed and qualifies for a property tax exemption, thereby reducing property tax revenue to the county in which the affordable housing is located, and the county did not provide any money to develop the affordable housing, the division may, in its discretion, allow each such affordable housing unit to count as up to 1.15 affordable housing units for the county at the time of vertical construction. Beginning in 2027, to be eligible for direct funding, or for affordable housing projects within a tribal government's territorial boundaries to be eligible for funding, tribal governments are required to implement a system to expedite the development approval process for affordable housing projects and required to submit evidence of such satisfaction to the division.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)