Sen. Paul Lundeen

Maddy summaryThis procedural joint resolution (HJR 25-1002) schedules a ceremonial session for January 10, 2025, where Colorado's House and Senate will hear a message from Chief Justice Monica M. Marquez of the Colorado Supreme Court. It directs the appointment of a six-member committee (three from each chamber) to escort the Chief Justice to the session. The bill has no substantive policy impact - it solely establishes a formal procedure for this annual judicial communication event. It directly affects the legislative leadership and the Chief Justice's office by outlining the process for this specific ceremonial meeting.

Maddy summaryThis is a procedural resolution (SR 25-002) appointing Senate staff for Colorado's 75th General Assembly's First Regular Session. It directly names specific individuals to existing Senate positions, including roles like Secretary, Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, and Majority/Minority policy staff. The bill contains no policy changes - it simply formalizes staff assignments for Senate operations. As a routine personnel resolution, it affects only the Senate's internal staffing structure.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SJR 25-001) adopts the joint rules from Colorado's Seventy-fourth General Assembly as the temporary operating procedures for the Seventy-fifth General Assembly. It directly affects the legislative process by establishing the Senate and House of Representatives' temporary rules for conducting business until new rules are adopted. The resolution does not change substantive laws or policies; it simply provides procedural continuity for the new legislative session. This is a standard procedural measure to ensure the legislature can function immediately after the session begins.

The act requires telecommunications providers that operate in Colorado to remove, discontinue, or replace all critical telecommunications infrastructure that utilizes equipment from a federally banned entity. The act requires telecommunications providers to register with the division of homeland security and emergency management (division) within the department of public safety on or before January 15, 2025, and annually certify thereafter that the telecommunications provider is: Not operating critical telecommunications infrastructure that utilizes equipment from a federally banned entity; or Participating in the federal reimbursement program established by the federal "Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019" and is in compliance with the reimbursement program. The act requires a telecommunications provider that operates critical telecommunications infrastructure that utilizes federally banned equipment to register with the division each year until all of the federally banned equipment has been removed or replaced. The act creates the secure telecommunications cash fund for the collection of registration fees that will be used to implement the program. The act also grants the director of the division rule-making authority to implement the requirements of the act. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements recommendations in the 2023 sunset report by the department of regulatory agencies by: Continuing the division of banking and the banking board (board) for 9 years, until 2033; Amending the board composition by repealing the requirement that 2 members represent state banks with less than $150 million in total assets and instead require 2 members to represent state banks in the fortieth percentile based on total asset size; Extending the authority for the board and the state bank commissioner to share information regarding state bank and trust company compliance with money laundering and other financial crime laws with the United States secretary of the treasury and agencies specified; Clarifying that any change of any executive officer, director, or other person who is responsible for the management, control, or operations of a state bank or trust company must be reported to the board within 60 days after the change; Modernizing the penalty for failing to report a change of any executive officer, director, or other person who is responsible for the management, control ,or operations of a state bank or trust company to the board; Modernizing the board's authority to issue civil money penalties; Clarifying that a trust company may discontinue its trust business if it provides evidence of its release and discharge of all trust-related obligations prior to surrendering its trust charter; Codifying requirements related to the review of fiduciary accounts to ensure that the assets are appropriate for the accounts as described in the trust agreement and requiring the board to adopt a rule to clarify what "appropriate" means in this context; and Making technical amendments to the "Colorado Banking Code" to remove gender-specific language; replace the term "data processing center" with the more modern terms "information technology function" and "third-party service provider", as applicable; repeal requirements that certain reports must be mailed; and repeal the requirement that a charter application be filed in triplicate. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In the 2023 legislative session, the general assembly enacted 2 bills related to complaints and findings of discriminatory or unfair practices in the workplace, including complaints and findings of sexual harassment committed by an elected official, and access to records of such complaints and findings. The 2023 enactments resulted in a conflict in the law with regard to public access to records of sexual harassment complaints against an elected official. Specifically, Senate Bill 23-172, concerning protections for Colorado workers against discriminatory employment practices: Requires employers to designate a repository of written and oral complaints of discriminatory or unfair employment practices, including sexual harassment complaints; and Specifies that records in an employer's designated repository are not public records and are not open to public inspection except in very limited circumstances specified in the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA). Senate Bill 23-286, concerning improving public access to government records, amended CORA to specifically require the custodian of any record of a sexual harassment complaint against an elected official to make the record available for public inspection, after redacting the identity of or any information that would identify any accuser, accused who is not an elected official, victim, or witness, if the investigation concludes that the elected official is culpable of sexual harassment. The act resolves the conflict between Senate Bill 23-172 and Senate Bill 23-286 by allowing public inspection of records in an employer's designated repository that pertain to a sexual harassment complaint or investigation against an elected official found culpable of sexual harassment. Additionally, the act designates the office of legislative workplace relations as the repository of complaint records for the employers in the legislative department. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of education (department) to develop, review, and update state assessment administration and security policies (policies) for home-based, virtual administration of computer-based state assessments (assessments) for students enrolled full time in online schools or online programs. The policies must include, but are not limited to: Testing personnel qualifications; Maximum ratio of students to virtual administrator; Tester verification; Remote setting requirements, including restriction to other devices or people with or without internet capabilities; Monitoring of the test-taker and testing environment; Device and network requirements; Parental consent agreements; and Eligibility for schools to conduct assessments. The department's policies must support the collection of evidence and evaluation of assessment results in order to administer assessments in the 2024-25 school year, with the expectation of full implementation of assessments no later than the 2025-26 school year that result in valid scores. To establish the validity of assessments in the 2024-25 school year, the department shall conduct validation activities, gather data, and evaluate the comparability of home-based, virtual state assessments and school-based, in-person administered state assessments. To encourage student and educator participation in validation activities, the department may provide incentives. The act appropriates $440,000 to the department from the state education fund to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Effective October 1. 2025, the act amends the "Colorado Privacy Act" to add enhanced protections when a minor's data is processed and there is a heightened risk of harm to minors. The act applies to any entity that controls consumer personal data (controller) and that conducts business in Colorado or delivers products or services that are targeted at Colorado residents, regardless of the volume of or amount of revenue derived from that activity. A controller that offers an online service, product, or feature to a consumer who the controller knows or willfully disregards is a minor is required to: Use reasonable care to avoid any heightened risk of harm to minors caused by the service, product, or feature; and Conduct, and review as necessary, a data protection assessment for the service, product, or feature if there is a heightened risk of harm to minors and maintain documentation regarding the assessment for a specified period. Unless the minor or, for a minor who is under 13 years of age, the minor's parent or legal guardian has consented, a controller is prohibited from processing a minor's personal data: For targeted advertising, selling the minor's personal data, or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant consequences; For any processing purpose other than the purpose disclosed at the time the minor's personal data is collected or a purpose reasonably necessary for the disclosed processing purpose; or For longer than reasonably necessary to provide the service, product, or feature. Absent consent, a controller is also prohibited from: Using a system design feature to significantly increase, sustain, or extend a minor's use of the service, product, or feature; or Collecting a minor's precise geolocation, except under specified circumstances. Neither a controller nor a processor that processes personal data for a controller is required to implement an age verification or age-gating system or otherwise affirmatively verify the age of consumers, and a controller that conducts commercially reasonable age estimation is not liable for an erroneous age estimation. The attorney general and district attorneys are authorized to enforce the requirements of the act in the same manner as authorized under the "Colorado Privacy Act", including notifying a controller of, and allowing a controller time to cure, a violation. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE October 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act amends the "Colorado Privacy Act" to add protections for individuals' biometric data by requiring a person that controls or processes one or more biometric identifiers (controller) to adopt a written policy that: Establishes a retention schedule for biometric identifiers and biometric data; Includes a protocol for responding to a data security incident that may compromise the security of biometric identifiers or biometric data; and Includes guidelines that require the deletion of a biometric identifier on or before certain dates. With certain exceptions, a controller must make its written policy available to the public. The act also: Prohibits a controller from collecting a biometric identifier unless the controller first satisfies certain disclosure and consent requirements; Specifies certain prohibited acts and requirements for controllers that process biometric identifiers and biometric data; Requires a controller to disclose to a consumer certain information concerning the collection and use of the consumer's biometric identifier; Restricts an employer's permissible reasons for obtaining an employee's consent for the collection of biometric identifiers; and Authorizes the attorney general to promulgate rules to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements the recommendations in the department of regulatory agencies' 2023 sunset review and report on the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (commission) by: Continuing the commission for 7 years, until 2031; Establishing a permanent state auxiliary services program; and Changing the name of the deafblind citizens council to the Colorado deafblind advisory council. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)