Bill Tracker

The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $3,900,000 from the
general fund to the licensing services cash fund. This transfer allows the
department to maintain the current driver license fee while supporting the
solvency of the cash fund.

The bill prohibits terminating the life of an unborn child and
makes a violation a class 1 felony. The following are exceptions to the
prohibition:
  • A licensed physician performs a medical procedure
designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant
mother, if the physician makes reasonable medical efforts

under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the
mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner
consistent with conventional medical practice; and
  • A licensed physician provides medical treatment, including
chemotherapy or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, to the
mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury
to or death of the unborn child.
The pregnant mother upon whom termination of the life of an
unborn child is performed or attempted is not subject to a criminal
penalty. A conviction related to the prohibition of the termination of the
life of an unborn child constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of
physician licensing. The bill does not prohibit the sale and use of
contraception.
The bill states that any act, law, treaty, order, or regulation of the
United States government that denies or prohibits protection of a human
person's inalienable right to life is null, void, and unenforceable, in this
state and that the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction to
interfere with Colorado's interest in protecting human life at conception,
when human life begins.

Current law regulating campaign finance does not set limits on
contributions to candidates for school district director.
Section 2 of the bill:
  • Sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for
school district director from persons other than small donor

committees for any regular biennial or special school
election in the amount of $2,500; and
  • Sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for
school district director from small donor committees for
any regular biennial or special school election in the
amount of $25,000.
The bill requires that these aggregate contribution limits be
periodically adjusted for inflation consistent with other contribution
limits.
Section 3 subjects the new contribution limits to existing statutory
provisions governing the disclosure of campaign contributions.
Section 4 contains requirements governing when a candidate for
school district director is required to disclose information concerning
campaign contributions and clarifies that such candidates are required to
file their disclosure with the secretary of state.

The bill requires health-care providers that perform induced
terminations of pregnancies to report specified information concerning
the women who obtain the procedure to the state registrar of vital
statistics in the department of public health and environment in an
electronic format as prescribed by the state registrar. The reported

information must not include information that could identify the women
who obtained induced terminations of pregnancies.
The bill requires the state registrar to annually create a summary
report of the information reported by health-care providers and to make
the report available to the public. The bill places limitations on how and
to whom the state registrar may release the information reported to the
state registrar. A physician or physician assistant who falsifies or fails to
submit the required information engages in unprofessional conduct
pursuant to the Colorado Medical Practice Act. An advanced practice
registered nurse who falsifies or fails to submit the required information
is subject to discipline pursuant to the Nurse and Nurse Aide Practice
Act.

The bill:
  • Expands the statutory list of state laws for which the
attorney general may bring civil and criminal enforcement

actions to include various statutory provisions relating to
housing; and
  • Creates the fair housing unit within the department of law.

The bill requires the director of the division of professions and
occupations (director) in the department of regulatory agencies (division)
to complete an audit of the regulated professions and occupations and the
regulation of various professions and occupations by regulators of a
specific profession or occupation (regulator) to determine what barriers

exist for licensing, certification, and registration of individuals with
criminal history records and report the findings to the general assembly.
The bill limits the authority of a regulator to deny a license,
certification, or registration based on an applicant's criminal history
record to circumstances when the regulator determines that the applicant's
criminal history record jeopardizes the applicant's ability to competently,
safely, and honestly practice the regulated profession or occupation as
authorized under the applicable practice act or issuance of the credential
would not serve public safety or commercial or consumer protection
interests. A regulator is required to specify the reasons for any denial
based on a criminal history record.
The bill allows a regulator to grant a conditional license,
certification, or registration to an applicant if the regulator determines that
the applicant will have appropriate oversight provided by the applicant's
employer.
Upon request of an individual with a criminal history record, the
bill requires a regulator to issue a pre-determination letter to the
individual advising the individual if the criminal history may prevent the
individual from receiving a license, certification, or registration to
practice an occupation or profession. A regulator may charge a reasonable
fee for the pre-determination letter.
The director is required to compile de-identified information
regarding the reasons why a license, certification, or registration was
denied and make this information available to the public on the division's
website.
The bill requires state and local agencies responsible for issuing
occupational or professional credentials (occupational agency), before
making a final determination that an applicant's criminal conviction
disqualifies the applicant from receiving a license, certification, permit,
or registration, to provide a written notice to the applicant specifying the
reason for the disqualification and the right of the applicant to submit
additional evidence for the occupational agency to consider before
making a final determination. A final determination to disqualify an
applicant based on a criminal conviction must be issued in writing and
include notice of the applicant's right to appeal the determination and the
earliest date on which the applicant may reapply.

Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance. The bill
staggers the terms of the state treasurer's 3 appointed members to the
investment board, commencing with new appointments beginning on and
after July 1, 2022, to ensure that no more than 2 members' terms expire
in the same year.
The bill creates a working group, convened by the state treasurer,
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
to consider opportunities to improve earnings on the deposit and
investment of money in the fund, while safeguarding the endowment for
public schools and complying with state and federal laws relating to state
school trust lands and the fund. The bill authorizes the state treasurer,
after consulting with the investment board, to select the members of the
working group, and the bill specifies the issues the working group must
study. The state treasurer shall report the findings and recommendations
of the working group to the joint budget committee and to the education
committees of the house of representatives and of the senate during the
2023 legislative session.
The bill clarifies the time frame and circumstances in which a
realized investment loss to the fund may be offset by realized gains before
the general assembly is required to appropriate money to cover losses to
the fund.

Under existing law, an institution of higher education (institution)
must classify a student, other than a nonimmigrant alien, as an in-state
student for tuition purposes if the student attended high school in
Colorado for at least 3 years immediately preceding the date the student
either graduated from a Colorado high school or successfully completed

a high school equivalency examination and the student is admitted to
college within 12 months of graduating high school or completing the
equivalency examination. The bill repeals the requirements that a student
has attended a Colorado high school for 3 years and be admitted to
college within 12 months of graduating or completing an equivalency
examination.
The bill requires an institution to classify a student as an in-state
student for tuition purposes if the student:
  • Graduated from a Colorado high school or successfully
completed a high school equivalency examination in
Colorado; and
  • Has resided in Colorado for at least 12 consecutive months
prior to enrolling in an institution.
Because the bill repeals the requirement to be admitted to college
within 12 months of graduation, the bill also repeals the exception to that
requirement for a student who does not have lawful immigration status
and graduated or successfully completed the equivalency examination
prior to September 1, 2013.

Joint Budget Committee. The bill extends the date by which the
department of health care policy and financing shall administer the
reproductive health-care program from January 1, 2022, to July 1, 2022.

Section 1 of the bill creates a property tax exemption for mobile
homes that have an assessed value of $2,000 or less.

Section 2 eliminates the requirement that a county treasurer
publish a notice in a newspaper of a sale of a mobile home due to
property taxes owed if:
  • A distraint warrant has been delivered to the owner of the
mobile home or to his or her agent; and
  • The county treasurer publishes a notice of the sale on the
treasurer's website.

The bill declares that every individual has a fundamental right to
use or refuse contraception; every pregnant individual has a fundamental
right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion; and
a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative
rights under the laws of the state.

The bill prohibits state and local public entities from:
  • Denying, restricting, interfering with, or discriminating
against an individual's fundamental right to use or refuse
contraception or to continue a pregnancy and give birth or
to have an abortion in the regulation or provision of
benefits, services, information, or facilities; and
  • Depriving, through prosecution, punishment, or other
means, an individual of the individual's right to act or
refrain from acting during the individual's own pregnancy
based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on the
pregnancy, the pregnancy's outcomes, or on the pregnant
individual's health.

The bill amends the Mobile Home Park Act and the Mobile
Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program to:
  • Prohibit a landlord from increasing rent on a mobile home
lot by an amount that exceeds the greater of inflation or 3
percentage points in any 12-month period;
  • Require the landlord or the landlord's representative to
attend up to 2 public meetings for residents of the park
each year at the request of the residents;

  • Clarify that a landlord is responsible for the cost of
repairing any damage to a mobile home or lot that results
from the landlord's failure to maintain the premises of the
park;
  • Clarify the triggering events that demonstrate a park
owner's intent to sell a park for purposes of providing
notice to home owners and the method for giving notice;
  • Change the period in which a group or association of
mobile home owners may make an offer to purchase the
park from 90 to 180 days, and provide for tolling of that
time period in certain circumstances;
  • Provide a right of first refusal for a public entity that
accepts an assignment of a group or association of mobile
home owners' opportunity to purchase;
  • Clarify the obligations of a landlord to provide notice to
home owners concerning the terms and conditions of an
offer to purchase the park that the landlord would accept
and to negotiate in good faith with the home owners;
  • Require a landlord who changes the use of the land
comprising the park to compensate a mobile home owner
who has not given notice to terminate the lease or rental
agreement and who is displaced by the change in use for
the reasonable costs of relocating the mobile home to a
location within 100 miles of the park, the fair market value
of the mobile home before the change in use, or in the
amount of $7,500 for a single-section mobile home or
$10,000 for a multi-section mobile home;
  • Allow the department to enforce statutory provisions
concerning the required notice of intent to sell or change
the use of the land and the mobile home owners'
opportunity to purchase by imposing a fine for a violation
or filing for injunctive relief in district court;
  • Allow the attorney general to investigate and enforce
statutory provisions providing protections for mobile home
owners;
  • Allow a resident, local government, or a nonprofit to file a
complaint with the division under the dispute resolution
program;
  • Clarify the procedures and penalties that apply when a
party does not respond to a subpoena from the division;
  • Allow the division to take immediate action in response to
complaints or violations that will cause immediate harm to
mobile home owners;
  • Prohibit landlords from harassing or coercing mobile home
owners in an effort to require a mobile owner to sign an
agreement or to influence a decision by the home owner
about an opportunity to purchase;
  • Establish criteria for when a mobile home park rule or
regulation that limits a home owner's right to control the
use, appearance, and structure of a mobile home is
enforceable;
  • Prohibit a landlord from interfering with the mobile home
owner's right to sell a mobile home to the buyer of his or
her choice, except in limited circumstances;
  • Establish record retention requirements for landlords; and
  • Consolidate provisions concerning private rights of action
for landlords, home owners, and residents, and establish
penalties and remedies available in private actions.

The bill makes the following changes to health insurance coverage
for low-income pregnant people and children in low-income families:
  • Provides full health insurance coverage for Colorado
pregnant people who would be eligible for medicaid and
the children's basic health plan (CHIP) if not for their

immigration status and continues that coverage for 12
months postpartum at the CHIP federal matching rate;
  • Provides comprehensive health insurance coverage to all
Colorado children who would be eligible for medicaid and
CHIP if not for their immigration status;
  • Requires the state department of health care policy and
financing to create an outreach and enrollment strategy for
enrolling eligible groups into new coverage options;
  • Makes comprehensive lactation supports and supplies,
including breast pumps, a covered benefit for perinatal
people on medicaid and CHIP;
  • Draws down federal funds to improve perinatal and
postpartum support and requires that priorities for the funds
be determined through a stakeholder process;
  • Permanently authorizes an existing survey of birthing
parents, run by the state department of public health and
environment and increases the ability of the survey to
collect and report on the experiences of birthing people of
color in Colorado;
  • Creates a special enrollment period for health insurance
coverage due to pregnancy so that an eligible person can
sign up for insurance as soon as the person becomes
pregnant; and
  • Improves the quality of health insurance coverage available
through the health insurance affordability enterprise.

The bill creates 2 state grant programs:
  • The local investments in transformational affordable
housing grant program (affordable housing grant program),
administered by the division of housing (DOH) in the
department of local affairs (department); and
  • The infrastructure and strong communities grant program
(strong communities grant program), administered by the
division of local government (DLG) in the department.
The affordable housing grant program provides grants to local
governments and nonprofit organizations to enable such entities to make
investments in their communities or regions of the state in
transformational affordable housing and housing related matters. The
strong communities grant program provides grants to eligible local
governments to enable local governments to invest in infill infrastructure
projects that support affordable housing.
The strong communities grant program portion of the bill requires
a multi-agency group, comprised of DLG, the state energy office, and the
department of transportation, with the assistance of stakeholders, to
develop a list of sustainable land use best practices that will accomplish
the goals of the grant program and improve a local government's viability
in being considered for a grant award.
The bill requires both DOH and DLG to develop policies,
procedures, and guidelines governing the administration of the respective
grant programs. The bill specifies how grant funding is to be prioritized
and eligible uses of grant money awarded under the grant programs.
The bill creates 2 funds in the state treasury: The local investments
in transformational affordable housing fund and the infrastructure and
strong communities grant program fund. The bill specifies requirements
pertaining to the administration of these funds.
Both funds are initially supported with a transfer of a specified
amount of money from different funds.
Both grant programs are subject to reporting requirements
specified in the bill, and both grant programs are repealed by a date
specified in the bill.

Joint Budget Committee. Senate Bill 21-291 transferred $40
million of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) money from the

economic recovery and relief cash fund to the Colorado economic
development fund and directed the office of economic development and
international trade (OEDIT) to use $10 million of the money transferred
to incentivize small businesses to locate in rural Colorado and for the
location neutral employment incentive program. To ensure that the use of
the $10 million complies with ARPA requirements, the bill instead directs
OEDIT to use the money to support businesses in rural Colorado that
undertake economic development activity in rural Colorado in response
to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill establishes the regional talent development initiative grant
program (grant program) in the office of economic development (office)
to fund talent development initiatives across the state that meet regional
labor market needs and specified grant program goals, including
initiatives that meet workforce development needs in regions as they
recover from the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The office, a state agency designated by the office, or a third party with
whom the office contracts is to serve as the administrator of the grant
program (program administrator). The office is directed to appoint a
steering committee of business, civic, education, and nonprofit
professionals (steering committee) to support the program administrator,
including:
  • Developing a grant application process;
  • Establishing grant application selection and prioritization
criteria; and
  • Advising the program administrator in appointing a
selection committee to review grant applications and make
grant award recommendations.
The office, in collaboration with the departments of labor and
employment, higher education, and education (departments) and the
steering committee, is to identify regions throughout the state to inform
the selection of grant applications.
The office is to publish a report on the grant program by
November 1, 2023, and by each November 1 through November 1, 2027.
The bill creates the regional talent development initiative grant
program fund (grant program fund) and directs the state treasurer to
transfer $91 million from the workers, employers, and workforce centers
cash fund (cash fund) to the grant program fund as follows:
  • $56,750,000 from federal money in the cash fund that the
state received pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act
of 2021; and
  • $34,250,000 from money in the cash fund that originated
from the general fund.
The money in the grant program fund is continuously appropriated
to the office for the grant program and related costs. The grant program
repeals on July 1, 2028.

The bill creates the small community-based nonprofit
infrastructure grant program (grant program) in the division of local
government in the department of local affairs (division) to provide grants

to certain small community-based nonprofit organizations that have been
impacted or disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health
emergency for infrastructure and capacity building. The division is
required to administer the grant program and to contract with no more
than 5 nonprofit organizations with specified qualifications (regional
access partners) to award and monitor the grants.
To be eligible to receive a grant through the grant program, an
organization must be one of the following:
  • A small community-based nonprofit organization that
operates under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal
revenue code;
  • A small community-based nonprofit organization that does
not operate under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal
revenue code and that works with a fiscal agent; or
  • A collaboration of multiple small community-based groups
that are not nonprofit organizations and that work with a
fiscal sponsor.
The bill specifies the criteria that each small community-based
nonprofit organization or each of the small community-based groups that
apply for a grant collaboratively are required to satisfy to be considered
an eligible recipient for a grant pursuant to the grant program.
The bill specifies that grant recipients may use grant program
money for infrastructure and capacity building purposes including data
technology needs, professional development for staff and board members,
strategic planning and organizational development for capacity building
and fundraising, communications, and existing program expansion,
development, or evaluation. The bill also specifies that grant money
cannot be used for capital improvements, real estate or land acquisition,
payment of debt, advocacy or lobbying, organizing, endowments, or
reserves.
To receive a grant, an applicant must submit an application to a
regional access partner in accordance with the policies and procedures
developed by the division. The regional access partner is required to
award grants and ensure that:
  • The maximum grant award does not exceed $100,000; and
  • A grant award does not exceed 30% of the recipient's
annual operating budget.
The general assembly is required to appropriate $35 million from
the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the division for the
purposes of the grant program. The regional access partners are required
to award the grants for the purposes of the grant program on or before
December 30, 2024. The bill specifies that the division and any person
that receives money from the division, including a regional access
partner, shall comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and
program evaluation requirements established in current law by the office
of state planning and budgeting and the state controller.

The bill requires the state treasurer to establish the Colorado
household financial recovery program (program) in the department of the
treasury to partner with financial institutions to incentivize lending to
low-income individuals and households impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic or its negative economic impacts.
Money available for the program must be used for one or more of

the following purposes:
  • To establish a loan loss reserve to partially offset risk to
lenders in making loans to individuals and households
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • To make payments to lenders to buy down interest rates on
loans made to individuals and households impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic;
  • To provide lending capital for affordable, small loans to
individuals and households impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic; or
  • To award grants to nonprofit community-based
organizations to conduct marketing and outreach to
individuals and households impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic who may be eligible to participate in the
program.
The state treasurer may select one or more program administrators,
including banks, community development financial institutions, or credit
unions, to administer all or a portion of the money available for the
program. The administrator or administrators are selected based, in part,
on their proposed use of the money, their ability to partner with nonprofit
community-based organizations that work with individuals and
households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to connect
borrowers to affordable banking products and other financial services.
The bill specifies program policies, including loan terms, and
requires the state treasurer and administrators to establish and publicize
additional program policies as necessary.
The state treasurer or an administrator may establish a loan loss
reserve to partially offset loan losses and thereby incentivize lending by
financial institutions to individuals and households impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The state treasurer shall determine the amount of
the offset and shall establish and publicize policies for participating
financial institutions.
The state treasurer shall report annually to the governor and certain
committees of the general assembly concerning the use of program money
and other information concerning the program.
The bill creates a fund for the program and identifies allowable
uses of the money in the fund.

The bill establishes a number of new programs concerning
postsecondary career and education options for students, including:
  • Establishing the postsecondary, workforce, career, and
education grant program in the department of education
(CDE) to provide grants to local education providers to
improve the training of school educators and

administrators, to support students and families in
developing career and education plans for after high
school, and to increase the number of students for whom
applications for free financial aid are completed;
  • Creating regional postsecondary and workforce
coordinators in the CDE to train educators concerning
financial aspects of postsecondary options;
  • Updating the financial literacy resource bank to include
more information and training concerning postsecondary
financial aid;
  • Creating stipends for teachers who successfully complete
financial aid training;
  • Adding a requirement to individual career and
postsecondary education plans to include information about
available state and federal financial aid;
  • Requiring the department of higher education (CDHE) to
use technology to assist students and families in completing
postsecondary state and federal financial aid applications;
and
  • Requiring the CDHE to make certain improvements to
streamline the Colorado application for financial aid.
The bill appropriates money for each of the programs and specifies
that the CDE and the CDHE may use the money appropriated in
subsequent years without additional appropriation.

Section 1 of the bill finds that current economic conditions have
increased the amount of revenue available to the state for the 2022-23
budget year, allowing the state to increase the amount of appropriation for
the state's share of total program funding for school districts and institute
charter schools, thereby mitigating the impact of the budget stabilization
factor. Additionally, it finds there is uncertainty concerning the continuity

and longevity of these current economic conditions and the reliability of
continuing high property values and increased revenue.
Section 2 of the bill:
  • Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the
2022-23 budget year by $252.88, to account for inflation of
3.5%, to a new statewide base per pupil funding amount of
$7,478.16; and
  • Sets the total program funding for the 2022-23 budget year
for all school districts and institute charter schools after
application of the budget stabilization factor to not less
than $8,420,114,162.
Section 3 of the bill permits a public school one additional year to
discontinue the prohibited use of an American Indian mascot if the public
school was first notified of the prohibited use on or after January 1, 2022.
Section 4 of the bill extends by one year the requirement for a
board of cooperative services (BOCES) to obtain written permission from
the school district in which a school operates or is located if the BOCES
intends to authorize the school and the school is physically located within
the geographic boundaries of a school district that is not a member of the
BOCES.
Section 5 of the bill extends by one year the ability for local
education providers to carry forward more than 15% of per-pupil
intervention money received pursuant to the Colorado READ Act.
Sections 6 and 7 of the bill extend by one year the local
accountability system grant program and the requirement that the
department of education (department) contract with an external evaluator
to evaluate the implementation of the local accountability systems. The
bill makes an appropriation for this evaluation.
Section 8 of the bill extends by one year the completion of the
pilot program to develop and use screening and identification processes
and intervention strategies for early identification of and support for
students enrolled in kindergarten through third grade who may have
dyslexia.
Section 9 of the bill states that, if a school district permits a
student whose parent or guardian is a resident of the state but not a
resident of the district to attend school in the district, the school district
shall not require the parent, guardian, or student to pay tuition to attend
school in the district, regardless of when during the school year, or under
what circumstances, the student enrolls in or attends school in the district.
Section 10 of the bill authorizes financial assistance through the
educator recruitment and retention program to be used for applicants
agreeing to teach for 3 years in educator shortage areas in the state.
Section 11 of the bill permits a vendor that contracts with the
department to develop a quality teacher recruitment program, and
commits to satisfying the requirement to match 100% of the money paid
by the department for the contract through gifts, grants, or donations from
private donors, to also accept gifts, grants and donations from school
districts.
Section 12 of the bill removes the department's authority to
annually reallocate money among participating schools under the local
school food purchasing program.
Sections 13 to 16 of the bill extend by one year the K-5 social and
emotional health pilot program and amend the requirements for school
mental health professionals participating in the pilot program.
Section 17 of the bill permits 20% of the money appropriated for
the Colorado imagination library program to be used by the contractor for
operating costs.
Section 18 of the bill requires the state auditor to grant an
extension of the time to meet auditing requirements for the 2021-22
budget year for rural and small rural school districts that can demonstrate
difficulty in retaining an auditor, in lieu of prohibiting the release of tax
revenue for the school districts.

The bill creates the competitive transportation innovation grant
program (grant program) in the department of education (department) to
address the public school transportation shortage.
The bill allows school districts, charter schools, institute charter
schools, the state charter school institute, boards of cooperative services,

a consortium of school districts, tribal governments, local governments,
and community organizations that partner with school districts (eligible
applicants) to apply to the grant program. The state board of education
(state board) shall select grantees who develop and implement innovative
solutions, strategies, and services to address the public school
transportation shortage. Eligible applicants shall serve students of color
and students from under-resourced communities who are
disproportionately impacted by the transportation shortage and struggle
to access school districts of their choice and career pathway programs
because of their limited access to transportation. The department operates
the grant program. The grant program is a one-time grant program, but
grantees have 2 years to spend the grant money.
If selected for a grant, a grantee is required to submit a report to
the department on or before August 1, 2024, and to submit a second
report on or before August 1, 2025. The report must include an
explanation of the solutions, strategies, and services developed and
implemented with the grant money as described in the grantee's grant
application.
On or before August 30, 2024, and again on or before August 30,
2025, the department is required to submit a report summarizing
information submitted by the grantee.
The bill requires the general assembly to appropriate money from
the revenue loss restoration cash fund to address the public school
transportation shortage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill repeals the grant program, effective July 1, 2026.

In 2021, the state received $3,828,761,790 from the federal
coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund as part of the federal American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021. For purposes of complying with the

requirements established by the United States department of the treasury
(treasury), the general assembly established administrative requirements
related to the expenditure of this federal money. Section 1 of the bill
modifies these requirements by:
  • Establishing deadlines for a subrecipient, which is a person
that carries out a program or project on behalf of the state,
to expend or obligate this money, and if not, to return this
money to the state for the state to either expend or return to
treasury, depending on the timing;
  • Requiring the state controller to transmit to treasury any
money that was obligated by December 31, 2024, but not
expended by December 31, 2026;
  • Requiring the department of revenue to provide the state
controller with any information about any increases in the
state's net tax revenue, which is necessary for calculating
the state's revenue reductions for 2022 and 2023;
  • Clarifying that the compliance, reporting, record-keeping,
and program evaluation requirements established by the
office of state planning and budgeting and the state
controller apply to a person regardless of whether the
person is a beneficiary or a subrecipient and regardless of
whether the person receives the money directly from a
department or from a subrecipient; and
  • Permitting the state controller to report any expenditures to
treasury as a government service to the extent of the
reduction in the state's revenue due to the COVID-19
public health emergency relative to the revenues the state
collected for the state fiscal year 2018-19. Sections 3
through 6 make conforming amendments related to this
change.
The bill also substitutes money from the general fund or from a
cash fund that included money that originated from the general fund for
money that was allocated in 2021 legislation from the federal coronavirus
state fiscal recovery fund, as follows:
  • $29.5 million from the housing development grant fund
(section 7);
  • $36.5 million from the highway users tax fund that was
distributed to counties, cities, and incorporated towns,
which is accomplished by replenishing and reclassifying
the federal funds that were initially used (section 8);
  • $10 million from the Colorado startup loan program fund
(section 9), with the freed up federal funds being
transferred to the revenue loss restoration cash fund
(section 6); and
  • $98.5 million from the affordable housing and home
ownership cash fund (section 10).
Sections 2 and 6 include conforming amendments related to the
reclassification of the money paid to the counties, cities, and incorporated
towns.

The bill creates the healthy school meals for all program (program)
in the department of education (department) to:
  • Reimburse school food authorities that choose to
participate in the program (participating school food
authorities) for free meals provided to students who are not
eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal
school meals programs;
  • Provide local food purchasing grants to eligible
participating school food authorities;
  • Provide funding to participating school food authorities to
increase the wages or provide stipends for individuals
employed to prepare and serve food; and
  • Provide assistance to participating school food authorities
through the local school food purchasing technical
assistance and education grant program.
The portion of the program that provides reimbursement for school
meals begins operating in the 2023-24 budget year. The remaining
portions of the program begin operating in the first full budget year after
the state of Colorado begins participating in the federal demonstration
project to use medicaid eligibility to identify students who are eligible for
the federal school meals programs (demonstration project).
A participating school food authority must:
  • Provide free meals to all students enrolled in the public
schools that the participating school food authority serves
and that participate in the national school lunch program or
national school breakfast program;
  • Provide to the department annual notice of participation;
and
  • Maximize the amount of federal reimbursement by
participating in the federal community eligibility provision
to identify students who are eligible for the federal school
meals programs.
The amount of reimbursement distributed pursuant to the program
is equal to the federal free reimbursement rate multiplied by the total
number of meals served minus any other federal or state reimbursement
the school food authority receives for providing meals.
The bill requires the department to:
  • Participate in the federal community eligibility provision
for the state as a whole, if that option is available; and
  • Apply to participate in the demonstration project.
Under the bill, a participating school food authority that creates a
parent and student committee to advise on food purchasing (advisory
committee) is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant (grant) to
purchase Colorado grown, raised, or processed products for school meals.
Each eligible participating school food authority must comply with
reporting requirements. The bill establishes the amount of the grants,
limits on how the grant money may be spent, and the required
membership of the advisory committee. The department must annually
review a sample of the invoices for purchases made using grant money to
ensure compliance with purchasing requirements.
The bill creates the local school food purchasing technical
assistance and education grant program (grant program) under which a
statewide nonprofit organization distributes grants to promote the
purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products by
participating school food authorities and to assist participating school
food authorities in preparing meals using basic ingredients rather than
processed products. The nonprofit organization must report annually to
the department concerning implementation of the grant program.
The department must submit to committees of the general
assembly a biennial report concerning implementation of the program.
The department must contract with an independent auditor to conduct a
biennial financial and performance audit of the program. The report and
the audit must include implementation of the program, implementation of
the local food purchasing grants, use of the additional amount for
increasing wages or providing stipends, and implementation of the grant
program.
The bill directs the general assembly to appropriate annually, by
line item in the annual appropriation bill, the amount necessary to
implement the program, including a specified amount for the grant
program.
Current law caps state income tax itemized deductions for
taxpayers who have federal adjusted gross income of $400,000 or more
at $30,000 for single filers and $60,000 for joint filers. The bill applies
the cap to both itemized and standard income tax deductions for taxpayers
who have federal adjusted gross income of $300,000 or more and lowers
the cap to $12,000 for single filers and $16,000 for joint filers. The
amount of revenue generated by the changes to the cap must be
appropriated to fund the program. If the program is repealed, the changes
to the cap no longer apply.
The bill takes effect only if it is approved by the voters at the
November 2022 general election. This approval is a voter-approved
revenue change that allows the state to retain and spend all revenue
generated by the changes to the cap on state income tax deductions.

The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $723 million from
the general fund to the state education fund for the 2022-23 budget year.
The bill repeals the budget stabilization factor starting in the
2023-24 budget year, and for each budget year thereafter.
The bill creates the Hope Scholarship Program (program) in the

department of education (department). The purpose of the program is to
meet the educational needs of every eligible student by assisting with
certain education expenses. The bill requires:
  • The department to contract with an entity that will
administer the program (administering entity);
  • The department to transfer to the administering entity an
amount equal to 125% of the prior budget year's average
state share of per pupil revenues for an eligible student who
receives a scholarship;
  • The department to prorate the amount transferred to the
administering entity based on the amount of time remaining
in the budget year, and deduct the amount transferred from
the amount that the department distributes to the eligible
student's school district of residence for the budget year in
which an account is created, subject to limitations;
  • The parent of an eligible student to apply to the
administering entity for a scholarship;

  • A parent of an eligible student to only spend scholarship
money on defined eligible expenses; and
  • The administering entity to oversee the program and
perform an audit to ensure scholarship money is spent on
defined eligible expenses.

The bill creates the healthy school meals for all program (program)
in the department of education (department) to reimburse school food
authorities for free meals provided to students who are not eligible for
free or reduced-price meals under the federal school meals programs. The
program begins operating in the 2023-24 budget year, subject to the state
being selected to participate in the federal demonstration project to use

medicaid eligibility to identify students who are eligible for the federal
school meals programs (demonstration project).
A school food authority that chooses to participate in the program
(participating school food authority) must:
  • Provide free meals to all students enrolled in the public
schools that the participating school food authority serves;
  • Provide to the department annual notice of participation;
and
  • Maximize the amount of federal reimbursement by
participating in the federal community eligibility provision
to identify students who are eligible for the federal school
meals programs.
The amount of reimbursement distributed pursuant to the program
is equal to the federal free reimbursement rate multiplied by the total
number of meals served, minus any other federal or state reimbursement
the school food authority receives for providing meals.
The bill requires the department to:
  • Participate in the federal community eligibility provision
for the state as a whole, if that option is available; and
  • Apply to participate in the demonstration project.
Under the bill, a participating school food authority that creates a
parent and student committee to advise on food purchasing (advisory
committee) is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant (grant) to
purchase Colorado grown, raised, or processed products for school meals.
Each eligible participating school food authority must comply with
reporting requirements. The bill establishes the amount of the grants,
limits on how the grant money may be spent, and the required
membership of the advisory committee. The department must annually
review a sample of the invoices for purchases made using grant money to
ensure compliance with purchasing requirements.
Under the bill, a participating school food authority may receive
an additional amount to increase the wages for individuals employed to
prepare and serve food.
The bill creates the local school food purchasing technical
assistance and education grant program (grant program), under which a
statewide nonprofit organization distributes grants to promote the
purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products by
participating school food authorities and to assist participating school
food authorities in preparing meals using basic ingredients rather than
processed products. The nonprofit organization must report annually to
the department concerning implementation of the grant program.
The department must submit to committees of the general
assembly a biennial report concerning implementation of the program.
The department must contract with an independent auditor to conduct a
biennial financial and performance audit of the program. The report and
the audit must include implementation of the program, implementation of
the local food purchasing grants, use of the additional amount for
increasing wages, and implementation of the grant program.
The bill directs the general assembly to appropriate annually, by
line item in the annual appropriation bill, the amount necessary to
implement the program, including a specified amount for the grant
program.

The bill finds that some criminal defendants were not effectively
advised of immigration consequences to a guilty plea, and therefore, these
defendants did not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily enter a guilty
plea.
The bill authorizes these persons to petition the court for an order
vacating the guilty plea.

The bill requires the department of labor and employment
(department), in partnership with the business experiential-learning
commission in the department, the office of economic development, the
state work force development council, the departments of education and
higher education, the state board for community colleges and
occupational education, and area technical colleges, to provide incentives
to eligible employers to create high-quality, work-based learning
opportunities for adults and youth (incentive program).
The department is required to select at least 2 work-based learning
intermediaries (intermediaries) to coordinate employers, schools, youth,
and adults participating in the incentive program to establish work-based
learning opportunities and select employers to participate in the incentive
program.
The department shall provide monetary incentives to the selected
intermediaries and employers for the implementation of work-based
learning opportunities. The department is required to compile data
concerning the incentive program and submit a report to the business
committees of the senate and house of representatives during the State
Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART)
Government Act hearings held each legislative session.
The office of future work in the department and its partners are
required to create a digital navigation program and employ digital
navigators to:
  • Reach out to youth and adults who have been historically
excluded or disengaged from work-based learning
opportunities and connect them with available
opportunities;
  • Address digital inequities, including access to digital
technology and computer skills training, cybersecurity, and
affordable internet service;
  • Refer youth and adults to career navigation services; and
  • Provide a one-stop service that includes: Making referrals
to work-based learning programs; facilitating enrollment in
digital literacy classes, workshops, and upskilling and
work-based learning opportunities; and assisting with
digital skill development, job applications, and access to
other benefits and services.
The office of new Americans in the department is required to:
  • Convene an 18-month global talent task force to study the
process for certain in-demand occupational licenses, look
at international credentials, and take advantage of the
global pool of skilled workers; and
  • Provide tools for new Americans and English language
learners to enter into work-based learning programs to
improve language and skills development for specific
occupations and careers.
The bill authorizes the executive director of the department to
promulgate rules to implement the incentive program and the digital
navigation program.
The general assembly is required to appropriate $6,100,000 to the
department for the purposes of the bill.

The bill establishes a revolving loan and grant program to provide
assistance and financing to mobile home owners seeking to organize and
purchase their mobile home parks. The division of housing (division) in

the department of local affairs (department) is required to contract with
at least 2, and not more than 3, loan program administrators, unless the
division determines that there is only one qualified applicant during an
open and competitive selection process, in which case the division may
contract with a single administrator.
The administrators are required to use money provided by the loan
program to make loans to mobile home owners seeking to purchase their
mobile home parks. The division is required to establish a grant program
to provide grants to nonprofit organizations that provide technical and
other assistance to eligible home owners seeking to organize to purchase
their mobile home parks. The division is also required to establish a grant
program to provide grants to eligible home owners to support programs
to ensure the long term affordability of a resident-owned park, including
by stabilizing lot rents and limiting rent increases.

The bill establishes the Colorado rural health-care workforce
initiative (initiative) to expand the number of health-care professionals
practicing in Colorado's rural or frontier counties. As part of the initiative,
an institution of higher education (institution) is authorized to establish
and operate a health-care professionals rural track within any health-care

professional education program offered by the institution.
A rural track must set aside seats in its health-care professional
education program for students who express an interest in studying and
working in a rural or frontier county, offer didactic curriculum related to
practicing the health-care discipline in rural or frontier counties, place
students in rural or frontier counties for hands-on instruction and training,
and award scholarships to students in the rural track. In order to receive
a scholarship, a student must commit to working as a health-care
professional in a rural or frontier county for 2 years after completing
education and training.
The rural office at the university of Colorado's school of medicine
(rural program office) provides technical assistance to the institutions
operating a rural track regarding recruiting and admitting students
committed to working in rural areas and identifying rural or frontier
counties in which students may be placed for clinical training. The rural
program office also facilitates, arranges, or advises an institution about
arranging housing for students placed in a rural or frontier county. The
rural program office must provide, without charge, to institutions
operating a rural track, didactic curriculum related to practicing in rural
or frontier counties. The bill requires the rural program office to annually
evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and report to the general
assembly's education committees about the initiative.
The bill requires the general assembly to annually appropriate
$150,000 to the rural program office to support institutions that operate
a rural track. For state fiscal year 2022-23, the general assembly is
required to appropriate up to $400,000 to certain institutions to establish
or expand rural tracks in 12 programs specified in the bill.