My Colorado Card Pilot Program
HB1055 creates the “My Colorado Card” pilot program in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to expand access for students in grades 6 through 12 to cultural, arts, recreational, and extracurricular facilities across the state. The bill is framed as a youth mental health and equity measure, with legislative findings stating that many young people live in “opportunity deserts” where access to enrichment activities is limited by geography, transportation, cost, or other systemic barriers.
Under the bill, the department must develop a physical or digital card that participating youth can use to access approved facilities. By December 30, 2026, the department must select a limited number of pilot communities, after receiving input from community-led organizations, and those communities must collectively include urban, rural, and rural reservation communities. Selected communities must form coordination teams, and the department must work with local and community partners to identify participating youth, facilitate access, and collect nonidentifying participation data. The bill also authorizes technical assistance on trauma-informed programming, shared-use agreements, partnerships, and transportation strategies, and it allows the department to seek gifts, grants, or donations to support the program.
The bill adds a new statutory section, section 25-1-139, to create and govern the pilot program, and it also adds the program to the state’s sunset review schedule under section 24-34-104, with repeal set for September 1, 2031. It requires annual evaluation and reporting to legislative committees beginning in 2027 and limits data collection to nonidentifying participation data that cannot be used for law enforcement, immigration enforcement, or disciplinary purposes. The bill does not require any facility, community, or local government to participate, waive fees, provide transportation, or change existing operations, but it creates a state framework for coordinating access to youth-serving cultural and recreational resources.
The available voting history suggests generally favorable committee support, with the House Education Committee approving an amendment 9-2 and then advancing the bill 7-4 to Appropriations. The bill’s stated purpose—improving youth mental health, reducing isolation, and expanding equitable access to enrichment opportunities—indicates a positive policy framing. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, so the broader discussion appears to have centered on the program’s equity and youth-wellbeing goals rather than on detailed floor debate.
Likely points of contention include the scope and cost of creating a statewide pilot, the administrative role of the Department of Public Health and Environment, and whether the program can be implemented effectively without imposing burdens on facilities or local communities. The bill anticipates concerns about privacy and enforcement by restricting data use and excluding sensitive information, suggesting those issues were important in drafting. Another possible area of debate is selection of pilot communities and ensuring representation of urban, rural, and tribal reservation areas while keeping the pilot limited in size.