Under current law, if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of another person, the person commits first degree murder. The bill requires that the person:Cause the death of more than one person;Cause the death of one person and cause serious bodily injury to 2 or more persons by means of a deadly weapon;Cause the death of a child who is under 12 years old; orCause the death of a peace officer, emergency medical service provider, emergency medical care provider, or firefighter engaged in the performance of their duties. The bill creates a new charge of murder in the second degree if a person engages in conduct that creates a grave risk to human life with an extreme indifference to the value of human life and causes the death of only one other person. The bill expands the conduct by which a person can commit criminally negligent homicide to include proximately causing the death of another person while operating or driving a motor vehicle with criminal negligence. The bill creates the offense of aggravated vehicular homicide by operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner or while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or other drugs and causing the death of another person when the person also:Has been convicted twice of driving under the influence or driving while ability impaired;Has been convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault;Commits the offense while eluding or attempting to elude law enforcement;Commits the offense while in flight from the commission of another felony offense, not including a traffic offense; orCommits the offense while driving at a high rate of speed, creating an imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person. The bill creates the new offense of negligent vehicular homicide if a person drives a motor vehicle with criminal negligence and causes the death of another person. Negligent vehicular homicide is a class 5 felony.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The act prohibits using an automated driving system to drive a commercial motor vehicle unless an individual who holds a commercial driver's license is in the vehicle, monitors the vehicle's driving, and intervenes, if necessary, to avoid illegal or unsafe driving. The individual must be in the driver's seat if hazardous materials are being transported. The penalty is $1,000 for a first offense, is $2,000 for a second offense, and doubles for each subsequent offense. The act does not apply to a light-duty vehicle or a truck-mounted attenuator. The prohibition is repealed September 1, 2031. The chief of the Colorado state patrol will analyze the act's effects on commercial vehicle safety on highways. By November 1, 2030, the chief of the Colorado state patrol will issue a report to the relevant committees of the house of representatives and senate. The report must make recommendations as whether to continue the prohibition and, if continued, any recommended legislation to improve the prohibition. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, $14,357 is appropriated to the department of revenue from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Pursuant to existing law, when an administering state agency awards a grant to a nonprofit organization (grantee), the grantee is generally required to access the grant award by applying for the reimbursement of costs incurred in completing the activity for which the administering state agency awarded the grant. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the act allows an administering state agency to advance a payment to a grantee only for a state-funded grant subject to certain requirements. The administering state agency shall:Have an existing process or develop a new process that is approved by the state controller to dispense an advance payment;Disclose the availability of advance payment in any notice of a grant funding opportunity, grant solicitation, request for applications, or other announcement issued to prospective grantees;Ensure that any advance payment to a grantee is the minimum amount needed to achieve the outcome of actual, immediate cash requirements of the grantee in carrying out the grant objective; and Use the office of the state controller's risk assessment tool to determine whether a grantee is high, medium, or low risk and allow advance payment only to a grantee that is determined to be low risk. An administering state agency may modify the considerations in the risk assessment tool depending on the specific situation. The grantee shall:Provide an itemized budget to the administering state agency for the eligible costs that the advance payment will cover, the indirect or other costs that the grantee needs to operate, a spending timeline, and a workplan developed as specified by the administering state agency;Submit documentation to support the need for advance payment; If required by the administering state agency and stipulated within the grant agreement, obtain insurance in an amount commensurate with the assessed risk determined by the administering state agency ;Establish procedures to minimize the amount of time that elapses between the transfer of money and the expenditure of the money by the grantee;Provide a progress report to the administering state agency following the expenditure of an advance payment; andDisclose certain internal controls to the administering state agency. The grantee shall propose the minimum amount needed to achieve the grant objective and the controller of the administering state agency shall review and determine whether to accept the amount or propose an alternative amount. The controller of the administering state agency shall forward advance payment requests to the state controller for approval. A grantee shall return to the administering state agency all unused money provided as an advance payment but not expended within the grant agreement timeline. A grantee that is paid a percentage of the total value of the payments under a grant agreement immediately upon executing the grant agreement must comply with all of the reporting requirements specified in the grant agreement. If an administering state agency or the office of the state controller denies a grantee's request for advance payment, the administering state agency shall provide the grantee with a written explanation of the deficiencies in the application for advance payment that determined the decision to deny the request. The administering state agency shall make the elements and results of the risk assessment available to the grantee. The act does not prevent an administering state agency, in providing advance payment to a grantee, from using a waiver process available through fiscal rules adopted by the state controller or rules adopted by a federal governmental entity to dispense a percentage of the total value of the payments under the grant agreement to the grantee immediately upon executing or renewing the grant agreement. Nothing in the act limits, prohibits, or supersedes any existing payment or grant-making authority or powers of a state agency. For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $34,146 from the general fund to the department of personnel for use by the division of accounts and control to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act exempts Colorado courts' e-filing system from the requirement that users certify that they will not disclose personal identifying information obtained from the system for federal immigration enforcement. The act authorizes a public health agency to inspect or examine a facility that houses or detains individuals who are noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings. Under current law, the department of public health and environment is authorized to inspect facilities that house or detain individuals who are noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings. The act expands the inspection authority, including the frequency of inspections and things that are subject to inspection. A facility that refuses to allow the inspection is subject to a civil penalty. The department of public health and environment is authorized to set fees for inspections and deposit the money from the fees in the immigration facility inspection and detention cash fund, which is created in the state treasury. The act authorizes the department of public health and environment to require facilities that house or detain individuals who are noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings to comply with requirements, including health and safety standards and reporting requirements. A facility that fails to comply is subject to a civil penalty. The act requires the department of public health and environment to submit an annual report to the attorney general concerning facilities' compliance with these new requirements and make the report publicly available on its website. The act requires the P.O.S.T. board to establish training standards related to peace officer compliance with current laws concerning civil immigration detainers. P.O.S.T.-certified peace officers must complete the training before December 31, 2027. The act requires the attorney general to develop and make publicly available a policy regarding current laws concerning the protection of personal identifying information. The act appropriates $107,283 to the department of public health and environment from the immigration facility inspection and detention cash fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill prohibits local and state law enforcement officers from concealing their identity while interacting with the public, with certain exceptions.The bill clarifies state criminal jurisdiction to cover criminal conduct committed by a federal law enforcement officer in the state, even if the officer was acting under color of federal authority. Federal criminal immunity or defense from prosecution does not prohibit state criminal prosecution of a federal law enforcement officer.The bill requires the peace officer standards and training board (P.O.S.T. board) to deny certification to an individual who has previously been employed or who is currently employed by the United States immigration and customs enforcement agency or the United States customs and border protection agency.The bill requires the P.O.S.T. board to prescribe a training for all current and future peace officers regarding immigration law, a peace officer's duty to intervene, excessive force policies, and a peace officer's jurisdictional limit.A peace officer is required to intervene to prevent a federal law enforcement officer from using excessive force.The bill expands the conduct that can constitute the crime of impersonating a peace officer to include a person performing a law enforcement act while concealing the person's identity.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies in its 2025 sunset review and report to sunset the kidney disease prevention and education task force.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act corrects a citation within the definition of 'active duty' in the 'Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children'.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

If the state voluntarily elects to participate in a federal program that provides a tax credit for a qualified contribution to a scholarship granting organization, the bill requires the state to include all eligible scholarship granting organizations on its list identifying scholarship granting organizations to the federal government.If a school enrolls a student whose education-related expenses are paid, in whole or in part, by a scholarship granting organization, the bill requires the school to comply with nondiscrimination requirements and laws concerning students with disabilities.If the school that is subject to these requirements violates a requirement, the school is subject to an injunction and may have its eligibility to receive money for a student whose education-related expenses are paid by a scholarship granting organization suspended.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act creates the wild horse special license plate. To qualify for the plate, a person must make a donation of $100 to the wild horse fund until June 30, 2028, or a donation of $50 to the wild horse fund on and after July 1, 2028, and make an annual donation of $50 to the wild horse fund to renew the plate. In addition to the normal taxes and fees, the owner must pay 2 one-time fees of $25 on and after July 1, 2028. To implement the act, $143,412 is appropriated to the department of revenue. This appropriation consists of $22,337 from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account and $121,075 from the license plate cash fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the state historical society, also known as history Colorado, to dispose of mineral rights and nonparticipating royalty interests associated with certain properties in Weld County and West Virginia. The state controller must approve all agreements relating to the disposition prior to closing. History Colorado shall provide an update on the disposition to the capital development committee. History Colorado is required to credit the proceeds of the disposition to the state museum cash fund to be used for a strategic investment in capital improvements, including the retrofitting of the collections care facility and controlled maintenance.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In current law, the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) must remain open 12 hours a day, every calendar day except Christmas and Thanksgiving, to transmit requests for a background check to the national instant criminal background check system and search other databases. The act allows the bureau to determine its own hours of operation that best meet its business needs to timely transmit the background check requests. The act requires the bureau to immediately place in the processing queue a request for a background check and accept requests for a background check every calendar day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Additionally, the act requires the bureau to submit a report every year to the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee describing background check processing times, operating hours, system outages, and actions taken by the bureau to improve efficiency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires the energy and carbon management commission (commission) to adopt rules to require certification for welders working on oil and gas process lines, including rules that require passing an exam. The act changes the reference to the welder exam from 'the International Code Council Exam F31, national standard journeyman mechanical, or an analogous successor exam', which is not applicable to welders, to certain other examinations that are applicable to welders in the oil and gas industry. In certain instances, the act changes 'oil and gas operations' to 'energy and carbon management operations' to ensure uniformity of terminology and to align statutory references to 'operations' to those operations that are within the scope of the commission's regulatory authority.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill is a referred measure that will, if approved by the voters of the state at the 2026 general election, increase the excise tax on liquor by:$0.0733 per gallon, or the same per unit volume tax applied to metric measure, on all malt liquors and hard cider;$0.08 per liter on all vinous liquors except hard cider; and$0.6026 per liter on all spirituous liquors.This excise tax must be collected on the respective beverages not otherwise exempt from the tax, sold, offered for sale, or used in the state. The bill, if approved by the voters of the state at the 2026 general election, would also increase the state retail marijuana sales and excise taxes each by 0.42 percentage points. The bill requires the treasurer to transfer an amount equal to the tax revenue raised as a result of the bill to the hospital support account that is created in the capital construction fund. The department of human services may expend money from the hospital support account in the following priority order:First, to fund the construction of the Colorado mental health institute at Aurora created in section 2 of the bill (institute);Second, to fund the operational expenses associated with the institute; andThird, to fund the operational expenses associated with long-term civil commitment facilities in Mesa County. Section 2 creates the institute, the construction, operation, and maintenance of which is funded by money in the hospital support account. The institute is a state institution for the treatment of persons with mental health, behavioral health, or substance use disorders. The institute operates under the control and supervision of the department of human services (department). The head of the administrative division overseeing the institute is permitted to appoint or employ necessary administrators, physicians, nurses, attendants, and other personnel required for the proper conduct of the institute. The administrative division head is permitted to contract with the board of regents of the University of Colorado health sciences center or other state-supported institutions of higher education to provide necessary medical services. Section 2 establishes criteria for access to inpatient civil beds at the institute.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, a special district is required to conform to its approved service plan and must petition the governing body of the county or municipality that approved the formation of the special district for approval of any material modifications of its approved service plan. Material modifications include a change in services provided by the special district, a decrease in the financial ability of the district to discharge existing or proposed indebtedness, and a decrease in the existing or projected need for organized service in the district's service area. The court that approved the organization of the special district may enjoin any material departure from the district's service plan as originally approved or from the district's service plan as modified. In the case of a health service district, a change in service by the district is not a material modification to or departure from the district's approved service plan, unless the change affects the license or certificate of compliance issued to the district by the department of public health and environment. The bill expands this provision to provide that the addition or termination of affordable housing services to a health service district's service plan is not a material modification to or departure from the district's approved service plan so long as a majority of the board of directors of the district affirmatively votes to approve the addition or termination of affordable housing services and any affordable housing services are carried out in coordination with local public housing entities . With this change, a health service district is able to provide affordable housing services, which are defined as the planning, financing, acquisition, construction, reconstruction or repair, maintenance, management, and operation of affordable housing-related projects or programs rehabilitation of affordable housing, or the provision of related supportive services , without needing to seek approval for a material modification to or departure from the district's approved service plan. The bill also makes conforming amendments.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill establishes requirements for landlords, unit owners, and associations governing common interest communities (association) for billing a tenant for utility service. A landlord, a unit owner, or an association may individually bill a tenant using a submeter or bill a tenant through a ratio utility billing system, which is a system that allocates utility service costs among individual tenants based on a unit's square footage, occupancy, or other physical characteristics.Starting on January 1, 2027, all new residential construction must install individual submeters for each individual unit to measure water consumption for each unit. A tenant's utility bill for water utility service must be calculated based on the individual submeter reading.For existing residential properties and other types of utility service other than water service, the landlord, unit owner, or association may use a ratio utility billing system if they meet certain requirements.A landlord, a unit owner, or an association shall disclose to a tenant in the tenant's rental agreement the method by which the tenant's utility bills will be calculated. If a landlord, a unit owner, or an association uses a ratio utility billing system, they must deduct at least 10% of the total utility service bill before allocating individual costs to tenants in order to account for utility service to common areas of a residential premises.If a landlord, a unit owner, or an association is found in violation of the provisions of the bill, the aggrieved tenant may file a civil action in court and, if the tenant prevails, recover actual damages from utility bill overages, additional damages in an amount not to exceed 25% of the utility bill overages, and any attorney fees or court costs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)