Recent Colorado Legislation

HB25-1152 - Tech Accessibility Liability Contractor

House Bill 25-1152 requires contractors working with Colorado public schools to comply with technology accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities, as established by the Office of Information Technology. The bill mandates that contracts include provisions holding contractors liable for any costs, damages, or legal claims resulting from non-cooperation, and requires contractors to indemnify and hold harmless the school, its employees, and agents. Public schools may also require contractors to verify compliance through a qualified third party. These requirements apply to contracts entered into, amended, or renewed after the bill’s effective date. The legislation aims to ensure that technology used in public schools is accessible to all students and staff, and that contractors are accountable for meeting these standards. Effective: Aug. 6, 2025.

(in reviewing Colorado Municipal League Document, it is highlighted that this law extends not just to public schools but state, public school, and local government stating "contracts include provisions requiring compliance with the OIT's accessibility standards"). 

HB25-1300 - Workers' Compensation Benefits Proof of Entitlement

Under current law, the Division of Workers’ Compensation in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) adopts utilization standards for the delivery of medical benefits for workers’ compensation claims. This bill requires that an employer or the employer’s insurer use the division’s utilization standards when responding to a request for authorization from a treating physician. If the employer or insurer fails to act in accordance with the standards, the division may deem the physician’s services as reasonable and necessary and require payment for the services by the employer or the employer’s insurer. Many employers know this as designating a medical provider.

The bill repeals the requirement that an employer provide a list of designated medical providers from which an injured worker may select to attend to an injury, and repeals the related provisions with respect to geographic location of providers and requirements when the employer is a health care provider that could treat the injury “in house.” Instead, this bill requires that an employer or insurer notify the injured employee of the right to designate a treating physician and where to access the list of Level I and Level II accredited physicians maintained by the CDLE. The treating physician must be within 70 miles of the employee’s home or work, or within 100 miles if there is limited availability of accredited physicians in closer proximity. If the employee fails to designate a primary physician, the employer or insurer may select from the list of accredited physicians. 

SB25-276 - Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status

This bill aims to protect the civil rights of individuals in Colorado, particularly those related to immigration status, by establishing comprehensive restrictions on how state and local government agencies can collect, use, and share personal information. The bill reinforces constitutional protections by preventing state and local employees from participating in federal immigration enforcement operations, prohibiting the collection of immigration-related data in most circumstances, and creating strict guidelines for handling sensitive information.

Key provisions include preventing law enforcement from detaining individuals based on civil immigration detainers, restricting state agencies and political subdivisions from inquiring about immigration status, and mandating that public institutions like schools, healthcare facilities, and libraries adopt policies that protect individuals' privacy. The bill also establishes civil penalties for intentional violations, with any collected penalties being transferred to an Immigration Legal Defense Fund to support indigent individuals in immigration proceedings.

Additionally, the legislation emphasizes that these protections apply to all persons in Colorado, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, and are designed to maintain public trust and ensure that individuals can access essential services without fear of immigration enforcement.

SB25-023 - Local Government Audit Exemption Thresholds

 

Under current law, all local governments must conduct an audit of financial statements each fiscal year. However, a local government with revenues or expenditures under $100,000 may apply to be exempted from such an audit, and local governments with revenues or expenditures between $100,000 and $750,000 may apply for an exemption if the application is prepared by an independent accountant with knowledge of government accounting. For any fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2025, the bill increases the thresholds from $100,000 to $200,000 and from $750,000 to $1 million. 

HB25-1225 – Freedom from Intimidation in Election Act

HB25-1225 creates the “Freedom From Intimidation In Elections Act,” which prohibits any individual from intimidating, threatening, or coercing or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual for:           

• Voting or attempting to vote;
• Urging or aiding any individual to vote or attempt to vote;
• Exercising any powers or duties to administer elections, including vote counting, canvassing, and election certification; or
• The individual's status as a past or present participant in the administration of elections.

HB25-1225 presumes that anyone carrying a visible firearm, imitation firearm, or toy firearm while interacting with or observing election activities is engaging in intimidation, unless they can prove otherwise. Enforcement can be pursued by individuals, election officials, the Secretary of State, or the Attorney General, and multiple suits can proceed at the same time. Courts may order broader firearm restrictions, and plaintiffs do not need to prove intent to intimidate, except in cases of attempted intimidation.

HB25-1017 - Community Integration Plan Individuals with Disabilities

The act requires the creation of a comprehensive state community integration plan to provide individuals with disabilities opportunities to live, work, and be served in the least restrictive setting possible, consistent with Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999). The act requires that all public entities administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the qualified individual with a disability. Community-based services, as opposed to institutionalization, must be provided when the services are appropriate, the affected individual does not oppose them, and they can be reasonably accommodated. Before reducing services, a governmental entity must assess whether the risk of institutionalization is increased and take all reasonable steps to avoid that risk. The act excepts compliance that would constitute a fundamental alteration of a program. The act does not create a new right of action. 

HB25-1198 – Regional Planning Roundtable Commission

House Bill 25-1198 establishes the Regional Planning Roundtable Commission within the Department of Local Affairs to support local governments in addressing regional planning challenges. The 21-member commission, representing a range of organizations and geographic regions, will convene only at the request of a local government seeking assistance. Its responsibilities include helping to define regional boundaries, recommending participants for planning discussions, identifying state resources, and developing integrated planning frameworks that address issues such as land use, housing, transportation, infrastructure, and community health. The commission is required to submit annual reports to the legislature detailing its activities. The bill’s implementation is contingent on the Department of Local Affairs receiving sufficient funding through gifts, grants, or donations.

HB25-1239 – Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act

House Bill 25-1239 amends the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) by consolidating and clarifying remedies available to individuals with disabilities who experience discrimination in housing, public accommodations, or civil rights violations. The bill aligns these remedies with those available to all protected classes, allowing for court orders, actual damages, attorney fees, non-economic damages (capped at $50,000), and a statutory fine of $5,000 per violation. Small businesses may receive a 50% reduction in noneconomic damages if they promptly correct violations and did not act intentionally.

HB25-1247 – County Lodging Tax Expansion

House Bill 25-1247 authorizes Colorado counties, with local voter approval, to increase their lodging tax rate from a maximum of 2% to 5%. The bill also broadens the permitted uses of lodging tax revenue to include public infrastructure improvements, or enhanced funding for local law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency medical services. Existing voter-approved allocations for lodging tax revenue are preserved, and the bill clarifies how additional revenue from any tax rate increase may be distributed. These changes are intended to provide counties with greater flexibility to address local needs and priorities through lodging tax proceeds.

HB25-1077 – Backflow Prevention Devices Requirements

The bill removes the plumbing licensure requirement for individuals who inspect, test or repair backflow devices. So certified backflow technicians are again allowed to inspect, test or repair backflow devices without needing a plumbing license. The bill “fixes” the problems created in HB24-1344 that limited the inspection testing and repair of backflow devices to licensed plumbers.

The bill also imposes a new requirement for tagging devices with certain information when services are performed. Starting July 1, 2025, when licensed plumbers install or reinstall backflow devices, as well as when certified cross-connection control technicians test or repair a backflow device, they must place a tag on the assembly. Specific information must be included on the tag: the name and contact information for the business, the date the service was provided, a description of the service, and the ASSE or ABPA certification number of the cross-connection control technician. If the certified technician who performed the service is also a licensed plumber, the tag must include the plumber’s license number, along with the plumbing contractor’s registration number or the license number of the master plumber attached to the contractor.

HB24-1136 - Healthier Social Media Use by Youth

Concerning measures to encourage healthier social media use by youth, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation

HB24-1280 - Welcome, Reception, & Integration Grant Program

Concerning the creation of a grant program for community-based organizations to provide appropriate services for migrants who are within one year of arrival in the United States.

HB24-1331 - Out-of-School Time Grant Program

Concerning the creation of a grant program for eligible nonprofit organizations to provide out-of-school time programs to students, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1336 - Sunset Broadband Deployment

Concerning the Deployment of Broadband through grants administered by the Colorado Broadband Office and in connection therewith, reducing an appropriation. 

HB24-1407 - Community Food Assistance Provider Grant Program

Concerning the creation of the community food assistance provider grant program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-141 - Out-of-State Telehealth Providers

Concerning out-of-state health-care workers providing health-care services through telehealth to patients located in Colorado.

SB24-084 - Attorney General Duties to Prevent Mis- & Dis-information

Concerning a requirement that the attorney general coordinate with the department of education in an effort to prevent the proliferation of factually inaccurate data by sharing resources to encourage respectful discourse.

SB24-070 - Remote Testing & Online Education Programs

Concerning allowing online education programs to offer remote state assessment testing to students who attend online education programs, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-001 - Continue Youth Mental Health Services Program

Concerning continuation of the youth mental health services program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-041 - Privacy Protections for Children's Online Data

Concerning adding data protections for a minor's online activity.

SB24-131 - Prohibiting Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces

Concerning prohibiting carrying a firearm in sensitive spaces recognized by the United States supreme court as places at which longstanding laws prohibited carrying firearms.

HB24-1124 - Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation

Concerning discrimination in places of public accommodation.

HB24-1135 - Offenses Related to Operating a Vehicle

Concerning offenses related to requirements for operating a vehicle, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1266 - Local Government Utility Relocation in Right-of-Way

Concerning the relocation of utility facilities in a local government right-of-way.

HB24-1454 - Grace Period Noncompliance Digital Accessibility

Concerning a one-year extension of the deadline for public agencies to comply with digital accessibility standards if the public agency demonstrates a good faith effort toward compliance.

HB24-1457 - Asbestos & Lead Paint Abatement Grant Program

Concerning a pilot grant program to award grants to local governments in rural areas to help pay costs associated with the abatement of dangerous materials in certain structures.

SB24-005 - Prohibit Landscaping Practices for Water Conservation

Concerning the conservation of water in the state through the prohibition of certain landscaping practices.

SB24-212 - Local Govs Renewable Energy Projects

Concerning measures to facilitate the construction of renewable energy projects, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-009 - Local Government Disaster-Related Programs

Concerning assisting local governments in disaster-related programs, and, in connection therewith, establishing the slash removal pilot program and making an appropriation.

HB24-1036 - Adjusting Certain Tax Expenditures

Concerning the adjustment of certain tax expenditures.

HB24-1287 - Access to State Grant Opportunities

Concerning access to state grant opportunities.

SB24-002 - Local Government Property Tax Credits Rebates

Concerning the authority of a local government to establish a property tax incentive program to address an area of specific local concern related to the use of real property in the government's jurisdiction, …

SB24-016 - Tax Credits for Contributions via Intermediaries 

Concerning qualification for state income tax credits for charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations, and, in connection therewith, authorizing a taxpayer to make a charitable contribution for which the taxpayer may claim a state income tax credit to a charitable recipient organization through a qualified intermediary that forwards the contribution to the charitable recipient organization, allowing a tax credit certificate for the Colorado homeless contribution tax credit to include only the last four digits, rather than all digits, of a taxpayer's social security number, and making an appropriation.

SB24-023 - Hold Harmless for Error in GIS Database Data

Concerning the requirement that local taxing jurisdictions hold harmless vendors that rely on erroneous data in certain electronic systems related to sales and use tax that are managed by the department of revenue.

SB24-025 - Update Local Government Sales & Use Tax Collection

Concerning local government sales and use taxes administered by the department of revenue, and, in connection therewith, revising, modernizing, and harmonizing various state statutes relating to the state-administration of local sales and use tax into one uniform statute.

SB24-091 - Rights-of-Way Permits for Broadband Deployment

Concerning the creation of an additional process by which entities may gain access to public rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband.

SB24-204 - Technical Revisions to Procurement Code

Concerning technical revisions to the procurement code.

SB24-228 - TABOR Refund Mechanisms

Concerning mechanisms to refund excess state revenues, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. 

SB24-233 - Property Tax

Concerning property tax, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1095 - Increasing Protections for Minor Workers

Concerning protection for minor workers in the "Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971", and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1220 - Workers ‘Compensation Disability Benefits

Concerning disability benefits for workers' compensation injuries, and, in connection therewith, allowing a claimant to refuse an offer of modified employment under certain circumstances,…

SB24-232 - Public Employees' Workplace Protections

Concerning modifications to the protections for public workers, and, in connection therewith, clarifying certain definitions and standards related to public employee rights and the authority of a public employer to limit such rights consistent with the "Protections for Public Workers Act".

SB24-160 - Records of Workplace Discrimination Complaints

Concerning records related to complaints of discriminatory workplace practices.

SB24-073 - Maximum Number of Employees to Qualify as Small Employer

Concerning a change to the maximum number of employees that an employer may employ to qualify as a small employer for health-care insurance coverage.

HB24-1205 - Colorado Imagination Library Program

Concerning modifications to the Colorado imagination library program to enhance early childhood literacy.

SB24-153 - News Access for Consumers Who Are Print-Disabled

Concerning free audio news services for persons who are print-disabled, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-216 - Standards for Decisions Regarding Library Resources

Concerning standards that public libraries are required to include in policies regarding library resources.

HB24-1175 - Local Governments Rights to Property for Affordable Housing

Concerning a local government right of first refusal or offer to purchase qualifying multifamily property for the purpose of providing long-term affordable housing or mixed-income development.

HB24-1468 - Artificial Intelligence & Biometric Technologies

Concerning the creation of the artificial intelligence impact task force.

SB24-182 - Immigrant Identification Document Issuance

Concerning the requirements to issue an identification document under the "Colorado Road and Community Safety Act" to an individual who is not lawfully present in the United States, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-065 - Mobile Electronic Devices & Motor Vehicle Driving

Concerning the use of mobile electronic devices when driving a motor vehicle, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-129 - Nonprofit Member Data Privacy & Public Agencies

Concerning protecting the privacy of persons associated with nonprofit entities, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting public agencies from taking certain actions relating to the collection and disclosure of data that may identify such persons.

HB24-1082 - First-Generation-Serving Higher Education Institutions

Concerning the designation of state institutions of higher education as first-generation-serving institutions.

HB24-1231 - State Funding for Higher Education Projects

HB24-1340 - Incentives for Post-Secondary Education

Concerning the creation of incentives against the state income tax for students pursuing post-secondary credentials, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1402 - Evaluation of Colorado Department of Higher Education Information Technology

Concerning an evaluation of the department of higher education's information technology functions and services by the office of information technology, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1403 - Higher Education Support Homeless Youth

Concerning postsecondary education support for students experiencing housing disruptions in high school, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-164 - Institution of Higher Education Transparency Requirements

Concerning transparency requirements for institutions of higher education.

HB24-1001 - Reauthorization of Rural Jump-Start Program

Concerning reauthorization of the rural jump-start zone program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-055 - Agricultural & Rural Behavioral Health Care

Concerning supporting the behavioral health care of individuals involved in agriculture, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-221 - Funding for Rural Health Care

Concerning funding for rural health care, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1003 - Opiate Antagonists and Detection Products in Schools

Concerning measures related to harm reduction for students.

HB24-1039 - Non-Legal Name Changes

Concerning non-legal name changes for students in schools.

HB24-1076 - Purple Star School Program

Concerning creating https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1076 a program to recognize public schools that provide certain services to military-connected families, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1087 - Professional Endorsement Special Education Teaching

Concerning the creation of an additional pathway for educators to gain an endorsement for special education instruction.

HB24-1164 - Free Menstrual Products to Students

Concerning measures to provide menstrual products at no expense to students, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1170 - Rights for Youth Division of Youth Services Facilities

Concerning the establishment of a bill of rights for youth in facilities operated by the division of youth services.

HB24-1216 - Supports for Youth in Juvenile Justice System

Concerning multi-level supports for youth in varying stages of the juvenile justice system, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1282 - Ninth-Grade Success Grant & Performance Reporting

Concerning measures to increase the success rates of ninth-grade students in public high schools in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, making and reducing an appropriation.

HB24-1285 - Student Weight-Based Bullying Prevention

Concerning preventing bullying in public schools based on student physical appearance.

HB24-1290 - Student Educator Stipend Program

Concerning an appropriation to reduce financial barriers for students entering the educator workforce through the student educator stipend program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1305 - Changes for Concurrent Enrollment Students

Concerning changes to programs to benefit students who earn postsecondary course credit while enrolled in high school.

HB24-1307 - HVAC Improvements for Public Schools

Concerning HVAC infrastructure improvement projects in schools.

HB24-1320 - Educator Safety Task Force

Concerning creating a task force to study school staff safety issues, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1323 - School Graduation Attire

Concerning the manner of dress during school graduation ceremonies.

HB24-1376 - Expand Teacher Mentorships

Concerning measures to increase teacher mentorships in public schools, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1389 - School Funding 2023-24 for New Arrival Students

Concerning providing funding to schools in the 2023-24 budget year for increases in pupil enrollment after the 2023-24 budget year pupil enrollment count day, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1390 - School Food Programs

Concerning measures to support certain school food programs in the department of education, and, in connection therewith, making and reducing an appropriation.

HB24-1406 - School-Based Mental Health Support Program

Concerning the creation of the school-based mental health support program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1446 - Professional Development for Science Teachers

Concerning improving resources for science educators, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

HB24-1448 - New Public School Finance Formula

Concerning the creation of a modernized approach to funding public education, and, in connection therewith, making and reducing an appropriation.

SB24-162 - Best Practices to Prevent Discrimination in Schools

Concerning best practices for responding to discriminatory conduct in schools, and, in connection therewith, developing training consistent with the best practices and making an appropriation.

SB24-069 - Clarify Individualized Education Program Information

Concerning measures to clarify individualized education program information through a publicly available training program, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-188 - Public School Finance

Concerning the financing of public schools, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-014 - Seal of Climate Literacy Diploma Endorsement

Concerning authorization for granting a high school diploma endorsement related to climate literacy, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

SB24-132 - Evaluation Protections & Educators

Concerning extending evaluation protections to all educators.