Bill Tracker

Section 1 of the bill amends the definition of employer for
purposes of wage and hour laws to include an individual who owns or
controls at least 25% of the ownership interest in an employer.
Section 2 prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction
below a worker's applicable minimum wage.
Section 3 allows the director of the division of labor standards and
statistics (division) to waive the penalty for an employer's failure to pay
claimed wages or compensation within 14 days after a written demand if
certain specified conditions are met.
Section 4 repeals language allowing a court to award an employer
reasonable costs and attorney fees in a civil action for unpaid wages or
compensation in certain circumstances. In such an action, the court may
pursue all equitable relief to deter future violations and prevent unjust
enrichment.
Current law limits the ability of the director of the division to
adjudicate claims for nonpayment of wages or compensation to $7,500 or
less. Section 5 increases this threshold over the years by increasing the
amount to $13,000 for claims filed from July 1, 2026, through December
31, 2027, and in an amount specified by the director of the division to
adjust for inflation beginning January 1, 2028. Section 5 also requires the
division, in adjudicating wage claims, to determine whether a violation
is willful. For each violation:
  • The director shall publish on the division's website the
names of all employers found to be in violation and
whether the violation was willful; and
  • If the violation is not remedied within 60 days after the
division's finding that there was a violation, the division
must notify all government bodies with the authority to
deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial
conditions on the employer's license, permit, registration,
or other credential.
Additionally, the division may report an employer found to have
violated a law related to wages and hours to any government body with
authority to deny, withdraw, or otherwise limit or impose remedial
conditions on a license, permit, registration, or other credential that the
violating employer has or may seek. Section 5 also repeals language
requiring the division to issue a determination on a wage complaint
within 90 days.
Section 6 requires an employer found to have misclassified an
employee as a nonemployee to pay a fine in the following amounts, in
addition to any other relief ordered:
  • For a willful violation, $5,000;
  • For a violation not remedied within 60 days after the
division's finding, $10,000;
  • For a second or subsequent willful violation within 5 years,
$25,000; or
  • For a second or subsequent willful violation not remedied
within 60 days after the division's finding, $50,000.
The director of the division must adjust these fine amounts for
inflation by January 1, 2028, and every other year thereafter.
Section 6 also decreases the amount of time the division must wait
before paying an employee out of the wage theft enforcement fund from
6 months to 120 days.
Current law prohibits an employer from discriminating or
retaliating against an employee for taking protection under wage and hour
laws or the law related to the employment of minors. Section 7 expands
this provision to specify additional protected behavior and expands the
prohibition to include other persons in addition to employers.
Section 7 also:
  • Requires a fact finder to consider the time between an
individual's exercise of a protected activity and an
employer's adverse action when determining whether an
employer has retaliated against the employee or worker;
  • Specifies that any effort to use an individual's immigration
status to negatively impact the wage and hour law rights,
responsibilities, or proceedings of any employee or worker
is an unlawful act of intimidation, threatening, coercion,
discrimination, and retaliation; and
  • Allows the division to order reasonable attorney fees and
costs after investigating a discrimination or retaliation
claim.

The bill creates 2 income tax subtractions for income tax years
commencing on or after January 1, 2027, but before January 1, 2038. The
first subtraction is for an amount equal to state capital gains that are
realized by a taxpayer during the taxable year for the conversion by an
increment of at least 20% ownership to a qualified employee-owned
business of a qualified business. The taxpayers that are eligible for this
subtraction are the same taxpayers that would be eligible for the tax credit
for conversion costs for employee business ownership.
The second subtraction is allowed to worker-owned cooperatives
in an amount equal to the worker-owned cooperative's federal taxable
income for the tax year not to exceed $1 million.
The bill also makes changes to the tax credit for conversion costs
for employee business ownership (credit). Under current law, the credit
is available through income tax year 2026. The bill extends the credit
through income tax year 2037. The bill also specifies that the aggregate
amount of credits that can be claimed for each income tax year
commencing on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2032, is
$3 million and that the aggregate amount of credits that can be claimed
for each income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2032, but
before January 1, 2038, is $4 million. The percentage of conversion or
expansion costs that are eligible to be claimed for the credit is currently
50%; however, the bill increases this percentage to 75% beginning in tax
year 2026 while maintaining the existing dollar caps for the different
methods of conversion.
Additionally, the bill revises several definitions to expand
eligibility for the credit and allows for qualified support entities, which
are nonprofit organizations that provide services to businesses that qualify
under the credit to convert or expand to employee-ownership, to be
eligible to receive the credit for up to 75% of the costs incurred for
providing such support, including for staff salaries and benefits,
marketing and outreach, and consulting and technical assistance not to
exceed $167,000.
The bill makes conforming amendments to several of the credit's
expanded definitions that are also applicable to the tax credit for new
employee-owned businesses.

Beginning January 1, 2026, the bill requires a local government
that adopts or substantially amends a building code to ensure that the
building code meets or exceeds the accessibility standards in international
building codes.
The bill also requires the division of fire prevention and control
within the department of public safety to ensure that, when certain
building codes pertaining to public school and heath facilities are
substantially amended, the codes meet or exceed accessibility standards
in international building codes.
The bill requires the state housing board to ensure that, when the
uniform construction and maintenance standards for hotels, motels, and
multiple dwellings in jurisdictions with no local building code are
substantially updated, the standards meet or exceed the accessibility
standards in international building codes. The bill also requires the state
housing board to ensure that, when the recommendations for uniform
housing standards and building codes to the general assembly and local
governments are substantially updated, the codes meet or exceed the
accessibility standards in international building codes.

The bill defines an electronic fence detection system, which is a
security system that is used in conjunction with a fence. An electronic
fence detection system includes a detector that, when contacted, causes
an alarm system to transmit a signal to the property owner, a monitoring
company authorized by the property owner, or law enforcement.
The bill allows a local government to impose installation or
operational requirements for an electronic fence detection system that are
consistent with the installation or operational requirements generally
required for other alarm systems. In addition, the bill allows a local
government to require a permit for the installation or use of an electronic
fence detection system that is not in addition to any permit generally
required for the installation or use of any other alarm system. Lastly, the
bill allows a local government to inspect an electronic fence detection
system.

Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee.
Backflow is the reverse flow of water, fluid, or gas caused by back
pressure or back siphonage. Under current law, individuals who are
engaged in the business of installing, removing, inspecting, testing, or
repairing backflow prevention devices are subject to the licensure
requirements for plumbers, except when the individuals are installing or
testing a stand-alone fire suppression sprinkler system.
The bill exempts individuals engaged in the business of inspecting,
testing, or repairing backflow prevention devices from licensure
requirements but retains the licensure requirements for individuals
engaged in the installation or removal of the devices.

For public projects and energy sector public works projects,
current law requires that any contractor or subcontractor that will perform
mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work on the project participate in an
apprenticeship program that:
  • Is registered with either the United States department of
labor or a state apprenticeship agency recognized by the
United States department of labor and that has a proven
record of graduating apprentices for at least 3 of the past 5
years (registered apprenticeship program); and
  • Satisfies specified graduation requirements (registered
apprenticeship program that satisfies specified graduation
requirements).
Currently, for energy sector public works projects, these
requirements also apply to a contractor or subcontractor that employs
construction laborers on the project. In addition, for energy sector public
works projects, current law requires that all other contractors or
subcontractors participate in a registered apprenticeship program.
Apprenticeship utilization requirements. The bill aligns the
apprenticeship utilization requirements for public projects and energy
sector public works projects and specifies that for both types of projects:
  • Any contractor or subcontractor that will perform
mechanical, electrical, or plumbing work or employ
construction laborers on the project is required to
participate in a registered apprenticeship program that
satisfies specified graduation requirements; and
  • Any other contractor or subcontractor that will perform
work on the project is required to demonstrate a minimal
training requirement by participating in a registered
apprenticeship program.
The bill also aligns current statutory provisions for public projects
and energy sector public works projects in connection with the
apprenticeship utilization requirements, including provisions that:
  • Require the lead contractor for a project to identify all
contractors and subcontractors that will perform work on
the project;
  • Require the lead contractor for a project to certify that all
contractors and subcontractors that perform work on the
project satisfy the applicable apprenticeship utilization
requirements;
  • Require the contract for a project to include the
apprenticeship utilization requirements;
  • Require the lead contractor for a project to provide
documentation to prove compliance with the apprenticeship
utilization requirements;
  • Allow waivers of the apprenticeship utilization
requirements under specified circumstances; and
  • Allow an apprenticeship program that does not satisfy the
criteria specified in the bill to petition the department of
labor and employment for conditional approval for the
purposes of the bill.
Project labor agreements for public projects. The bill authorizes
an agency of government to incorporate a project labor agreement
requirement for a public project if the project labor agreement will
promote successful project delivery by securing a skilled labor force for
the project and if it will promote cost-efficiency, safety, quality, and
timely completion of the project. If all construction work on the public
project is covered by a project labor agreement, the apprenticeship
utilization requirements specified in the bill and the current statutory
prevailing wage requirements for a public project do not apply to the
project. The provisions in the bill regarding project labor agreements for
public projects are parallel to the current statutory provisions regarding
project labor agreements for energy sector public works projects.
County opt in to state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing
wage requirements. The bill allows a county to opt in to the state
apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements. A county
that intends to opt in to such requirements may request, through a process
specified in the bill, that the department of personnel collaborate with the
county regarding the implementation, application, and enforcement of the
state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage requirements. The bill
allows the department of personnel or other agencies of government and
a county that opts in to the state apprenticeship utilization and prevailing
wage requirements to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to
address the rights and obligations of the parties in connection with the
implementation, administration, and enforcement of such requirements.

Current law distributes, to the extent available, the first $3 million
of the lottery fund to the outdoor equity fund, the next $3 million to the
public school capital construction assistance fund, and any remaining
money as follows:
  • 25% to the wildlife cash fund;
  • 25% to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; and
  • 50% to the public school capital construction assistance
fund.
For the 2024-25 state fiscal year and each state fiscal year
thereafter, the bill redistributes, to the extent available, the first $3 million
of the lottery fund to the outdoor equity fund, the next $4 million to the
public school capital construction assistance fund, and any remaining
money as follows:
  • 10% to the wildlife cash fund;
  • 10% to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund;
  • 30% to the outdoor equity fund; and
  • 50% to the public school capital construction assistance
fund.

The bill directs the department of public health and environment
(department) to conduct a study of capital needs for rural and frontier
hospitals throughout the state. Specifically, the study must measure the
number of studied facilities that are not compliant with current and
relevant design and building code standards for health-care facilities,
identify the age of core facilities and any additions to them, and estimate
costs for renovating or replacing facilities identified as having capital
needs. By June 30, 2026, the department must complete the study and
compile the results of the study into a report. The report must be
presented to the respective health and human services committees of the
senate and house of representatives.
The bill also creates the rural and frontier hospital capital needs
study task force (task force). The task force is made up of the following
7 members who must be appointed on or before August 1, 2025:
  • 3 members who work in rural or frontier hospitals;
  • One member who is an architect professional;
  • One member who is a construction contractor professional;
  • One member who represents hospitals; and
  • One member of the general public who lives in a rural area
or frontier area.
The task force is responsible for developing and approving the parameters
of the study and overseeing the study and the report. The task force may
also facilitate contracting with a private sector consulting company to
assist with data compilation, research, and outreach to rural and frontier
hospitals. The task force is required to hold its first meeting by October
1, 2025, and meet at least quarterly after the first meeting until the study
and the report are complete.
The study and the requirements imposed on the department, the
task force, and any third-party entity in connection with the study are
contingent upon money being available through gifts, grants, or donations
for the purpose of conducting the study.

The bill requires a school district, a charter school, an institute
charter school, a board of cooperative services, or the Colorado school for
the deaf and the blind (local education provider) to satisfy certain
requirements concerning installation, inspection, and maintenance of
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools if
the local education provider undertakes HVAC infrastructure
improvements using money made available by a federal government
source or by a federal government source in combination with a state
government source specifically for such purpose.
The requirements established in the bill concern:
  • Ventilation verification assessments, which include
assessments of an HVAC system's filtration, ventilation
exhaust, economizers, demand control ventilation, air
distribution and building pressurization, general
maintenance requirements, operational controls, and carbon
dioxide output;
  • The preparation of HVAC assessment reports;
  • The review of HVAC assessment reports by mechanical
engineers, who make recommendations regarding
necessary repairs and improvements, suggest pathways to
reduce emissions, and estimate associated costs;
  • HVAC adjustments, repairs, upgrades, and replacements;
  • The preparation of HVAC verification reports and the
submission of the reports to the state board of education;
and
  • Periodic inspections and ongoing maintenance.
The bill establishes mandatory criteria that an HVAC contractor
must satisfy in order to perform work described in the bill. A local
education provider that undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements
using money made available by a federal government source or by a
federal government source in combination with a state government source
must do so using only contractors on the certified contractor list
established by the department of labor and employment.
The bill transfers money from the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act cash fund to the unused state-owned real property fund. The
public-private collaboration unit in the department of personnel (unit)
may use the money to provide grant writing support, administrative
support, and project planning, to review the work of applicants, and to
connect applicants with third parties with expertise pertaining to federal
funding application technical assistance.
The bill requires the unit to facilitate a public-public partnership
with local education providers to leverage federal dollars available to help
public schools improve air quality in schools, student performance, and
staff retention.
For each award of federal dollars obtained with the unit's grant
writing support, the unit is authorized to retain 2.5% of the dollars
awarded to cover the unit's administrative costs.

For construction of middle market housing, section 3 of the bill
requires a person filing a construction defect action against an architect
or engineer to file with the complaint an affidavit of a third-party licensed
professional indicating the negligence or other action, error, or omission
of the construction professional. Section 3 also establishes a rebuttable
presumption that a property does not have a construction defect when a
state agency or local government has issued a certificate of occupancy for
the property.
Section 4:
  • Establishes a claimant's duty to mitigate an alleged
construction defect and specifies how a claimant may
satisfy this duty and the consequences to a claimant that
fails to satisfy this duty;
  • Requires that a construction professional must send or
deliver to the claimant an offer to settle the claim or a
written response that identifies the standards that apply to
the claim and explains why the defect does not require
repair; and
  • Requires a construction professional who is the defendant
in a construction defects action to submit specified
information to the claimant.
Section 5 updates the statute of limitations for construction defect
claims to 10 years unless the construction professional provided the
consumer with a warranty that meets the requirements of the bill, in
which case the statute of limitations is 6 years. Section 6 tolls the statute
of limitations or repose during a claimant's mitigation of an alleged
construction defect claim brought for the construction of middle market
housing.
Section 7 allows a construction professional that meets specified
requirements to use certain affirmative defenses in construction claims
brought against the construction professional for the construction of
middle market housing.
Current law requires the executive board of a unit owners'
association (executive board) to obtain approval from a majority of
owners before initiating a construction defect claim on behalf of the
owners. Section 8 increases the approval amount to 65%. Section 8 also
requires an executive board that is successful in a construction defect
claim to first use monetary damages received as a result of the claim to
repair the construction defect.

The bill requires employers to implement protections for workers
who are exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures at the worksite,
including temperature mitigation measures, rest breaks, and
temperature-related injury and illness prevention plans.

The bill eliminates the requirement for a second election to
negotiate a union security agreement clause in the collective bargaining
process.

Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force. Currently, the
department of revenue (department) does not have authority to allow a
sales and use tax license and a sales and use tax exemption certificate to
be searchable by the name and identification number of the sales and use
tax licensee or the sales and use tax exemption certificate holder. The bill
directs the department's executive director to allow this type of search.

Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force. Section 1 of the
bill establishes uniform confidentiality standards for the protection of
taxpayer information used or obtained in connection with a sales or use
tax investigation performed by a third-party auditor on behalf of a local
taxing jurisdiction. Third-party auditors are generally prohibited from
divulging or making known in any way to any person information that is
obtained from a sales or use tax investigation on behalf of a local taxing
jurisdiction or disclosed in any document, report, or return filed in
connection with local sales or use taxes. Third-party auditors are
permitted to disclose taxpayer information in certain limited
circumstances, including disclosure to:
  • An official, employee, hearing officer, attorney, or other
public agent of the local taxing jurisdiction who is
authorized to receive such information in connection with
the local taxing jurisdiction's sales or use tax investigation
performed by the third-party auditor;
  • A requesting taxpayer, or the taxpayer's authorized agent,
of the taxpayer's own tax filings;
  • The department of revenue (department) for purposes of
statistical analysis and publication as authorized by current
law; and
  • The department and the federal internal revenue service as
necessary and pertinent to a taxpayer's compliance or
failure to comply with state or federal tax law.
Violation of the confidentiality provisions in section 1 is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation.
Section 2 clarifies the authority of the executive director of the
department to share taxpayer information with statutory local
governments, special districts, and requesting home rule jurisdictions as
necessary to facilitate dispute resolution, coordination, intergovernmental
agreements, and information sharing between the department and such
local governments consistent with current law, which prohibits the
disclosure of any such shared information to any third party.