The act:

• 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;
• Prohibits an employer from making a payroll deduction below a worker's applicable minimum wage;
• 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; and
• Requires a court to find that an employee pursued a wage claim that lacked substantial justification before awarding an employer reasonable costs and attorney fees in a civil action for unpaid wages or compensation. 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. The act increases this threshold over the years by increasing the maximum 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. The act 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 was willful and 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 of the unremedied willful violation.

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 the employer's license, permit, registration, or other credential. The act also repeals language requiring the division to issue a determination on a wage complaint within 90 days and clarifies that a city or county may enact and enforce wage laws within the city or county's jurisdiction.

An employer found to have misclassified an employee as a nonemployee must 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.

The act 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. The act expands this provision to specify additional protected behavior and expands the prohibition to include other persons in addition to employers.

The act 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 it is a violation to use an individual's immigration status to discriminate or retaliate against an employee or worker who has engaged in protected activity; and
• Allows the division to order reasonable attorney fees and costs after investigating a discrimination or retaliation claim.

Between August 1, 2027, and October 1, 2027, the division must report to the joint budget committee on its progress in implementing the act.

In state fiscal year 2025-26, $328,210 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment for use by the division to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill prohibits an entity from providing earned-wage access services without a license on and after January 1, 2026. Earned-wage access services are services that:

• Deliver consumer access to earned but unpaid income; and
• Provide consumer access to earned but unpaid income that is based on employment, income, or attendance data obtained directly or indirectly from an employer or an employer's payroll service provider.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires a board of county commissioners, a governing body of a municipality, or a regional building department operating through an intergovernmental agreement with a board of county commissioners or governing body of a municipality that adopts or substantially amends a building code or updates a building code with a succeeding version of the international building code to ensure that the building code meets or exceeds the accessibility standards in the International Building Code, and the adopted accessibility standards cannot provide less protection than what is required by the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990". However, this requirement does not apply when energy-efficient building codes are adopted, nor does it apply to one- and 2-family dwellings and townhomes that comply with either the International Residential Code or a local building code whose accessibility standards are equivalent to the standards in the International Residential Code.

The act 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 health facilities are substantially amended, the codes meet or exceed accessibility standards in the International Building Code.

The act also 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 amended, the standards meet or exceed the accessibility standards in the International Building Code. The act 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 amended, the codes meet or exceed the accessibility standards in the International Building Code.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires the executive director of the department of public health and environment (department) to establish a workforce advisory council (council) on or before August 1, 2025, for the purposes of:

• Discussing recommendations concerning the incorporation of workforce impact analyses into the rule-making procedures for rules that impact air quality;
• Recommending standard procedures for the department and the air quality control commission (commission) to follow when conducting workforce impact analyses for inclusion in rule-making procedures; and
• Determining if the establishment of a full-time workforce advocate position would add value to the air quality control rule-making process.

The bill requires the department to report the council's recommendations to the general assembly on or before January 15, 2026.

After January 15, 2026, the council is required to:

• Meet at least 4 times per year;
• Continue to advise the department on the impact of proposed air quality control rules on matters related to employment; and
• Make ongoing recommendations to the governor, the department, and the commission on legislative and regulatory air quality control policies that impact employment matters.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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 act 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; except that individuals who install or replace a backflow prevention device on a stand-alone fire suppression system remain exempted from the licensure requirements.

The act requires that, on and after July 1, 2025, a licensed plumber who installs, tests, inspects, repairs, or reinstalls a backflow prevention device and a certified cross-connection control technician or a licensed plumber with a cross-connection control technician certification who tests or repairs a backflow prevention device must affix a tag on the backflow prevention device that contains certain information about the licensed plumber, the certified cross-connection control technician, or the licensed plumber with a cross-connection control technician certification, as applicable, and the service that was provided.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act:

• Prohibits a person from offering, displaying, or advertising pricing information for a good, service, or property unless the person clearly and conspicuously discloses the maximum total (total price) of all amounts that a person may pay for the good, service, or property, not including a government charge or shipping charge unless voluntarily included (total price disclosure requirement);
• Prohibits a person from misrepresenting the nature and purpose of pricing information for a good, service, or property;
• Requires a person to clearly and conspicuously disclose the nature and purpose of pricing information for a good, service, or property that is not part of the total price; and
• Prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay certain fees, charges, or amounts or including in a written rental agreement a provision that requires the tenant to pay a fee, charge, or amount that is prohibited by the act.

A person complies with the disclosure requirements if the person does not use deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable acts or practices related to the pricing of goods, services, or property and if the person:

• Is a food and beverage service establishment that includes a disclosure in the total price for a good or service the amount of any mandatory service charge and how the mandatory service charge is distributed;
• Can demonstrate that the total price of services the person offers is indeterminate at the time of the offer and clearly and conspicuously discloses the factors that determine the total price, any mandatory fees associated with the transaction, and that the total price may vary;
• Can demonstrate that the person is governed by and compliant with applicable federal law, rule, or regulation regarding pricing transparency for the particular transaction at issue;
• Can demonstrate that any fees, costs, or amounts in addition to the total price are associated with real estate settlement services and are not broker commissions or fees;
• Can demonstrate that the person is providing broadband internet access service or is a cable operator or broadcast satellite provider and is compliant with specified federal law; or
• Is a delivery network company that clearly and conspicuously discloses that an additional flat fee, variable fee, or percentage fee is charged, any mandatory fees associated with the transaction, and that the total price for the services may vary and complies with other requirements related to disclosure of the additional fee.

A landlord or landlord's agent is not required to include, in the required disclosure, the actual amount charged for utility services provided to a tenant's dwelling unit. Additionally, a person is exempt from the act if the person is governed by federal law that preempts state law.

A violation of the act constitutes a deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable act or practice and is subject to penalties under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". In addition to any other remedies available by law or in equity, in a dispute regarding property, a person aggrieved by a violation may send a written demand to the alleged violator:

• For reimbursement of any fee, charge, or amount unlawfully imposed and for any actual damages suffered; or
• To notify the alleged violator of their refusal to pay a prohibited fee, charge, or amount unlawfully imposed.

If an alleged violator declines to make full legal tender of all fees, charges, amounts, or damages demanded or refuses to cease charging the aggrieved person within 14 days after receiving the written demand, the person is liable for actual damages plus 18% interest, compounded annually.

The attorney general may adopt rules to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act expands the definition of an anti-growth law, which local governmental entities are generally prohibited from enacting or enforcing, to include a generally applicable land use law that, in census urban areas as defined by the United States census bureau, explicitly decreases the permitted residential density or residential uses of land to a lower residential density or fewer residential uses than were allowed by the land's usage and zoning as of July 1, 2025, without ensuring a corresponding increase of residential density or residential uses elsewhere in the jurisdiction.

The act provides that certain limitations on anti-growth laws do not apply to land that contains or is directly adjacent to a wildlife crossing structure.

The act also permits a municipality to seek a judicial determination as to the legality of a proposed municipal initiative for a land use ordinance that restricts or limits the development or use of land that is submitted to the legislative body of the municipality, allows the owners of a property that is specifically subject to the proposed ordinance and persons designated as representing the petition proponents to intervene in the proceeding, and tolls the period within which the municipality is required to adopt the proposed initiated ordinance or call an election during the pendency of the judicial determination.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes updates to the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program (grant program). The grant program provides funding for the adoption and implementation of automated permitting and inspection software. The act clarifies that funding from the grant program may be used by a recipient for eligible expenses for up to 3 years after the grantee implements the automated permitting and inspection software. The act also permits the Colorado energy office (office) to spend up to 9% of the money remaining in the grant program's cash fund as of September 1, 2025, for paying the direct and indirect costs of the office in administering the grant program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In the 2024 regular legislative session, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 24-005, concerning the conservation of water in the state through the prohibition of certain landscaping practices, which:

• Prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2026, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing any person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable property within the local entity's jurisdiction; and
• Requires a local entity, on or before January 1, 2026, to enact or amend its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects on applicable property in accordance with the new requirements.

The act expands the definition of "applicable property" to include a multifamily residential housing premises property that includes more than 12 dwelling units (applicable residential real property).

The act prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2028, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing a person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable properties that include multifamily residential housing premises property.

The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects to regulate the installation of nonfunctional turf and include consideration of applicable residential real property.

The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects within the local entity's jurisdiction to regulate the installation of turf to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property. Local entities must also regulate the installation of turf when enacting or amending its laws on and after January 1, 2028, to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes an agency of government to incorporate a project labor agreement requirement for a public project in the amount of $1 million or more 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.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For design-build transportation contracts administered by the department of transportation (department) "best value" means the overall maximum value of a proposal to the department after considering all of the evaluation factors described in the specifications for the transportation project or the request for proposals. The act requires that those evaluation factors include:

• Project schedule;
• Innovative solutions;
• Improved quality;
• Sustainability;
• Environmental impact;
• Initial cost;
• Long-term life-cycle cost of the transportation project;
• Resilience;
• Increased scope; and
• Aesthetics.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the air quality control commission is tasked with developing an effective air quality control program (program), including adopting rules necessary to carry out the program.

The bill requires a person that owns, leases, operates, controls, or supervises (owner or operator) a building, structure, facility, or installation that emits or may emit an air pollutant (stationary source) to maintain records that will help the public determine whether the owner or operator is in compliance with rules establishing applicable air quality control regulations (records). The bill requires an owner or operator of a stationary source to make the records publicly available and accessible through a link on the owner or operator's public website.

The department of public health and environment is required to include a link on its website directing members of the public to the website of an owner or operator where the records are available.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act 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 from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund.

The requirements established in the act 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, and operational controls ;
• 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; and
• The preparation of HVAC verification reports, which must be maintained for at least 5 years and made available to the public upon request.

The act establishes mandatory criteria that an HVAC contractor must satisfy in order to perform work described in the act. A local education provider that undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund must do so using only contractors on the certified contractor list established by the department of labor and employment, unless the local education provider determines that there were no responsive, eligible subcontractors available to fulfill the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing portions of the contract.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In an action against a construction professional, section 2 of the bill requires the construction professional to provide the claimant or the claimant's legal representative with:

• Copies of all plans, specifications, soils reports, and available engineering calculations;
• Any maintenance and preventive maintenance recommendations;
• The name, last-known address, and scope of work of each construction professional that performed work or services; and
• Copies of all insurance policies held by the construction professional during the appropriate time.

The construction professional may charge reasonable copying costs for the documents. Failure to provide the identifying information of the other construction professionals bars the construction professional from designating the unidentified construction professionals as nonparties at fault in any subsequent action.

Section 3 requires a court to award prejudgement interest of 8% to a prevailing claimant who alleges defects in a residential property construction. Section 5 voids a provision in a real estate contract that:

• Prohibits group lawsuits against a construction professional; or
• Imposes different or additional requirements than the statutory requirements to bring or join a legal action.

Section 6 changes the time when a claim of relief arises, for the purposes of the statute of limitation and repose, to include both the discovery of the physical manifestation and the cause of the defect.

Current law authorizes, subject to the requirements of the common interest community's (community) declarations, a community to engage in certain actions, such as instituting, defending, or intervening in litigation or administrative proceedings on matters affecting the community. Section 7 exempts an association's authority to institute, defend, or intervene in litigation proceedings concerning construction defects from the requirement that the action be subject to the declaration. Section 8 requires the department of regulatory agencies to include in its "SMART Act" report information concerning construction liability insurance and the basis for rates.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires the director of the division of oil and public safety in the department of labor and employment (division) to adopt rules concerning retail electric vehicle charging that set forth minimum standards relating to specifications and tolerances for retail electric vehicle charging equipment and methods of retail sale at publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations to promote consistency in the marketplace by July 1, 2026, and to enforce the rules beginning July 1, 2027.

The act broadens the allowable uses of money in the electric vehicle grant fund within the Colorado energy office to include:

• Operational and policy work to support electric vehicle adoption, electric vehicle charging, and affordable, clean electricity for electric motor vehicles, including covering the administrative costs of this work; and
• Support for the development and enforcement of retail electric vehicle charging rules by the division.

The act also broadens the allowable uses of money in the community impact cash fund within the department of public health and environment to include environmental equity and cumulative impact analyses.

The act also requires the community access enterprise within the Colorado energy office to reduce the amount of the community access retail delivery fee that it imposes as necessary to ensure that the enterprise does not collect more than $100 million in total fee revenue prior to June 30, 2026.

For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $225,320 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment for use by the division for personal services and operating expenses. This appropriation is from reappropriated funds received from the office of the governor that are continuously appropriated to the Colorado energy office from the electric vehicle grant fund.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires the Colorado energy office (office) to establish a state utility an on-bill repayment program to help finance certain gas and electric utilities' on-bill repayment programs (on-bill repayment program programs ), which are programs through which energy efficiency measures, electrification measures, and energy upgrades installed at utility customers' premises are financed through loans that and repaid by the customers repay through their monthly utility bill payments. The bill requires gas or electric investor-owned utilities that serve more than 500,000 customers to propose a plan to the public utilities commission for establishing or expanding an existing on-bill repayment program for the commission to review and approve, disapprove, or modify.

The bill requires the state treasurer , on July 1, 2025, to make an 3 interest-free loan in the amount of $100 loans totaling $50 million from the unclaimed property trust fund to the state utility on-bill repayment program cash fund, which fund is created in the bill, to support the financing of the on-bill repayment programs. The office is required to pay back the loan by July 1, 2045 January 1, 2046 . As an alternative financing mechanism for the on-bill programs, the bill authorizes the department of the treasury to offer on-bill financing tax credits (tax credits) to insurance companies authorized to do business in Colorado, which insurance companies have premium tax liability owing to the state (qualified taxpayers). The tax credits will only be offered if the relevant quarterly state revenue forecast shows that the state's nonexempt revenue will be at least $50 million under the limit on state fiscal year spending authorized under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, as modified by Referendum C. The bill creates a building decarbonization enterprise (enterprise) to:

• Provide financing assistance, technical assistance, and other programmatic assistance to covered building owners to effectively and efficiently implement building decarbonization measures, including energy efficiency measures, electrification measures, and energy upgrades; and
• Provide technical assistance and other programmatic support to utilities that accept financing from the office for the purpose of establishing or expanding an on-bill program.

The enterprise is authorized to impose and collect from covered building owners an annual building decarbonization fee and impose and collect from participating utilities an annual on-bill program administration fee to cover the enterprise's costs in providing financial, technical, and programmatic assistance to covered building owners and participating utilities.

(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 updates energy use benchmarking and performance standard requirements for owners of certain buildings (covered building owners), including:

• A requirement to meet 2040 performance standards, as adopted by the air quality control commission (commission), in consultation with the Colorado energy office (office) and in consideration of recommendations made by a task force convened by the office;
• Authorizing an alternative compliance mechanism for covered building owners to comply with certain performance standards; and
• Updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the benchmarking requirements to an amount up to $577 for a first violation and up to $2,300 for each subsequent violation and, on and after January 1, 2030, updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the performance standard requirements to an amount up to $2,300 for every 30 days that the covered building owner is in violation and up to $5,800 for every 30 days for a subsequent violation. The commission shall adopt rules to annually adjust the penalty amounts for inflation.The act also creates a building decarbonization enterprise (enterprise) to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, and other programmatic assistance to covered building owners to effectively and efficiently implement building decarbonization measures, including energy efficiency measures, electrification measures, energy upgrades, and participation in utility on-bill repayment programs. The enterprise is authorized to impose and collect from covered building owners an annual building decarbonization fee to cover the enterprise's costs in providing the financial, technical, and programmatic assistance. The fees are credited to the building decarbonization enterprise cash fund (cash fund) for use by the enterprise to implement the act.The act clarifies that a local government is not required to adopt an energy code solely as a result of having adopted a wildfire resiliency code.For state fiscal year 2025-26, $3 million is appropriated from the cash fund to the office of the governor for use by the office for the enterprise's implementation of the act.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For construction of multifamily, attached housing of 2 or more units, the act creates the multifamily construction incentive program (program). A builder may chose to participate in the program by:

• Providing a warranty that covers any defect and damage at no cost to the homeowner for specified periods;
• Having a third-party inspection performed on the property; and
• Recording a notice of election to participate in the program in the real property records before the property is offered for sale.

For construction defect claims brought for the construction of housing for which the builder is a participant in the program, the act:

• Requires a claimant to file a certificate of review with the complaint, if the complaint is against an architect or engineer;
• Limits actions to claims that have resulted in: Actual damage to real or personal property; actual loss of the use of real or personal property; actual bodily injury or wrongful death; an unreasonable reduction in the capability of, or an actual failure of, a building component to perform an intended function or purpose; or an unreasonable risk of bodily injury or death to, or a threat to the life, health, or safety of, the occupants of the residential property; and
• 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.

For all construction defect claims, the act:

• 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 a construction professional who is the defendant in a construction defect action to submit specified information to the claimant;
• Prohibits an insurer from cancelling, denying, or reducing coverage based on any claim for benefits covered by an existing liability insurance policy issued to a construction professional based on the construction professional's offer to repair or settle a construction defect claim;
• Tolls the statute of limitations or repose during a claimant's mitigation of an alleged construction defect;
• Increases the percentage of owners that an executive board of a unit owners' association (executive board) must obtain approval from before initiating a construction defect claim on behalf of the owners from a majority to 65%; and
• Requires an executive board that is successful in a construction defect claim or settlement to first use the net monetary damages or net proceeds received as a result of the claim to repair the construction defect.

The act requires a local government to establish a fast-track approval process for an application for for-sale multifamily condominium projects in order to qualify for assistance from the state affordable housing fund.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act defines a subject jurisdiction as a municipality with a population of 100,000 or more that is served by a fire protection district, fire authority, or fire department that is or was accredited by a specified organization. The act only applies to a subject jurisdiction and only to the area within a subject jurisdiction that is served by a single fire protection district or fire department.

On or before December 1, 2027, the act requires the governing body of a subject jurisdiction to adopt a building code, or amend an existing building code, to allow up to 5 stories of a multifamily residential building that satisfies certain conditions to be served by a single exit. The act requires a subject jurisdiction to provide notice of the adopting or amending of the subject jurisdiction's building code to the local International Association of Fire Fighter's affiliate and the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters Association.

In connection with multifamily residential buildings served by a single exit, the act requires:

• A subject jurisdiction to coordinate with a fire protection district, fire department, or fire authority concerning aerial apparatus access to these buildings and the site design of these buildings;
• These buildings to maintain their legal occupancy status, even if they would otherwise lose that status under future building codes;
• A subject jurisdiction to allow, with certain limitations, the reconstruction of these buildings according to the standards under which they were originally built after the buildings are damaged or destroyed; and
• A landlord, manager, or owner of one of these buildings to conduct inspections of the dwelling units of such a building.

The act also requires a subject jurisdiction, beginning December 1, 2028, to report to the state demography office in the department of local affairs on the number of multifamily residential buildings served by a single exit and on certain qualities of those buildings. Similarly, in January 2032, the act requires the department of local affairs to report on the implementation of this act as part of the department's "SMART Act" hearing.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Starting January 1, 2027, the act prohibits an electrical employer or plumbing employer that employs an apprentice in the state (employer) from registering an apprentice with the employer's respective governing board (board) unless the apprentice is enrolled in an apprenticeship program training the apprentice for an occupation officially recognized by the United States department of labor as an electrical occupation for an electrical apprenticeship or a plumbing occupation for a plumbing apprenticeship.

On or before July 1, 2027, if existing resources are available or if the department of regulatory agencies (DORA) receives sufficient gifts, grants, or donations, the act requires the state apprenticeship agency and DORA to establish data-sharing agreements and policies to enable the entities to determine if there are apprentices registered with a board who are enrolled to be trained for occupations other than electrical or plumbing occupations and who are therefore ineligible for registration with the board. If the board cannot verify that an apprentice is eligible to be registered as an apprentice within 60 days after notice of noncompliance, the board shall remove the apprentice's registration with the board, and the noncompliant apprentice shall not perform work as a plumbing or electrical apprentice in the state.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act adjusts several state tax expenditures as follows:

• Section 2 of the act allows an individual to present a copy of their federal tax return to be exempted from the medical marijuana registry application fee;
• Section 3 requires insurance companies, when submitting certain filings with the division of insurance, to submit the total annual dollar amount of premiums collected or contracted for on policies or contracts of insurance covering property or risks in Colorado during the previous calendar year from entities that are exempt from taxation;
• Section 4 ensures that the valuation for assessment for qualified-senior primary residence real property is reduced for the property tax years commencing on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026;
• Section 6 adds the amount of any overtime compensation excluded or deducted from a taxpayer's federal gross income to that taxpayer's federal taxable income for purposes of determining the taxpayer's state taxable income;
• Section 7 expands the definition of local government to include counties for purposes of the alternative transportation options tax credit;
• Section 8 modifies the tax credit for qualified costs incurred in preservation of historic structures by removing the 5% increase in the percentage of rehabilitation expenses incurred in a rehabilitation in a disaster area for the rehabilitation of a commercial structure that are applicable for the tax credit;
• Section 9 extends the tax credit for monetary contributions to promote child care, so that the tax credit is available through income tax years commencing before January 1, 2030, rather than January 1, 2026;
• Section 10 limits the existing business personal property tax credit so that a taxpayer may only claim the tax deduction for income tax years commencing before January 1, 2026;
• Section 12 clarifies and modifies definitions for the qualified care worker tax credit;
• Section 13 allows the executive director of the department of revenue to direct employers who make payments of compensation other than wages to withhold an amount that approximates an employee's income tax due to the state from that employee's compensation;
• Section 14 expands the definition of agricultural commodities to include products regulated under article 10 of title 44 for purposes of the pesticides, fertilizers, and spray adjuvants wholesale sales tax exemption;
• Section 15 ensures that, beginning July 1, 2025, interstate telephone and telegraph services are subject to state sales tax;
• Section 16 exempts the sale of medical marijuana to an individual who presents a valid electronic benefits transfer card or certain other identification from sales tax; and
• Section 17 modifies the enterprise zone tax credit for income tax years beginning January 1, 2026, by limiting the total amount of the credit that may be claimed to $2 million, providing an exemption process for that limit, and prohibiting certain taxpayers from claiming that credit.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires an employer or the employer's insurer to use the division of workers' compensation's (division) utilization standards when responding to a request for authorization from a treating physician, and, if they do not, the director of the division may deem the services as authorized, reasonable, and necessary and require payment for the services by the employer or the employer's insurer.

The act provides injured workers control over the selection of their primary treating physician in workers' compensation cases, allowing them to choose from any level I or level II accredited physician through the division subject to geographic limitations. The act creates the mechanism by which an injured worker may select the treating physician and requires the employer or insurer to choose the physician when an injured worker is unable or unwilling to select the treating physician.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act provides that, after the state housing board (board) adopts rules about any activity required to undertake or complete the construction or installation of a factory-built nonresidential structure, a factory-built residential structure, or a factory-built tiny home (factory-built structure), the state plumbing board, the state electrical board, and the state fire suppression administrator do not have jurisdiction over and their rules do not apply to a factory-built structure.

The advisory committee on factory-built structures and tiny homes (advisory committee) is required to develop regional building codes standards accounting for local climatic and geographic conditions and fire suppression activities to ensure safety, to apply the most stringent of these requirements for the construction and installation of factory-built structures, and to develop implementation requirements. The advisory committee must submit the recommended codes and implementation requirements to the board. Any future statewide adopted codes contemplated in statute must be vetted through the advisory committee for consideration for adoption by the board.

The act requires that plumbing or electrical installations that connect factory-built structures to external utility sources and that are not considered actions to complete the installation of a factory- built structure as required by a registered installer must be completed by a licenced plumber or electrician under a registered plumbing or electrical contractor. The inspection and inspectors of these installations, other than those authorized to be performed by a registered installer, must be performed by licensed plumbing or electrical inspectors.

During the 2026 legislative session, the department of local affairs (department) shall present the recommendations of the advisory committee related to the development of regional building codes accounting for local climatic and geographic conditions and fire suppression activities, and improved coordination between the state and local permitting process onsite for the construction and installation of factory-built structures, to the senate local government and housing committee and the house transportation, housing, and local government committee prior to consideration and adoption by the board. The department shall report on the outcomes as part of its 2031 "SMART Act" hearing.

On or before July 1, 2026, the board must adopt rules:

• Establishing regional building code standards from the advisory committee that account for local climatic and geographic conditions, and fire protection and suppression activities for the construction and installation of factory-built structures developed by the advisory committee, which supersede any conflicting ordinance, code, regulation, or other law of a local government unless the local government adopts the rules of the board;
• Establishing requirements based on the recommendations developed by the advisory committee, including the continued authorization of a local government certified by the division of housing (division) to perform inspections of factory-built structures on behalf of the division and registration, responsibility, and accountability requirements for a manufacturer, installer, seller, or general contractor who develops the installation site or completes the construction of a factory-built structure at the installation site;
• Covering electrical or plumbing codes required to undertake or complete the construction or installation of a factory-built structure;
• Allowing the division to contract for third-party review and approval of a final design and construction plan for a factory-built structure on behalf of the division;
• Allowing the division to create a process for vetting and approving the ability of a third party to review and approve a final design and construction plan for a factory-built structure on behalf of the division; and
• Requiring the division to cause an audit to be performed on a third party that reviews and approves design and construction plans, on a third party that conducts inspections on its behalf, of contracts of sellers to verify compliance, and to ensure protection of down payments made by purchasers that are retained by the seller of manufacturer.

A county or municipality may not:

• Enact a regulation that excludes factory-built structures from the county or municipality;
• Impose more restrictive standards on factory-built structures than those that the county or municipality applies to site-built homes in the same residential zones in the county or municipality; or
• Enact or enforce a regulation, law, or ordinance affecting the installation or construction of a factory-built structure that is more stringent than a regulation, ordinance, or law that applies to other types of construction.

A county or municipality may enact:

• Land use regulations to the extent that the regulations are applicable to existing similar housing or structures or new site-built housing in the county or municipality;
• A building code provision for unique public safety requirements unless the provision applies to a factory-built structure; and
• Rules regulating above-grade site-built components of a factory-built structure.

Factory-built homes certified by the division prior to the effective date of the regional building code standards adopted by the board are subject to state or local rules concerning unique public safety requirements related to geographic conditions or wildfire risk relating to the construction and installation of the structures existing before the effective date of the regional building code standards. A county or municipality must comply with the requirements established by the division for factory-built structures and by the United States department of housing and urban development for manufactured homes.

The act repeals the ability of local governments to adopt different standards for factory-built housing than those adopted by the division only if:

• The board adopts rules establishing requirements for factory-built housing based on the recommendations of the advisory committee; and
• The board notifies the revisor of statutes in writing via email of the adoption of the rules. The act changes the composition of the advisory committee from 15 to 19 members. The membership changes include the:
• Addition of four members from building code enforcement, each representing a local building department from climate zones 4, 5, 6, and 7, instead of 3 members from building code enforcement;
• Removal of a member with experience in mechanical engineering or contracting;
• Substitution of a member who is a licensed electrician who may be employed by the department of regulatory agencies for a member from electrical engineering or contracting;
• Substitution of a member who is a licensed plumber who may be employed by the department of regulatory agencies for a member from the plumbing industry;
• Removal of a member from the construction design or producer industry;
• Substitution of 3 members from factory-built structure construction for 2 members from manufactured housing;
• Subtraction of one of the 2 current members from the tiny home industry;
• Addition of one member who is a developer specializing in the use of factory-built structures in projects;
• Addition of one member from climate resiliency;
• Addition of one member who is a registered installer;
• Addition of one member who is a registered seller; and
• Addition of one member who is an individual representing emergency services or management.

The state treasurer shall transfer $600,000 on July 1, 2025, from the innovative housing incentive program fund to the building regulation fund. The act excludes the building regulation fund from the limitations on cash fund reserves.

For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $182,264 from the building regulation fund to the department for use by the division to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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

VETOED by Governor 5/16/2025
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the statute of limitations to bring certain claims against a real estate appraiser does not start until the party filing the claim has discovered, or should have discovered, an alleged defect in the appraisal. The act requires a claimant to bring an action against a real estate appraiser (appraiser) within 5 years after the date the appraisal report is completed and transmitted to a client. The 5-year limitation does not apply to an action against an appraiser for a defective appraisal report or service if the action is brought by:

• A consumer who is an original party to a residential mortgage loan or residential real estate transaction; or
• A mortgage originator who must repurchase a loan.

The 5-year limitation also does not apply to an action for fraud, for misrepresentation, or for a discriminatory housing practice brought against an appraiser.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, owners of certain large buildings (covered buildings) are required to annually collect and report each covered building's energy use to the Colorado energy office.

The act clarifies that agricultural buildings are not covered buildings, and therefore, owners of agricultural buildings are exempt from the energy use collecting and reporting requirements. The act defines an agricultural building as a building or structure used to house agricultural implements, hay, unprocessed grain, poultry, livestock, or other agricultural products or inputs primarily for the purpose of maintaining or operating an agricultural process. Agricultural implements include certain agricultural equipment and do not include implements that are primarily for rent or sale.

The act permits an owner of an agricultural building to submit for an affirmative exemption from any requirement to report benchmarking data and for an exemption to remain valid until there is a change in ownership or a change that renders the building no longer an agricultural building. For the duration of an exemption, the owner of an agricultural building is required to certify, upon request, the exemption status of an exempt building.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law restricts construction defect negligence claims unless the negligence claim arises from a construction defect which results in actual damage to or loss of the use of real or personal property; bodily injury or wrongful death; or a risk of bodily injury or death to, or a threat to the life, health, or safety of, the occupants of the residential real property. Section 1 of the bill changes this restriction so that all construction defect claims are restricted unless the claim arises from a construction defect that causes:

• Actual damage to real or personal property caused by the violation of a building code, manufacturer's instructions, or industry standard;
• Actual loss of the use of real or personal property;
• Bodily injury or wrongful death; or
• An imminent and unreasonable risk of bodily injury or death to, or an imminent or unreasonable threat to the life, health, or safety of, the occupants of the residential real property.

Sections 2 through 12 modify existing warranty of habitability laws by repealing recent updates and reenacting the laws as they were prior to the updates. The modifications include repealing certain procedures for both landlords and tenants when a warranty of habitability claim is alleged by the tenant; repealing a rebuttable presumption that a landlord failed to remedy an uninhabitable premises in certain conditions; modifying requirements regarding notice given to a landlord of an uninhabitable premises; and modifying other laws related to rental agreements, records, and procedures for remedying uninhabitable premises. Section 13 repeals law that allows the attorney general to independently initiate and bring actions to enforce laws relating to the warranty of habitability. Section 14 makes a conforming change to law governing county courts' jurisdiction over cases involving tenant's remedies in warranty of habitability cases and tenant's remedies in cases of unlawful removal. Section 15 modifies the statement included in a summons issued to a defendant in a court proceeding regarding an action for possession brought by a landlord. Sections 16 through 20 repeal provisions related to evictions of residential tenants, including repealing:

• Requirements that a landlord and residential tenant participate in mandatory mediation prior to commencing an eviction action if the residential tenant receives cash assistance;
• A prohibition on a law enforcement officer's ability to execute a writ of restitution until 30 days after the entry of judgment if the residential tenant receives cash assistance;
• Requirements that a written demand include a statement that a residential tenant who receives cash assistance has a right to mediation prior to the landlord filing an eviction complaint;
• Requirements that a written rental agreement include a statement that current law prohibits source of income discrimination and requires a nonexempt landlord to accept any lawful and verifiable source of money paid directly, indirectly, or on behalf of a person; and
• Requirements that prohibit a written rental agreement from including a waiver of mandatory mediation or a clause that allows a landlord to recoup any costs associated with mandatory mediation.

Sections 21 and 22 require any provision of any energy code adopted by a county or municipality on or after January 1, 2026, to be cost effective. "Cost effective" means, using the existing energy efficiency standards and requirements as a base of comparison, that the economic benefits of the proposed energy efficiency standards and requirements will exceed the economic costs of those standards and requirements based upon an incremental multi-year analysis.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill prohibit a state agency from imposing a personal qualification requirement in order to engage in a profession or occupation unless the agency can show that the requirement is demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to address a specific, legitimate public health, safety, or welfare objective. On or before July 1, 2026, every agency must review occupational regulations and determine whether the regulation should be repealed or amended. Any person may file a petition with an agency requesting that an occupational regulation be repealed or amended. Regardless of whether a petition is filed with an agency, any person may file a civil suit requesting that the court enjoin the adoption or enforcement of an occupational regulation.

When an agency files a notice of proposed rule-making with the secretary of state, if the proposed rule-making includes a proposed occupational regulation, the agency must also submit a statement to the secretary of state describing how the proposed occupational regulation complies with the bill's requirements.

Section 3 repeals the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program, the cannabis resource optimization cash fund, the community access to electric bicycles grant program, and the electrifying school buses grant program, which were enacted in 2022 by Senate Bill 22-193. Section 4 repeals the energy code board and its associated model codes, an energy code training grant program, the building electrification for public buildings grant program, the high-efficiency electric heating and appliances grant program, and the clean air building investments fund, which were enacted in 2022 by House Bill 22-1362. Section 5 repeals the air quality enterprise, which was enacted in 2020 by Senate Bill 20-204. Section 6 repeals the environmental response surcharge, the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund, the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances grant program, the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances take-back program, and certain civil penalties for violations of certain air quality control regulations, which were enacted in 2020 by Senate Bill 20-218. Section 7 repeals certain requirements, including requirements regarding fenceline monitoring and community-based monitoring of air toxics, for covered facilities, which requirements were enacted in 2021 by House Bill 21-1189. Sections 8 through 20 make necessary conforming amendments.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill establishes that certain evidence that a person has engaged in an unfair or deceptive trade practice constitutes a significant impact to the public. The bill also clarifies that a deceptive trade practice claim cannot be based solely on a claim that a person breached a contract or engaged in negligence or on a claim for damages based on the rendering of professional services, unless the claim for damages involves an allegation of a material misrepresentation of fact, a failure to disclose material information, or an action that cannot be characterized as providing advice, judgment, or opinion.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act amends a definition and adds new definitions under the electricians' practice act.

Existing law requires an applicant for a journeyman electrician's license or a residential wireman's license to provide evidence of having certain minimum years of apprenticeship experience, accredited training, or practical experience. For the purpose of these requirements, the act allows an applicant for a journeyman electrician's license to have a minimum of 8,000 hours over a period of at least 4 years of certain apprenticeship or practical experience and an applicant for a residential wireman's license to have a minimum of 4,000 hours over a period of at least 2 years of certain practical experience. The act also changes the time frame for which an applicant for a journeyman electrician's license must complete at least 288 hours of training in safety, the national electrical code and its applications, and any other training required by the state electrical board (board) from the last 4 years to the last 8 years of the applicant's training, apprenticeship, or practical experience.

Existing law allows an applicant for a journeyman electrician's license or a residential wireman's license to substitute for required practical experience evidence of academic training or practical experience in the electrical field. The act allows an applicant to also substitute evidence of training in photovoltaic systems installation. However, the act also states that the board may, but is no longer required to, provide work experience credit for academic training, military training, photovoltaic systems installation training, or substantially similar training.

A contractor that is operating as of September 1, 2025, and that performs work as a photovoltaic installer pursuant with at least one North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certified employee is required to register as a photovoltaic installer with the board on or before December 31, 2026.

Existing law requires that, for all applicants seeking work experience credit toward licensure, the board give credit for electrical work that is not required to be performed by or under the supervision of a licensed electrician if the applicant can show that the experience or supervision is adequate. The act allows the board to give the credit, but it is not required to do so.

Existing law allows for photovoltaic installations with a direct current design capacity of less than 300 kilowatts, the performance of all photovoltaic electrical work, the installation of photovoltaic modules, and the installation of photovoltaic module mounting equipment to be subject to on-site supervision by a certified photovoltaic energy practitioner designated by the NABCEP. The act requires that the photovoltaic energy practitioner is also working for a contractor that is not a registered electrical contractor; is registered with the department of regulatory agencies as a photovoltaic installer no later than December 31, 2026; is a business in good standing with the state; and employs a NABCEP PV installation professional.

The act also:

• Defines "photovoltaic electrical work" as electrical work performed on a photovoltaic system that is covered electrical work in accordance with the national electrical code;
• Grants the board authority to regulate photovoltaic electrical work for installations of less than three hundred kilowatts and specifies that only an electrical contractor or a photovoltaic installer may perform or offer to perform such work; and
• Authorizes the board to charge a fee for photovoltaic installer registration.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill clarifies that construction professionals owe an independent tort duty of care to construct residential homes in a non-defective and reasonable manner, and that this duty is owed equally to original and subsequent residential home purchasers.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The act suspends legislative interim committee activities during the 2025 legislative interim (interim). Specifically, the act:

• Prohibits the legislative council of the general assembly from prioritizing any requests for interim committees, including task forces, for the 2025 interim;
• For an interim committee that meets during 2025 interim, limits the number of bills the committee can request to be drafted to 5 and can recommend for introduction to 3;
• Prohibits meetings, field trips, and legislative recommendations and reports by, and suspends for one year certain reports required to be submitted to, existing interim committees, including the legislative emergency preparedness, response, and recovery committee; legislative oversight committee for Colorado jail standards; statewide health care review committee; Colorado health insurance exchange oversight committee; opioid and other substance use disorders study committee; pension review commission and pension review subcommittee; legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy; and sales and use tax simplification task force; and
• Prohibits members serving on statutorily created interim committees from receiving per diem and travel expenses for attending interim committee meetings during the 2025 interim except for attendance at a meeting of the wildfire matters review committee, the water resources and agriculture review committee, and the transportation legislation review committee.

The act removes the authority of the Colorado youth advisory council review committee to recommend legislation through the interim committee process.

The act reduces appropriations made in the legislative department's budget bill by $272,355.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes a sales and use tax exemption for contractors and subcontractors that purchase, store, use, or consume construction and building materials for use in the building, erection, alteration, or repair of structures owned and used by a regional transportation authority (authority) to house authority employees or contractors. The act authorizes an authority or an authority's board to build, erect, alter, or repair such structures for the purpose of housing employees or contractors of an authority.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill creates the data center development and grid modernization program (program) in the Colorado office of economic development (office). To facilitate efficient data center development and g rid modernization, the program allows tax and utility benefits to a data center operator that applies to the office to have a data center project certified at one of 2 levels and that satisfies certain eligibility criteria for certification.

The first level of data center project certification created in the bill is base certification. In connection with base certification, the bill specifies that:

• To obtain base certification, a data center operator must commit, through the application process with the office, to making a $250 million minimum capital investment in data center facility construction and equipment within 5 years, creating 25 full-time jobs that satisfy specified criteria, and breaking ground on the data center project within 5 years of obtaining base certification;
• In addition to the investment and job creation requirements, to obtain base certification a data center operator must also commit to implementing basic grid support capabilities, obtaining certification under one of several energy efficiency standards, implementing water stewardship strategies that optimize operational water management, sourcing at least 50% of the data center project's energy consumption from renewable and clean sources, supporting clean integration by implementing energy storage solutions that align with the data center project's needs and operations, agreeing to certain post-certification requirements, and agreeing to submit annual compliance reports to the office;
• A data center operator must apply to the office, in a form and manner to be determined by the office, for base certification before taking action to satisfy any of the eligibility criteria;
• The office is required to review a data center operator's application for base certification and award base certification to data center operators that have demonstrated that they will satisfy the base certification criteria;
• A data center operator that obtains base certification for a data center project is eligible for a 100% sales and use tax exemption on the purchase, use, and storage of information technology infrastructure, data center infrastructure, and electrical grid enhancement equipment (qualified purchases) for 20 years from the date that the data center project was certified, so long as the data center project satisfies ongoing compliance requirements; and
• In addition to the sales and use tax credit, a data center operator that obtains base certification for a data center project is eligible for standard utility rate incentives as negotiated between the data center operator and the utility.

The second level of data center certification created in the bill is enhancement certification. A data center operator that has obtained base certification for a data center project may apply for enhancement certification for the same data center. In connection with enhancement certification, the bill specifies that:

• To obtain enhancement certification, a data center operator must invest a minimum of $10 million in grid enhancement and modernization, invest in workforce development or other community benefit programs, agree to certain post-certification requirements, and agree to submit annual compliance reports to the office;
• A data center operator must apply to the office, in a form and manner to be determined by the office, for enhancement certification either before or after making the required minimum grid enhancement and modernization investment;
• The office is required to review a data center operator's application for enhancement certification and award enhancement certification to data center operators that have demonstrated that they will satisfy the enhancement certification criteria;
• For income tax years commencing on or after 2026, a data center operator that obtains enhancement certification for a data center project is eligible for an income tax credit in an amount equal to 10% of the amount of any grid enhancement and modernization investment made by the data center operator and an additional amount equal to 5% of the amount of such investment if the investment is made in a rural area (grid enhancement credit);
• A data center operator is not eligible to claim the grid enhancement credit until the data center operator has made the required minimum grid enhancement and modernization investment; and
• In addition to the grid enhancement credit, a data center operator that obtains enhancement certification for a data center project is eligible for enhanced utility benefits as negotiated between the data center operator and the utility.

Before submitting an application for certification for a data center project, a data center operator is required to conduct and document a preliminary consultation with the utility that will provide electricity for the data center project regarding interconnection feasibility, capacity, and infrastructure requirements and obtain a written feasibility assessment from the utility. A data center operator is required to include the documentation of the consultation and the written feasibility assessment with an application to the office for certification of the data center project, and, if the data center project includes projects requiring review by the public utilities commission (commission), the commission is required to review specified aspects of the application.

A certified data center project that necessitates a new customer load or co-located customer load that satisfies certain criteria (emerging new load) is eligible for targeted resource acquisition if the data center operator satisfies specified requirements. The bill specifies a process by which a utility regulated by the commission may submit a resource acquisition application to the commission to meet emerging new load needs. The bill also specifies how a utility may finance resources and infrastructure needs in connection with emerging new loads.

After achieving base certification and enhancement certification, a data center operator may apply to the office for certain benefit extensions for the sales and use tax exemption allowed to data center operators that have obtained base certification, for the grid enhancement credit allowed to data center operators that have obtained enhancement certification, and for the utility benefits negotiated between the data center operator and the utility.

If the office determines that a data center operator is not fulfilling its obligations and commitments to retain base certification or enhancement certification, the office is required to revoke the certification and the data center operator is required to repay the state for the tax benefits that it received.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)