House Bill 25b-1019 Introduced

A Bill for an Act

• Page 1, Line 101Concerning the repeal of the authority granted to the

• Page 1, Line 102office of the governor by House Bill 25-1321 to expend

• Page 1, Line 103money in the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act"

• Page 1, Line 104cash fund to support the state in defending against

• Page 1, Line 105adverse federal action, and, in connection therewith,

• Page 1, Line 106reducing an appropriation.

Bill Summary

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)

The bill repeals the authority granted to the office of the governor by House Bill 25-1321 to expend money in the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund (cash fund) to support the state in defending against adverse federal action, which includes specific authority to:

• Accept gifts, grants, and donations for that purpose;
• Hire and employ personnel or retain contractors for purposes related to federal government actions that impact federal disbursements, grants, contracts, or money received by or transferred to the state;
• Reimburse the department of law for costs associated with special assistant attorneys general contracted with for the purposes of:
• Providing legal services to state officers or employees related to legal actions initiated, pursued, or threatened by the federal government; or
• Providing legal services for the criminal defense of state officers or employees in legal actions arising out of official acts or decisions; or
• Make other expenditures consistent with the purpose of supporting the state in defending against adverse federal action, as determined by the governor, including expenditures to preserve and protect state sovereignty or federal funding streams that benefit the state.

The bill also eliminates the funding and spending authority provided to support the state in defending against adverse federal action by requiring the state treasurer to transfer $4 million from the cash fund to the general fund and repealing a state fiscal year 2025-26 appropriation, with rollover authority through state fiscal year 2026-27, of $4 million from the cash fund to the office of the governor.

• Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:

• Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1.  Legislative declaration. (1)  The general assembly finds and declares that:

• Page 2, Line 3(a)  As the state faces growing fiscal pressure, the general

• Page 2, Line 4assembly has a responsibility to adequately fund essential services and programs that have a measurable value to taxpayers in Colorado;

• Page 2, Line 5(b)  Currently, for state fiscal year 2025-2026, the office of state

• Page 2, Line 6planning and budgeting is projecting a state budget deficit of $783

• Page 2, Line 7million;

• Page 3, Line 1(c)  House Bill 25-1321 appropriated $4 million from the

• Page 3, Line 2"Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund, which resulted in that

• Page 3, Line 3money being unavailable for other uses, even though this cash fund had

• Page 3, Line 4previously been used as non-federal matching money that enabled the

• Page 3, Line 5state and local governments to qualify for federal infrastructure funding throughout Colorado;

• Page 3, Line 6(d)  The $4 million House Bill 25-1321 appropriation was made

• Page 3, Line 7directly to the office of the governor to pursue legal action against the federal government if federal grants, contracts, or money are adjusted;

• Page 3, Line 8(e)  The timing of the enactment of House Bill 25-1321 reflects a

• Page 3, Line 9hostile reaction to recent decisions made by the Trump administration as

• Page 3, Line 10Colorado continues to fail to adhere to federal requirements, and these

• Page 3, Line 11actions have a direct impact on the state's federal funding and

• Page 3, Line 12demonstrate a clear disregard for the responsibility of the general assembly to comply with a federal administration that was fairly elected;

• Page 3, Line 13(f)  The House Bill 25-1321 appropriation represents a clearly

• Page 3, Line 14inefficient use of taxpayer dollars at a time when the state is facing a

• Page 3, Line 15structural budget deficit that disproportionately impacts rural

• Page 3, Line 16communities and amplifies the financial obstacles that our vulnerable communities already face;

• Page 3, Line 17(g)  During the 2025 regular legislative session, house and senate

• Page 3, Line 18Republicans proposed a number of amendments to House Bill 25-1321

• Page 3, Line 19to represent the will of the people and demonstrate how this funding could and should be used to benefit the taxpayers of Colorado;

• Page 3, Line 20(h)  After hours of debate in both chambers, the Democratic

• Page 3, Line 21majority rejected all of the Republican minority's proposed changes,

• Page 3, Line 22concerns, and pleas to listen to the taxpayers of Colorado and enacted

• Page 4, Line 1House Bill 25-1321 as a bill that undermines the federal government's

• Page 4, Line 2authority and completely disregards the voice of taxpayers in Colorado; and

• Page 4, Line 3(i)  Therefore, to appropriately spend the taxpayers' dollars, it is

• Page 4, Line 4necessary, appropriate, and in the best interest of all Coloradans to repeal

• Page 4, Line 5the law enacted by House Bill 25-1321, including the appropriation of $4

• Page 4, Line 6million to the office of the governor, and require the $4 million to be transferred to the general fund.

• Page 4, Line 7SECTION 2.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-75-232, amend (8); repeal (4)(d) and (5)(e); and add (4)(a.5) as follows:

• Page 4, Line 824-75-232.  "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash

• Page 4, Line 9fund - creation - allowable uses - report - compliance monitoring - legislative declaration - definitions - repeal. (4) (a.5)  No later than

• Page 4, Line 10three days following the effective date of this subsection

• Page 4, Line 11(4)(a.5), the state treasurer shall transfer four million dollars from the fund to the general fund.

• Page 4, Line 12(d)  The office may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or

• Page 4, Line 13donations from private or public sources for the purposes of subsection

• Page 4, Line 14(5)(e) of this section. The office shall transmit all money received through

• Page 4, Line 15gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the

• Page 4, Line 16money to the fund for use for the purposes of subsection (5)(e) of this section.

• Page 4, Line 17(5) (e)  In addition to the uses set forth in subsections (5)(a) and

• Page 4, Line 18(5)(b) of this section, and notwithstanding subsection (1)(e) of this

• Page 4, Line 19section, the office may expend the money in the fund at the governor's discretion for the following purposes:

• Page 4, Line 20(I)  Hiring and employing personnel or retaining contractors for

• Page 5, Line 1purposes related to federal government actions that impact federal

• Page 5, Line 2disbursements, grants, contracts, or money received by or transferred to the state;

• Page 5, Line 3(II)  Reimbursing the department of law for costs associated with

• Page 5, Line 4special assistant attorneys general, pursuant to sections 24-31-101 and 24-31-111 (5), contracted with for the purposes of:

• Page 5, Line 5(A)  Providing legal services to state officers or employees related

• Page 5, Line 6to legal proceedings, inquiries, hearings, or investigations initiated,

• Page 5, Line 7pursued, or threatened by the federal government, including congressional inquiries and investigations; or

• Page 5, Line 8(B)  Providing legal services for the criminal defense of state

• Page 5, Line 9officers or employees in legal actions arising out of official acts or decisions; or

• Page 5, Line 10(III)  Other expenditures consistent with the purposes of this

• Page 5, Line 11section, as determined by the governor, including expenditures to

• Page 5, Line 12preserve and protect state sovereignty or federal funding streams that benefit the state.

• Page 5, Line 13(8)  This section is repealed, effective July 1, 2028. Any

• Page 5, Line 14unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund upon the repeal of this section reverts to the general fund.

• Page 5, Line 15SECTION 3.  In Session Laws of Colorado 2025, repeal section 2 of chapter 206 as follows:

• Page 5, Line 16Section 2.  Appropriation.For the 2025-26 state fiscal year,

• Page 5, Line 17$4,000,000 is appropriated to the office of the governor. This

• Page 5, Line 18appropriation is from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash

• Page 5, Line 19fund created in section 24-75-232 (3), C.R.S. To implement this act, the

• Page 5, Line 20office may use this appropriation for administration of governor's office

• Page 6, Line 1and residence. Any money appropriated in this section not expended prior

• Page 6, Line 2to July 1, 2026, is further appropriated to the office for the 2026-27 state fiscal year for the same purpose.

• Page 6, Line 3SECTION 4.  Safety clause. The general assembly finds,

• Page 6, Line 4determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate

• Page 6, Line 5preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for

• Page 6, Line 6the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.