House Bill 25-1007

BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Froelich and Valdez, Boesenecker, Lindsay, Mauro, Soper, Bacon, Brown, Clifford, Duran, Hamrick, Lukens, Martinez, Paschal, Phillips, Rutinel, Stewart K., Stewart R., Titone, Velasco, Willford, Woodrow, McCluskie;

also SENATOR(S) Winter F. and Simpson, Cutter, Amabile, Ball, Daugherty, Exum, Jodeh, Kipp, Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Snyder, Wallace, Weissman, Coleman.

Concerning emergency preparedness for paratransit services.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:

SECTION 1.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 43-1-604 as follows:

43-1-604.  Paratransit services - communication duties - report - definitions - repeal. (1)  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)  "Emergency" means:

(I)  A fire, rescue call, or hazardous materials incident;

(II)  A natural or human-caused disaster such as an earthquake, wildfire, flood, or severe weather event; or

(III)  An incident reasonably determined to be an emergency by a public entity providing emergency services.

(b)  "Paratransit services" means complementary parallel transit services for individuals with disabilities who are unable to utilize regular or fixed route transit services for some or all of their transit needs.

(c)  "Public entity providing emergency services" means any political subdivision of the state or agency of a political subdivision of the state that responds in a professional capacity to an emergency, including a law enforcement agency, fire department, or fire protection district.

(d)  "Transit agency" means any political subdivision of the state, public entity, or nonprofit corporation that provides paratransit services in the state.

(2) (a)  On and after January 1, 2026, in coordination with local public entities providing emergency services, a transit agency shall establish a plan to communicate information and provide paratransit services during emergencies.

(b)  The communication plan must include information on the number of riders who use the transit agency's paratransit services and the transit agency's resource capacity, including the number of drivers and the number of vehicles used to provide paratransit services.

(c) (I)  On or before September 1, 2026, transit agencies and public entities providing emergency services shall submit a report to the transportation legislation review committee on the implementation of the communication and emergency services plan described in this subsection (2).

(II)  This subsection (2)(c) is repealed, effective July 1, 2027.

SECTION 2.  Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.