House Bill 25-1215 Preamended

A Bill for an Act

• Page 1, Line 101Concerning the redistribution of the lottery fund, and, in

• Page 1, Line 102connection therewith, modifying the distributions of

• Page 1, Line 103lottery fund money for the public school capital

• Page 1, Line 104construction assistance fund, the wildlife cash fund,

• Page 1, Line 105and the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; and

• Page 1, Line 106making new distributions to the outdoor equity fund,

• Page 1, Line 107the outdoor recreation industry office, and a new

• Page 1, Line 108strategic outdoor recreation management and

• Page 1, Line 109infrastructure cash fund.

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.)

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.
• 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.

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:

• This Unofficial Version Includes Committee

• Amendments Not Yet Adopted on Second Reading

• 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)  Since its creation, the outdoor equity grant program,

• Page 2, Line 4administered by the outdoor equity board in the division of parks and

• Page 2, Line 5wildlife, has provided a total of $8.5 million to support meaningful

• Page 2, Line 6outdoor experiences for Colorado youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth,

• Page 2, Line 7low-income youth, indigenous youth, rural youth, and youth with

• Page 2, Line 8disabilities. These transformative experiences have allowed individuals

• Page 2, Line 9to discover and cherish the beauty of our state through environmental

• Page 2, Line 10education, experiential learning, stewardship programming, and more.

• Page 2, Line 11Through December 2024, this investment has supported more than 65,000

• Page 2, Line 12Colorado youth and families in experiencing the positive impact of the great outdoors.

• Page 3, Line 1(b)  The demand for the outdoor equity grant program reflects a

• Page 3, Line 2deep and growing need for opportunities that connect Colorado's

• Page 3, Line 3underserved youth to the outdoors. In 2023, hundreds of organizations

• Page 3, Line 4across the state put forward meaningful projects to empower youth

• Page 3, Line 5through outdoor experiences, but the program could only support a small

• Page 3, Line 6fraction of them due to limited funding. In 2024, the outdoor equity grant

• Page 3, Line 7program board received 263 grant proposals with a total ask of $21 million dollars.

• Page 3, Line 8(c)  This pattern has repeated year after year, with the

• Page 3, Line 9overwhelming majority of thoughtful and impactful applications going

• Page 3, Line 10unfunded. Despite the program's success in transforming lives, only 14%

• Page 3, Line 11of eligible applications have received support so far. The demand for this

• Page 3, Line 12program is a testament to its importance, but it also highlights how much

• Page 3, Line 13more could be done to ensure every young person in Colorado has the

• Page 3, Line 14chance to experience the outdoors and the life-changing opportunities it provides.

• Page 3, Line 15(d)  Public school capital construction assistance grant requests to

• Page 3, Line 16address health and safety needs in school buildings vastly outnumber

• Page 3, Line 17available grant funds every year. Increased funds for the public school

• Page 3, Line 18capital construction assistance fund will help meet more of those

• Page 3, Line 19qualified requests. These funds also generate local matching dollars for

• Page 3, Line 20public school facility projects and are local economic drivers, with more

• Page 3, Line 21than 17 direct and indirect jobs created or supported for every $1 million

• Page 3, Line 22invested in building excellent schools today (BEST) grant program schools.

• Page 3, Line 23(e)  Increased investment in public school capital construction

• Page 4, Line 1assistance grants ensures that more public school facilities can be

• Page 4, Line 2renovated or rebuilt to meet modern safety and accessibility standards,

• Page 4, Line 3creating healthier learning environments and fostering long-term educational success for Colorado's students; and

• Page 4, Line 4(f)  The general assembly has the opportunity to reallocate existing

• Page 4, Line 5resources to support more of these critical programs without any new funding.

• Page 4, Line 6(2)  Therefore, the general assembly declares that by prioritizing

• Page 4, Line 7the outdoor equity grant program within our current budget, we can

• Page 4, Line 8expand access to transformative outdoor experiences for Colorado's

• Page 4, Line 9underserved youth, ensuring that more young people benefit from the life-changing impact of nature.

• Page 4, Line 10SECTION 2.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 33-9-115 as follows:

• Page 4, Line 1133-9-115.  Strategic outdoor recreation management and

• Page 4, Line 12infrastructure cash fund. (1) (a)  The strategic outdoor recreation

• Page 4, Line 13management and infrastructure cash fund, referred to in this

• Page 4, Line 14section as the "fund", is created in the state treasury. The fund

• Page 4, Line 15consists of money transferred to the fund pursuant to section

• Page 4, Line 1644-40-111 (12)(b) and any other money that the general assembly

• Page 4, Line 17may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The state treasurer

• Page 4, Line 18shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund.

• Page 4, Line 19(b)  Money transferred to the fund pursuant to section

• Page 4, Line 2044-40-111 (12)(b) and any income and interest derived from the

• Page 4, Line 21deposit and investment of such money is exempt from any

• Page 4, Line 22restriction on spending, revenue, or appropriations, including,

• Page 5, Line 1without limitation, the restrictions of section 20 of article X of the state constitution.

• Page 5, Line 2(2)  Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the

• Page 5, Line 3division for the following purposes, including the reasonable

• Page 5, Line 4and necessary direct and indirect administrative costs incurred by the division in the implementation of the purposes:

• Page 5, Line 5(a)  The achievement of strategic outcomes or

• Page 5, Line 6opportunities that advance outdoor recreation infrastructure and management that address:

• Page 5, Line 7(I)  Growing or future demands on infrastructure, experiences or lands; and

• Page 5, Line 8(II)  Current or expected impacts to wildlife, natural or cultural resources;

• Page 5, Line 9(b)  Uses outside regular activities within the Colorado

• Page 5, Line 10state parks system, including through partnerships with federal

• Page 5, Line 11land managers, nongovernmental or community organizations,

• Page 5, Line 12state government entities, local or regional partnerships, or

• Page 5, Line 13projects adjacent to or recent additions to the Colorado state

• Page 5, Line 14parks system. The division shall prioritize parks and recreation

• Page 5, Line 15cash fund money for uses on or associated with the Colorado state parks system.

• Page 5, Line 16(c)  Outdoor recreation infrastructure, prioritizing

• Page 5, Line 17investments that both enhance recreational experiences and support resource protection, including:

• Page 5, Line 18(I)  Trail and river feature construction, maintenance and planning;

• Page 5, Line 19(II)  Signage;

• Page 6, Line 1(III)  Bathroom facilities, parking, or other physical infrastructure;

• Page 6, Line 2(d)  Outdoor recreation visitor management, including

• Page 6, Line 3signage, public education, field and interpretive staffing, visitor

• Page 6, Line 4and community safety, wildlife, and natural or cultural resource protection;

• Page 6, Line 5(e)  Increasing equity and accessibility in the outdoors,

• Page 6, Line 6including but not limited to, field ambassadors, interpretive

• Page 6, Line 7staffing, adaptive outdoor recreation infrastructure, equipment, and programs; and

• Page 6, Line 8(f)  Outdoor recreation and conservation analysis and

• Page 6, Line 9planning, including data procurement and analysis, needs

• Page 6, Line 10assessments, and data-oriented coordination or information

• Page 6, Line 11sharing across associated federal, local, private, and state planning efforts.

• Page 6, Line 12(3)  The division may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants,

• Page 6, Line 13and donations, loans of money, or aid in any form from private

• Page 6, Line 14or public sources for the purposes of this section. The division

• Page 6, Line 15shall transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or

• Page 6, Line 16donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the fund.

• Page 6, Line 17SECTION 3.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, 44-40-111, amend

• Page 6, Line 18(12)(b)(III) and (12)(b)(IV); and add(12)(a)(III.5) and (12)(b)(V) as follows:

• Page 6, Line 1944-40-111.  Lottery fund creation - definitions.(12) (a)  As used in this subsection (12), unless the context otherwise requires:

• Page 6, Line 20(III.5)  "Strategic outdoor recreation management and

• Page 7, Line 1infrastructure cash fund" means the strategic outdoor

• Page 7, Line 2recreation management and infrastructure cash fund created in section 33-9-115 (1)(a).

• Page 7, Line 3(b)  Pursuant to subsection (10)(b) of this section, the state

• Page 7, Line 4treasurer shall transfer money that would otherwise be allocated to the

• Page 7, Line 5general fund pursuant to section 3 (1)(b)(III) of article XXVII of the state constitution, and as described in section 33-60-104 (1)(c), as follows:

• Page 7, Line 6(III)  For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, to the extent available, the

• Page 7, Line 7first two million two hundred fifty thousand dollars to the outdoor equity

• Page 7, Line 8fund; the next three million dollars to the public school capital

• Page 7, Line 9construction assistance fund; and any remaining money as follows:

• Page 7, Line 10Twenty-five percent to the wildlife cash fund, twenty-five percent to the

• Page 7, Line 11parks and outdoor recreation cash fund, and fifty percent to the public school capital construction assistance fund; and

• Page 7, Line 12(IV)  For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, and each state fiscal year

• Page 7, Line 13thereafter, to the extent available, the first three million dollars to the

• Page 7, Line 14outdoor equity fund; the next three million dollars to the public school

• Page 7, Line 15capital construction assistance fund; and any remaining money as follows:

• Page 7, Line 16Twenty-five percent to the wildlife cash fund, twenty-five percent to the

• Page 7, Line 17parks and outdoor recreation cash fund, and fifty percent to the public school capital construction assistance fund; and

• Page 7, Line 18(V)  For the 2024-25 state fiscal year and each state fiscal

• Page 7, Line 19year thereafter, to the extent available, if the total amount of such money available is twenty million dollars or less:

• Page 7, Line 20(A)  The first four million dollars to the outdoor equity fund;

• Page 7, Line 21(B)  The next three million dollars to the public school capital construction assistance fund;

• Page 8, Line 1(C)  The next seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to the

• Page 8, Line 2outdoor recreation industry office in the office of economic development created in section 24-48.5-129 (2); and

• Page 8, Line 3(D)  Any remaining money as follows: fifty percent to the

• Page 8, Line 4public school capital construction assistance fund; twenty

• Page 8, Line 5percent to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; twenty

• Page 8, Line 6percent to the wildlife cash fund; and ten percent to the outdoor equity fund.

• Page 8, Line 7(VI)  For the 2024-25 state fiscal year and each state

• Page 8, Line 8fiscal year thereafter, to the extent available, if the total

• Page 8, Line 9amount of such money available is more than twenty million dollars:

• Page 8, Line 10(A)  The first four million dollars to the outdoor equity fund;

• Page 8, Line 11(B)  The next three million dollars to the public school capital construction assistance fund;

• Page 8, Line 12(C)  The next seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to the

• Page 8, Line 13outdoor recreation industry office in the office of economic development created in section 24-48.5-129 (2); and

• Page 8, Line 14(D)  Any remaining money as follows: fifty percent to the

• Page 8, Line 15public school capital construction assistance fund; fifteen

• Page 8, Line 16percent to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; fifteen

• Page 8, Line 17percent to the wildlife cash fund; ten percent to the outdoor

• Page 8, Line 18equity fund; five percent to the outdoor recreation industry

• Page 8, Line 19office in the office of economic development created in section

• Page 8, Line 2024-48.5-129 (2); and five percent to the strategic outdoor recreation management and infrastructure cash fund.

• Page 9, Line 1SECTION 4.  Act subject to petition - effective date. This act

• Page 9, Line 2takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the

• Page 9, Line 3ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except

• Page 9, Line 4that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V

• Page 9, Line 5of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this

• Page 9, Line 6act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take

• Page 9, Line 7effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in

• Page 9, Line 8November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.