A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning promoting workforce development
Page 1, Line 102opportunities in Colorado's nuclear sector.
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 creates the Colorado nuclear workforce development and education program (program) in the department of higher education (department) to help meet growing workforce demand in the nuclear energy sector. The bill establishes a related grant program to provide grants to institutions of higher education for the development or expansion of nuclear engineering degree or certificate programs or course offerings. The Colorado nuclear workforce development and education council shall advise and assist the department regarding the grant program's implementation and evaluation.
The department may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for program-related purposes. The state treasurer shall credit the gifts, grants, and donations to the Colorado workforce development and education cash fund (cash fund). The general assembly shall not appropriate general fund dollars to implement or maintain program operations or grant awards. The department shall begin awarding grants only after the balance of the cash fund reaches or exceeds $500,000.
The bill imposes requirements to report to the general assembly about the program's implementation and use of funds. The bill repeals the program, effective September 1, 2032, unless the program is extended pursuant to a sunset review.
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add article 82 to title 23 as follows:
Page 2, Line 3ARTICLE 82
Colorado Nuclear Workforce Development and
Page 2, Line 4Education Program
Page 2, Line 523-82-101. Definitions.As used in this article 82, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 2, Line 6(1) "Cash fund" means the Colorado nuclear workforce
Page 2, Line 7development and education cash fund created in section 23-82-107.
Page 2, Line 8(2) "Coal transition community" means a coal transition community as defined in section 8-83-502.
Page 2, Line 9(3) "Council" means the Colorado nuclear workforce development and education council created in section 23-82-104.
Page 2, Line 10(4) "Department" means the department of higher
Page 2, Line 11education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-114.
Page 3, Line 1(5) "Grant program" means the Colorado nuclear
Page 3, Line 2workforce development and education grant program created in section 23-82-103.
Page 3, Line 3(6) "Program" means the Colorado nuclear workforce
Page 3, Line 4development and education program created in section 23-82-102.
Page 3, Line 5(7) "State institution of higher education" or "institution"
Page 3, Line 6means a state institution of higher education as defined in section 23-18-102.
Page 3, Line 723-82-102. Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 3, Line 8education program - created - guidelines and procedures. (1) The
Page 3, Line 9Colorado nuclear workforce development and education
Page 3, Line 10program is created in the department of higher education. The
Page 3, Line 11purpose of the program is to meet growing workforce demand in the nuclear energy sector by:
Page 3, Line 12(a) Providing grants to institutions for the development
Page 3, Line 13or expansion of nuclear engineering degree or certificate
Page 3, Line 14programs or course offerings through the Colorado workforce
Page 3, Line 15development and education grant program created in section 23-82-103; and
Page 3, Line 16(b) Providing institutions related technical assistance.
Page 3, Line 17(2) The department shall implement the program in
Page 3, Line 18accordance with this article 82 and shall develop, with
Page 3, Line 19assistance from and in coordination with the council, program
Page 3, Line 20guidelines and procedures as necessary to implement the program.
Page 3, Line 2123-82-103. Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 4, Line 1education grant program - created - guidelines and procedures.
Page 4, Line 2(1) The Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 4, Line 3education grant program is created in the department of higher
Page 4, Line 4education. The purpose of the grant program is to meet growing
Page 4, Line 5workforce demand in the nuclear energy sector by providing
Page 4, Line 6grants to institutions for the development or expansion of
Page 4, Line 7nuclear engineering degree or certificate programs or course offerings.
Page 4, Line 8(2) Grant recipients may use the money received through
Page 4, Line 9the grant program for nuclear engineering program or course
Page 4, Line 10design, personnel, or administrative or facility expenses necessary to develop or expand program or course offerings.
Page 4, Line 11(3) The department, with assistance from and in
Page 4, Line 12coordination with the council, shall administer the grant
Page 4, Line 13program and, subject to available appropriations, shall award
Page 4, Line 14grants as provided in this article 82. Grants must be paid out of
Page 4, Line 15the Colorado nuclear workforce development and education cash fund created in section 23-82-107.
Page 4, Line 1623-82-104. Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 4, Line 17education council - created - duties. (1) The Colorado nuclear
Page 4, Line 18workforce development and education council is created in the department of higher education.
Page 4, Line 19(2) (a) The council consists of seven members appointed by the designated appointing officials as follows:
Page 4, Line 20(I) The governor shall appoint the following members of the council:
Page 4, Line 21(A) One member who is a representative of the department;
Page 5, Line 1(B) One member who is a representative of a coal transition community or rural area of the state; and
Page 5, Line 2(C) One member who is a nuclear physicist or engineer from a federal laboratory; and
Page 5, Line 3(II) The president of the senate, the minority leader of the
Page 5, Line 4senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
Page 5, Line 5minority leader of the house of representatives shall each
Page 5, Line 6appoint one member who is a representative of a private company in the nuclear or clean energy sector.
Page 5, Line 7(b) The appointing officials shall make the initial appointments to the council no later than January 1, 2026.
Page 5, Line 8(c) The term of appointment is four years; except that the
Page 5, Line 9term of each member initially appointed pursuant to subsection(2)(b) of this section is two years.
Page 5, Line 10(3) Members of the council serve without compensation
Page 5, Line 11but are entitled to receive reimbursement for actual and
Page 5, Line 12necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the members' duties on the council.
Page 5, Line 13(4) (a) The council shall elect a chair from among the
Page 5, Line 14council's members to serve for a term not to exceed two years, as determined by the council.
Page 5, Line 15(b) The council shall meet at least once in 2026, and at
Page 5, Line 16least quarterly each year thereafter. The chair may call such
Page 5, Line 17additional meetings as are necessary for the committee to complete its duties.
Page 5, Line 18(5) The council shall:
Page 6, Line 1(a) Review and approve grant program guidelines and procedures;
Page 6, Line 2(b) Advise and provide assistance to the department on the implementation of the grant program;
Page 6, Line 3(c) Review and make recommendations to the department
Page 6, Line 4on grant applications, including recommendations for grant award amounts; and
Page 6, Line 5(d) Assist the department in evaluating the grant program.
Page 6, Line 6(6) The council may promote nuclear engineering
Page 6, Line 7education and research activities among institutions to enhance
Page 6, Line 8the institutions' ability to attract federal and private sector
Page 6, Line 9funding for nuclear engineering education, training, and related research.
Page 6, Line 1023-82-105. Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 6, Line 11education grant program - application - criteria - awards. (1) To
Page 6, Line 12receive a grant, an institution must submit an application to the
Page 6, Line 13council in accordance with guidelines and procedures established pursuant to section 23-82-102 (2).
Page 6, Line 14(2) The council shall review the applications received
Page 6, Line 15pursuant to this section. In making recommendations to the
Page 6, Line 16department regarding awarding the grants, the council shall
Page 6, Line 17prioritize institutions that can provide a trained workforce
Page 6, Line 18expeditiously. In addition to other relevant factors, the council shall consider the following criteria when awarding grants:
Page 6, Line 19(a) The distribution of nuclear engineering programs and
Page 6, Line 20courses offered across the state;
Page 7, Line 1(b) The need for a nuclear engineering workforce in the surrounding community or region of the state; and
Page 7, Line 2(c) The projected student interest in the nuclear engineering programs at competing institutions.
Page 7, Line 3(3) Subject to available appropriations, the department
Page 7, Line 4shall begin awarding grants as provided in this article 82 only
Page 7, Line 5after the balance of the Colorado nuclear workforce
Page 7, Line 6development and education cash fund reaches or exceeds five hundred thousand dollars.
Page 7, Line 723-82-106. Reporting requirements. (1) On or before
Page 7, Line 8November 1, 2027, and on or before November 1 each year
Page 7, Line 9thereafter until the repeal of the Colorado nuclear workforce
Page 7, Line 10development and education program, the council shall submit
Page 7, Line 11a report to the house of representatives energy and
Page 7, Line 12environment committee, the house of representatives education
Page 7, Line 13committee, the senate transportation and energy committee,
Page 7, Line 14and the senate education committee, or their successor
Page 7, Line 15committees. At a minimum, the report must include a summary of
Page 7, Line 16the program and its implementation and any related technical
Page 7, Line 17assistance provided to institutions, including an accounting of
Page 7, Line 18how money was used pursuant to this article 82 to expand or
Page 7, Line 19support nuclear engineering degree or certificate programs or
Page 7, Line 20course offerings in order to meet growing workforce demand in the nuclear energy sector.
Page 7, Line 21(2) Beginning in January 2028, and in January every year
Page 7, Line 22thereafter, the department shall include, as part of its
Page 7, Line 23presentation during its"SMART Act" hearing required by section
Page 8, Line 12-7-203, an executive summary of the annual report on the program.
Page 8, Line 2(3) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the
Page 8, Line 3reporting requirement set forth in this section continues until the program repeals pursuant to section 23-82-109.
Page 8, Line 423-82-107. Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 8, Line 5education cash fund. (1) The department may seek, accept, and
Page 8, Line 6expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources
Page 8, Line 7for the purposes of this article 82. The department shall
Page 8, Line 8transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or donations
Page 8, Line 9to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the
Page 8, Line 10Colorado nuclear workforce development and education cash
Page 8, Line 11fund. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly,
Page 8, Line 12the department may expend any state money from the cash fund
Page 8, Line 13for direct and indirect costs incurred to administer the program.
Page 8, Line 14(2) The general assembly shall not appropriate general
Page 8, Line 15fund dollars for the purposes of implementing or maintaining program operations or grant awards pursuant to this article 82.
Page 8, Line 16(3) The Colorado nuclear workforce development and
Page 8, Line 17education cash fund is created in the state treasury. The cash
Page 8, Line 18fund consists of gifts, grants, and donations credited to the fund pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
Page 8, Line 19(4) The state treasurer shall credit all interest and
Page 8, Line 20income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the
Page 8, Line 21Colorado nuclear workforce development and education cash
Page 8, Line 22fund to the fund.
Page 9, Line 1(5) Subject to annual appropriation by the general
Page 9, Line 2assembly, the department may expend money from the cash fund for the purposes of this article 82.
Page 9, Line 323-82-108. Funding for program.The general assembly
Page 9, Line 4shall annually appropriate money from the Colorado nuclear
Page 9, Line 5workforce development and education cash fund to the
Page 9, Line 6department to implement the program. The department may use
Page 9, Line 7a portion of the money annually appropriated for the program
Page 9, Line 8to pay the direct and indirect costs that the department incurs to administer the program.
Page 9, Line 923-82-109. Repeal of article - review of functions.This article
Page 9, Line 1082 is repealed, effectiveSeptember 1, 2032. Before the repeal, this
Page 9, Line 11article 82 is scheduled for review in accordance with section 24-34-104.
Page 9, Line 12SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-34-104, add (33)(a)(X) as follows:
Page 9, Line 1324-34-104. General assembly review of regulatory agencies
Page 9, Line 14and functions for repeal, continuation, or reestablishment - legislative
Page 9, Line 15declaration - repeal. (33) (a) The following agencies, functions, or both, are scheduled for repeal on September 1, 2032:
Page 9, Line 16(X) The Colorado nuclear workforce development and education program created in article 82 of title 23.
Page 9, Line 17SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
Page 9, Line 18takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
Page 9, Line 19ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
Page 9, Line 20that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
Page 9, Line 21of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this
Page 10, Line 1act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take
Page 10, Line 2effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
Page 10, Line 3November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.