House Committee of Reference Report
Committee on Appropriations
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All text that will be removed from the bill will be indicated by strikethrough as follows:
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This is text that is removed from law. -
Text that is added to a bill will be indicated by either all capitals or bold & italic as follows:
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- This all capitals text would be added to law.
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May 1, 2026
After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends the following:
HB26-1054 be amended as follows, and as so amended, be referred to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation:
Page 1, Line 1Amend the Business Affairs and Labor Committee Report, dated
Page 1, Line 2February 26, 2026, page 1, after line 5 insert:
Page 1, Line 3"Page 3 of the printed bill, strike lines 4 and 5.
Page 1, Line 4Renumber succeeding subsections accordingly.".
Page 1, Line 5Page 1 of the report, strike lines 6 through 8 and substitute:
Page 1, Line 6"Page 3, strike lines 9 through 20 and substitute:
Page 1, Line 7"(3) "Labor organization" means an exclusive
Page 1, Line 8representative, as defined in section 8-3.3-102 (13).".
Page 1, Line 9Renumber succeeding subsections accordingly.".
Page 1, Line 10Page 1 of the report, line 10, strike ""(7)" and substitute ""(6)".
Page 1, Line 11Page 1 of the report, strike line 15 and substitute:
Page 1, Line 12"Page 4 of the bill, line 19, strike "division" and substitute "attorney
Page 1, Line 13general".".
Page 1, Line 14Page 2 of the report, after line 2 insert:
Page 1, Line 15"Page 6 of the bill, line 13, strike "8-14.4-204." and substitute "24-31-108
Page 1, Line 16(7)(a).".".
Page 1, Line 17
Page 2, Line 1Page 2 of the report, after line 11 insert:
Page 2, Line 2"Page 7 of the bill, strike lines 10 through 27.
Page 2, Line 3Page 8 of the bill, strike lines 1 through 8.
Page 2, Line 4Renumber succeeding C.R.S. section accordingly.".
Page 2, Line 5Page 2 of the report, line 15, strike "division" and substitute "attorney
Page 2, Line 6general".
Page 2, Line 7Page 2 of the report, after line 22 insert:
Page 2, Line 8"Page 8 of the bill, line 26, strike "division" and substitute "attorney
Page 2, Line 9general".
Page 2, Line 10Page 12 of the bill, after line 10 insert:
Page 2, Line 11"SECTION 9. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-31-108, amend
Page 2, Line 12(4) and add (7) as follows:
Page 2, Line 1324-31-108. Receipt of money - subject to appropriation -
Page 2, Line 14exception for custodial money - legal services cash fund - creation -
Page 2, Line 15workplace health and safety fund - creation - definition.
Page 2, Line 16(4) There is hereby created in the state treasury the legal services
Page 2, Line 17cash fund. also referred to in this subsection (4) as the "fund" The
Page 2, Line 18department shall transmit all money received from state agencies as
Page 2, Line 19payment for legal services to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same
Page 2, Line 20to the legal services cash fund. The money in the legal services
Page 2, Line 21cash fund and all interest earned on such money is subject to annual
Page 2, Line 22appropriation by the general assembly to the department for the direct and
Page 2, Line 23indirect costs associated with providing legal services to state
Page 2, Line 24governmental entities and for any of the department's litigation expenses.
Page 2, Line 25Any unexpended money in the legal services cash fund at the end of
Page 2, Line 26the fiscal year remains in the legal services cash fund and shall not be
Page 2, Line 27credited or transferred to any other fund.
Page 2, Line 28(7) (a) The state treasurer shall credit penalties
Page 2, Line 29collected for the state pursuant to part 2 of article 14.4 of
Page 2, Line 30title 8 to the workplace health and safety fund, which fund is
Page 2, Line 31created in the state treasury. The money in the workplace
Page 2, Line 32health and safety fund may be used by the attorney general to
Page 2, Line 33cover direct and indirect costs associated with:
Page 2, Line 34(I) Enforcement activities authorized in part 2 of article
Page 2, Line 3514.4 of title 8;
Page 2, Line 36(II) Creating, distributing, sharing, and publicizing
Page 3, Line 1materials designed to educate workers and employers about
Page 3, Line 2their obligations under the federal "Occupational Safety and
Page 3, Line 3Health Act of 1970", 29 U.S.C. sec. 651 et seq.; part 2 of article
Page 3, Line 414.4 of title 8; and related regulations and policies; and
Page 3, Line 5(III) Rule-making conducted pursuant to part 2 of article
Page 3, Line 614.4 of title 8.
Page 3, Line 7(b) (I) Money in the workplace health and safety fund is
Page 3, Line 8continuously appropriated to the attorney general for use in
Page 3, Line 9implementing the purposes set forth in subsection (7)(a) of this
Page 3, Line 10section.
Page 3, Line 11(II) The state treasurer may invest any money in the
Page 3, Line 12workplace health and safety fund not expended pursuant to
Page 3, Line 13subsection (7)(a) of this section for the purposes of part 2 of
Page 3, Line 14article 14.4 of title 8 as provided by law. The state treasurer
Page 3, Line 15shall credit all interest and income derived from the
Page 3, Line 16investment and deposit of money in the workplace health and
Page 3, Line 17safety fund to the workplace health and safety fund. Any
Page 3, Line 18unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the
Page 3, Line 19workplace health and safety fund at the end of a fiscal year
Page 3, Line 20remains in the workplace health and safety fund and shall not
Page 3, Line 21be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.
Page 3, Line 22(c) The limitations specified in section 24-75-402 do not
Page 3, Line 23apply to the workplace health and safety fund.".
Page 3, Line 24Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.".
Page 3, Line 25Page 2 of the report, strike lines 23 through 26.
Page 3, Line 26Amend printed bill, page 9, before line 1 insert:
Page 3, Line 27"SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-31-1302, add (3)
Page 3, Line 28and (4) as follows:
Page 3, Line 2924-31-1302. Worker and employee protection unit - creation
Page 3, Line 30- duties - court order - injunctive relief - attorney fees.
Page 3, Line 31(3) If a person, or an agent thereof, fails to obey an
Page 3, Line 32investigative demand, subpoena, warrant, or other investigative
Page 3, Line 33process issued or conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of this
Page 3, Line 34section, the attorney general may apply to the appropriate
Page 3, Line 35district court for an order to effect the purposes of this section.
Page 3, Line 36The application must state reasonable grounds on which the
Page 3, Line 37attorney general believes that the order is necessary to
Page 3, Line 38investigate a deprivation of a person's rights, privileges, or
Page 3, Line 39immunities secured or protected by the state constitution or
Page 4, Line 1laws of the united states or the state of Colorado. If the court
Page 4, Line 2is satisfied that reasonable grounds exist, the court in its order
Page 4, Line 3may:
Page 4, Line 4(a) Require the attendance of or the production of
Page 4, Line 5documents by a person, or both;
Page 4, Line 6(b) Grant injunctive relief as necessary to obtain
Page 4, Line 7compliance with investigative demands, subpoenas, warrants, or
Page 4, Line 8other investigative processes issued or conducted pursuant to
Page 4, Line 9subsection (2) of this section; and
Page 4, Line 10(c) Grant further relief as may be necessary to obtain
Page 4, Line 11compliance with investigative demands, subpoenas, warrants, or
Page 4, Line 12other investigative processes issued or conducted pursuant to
Page 4, Line 13subsection (2) of this section.
Page 4, Line 14(4) Costs and attorney fees shall be awarded to the
Page 4, Line 15attorney general where the attorney general successfully
Page 4, Line 16enforces this section.
Page 4, Line 17SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-31-1303, amend
Page 4, Line 18(1)(b) and (2)(b); and add (3) as follows:
Page 4, Line 1924-31-1303. Worker misclassification - wage determinations
Page 4, Line 20- investigation and enforcement by the unit - coordination with
Page 4, Line 21department of labor and employment.
Page 4, Line 22(1) (b) The unit may investigate and enforce an alleged
Page 4, Line 23misclassification that is not described in subsection (1)(a) of this section
Page 4, Line 24if the unit provides written notice to the division of unemployment
Page 4, Line 25insurance of the unit's intent to pursue a misclassification investigation.
Page 4, Line 26and the division of unemployment insurance:
Page 4, Line 27(I) Declines to investigate the matter;
Page 4, Line 28(II) Has investigated the matter and made a formal determination;
Page 4, Line 29or
Page 4, Line 30(III) Fails to respond to the unit within thirty days after the date
Page 4, Line 31of the notice.
Page 4, Line 32(2) (b) If the division of labor standards and statistics has not
Page 4, Line 33referred a wage determination to the unit, the unit may enforce the wage
Page 4, Line 34determination if the unit provides written notice to the division of labor
Page 4, Line 35standards and statistics of the unit's intent to enforce the wage
Page 4, Line 36determination. and the division of labor standards and statistics:
Page 4, Line 37(I) Declines to pursue enforcement of the wage determination;
Page 4, Line 38(II) Has attempted to pursue enforcement of the wage
Page 4, Line 39determination and has been unsuccessful in enforcing the determination
Page 4, Line 40in full after the later of twelve months after the determination or the
Page 4, Line 41conclusion of any appeals;
Page 4, Line 42(III) Fails to respond to the unit within thirty days after the date
Page 4, Line 43of the notice; or
Page 5, Line 1(IV) Has not initiated an investigation.
Page 5, Line 2(3) The unit may investigate and enforce an alleged
Page 5, Line 3violation of part 2 of article 14.4 of title 8.
Page 5, Line 4SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-31-101, amend
Page 5, Line 5(1)(i)(XXX) and (1)(i)(XXXI); and add (1)(i)(XXXII) as follows:
Page 5, Line 624-31-101. Powers and duties of attorney general.
Page 5, Line 7(1) The attorney general:
Page 5, Line 8(i) May independently initiate and bring civil and criminal actions
Page 5, Line 9to enforce state laws, including actions brought pursuant to:
Page 5, Line 10(XXX) Beginning January 1, 2026, part 10 of article 12 of title 38;
Page 5, Line 11and
Page 5, Line 12(XXXI) Section 13-16-126; and
Page 5, Line 13(XXXII) Part 2 of article 14.4 of title 8.".
Page 5, Line 14Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.