Page 1
May 16, 2023 SB 23-241
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Final Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 23-0902
Sen. Bridges; Kirkmeyer
Rep. Bird; Bockenfeld
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
May 16, 2023
Signed into Law
Anna Gerstle | 303-866-4375
anna.gerstle@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CREATION OF OFFICE OF SCHOOL SAFETY
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☐ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
Budget package bill. The bill creates the Office of School Safety, a new crisis
response unit, and provides funding for school safety related programs. The bill
increases state expenditures on an ongoing basis and continues a state transfer for
five years.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires and includes an appropriation of $26.1 million for the
Department of Public Safety.
Fiscal Note
Status:
This fiscal note reflects the enacted bill. The bill was recommended by the Joint
Budget Committee as part of its FY 2023-24 budget package.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under SB 23-241
Budget Year
FY 2023-24
Out Year
FY 2024-25
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $20,715,551 $3,489,746
Cash Funds $5,396,491 $10,396,491
Total Expenditures $26,112,042 $13,886,237
Total FTE 18.1 FTE 18.8 FTE
Transfers State Public School Fund - ($5,000,000)
SAFER Grant Program Cash Fund - $5,000,000
Total Transfer - $0
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $3,107,333 $523,462
Page 2
May 16, 2023 SB 23-241
Summary of Legislation
The bill creates the Office of School Safety (office) in the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and
charges the office with:
overseeing the School Safety Resource Center (SSRC);
implementing a newly created crisis response unit to assist schools in responding to a crisis or
emergency event;
overseeing the School Access for Emergency Response Grant Program (SAFER), which is currently
in the Division of Homeland Security in DPS; and
administering a new Youth Violence Prevention Grant Program to provide grants of up to
$100,000 to schools, community organizations and local governments to address youth violence.
The bill requires that the director of the office must appoint a grants manger to obtain funds and grants
related to school safety. It also makes one-time SSRC reporting requirements permanent; specifies
that the school security disbursement program funds may be used to implement a co-responder or
school resource officer program; and continues the SAFER program for five years, until July 1, 2029.
State Transfers
Under current law, the SAFER program receives an annual transfer of $5.0 million from the State
Public School Fund to the SAFER Grant Program Cash Fund. The fiscal note assumes that this transfer
will continue each year through July 1, 2028.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in DPS by $26.1 million in FY 2023-24 and $13.9 million in
FY 2024-25, paid from the General Fund and a variety of cash funds. Of this amount, $6.7 million
represents funding for existing programs, as the bill includes both appropriations for existing
programs and additional funding for the programs discussed below. New staff costs are prorated in
the first year.
Table 2
Expenditures Under SB 23-241
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25
Department of Public Safety
Existing Programs (10.3 FTE) $6,715,321 $6,715,321
Administrative Services (4.0 FTE) $949,290 $991,422
Crisis Response Unit (4.0 FTE) $1,144,023 $876,079
Threat Assessment (0.5 FTE) $303,408 $303,415
School Security Disbursement Grants $16,000,000 -
SAFER Program Continuation $5,000,000
Youth Violence Prevention Grants $1,000,000
Total Cost $26,112,042 $13,886,237
Total FTE 18.1 FTE 18.8 FTE Page 3
May 16, 2023 SB 23-241
Existing school safety programs. The bill includes the appropriation for existing school safety
programs in the SSRC, which is $6.7 million and 10.3 FTE. Funding for these programs is not included
in the Long Bill, and is assumed to be appropriated in this bill.
Administrative services. The bill includes funding for 2.0 FTE for administrative support for the
office, including the office director and grant support, and 1.0 FTE to support the new office in the
Executive Director’s Office. It also provides an increase of $460,000 and 1.0 FTE for the SSRC. Costs
include associated employee insurance and indirect costs.
Crisis response unit. The bill includes about $1.1 million for the new crisis response unit, which will
be staffed by 4.0 FTE. The unit will assist schools with responding to emergency situations.
Threat assessment. The bill includes about $303,000 to provide threat assessment training for school
threat assessment teams. A portion of the funding will cover the cost of 0.5 FTE for data collection
and research related to the effectiveness of threat assessments and interventions; the remainder is used
for training.
School security disbursement grants. In FY 2023-24 only, the bill includes $16.0 million for the
existing School Security Disbursement Program, which provides grants for schools to improve
security and provide training.
SAFER program continuation. Beginning in FY 2024-25, the bill increases state expenditures by $5.0
million per year, paid from the SAFER Grant Program Cash Fund, and continuing until the program’s
new repeal date on July 1, 2029. This amount represents a continuation of current annual expenditures
of $5.0 million and 1.0 FTE. After the administrative costs, the program distributes about $4.8 million
annually in grants to school districts and local governments.
Youth violence prevention grants. The bill provides $1.0 million in FY 2023-24 for a new youth
violence prevention grant program. Grants are up to $100,000 per organization and will be determined
by the office. The fiscal note assumes that a portion of the funding may be used for administrative
expenses; however, any administrative expenses are assumed to be minimal due to the one-time
nature of the program.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note, the
bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts shown in
Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
Effective Date
The bill was signed into law by the Governor and took effect on April 27, 2023.
Page 4
May 16, 2023 SB 23-241
State Appropriations
For FY 2023-24, the bill requires and includes the following appropriations to the Department of Public
Safety, and 18.1 FTE:
$20,715,551 from the General Fund;
$5,000,000 from the School Access for Emergency Response Grant Program Cash Fund;
$250,000 from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund; and
$146,491 from the School Safety Resource Center Cash Fund.
State and Local Government Contacts
Joint Budget Committee Staff
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.