Page 1 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 Legislative Council Staff Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature Revised Fiscal Note (replaces fiscal note dated March 15, 2024) Drafting Number: Prime Sponsors: LLS 24-0865 Rep. Ortiz; Clifford Date: Bill Status: Fiscal Analyst: March 26, 2024 House Finance Josh Abram | 303-866-3561 josh.abram@coleg.gov Bill Topic: COLORADO DISABILITY OPPORTUNITY OFFICE Summary of Fiscal Impact: ☒ State Revenue ☒ State Expenditure ☐ State Transfer ☐ TABOR Refund ☐ Local Government ☐ Statutory Public Entity The bill creates the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, and transfers the Colorado Disability Funding Committee from the Department of Personnel and Administration into the new office. The bill increases state cash fund revenue and expenditures beginning FY 2024-25. Appropriation Summary: For FY 2024-25, the bill requires a net appropriation of $4.5 million to two state agencies. All appropriations are from cash funds and not from the General Fund. See State Appropriations section for more details. Fiscal Note Status: The revised fiscal note reflects the introduced bill, as amended by the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee. Table 1 State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 24-1360 Budget Year FY 2024-25 Out Year FY 2025-26 Revenue - - Expenditures Cash Funds $4,544,925 $4,544,925 Centrally Appropriated $116,267 $116,267 Total Expenditures $4,661,192 $4,661,192 Total FTE 5.3 FTE 5.3 FTE Transfers - - Other Budget Impacts - - Page 2 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 Summary of Legislation The bill creates the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office (CDOO) in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), and relocates the Colorado Disability Funding Committee from the Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) to the CDOO. The CDOO will provide guidance to the Governor and state agencies on matters related to Coloradans with disabilities, and implement a statewide strategy to facilitate full societal integration by investing in the success of individuals with disabilities. The bill also allows the Department of Revenue (DOR) to issue certain license plates with an identifying figure allowing the vehicle to use reserved parking. Colorado Disability Opportunity Office. The office is created as a Type 1 agency within the CDLE, to be administered by a director appointed by the executive director of CDLE. The director must hire appropriate staff to fulfill the office’s mission. The CDOO is required to: convene a disability technical advisory committee comprised of representatives from state agencies; coordinate with the advisory committee to develop and maintain a collection of resources available to Coloradans with disabilities; create and maintain an individuals with disabilities equity plan for the development of shared dashboards that measure performance against the goals of the CDOO; collaborate with stakeholder groups and other state agencies including the Statewide Equity Office in DPA, and the State Office on Aging in the Department of Human Services; and, promote the full societal integration of individuals with disabilities through support of nonprofits; research; and analysis of economic and demographic trends; and creation of educational and economic opportunities. No later than November 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the CDOO must report to the Governor with a review and summary of the activity, research, and programs administered by the office in the previous year. Colorado Disability Funding Committee. On July 1, 2024, the bill relocates the powers, duties, and functions of the Colorado Disability Funding Committee from the DPA to the CDOO, and extends the repeal and sunset review of the funding committee from September 2026 to September 2029. Retired style license plates. Under current law, the DOR may issue a retired style of license plate when requested and charge an additional fee of $25 that is deposited in the Disability Support Fund. Beginning January 1, 2027, if an applicant for a retired license plate demonstrates a disability affecting the applicant's mobility, the bill requires that the DOR issue the plate with an identifying figure allowing the vehicle and individual to use parking reserved for disabled drivers. Page 3 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 Background Disability Funding Committee. The Colorado Disability Funding Committee implements the Laura Hershey Disability Support Act, which provides education, direct assistance, and advocacy for people with disabilities. The committee is made up of 13 members, the majority of whom are persons with disabilities, persons with family members with disabilities, or persons who are caregivers to a person with disabilities. The committee generates revenue through the sale of registration numbers for license plates, which is deposited in the Disability Support Fund. Based on average monthly revenue of about $560,000, the fund is projected to receive $8.1 million in the current FY 2023-24. For FY 2023-24, the DPA received an appropriation of about $994,000 from the Disability Support Fund, and administers the program with 0.7 FTE. The DPA’s budget request for FY 2025-26 includes an additional 1.5 FTE and spending authority for $14.1 million cash funds. The JBC staff recommendation for this request is 1.3 FTE and $5,121,400. State Revenue Beginning in January 1, 2027 (FY 2026-27), the bill increases cash fund revenue from the sale of retired license plates with an identifying figure allowing reserved parking for disabled drivers. Assuming a half-year impact in FY 2026-27, and a full year impact in FY 2027-28, the revenue impact is estimated in Table 2. Material fee revenue is deposited in the License Plate Cash Fund (LPCF); the retired style license plate fee is deposited in the Disability Support Fund (DSF). Fee revenue is subject to TABOR. Fee impact on retired style license plates. Colorado law requires legislative service agency review of measures which create or increase any fee collected by a state agency. The table below identifies the fee impact of this bill. Table 2 Fees on Retired Style License Plates Fiscal Year Type of Fee Fee Amount Number Affected Total Fee Impact FY 2026-27 (half-year) License Plate Material Fee (LPCF) $10.03 3,364 $35,995 Retired Style License Plate Fee (DSF) $25.00 3,364 $84,100 FY 2026-27 Total $120,095 FY 2027-28 License Plate Material Fee (LPCF) $10.70 6,728 $77,543 Retired Style License Plate Fee (DSF) $25.00 6,728 $181,175 FY 2027-28 Total $258,718 State Expenditures On net, the bill increases state expenditures by about $4.7 million beginning in FY 2024-25, paid primarily from the Disability Support Fund. Expenditures for the DOR beginning in FY 2026-27 Page 4 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 are from the DRIVES Cash Fund and the License Plate Cash Fund. State expenditures are displayed in Table 3 and described below. Table 3 Expenditures Under HB 24-1360 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 Disability Opportunity Office—CDLE Personal Services $334,649 $334,649 $334,649 Operating Expenses $5,120 $5,120 $5,120 Capital Outlay Costs $26,680 - - Centrally Appropriated Costs 1 $78,183 $78,183 $78,183 FTE – Personal Services 4.0 FTE 4.0 FTE 4.0 FTE DOO Subtotal $444,632 $417,952 $417,952 Transfer of Disability Funding Committee from DPA to CDLE Personal Services $156,576 $156,576 $156,576 Operating Expenses $2,560 $2,560 $2,560 Capital Outlay Costs $13,340 - - Grants From Disability Support Fund $5,000,000 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 Centrally Appropriated Costs 1 $38,084 $38,084 $38,084 FTE – Personal Services 2.0 FTE 2.0 FTE 2.0 FTE Disability Support Act Subtotal $5,210,560 $5,197,220 $5,197,220 Department of Personnel and Administration Disability Funding Committee–Current Staff/Grants ($994,000) ($994,000) ($994,000) FTE – Personal Services (0.7 FTE) (0.7 FTE) (0.7 FTE) DPA Subtotal ($994,000) ($994,000) ($994,000) Department of Revenue DRIVES Programming - - $10,444 License Plates - - $67,482 DOR Subtotal - - $77,926 Total $4,661,192 $4,621,172 $4,709,572 Total FTE 5.3 FTE 5.3 FTE 5.3 FTE 1 Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation. 2 Page 5 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 Colorado Disability Opportunity Office. The CDLE will add a total of 4.0 FTE to staff the new office, consisting of a program manager, a program assistant, a policy advisor, and an accountant. New staff will manage day-to-day operations, establish business plans and office duties, support the work of the task force, manage information exchanges, act as liaisons with other state agencies, and provide general accounting and budget management. Personal services in FY 2024-25 are prorated for an August start date and include operating expenses and capital outlay costs. Colorado Disability Funding Committee. The bill transfers the funding committee and associated grants and administrative costs from the DPA to the CDLE. The amounts in Table 3 represent an increase in expenditures in CDLE, including the FY 2024-25 Long Bill recommendation, and a decrease in DPA expenditures in the amount of their current appropriation. As discussed in the Background section, the DPA’s budget request for FY 2024-25 includes the existing 0.7 FTE, plus additional staff support and increased cash fund spending authority due to the availability of increased revenue from the sale of retired license plates. Table 3 includes the existing 0.7 FTE administrative support, and assumes the JBC staff recommendation of an additional 1.3 FTE for policy advising and accounting to manage about $5.0 million annually in grants from the funding committee will be incurred in the CDLE instead of DPA. Additionally, the bill continues these expenditures until September 2029. License plates. Beginning in FY 2026-27, the DOR will have increased spending as a result of additional material fees from purchases of retired license plate styles with a disability identifying figure, and an increase in information technology costs to upgrade the DRIVES system to allow new license plate inventory types, register vehicles, update reports, allow for electronic transactions, and collect and distribute taxes and fees. Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are shown in Table 3. Other Budget Impacts TABOR refunds. The bill may increase the amount of state revenue required to be refunded to taxpayers; however, a forecast of state revenue subject to TABOR is not available beyond FY 2025-26. If the state is in a TABOR refund position, increased cash fund revenue will reduce the amount of General Fund available to spend or save. Page 6 March 26, 2024 HB 24-1360 Departmental Difference The CDLE estimates that the transferred responsibilities of the Colorado Disability Funding Committee will require 4.5 FTE and authority to spend $6 million in grant awards annually from the Disability Support Fund. The existing program in DPA is funded at about $994,000 and 0.7 FTE, however the DPA’s budget request for FY 2024-25 asks for 1.5 FTE additional administrative support, and increased grant spending authority. The current JBC staff analyst recommendation is that the DPA be appropriated an additional 1.3 FTE (2.0 FTE total) and $5.0 million in grant spending authority for FY 2024-25. This fiscal note uses the JBC staff recommendation as the basis for estimating the increased cost of transferring the program from DPA to CDLE. Effective Date The bill takes effect July 1, 2024. State Appropriations For FY 2024-25, the bill requires the following cash funds appropriations: $5,538,925 from the Disability Support Fund to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, and 6.0 FTE; and ($994,000) and (0.7 FTE) from the Disability Support Fund to the Department of Personnel and Administration. State and Local Government Contacts Behavioral Health Corrections Early Childhood Education Health Care Policy and Financing Higher Education Human Services Information Technology Labor Law Local Affairs Military Affairs Personnel Public Health and Environment Regulatory Agencies Revenue Transportation 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 the General Assembly website.