SB 25-179
Fiscal Note
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
SB 25-179: SUNSET IDENTITY THEFT & FINANCIAL DETERRENCE ACT
Prime Sponsors:
Sen. Weissman; Snyder
Rep. Carter; Garcia
Published for: Senate Judiciary
Drafting number: LLS 25-0402
Fiscal Analyst:
Aaron Carpenter, 303-866-4918
aaron.carpenter@coleg.gov
Version: Initial Fiscal Note
Date: March 5, 2025
Fiscal note status: This fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary Information
Overview. The bill continues the Colorado Fraud Investigators Unit, repeals its oversight board, and
repeals the surcharges that funds the unit.
Types of impacts. The bill has impacts in the following areas through FY 2036-37 from both continuing
an existing program scheduled to repeal and making changes to that program:
State Revenue
State Expenditures
TABOR Refunds
Appropriations. For FY 2025-26, the bill requires a reduction in cash fund appropriations of $653,345 to
the Department of Public Safety, as the bill instead makes a cash fund continuously appropriated. If the
General Assembly wishes to expand the Colorado Fraud Investigators Unit, see additional appropriation
details in the Legislative Options section.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts
Type of Impact
1
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
State Revenue -$501,271 -$501,271 -$501,271
State Expenditures $0 $653,345 $653,345
Transferred Funds $0 $0 $0
Change in TABOR Refunds -$501,271 -$501,271 -$501,271
Change in State FTE 0.0 FTE 4.0 FTE 4.0 FTE
1
These impacts include both those from continuing a program scheduled to repeal, as well as from
changes to the program under the bill. Additional detail on fund sources, as well as the new and
continuing impacts, are shown in the tables below. Page 2
March 5, 2025 SB 25-179
Table 1A
State Revenue
Fund Source
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
Cash Funds – Continuation $0 $0 $0
Cash Fund – Change -$501,271 -$501,271 -$501,271
Total Revenue -$501,271 -$501,271 -$501,271
Table 1B
State Expenditures
Fund Source
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
Cash Funds – Continuation $0 $653,345 $653,345
Cash Funds – Refinance $0 -$453,271 -$653,345
General Fund – Refinance $0 $453,271 $653,345
Total Expenditures $0 $653,345 $653,345
Total FTE
0.0 FTE 4.0 FTE 4.0 FTE
1
Table 1B reflects the continuation of the program starting in FY 2026-27 and the refinancing of cash
fund expenditures to the General Fund.
2
Expenditure amounts represents the continuation of the current expenditure and FTE amounts for the
program. These costs are based on the 4.0 FTE currently used by the program. In the Long Bill, the
program currently has an allocation of 7.0 FTE, but has never received sufficient funds from existing
cash fund revenue sources to hire the full allocation of FTE. The bill refinances these program
expenditures from cash funds to the General Fund, and it is assumed that the funding level will remain
constant. If the General Assembly wants to increase the fraud investigation unit to 7.0 FTE,
appropriations may be provided, as described in the Legislative Option section.
Page 3
March 5, 2025 SB 25-179
Summary of Legislation
The bill continues the Colorado Fraud Investigators Unit for 11 years (through
September 1, 2036). The bill also repeals the oversight board and the surcharges on uniform
commercial code filings, lender licenses, and money transmitter licenses that fund the unit.
Instead, the bill allows the unit to accept gifts, grants, and donations to the existing Identity
Theft and Financial Fraud Fund and continuously appropriates this cash fund to the department.
Continuing Program Impacts
Based on the department's FY 2025-26 budget request, the Department of Public Safety is
expected to have expenditures of $653,345 to administer the Fraud Investigators Unit. If this bill
is enacted, current and expenditures will continue for the program starting in FY 2026-27.
However, the funding source for the program will shift to the General Fund due to other
changes in the bill, as explained in the State Expenditure section.
If this bill is not enacted, the program will end one year after its repeal date on
September 1, 2026, following a wind-down period. If allowed to repeal, state cash fund revenue
and expenditures will decrease starting in FY 2026-27 by $653,345 per year.
Background and Assumptions
Currently, the fraud investigation unit is funded through the surcharges outlined above. The unit
is allocated 7.0 FTE, however, due to the revenue to the cash fund, the unit has only been able to
fund 4.0 FTE positions. The fiscal note assumes current spending levels in future years, however,
if the General Assembly chooses to appropriate to 7.0 FTE, it must appropriate additional
General Fund (see Legislative Option section).
State Revenue
Starting in FY 2025-26, state revenue to the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Cash Fund will
decrease by an estimated $501,271 per year due to the removal of certain surcharges. This
amount represents the projected revenue described in the Department FY 2025-26 budget
requests in the Schedule 9 cash fund report. This revenue is subject to the state’s TABOR limit.
Page 4
March 5, 2025 SB 25-179
State Expenditures
The bill results in no net change to state expenditures after continuing the program, but instead
requires that program expenditures be refinanced from the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud
Fund to the General Fund. At the beginning of FY 2025-26, it is assumed that the department
will have an estimated $853,419 left in its cash fund. The fiscal note assumes that the cash fund
will first be spent down before General Fund is appropriated. Assuming the General Assembly
chooses to appropriate General Fund at the same level as current cash fund expenditures, this
results in no refinancing in FY 2025-26, an increase of $453,271 in General Fund in FY 2026-27,
and an increase of $653,345 in General Fund in FY 2027-28. An equal decrease will occur in cash
fund expenditures, resulting in no net change in program expenditures. This transition to
General Fund expenditures is shown in Table 2.
Table 2
Refinancing the Fraud Investigators Unit
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
Cash Fund Balance $853,419 $200,074 $0
Annual Expenditures $653,345 $653,345 $653,345
Cash Fund Balance $200,074 $0 $0
Required General Fund $0 $453,271 $653,345
TABOR Refunds
The bill is expected to decrease the amount of state revenue required to be refunded to
taxpayers by the amounts shown in the State Revenue section above. This estimate assumes the
December 2024 LCS revenue forecast. A forecast of state revenue subject to TABOR is not
available beyond FY 2026-27. Because TABOR refunds are paid from the General Fund,
decreased cash fund revenue will increase the amount of General Fund available to spend or
save.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming
no referendum petition is filed. Page 5
March 5, 2025 SB 25-179
State Appropriations
For FY 2025-26, the bill requires a reduction in appropriations of $653,345 from the Identity
Theft and Financial Fraud Cash Fund to the Department of Public Safety. Annual appropriations
from this fund are no longer required, as the bill makes the cash fund continuously
appropriated.
Legislative Option
This fiscal note assumes the least cost alternative for implementing this bill is to continue
program expenditures at the current level. However, if the General Assembly wants to expand
the fraud investigation unit and ensure that it can operate with its full allocation of 7.0 FTE,
additional appropriations may be provided to the DPS. Funding an additional 3.0 FTE will result
in total program expenditures of $1.2 million and 7.0 FTE per year starting in FY 2025-26. The
breakdown of these expenditures and the required fund source is shown in the tables below.
Table 3A
State Expenditures for 7.0 FTE
Department of Public Safety
Cost Component
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
Personal Services $736,476 $736,476 $736,476
Operating Expenses $8,960 $8,960 $8,960
Capital Outlay Costs $20,010 $0 $0
Additional Agent Operating $262,085 $210,604 $210,604
Centrally Appropriated $203,125 $203,125 $203,125
Total Costs $1,230,656 $1,159,165 $1,159,165
Total FTE 7.0 FTE 7.0 FTE 7.0 FTE
Table 3B
Required Appropriations to Fund 7.0 FTE
Department of Public Safety
Fund Source
Budget Year
FY 2025-26
Out Year
FY 2026-27
Out Year
FY 2027-28
Cash Fund Balance (Continuously Appropriated) $853,419 $0 $0
General Fund $174,112 $956,040 $956,040
Centrally Appropriated $203,125 $203,125 $203,125
Total Appropriations $1,230,656 $1,159,165 $1,159,165
Total FTE 7.0 FTE 7.0 FTE 7.0 FTE Page 6
March 5, 2025 SB 25-179
State and Local Government Contacts
Public Safety Treasury
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.