Transit and Housing Investment Zones

Plain English: This amendment adds $190,849 in state funding for the next fiscal year to help pay for staff and programs related to transit and housing investment zones.

• It sets aside $190,849 from the general fund for the office of the governor during the 2026-27 budget year.
• The money is intended to support economic development programs specifically focused on transit and housing investment zones.
• This funding assumes the need to hire one full-time employee (1.0 FTE) to carry out these new duties.

• The amendment does not explain exactly how the money will be spent beyond hiring staff for economic development programs.
• It is unclear which specific transit or housing projects will receive this funding without more details from future reports.

Plain English: This amendment sets new rules for how far a Transit Investment Area can go, requiring local government permission to enter their land and allowing the area to stretch up to two miles from transit stops in certain cases.

• A Transit Investment Area cannot include any part of a city or town unless that local government asks for it to be included.
• The investment area is allowed to cover only some parts of a local government's land instead of the whole place.
• The area can include separate pieces of property that do not touch each other as long as they are in the same zone.
• In places with mountains or water, the area can go beyond normal limits but must stay within three miles of a transit stop measured by walking or driving distance.

• The amendment changes a number from 'one and one-half' to 'two,' but it does not clearly state what unit this measurement uses (such as miles) in the provided text.
• The exact definition of how distances are measured along roads or pedestrian networks is mentioned, but specific calculation methods are not detailed.

Plain English: This amendment adds official statements saying that new funding for transit and housing should be shared across different parts of the state and plans to increase the number of approved projects in the future.

• It states that communities everywhere in Colorado can use these new financing options, so they should be used with geographic diversity in mind.
• It notes that while only six transit investment projects are allowed right now, lawmakers intend to approve more later if there is enough money.

• The amendment does not change the actual number of projects approved today or set a specific date for when new funding might be available.
• It only adds statements about intent and findings rather than changing how the law works immediately.

Plain English: This amendment allows the state to add extra sales tax money from its general fund to transit investment areas because current systems cannot track online and delivery sales.

• It states that all sales delivered inside a transit area count toward that area's funding, even if bought online.
• It acknowledges that technical limits currently prevent the system from counting online or delivery-only purchases in its calculations.
• It estimates that about twenty percent of potential tax revenue is missing because only in-person sales are tracked.

• The amendment does not specify exactly how much money will be taken from the general fund, calling it a 'small amount' instead.
• The text relies on national online shopping averages to estimate local losses rather than using specific data for each area.

Plain English: This amendment updates the bill to automatically adjust revenue calculations for growth over time and clarifies what counts as a bond.

• After the first year, the state department must update the base amount of money collected by adding an estimated growth rate set by a commission.
• The definition of 'bond' is expanded to include any debt where the financing entity promises to use extra sales tax revenue or other available funds for payment.

• The amendment text only shows specific line edits and does not explain how the growth rate commission works in detail.
• Some changes involve renumbering sections that are too technical to describe simply without seeing the full original bill structure.

Plain English: This amendment clarifies how sales tax revenue is calculated for transit projects located inside regional tourism zones by setting a specific limit on the amount of money that can be used.

• It adds an exception rule so that if a Transit Investment Area overlaps with a Regional Tourism Zone, the available state sales tax revenue is limited to the smaller of two calculated amounts.
• The first calculation option uses the standard method for determining transit investment area revenue found elsewhere in the bill.
• The second calculation option looks at how much tourism-related sales tax money remains after paying what was already promised under existing Regional Tourism Act rules.
• It changes a phrase on page 11 to replace 'a physical' with 'an in-person', likely referring to where transactions must happen.

• The amendment text is very technical and relies on specific legal definitions from other Colorado laws (Sections 24-46-305, 24-46-307) that are not fully explained in this document.
• It does not explain exactly how the 'lesser of' calculation works for a reader who is unfamiliar with state tax increment revenue systems.

Plain English: This amendment clarifies that a third-party expert must estimate future sales tax revenue for transit projects and sets rules on who pays the cost of this report.

• The bill now requires data to be used specifically for estimating state sales tax money gained from new transit areas.
• A local government or financing group has seven days instead of four to complete a required step in the process.
• Local governments must pay for an outside expert's report, but if paying causes extreme financial hardship, the state will cover the cost using special funds or general taxes.
• The text updates terms so that 'financing entity' is used consistently and clarifies who receives specific reports.

• The amendment does not explain exactly how much money counts as an extreme financial hardship for a local government.
• It is unclear if the special cash fund mentioned has enough money to cover all potential costs before using general funds.

Plain English: This amendment adds new rules to ensure that the yearly money set aside for transit projects matches a specific total amount approved by officials and allows future increases only up to that limit.

• Officials must consider how much money an applicant says is needed when deciding on the annual funding amount for transit projects.
• The law now requires that the yearly funding cannot stop the project from reaching a specific total dollar amount set by the commission.
• Officials can later increase the yearly funding, but only if it does not make the total spending go over the approved limit.
• A state department must adjust its revenue calculations to include the expected growth rate for these transit projects.

• The amendment uses specific legal section numbers and terms like 'baseline growth rate' that are not fully defined in this text alone, so some details depend on other parts of the bill.
• It is unclear exactly how much money can be raised because the final amounts depend on decisions made by a third-party analyst and local applicants.

Plain English: This amendment changes the bill to allow any applicant or entity, not just a specific authority, to lead transit projects and adds rules about funding sources and debt limits.

• Replaces references to 'Transit Investment Authority' with broader terms like 'Applicant', 'Agency', or 'Entity' so more groups can apply for the program.
• Adds a requirement that one member of the oversight commission must be appointed by the transit agency running the project.
• Clarifies how state sales tax money is calculated and allocated to these projects, including taxes on goods delivered from outside the area.
• States clearly that local governments are not responsible for paying back any debt issued by the financing entity.

• The amendment text only lists specific line changes without explaining the full context of every section it modifies, so some details about how these rules work together may be unclear.
• Some technical terms like 'sales tax increment revenue' are used in a way that requires knowledge of existing state laws to fully understand.

Plain English: This amendment updates the legal language in HB26-1065 to allow transit agencies more flexibility when borrowing money and issuing bonds for infrastructure projects.

• Adds 'refinancing' as a reason that local governments can use these funds, alongside renewal.
• Changes strict rules so that certain documents may be used instead of requiring specific types like special resolutions or general obligation bonds.
• Updates the law to follow additional state financial rules found in Article 57 of Title 11.
• Removes a requirement for manual signatures on some bond documents and changes how legal challenges against these projects must be filed.

• The amendment text only lists specific word replacements without explaining the full context or purpose behind each change, so the exact impact on project costs is unclear.
• Some technical references to other state laws (like Title 11) are included but not defined in this document.

Plain English: This amendment changes the name of a government group from 'Department' to 'Office,' defines that office as the Colorado Office of Economic Development, and updates job titles in specific sections.

• Changes references from "DEPARTMENT" to "OFFICE" on page 45.
• Defines "OFFICE" specifically as the Colorado Office of Economic Development created under state law section 24-48.5-101.
• Updates a list of laws on page 51 to only include Title 24 instead of previous text.
• Changes the job title from "ADMINISTRATOR" to "ANALYST" on page 52.

• The amendment does not explain why these specific name changes or definitions are needed for the bill's main goal about transit and housing.
• It is unclear what other parts of the law might be affected by changing "Department" to "Office" without seeing the full original text.

Plain English: This amendment updates the bill by correcting specific law numbers and replacing unclear terms with more precise language about taxes and sales.

• Updates references to state laws from older section numbers like (10) or (16) to newer ones like (11) or (17).
• Changes the word 'TAXABLE' to 'INCOME TAX' in several places to be more specific about which tax is being discussed.
• Replaces the phrase 'SALES MADE AT PHYSICAL SITES' with 'IN-PERSON SALES MADE' for clearer wording.
• Corrects small errors in legal code references, such as changing '(3)(d)(I)(D)' to '(3)(d)(I)(F)'.
• Fixes other similar numbering mistakes throughout the document.

• The amendment text only shows what words are being changed but does not explain why these specific law numbers or terms were chosen.
• Without reading the full original bill, it is unclear exactly how changing 'TAXABLE' to 'INCOME TAX' affects who pays money.

Plain English: This amendment sets aside $213,349 from the state budget to help pay for new staff and programs that support transit and housing investment zones.

• It provides a total of $213,349 in funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
• $190,849 comes from the general state fund and $22,500 comes from a specific transit investment cash fund.
• The money is given to the office of the governor to support economic development programs focused on these zones.

• The text does not explain exactly how many people will be hired or what specific projects the funding will cover beyond general program implementation.

Plain English: This amendment changes how the bill calculates sales tax revenue for transit projects by adding a 20% estimate for online sales and clarifying that street trees and public plazas are eligible funding uses.

• The calculation of available funds will increase the amount from in-person sales by twenty percent to account for sales that cannot be tracked due to technical limits.
• Street trees, public plazas, and pedestrian spaces are added as specific projects that can receive money under this act.
• A third-party analyst must estimate future economic growth factors like new jobs, tourism, and housing when reviewing project applications.
• The state commission will set a baseline growth rate to help local governments predict how much sales tax revenue their transit projects might generate.

• The provided text is incomplete because the last page of the amendment was cut off, so some final details about funding limits or procedures are missing.
• Some changes involve specific legal section numbers and technical terms that describe internal government review steps rather than direct public benefits.

Plain English: This amendment adds a rule that the Office of Economic Development can only spend money from this fund if the state legislature approves it each year.

• The bill now requires an annual approval vote by the General Assembly before any funds are spent.

Plain English: This amendment requires that transit projects funded under this bill follow specific hiring, apprenticeship, and workforce rules used for other state infrastructure projects.

• Projects must be carried out in a way that matches the hiring and training standards required by Section 24-117-105 (6).
• All contracts, construction work, and project agreements must include these workforce rules when they are written or signed.
• If a project fails to follow these hiring and apprenticeship standards, officials can cancel or change the approval for that project.

• The exact details of the 'hiring, apprenticeship, and workforce standards' depend on another law (Section 24-117-105) not included in this text.
• It is unclear how officials will measure if a project has fully complied with these rules before deciding to revoke approval.