SB26-078 Changes to Institutions of Higher Education Statutes

The act modifies statutes relating to state institutions of higher education (institutions) in the following areas: Fiscal impact information for legislative measures, definitions related to electric and plumbing work, data policies and coordination, capital construction review processes, and bond requirements and procedures for the university of Colorado.      Fiscal impact information. For institutions that submit information on the potential fiscal impact of a legislative measure to the staff of the legislative council (LCS) through the department of higher education (department), the act requires the department to grant submitting institutions access to the official responses of the department and other submitting institutions at the time that the fiscal impact information is submitted to LCS.      Definitions. The act modifies definitions in statutes relating to performing electric and plumbing work on the campuses of the university of Colorado and the Colorado state university to remove existing restrictions so that the university of Colorado can perform work on buildings that the university owns or leases.      Data policies and coordination. The act codifies the existing data advisory group facilitated by the department. The data advisory group is made up of representatives from the department and the institutions. The data advisory group must meet quarterly and is charged with advising on the development of policies and procedures for the collection, storage, and use of data from institutions. The act requires the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) to consult with the data advisory group to establish certain data policies. The act also adds one member of the data advisory group, selected by the commission, to the advisory committee to the commission.      Capital construction. The act increases the dollar-amount threshold from $2 million to $5 million for exceptions from the requirements for program and physical planning, exceptions from commission approval and capital development committee (CDC) and joint budget committee (JBC) review of capital construction projects funded from certain sources, and exceptions from commission approval of capital construction projects funded from cash funds. The act also exempts from the review and approval of the commission, the CDC, and the JBC any capital construction or capital renewal project funded solely from cash funds held by an institution that are not derived from student fees, so long as the institution has not participated in the higher education revenue bond intercept program for at least the preceding 5 years.      Bond requirements and procedures. The act modifies certain bond requirements and procedures specific to the university of Colorado to align with current practice.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, $48,098 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by the commission and higher education special purpose programs. The appropriation is based on an assumption that the commission will require an additional 0.5 FTE and may be used by the commission for administration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)