HB 22-1411

Abstract

In 2021, the state received $3,828,761,790 from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund as part of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021". For purposes of complying with the requirements established by the United States department of the treasury (treasury), the general assembly established administrative requirements related to the expenditure of this federal money. Section 1 of the bill modifies these requirements by: Establishing deadlines for a subrecipient, which is a person that carries out a program or project on behalf of the state, to expend or obligate this money, and if not, to return this money to the state for the state to either expend or return to treasury, depending on the timing; Requiring the state controller to transmit to treasury any money that was obligated by December 31, 2024, but not expended by December 31, 2026; Requiring the department of revenue to provide the state controller with any information about any increases in the state's net tax revenue, which is necessary for calculating the state's revenue reductions for 2022 and 2023; Clarifying that the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller apply to a person regardless of whether the person is a beneficiary or a subrecipient and regardless of whether the person receives the money directly from a department or from a subrecipient; and Permitting the state controller to report any expenditures to treasury as a government service to the extent of the reduction in the state's revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to the revenues the state collected for the state fiscal year 2018-19. Sections 3 through 6 make conforming amendments related to this change. The bill also substitutes money from the general fund or from a cash fund that included money that originated from the general fund for money that was allocated in 2021 legislation from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund, as follows: $29.5 million from the housing development grant fund ( section 7 ); $36.5 million from the highway users tax fund that was distributed to counties, cities, and incorporated towns, which is accomplished by replenishing and reclassifying the federal funds that were initially used ( section 8 ); $10 million from the Colorado startup loan program fund ( section 9 ), with the freed up federal funds being transferred to the revenue loss restoration cash fund ( section 6 ); and $98.5 million from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund ( section 10 ). Sections 2 and 6 include conforming amendments related to the reclassification of the money paid to the counties, cities, and incorporated towns.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)