Legislative declaration

26-21-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) A communication services for people with disabilities enterprise, as well as the division and commission, facilitates the provision of communication services that enable communication between individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind or who have speech disabilities and individuals without communication-related disabilities; (b) Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., and its related amendments and implementing regulations, Colorado has a duty to provide equivalent access to state government and public accommodations to people with communication-related disabilities. This duty requires the provision of auxiliary services, communications technology equipment, telecommunications relay services, and other resources to ensure access. (c) Centralizing and unifying the resources creates a cost savings for the state, facilitates quality control, and increases the effectiveness of services, while increasing access to the services for fee payers; and (d) Communication between fee payers, both fee payers with communication-related disabilities and those without, requires telecommunication and electronic technologies and in-person means to meet all communication needs. (2) The general assembly further finds and declares that: (a) The communication services for people with disabilities enterprise created in this article 21 provides valuable business services to fee payers by: (I) Coordinating the provision of, and access to, efficient and effective services and resources for individuals who have communication needs related to their disabilities, including by: (A) Establishing and coordinating a communications technology program to obtain and distribute interactive telecommunications and other communications technology equipment needed by individuals who have communication needs related to their disabilities to assist them in communicating with individuals with and without the same communication-related disabilities; (B) Establishing and coordinating a telecommunications relay service program for individuals in the state who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or speech disabled to assist them in communicating with fee payers with and without communication-related disabilities; (C) Arranging for qualified auxiliary services for the state court system and for rural areas of the state for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind; and (D) Approving sign language interpreter certifications as valid and reliable in the state, thereby enabling appropriate communication access services in relation to the workforce and in commerce; and (II) Coordinating and supporting the services and resources described in subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section. The enterprise and division help facilitate the engagement of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind or who have speech or other communication-related disabilities in the workforce and in commerce, thus providing benefits to Colorado businesses and their customers that benefit from the economic development stimulated by the workforce and commercial engagement. (b) By providing the services and resources described in subsection (2)(a) of this section, the enterprise engages in an activity that is conducted in the pursuit of a benefit, gain, or livelihood; (c) Consistent with the determination of the Colorado supreme court in Nicholl v. E-470 Public Highway Authority, 896 P.2d 859 (Colo. 1995), that the power to impose taxes is inconsistent with enterprise status under section 20 of article X of the state constitution, the general assembly concludes that the revenue collected by the enterprise is generated by fees, not taxes, because the money credited to the enterprise is: (I) For the specific purpose of allowing the enterprise to defray the costs of providing the services and resources described in subsection (2)(a) of this section; (II) Collected at rates that are reasonably related to the costs of the services and resources provided by the enterprise; and (III) So long as the enterprise qualifies as an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution, not state fiscal year spending, as defined in section 24-77-102 (17), or state revenues, as defined in section 24-77-103.6 (6)(c), and does not count against either the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by section 20 of article X of the state constitution or the excess state revenues cap, as defined in section 24-77-103.6 (6)(b)(I)(G). (d) No other enterprise created simultaneously or within the preceding five years serves primarily the same purpose as the enterprise, and the enterprise will generate revenue from fees and surcharges of less than one hundred million dollars total in its first five fiscal years. Accordingly, the creation of the enterprise does not require voter approval pursuant to section 24-77-108. (e) For purposes of the limit set forth in section 24-77-108, the first fiscal year of the enterprise is fiscal year 2024-25. Source: L. 2000: Entire article added, p. 1624, � 1, effective June 1. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (SB 09-144), ch. 219, p. 985, � 1, effective August 5. L. 2018: Entire section amended, (HB 18-1108), ch. 303, p. 1836, � 12, effective August 8. L. 2025: Entire section R&RE, (HB 25-1154), ch. 230, p. 1064, � 2, effective May 22.