Colorado Bill Changes to Higher Education Statutes

Detected March 3rd, 2026

Summary

Colorado Bill SB26-078 proposes changes to statutes governing institutions of higher education. Key modifications include procedures for fiscal impact information sharing, data policies and coordination, capital construction project thresholds, and bond requirements for the University of Colorado. The bill also mandates the creation of a data advisory group.

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What changed

Colorado Bill SB26-078 introduces significant amendments to existing statutes concerning state institutions of higher education. The bill modifies procedures for sharing fiscal impact information between institutions and the department of higher education, establishes a new data advisory group by July 1, 2026, with quarterly meetings starting by September 30, 2026, to develop data policies, and increases the capital construction project threshold for certain reviews from $2 million to $5 million. It also exempts specific capital construction projects funded solely from non-student fee cash funds from commission and committee review under certain conditions and aligns bond requirements for the University of Colorado with current practices.

Educational institutions in Colorado will need to review and adapt to new data sharing protocols and the formation of the data advisory group. The increased capital construction threshold may streamline certain projects, but institutions must ensure compliance with the new requirements for project planning, review, and funding. The bill is currently in draft form as a legislative measure, and its final passage and effective dates will determine the precise compliance timelines.

What to do next

Review proposed changes in Colorado Bill SB26-078 impacting higher education statutes.
Prepare for the establishment of a data advisory group by July 1, 2026, and subsequent data policy development.
Assess capital construction projects against the new $5 million threshold for review exceptions.

Source document (simplified)

SB26-078

Changes to Institutions of Higher Education Statutes

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Capital Construction Higher Education |
Concerning modifications to certain statutes relating to institutions of higher education, and, in connection therewith, changing procedures relating to information sharing, data, and capital construction projects.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

The bill 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. The bill requires that, within 3 days of an institution or its governing board submitting information on the fiscal impact of a legislative measure to the department of higher education (department) to assist the department in responding to a request from the staff of the legislative council (LCS), the department share with the submitting institution or its governing board the department's official response to the LCS regarding the fiscal impact of the legislative measure.

Definitions. The bill 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 any building on the campus that the university owns or leases.

Data policies and coordination. The bill requires the department to create a data advisory group no later than July 1, 2026. The data advisory group is made up of representatives from the department and the institutions. The data advisory group must meet quarterly beginning no later than September 30, 2026, and is charged with developing policies and procedures for the collection, storage, and use of data from institutions. The bill adds one member of the data advisory group selected by the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) to the advisory committee to the commission and adds the data advisory group to the list of entities the commission is required to work with to collect data necessary to develop and implement the commission's master plan. The bill also requires the department, in collaboration with the governing boards and institutions that report student data to the commission and the department, to provide access, upon request of a governing board or institution, to de-identified statewide institutional and student data.

Capital construction. The bill 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 bill 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 bill modifies certain bond requirements and procedures specific to the university of Colorado to align with current practice.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)