(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,
telec
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(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.