The 2024 legislative session commenced January 10 and ended on May 8.

Below you’ll find summaries of proposed legislation affecting Colorado PERA. The status of each bill will be updated regularly.

Last updated: June 10, 2024

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HB24-1044

Additional PERA Service Retirees for Schools

Summary: Under current law, employers in the School and Denver Public Schools (DPS) divisions can designate up to 10 retirees who are permitted to work up to 140 days or 916 hours per calendar year without reductions to their PERA benefits. This bill would allow districts with more than 10,000 students to designate an additional retiree for each thousand students over 10,000.

Sponsors: Rep. Eliza Hamrick, Rep. Rick Taggart, Sen. Chris Hansen

Status: Passed; signed into law April 19

SB24-013

District Attorneys’ Salaries

Summary: Would increase the minimum compensation for district attorneys and assistant district attorneys, as well as allow the board(s) of county commissioners of counties that make up a judicial district, in consultation with the district attorney, to make a one-time irrevocable election to require an assistant district attorney to become a member of the PERA Defined Benefit Plan.

Sponsors: Sen. Bob Gardner, Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, Rep. Barbara McLachlan

Status: Passed; the bill was amended to remove the portion pertaining to participation in the PERA Defined Benefit Plan.

SB24-044

Public Employees’ Retirement Association Retiree Refundable Income Tax Credit

Summary: Would create a temporary tax credit of $700 for qualified PERA retirees in tax years 2024 and 2025. To qualify, a retiree would have to be 65 or older at the end of the tax year during which the credit is claimed, and have annual gross income of no more than $38,000 for single tax filers or $76,000 for joint filers.

Sponsors: Sen. Chris Kolker, Sen. Chris Hansen, Rep. Eliza Hamrick, Rep. Cathy Kipp

Status: Did not pass House Appropriations Committee

SB24-099

Public Employees’ Retirement Association Employment after Retirement for Rural Schools

Summary: Under current law, rural school districts can declare a critical shortage of qualified teachers, school bus drivers, food service workers, school nurses, or paraprofessionals and hire PERA retirees to fill those positions without having their retirement benefits reduced. This bill adds principals and superintendents to the list of qualified positions.

Sponsors: Sen. Rod Pelton, Sen. Janice Marchman, Rep. Ty Winter, Rep. Barbara McLachlan

Status: Passed; signed into law April 11

HB24-1159

Contracted Private Employee Exclusion from Public Employees’ Retirement Association

Summary: Imposes a moratorium until June 30, 2025, during which PERA is prohibited from including in its membership an employee of a third-party private entity that contracts with a public entity to perform services.

Sponsors: Rep. Don Wilson

Status: Postponed indefinitely

HB24-1169

Repeal Divest from Companies with Israel Prohibitions Law

Summary: In 2016, the general assembly enacted HB16-1284, which requires PERA to periodically identify all companies that have economic prohibitions against Israel and to divest all direct holdings of those companies from its assets and prohibits PERA from acquiring new direct holdings in any of those companies. This bill would repeal the statutory provisions enacted in HB16-1284.

Sponsors: Rep. Elisabeth Epps

Status: Postponed indefinitely

SB24-169

State Firefighter Public Employees’ Retirement Association Job Classification

Summary: Would expand the definition of State Trooper for the purpose of PERA benefits to include duly sworn employees of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control in the Department of Public Safety whose duties include structural or wildfire management, wildfire response, live-fire training, or wildfire leadership, as determined by the executive director of the department.

Sponsor: Sen. Tony Exum

Status: Passed; signed into law May 24

SB24-186

County Coroner & Deputy Coroner Public Employees’ Retirement Association Eligibility

Summary: Would expand the definition of State Trooper for the purpose of PERA benefits to include county coroners and deputy coroners.

Sponsor: Sen. Janice Marchman

Status: Passed; signed into law June 5

HB24-1427

Public Employees’ Retirement Association Study Conducted by an Actuarial Firm

Summary: Requires the state auditor, in cooperation with PERA, to contract an independent actuarial firm experienced with public pension plans to conduct a comprehensive study comparing the cost and effectiveness of the current hybrid Defined Benefit plan design to alternative plan designs, as well as providing an analysis of certain aspects of PERA’s current Defined Benefit and defined contribution plans.

Sponsors: Rep. Shannon Bird, Rep. Rick Taggart, Sen. Jeff Bridges, Sen. Rachel Zenzinger

Status: Passed; signed into law April 18