Colorado § 8-83-701 - Construction registered apprenticeship grant program - created - reports - appropriation - definitions.

§ 8-83-701. Construction registered apprenticeship grant program - created - reports - appropriation - definitions.

(1) (a) There is created in the office within the department of labor and employment the construction registered apprenticeship grant program to provide grants to registered apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades that provide training at no cost to apprentices.

(b) The office shall consult with the office of economic development, the department of education, the department of higher education, the state board for community colleges and occupational education, local district colleges, the work force development council, and area technical colleges in the development and administration of the grant program to ensure alignment with, and reduce duplication of, related programs and initiatives.

(2) (a) The office shall create a competitive application process through which it selects registered apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades as grant recipients. A grant recipient must satisfy, at a minimum, the following criteria:

(I) Train apprentices in the building and construction trades;

(II) As a part of its grant application, demonstrate how it will use the grant award to provide training to apprentices at no cost to the apprentices;

(III) As a part of its grant application, demonstrate how it will use the grant award to directly provide training to, or remove barriers to accessing training for, persons from target populations;

(IV) As a part of its grant application, commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its registered apprenticeship program; and

(V) As part of its grant application, provide any other criteria or additional information determined necessary by the department of labor and employment.

(b) The office shall develop performance expectations for grant recipients. The office may terminate a registered apprenticeship program's participation in the grant program if the registered apprenticeship program fails to satisfy the performance expectations.

(c) The office shall develop a scale for the amount of money to be awarded to grant recipients based upon factors including the number of apprentices in the registered apprenticeship program and the location of the registered apprenticeship program.

(3) (a) The office shall require grant recipients to annually report data to the office. At a minimum, the grant recipients must report:

(I) The number of apprentices awarded funds pursuant to the grant program, in total and disaggregated by any factors determined by the office;

(II) If available, the number of apprentices awarded funds pursuant to the grant program who completed a registered apprenticeship program, in total and disaggregated by any factors determined by the office;

(III) If available, employment and earnings outcomes for apprentices awarded funds pursuant to the grant program, in total and disaggregated by any factors determined by the office; and

(IV) A detailed statement of the allocation of funds for the grant program, including costs incurred to administer the grant program.

(b) Beginning in 2025 and each year thereafter, the office shall submit a report compiling the data collected pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section to the senate business, labor, and technology committee and the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee, or their successor committees, during the hearings held pursuant to the "SMART Act", part 2 of article 7 of title 2.

(4) For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate to the department of labor and employment for allocation by the office one million four hundred thousand dollars from the general fund for purposes of this section. Any unexpended money remaining at the end of the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the appropriation listed in this subsection (4):

(a) Does not revert to the general fund or any other fund; except that, on or before June 30, 2025, two hundred twenty-two thousand seven hundred one dollars reverts to the general fund;

(b) May be used by the office in the 2024-25 or 2025-26 state fiscal year without further appropriation; and

(c) Must not be used for any purpose other than the purposes set forth in this section.

(5) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Grant program" means the construction registered apprenticeship grant program created in subsection (1) of this section.

(b) "Office" means the office of future of work created in section 8-15.8-103.

(c) "Registered apprenticeship program" has the same meaning as defined in section 8-15.7-101 (13).

(d) "Target populations" has the same meaning as defined in section 8-83-601 (13).

Source: L. 2023: Entire part added, (HB 23-1246), ch. 199, p. 1015, § 3, effective May 16. L. 2024: (5)(b) amended, (HB 24-1450), ch. 490, p. 3406, § 14, effective August 7. L. 2025: (4)(a) amended, (SB 25-243), ch. 120, p. 484, § 1, effective April 25.