HVAC Improvements for Public Schools

The act requires a school district board of education, a charter school, an institute charter school, a board of cooperative services, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind (local education provider) to satisfy certain requirements concerning installation, inspection, and maintenance of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools if the local education provider undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money made available by a federal government source or by a federal government source in combination with a state government source specifically for such purpose.

The requirements established in the act concern:

• Ventilation verification assessments, which include assessments of an HVAC system's filtration, ventilation exhaust, economizers, demand control ventilation, air distribution and building pressurization, general maintenance requirements, operational controls, and carbon dioxide output;
• The preparation of HVAC assessment reports;
• The review of HVAC assessment reports by mechanical engineers, who make recommendations regarding necessary repairs and improvements and estimate associated costs;
• HVAC adjustments, repairs, upgrades, and replacements;
• The preparation of HVAC verification reports and the submission of the reports to the department of education; and
• Periodic inspections and ongoing maintenance.

The act establishes mandatory criteria that an HVAC contractor must satisfy in order to perform work described in the act. A local education provider that undertakes HVAC infrastructure improvements using money made available by a federal government source or by a federal government source in combination with a state government source must:

• Obtain and make use of the certified contractor list established by the department of labor and employment; and
• Employ only contractors on the certified contractor list or certain other contractors to perform the HVAC improvements.

The act allows a local education provider to apply for grants to pay for HVAC infrastructure improvement projects and establishes requirements for local education providers that apply for grants from federal and state government sources.

The act requires the governor's office to use existing resources funded by the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund to provide grant writing support, administrative support, and project planning to local education providers that undertake HVAC infrastructure improvement projects. The governor's office must submit a report to the joint budget committee and the capital development committee concerning the number of applicants for matching funds from local education providers reviewed by the office before October 2, 2025. The report must include the amount of requested matching funds, the recommended amount of matching funds, and an explanation for the difference, if any, between the requested amounts and the recommended amounts.

VETOED by Governor May 17, 2024
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)