Summary#

HB 26-1433, titled Funding to Sustain Fire-Related Services, amends Colorado Revised Statutes section 29-5-502; it does not create a new law or a new program. Its stated goal is to help sustain the Firefighter Behavioral Health Benefits Program. The bill is reported as signed into law, but its effective date can depend on whether a referendum petition is filed.

• The Division of Fire Prevention and Control may seek, accept, and spend gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources.
• The division may use that money to implement the requirements of section 29-5-502.
• The bill does not require anyone to donate or require the division to seek funding.

What it means for you#

• Division of Fire Prevention and Control: It gains permission to seek, accept, and spend donations and grants for the section’s requirements. This is a power, not a duty.
• Firefighters and other potential program users: The bill does not directly change program benefits, eligibility, or access rules.
• Taxpayers: The bill does not create a tax or fee. It does not guarantee that outside money will be raised.
• Public and private organizations or individuals: They may provide donations, but the bill does not require them to do so.

Money#

No cost estimate is available in the supplied material.

• The bill authorizes the division to spend gifts, grants, and donations for the section’s requirements.
• It does not state how much funding may be raised or spent, or set a spending limit.
• It does not appropriate a specific amount of public money. The supplied text does not say whether accepting or managing funds will require added staff or other costs.

What is unclear#

• The supplied material does not include the full current version of section 29-5-502, so I could not verify the program’s existing duties, benefits, or rules against current law.
• The bill does not set rules for seeking donations, choosing which funds to accept, or deciding how to spend them.
• It does not say what reporting or oversight applies to the donated funds.
• The effective-date provision says the act takes effect after the 90-day period following the legislature’s final adjournment, with August 12, 2026, given if adjournment was May 13. A referendum petition could instead defer it until voter approval. The supplied material does not confirm whether a petition was filed or which date applies.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that donations and grants could provide another funding source for the existing behavioral-health benefits program.
• The authority covers both public and private sources, giving the division more than one possible source to seek.
• The bill permits spending those funds on the requirements of the section, tying their use to the program’s legal requirements.

Case against#

• The bill does not require the division to seek money or ensure that any funding will be available, so the authority alone may not sustain the program.
• It sets no funding, spending, reporting, or oversight rules for donations and grants.
• Because the bill does not state whether added staff or administrative costs are needed, the full cost of using this authority is unclear.