(1) (a) Unless prohibited by applicable federal law, and except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the contract for any public works project that does not receive federal money, including a public project that will have an integrated project delivery contract pursuant to article 93 of this title 24, in the amount of one million dollars or more shall require the general contractor or other firm to which the contract is awarded to submit, at the time the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor is put under contract, documentation to the agency of government that:
Identifies the contractors or subcontractors that will be used for all mechanical, sheetmetal, fire suppression, sprinkler fitting, electrical, and plumbing work required on the project;
Certifies that all firms identified participate in apprenticeship programs registeredwith the United States department of labor's employment and training administration or state apprenticeship councils recognized by the United States department of labor and have a proven record of graduating apprentices as follows:
Beginning July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026, a minimum of fifteen percent of itsapprentices for at least three of the past five years;
Beginning July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, a minimum of twenty percent ofapprentices for at least three of the past five years; and
Beginning July 1, 2031, and each year thereafter, a minimum of thirty percent ofapprentices for at least three of the past five years; and
(III) Supplies supporting documentation from the United States department of labor's office of apprenticeship verifying the information provided in the certification specified in subsection (1)(a)(II) of this section.
The provisions of this section do not apply to the department of transportation, regardless of the amount or funding source of the public project. The provisions of this section also do not apply to any county, city and county, city, municipality, town, school district, special district, or any other political subdivision of the state.
For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)(II) of this section, "graduating" means the completion of a multi-year program, including the requisite classroom course work and on-thejob training requirements and a certificate of completion issued by the United States department of labor's office of apprenticeship.
The documentation required pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be madepublicly available by the contracting agency of government through its website within thirty days from when it is submitted.
To ensure compliance with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, thegeneral contractor or other firm to which the contract is awarded shall agree to provide additional documentation to the contracting agency regarding affected apprenticeship training programs relating to the requirements of this section. If a contracting agency of government determines that a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor has willfully falsified documentation or willfully misrepresented their qualifications required to comply with this section in the contract, the agency of government shall direct the contractor to terminate the subcontractor contract immediately and the subcontractor will be immediately removed from the public project. At the discretion of the director of the department of personnel, the state may initiate the process to debar the contractor pursuant to section 24-109-105, and may pursue any other remedy provided by law.
Upon evaluation of the submitted bids, the contracting agency of government maywaive the requirements of this section for a public project if the agency of government determines that there is substantial evidence that there were no responsive, eligible subcontractors available to fulfill the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing portions of the contract. Each agency of government that has contracts for public projects subject to the requirements of this section shall make public all waivers and the specific rationale for granting the waiver. The agency of government shall post notice of the waiver and a justification for the waiver on its website.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede the requirements for licensedplumbers, licensed electricians, or apprentices registered with the state pursuant to title 12, including sections 12-23-105, 12-23-110.5, 12-58-105, and 12-58-117.
(a) To promote and facilitate the development of new apprenticeship programs, an apprenticeship program that does not satisfy the requirements of subsection (1)(a) of this section may petition the department of labor and employment for conditional approval for purposes of this section. To be allowed conditional approval, an apprenticeship program must demonstrate the following:
The program has been registered with the United States department of labor's employment and training administration or a state apprenticeship council and has been providing training for at least six months; and
The program is performing bona fide apprenticeship training as evidenced by information showing that it has the requisite facilities, personnel, and other resources needed to provide such training; and
(b) (I) If conditional approval is granted, the program will remain eligible for future covered projects, subject to annual reviews by the department of labor and employment for five years after conditional approval is granted or until it can satisfy the requirements of subsection (1)(a) of this section and can show a three-year graduation track record.
(II) To maintain conditional approval pursuant to this subsection (6), the apprenticeship program must demonstrate to the department of labor and employment that it has registered new apprentices into its program for every year it has been in operation and that it has advanced, at a minimum, ten percent of its apprentices in each year of operation. The department shall rescind a conditional approval for any program that fails to maintain these standards.
Source: L. 2019: Entire section added, (SB 19-196), ch. 316, p. 2946, § 1, effective August 2.
Editor's note: Section 4(2) of chapter 316 (SB 19-196), Session Laws of Colorado 2019, provides that the act adding this section applies to solicitations issued on or after July 1, 2021; except that, for institutions of higher education and the Auraria higher education center created in article 70 of title 23, the act applies to public projects approved by their governing boards on or after July 1, 2021.