Colorado Title 26.5. Early Childhood Programs and Services § 26.5-1-108. Cooperation with federal government--grants-in-aid--legislative intent

(1) The department is authorized to accept, use, and administer all money and property granted or made available to the state or any state agency for the purpose of the early childhood programs and services that are transferred to the department pursuant to this part 1 or subsequently created in this title 26.5 or other programs and services that are comparable to said programs and services, except any money and property that is granted or made available to another specifically designated agency.

(2) If it is necessary to execute a formal agreement with a federal agency or officer as a condition precedent to receiving federal money or property pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the department is authorized to execute such an agreement, with the approval of the attorney general, so long as the agreement is not inconsistent with law.

(3) The state treasurer is authorized to receive, as official custodian, any money that the department accepts pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. The state treasurer shall disburse the money received pursuant to this section upon the order of the executive director.

(4) Beginning with the presentation made to a joint committee of reference pursuant to the “State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act”, part 2 of article 7 of title 2, in the 2023 regular legislative session, the department shall annually include in the presentation a report that details the total amount of federal money that the department received in the prior fiscal year, accounting for how the money was used, specifying the federal law or regulation that governs the use of the federal money, if any, and providing information regarding any flexibility the department has in using the federal money. The department shall make the report publicly available following the hearing.

(5) It is the intent of the general assembly that the responsibility for administering and the power to expend federal money pertaining to the powers, duties, and functions that are transferred to the department pursuant to this part 1 transfer to the department in accordance with the memoranda of understanding, interagency agreements, or both, as appropriate, described in section 26.5-1-106(1)(b).