News & Events
New Transparency and Disclosure Requirements for Colorado’s Metropolitan Districts
On May 29, 2025, Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1219 (the “Act”) into law. The Act aims to improve the public’s understanding of metropolitan districts by establishing additional transparency and disclosure requirements related to the governance of such districts.
Effective August 6, 2025, the Act introduced comprehensive disclosure updates to Colorado’s Special District Act and expanded the requirements established by Senate Bill 21-262.
Disclosure Requirements for Sellers of Residential Property
The Act requires all sellers of any residential property located within the boundaries of a metropolitan district organized on or after January 1, 2000, to make certain disclosures. These disclosures are intended to provide prospective buyers with more clarity, thereby reducing unexpected tax burdens associated with their property’s inclusion in such districts.
Prior to the Act taking effect, only sellers of newly constructed residences were required to provide the following disclosures to purchasers of the property. Specifically, sellers must disclose information in writing on the authority the metropolitan district has to issue debt, levy property taxes, and impose fees, tolls, penalties, or other charges. They must provide an estimate of property taxes levied by the district for collection during the year the sale occurs along with a copy of the most current county assessor’s tax certificate to provide an estimate of the sum of taxes imposed by such district and other taxing entities that overlap the property. Prior discussion of the disclosure requirements under C.R.S. 38-35.7-110 before it was amended by the Act can be found here.
The Act extended these requirements to apply to all sellers of residential property within a metropolitan district, whether or not such residence is a new construction. Owners of residential properties located within a metropolitan district should be aware that subsequent sales of homes from one residential homeowner to another are now subject to the disclosure requirements. Additionally, the Act requires that when sellers provide estimates regarding the residence’s property taxes based on the total mills imposed by the district and the property assessment, they must be given in a specific dollar amount. All required information must be disclosed to a potential buyer concurrently with or prior to the execution of a contract to sell the property.
Website Transparency and Meeting Notices
Most metropolitan districts in Colorado maintain a publicly accessible website with information such as the names of their board members, their current fiscal year budgets, and their financial statements from previous years as required by Senate Bill 21-262. The Act mandates that such districts include a “general explanation in plain, nontechnical language,” covering (i) what a metropolitan district is; (ii) the public improvements and services it provides; (iii) the amount of debt it can incur to pay for public infrastructure; (iv) what revenue may be used, and the maximum mill levy it may assess to repay such debt; and (v) the process for residents to serve on the district’s board.
To improve the public’s ability to easily locate important information about metropolitan districts, the Act identifies certain information that must be disclosed on the website’s homepage. These homepages must include the contact information of individuals serving on the board of directors; the date, time, and location of regularly scheduled meetings, including the annual meeting; the call for nominations for candidates to run for elections to serve on the board; and information identifying any governmental entities that overlap the district’s boundaries. Additionally, metropolitan districts must establish a system for residents to contact someone associated with the district outside of regular business hours by providing the name and contact information for someone who is available to address questions or concerns about emergent matters when the metropolitan district personnel are otherwise unavailable.
The Act also specifies new requirements for metropolitan districts that are required to hold annual public meetings. In addition to requiring notice of the annual meetings on the website’s homepage, board members must provide hard copies of self-nomination and acceptance forms at any in-person annual meeting that takes place in a year immediately preceding a year in which a district election will be held.
Service Plan Disclosures
The Act sets forth additional requirements regarding what a metropolitan district must include in its service plan when it is submitted to a board of county commissioners for approval. Metropolitan districts must now include the maximum term for imposing a debt service mill levy on any property developed for residential purposes after the initial year in which such mill levy is imposed. This provides residents and local governments with more transparency regarding the long-term tax implications of district financing.
Conclusion
By extending disclosure obligations to all residential property sales and requiring information to be clearly accessible online, the Act reflects Colorado’s continued commitment to strengthening transparency, protecting residents, and making metropolitan district governance and tax obligations more understandable to the general public.
