House Education Committee advances bill to create transition advisory committee to unify higher education and workforce programs

House Bill 13‑17, a proposal to create a statutory Transition Advisory Committee (TAC) to plan a unified state department overseeing higher education and workforce development, cleared the Colorado House Education Committee on a unanimous vote after sponsors accepted two amendments.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Speaker McCluskey, told the panel the legislation is intended to reduce fragmentation across about 110 programs now scattered across multiple agencies and to create “one‑stop” access for learners and jobseekers. McCluskey said the TAC would be appointed by the governor and include agency staff, higher education and apprenticeship representatives, organized labor, workforce centers, nonprofits and business partners to produce a transition plan and recommendations by Nov. 30, 2026.

Co‑prime sponsor Representative Taggart said the measure is designed to improve efficiency, cut administrative burden and help students and workers more quickly find training, apprenticeships and career pathways. Taggart and McCluskey said the bill asks for recommendations rather than prescribing a final organizational structure and that any structural change would be subject to future legislative action.

Witnesses from state agencies and stakeholder groups described the bill as a necessary first step while urging protections and local input. Eve Lieberman, executive director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said OEDIT’s Opportunity Now grant program and regional summits showed the need for clearer entry points for employers and learners. JB Holston, executive director of the Department of Higher Education, and Lee Wheeler Berliner of the Colorado Workforce Development Council testified that Colorado’s many programs and agencies create inefficiencies and signaled support for a coordinated transition process.

Student and labor witnesses offered mixed but generally supportive testimony with caveats. Sage Chapin, chair of the State Student Advisory Council, said students need clear, flexible pathways and stronger advising. Jade Kelly of CWA Local 799 warned of risks, citing a federal‑level merger she described as “chaotic” and urged explicit protections for faculty, staff and student workers in the transition. Local workforce leaders and policy advocates asked that the TAC include stronger local representation and that the transition plan ensure continuity of services for vulnerable populations who rely on SNAP or Medicaid‑linked workforce supports.

Two sponsor amendments were offered and approved: L1 strengthens statutory language on adult education, clarifies the faculty seat on the TAC (specifying a faculty member whose primary duties include teaching), and adds language to ensure workforce center employees and a county commissioner who delivers workforce programs are represented in the stakeholder process; L2 adds clearer language directing the TAC to consider connections between workforce programs and health and human services (including SNAP/TANF) to support local integration without transferring program administration to the TAC.

After closing remarks from sponsors and committee members about oversight, timelines and the need for meaningful stakeholder engagement, Vice Chair Martinez moved the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The clerk called the roll and the committee reported the bill unanimously; the chair announced the measure advances to Appropriations and then adjourned the committee.

What happens next: the TAC will be statutorily charged to deliver recommendations by Nov. 30, 2026, and sponsors said any statutory restructuring would be subject to later legislative review and appropriation decisions.