Colorado's New Plan to Build a Nuclear Workforce (Without Your Tax Dollars)

What This Bill Actually Does

Colorado is looking closely at nuclear energy as a reliable, zero-carbon way to keep the lights on and meet our emissions goals, but we have a major bottleneck: we simply don't have enough trained people to build and run the facilities. Senate Bill 26-045 tries to fix that by creating the Colorado Nuclear Workforce Development and Education Council. Housed at the Colorado School of Mines, this 11-member group will funnel money to community colleges, technical schools, and universities to build out nuclear engineering degrees, certificate programs, and hands-on modular training courses.

But here is the most unique part of this legislation: it comes with a strict "no state taxes" rule. The state is legally barred from using the General Fund to pay for this. Instead, the council must rely entirely on private gifts, federal grants, and corporate donations. In fact, the bill includes a hard trigger mechanism: the council won't hold a single meeting, and the grant program won't legally exist, until the Nuclear Workforce Development and Education Cash Fund hits exactly $500,000.

If that funding threshold is met, the council will hire a third-party entity to run the day-to-day operations and start awarding grants. When deciding which schools get the money, the council is ordered to prioritize:

• Programs that can get a trained workforce out the door expeditiously.
• Schools located in or near coal transition communities (areas losing traditional coal plant jobs).
• Institutions that show high regional demand and strong student interest.

It's essentially a state-sanctioned, privately-funded incubator for the next generation of nuclear technicians, radiation safety experts, and reactor engineers.

What It Means for You

If you're a parent looking at career paths for your kids, or a worker thinking about a career pivot, this bill is sending a massive signal about where Colorado's energy economy is heading. Nuclear power jobs pay incredibly well and offer long-term stability, but the training has historically been hard to find locally. If this bill passes and the $500,000 funding trigger is met, you're going to see a rapid rollout of new nuclear curriculum at local community colleges, technical schools, and four-year universities near you.

What's especially great for your wallet as a taxpayer is that this workforce pipeline isn't going to cost you a cent in state income or sales taxes. Because the Colorado General Assembly is completely walled off from funding this through the state budget, the financial risk is entirely on the private sector and federal grant programs. If the industry wants these workers, they have to pay to train them. If you live in a coal transition community—like Craig, Hayden, or Pueblo—this is definitely a space to watch, as the bill specifically targets your regions for these new educational investments.

Here is what you can do right now:

• Contact your local community college or technical school and ask if they are tracking the SB26-045 grant opportunities for new technical programs.
• Reach out to your state senator to weigh in on whether you support expanding nuclear energy pathways in Colorado.
• Keep an eye on the Colorado School of Mines' announcements later this year to see if the $500,000 funding trigger gets pulled.

What It Means for Your Business

For businesses in the energy, construction, and education sectors, this bill is a neon sign pointing toward future state contracting and supply chain opportunities. First, if you run an education or workforce consulting firm, the council is legally required to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to hire a third-party entity to manage the grant program and provide staffing. That's a direct, immediate contracting opportunity. The council is allowed to use up to 10% of the cash fund (so, at least $50,000 annually to start) to pay for these administrative costs.

If you are a private company in the clean energy or nuclear supply chain, this is your chance to shape the workforce you're going to need in five to ten years. The 11-member council requires specific seats for representatives from private nuclear companies, labor organizations, and small-to-mid-sized nuclear supply chain businesses. You don't just have to sit back and hope the state trains the right kind of workers—you can literally apply to be on the council that writes the checks and designs the training priorities.

Here are your action items for this week:

• Start drafting your RFP strategy: If you provide administrative, staffing, or grant-management services, get ready to bid on the third-party contract to run this council's day-to-day operations.
• Put your name in the hat: Contact the Governor's Office of Boards and Commissions or legislative leadership to express interest in one of the private sector or supply chain council seats. The deadline for appointments is January 1, 2027.
• Consider a strategic donation: If you urgently need these trained workers, donating to the Nuclear Workforce Development and Education Cash Fund could be the fastest way to get the $500,000 trigger met so the grants can start flowing to schools in your backyard.

Follow the Money

The fiscal mechanics of this bill are what make it so unusual. According to the Legislative Council Staff's Fiscal Note, this legislation has zero impact on the state's General Fund and won't affect your TABOR refunds. The entire operation is structured around the newly created Nuclear Workforce Development and Education Cash Fund, which acts as a holding tank for private gifts, federal grants, and corporate donations.

The math is simple: nothing happens until that fund hits $500,000. Once it does, the money is continuously appropriated to the Colorado School of Mines. From that initial half-million, $450,000 will go directly out the door as grants to educational institutions, and $50,000 (the strict 10% cap) will be used to pay the third-party administrative contractor. Because this relies entirely on outside money, local governments and state taxpayers carry absolutely no financial risk if the program fails to launch or sustain itself.

Where This Bill Stands

SB26-045 was introduced in the Senate on January 27, 2026, with strong bipartisan backing, spearheaded by Republican Senator Larry Liston and Democratic Senator Kyle Mullica. On February 9, 2026, the Senate Committee on Education gave it the green light and referred the bill, as amended, to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Because the bill explicitly forbids using state tax dollars and relies entirely on a privately funded cash fund, it faces a very smooth path through Appropriations. Bipartisan bills that solve workforce issues without tapping the state budget are the holy grail at the Capitol. Expect this to move quickly to the Senate floor for a full vote before crossing over to the House. If passed, the Governor and legislative leaders have until January 1, 2027, to make their council appointments—provided the private sector steps up and hits that $500,000 funding trigger.