Current law creates the fourth-year innovation pilot program (pilot program) in the department of higher education (department) to disburse state funding to postsecondary education and training programs on behalf of low-income students who graduate early from a participating high school. The act limits pilot program participation to local education providers, groups of providers, and schools participating in the 2023-24 school year, but it does not cap the number of students who may receive postsecondary education scholarships through the pilot program. Current law requires the department to annually report to the department of education, the governor's office of state planning and budgeting, the joint budget committee, and the education committees of the general assembly certain information about the pilot program. The act adds a final evaluation component of the pilot program's data from each student cohort, the pilot program's outcomes and cost-effectiveness, and recommendations about any next steps beyond the pilot phase. APPROVED by Governor May 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires that, in order to plant uncertified potatoes, a potato grower must: Submit the uncertified potato seed stock to the certifying authority of Colorado for testing and have the certifying authority approve the potatoes for planting; or Ensure the uncertified potatoes are no more than one generation removed from certified or qualified parent potatoes and submit the uncertified potato seed stock to the certifying authority for testing. The testing process is aimed to ensure that if uncertified potatoes are planted in Colorado, those potatoes are free from disease or other issues that may be detrimental to Colorado's potato crop. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires certain networks that facilitate payment transactions to make the merchant category code for firearms and ammunition available to merchant acquirers (processor) who process transactions for firearms merchants. A processor must assign the code to each firearms merchant to which the processor provides services. The attorney general's office has exclusive authority to enforce the act. Before bringing an enforcement action, the attorney general's office must notify in writing the person alleged to have violated the act. Standards are set for the notice. A violator has 30 days to cure the violation in accordance with the standards in the act. If a person violates the act and does not cure the violation, the attorney general's office may bring a civil action to seek: A civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation; or An injunction or equitable relief that prevents a further violation. If the attorney general's office prevails in the action, a court may issue an order requiring the violator to pay reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in bringing the action. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a person from knowingly affiliating with a public safety radio network without authorization from the network's authorizing entity. Unlawful affiliation with a public safety radio network is a class 2 misdemeanor. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the purpose of providing health insurance coverage, current law defines a "small employer" as any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, or association that employs between one and 100 employees during a calendar year. Effective January 1, 2026, the act amends the definition to define a "small employer" as any person that employs an average of at least one but not more than 50 employees during a calendar year. An employer that has a small group health benefit plan before January 1, 2026, and would no longer qualify as a "small employer" under the changes made by this act may elect to keep their small group health benefit plan for 5 years after the date of issuance. Such employer may also switch between small group health benefit plans offered by the carrier during those 5 years, but may only switch to plans that are one metal level above or below their existing plan. Once an employer elects to enter the large group health benefit market, the employer may not return to the small group health benefit market within the 5-year period. The act requires the commissioner of insurance to conduct an actuarial review of rate filings submitted by insurance carriers that offer small group health benefit plans to determine whether the change to the definition of "small employer" made by the act would increase premiums for the majority of individuals covered by small group health benefit plans by more than 3%. If the premiums would increase by more than 3%, then the change to the "small employer" definition made by the act is repealed. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE May 1, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2026(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Prior to the consolidation of the division of wildlife and the division of parks and recreation and their respective commissions in Senate Bill 11-208, concerning the consolidation of wildlife entities with parks and outdoor recreation entities under the department of natural resources, enacted in 2011, members of the wildlife commission were required to hold at least 2 public meetings per year in their respective geographic districts. The act renews the public engagement requirement for the members of the parks and wildlife commission in the department of natural resources who are appointed by the governor and adds the same public engagement requirement for members of the state agricultural commission and the Colorado water conservation board who are appointed by the governor. Commission and board members subject to the public engagement requirement are entitled to reimbursement for their reasonable costs in participating in public meetings. Status updates on the commission and board members' compliance with the public engagement requirement must be reported to the chair of each member's respective commission or board and included in each member's respective executive department's annual "SMART Act" presentation to the general assembly. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $10,504 is appropriated to the department of natural resources for use by the division of parks and wildlife to implement the act, with $6,828 of the money appropriated from the wildlife cash fund and $3,676 from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law refers to a "member", "client", "consumer", and "recipient" interchangeably when referring to an individual who is enrolled in the state medical assistance program (medicaid). The act updates the terminology to refer only to medicaid "members". APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law prohibits the sale or distribution of products in certain product categories on and after certain dates (product phaseout timeline) if the products contain intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS chemicals). The act changes current law by: On and after January 1, 2025, prohibiting the sale or distribution of certain outdoor apparel intended for extreme or extended use in severe wet conditions (outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions) that contains intentionally added PFAS chemicals unless the product is accompanied by a disclosure that states that the product contains intentionally added PFAS chemicals (disclosure requirement); On and after January 1, 2026, as part of the product phaseout timeline, banning the sale or distribution of cleaning products that are not medical floor maintenance products, cookware, dental floss, menstruation products, and ski wax that contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals; On and after January 1, 2028, as part of the product phaseout timeline, repealing the disclosure requirement and banning the sale or distribution of medical floor maintenance products, textile articles, outdoor apparel for severe wet conditions, and food equipment intended primarily for use in commercial settings that contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals; and On and after January 1, 2026, prohibiting a person from installing artificial turf that contains intentionally added PFAS chemicals on any portion of property in the state. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The uniform act clarifies when and how electronic documents may be used in estate planning documents other than wills. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends certain requirements and procedures related to licenses and passes from the Colorado parks and wildlife commission (commission). The act lowers the age threshold for senior annual fishing licenses to 64 years of age and amends the definition of "low-income senior" for the purposes of discounted parks and wildlife licenses. The act also lowers the disability level threshold for veterans with disabilities from 60% to 50% disability for the purpose of granting licenses to disabled veterans. The act lowers the cost of the youth small game hunting license and the youth big game hunting license by 25 cents to account for the inclusion of the backcountry search and rescue fund surcharge that is added administratively by the commission when the licenses are purchased. The act clarifies that adjustments to the prices of certain hunting licenses are based on the cost of the licenses as established in 2018 and adjusted for inflation based on the consumer price index. The act authorizes the commission to establish, by rule, a harvest permit surcharge for the taking of small game when doing so is necessary for the proper management of wildlife resources. The act specifies that revenues generated from the sale of keep Colorado wild passes may be used for capital construction projects. The act establishes procedures for hearings conducted by the commission when a river outfitter license holder or applicant is alleged to have committed a violation and when the applicant or license holder may have their application or license denied, suspended, or revoked. The act authorizes a hearing officer to conduct hearings on behalf of the commission in relation to the denial, suspension, or revocation of a river outfitter license. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law declares a restriction in a land record unlawful if the restriction is based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, disability, or other personal characteristics. The act enacts the "Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act (2023)", as drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, which establishes a process for a person to remove these unlawful restrictions from a title or other document related to real property. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the department of revenue (department) administers, collects, and enforces the local sales or use tax that a statutory local government or a special district imposes and, if requested, administers, collects, and enforces any such tax that a home rule jurisdiction imposes. The statutes that govern the administration, collection, and enforcement of these local sales or use taxes are located in multiple titles of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The act revises, modernizes, and harmonizes the separate statutes that govern the state administration of local sales or use tax by creating new parts 2 and 3 in article 2 of title 29. In general, the act makes clear that the department collects, administers, and enforces a local government sales or use tax in the same manner as it collects, administers, and enforces the state sales tax. The act: Requires a statutory local government, special district, or requesting home rule jurisdiction that imposes a new sales or use tax, makes a change to its existing sales or use tax, or changes its geographical boundaries by ordinance, resolution, or election to provide the department written notice within specified deadlines and establishes the applicability dates for such events; Requires each statutory local government, special district, and requesting home rule jurisdiction to designate one or more liaisons to coordinate with the department regarding the collection of its sales or use tax; Establishes a dispute resolution process when the local sales or use tax that is administered, collected, and enforced by the department is paid erroneously to the state or to the wrong statutory local government, special district, or home rule jurisdiction; Makes clear that a vendor who uses the department's geographic information system (GIS) database to determine the jurisdictions to which statutory local government, special district, or requesting home rule jurisdiction tax is owed is held harmless for any tax, charge, or fee liability that would otherwise be due solely as a result of an error or omission in the GIS database data; Clarifies that a statutory local government, special district, or requesting home rule jurisdiction may allow a retailer that collects and remits its sales or use tax to retain a percentage of the amount remitted to cover the vendors' expenses in collecting and remitting the statutory local government, special district, or requesting home rule jurisdiction's sales or use tax, but specifies that the statutory local government, special district, or requesting home rule jurisdiction may not impose a limit on the amount retained; Modifies the relief available under the provisions for local dispute resolution for sales or use taxes asserted by the local government to reflect the availability of the department's GIS database for accurately sourcing sales; and Makes conforming amendments for the collection, administration, enforcement, and distribution of statutory local government, special district, and requesting home rule jurisdiction sales or use taxes. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
