Colorado Bills

In connection with the role of watchers in elections, the bill does the following: Section 1 of the bill authorizes each political party participating in a primary election to have at least one watcher at any one time in each voter service and polling center in the county and at each place where votes are counted. This section requires the chairperson of the county central committee of each political party to select the names of the persons who will represent their political party in each precinct in the county as a watcher. If such chairperson is not able to make the appointments, the chairperson of the state central committee of the political party or another official of the state political party are required to make the appointments. The date by which the chairperson is required to submit the names of the watchers is specified. Section 2 requires that, in the case of an issue committee, the registered agent of the issue committee is the authorized representative of the issue committee entitled to appoint one or more watchers. The date by which the appointing authority is required to submit the names of the appointees is specified. Section 3 imposes the same requirements with respect to proponents and opponents of a ballot issue. Section 4 specifies procedures to be followed if a watcher sees a potential discrepancy. This section of the bill also allows the watcher to observe the process of signature verification. This section of the bill additionally contains an oath or affirmation that a person appointed as a watcher is to recite before beginning his or her service. Section 5 removes an existing exception to a prohibition on the sale, disclosure, or release of a photocopied or microfilmed image of an elector's signature to effect an overall ban on the sale, disclosure, or release of certain confidential personal information. Section 6 gives county clerk and recorders the same access to the criminal history records of watchers as they currently have with respect to election judges and gives the secretary of state the power to require that certain duties may only be performed by watchers for whom the county clerk and recorder has requested their criminal justice records. This section further clarifies that such duties performed by a watcher include observing electors' records in the statewide voter registration system.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill allows persons who were convicted of criminal offenses for the use, cultivation, or possession of marijuana to petition for the sealing of criminal records relating to such convictions if their behavior would not have been illegal if it had occurred on or after December 10, 2012. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires that each plumbing project include a contemporaneous review to ensure compliance with licensure and inspection and apprentice requirements. Each incorporated town or city, county, city and county, or qualified state institution of higher education conducting inspections is required to develop standard procedures to advise its inspectors how to conduct a contemporaneous review and to post its current procedures on its website. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

For general elections, counties with at least 25,000 active electors are currently required to designate at least one voter service and polling center (VSPC) for each 30,000 active electors during the period of early voting. The bill maintains this provision for the second 7 days of early voting, but changes this figure for the first 7 days of early voting so that at least one VSPC is required for each 75,000 active electors in those counties. For all counties, the bill also removes the requirement that VSPCs be open on the first Saturday during the 15-day period prior to election day. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill repeals the income tax credits for innovative motor vehicles and innovative trucks for purchase and leases entered into on or after January 1, 2018. For the 2017-18 state fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter through the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the bill requires the state controller to credit an amount of tax revenue estimated to be retained by the repeal of the income tax credits to the highway users tax fund. The bill requires the secretary of state to submit a ballot question, to be treated as a proposition, at the statewide election to be held in November 2017 asking the voters: To increase state tax revenue by a specified amount in each fiscal year through the 2020-21 state fiscal year by the repeal of the income tax credit for innovative motor vehicles and the income tax credit for innovative trucks; To credit the resulting estimated tax revenue to the highway users tax fund; and To allow an estimate of the resulting tax revenue to be collected and spent notwithstanding any limitations in section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, the accreditation for school districts and the state charter school institute (institute) and the level of performance for public schools is based on the attainment of specified performance indicators. The bill creates an additional performance indicator that measures the degree to which a public school, a school district, or the institute provides access to courses or educational programs in dance, drama and theater, music, and visual arts. The state board of education must adopt rules by which a public school, a school district, or the institute will receive additional credit toward the accreditation or performance ratings based on the arts performance indicator. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The total tax on tobacco products is 40% of the manufacturer's list price, which is based on a manufacturer's or supplier's invoice price to a distributor. The bill permits a distributor to use the price that the tobacco product is sold to the first importer of record or first manufacturer of record as the manufacturer's list price, if the distributor is able to provide the department of revenue with evidence of this price. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, process servers are not subject to regulation by any state agency. Section 1 of the bill creates the 'Process Servers Registration Act' and makes it unlawful for a person to act as a process server without first obtaining registration from the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies (DORA). Section 2 requires a review of the division's duties and functions in registering process servers after 7 years under the existing sunset laws. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)