The act requires that, to receive an associate degree through the Colorado re-engaged initiative, a student must not have received 15 or more credit hours from a community college or occupational education institution before transferring to the initiative. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a state income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2027, for employers who make a monetary contribution to an employee for use by the employee in purchasing a primary residence. The amount of the credit allowed is 5% of an employer's contribution to an employee, but the credit is capped at $5,000 per employee per year and an employer cannot receive a credit of more than $500,000 for all contributions made in a year to employees. The employee must use the money contributed for eligible expenses which include a down payment and closing costs, including fees for appraisals, mortgage origination, and inspections. An employee may authorize their employer to withhold a specified amount of the employee's earnings as an employee contribution into the savings account established by the employer that holds the employer contribution. If an employee ends their employment with the employer or if the employee intends to use the employee contribution in a manner that is not consistent with an eligible expense, the employee forfeits any unexpended amount of the employer contribution and the amount of the credit allowed to the employer for the employer contribution is subject to recapture. In such an occurrence, the employee is entitled to the employee contribution, plus any interest earned. The credit is not refundable but may be carried forward by the employer for a period of not more than 5 years. The executive director of the department of revenue may promulgate rules related to the implementation of the credit. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2027, the amount contributed by the employer may be subtracted by the employee from the employee's federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income; except that, if an employee forfeits the employer contribution, then the amount that the employee had subtracted from their federal taxable income is added back to their federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income for the subsequent tax year. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits insurers from denying a homeowner's insurance policy or a dwelling fire insurance policy or increasing the premium for such a policy based on the breed or mixture of breeds of dog that resides at the insured dwelling, while allowing denial if a specific individual dog is a dangerous dog. Insurers are also prohibited from asking or otherwise inquiring about the specific breed or mixture of breeds of dog kept at a dwelling except to ask if the dog is known to be or has been declared a dangerous dog. For purposes of these provisions, a dwelling includes a dwelling unit that is a structure or part of a structure that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by a tenant. The act also requires that an officer executing a writ of restitution inspect the premises for pet animals and give any pet animal found to the tenant of the premises if the tenant is present at the time the writ is executed. If a tenant is not present, the officer must contact a local authority in charge of animal control to take custody of any pet animal. The landlord shall provide the local animal control authority with access to the premises to allow the pet animals to be removed or secured and with the name and contact information for the tenant and shall leave contact information for the tenant as to where the pet animal has been taken by posting notice in a visible place at the premises. The act provides that no pet animal shall be removed from the premises during the execution of a writ and left unattended on public or private property. The act also limits the amount of an additional security deposit a landlord can receive from a prospective or current tenant as a condition of permitting the tenant's pet animal to reside at the residential premises to a refundable $300. Additionally, a landlord is prohibited from demanding or receiving additional rent from a tenant as a condition of permitting the tenant's pet animal to reside at the residential premises in an amount that exceeds $35 per month or 1.5% per month of the tenant's monthly rent, whichever is greater. The act also excludes pet animals from the categories of a tenant's personal property that a person who rents furnished or unfurnished rooms or apartments may place a lien on for unpaid board, lodging, or rent. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law states that the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with the relevant district attorney over regulation of land surveyors. The act makes a correction to the law by changing the relevant part of statute to refer to the regulation of architects. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado commodity supplemental food grant program to provide grants of money to aid county public health agencies, district public health agencies, county departments of human or social services, and food banks that have a contract with the department of human services (department) in purchasing and distributing food packages to qualifying low-income older Colorado adults. The act creates the food bank assistance grant program in the department. The purpose of the food bank assistance grant program is to increase the amount of nutritious food that food banks are able to provide to the food bank's hunger relief partners. Subject to available appropriations, the department may provide grants of money to food banks to enhance the food bank's capacity to distribute quality foods to hunger relief partners. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act annually appropriates $1 million from the general fund to the department for the Colorado commodity supplemental food grant program. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The law regulating campaign finance did not set limits on contributions to candidates for municipal elected office. For municipal elections held on or after January 1, 2024, the act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from persons, including any political party and excluding any small donor committee, for any election cycle in the amount of $400. The act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from small donor committees for any election cycle in the amount of $4,000. The act subjects the new contribution limits to existing statutory provisions governing the disclosure of campaign contributions. The act requires campaign contribution reports for candidates for a municipal office for a municipality that has a population of 1,000 or more to be filed with the municipal clerk no later than 60 days, 30 days, and 15 days before and 30 days after the major election in election years and annually in off-election years; except that, for a runoff election, reports must be filed no later than 15 days before and after the runoff election. The act clarifies that an independent expenditure committee that makes expenditures in connection with a municipal election must file its disclosure reports with the applicable municipal clerk. The act also extends the retention requirements for campaign contribution reports from one year to 10 years for a candidate that is not elected and from one year to 6 years after the candidate leaves office for a candidate that is elected and requires that reports be made publicly available without charge on a website or for in-person inspection. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In conformance with federal law, the act repeals the allowance for a corporation to issue a scrip in bearer form upon the holder surrendering enough scrip to equal a full share. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act preempts any existing local governmental entity housing growth restriction that explicitly limits either the growth of the population in the local governmental entity's jurisdiction or the number of development permits or building permit applications for residential development or the residential component of any mixed use development submitted to, reviewed by, approved by, or issued by a governmental entity for any calendar or fiscal year and forbids the enactment or enforcement of any such future local housing growth restriction unless the governmental entity has experienced a disaster emergency, has developed or amended land use plans or land use laws covering residential development or the residential component of a mixed-use development, or is extending or acquiring public infrastructure, public services, or water resources. A governmental entity that experiences one of these events may implement a growth cap for up to 24 months in a 5-year period. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the public utilities commission's (commission) gas pipeline safety rules, on or before March 1, 2024, to address requirements for: The installation or reinstallation of service regulators by the owner or operator so that any vents associated with the service regulators are at least 12 inches above ground level and located in an area that is protected from external blockage; and The visual inspection of gas meters and service regulators by a qualified individual no less frequently than every 5 calendar years with intervals not to exceed 63 months and the record documentation of each inspection. The act requires the commission to promulgate rules, on or before March 1, 2024, to establish a process for determining whether an owner or operator of a natural gas distribution system (owner or operator) or a customer is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the portion of the service line, if installed on or after August 14, 1995, and before March 1, 2024, that extends from the gas meter to the customer's primary residential or commercial structure that is serviced with natural gas (customer-owned service line). The act also requires the commission to promulgate rules, on or before March 1, 2024, requiring an owner or operator that distributes gas to a customer-owned service line installed by the owner or operator on or after March 1, 2024, to: Provide written notice to the customer, within 90 days after the installation of the customer-owned service line, informing the customer whether the owner or operator or the customer is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the customer-owned service line; and Use best efforts to obtain a signed copy of the written notice from the customer. An owner or operator that fails to obtain a signed copy of the written notice must either maintain proof of efforts to obtain the customer's signature or document the customer's refusal to provide a signature. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Colorado law requires the manufacturer of cosmetic products, dietary supplements, food products, and food additives, including hemp products, to be registered with the department of public health and environment (department). The act creates a new framework for the department to regulate and register hemp products and certain intoxicating hemp products and for the marijuana enforcement division (division) in the department of revenue to regulate intoxicating products or potentially intoxicating compounds that are or may be cannabinoids. This regulation includes: The power to promulgate rules authorizing or prohibiting chemical modification, conversion, or synthetic derivation to create certain types of intoxicating cannabinoids; Classifying and reclassifying cannabinoids as intoxicating, potentially intoxicating, or nonintoxicating; Labeling and advertising requirements; Production and testing requirements; Inspection, record-keeping, surveillance, and inventory tracking requirements; Prohibiting the export of a safe harbor hemp product that is a synthetic cannabinoid or that is being exported to a state where it is illegal; and Issuing a cease-and-desist order or clean-up order. Hemp- and marijuana-derived compounds and cannabinoids are classified into 3 classifications: Nonintoxicating cannabinoids; Potentially intoxicating cannabinoids; and Intoxicating cannabinoids. Nonintoxicating cannabinoids that are derived from hemp may be produced, distributed, or sold as a hemp product. With the exception of products manufactured or produced for export, which are referred to as "safe harbor hemp products" and with some exceptions for small amounts of THC, products containing potentially intoxicating compounds and intoxicating cannabinoids must only be produced, distributed, or sold by a person licensed by the division to produce, distribute, or sell the compound or cannabinoid as a product. The act clarifies that: Nonintoxicating cannabinoids, potentially intoxicating compounds, and intoxicating cannabinoids are marijuana or marijuana products for the purposes of the retail marijuana sales tax; and A person must be licensed by the division to manufacture potentially intoxicating compounds or intoxicating cannabinoids. The act prohibits the following acts: Manufacturing, selling, or delivering products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids in excess of limits established by rule; Manufacturing a product containing hemp that is not a cosmetic, a dietary supplement, a food, a food additive, or an herb; Manufacturing, producing, selling, distributing, or holding for sale or distribution a safe harbor hemp product without registering with the department; Selling a hemp product to an individual who is under 21 years of age if the hemp product has a ratio of cannabidiol to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of less than 20:1 and the hemp product contains more than 1.25 milligrams of THC, but this prohibition does not apply to products with no THC, tinctures, cosmetics, or hemp products that the United States food and drug administration has determined are generally recognized as safe; Selling a hemp product in a container with more than 5 servings if the hemp product has more than 1.25 milligrams of THC and a ratio of cannabidiol to THC of less than 20:1, but this prohibition does not apply to products with no THC, tinctures, cosmetics, or hemp products that the United States food and drug administration has determined are generally recognized as safe; or Selling a hemp product in a container with more than 30 servings if the hemp product has more than 1.25 milligrams of THC and a ratio of cannabidiol to THC of 20:1 or more, but this prohibition does not apply to products with no THC, tinctures, cosmetics, or hemp products that the United States food and drug administration has determined are generally recognized as safe. The penalty for a violation is up to $10,000 per day per violation. The act specifies factors to consider in determining the amount of the penalty. The act requires the executive director of the department of revenue to analyze the feasibility of establishing a standing committee to evaluate cannabinoids and cannabis-derived products for the purpose of determining and making recommendations regarding their safety profiles and potential for intoxication. The department of revenue may engage experts to inform its analysis. The bill sets standards for marijuana cultivation facilities to buy seeds and clones. To implement this act: $1,574,061 is appropriated to the department. This appropriation consists of $1,168,485 from the general fund and $405,576 from the wholesale food manufacturing and storage protection cash fund; $295,024 is appropriated from the general fund to the marijuana cash fund and reappropriated from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue; and Of the amounts appropriated to the departments of public health and environment and revenue, $437,764 is reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services to those departments. The amounts are appropriated to the departments for the 2023-24 state fiscal year, and the departments are authorized to spend any amount not expended in the 2023-34 state fiscal year in the 2024-25 state fiscal year for the same purposes. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Title 26.5 of the Colorado Revised Statutes relates primarily to early childhood programs and services. In 2022, the general assembly enacted House Bill 22-1295, which established the duties of the department of early childhood (department), relocated early childhood programs from the departments of human services and education to the department, and created the Colorado universal preschool program in the department. The act makes technical changes to title 26.5 and related statutes, including: Updates language regarding gifts, grants, and donations to achieve statutory uniformity; Allows the department to enter into a contract with an organization to provide early literacy programming and related supports and whole-child services; Adds the executive director of the department to the health equity commission; Adds the commissioner of the behavioral health administration to the Colorado child abuse prevention board; Clarifies reporting dates to ensure the department can complete and report data in a timely manner; Clarifies the department's responsibilities concerning child abuse or neglect record checks; Amends background and record check language to align with current federal and state practices and standards; Clarifies definitions; Updates references from "ICON" to "Colorado state courts data access system"; and Eliminates technical language no longer used in child care licensing. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends the "Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971" (CYEOA) to allow aggrieved parties, including parents of children protected by the CYEOA, to pursue remedies at law and in equity for violations of the act, in addition to workers' compensation remedies, if: An injury occurs to a minor during a week when the employer intentionally required the minor to work hours in violation of those allowed by the CYEOA; or An injury occurs to a minor while the minor was engaging in work prohibited by the CYEOA. The act clarifies that economic damages for claims in tort recovered by a party aggrieved by a violation of the CYEOA against the employer of a minor pursuant to the act must be reduced by the amount of compensation and benefits that the minor or the minor's dependents received for the same harm through the employer's workers' compensation insurance. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
