The bill extends the right to use deadly force against an intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and employees of businesses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill declares that consumers of electricity have a right to install and use electricity storage systems on their property, and this will enhance the reliability and efficiency of the electric grid, save money, and reduce the need for additional electric generation facilities. The bill directs the Colorado public utilities commission to adopt rules under which: Residential and small commercial consumers can install electricity storage systems with a discharge rate of up to 25 kilowatts (kW) alternating current (AC) for later use or to provide backup in case of an outage; The utility and interconnection approval process for photovoltaic plus storage systems must be simple and streamlined, subject to electrical code and safety requirements but not more complex than existing approval requirements for photovoltaic installations; A utility whose customer installs electricity storage must use only a single revenue meter unless the storage system exceeds a discharge rate of 25 kW AC; and Any applicable standby charges, minimum charges, additional meter charges, or other fees or charges are identical as between customers with electricity storage systems and those without.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates a new license, referred to as a 'freestanding emergency department license', for the department of public health and environment to issue on or after July 1, 2019, to a health facility that provides emergency and urgent care and is either independent from and not affiliated with or located in a hospital or is operated by a hospital at a location off the hospital's main campus. The state board of health is to adopt rules regarding the new license, including rules to set licensure requirements and fees, safety and care standards, staffing requirements, fee transparency requirements, and other areas related to the operation of freestanding emergency departments. To qualify for a license, a facility must provide claims and billing data to health insurers and must be able to triage patients to determine the level of care they require. Starting on the date the bill takes effect through June 30, 2019, the department is prohibited from issuing a new license to a person to operate a freestanding health facility that provides emergency care, whether independent from or operated by a hospital, unless the facility will serve an area of the state that has limited access to emergency care. Additionally, the bill requires a health facility that is operating as a freestanding emergency department under current law to: Submit data to insurers to enable reporting of claims and billing data from freestanding emergency departments; Differentiate in a patient's billing statement the facility fee, professional fee, and ancillary service charges; and Post on its website a current facility fee schedule that indicates the range of facility fees that a patient may be charged and a list of health benefit plans or products for which the facility and its health care providers are in-network or out-of-network.(Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
The bill permits a person riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle to pass through a roadway intersection without stopping at a stop sign if the person slows to a reasonable speed, yields to vehicles and pedestrians, and can safely proceed or make a turn. A person riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may also proceed through an intersection with an illuminated red traffic control signal if the person stops, yields to traffic and pedestrians, and can safely proceed in the same direction or make a right-hand turn. A person riding a bicycle or electrical assisted bicycle may not make a left-hand turn at an intersection with an illuminated red traffic control signal unless first stopping, yielding to traffic and pedestrians, and turning onto a one-way street. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
In 1981, the general assembly enacted legislation that prohibits counties and municipalities (local governments) from enacting any ordinance or resolution that would control rent on private residential property. The bill clarifies that an ordinance or resolution that would control rent on either private residential property or a private residential housing unit does not include an ordinance or resolution enacted by a county or a municipality that establishes, as a condition of obtaining approval for the development of a project, inclusionary housing or inclusionary zoning requirements. As used in the bill, 'inclusionary housing' or 'inclusionary zoning' means a program enacted legislatively and with opportunity for public input that requires, as a condition of obtaining approval for the development of a project, the provision of residential units affordable to and occupied by owners or tenants whose household incomes do not exceed a limit that is established in the ordinance or resolution. The bill specifies different components that may be included in an inclusionary housing program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, when a law enforcement agency interviews a candidate for a peace officer position and that candidate previously worked for a state or local law enforcement agency or governmental agency, the candidate must execute a waiver that allows the previous employer to release the candidate's personnel file to the interviewing agency. The bill requires the candidate to also sign a waiver releasing his or her personnel file related to employment with a private entity to the interviewing agency. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill allows a custodian to deny access to confidential personal information records and employee personal e-mail addresses. The provisions of the 'Colorado Open Records Act' that relate to civil or administrative investigations and trade secrets and other privileged and confidential information apply to the judicial branch. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
To withdraw groundwater within a designated basin, current law requires a permit issued by the ground water commission, and typically a portion of the groundwater must be replaced. The bill exempts a drain from the permit and replacement obligations if the drain is for residential, commercial, or industrial development or utility lines installed to serve such development; the drain does not penetrate a confining layer; the removed groundwater is not put to any use other than collecting and removing groundwater from soils; and the removed groundwater is discharged essentially where the drain is located. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law provides that, with certain exceptions, every person convicted of any class 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 felony or level 1, 2, or 3 drug felony who, within 10 years of the date of the commission of the felony, has been twice previously convicted of a felony or a crime which, if committed within this state, would be a felony is an habitual criminal and shall receive an aggravated sentence. The bill states that: A conviction for any class 4, 5, or 6 felony may not be used for the purpose of adjudicating a person as an habitual criminal unless the conviction was for a crime of violence; and A conviction for any level 2, 3, or 4 drug felony may not be used for the purpose of adjudicating a person as an habitual criminal.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
A state income tax credit is allowed for a portion of the value of a perpetual conservation easement that is granted by a taxpayer on real property located in Colorado. In the past, when the department of revenue disputed the validity or amount of one of these credits, a taxpayer could attempt to resolve the dispute using an administrative appeal process within the department. If the taxpayer was not satisfied with the final determination resulting from the administrative process, the taxpayer could appeal the final determination to a district court. Starting in 2011, after a backlog of disputed conservation easement claims developed in the administrative process, the law was changed to allow taxpayers to elect to appeal directly to a district court and avoid the administrative appeal process. Unlike taxpayers who stayed in the administrative process, taxpayers who elected to appeal directly to district court were not required to provide a surety bond or other deposit in connection with their appeals, and additional interest and penalties ceased to accrue during their appeals. The bill provides that no surety bond or other deposit is required and no interest and penalties are to accrue for both the administrative appeal process and the district court appeal process. The law currently allows a conservation easement to be terminated in the same manner as any other easement. The bill specifies that, in addition, a court may exercise its equitable jurisdiction to terminate a conservation easement for which a tax credit has been claimed in certain circumstances if the claim has been rejected. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, if a business has less than $7,300 of personal property that would be listed on a single personal property schedule, then the personal property is exempt from the property tax and the business is not required to submit a schedule to the county assessor. With respect to this exemption, the bill reduces the amount of personal property tax that businesses pay by: Increasing the exemption that applies per schedule from $7,300 to $50,000, adjusted for inflation in the future, which increase will allow more businesses to avoid filing personal property tax schedules; and Allowing businesses whose personal property value exceeds the total exemption amount to claim the exemption. For public utilities that are assessed statewide, the property tax administrator currently considers all of a public utility's tangible property within the state as a factor in determining the value of the public utility as a unit. The bill modifies the valuation process by: Exempting the first $50,000 or an inflation-adjusted amount of personal property from the property tax and excluding it from the administrator's consideration for valuation purposes; and Excluding the exempt personal property from the public utility's statement of property that it files with the administrator.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law gives law enforcement officials and state regulatory boards access to the prescription drug monitoring program with a request that is accompanied by an official court order or subpoena. The bill changes this requirement to an official court order or warrant issued upon a showing of probable cause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
