The bill provides that only an elector who has provided proof of citizenship can vote in an election. Registered electors who have presented a county clerk and recorder with proof of citizenship receive regular mail ballots. All other registered electors receive provisional mail ballots. Electors who receive provisional mail ballots must present those ballots at the county clerk and recorder's office and must provide proof of citizenship at the county clerk and recorder's office. The bill also ensures that only voters who have provided proof of citizenship can cast a regular in-person ballot. Finally, the bill requires the computerized statewide voter registration list maintained by the secretary of state to note whether an elector has shown proof of citizenship. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the information technology and infrastructure advisement committee on Colorado elections (committee). The committee's purpose is to evaluate and make recommendations to the secretary of state on the following issues: The standards for certification of electronic voting systems; Any issues involving electronic voting systems that have arisen in the state; The security, reliability, and integrity of electronic voting systems; and Other information technology issues related to the accuracy and transparency of electronic voting systems in the state. The committee is required to submit an initial report by March 1, 2022, and annual follow-up reports with its findings and recommendations to the secretary of state. The committee is required to meet at least 2 times each year and is scheduled for sunset review before September 1, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the Colorado bipartisan election commission (commission) in the department of state, a 5-member panel whose main function is to make recommendations to the secretary of state (secretary) and the general assembly concerning the manner in which a comprehensive audit of the state's election processes is to be conducted. The bill specifies requirements relating to the qualifications of persons appointed to the commission and the operation of the commission. The commission is to determine such matters as the scope of the audit, the matters to be audited, and the procedures that will guide the audit. The bill also requires the commission to consider whether an audit should consider additional issues specified in the bill. The commission is required to prepare a report summarizing its findings and conclusions by December 1, 2021. The report must include the commission's recommendation on the manner in which a comprehensive audit of the state's election processes must be conducted. The commission may also include in its report any recommendations for changes in the Colorado Revised Statutes or the election rules of the secretary of state that will facilitate the administration of secure and fair elections in the state. The commission is required to submit its report to the secretary, the legislative audit committee, and the general assembly. The commission is repealed September 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill adds a registered elector to the list of people who can request a recount when one is not otherwise required. An interested party or registered elector who requests a recount can also specify that the requested recount be conducted as a manual recount of the voter-verified paper records in the election, in which case, the election official is required to conduct the recount in accordance with that request. An interested party or registered elector can also request that a recount that is required by law be conducted as a manual recount of the voter-verified paper records. A person making this request must pay for the additional costs, if any, of conducting the recount manually. If the person makes the payment required, the election official must conduct the recount manually.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the state auditor to conduct an annual audit of the statewide voter registration system. The audit must include at least 20% of the active registered electors in each county, unduplicated over 5 consecutive years. The auditor is required to determine whether the data in the statewide voter registration list can be validated against other official records including death records, property records, and tax records. The secretary of state must reimburse the state for the full cost of the audit from the department of state cash fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits the parks and wildlife commission from requiring or adopting rules requiring a hunting or fishing license to enter, use, or occupy a state wildlife area unless the person is doing so to hunt or fish. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Usually, an owner of digital electronic equipment (equipment), such as cell phones and tablets, must seek diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services of the equipment from the original equipment manufacturer (manufacturer) or an authorized repair provider affiliated with the manufacturer. The bill requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information, to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's equipment to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services. A manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirement is an unfair or deceptive trade practice. Manufacturers need not divulge any trade secrets to independent repair providers and owners. The bill does not apply to motor vehicle manufacturers or dealers acting in that capacity, powersports vehicle manufacturers or dealers acting in that capacity, or medical devices; except that the bill does apply to class 2 powered wheelchairs. Any contractual provision or other arrangement that a manufacturer enters into that would remove or limit the manufacturer's obligation to provide these resources to independent repair providers and owners is void and unenforceable. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits the division of parks and wildlife from awarding more than one-third of big game hunting licenses to nonresidents in a limited license draw. This prohibition does not apply to leftover licenses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Section 2 of the bill requires the Colorado department of transportation (CDOT) to solicit construction contracts for public projects by invitation for bids, also known as the design bid build method of procurement, unless CDOT determines, based on specific written findings that CDOT posts on its website prior to awarding a contract, that it is not feasible to do so and that soliciting the contract through an alternative procurement method authorized by law such as competitive sealed best value bidding, an integrated product delivery contract, a public-private initiative, or a design-build contract is likely to cause the project to be completed faster, at a lower cost, or to a higher standard of quality than if the project was solicited by an invitation for bids. Section 4 prohibits CDOT from refusing to prequalify a contractor to bid on CDOT projects or reducing the scope of prequalification granted based on the contractor's lack of prior opportunity to demonstrate performance on past department contracts if the bidder can demonstrate its experience, past performance, expertise, and financial capacity through its work on construction contracts in other states or for county, municipal, or other local governments in Colorado.Sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12 ensure that the requirements and prohibitions set forth in sections 2 and 4 apply to CDOT project procurement through the alternative methods of competitive sealed best value bidding, integrated product delivery contracts, public-private initiatives, and design-build contracts.Section 8 requires CDOT to disclose to the public its rationale for selecting a specific participating entity to which it has awarded an integrated product delivery contract. Section 10 requires CDOT to disclose to the public its rationale for entering into the public-private initiative agreement for a project in lieu of soliciting a contractor for the project by invitation for bids or for best value bids and its rationale for selecting each private or public entity that is a party to the agreement over any other unselected private or public entities that submitted comparable proposals.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the bill require applicants for manufacturers', suppliers', and agents' licenses to disclose to the secretary of state (licensing authority) whether those applicants or any of their owners, officers, directors, members, or partners have had gaming licenses suspended or revoked in any other jurisdiction.Sections 6 and 7 authorize the licensing authority to approve additional types of equipment that players may use, including certain electronic devices that reveal the winning or nonwinning status of tickets in pull tab games, and clarifies that these devices are not defined as slot machines or other prohibited devices. Section 1 amends existing definitions accordingly, and section 2 removes a prohibition on the charging of license fees for the equipment by the licensing authority. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires a road usage equalization fee (equalization fee) to be imposed at the time of annual registration on each plug-in electric motor vehicle that is required to be registered in the state. The fee is set in an amount that is estimated to achieve parity between the aggregate amount of motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel excise taxes paid per vehicle by owners of plug-in electric motor vehicles and vehicles fueled by gasoline, diesel, or other special fuels and is annually adjusted for inflation. The executive directors of the department of transportation and the department of revenue are required to form a joint working group to develop recommendations as to whether and to what extent the equalization fee should be adjusted to achieve the goal of maintaining parity between plug-in electric motor vehicle owners and owners of motor vehicles that use motor fuel for propulsion with respect to the aggregate amount in motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel taxes paid. The recommendations must include recommendations as to whether the road equalization fee needs to be adjusted to account for changes to motor fuel excise tax rates or the imposition of other government charges that are calculated on the basis of motor fuel consumption, whether the amount of the fee should be different for personal and commercial vehicles, or whether the amount of the fee should vary based on specified factors. After the joint working group reports to the executive directors, the executive directors or their designees must prepare a written report regarding the recommendations for presentation to the transportation legislation review committee during the 2022 legislative interim. Revenue generated by the fee: Must be credited to the highway users tax fund (HUTF) and distributed pursuant to the existing "second stream" HUTF allocation formula as follows: 60% to the state highway fund; 22% to counties; and 18% to municipalities; and Must be used only for maintenance of existing highways, streets, and roads.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits terminating the life of an unborn child and makes a violation a class 1 felony. The following are exceptions to the prohibition: A licensed physician performs a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother, if the physician makes reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner consistent with conventional medical practice; and A licensed physician provides medical treatment, including chemotherapy or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, to the mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury to or death of the unborn child. The pregnant mother upon whom termination of the life of an unborn child is performed or attempted is not subject to a criminal penalty. The sale and use of contraception is not prohibited by the bill. A conviction related to the prohibition of the termination of the life of an unborn child constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of physician licensing. The bill states that any act, law, treaty, order, or regulation of the United States government that denies or prohibits protection of a human person's inalienable right to life is null, void, and unenforceable in this state and that the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction to interfere with Colorado's interest in protecting human life at conception when human life begins. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
