Currently, each county clerk and recorder collects a surcharge of one dollar for each document received for recording or filing in his or her office. The surcharge is in addition to any other fees permitted by statute. Section 2 of the bill raises the amount of the surcharge to $5 for documents received for recording or filing on or after January 1, 2018. Out of each $5 collected, the bill requires the clerk to retain one dollar to be used to defray the costs of an electronic or core filing system in accordance with existing law. The bill requires the clerk to transmit the other $4 collected to the state treasurer, who is to credit the same to the statewide attainable housing investment fund (fund). Section 3 creates the fund in the Colorado housing and finance authority (authority). The bill specifies the source of moneys to be deposited into the fund and that the authority is to administer the fund. The bill directs that, of the moneys transmitted to the fund by the state treasurer, on an annual basis, not less than 25% of such amount must be expended for the purpose of supporting new or existing programs that provide financial assistance to persons in households with an income of up to 80% of the area median income for the purpose of allowing such persons to finance, purchase, or rehabilitate single family residential homes as well as to provide financial assistance to any nonprofit entity and political subdivision that makes loans to persons in such households to enable such persons to finance, purchase, or rehabilitate single family residential homes. Section 3 also requires the authority to submit a report, no later than June 1 of each year, specifying the use of the fund during the prior calendar year to the governor and to the senate and house finance committees. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the department of personnel to develop and annually distribute informational materials to state employees concerning federal student loan repayment programs and loan forgiveness programs for which state employees may be eligible. The department of personnel may use existing federal informational materials, if available. The informational materials may be distributed by e-mail or through a regular mailing or communication to state employees. The department of personnel shall update the materials at least annually and distribute any updated materials. In addition, the department of personnel must distribute the informational materials to: The department of education, for distribution to school district, charter school, institute charter school, and boards of cooperative services employees; The department of higher education, for distribution to employees at state institutions of higher education; The secretary of state, for distribution to nonprofit public service organizations, as defined in the bill, with encouragement for these organizations to distribute the informational materials to their employees; and The division of local government in the department of local affairs, for distribution to cities, counties, cities and counties, special districts, and other local government entities, with encouragement for those entities to distribute the informational materials to their employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires each school district that has obtained voter approval to retain and spend revenues in excess of the property tax revenue limitation imposed on the school district by section 20 of article X of the state constitution to restore the number of mills it levies for purposes of total program funding under the 'Public School Finance Act of 1994' to the number of mills levied in the property tax year immediately preceding the year in which the school district received the voter approval. The mill levies are restored in equal increments over 5 years. A school district is not allowed to levy a number of mills that would exceed the school district's total program as calculated before application of the negative factor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Notice of sale of a mobile home park. Where the home owners within a mobile home park (park) have formed either a homeowners' association or a cooperative, section 2 of the bill specifies that, not less than 30 days nor more than one year prior to, an owner of a park either entering into a written listing agreement for the sale of the park or making an offer to sell the park to any party must provide written notice to the president, secretary, and treasurer of any homeowners' association or cooperative of the owner's intention to sell the park. The bill specifies certain circumstances in which the park owner is not required to satisfy these notice requirements. During the notice period required by the bill, the owner or management of the park may consider any offer to purchase the park that has been made by a homeowners' association or cooperative of such home owners as long as the association or cooperative is open to all home owners. The owner of the park may consider any reasonable offer made by an association or cooperative representing the home owners and negotiate in good faith with them. If an agreement to purchase the community is reached during the notice period specified in the bill, the association or cooperative has a reasonable time beyond the expiration of such period, if necessary, to obtain financing for the purchase. The bill explicitly specifies that these provisions do not give any home owner or group of home owners within a park any right of first refusal. Terms of written rental agreement. Section 3 permits a written rental agreement for a tenancy in a park to contain a clause that encourages the use of mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution to resolve any controversy by or among owners, management, and home owners within parks. Alternative dispute resolution. In any controversy between management and a home owner of a park arising out of the bill, except for the nonpayment of rent or in cases in which the health or safety of other home owners is in imminent danger, section 4 permits the parties to submit the dispute to another form of alternative dispute resolution in addition to mediation prior to the filing of a forcible entry and detainer lawsuit. The choice of alternative dispute resolution methods is dependent upon agreement of the parties. Under section 4, the general assembly also encourages the owners and management of parks and home owners within such parks to make use of the state office of dispute resolution to resolve any controversy by or among them in addition to local government agencies and community-based nonprofit organizations that are created and empowered to mediate disputes between or among the owners and management of parks and home owners within such parks. Subtraction of gain from sale of park from calculation of federal taxable income for state income tax purposes. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, section 5 subtracts from federal taxable income the following amount of the gain recognized from the sale or exchange of a park where the party purchasing the park is a county, municipality, local housing authority, nonprofit corporation, homeowners' association, or a cooperative: 100% of the recognized gain for a mobile home park with 50 or fewer lots; and 50% of the recognized gain for a mobile home park with more than 50 lots. Encouragement of the preservation and development of mobile and manufactured home parks through county and municipal master plans. Recognizing the importance of manufactured housing as an option for many households, under sections 6 and 7 , counties and municipalities, as applicable, are required to encourage through either their master plans or other land use or planning documents adopted by the particular governmental body the preservation of existing parks and the development of new manufactured home parks within their territorial boundaries, including increasing opportunities for parks that are owned by the owners of homes within the park. Whenever an existing park is located in a hazardous area, the county or municipality, as applicable, is required to make every reasonable effort to reduce or eliminate the hazard, when feasible, or to help mitigate the loss of housing through the relocation of affected households. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, a person must signal an intention to turn before turning or changing lanes while driving a vehicle. The bill exempts motor vehicles that are using a roundabout unless otherwise posted. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill ensures that a woman is given information regarding the possibility of an abortion pill reversal so that she is fully informed and is given options to continue the pregnancy and preserve the mother-child relationship when she desires to do so. The department of public health and environment must publish a statement on its website regarding abortion pill reversal. The woman's doctor shall provide her with this statement at least 24 hours before providing the abortion pill. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires all abortion clinics to file an annual registration with the attorney general. The attorney general shall create and make available the registration form. While keeping identifying information of any women who sought an abortion private, the registration form must include the following information: The number of abortions performed at the clinic during the previous year, including the trimester in which the abortion was performed, based on appropriately maintained records kept by the clinic; A specific report for each abortion performed at or after 20 weeks' gestation; A description of the method or methods of abortion performed at the clinic; The name of each physician performing abortions at the clinic, along with the state of each physician's licensure, any board certifications or specialties maintained by the physician, and any disciplinary action taken against the physician in the last 5 years; The number of babies born alive at the clinic during the year, whether the babies were born prior to, during, or after the attempted completion of an abortion, whether or not these babies survived, whether or not they were viable, and whether or not they were transported to a hospital; and The number of patients, including women and born-alive infants, who were transported to a hospital from the clinic following a partially or fully completed abortion in the previous year. The attorney general has 30 days to reject an inaccurate or incomplete registration form and 30 days from the date of discovery to reject a form that contains false or fraudulent information. Failure to file a registration form or operating without a registration form subjects an abortion clinic to a fine, a suspension, or closure. All registration forms and inspection or investigation forms are public records. The attorney general has a duty to inspect, without notice, each registered abortion clinic at least annually. At a minimum, each inspection must determine whether the abortion clinic is performing abortions at or after 20 weeks' gestation and whether it is operating with: Medically modern ultrasound equipment; Equipment to preserve the life of and to resuscitate born-alive infants; Legally approved methods of medical and hazardous waste disposal; Medically safe standards for sterilization of instruments and procedure areas and storage, medically safe policies for expired and opened medicines, and emergency exits sufficient to accommodate a stretcher or gurney; and Proper 'Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996' policies. If the attorney general finds an inspection violation, he or she may impose a fine up to $5,000 or impose a suspension or closure of the abortion clinic. (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 and the 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. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates within the joint technology committee a subcommittee on data privacy and cyber-security (subcommittee) to consider: Whether state governmental agencies are collecting or retaining data that exceeds what is necessary and appropriate for such agencies to perform their functions; Who has access to sensitive data, the extent of such access, and appropriate measures to protect sensitive data; and Measures to protect sensitive data against unauthorized access, disclosure, use, modification, or destruction. The subcommittee shall submit its findings to the joint technology committee and to the general assembly by January 1, 2018. The subcommittee is repealed, effective July 1, 2018. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill allows hotels with a valid hotel and restaurant license to apply for a wine-expanded permit. The wine-expanded permit authorizes a hotel to sell bottles of wine in the restaurant for on- and off-premises consumption, subject to limitations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, a taxpayer may opt to receive his or her income tax refund in the form of a check, or may elect to have his or her income tax refund directly deposited into one of the following: a savings account, a checking account, or a college savings account administered by collegeinvest, a division of the Colorado department of higher education. The bill requires the department of revenue to provide a taxpayer the opportunity to apportion his or her income tax refund among up to 4 such methods; except that collegeinvest savings account refund deposits must be at least $25, and also the department of revenue retains the right to issue refunds in a manner it deems the most administratively efficient. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from excluding or limiting a drug for an enrollee in a health coverage plan if the drug was covered at the time the enrollee enrolled in the plan. A carrier may not raise the costs to the enrollee for the drug during the enrollee's plan year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
