Signed by the President of the Senate
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.)
The state constitution does not limit the general assembly's ability to amend, repeal, or otherwise supersede a statutory law initiated by the voters and specifies that bills will not become law unless approved by a majority vote of all members elected to each house. The bill states that it is the intent of the general assembly that it will not amend, repeal, or otherwise supersede an initiated law in the Colorado revised statutes that was approved at an election after the 2016 general election for a period of 3 years from the date the law takes effect unless such amendment, repeal, or supersession is approved by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Signed by the Speaker of the House
House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
Before March 1, 2010, state law exempted from state sales and use taxes all articles sold to sellers of food, meal, or beverage items that sellers furnish to their customers along with the items without adding a separate charge. Effective March 1, 2010, House Bill 10-1194 narrowed the exemptions by subjecting to state sales and use taxes any such articles that the department of revenue determined to be nonessential to the customer. Effective January 1, 2018, the bill reinstates the exemptions from state sales and use taxes for nonessential articles. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill: Specifies that no state action may burden a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless it is demonstrated that applying the burden to a person's exercise of religion is essential to further a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest; Defines 'exercise of religion' as the practice or observance of religion. The bill specifies that exercise of religion includes the ability to act or refuse to act in a manner substantially motivated by a person's sincerely held religious beliefs, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief; except that it does not include the ability to act or refuse to act based on race or ethnicity. Provides a claim or defense to a person whose exercise of religion is burdened by state action; and Specifies that nothing in the bill creates any rights by an employee against an employer unless the employer is a government employer.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under existing law, the 'Public School Finance Act of 1994' funds kindergarten students as half-day pupils plus the supplemental kindergarten enrollment. Under existing law, the supplemental kindergarten enrollment is an additional .08 of a full-day pupil. The bill increases the supplemental kindergarten enrollment for the 2017-18 budget year and each budget year thereafter to .15 of a full-day pupil. The bill expresses the general assembly's intent to increase funding annually for full-day kindergarten starting in the 2018-19 budget year and continuing through the 2022-23 budget year so that by the 2022-23 budget year, the general assembly is funding kindergarten students as full-day pupils. Pursuant to referendum C passed by the voters in 2005, the state is currently authorized to retain and spend up to a capped amount of revenues each year that would otherwise be refunded in accordance with the taxpayer's bill of rights. Subject to a vote of the people, the bill authorizes the state to retain and spend all additional excess revenues beginning in the 2017-18 fiscal year. The general assembly is required to appropriate the additional retained money first to fund kindergarten pupils as full-day pupils and then to fund the state's share of total program funding. The state treasurer must transfer any amount of remaining additional excess revenues to the state education fund. The director of research of the legislative council must prepare an annual report concerning how the retained excess revenues are expended. The secretary of state is directed to place the question of whether to allow the state to retain excess revenues on the ballot for the 2017 general election. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws. Athlete agents first became regulated in Colorado through the enactment of the 'Uniform Athlete Agents Act' in 2008, which, among other requirements, required athlete agents to register with the department of regulatory agencies. The general assembly repealed the registration requirement in 2010. The bill enacts the 'Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act (2015)', drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The revised act establishes new provisions for registration and renewal of registration for athlete agents, to be administered by the secretary of state. The revised act is subject to sunset review in 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
