Current law requires certain commercial pesticide applicators to be licensed or registered. The bill requires the commissioner of agriculture (commissioner) to notify such a regulated person within 24 hours after the commissioner or department of agriculture receives a complaint about the person. The notice must include the alleged facts and any statute or rule the person is alleged to have violated. If the notice is not provided: The commissioner is prohibited from suspending or revoking the person's license or registration, or imposing civil penalties; and The person is immune from a criminal prosecution based on the facts alleged in the complaint. The bill also requires the following proceedings to be brought within one year after the occurrence of the facts upon which they are based: A proceeding to discipline a licensee or registrant; A proceeding to impose civil penalties, not including failing to obtain the required license or registration; or A criminal prosecution, not including failing to obtain the required license or registration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Wildfire Matters Review Committee. The bill requires the division of housing within the department of local affairs (division) to create a working group to identify emerging, promising, and best practices related to homeless outreach for the purpose of reducing wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface. The bill also establishes the reducing wildfire risk through homeless outreach grant program within the division. Grant recipients can use grant money to conduct outreach among individuals experiencing homelessness to reduce wildfire risk consistent with the emerging, promising, and best practices the working group identifies. The grant program prioritizes applications that take a collaborative approach and are founded in local knowledge and expertise. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail or holding center beginning on July 1, 2021, for in-county arrestees and July 1, 2022, for out-of-county arrestees. The bill creates the position of a bond hearing officer to conduct bond hearings on weekends and holidays throughout the state using audiovisual technology. The bond hearing officer conducts bond hearings throughout the state in the counties that request the service of the bond hearing officer. The public will be able to view the hearings. The bill creates the county assistance for bond hearings grant program, which will allow the state court administrator to provide grants to counties to purchase or upgrade audiovisual devices to allow jails and district attorneys to connect with the court to allow remote audiovisual bond hearings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The concurrent resolution creates a state income tax credit for taxpayers who participate in the at-home instruction of a child that either receives at-home instruction through a homeschool program or is enrolled in a school district, a school operated by a board of cooperative services, a charter school, an institute charter school, a private school, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind and receives remote instruction from the school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, institute charter school, private school, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind. The amount of the credit is either: $500 for each child who receives at-home instruction for more than 80 but less than 160 days during a tax year; or $1,000 for each child who receives at-home instruction for at least 160 days during a tax year. The credit may be carried forward for 3 years but not refunded. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
The bill creates the health benefit plan design change review committee (committee) in the division of insurance to review introduced bills that impose new requirements on, or amend existing requirements of, health benefit plans. For any such bill, the committee shall conduct an actuarial review of the near-term effects of the bill, including: An estimate of the number of Colorado residents who will be directly affected by the bill; Estimates of changes in the rates of utilization of specific health care services that may result from the bill; Estimates concerning any changes in consumer cost sharing that would result from the bill; The financial impact, if any, of the bill on group benefit plans offered under the "State Employees Group Benefits Act", regardless of whether the bill makes any amendment to that act; The financial impact, if any, of the bill on medical assistance programs under the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act", regardless of whether the bill makes any amendment to that act; and The financial impact, if any, of the bill on small-, medium-, and large-sized business employers. The bill authorizes the commissioner of insurance to promulgate rules as necessary for the operation of the committee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the department of education in conjunction with school district boards of education to recommend to the state board of education (state board) policies and procedures for students to open enroll in schools of the school district or programs within the students' school districts and to open enroll in schools and programs of other school districts. The policies and procedures must include, in part, the length of and start and end dates for the application process, the dates by which school districts shall notify students of acceptance into a program or school, and the variability allowed in application format. Based on the recommendations, the state board shall promulgate rules relating to the open enrollment process that are applicable, if possible, to the open enrollment process for the 2021-22 school year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
A working group was convened over the 2019 interim pursuant to House Bill 19-1264 to develop proposed statutes to address certain issues affecting the creation, valuation, tax treatment, and stewardship of conservation easements in the state. The bill implements the recommendations of the working group as follows: Section 1 of the bill modifies the method of calculating the amount of the state income tax credit that may be claimed for the donation of a conservation easement. The section also clarifies the manner in which certain business entities claim the credit. Section 2 requires the state to provide compensation for certain taxpayers who were denied state income tax credits for conservation easements donated between 2000 and 2013 if the federal internal revenue service allowed a federal income tax deduction for the same donation. The amount of the compensation is based upon the amount of the credit that could have been claimed at the time of the original donation based upon the value of the donation accepted by the internal revenue service. The amount of compensation is reduced by any amount that was allowed to be claimed against Colorado income tax or otherwise reinstated to the claimant of the compensation. Where a tax credit was transferred to another taxpayer as transferee, the bill provides a process for all parties to the transaction to submit a mutual application for compensation or, if there is objection, a process to resolve disputes about the distribution of compensation. The total amount of compensation to be paid to all claimants is limited to the amount of unused conservation easement tax credits that could have been claimed between 2013 and 2019 under an existing statutory cap amount, but were not claimed. If the unclaimed amounts are not sufficient to satisfy all claims, then any unsatisfied claims would be paid in future years. The cap for each future year would be reduced by the amount of claims paid; except that the total amount of claims paid in a year could not exceed 50% of the amount of the cap for that year. Section 3 requires the director of the division of conservation to designated an ombudsman to assist in resolving certain disputes related to conservation easements. Section 3 also addresses the abandonment of conservation easements, which occurs when the holder of an easement no longer fulfills its stewardship obligations with respect to the easement. The division of conservation is required to investigate potential abandoned easements, make findings regarding each easement, and report its findings to the conservation easement oversight commission (commission). The commission then conducts a public hearing on the easement and, if it determines that an easement is abandoned, appoints a receiver to monitor the easement. Receivership for an abandoned easement is limited to 5 years, during which time the commission reviews the easement and attempts to identify options to reform the easement, have it assigned to another holder, or extinguish the easement. A stewardship account is established to provide for the cost of carrying out the stewardship obligations resulting from abandoned easements. A specified amount of money is appropriated to the stewardship account for the 2020-21 fiscal year, with a corresponding reduction in the amount of conservation easement tax credits that can be claimed for one year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill modifies the community solar garden property tax exemption, which exempts the percentage of alternating current electricity capacity of a community solar garden that is attributed to subscribers who are tax exempt, by: Extending the exemption for 5 more property tax years ( section 1 of the bill); and Expanding the exemption to apply to a community solar garden that is a solar energy facility, which is assessed statewide ( section 2 ). For the period that the exemption is extended, the state will reimburse local governments for the lost property tax revenues that result from the newly expanded credit. These payments will be made from the sustainable energy tax policy fund, which consists of the increased revenue as a result of changes to the coal tax made in sections 4 and 5 , and the general fund if there is insufficient money in the fund. In years when the state is required to refund excess state revenues under section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR), the reimbursements to the counties are a TABOR refund mechanism. This refund mechanism only applies after the refunds made to counties for the reimbursements for the senior homestead exemption ( sections 1 and 6 ). Locally assessed solar energy facilities are valued by assessors using valuation procedures developed by the property tax administrator (administrator). Currently, the administrator is required to utilize a cost approach to valuation for all renewable energy facilities. This valuation currently involves a "tax factor" based on a 20-year period. Section 2 extends this period by 10 years and specifies that after the 30 years, a tax factor is not applied and the taxable value shall not exceed the depreciated value floor calculated using the cost basis method. Under section 3 , the administrator will be required to utilize the income approach used for solar energy facilities for a renewable energy facility that would qualify as a solar energy facility if it generated more energy, so that all similar facilities will be valued in the same manner. For purposes of the severance tax on coal, beginning July 1, 2021, section 4 eliminates the quarterly exemption on the first 300,000 tons of coal and the credit for coal produced from underground mines and for the production of lignitic coal. Prior to June 30, 2026, the additional severance tax that results from these changes will be credited to the sustainable energy policy fund, and thereafter it is allocated like other severance tax revenue (section 5).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the state board of medical services to adopt rules creating an enhanced or tiered reimbursement rate or rates for secure alternative care facilities that have higher staffing ratios due to providing services to persons with dementia or other conditions. The department of health care policy and financing shall confer with interested stakeholders concerning the appropriate reimbursement rate or rates and may review enhanced or tiered reimbursement rate structures from other states. The state department shall seek any federal authorization necessary to implement the reimbursement rates.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill codifies a number of preventive health care services currently required to be covered by health insurance carriers pursuant to the federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and adds them to the current list of services required to be covered by Colorado health insurance carriers, which services are not subject to policy deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. The bill expands certain preventive health care services to include osteoporosis screening, urinary incontinence screening, and screening and treatment of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Current law requires a health care provider or facility to perform a diagnostic exam for an STI and subsequently prescribe treatment for an STI at the request of a minor patient. The bill allows a health care provider to administer, dispense, or prescribe preventive measures or medications where applicable. The consent of a parent is not a prerequisite for a minor to receive preventive care, but a health care provider shall counsel the minor on the importance of bringing the minor's parent or legal guardian into the minor's confidence regarding the services. Current law requires the executive director of the department of health care policy and financing to authorize reimbursement for medical or diagnostic services provided by a certified family planning clinic. The bill defines family planning services and authorizes reimbursement for family planning services. The bill allows staffing by medical professionals to be accomplished through telemedicine. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Introduced In House - Assigned to
The concurrent resolution authorizes the governor to declare a state of disaster emergency that continues for up to 30 days. At the end of 30 days, if the governor has not previously terminated the state of disaster emergency, it automatically terminates unless extended by the general assembly. To extend a state of disaster emergency, the general assembly, prior to the date of automatic termination, must adopt a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of each house. The joint resolution must specify the length of time for which the state of disaster emergency is extended and does not require approval by the governor. If the general assembly has not extended the state of disaster emergency before the date of termination and is not in session as of the date of termination, the governor may call the general assembly into special session to extend the state of disaster emergency. The governor may terminate the state of disaster emergency before the date to which it is extended, and the general assembly may adopt subsequent joint resolutions to further extend the state of disaster emergency if not previously terminated by the governor.(Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
