Rep. Rod Bockenfeld

The bill creates an income tax credit (tax credit) that is available for income tax years starting on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2026, for sellers of residential property in Colorado who buy down the interest rates on the mortgage of the buyer of the property. The amount of the tax credit is 50% of the cost of the mortgage interest rate buy down. The tax credit is refundable and transferrable to any other taxpayer.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires a parolee who is arrested for allegedly committing a crime of violence while on parole to be detained at a state correctional facility while awaiting a parole revocation hearing. The bill requires the department of corrections to reimburse a county or city and county for one-half the cost of transporting the parolee from the county or city and county to a state correctional facility. Under existing law, a community parole officer who is informed by a law enforcement agency that a parolee has been arrested for a criminal offense is required to request that a parole revocation proceeding be deferred pending a disposition of the criminal charge. The bill repeals this requirement and instead permits the community parole officer to request that the parole revocation proceeding be deferred. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Since section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR) was approved by the registered electors of this state in 1992, local governments have successfully sought voter approval of revenue changes allowing the local governments to permanently retain revenue in excess of their TABOR fiscal year spending and property tax revenue limits. Current law does not limit the effective period of such voter-approved revenue changes, commonly referred to as waiver elections. The bill requires that, no later than the local elections to be held in November 2029, a local government that retains revenue in excess of either its fiscal year spending limit or property tax revenue limit pursuant to a waiver election held prior to November 9, 2020, must resubmit the ballot issue from the historic waiver election to the registered electors of the local government for re-approval.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

To help serve persons with behavioral health needs who are enrolled in medicaid, the act requires managed care entities (MCE) to enter into single case agreements with willing providers of behavioral health services enrolled in the medical assistance program when network development and access standards are not met and a member needs access to a medically necessary behavioral health service. The act sets forth the requirements for single case agreements created by an MCE. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For each transportation project identified in the 10-year transportation plan (plan) prepared by the department of transportation (department) under the direction of the transportation commission (commission), section 1 of the act requires the following information to be specified and regularly updated as circumstances change: The time frame for project completion; The total estimated amount of funding required to complete the project; and Accounting for the total estimated amount of funding for the project, and the amount of funding from each funding source that has been allocated for the project or is anticipated to be allocated for the project. The plan must always identify specific funding sources and amounts that taken together account for full funding for each project identified in the plan but may indicate, both with respect to the plan generally and with respect to any specific project, the extent to which and reasons why the source and amounts of funding listed are uncertain and subject to change. Section 1 also requires the department to provide to state and local government elected officials a designated and readily available department contact to receive and respond to their questions about the status and funding of specific transportation projects and to inform such elected officials of the existence of the designated contact and the means by which the designated contact may be reached. Section 2 requires the department to annually report to the transportation legislation review committee (TLRC) on the status of project delivery for the projects identified in the plan and requires the commission to include an update on the plan in its annual proposed budget allocation plan presented to the joint budget committee. As part of its reporting to the TLRC, the department is required to provide guidance to the TLRC as to how to access and understand the plan, and the TLRC may, if it determines that the plan does not include all the information required by section 1, instruct the department to ensure that any missing required information is promptly added to the plan. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act increases the amounts of transfers from the general fund to the capital construction fund and from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund that are scheduled to be made on July 1, 2023, as follows: The transfer from the general fund to the capital construction fund is increased by $14,607,257, from $233,361,030 to $247,968,287; and The transfer from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund is increased by $3,605,507, from $60,308,481 to $63,913,988. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

As part of an effort to simplify the sales and use tax system, the department of revenue (department) created the electronic sales and use tax simplification system (SUTS), which is a one-stop portal designed to facilitate the collection and remittance of sales and use tax. As soon as possible, but no later than January 1, 2025, the act requires the department to modify SUTS: To populate a local account number on all returns and summary reports, if the retailer filing the return has a number and provides the number in SUTS; By developing a simplified user interface for filing returns as an alternative to the current spreadsheet method; To provide retailers with a bulk testing option for address files; and To include additional use taxes, additional information about deductions, filtering options, and certain tabs. With the exception of charges for payments by credit cards, the act prohibits the department from imposing a convenience fee or any other type of charge for a payment through SUTS and from passing those charges on to local taxing jurisdictions. The act also requires the department to: Create a campaign to promote SUTS for the purpose of increasing the awareness, participation, and compliance by retailers and local taxing jurisdictions; and Solicit and consider feedback from interested stakeholders about enhancements to SUTS that lead to greater local taxing jurisdiction participation and greater compliance by retailers. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act permits a hospital that has fewer than 50 beds and is a county public hospital, a hospital formed by a health service district, or a hospital affiliated with either such hospital (hospital) to enter into collaborative agreements with one or more hospitals. The act declares the general assembly's intent to exempt from state antitrust laws, and to provide state action immunity from federal antitrust laws for, certain activities that might be characterized as anticompetitive or that might result in displacement of competition in the provision of hospital, physician, or other health-care-related services or administrative or general business services. Further, the general assembly declares its intention to provide a system of review of collaborative agreements by the department of health care policy and financing (department), the division of insurance in the department of regulator agencies (division), if applicable, and the attorney general to ensure that any potential benefits of the collaborative agreements are not outweighed by the harm to competition in rural and frontier communities. Collaborative agreements may include agreements to engage in the following activities: Ancillary clinical services, acquisition of equipment, clinic management, or health-care provider recruitment; Joint purchasing or leasing arrangements, including medical and general supplies, medical and general equipment, pharmaceuticals, or temporary staffing through staffing agencies; Consulting services with a focus on public health in rural and frontier communities and non-hospital-specific innovations in health-care delivery in those communities; Joint purchasing of insurance; Shared back-office services; Shared data services; and Negotiating with health insurance or government payers as described in the act. The act does not grant immunity or other protections to hospitals entering into collaborative agreements that have the effect of setting reimbursement rates or other compensation from any commercial self-insured or commercial health insurance or government payer, dividing or allocating specific markets for the delivery of any general acute care or specialty lines of health-care services, or negotiating compensation for hospital employees that results in a reduction of wages for hospital staff. Prior to engaging in a collaborative agreement, the hospitals shall jointly submit the proposed collaborative agreement for approval to the department and to the division, if applicable. If approved, the proposed agreement must be submitted to the attorney general's office to determine that the benefits of the collaborative activity are not outweighed by any anticompetitive harm that may arise from the collaborative activity. The act includes time frames for the review of collaborative agreements and allows for a request for reconsideration if the collaborative agreement is denied. The department, the division, if applicable, or the attorney general may review a collaborative agreement annually to ensure the outcomes related to the collaborative agreement are consistent with the act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $30,260 is appropriated to the department from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to implement the act. The department anticipates receiving $30,259 in federal funds to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act changes the minimum amount of items of special mobile machinery required to be located in the state from 1000 items to 250 items in order for the owner of the special mobile machinery to be eligible for a registration exempt certificate issued by the department of revenue (department). An owner of special mobile machinery that is issued a registration exempt certificate shall pay all fees and surcharges that would otherwise be paid at the time of registration and any other fees and surcharges due for each item of special mobile machinery upon application, renewal, or within 20 days of the expiration of a registration exempt certificate. To ensure proper administration of registration exempt certificates and payment of the required fees and surcharges, an owner of special mobile machinery is also required to report information about all its special mobile machinery located in the state to the department when applying for or renewing a registration exempt certificate or within 20 days of the expiration of a registration exempt certificate. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $113,476 is appropriated from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to the department for use by the division of motor vehicles to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The automobile theft prevention board (board) awards grants to eligible entities for programs for theft prevention, enforcement, prosecution, or offender rehabilitation. The act specifies that the board may also award grants for programs to support victims of automobile theft and technology enhancement. Money in the auto theft prevention cash fund (fund) is annually appropriated to the department of public safety (department) to implement the automobile theft prevention grant program. The fund consists of gifts, grants, and donations and any money credited to the fund from the collection of fees paid by certain automobile insurers to support the automobile theft prevention authority. The act specifies that the fund also consists of any money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2023, to be used for the following purposes: Implementing a statewide program to increase awareness of automobile theft; Implementing programs to support victims of automobile theft; Additional overtime for law enforcement agencies; Implementing a dedicated automobile theft prosecution program; Enhancing and upgrading the automobile theft tracking and reporting system; or Any other direct or indirect costs associated with the implementation of the automobile theft prevention grant program. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)