In the 2023 legislative session, the general assembly enacted 2 bills related to complaints and findings of discriminatory or unfair practices in the workplace, including complaints and findings of sexual harassment committed by an elected official, and access to records of such complaints and findings. The 2023 enactments resulted in a conflict in the law with regard to public access to records of sexual harassment complaints against an elected official. Specifically, Senate Bill 23-172, concerning protections for Colorado workers against discriminatory employment practices: Requires employers to designate a repository of written and oral complaints of discriminatory or unfair employment practices, including sexual harassment complaints; and Specifies that records in an employer's designated repository are not public records and are not open to public inspection except in very limited circumstances specified in the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA). Senate Bill 23-286, concerning improving public access to government records, amended CORA to specifically require the custodian of any record of a sexual harassment complaint against an elected official to make the record available for public inspection, after redacting the identity of or any information that would identify any accuser, accused who is not an elected official, victim, or witness, if the investigation concludes that the elected official is culpable of sexual harassment. The act resolves the conflict between Senate Bill 23-172 and Senate Bill 23-286 by allowing public inspection of records in an employer's designated repository that pertain to a sexual harassment complaint or investigation against an elected official found culpable of sexual harassment. Additionally, the act designates the office of legislative workplace relations as the repository of complaint records for the employers in the legislative department. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act extends the deposit of the annual amount of depreciation of a capital asset acquired, repaired, replaced, improved, renovated, or constructed with money appropriated to a cash fund into the capitol complex renovation fund (fund) through July 1, 2029. Through July 1, 2031, the act allows money from the fund to be allocated to projects to make improvements to buildings in the capitol complex that address accessibility under the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" and state disability discrimination statutes and other improvements, including to the first floor, basement, and cafeteria of the capitol building. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Regarding the regulation of natural medicine, the act: Authorizes the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies to approve facilitator education and training programs; Exempts facilitator education and training programs from regulation as private educational schools; Updates rule-making by the department of public health and environment and the state licensing authority related to laboratory testing and certification of natural medicine products; Prohibits individuals, rather than all persons, from having a financial interest in more than 5 natural medicine business licenses; Authorizes the state licensing authority to promulgate rules regarding requirements for the destruction of natural medicine or natural medicine products; Clarifies that a person may operate a natural medicine testing facility at the same location as a regulated marijuana testing facility; and Specifies which transfers and distributions of regulated natural medicine and regulated natural medicine products are authorized between persons licensed as healing centers, facilitators, natural medicine cultivation facilities, and natural medicine manufacturers. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the "Uniform Election Code of 1992", (code) the law regarding initiatives and referendums, the "Fair Campaign Practices Act", the public official disclosure requirements of the "Colorado Sunshine Act of 1972", and other laws regarding elections. The act modifies the code as follows: Regarding elections generally, specifies that the county clerk and recorder, as the chief election official for the county, sets the operational hours of the clerk and recorder's office and specifies that the governing board of a county or city and county is not authorized to supervise the conduct of regular and special elections or to consult with election officials in regard to conducting elections and rendering decisions and interpretations under the code; Regarding the qualification and registration of electors, beginning January 1, 2025, changes the age at which an individual may preregister to vote from 16 to 15 years old; Regarding political party organization, specifies that when a state senatorial district or state representative district is comprised of one or more whole counties or of a part of one county and all or a part of one or more other counties, a state senatorial central committee or a state representative central committee consists of the elected precinct committee persons, as well as the chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, and secretary of the several party county central committees, who reside within the state senatorial district or the state representative district; Regarding access to the ballot by candidates, specifies that the law prohibiting a candidate who was defeated in a primary election from participating in a general election does not apply to a candidate for president of the United States; allows the governor to designate a location other than the office of the governor for the presidential electors to convene if the governor determines that it is not feasible to meet in the office of the governor; makes the deadlines for a candidate to file a petition in a congressional vacancy election consistent with other deadlines; makes the general timeline for circulating petitions to get on the ballot applicable to presidential electors for unaffiliated presidential candidates; beginning January 1, 2025, aligns the minor political party candidate petition calendar with the major political party candidate petition calendar; clarifies that an unaffiliated candidate for president of the United States is exempt from the requirement that a candidate be registered as unaffiliated with a political party in the statewide voter registration system prior to the general election; beginning January 1, 2025, requires a candidate or candidate committee, recall committee, or representative of a minority party petition to submit a paid circulator report, if applicable, to the secretary of state (secretary); and modifies the timing for a candidate to cure a nominating petition signature deficiency; Regarding notice and preparation of elections, requires the secretary to administer a pilot program that allows the county clerk and recorder or designated election official (clerk) of a county with at least 10,000 but fewer than 37,500 active electors and with at least 3 cities or towns where the second and third largest cities or towns that are located entirely within the county both have less than 3% of the active electors in the county, to request a waiver of the requirement to designate 3 voter service and polling centers (VSPC) on election day and instead designate at least 2 VSPCs on election day; repeals an obsolete provision specifying data to be used to determine the number of students enrolled at an institution of higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic; specifies that for a general election, a county shall establish a drop box on each campus of an institution of higher education located within the county that has 1,000, rather than 2,000, or more enrolled students; clarifies that each clerk is required to ensure that primary election ballots are printed in accordance with existing law; repeals obsolete language regarding voting equipment; updates several provisions regarding the use of voting systems to align with current practice; requires the secretary to approve or deny an application from a political subdivision to purchase a new electromechanical voting system within 30 days of receiving the application; modifies the standards for accessible voting systems to align with federal standards; and repeals obsolete language regarding direct recording electronic voting systems; Regarding election judges, changes the deadline by which the county chairperson of each major political party in a county is required to certify to the clerk the names and addresses of registered electors recommended to serve as election judges in the county and implements an appeal process for an election judge who is preemptively removed as an election judge by the county chairperson or authorized official; Regarding the conduct of elections, allows a registered elector who will not have been a Colorado resident for at least 22 days immediately before a presidential general election to cast a provisional ballot, which includes only a vote for president and vice president, in that election; extends the deadline for the secretary to adopt rules concerning the tabulation, reporting, and canvassing of results for a coordinated election using instant runoff voting conducted by multiple counties from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026; updates provisions regarding voting machines and the inspection of voting machines by election judges; repeals obsolete provisions regarding sample ballots, the seal on voting machines, the manner of voting by eligible electors, the counting of write-in ballots, and how voting system software is installed; clarifies that the secretary will conduct a random audit of voting devices only if a risk-limiting audit is not possible after an election; and extends the deadlines for the secretary to promulgate rules necessary to conduct risk limiting audits in an election using instant runoff voting and for a county to audit an election using instant runoff voting conducted as part of a coordinated election from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026; Regarding mail ballot elections, allows a clerk to request a waiver from the secretary of state exempting the county from the remote location drop box ballot collection requirements and specifies alternative collection requirements if a waiver is granted; specifies the conditions under which an elector may request a replacement ballot from the clerk; modifies the time by which an elector must request a replacement ballot from the clerk; and repeals obsolete provisions that direct clerks how to count ballots that are cast on electronic or electromechanical vote tabulating equipment; Regarding recounts, repeals obsolete provisions regarding recounts in nonpartisan local elections and clarifies who has standing to request a recount challenge; Regarding certificates of election and election contests, repeals obsolete language regarding the election of precinct officers and duplicative language regarding the resolution of tie votes and specifies that a contest concerning a presidential elector must be filed with the supreme court no later than 24 days after the general election and specifies the deadline for the supreme court to rule on such a contest; and Regarding recall elections, modifies the deadline for filing a nomination petition for a candidate to succeed an officer who is sought to be recalled. The act further modifies the code to specify that regarding the use of an all-candidate primary election or a ranked voting method in a primary or general election, it is the general assembly's intent that a general statutory provision with a later effective date prevails over a specific statutory provision with an earlier effective date. In addition, the act specifies that before a designated election official may conduct an all-candidate primary election using an all-candidate primary ballot and before a primary or general election can use a ranked voting method for federal or state offices, the secretary must certify that: Multiple municipalities in counties of specified sizes with active electors that satisfy certain demographic criteria have conducted an election with a ranked voting method; Each municipality that has conduced an election with a ranked voting method has completed a risk-limiting audit that demonstrates that the certified outcomes in each race were accurate; and The secretary has submitted a report to the general assembly regarding the impact of ranked choice voting methods as compared to elections conducted through other voting methods. The provisions of the act regarding an all-candidate primary election and the use of ranked voting methods take effect March 1, 2026. The act modifies the law regarding initiatives and referendums by repealing an obsolete provision regarding filing a paid circulator report with the secretary and by repealing obsolete language regarding the effective date of the bills enacted during the 2020 legislative session that included an act subject to petition clause. The act modifies the "Fair Campaign Practices Act" as follows: Prohibits a natural person who is not a citizen of the United States, a foreign government, or a foreign corporation from making a direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure in connection with an election on a ballot issue or ballot question in the state; Specifies that a candidate seeking reelection does not have to file an additional disclosure statement filed pursuant to current law if the incumbent has filed the annual report required by law within the last 30 days from which the incumbent becomes a candidate for reelection; Clarifies that any person may file a complaint with the secretary of state about a candidate not complying with the disclosure statement requirements; and Requires a candidate for specified offices to amend the disclosure statement when there is a substantial change of interests as to which the disclosure is required. The act modifies the public official disclosure requirements specified in the "Colorado Sunshine Act of 1972" as follows: Requires that specified public officials file an annual disclosure statement with the secretary and amend the disclosure statement when there is a substantial change of interests as to which the disclosure is required; Requires specified public officials who are serving in office in the 2024 calendar year, but who have not filed an annual disclosure statement in the 2024 calendar year, to file a disclosure statement within a specified amount of time and requires the disclosure statements to be available on the secretary's website; Repeals a provision that allows a public official to file an income tax return with the secretary in lieu of filing certain information required in the disclosure statement; Allows any person who believes that a member of the general assembly is not complying with the public official's disclosure requirements to file a complaint with specified individuals, requires the secretary to notify the appropriate individuals if a member of the general assembly does not timely file the required annual disclosure statement, and requires an individual who receives a complaint to investigate the complaint using existing procedures. The act amends the "Colorado Open Records Act" to specify that if a clerk receives a request for election-related records that are in active use, in storage, or otherwise not readily available, and the request is made during an election for which the clerk is the designated election official, the clerk may take additional time to fulfill the request under certain circumstances; except that the allowance for additional time does not apply if the requester of the public records is a mass medium organization or a newsperson. The act adds clerk and recorders to the law specifying the office hours and required availability of county officials. The act amends Senate Bill 24-230, concerning support for statewide remediation services that positively impact the environment, to repeal the definition of "fee" applicable to section 20 of article X of the state constitution. These provisions of the act are contingent upon Senate Bill 24-230 being enacted and becoming law. The act modifies the county commissioner redistricting process to specify that staff working with the redistricting commission or the advisory committee assigned to assist the redistricting commission regarding the mapping of county commissioner districts may make a completed proposed redistricting plan that staff has prepared as a result of a request made in a public hearing available to the public on the commission's website. In addition, the act specifies that such staff may communicate with a member of the commission or advisory committee to clarify directions that were given to staff during a public meeting regarding the creation of a proposed plan, so long as staff makes a record of the communication available on the commission's website. The act makes the following appropriations for the 2024-25 state fiscal year: $10,444 to the department of revenue from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to implement the act; $1,888 to the office of the governor from reappropriated funds for use by the office of information technology to provide services to the department of revenue to implement the act; and $3,654 to the department of state from the department of state cash fund for use by the elections division to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE June 6, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE March 1, 2026(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a pharmacy, on and after July 1, 2025, to provide an individual who has difficulty seeing or reading standard printed labels on prescription drug containers with access to the prescription drug label information by: Including an electronic label affixed to the prescription drug container that transmits the prescription drug's label information, directions, and written instructions to an individual's external accessible device, including an individual's compatible prescription drug reader; Providing a prescription drug reader at no cost to the individual; Providing a prescription drug label in braille or large print; or Providing the individual with a method recommended by the United States access board. A pharmacy has 28 days to provide such access if a patient requests a method of access the pharmacy has not yet been asked by any other patient to provide. A pharmacy must make reasonable efforts to inform the public that prescription drug label information is available in accessible formats. The act creates the prescription accessibility grant program in the department of public health and environment to provide hardship grants to pharmacies for the purchase of equipment used to create accessible prescription labels. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The capitol building advisory committee (committee) advises the general assembly regarding the protection of the historic character of the capitol building and other buildings in the capitol annex. The act: Clarifies that it is the general assembly's intent that the committee will advise the general assembly regarding the protection of the capitol building's historic character, including its art, memorials, furniture, and architectural fixtures; Clarifies that the ex officio members of the committee are voting members of the committee in accordance with current practice; Adds the capitol building annex to the list of buildings for which the committee is required to review, advise, and make recommendations to the capital development committee regarding plans to restore, redecorate, and reconstruct historic elements of the building; Specifies the buildings and areas within the capitol complex for which the committee may engage in long-range planning for modifications and improvements; Requires the committee to determine, based on consultation with and the recommendations of history Colorado, which art, memorials, architectural fixtures, and furniture that is original to the state capitol building is part of the state's collection of historic materials known as the Colorado collection (Colorado collection); and Clarifies that the committee has authority over publications on the history of the state capitol building and that the committee may authorize other state capitol building memorabilia for sale to the public. In addition, history Colorado, at the direction and under the supervision of the committee, is required to inventory all art, memorials, architectural fixtures, and furniture that is original to the state capitol building and make recommendations to the committee regarding which items are appropriate for inclusion in the Colorado collection. The act specifies that history Colorado holds in trust for the people of Colorado any items original to the capitol building that are part of the Colorado collection, but that the committee retains authority over the collection on behalf of the general assembly and in accordance with the policies and requirements of the state register of historic properties. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the college kickstarter account program (program). The act expands who may open an account and be an account sponsor on or after January 1, 2025, to include, in addition to a parent or parents of an eligible child, any other individual who provides the birth certificate number or order of adoption for an eligible child in accordance with the requirements of the program to open an account. Further, the act clarifies that on or after January 1, 2025, the amount of kickstarter funding that can be claimed is the base amount as adjusted for inflation in the year claimed plus, if the kickstarter funding is claimed in a year after the child's birth year, interest that has accrued on the base amount from the birth year to the claim year. The act also expands the membership of the program advisory board, requires the advisory board to meet at least on a quarterly basis each year, and modifies reporting requirements for the program. The act expands the period during which an account sponsor may claim kickstarter funding from 5 to 8 years from the date of the eligible child's birth or adoption and clarifies that an account is an "individual college savings account", which is any collegeinvest account. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act provides additional flexibility to the Colorado educational and cultural facilities authority in supporting educational and cultural facilities by authorizing the authority: To use money it has available for its general purposes to establish funds for loans or grants for capital projects for facilities, operations, maintenance, programming, and other endeavors for cultural and educational institutions; and To directly, or indirectly through a contract or a subsidiary controlled entity created by the authority, operate an educational or cultural facility. In addition, the definition of "facility", in the case of a cultural institution, is expanded to include a building on the national register of historic places that is owned or operated by the authority or a governmental entity. The act modifies the community revitalization grant program (grant program) by: Including projects that are eligible for funding under the space to create program administered by the creative industries division (division) within the office of economic development (office) as projects intended to be supported by the grant program; Extending deadlines for the adoption of policies, procedures, and guidelines for the grant program and for grant program reporting; and Extending the scheduled repeal of the grant program from January 1, 2025, to the date on which all money transferred or otherwise credited to the community revitalization fund is expended. The act creates a new community revitalization income tax credit (credit), for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2033, in an amount equal to 25% of the amount of eligible expenditures made by a qualified applicant in completing an eligible project; except that the office may reduce the credit percentage for reservations for credits made in any income tax year, and the maximum amount of the credit for a single project is $3 million. In addition, the maximum amount of credits that may be reserved during any calendar year is $10 million. An eligible project is a capital improvement project within a creative district, a historic district, or a neighborhood commercial center or a main street that involves the construction, rehabilitation, conversion, remodeling, or other improvement of one or more buildings, structures, or facilities for uses that support creative industries and creative industry workers and that is approved as an eligible project by the office. The act details a process for claiming the credit that requires: The submission by a qualified applicant to the office of an eligible project plan that includes an estimate of eligible expenditures; Preliminary and final review and approval of the plan by the office; Reservation of a credit for the qualified applicant by the office; Commencement of the eligible project incurrence by the qualified applicant of a specified minimum portion of the eligible expenditures within a specified period; Completion of the eligible project; Issuance of a tax credit certificate by the office; Filing of the tax credit certificate by the qualified applicant with the department of revenue with the qualified applicant's tax return or informational return; and Recapture of the credit if the eligible project is not used for a use that makes it an eligible project during a specified compliance period. The office is required to annually report to the general assembly regarding the credit and may, after soliciting advice from the department of revenue, create and modify policies and procedures as necessary to implement the credit. The community revitalization tax credit program cash fund is created, funded with tax credit application and issuance fees charged by the office as well as any other money provided by the general assembly and any gifts, grants, and donations received, and continuously appropriated to the office for the administration of the credit. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $102,498 from the general fund to the office of the governor for economic development programs. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 28, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On or after January 1, 2026, but before February 1, 2026, an investor-owned electric utility (utility) with more than 500,000 customers must make at least 50 megawatts of inclusive community solar capacity available, and a utility with 500,000 or fewer customers must make at least 3.5 megawatts of inclusive community solar available. Before February 1, 2027, a utility with more than 500,000 customers must make an additional 50 megawatts of inclusive community solar capacity available, plus any unclaimed capacity left over from the previous allocation cycle, and a utility with 500,000 or fewer customers must make an additional 3.5 megawatts of inclusive community solar available. Under current law, a utility customer may subscribe to a portion of a community solar facility. The customer then receives a bill credit on the customer's monthly utility bill in an amount proportional to the customer's share of the community solar facility output. Current law establishes limits on the amount of output from community solar facilities that a utility may purchase. The act requires a utility to acquire the entire output of a community solar facility that is allocated capacity on or after January 1, 2026, (new facility) and apply community solar bill credits to that new facility's subscribers. The act requires a new facility to: Not exceed 5 megawatts of capacity, measured in alternating current; Interconnect with a utility's distribution system; Comply with applicable requirements of the "Colorado Energy Sector Public Works Project Craft Labor Requirements Act"; Reserve at least 51% of its capacity for income-qualified subscribers; Not allocate more than 40% of the new facility's capacity to a single subscriber; and Supply to a subscriber of the new facility no more than 120% of the expected average annual total consumption of electricity by the subscriber; except that no more than 200% of the expected annual total consumption of electricity may be provided to an income-qualified subscriber. The act affords certain protections for subscribers of new facilities. Subscriber organizations and subscription coordinators are prohibited from: Using credit scores, customer scores, or any utility deposit requirements to deny prospective residential subscribers; Charging a sign-up or termination fee to residential subscribers; Engaging in misleading conduct or making false representations toward prospective subscribers; and Preventing a subscriber from transferring a subscription within the utility's service territory if the subscriber moves residences. A subscriber organization shall provide an income-qualified subscriber of a new facility with a subscription discount of at least: 25% of the value of the community solar bill credit; 30% of the value of the community solar bill credit if the new facility receives federal tax credits from the federal "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" for the specific purpose of being located in an energy community; and 50% of the value of the community solar bill credit if the new facility receives federal tax credits from the federal "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" specifically for providing income-qualified households with utility bill assistance. The public utilities commission (commission) must also adopt a standardized form that contains relevant information and disclosures that subscriber organizations and subscription coordinators must provide to prospective subscribers. The act also directs a utility to: File with the commission information that establishes cost-sharing mechanisms for new facilities that are connecting to the utility's distribution system, in which the new facility is required to pay only for its proportional share of system upgrades; and Provide information to the commission related to the utility regarding cost-sharing mechanisms and the cost-effectiveness of the utility's interconnection of new facilities when submitting a distribution system plan. The act authorizes the commission to approve cost recovery for prudently incurred costs, including energy purchases, administrative costs, and information technology expenses, by a utility. The act also requires a utility with more than 500,000 customers to acquire 50 megawatts of distributed generation paired with energy storage by June 1, 2026, and an additional 50 megawatts of distributed generation paired with energy storage between January 1, 2027, and June 1, 2027. The act appropriates $116,505 for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the commission. The appropriation is from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 22, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, when 2 or more separately owned tracts are within an oil and gas drilling unit (unit) established by the Colorado energy and carbon management commission (commission), in the absence of voluntary pooling and after a reasonable offer to lease, made in good faith (offer to lease), the commission may enter an order pooling the mineral interests of those tracts (pooling order) for the development and operation of the unit if the applicant for the pooling order: Owns more than 45% of the mineral interests in the unit (requisite ownership); or Obtains the consent of the owners of more than 45% of the mineral interests in the unit (requisite consent). The act changes current law by: Requiring that a pooling order application include an affidavit that declares that the applicant has the requisite ownership or obtained the requisite consent (declaration), which affidavit must include certain leasing and well information; Allowing an unleased mineral interest owner (unleased owner), at least 60 days before the first noticed hearing date, to file a protest with the commission disputing the applicant's declaration (protest); Requiring the commission to resolve a bona fide protest and allowing an unleased owner that files a bona fide protest to review certain leasing information; If a unit contains the mineral interests of an unleased owner that has rejected an offer to lease, prohibiting an oil and gas operator, on and after January 1, 2025, from drilling or extracting minerals from a unit that are not voluntarily pooled before a pooling order is entered by the commission; Prohibiting the commission from entering a pooling order that pools the mineral interests of an unleased owner if the unleased owner is a local government that has rejected an offer to lease and the minerals subject to the unleased owner's mineral interests are within the local government's geographic boundaries (local government unleased interest); and If a pooling order application proposes to pool a local government unleased interest and the local government has rejected an offer to lease, requiring the commission to deny the application unless the applicant amends the application to no longer pool the local government unleased interest. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $20,483 is appropriated to the department of natural resources from the energy and carbon management cash fund for implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)