The act amends the regulatory framework for natural medicine and natural medicine product. The act requires the director of the division of professions and occupations to: Regulate facilitators and the practice of regulation, including issuing licenses for facilitators; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of facilitators and the practice of facilitation; and Perform duties necessary for the implementation and administration of the "Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022", including investigatory and disciplinary authority. The act creates the natural medicine advisory board (board). The board's duties include examining issues related to natural medicine and natural medicine product, and making recommendations to the director of the division of professions and occupations and the executive director of the state licensing authority. The act creates the federally recognized American tribes and Indigenous community working group (working group). The working group's duties include studying issues related to legalizing and regulating natural medicine and natural medicine product, the effect of legalization and regulation on federally recognized American tribes and Indigenous people and communities, and making recommendations to the director of the division of professions and occupations and the board. The act creates within the department of revenue the natural medicine division for the purpose of regulating and licensing the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storage, distribution, transport, transfer, and dispensation of natural medicine or natural medicine product between natural medicine licensees. The act requires the natural medicine division to: Regulate natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including healing centers, cultivators, manufacturers, and testers, and issue licenses for such businesses; Promulgate rules necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses; and Perform duties necessary for the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, and natural medicine businesses, including investigatory and disciplinary authority. The act requires the department of revenue to coordinate with the department of public health and environment concerning testing standards of regulated natural medicine and natural medicine product. The act requires a sunset review for the articles governing the department of regulatory affairs and the department of revenue in the regulation of natural medicine, natural medicine product, facilitators, and natural medicine businesses. The act states that: A person who is under 21 years of age who knowingly possesses or consumes natural medicine or natural medicine product commits a drug petty offense and is subject to a fine of not more than $100 or not more than 4 hours of substance use education or counseling; except that a second or subsequent offense is subject to a fine of not more than $100, not more than 4 hours of substance use education or counseling, and not more than 24 hours of useful public service; A person who openly and publicly consumes natural medicine or natural medicine product commits a drug petty offense and is subject to a fine of not more than $100 and not more than 24 hours of useful public service; A person who knowingly cultivates natural medicine is required to do so on the person's private property, subject to area and physical security requirements. A person who violates this provision commits a drug petty offense and is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000. A person who is not licensed to manufacture natural medicine product and who knowingly manufactures natural medicine product using an inherently hazardous substance commits a level 2 drug felony; Unless expressly limited, a person who, for the purpose of personal use and without remuneration, possesses, consumes, shares, cultivates, or manufactures natural medicine or natural medicine product does not violate state or local law; except that nothing permits a person to distribute natural medicine or natural medicine product to a person for certain unlawful purposes; Unless expressly limited, a person who performs testing on natural medicine or natural medicine product for another person who is 21 years of age or older who submits for testing natural medicine or natural medicine product intended for personal use does not violate state or local law; A peace officer is prohibited from arresting, and a district attorney is prohibited from charging or prosecuting, a person for a criminal offense pursuant to part 4 of article 18 of title 18 involving natural medicine or natural medicine product, unless expressly provided by the act; A lawful action related to natural medicine or natural medicine product must not be the sole reason to subject a person to a civil penalty, deny a right or privilege, or seize assets; A lawful action related to natural medicine or natural medicine product must not be used as the sole factor in a probable cause determination of any criminal offense; except that an action may be used in such determination if the original stop or search was lawful and other factors are present to support a probable cause determination of any criminal offense; The fact that a person is entitled to consume natural medicine or natural medicine product does not constitute a defense against any charge for violation of an offense related to operation of a vehicle, aircraft, boat, machinery, or other device; A local jurisdiction is prohibited from adopting, enacting, or enforcing a conflicting law; and A person or entity who occupies, owns, or controls a property may prohibit or otherwise regulate the cultivation or manufacture of natural medicine or natural medicine product on or in that property. The act states that the juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings concerning a juvenile 10 years of age or older who has violated an offense concerning natural medicine or natural medicine product. Furthermore, the juvenile court and county court have concurrent jurisdiction over a juvenile who is 10 years of age or older who has violated an offense concerning natural medicine product; except that if the juvenile court accepts jurisdiction, the county court jurisdiction terminates. The act states that an act involving natural medicine or natural medicine product that is performed by a person: Does not solely constitute child abuse or neglect, or grounds for restricting or prohibiting family time; Does not constitute an offense such that its possession or use constitutes a violation of conditions of probation or parole; Does not solely constitute grounds for denying health insurance coverage; Does not solely constitute grounds for discrimination for organ donation; and Must not be considered for public assistance benefits eligibility, unless required by federal law. The act makes a person eligible to file a motion to have conviction records related to natural medicine or natural medicine product sealed. Under federal law, certain expenses are disallowed under section 280E of the internal revenue code. Under state law, the state income tax code permits taxpayers who are licensed under the "Colorado Marijuana Code" to subtract expenses that are disallowed by section 280E of the internal revenue code. The act expands this permission to taxpayers who are licensed under the "Colorado Natural Medicine Code". For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates: $733,658 from the general fund to the department of revenue, of which, $190,332 is reappropriated to the department of law; $101,150 from the legal services cash fund to the department of law; and $838,402 from the general fund to the department of public health and environment. APPROVED by Governor May 23, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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In 2019, the general assembly adopted an apprenticeship utilization law (apprenticeship utilization law) that requires the general contractor for a public project that does not receive federal money, and that is in the amount of $1,000,000 or more, to submit, at the time a mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor is put under contract, certain documentation regarding the contractors that will do the work to the contracting agency. At the same time, the general assembly also adopted a prevailing wage law (prevailing wage law) that requires any contractor who is awarded a contract for a public project by an agency of government for $500,000 or more and that does not include federal money, and any subcontractors working on the public project, to pay their employees a prevailing wage at weekly intervals. The act creates a new category of public projects defined as "energy sector public works projects", and requires these projects to comply with the requirements of the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law. An "energy sector public works project" is any project that: Has the purpose of generating, transmitting, or distributing electricity or natural gas to provide energy to Colorado individual consumers and businesses, is built by or for a public utility, and is funded in whole or in part by the state or utility customer funding; or Has the purpose of generating or distributing electricity or natural gas for the purpose of providing energy to Colorado individual consumers and businesses from utility customer funding as approved by a cooperative electric association. With certain exceptions, the act requires that a contract between public utilities, cooperative electric associations, or independent power producers and lead contractors for an energy sector public works project include provisions that expressly require that all work performed under the contract comply with the apprenticeship utilization law and the state prevailing wage law if the project is an electric power generation project with a nameplate generation capacity of one megawatt or higher or if the project is a project other than an electric power generation project with a total cost of one million dollars or more. All contracts with subcontractors on the project are also required to include such provisions. If the contract for an energy sector public works project does not include such provisions, the project will not be eligible to receive state funding or to receive required authorizations or approvals from the public utilities commission (PUC). For projects funded in whole or in part by the state, the requirements to comply with the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law apply only when the project is a power generation project with a nameplate generation capacity of one megawatt or higher or an energy storage system with an energy rating of one megawatt of power capacity or 4 megawatt hours of useable energy capacity or higher and the aggregated public assistance from the state is $500,000 or more. For other projects, the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law apply only when the total project cost is one million dollars or more and the aggregated public assistance from the state, funding from a public utility, or funding from a cooperative electric association is $500,000 or more. The requirements to comply with the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law do not apply to a project that is covered by a project labor agreement, work on an energy sector public works project performed by employees of a utility company, work on an energy sector public works project put out to bid on or after January 1, 2024, that is qualified for and claims the increased federal production tax credit or investment tax credit amount by having satisfied federal "Inflation Reduction Act" requirements, a utility-incentivized demand-side management or electrification program, a utility or state-funded building energy efficiency program, service agreements that were entered into on or before March 1, 2023, projects that involve an electric distribution line with a specified capacity, and projects that involve pipelines with a specified minimum yield strength. The lead contractor for an energy sector public works project is required to prepare certified payroll records for workers directly employed by the contractor, obtain certified payroll records from all contractors and subcontractors on the project, and submit the records to the public utility or other owner of the energy sector public works project weekly. The lead contractor is also required to prepare a quarterly craft labor certification that attests that the lead contractor and all subcontractors are compliant with the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law. The public utility, cooperative electric association, independent power producer, or other owner of an energy sector public works project is required to maintain the records for all craft labor certifications and is required to either provide copies quarterly to the department of labor and employment or require the lead contractor to provide such copies. The state auditor's office is required to conduct an audit of the PUC's approval of energy sector public works projects no later than January 1, 2029, and at least 5 years thereafter. The purpose of the audit is to establish oversight and accountability for compliance with the "best value" employment metrics for electric resources acquisition and the employment, training, wage, and apprenticeship requirements specified in the act. Violations of the requirements for energy sector public works project contracts are subject to the penalties described in the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law. In lieu of compliance with the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law, a public utility, cooperative electric association, or independent power producer may incorporate a project labor agreement requirement for an energy sector public works project. The PUC is prohibited from denying approval of an energy sector public works project solely because it uses a project labor agreement. The act specifies which provisions of the apprenticeship utilization law for public projects apply to energy sector public works projects. Regarding "best value" employment metrics that the PUC is required to consider when it evaluates electric resource acquisitions and requests for certificates of public convenience and necessity for construction or expansion of generating facilities, the act requires the PUC to promulgate rules requiring utilities, when submitting annual progress reports for an electric resource acquisition, to collect and provide to the PUC information concerning the implementation of "best value" employment metrics and requires the PUC to report annually to committees of reference of the general assembly concerning the information that is reported. The act adds enforcement mechanisms for the existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing apprenticeship utilization requirements for gas demand-side management projects and beneficial electrification projects. In addition, the act requires that projects undertaken pursuant to specified existing state laws comply with the state mechanical, electrical, and plumbing apprenticeship utilization law and the state prevailing wage law. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $108,401 from the general fund to the department of labor and employment for use by the division of labor standards and statistics to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 23, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the state treasurer to transfer $26 million from the general fund to the Colorado firefighting air corps fund for use by the division of fire prevention and control to purchase a fire hawk helicopter configured for wildfire and other public safety response needs. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials used directly in rebuilding or repairing a residential structure damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in calendar year 2020, 2021, or 2022 (wildfire rebuild exemption). In addition to the state sales and use tax, the wildfire rebuild exemption extends to the sales and use taxes levied by the regional transportation district and the scientific and cultural facilities district. The exemption does not apply to the sales or use taxes levied by any other local government, including any city, town, county, special purpose district, or limited purpose governmental entity. The exemption is to be administered by the department of revenue (department) solely as a refund allowed to qualified homeowners. To be qualified, a homeowner must certify that: The homeowner was the owner of the residential structure to be repaired or rebuilt (qualified residential structure) at the time it was damaged or destroyed by the declared wildfire disaster; and The replacement cost for the qualified residential structure exceeds the homeowner's coverage under any homeowner's insurance policy associated with the structure. A qualified homeowner may claim a refund by obtaining and submitting to the department a building permit and a wildfire rebuild exemption certificate for each qualified residential structure from the local government authorized to issue a building permit in the area in which the qualified residential structure is located. The amount of the refund is equal to 4.0% of the estimated construction and building materials cost for repairing or rebuilding the qualified residential structure. The estimated construction and building materials cost is the cost amount used by the local government to collect estimated use tax, as stated in the building permit. If no estimated use tax has been collected, the estimated construction and building materials cost is half of the total contract price or total cost for rebuilding or repairing the qualified residential structure. The act amends the 3-year statute of limitations for state sales and use tax refund claims to allow a qualified homeowner to claim a refund based on the wildfire rebuild exemption at any time on or before June 30, 2028. The act also requires the department to prioritize refund applications based on the wildfire rebuild exemption over refund applications submitted pursuant to other provisions of law. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $72,267 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by taxation services to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The length of the bill summary for this bill requires it to be published on a separate page here: https://leg.colorado.gov/hb23-1272-bill-summary APPROVED by Governor May 11, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 11, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act requires the public utilities commission (commission), if relying on a discount rate when calculating the net present value of future carbon-based fuel costs as part of a utility's electric resource plan, to apply a discount rate that does not exceed the long-term rate of inflation. The commission is required to determine an appropriate rate of inflation specifically for fuel costs. Section 2 requires the commission to establish rules to limit the amount of rate case expenses that an investor-owned electric or gas utility may recover from the utility's customers. In reviewing an investor-owned utility's application to modify base rates, the commission is required to certify that sufficient information is included in the application, including a comprehensive cost and revenue requirement analysis. Section 3 prohibits an investor-owned electric or gas utility from recovering various costs from its customers, including: More than 50% of annual total compensation or of expense reimbursement for a utility's board of directors; Tax penalties or fines issued against the utility; Investor-relation expenses; Certain advertising and public relations expenses; Lobbying and other expenses intended to influence the outcome of local, state, or federal legislation or ballot measures; Charitable giving expenses; Certain organizational and membership dues; Certain political contributions or expenses; Travel, lodging, food, or beverage expenses for the utility's board of directors and officers; Gift or entertainment expenses; Expenses related to aircraft for a utility's board of directors and officers; and Expenses related to unregulated products or services sold or provided by a utility. If an investor-owned utility recovers prohibited costs, the commission may assess a nonrecoverable penalty against the utility and is required to order the utility to refund the amount improperly recovered to its customers, plus interest. An investor-owned utility is required to file an annual report with the commission on the utility's compliance with the cost recovery prohibitions, which report must include the purpose, payee, and amount of any expenses associated with costs and activities not permitted to be recovered from customers. Section 4 requires that, on or before November 1, 2023, an investor-owned gas utility file with the commission for the commission's approval, amendment, or denial a gas price risk management plan that includes proposals for addressing the volatility of fuel costs recovered from the utility's customers pursuant to the utility's gas cost adjustment filings. Section 4 requires the commission to adopt rules, on or before January 1, 2025, to help protect investor-owned electric or gas utility customers from the volatility of gas prices by establishing mechanisms that align an investor-owned utility's financial incentives with the financial interests of its customers regarding incurred fuel costs. In adopting the rules, the commission is required to consider mechanisms to create a financial incentive for an investor-owned utility to improve its electricity production cost efficiency while minimizing its fuel costs. As part of its rules, the commission shall also consider, to the extent such information is relevant, each investor-owned electric or gas utility's financial health and corresponding impacts on customer affordability. Section 4 also requires the commission to open a proceeding to investigate whether and how residential and other development in certain geographic areas drive natural gas infrastructure costs for any natural gas utility that serves more than 500,000 customers in the state. After completing the investigation, the commission shall consider whether alternative infrastructure, service investments, or other actions by the utility could mitigate impacts of such development on nonparticipating or income-qualified utility customers. Section 5 requires: On or before December 31, 2023, each regulated gas utility to remove from the utility's rate tariffs incentives offered to an applicant applying for natural gas service to establish gas service to a property; The Colorado energy office to contract with an independent third party, on or before July 1, 2024, to evaluate the risk that stranded or underutilized natural gas infrastructure investments pose, including the risk posed to utility employees and contractors, and the annual projected rate impact that such stranded assets have on utility customers; The commission to determine whether any changes to rules or depreciation schedules are warranted based on its review of the evaluation contracted by the Colorado energy office; An investor-owned gas utility to provide the commission information, including a map, about the utility's gas distribution system pipes; An investor-owned gas utility to refrain from penalizing or charging a fee to a customer that voluntarily terminates gas service. The commission may adopt rules to establish standards for a customer's voluntary disconnection from an investor-owned gas utility's gas distribution system. On or before January 1, 2024, the commission to examine existing investor-owned electric utility tariffs, policies, and practices to determine if they pose a barrier to the beneficial electrification of transportation and buildings and determine whether requiring a customer that seeks to interconnect distributed energy resources or beneficial electrification resources to bear the full incremental cost of transformer or service upgrades needed for such interconnection imposes an undue burden on the customer. Section 6 requires the commission to allow a wholesale customer of an investor-owned utility to intervene in a proceeding regarding the commission's consideration of the investor-owned utility's application for cost recovery from customers if the wholesale customer has a demonstrated interest in the proceeding. Section 7 appropriates for the 2023-24 state fiscal year: $1,347,554 from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the commission, with $713,745 reappropriated to the department of law; and $142,749 to the department of law from the legal services cash fund from revenue received from the Colorado energy office that originates as custodial federal funds that the office has authority to expend. APPROVED by Governor May 11, 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.)
Currently, the state and several state enterprises impose fees on retail sales of taxable tangible personal property delivered by motor vehicle to a location in the state. These fees are collectively known as the retail delivery fee (RDF), and a retailer who makes a retail delivery is required to add the RDF to the price of the retail delivery, collect it from the purchaser, and pay the RDF revenue to the department of revenue (department), which distributes the revenue to the appropriate cash funds. The department generally administers the RDF in the same manner as the state sales and use tax. The act modifies this administration by permitting a retailer to pay the RDF on behalf of the purchaser. If the retailer elects to pay the RDF, then the retailer is: Not required to add the RDF to the price of the retail delivery, separately itemize the RDF, or collect the RDF from the purchaser, who is not liable or the amount nor eligible for a refund of an erroneously paid RDF; and Required to remit the RDF on the date that would be required if the RDF had been received from the purchaser on the date of the retail delivery. The department is required to waive any processing costs for a retailer's electronic payment by automated clearing house (ACH) debit of the RDF if the charges would exceed the amount of the RDF revenue being remitted. The act creates an exemption from the RDF for a retail delivery by a qualified business, which is a business that has $500,000 or less of retail sales in the prior year or is new, that applies retroactively to when RDFs were first imposed. A purchaser is not eligible for a refund of any RDF that is collected and remitted to the department by a qualified business prior to the effective date of the act. The act also creates a primary definition for "retail delivery" that is cross-referenced in other RDF provisions, and related to this change, a definition of "retail sale" is repealed where the cross reference makes it unnecessary. APPROVED by Governor May 4, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 4, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals and reenacts the statutory article related to extreme risk protection orders. Under current law a family or household member and a law enforcement officer or agency can petition for an extreme risk protection order. The act expands the list of who can petition for an extreme risk protection order to include licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health-care providers, licensed educators, and district attorneys. The act requires the office of gun violence prevention to expend funds annually on a public education campaign regarding the availability of, and the process for requesting, an extreme risk protection order. The act appropriates: $140,462 from the general fund to judicial department to implement the act; and $238,846 from the general fund to the department of public safety. APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 28, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates $67,254,584 to the legislative department for the payment of expenses in the 2023-24 state fiscal year. Of this amount, $65,524,678 is from the general fund, $90,000 is from cash funds, and $1,639,906 is from reappropriated funds. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires 1 of the 7 members of the state board of psychologist examiners (board) to be a prescribing psychologist. The act allows a licensed psychologist to prescribe and administer psychotropic medications if the licensed psychologist holds a prescription certificate issued by the board. A licensed psychologist may apply to the board for a prescription certificate and must include in the application satisfactory evidence that the applicant: Has completed a doctoral program in psychology; Has completed a master of science in a clinical psychopharmacological program with specified areas of core instruction; Has passed the psychopharmacology examination for psychologists; Has completed a supervised and relevant clinical experience approved by the board; Has successfully undergone a process of independent peer review; and Maintains the required malpractice insurance. A licensed psychologist with a prescription certificate (prescribing psychologist) is authorized to prescribe and administer psychotropic medications if the prescribing psychologist: Maintains the required malpractice insurance; Completes at least 40 hours of continuing education every 2 years; and Maintains a collaborative relationship with the health-care provider who oversees the client's general medical care. The board is authorized to promulgate rules to: Implement procedures for obtaining a prescription certificate; and Establish grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation of the certificates. The Colorado medical board is required to review complaints regarding violations of the act and make recommendations to the board regarding disciplinary action. The act requires a prescribing psychologist to disclose to each patient that the psychologist is not a licensed physician. The act requires a prescribing psychologist to file with the board all individual federal drug enforcement administration registrations and numbers. The board and the Colorado medical board are required to maintain current records of every psychologist with prescriptive authority, including registrations and numbers. The department of regulatory agencies (department) is required to annually collect information regarding prescribing psychologists, to compile the information, and to share the information with the office in the department responsible for conducting sunset reviews for inclusion in each scheduled sunset review concerning the regulation of mental health professionals. APPROVED by Governor March 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.)