Sen. Steve Fenberg

The act allows a member of the general assembly who is absent when the general assembly is in session for a long-term illness, parental leave in excess of the permitted maximum period, or another similar purpose, subject to approval by the president of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, respective to the member's house, to be exempted from forfeiture of their compensation. Previously, the exemption from forfeiture of compensation was only for an approved absence for a long-term illness. The act also allows a member of the general assembly to receive compensation for an absence due to parental leave for a maximum of 12 weeks, plus up to an additional 4 weeks for a serious health condition related to complications of pregnancy or childbirth. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the executive committee of the legislative council committee of the general assembly is permitted to establish policies allowing legislative committees to take remote testimony from one or more centralized remote sites around the state. The act repeals that provision and allows the executive committee of the legislative council to establish policies allowing legislative committees to take testimony from government officials and employees and the public. The act reduces general assembly general fund appropriation in the legislative appropriation act by $10,000 and appropriates $401,709 from the general fund to legislative council to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law provides that, for bills introduced pursuant to the sunset review process: The speaker of the house of representatives shall assign the proposed bill to a representative for sponsorship in the house of representatives in odd-numbered years; and The president of the senate shall assign the proposed bill to a senator for sponsorship in the senate in even-numbered years. The act requires that before assigning bill sponsors, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate must consult with their respective minority leaders and receive permission from the sponsor to be named to the sunset bill. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act expands the definition of "earmark" for purposes of the "Fair Campaign Practices Act" to include contributions or expenditures greater than $1,000 to support or oppose a specified ballot issue or ballot question. The act also modifies the process to determine whether an organization is an issue committee to include an examination of the organization's pattern of conduct based upon whether the organization: During the combined period of the current calendar year and the preceding 2 calendar years, made either contributions to one or more statewide Colorado issue committees or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in either support of or opposition to one or more statewide Colorado ballot issues or ballot questions, that exceeded 30% of the total expenditures by the organization for any purpose and in any location during the entire preceding and current calendar years; During the combined period of the current calendar year and the preceding 2 calendar years, made either contributions to a single statewide Colorado issue committee or direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures, in either support of or opposition to a single statewide Colorado ballot issue or ballot question, that exceeded 20% of the total expenditures by the organization for any purpose and in any location; or Acted as an issue committee's funding intermediary by making contributions to an issue committee from funds earmarked for the issue committee. Further, the act defines "direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure" as direct spending in support of or opposition to any single ballot issue or ballot question by a person who does not otherwise meet the requirements of an issue committee. Contributions to an issue committee are not direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures. Any person who expends $5,000 in aggregate in a calendar year on direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditures must report to the secretary of state, and any person who makes a direct ballot issue or ballot question expenditure must disclose their name in certain communications about a ballot issue or ballot question. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $30,000 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state technology division for information technology personal services to implement the act. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $14,309 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state election division for personal services, based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 0.3 FTE to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 1 of the act creates the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program (clean air grant program) through which the Colorado energy office (office) awards grant money to private entities, local governments, tribal governments, and public-private partnerships for voluntary projects to reduce air pollutants from industrial and manufacturing operations. Voluntary projects eligible for grant money include: Energy efficiency projects; Renewable energy projects; Beneficial electrification projects; Transportation electrification projects; Projects producing or utilizing clean hydrogen; Projects involving carbon capture at industrial facilities and direct air capture projects; Methane capture projects; Projects producing or utilizing sustainable aviation fuel; and Industrial process changes that reduce emissions. Starting in 2025, the office is required to report annually on the progress of the clean air grant program, submit the report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over energy matters, and post the reports on the office's website. On June 30, 2022, the state treasurer shall transfer $25 million from the general fund to the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program cash fund, which fund is created in the act. The fund may also consist of money from federal sources and from gifts, grants, and donations. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for its administration of the clean air grant program. The office may use up to 9% of the money in the fund for its administrative costs in implementing the clean air grant program. The clean air grant program is repealed on September 1, 2029. Section 1 also creates the cannabis resource optimization cash fund, which fund the office is required to administer to provide financial incentives for energy and water use conservation and sustainability practices in cannabis operations. The state treasurer is directed to transfer $1.5 million from the general fund to the cannabis resource optimization cash fund on July 1, 2022. Section 2 creates the community access to electric bicycles grant program (electric bicycles grant program) through which the office awards grant money to local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations that administer or plan to administer a bike share program or an ownership program for the provision of electric bicycles in a community. Section 2 also creates the community access to electric bicycles rebate program (rebate program) through which the office provides rebates for purchases of electric bicycles and equipment used for commuting purposes to individuals in low- and moderate-income households, businesses, or nonprofit organizations (program participants) or bicycle shops that sell electric bicycles to program participants at discounted prices. Starting in 2025, the office is required to report annually on the progress of the electric bicycles grant program and the rebate program, submit copies of the report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over transportation matters, and post the report on the office's website. On June 30, 2022, the state treasurer shall transfer $12 million from the general fund to the community access to electric bicycles cash fund (fund), which fund is created in the act. The fund may also consist of money from federal sources and from gifts, grants, and donations. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for its administration of the electric bicycles grant program and the rebate program. The office may use up to 9% of the money in the fund for its administrative costs in implementing the electric bicycles grant program and the rebate program. The electric bicycles grant program and the rebate program are repealed on September 1, 2028. Section 3 creates the electrifying school buses grant program (school buses grant program) through which the department of public health and environment (department), with technical assistance from the office, awards grant money to school districts, including schools operated by tribal governments, and charter schools, or nonprofit partners acting on behalf of a school district or charter school, to help finance the procurement and maintenance of electric-powered school buses, the conversion of fossil-fuel-powered school buses to electric-powered school buses, charging infrastructure, and upgrades for electric charging infrastructure and the retirement of fossil-fuel-powered school buses. The department of education is authorized to provide assistance to school districts and charter schools in applying for or implementing a project funded with grant money. Starting in 2025, and every odd-numbered year thereafter, the department is required to report on the progress of the school buses grant program, submit copies of the report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over education, energy and environment, and transportation matters, and post copies of the report on its website. On June 30, 2022, the state treasurer shall transfer $65 million from the general fund to the electrifying school buses grant program cash fund (electric school buses fund), which fund is created in the act. The electrifying school buses fund may also consist of money from federal sources and from gifts, grants, and donations. The money in the electrifying school buses fund is continuously appropriated to the department for its administration of the school buses grant program. The department may use up to 8% of the money in the electrifying school buses fund for its administrative costs in implementing the electrifying school buses grant program. The school buses grant program is repealed on September 1, 2034. Section 4 updates the definition of "federal act" regarding the reference to the federal "Clean Air Act". Section 4 also updates the definition of "issue" with respect to an order, permit, determination, or notice issued by the division of administration in the department (division), to remove certified mail and add electronic mail as options to issue such order, permit, determination, or notice. Section 5 clarifies that the statutory fee caps for fees collected by the air quality enterprise apply only to the annual stationary source emission fees. The statutory fee caps are $1 million for state fiscal year 2021-22, $3 million for state fiscal year 2022-23, $4 million for state fiscal year 2023-24, and $5 million on and after July 1, 2024. Section 6 removes the requirement that the division make the forms on which a person provides details necessary for filing an air pollution emission notice available at all of the air pollution control authority offices. Section 7 authorizes a person to seek judicial review of the division's failure to grant or deny a renewable operating permit until the division grants or denies the permit and authorizes the division to contract with third parties to perform permit application reviews, air quality monitoring reviews, or other work to support the division's air quality permit programs. Section 8 extends the time within which the air quality control commission must grant or deny a request for a hearing from within 15 days after the request was made to within 30 days after the request was made and, if granted, requires the commission to set the hearing no later than 90 days after its first regularly scheduled meeting following receipt of the hearing request. Existing law authorizes the commission to submit any additions or changes to the state implementation plan (SIP) to the administrator of the federal environmental protection agency (administrator) for conditional or temporary approval pending legislative council review of the additions or changes. Section 9 authorizes the commission to submit the changes or additions to the administrator as a provisional submission, pending possible introduction and enactment of a bill to modify or delete all or a portion of the commission's additions or changes to the SIP. Section 11 appropriates from the general fund: $750,000 to the department of personnel for the costs of issuing free annual eco passes to state employees; and $7,000,000 to the department to finance the aerial surveying of pollutants, $90,725 of which is reappropriated to the office of information technology in the governor's office to provide information technology services to the department. Section 11 also appropriates $44,365 from the electrifying school buses grant program cash fund to the department of education to provide technical assistance to school districts and charter schools applying for grant money from the school buses grant program and implementing projects awarded grant money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes new coverage requirements for homeowners insurance policies issued or renewed in Colorado, which requirements apply in the event of a total loss of an owner-occupied residence as a result of a wildfire disaster that is declared by the governor. The act also establishes new requirements for insurers who issue or renew homeowners insurance policies, which requirements concern an insurer's handling of policy claims after such a total loss occurs. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,781 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance as follows: $59,231 for personal services; and $7,550 for operating expenses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise (enterprise) in the department of natural resources for the purpose of: Imposing and collecting mitigation fees; Funding the plugging, reclaiming, and remediating of orphaned wells in the state; Ensuring that the costs associated with the plugging, reclaiming, and remediating of orphaned wells are borne by operators in the form of mitigation fees; and Determining the amounts of mitigation fees. On or before August 1, 2022; on or before April 30, 2023; and on or before April 30 each year thereafter, each operator shall pay a mitigation fee to the enterprise for each well that has been spud but is not yet plugged and abandoned, in accordance with rules promulgated by the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission), in the following amounts: For operators with production that is equal to or less than a threshold to be determined by rules of the commission, $125 for each well; or For operators with production that exceeds a threshold to be determined by rules of the commission, $225 for each well. Money collected as mitigation fees is credited to the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise cash fund (fund), which is created in the act. The act also creates the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise board (enterprise board) and requires the enterprise board to administer the enterprise and, at least annually, to: Consider whether the mitigation fee amounts should be increased or reduced, based on current circumstances and reasonably anticipated future expenditures from the fund; If the enterprise board determines that an increase or reduction of the mitigation fee amounts is warranted, adjust the mitigation fee amounts; and Advise the commission of the outcome of the enterprise board's deliberations. The commission may promulgate rules as necessary to implement the enterprise. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)