The bill limits the power of the governor and other state and local officials with respect to emergency orders, decrees, regulations, or other mandates (emergency orders) that bind or regulate the public by: Requiring emergency orders that bind, curtail, or infringe the rights of private parties to be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose and limited in duration, applicability, and scope in order to reduce any infringement of individual liberty; Stating that state courts have jurisdiction to hear cases challenging the lawfulness of state and local emergency orders, requiring courts to expedite consideration of such challenges so that they are heard within 72 hours of being filed and to apply a strict scrutiny standard of judicial review when reviewing such challenges, and stating further that inequality in the applicability or impact of emergency orders on analogous groups, situations, and circumstances may constitute a ground for a court to invalidate or enjoin an emergency order, or some of its applications, as not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose; Allowing only the governor to issue an emergency order that infringes constitutional rights in a nontrivial manner and specifically identifying as constitutional rights the rights to travel, work, assemble, and speak; freedom of religious exercise; the nonimpairment of contract and property rights; freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and freedom to purchase lawful firearms and ammunition; Further limiting such infringing emergency orders by: Making an emergency order expire in 7 days unless the general assembly is in a regular legislative session and has at least 15 days to consider and vote to ratify, by a 2/3 supermajority vote, or terminate, by a simple majority vote, the emergency order or the governor calls the general assembly into a special legislative session for the purpose of considering and voting on the emergency order; and If the 7-day expiration does not apply, making any such order expire in 30 days unless: The governor or the general assembly terminates the order sooner; or The general assembly, by a 2/3 supermajority vote, adopts a joint resolution ratifying the order during the 30-day period; Authorizing each house of the general assembly to vote to ratify or terminate emergency orders by remote debate and electronic or other means; and Stating that if, during the pendency of a given emergency, the governor reissues any emergency order or issues another emergency order that is substantially similar to an emergency order that expired without legislative approval or that the general assembly terminated, the reissued or substantially similar emergency order shall not take effect unless the general assembly, by a 2/3 vote of the members of each house, adopts a joint resolution ratifying the emergency order. The bill also states that state and local officials may issue nonbinding recommendations and guidelines that do not include provisions for enforcement or surveillance and that they may help coordinate public and private action to prevent or respond to an emergency. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Sponsored bills
The act aligns Colorado statutes on hemp with federal law, including adopting federal definitions; requiring authorized samplers to collect samples from each lot; changing the appointing authority for the industrial hemp advisory committee to the state agricultural commission; requiring that all key participants provide a criminal history record check from the federal bureau of investigation; eliminating authority to grow hemp for research and development purposes but authorizing a separate registration and waiver requirement; creating new reporting requirements; specifying unlawful acts and creating civil penalties for violations; and giving the commissioner of agriculture investigatory and subpoena authority. The act appropriates $55,620 to the department of public safety from the Colorado bureau of investigation identification unit fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In the "Colorado Marijuana Code", the act changes the term "accelerator licensee" to "social equity licensee" and alters the qualifications. A social equity licensee may participate in the accelerator program on the premises of a retail marijuana licensee whereby the social equity licensee receives assistance from an experienced retail marijuana licensee. The act expands the accelerator program to include a retail marijuana store licensee. A retail marijuana licensee participating in the accelerator program and a social equity licensee may be entitled to incentives from the department of revenue or the office of economic development and international trade. Under current law, before the governor is allowed to pardon any person, the application must include a certificate from the superintendent of a prison where the person was held and be submitted to the judge who sentenced the person, the district attorney for the judicial district, and the attorney who prosecuted the person for their comments. The act authorizes the governor to pardon a class of persons convicted of possession of up to 2 ounces of marijuana without the certificate or submitting the application to anyone else. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill: Clarifies when payments for benefits and penalties payable to an injured worker are deemed paid ( section 1 ); Adds guardian and conservator services to the list of medical aid that an employer is required to furnish to an employee who is incapacitated as a result of a work-related injury or occupational disease ( section 2 ); Requires a claimant for mileage reimbursement for travel related to obtaining compensable medical care to submit a request to the employer or insurer within 120 days after the expense is incurred and requires the employer or insurer to pay or dispute mileage within 30 days of submittal and to include in the brochure of claimants' rights an explanation of rights to mileage reimbursement and the deadline for filing a request ( sections 2 and 7 ); Clarifies that offsets to disability benefits granted by the federal "Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Amendments of 1965" only apply if the payments were not already being received by the employee at the time of the work-related injury ( section 3 ); Prohibits the reduction of an employee's temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or medical benefits based on apportionment under any circumstances; limits apportionment of permanent impairment to specific situations; and declares that the employer or insurer bears the burden of proof, by a preponderance of evidence, at a hearing regarding apportionment of permanent impairment or permanent total disability benefits ( section 4 ); Adds the conditions that, in order for an employer or insurer to request the selection of an independent medical examiner when an authorized treating physician has not determined that the employee has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), an examining physician must serve a written report to the authorized treating physician specifying that the examining physician has determined that the employee has reached MMI; the authorized treating physician must examine the employee at least 20 months after the date of the injury and determine that the employee has reached MMI; the authorized treating physician must be served with a written report indicating MMI; and the authorized treating physician has responded that the employee has not reached MMI or has failed to respond within 15 days after service of the report ( section 5 ); Changes the whole person impairment rating applicable to an injured worker from 25% to 19% for purposes of determining the maximum amount of combined temporary disability and permanent partial disability payments an injured worker may receive ( section 6 ); Prohibits an employer or insurer from withdrawing an admission of liability 2 years after the date the admission of liability on the issue of compensability was filed, except in cases of fraud ( section 7 ); Prohibits the director of the division of workers' compensation or an administrative law judge from determining issues of compensability or liability unless specific benefits or penalties are awarded or denied at the same time ( section 8 ); Clarifies the scope of authority of prehearing administrative law judges ( section 9 ); Increases the threshold amount that an injured worker must earn in order for permanent total disability payments to cease and allows for annual adjustment of the threshold amount starting in 2021 ( section 11 ); and Clarifies the orders that are subject to review or appeal ( sections 10 and 12 ).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail or holding center beginning on July 1, 2021, for in-county arrestees and July 1, 2022, for out-of-county arrestees. The bill creates the position of a bond hearing officer to conduct bond hearings on weekends and holidays throughout the state using audiovisual technology. The bond hearing officer conducts bond hearings throughout the state in the counties that request the service of the bond hearing officer. The public will be able to view the hearings. The bill creates the county assistance for bond hearings grant program, which will allow the state court administrator to provide grants to counties to purchase or upgrade audiovisual devices to allow jails and district attorneys to connect with the court to allow remote audiovisual bond hearings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The concurrent resolution creates a state income tax credit for taxpayers who participate in the at-home instruction of a child that either receives at-home instruction through a homeschool program or is enrolled in a school district, a school operated by a board of cooperative services, a charter school, an institute charter school, a private school, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind and receives remote instruction from the school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, institute charter school, private school, or the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind. The amount of the credit is either: $500 for each child who receives at-home instruction for more than 80 but less than 160 days during a tax year; or $1,000 for each child who receives at-home instruction for at least 160 days during a tax year. The credit may be carried forward for 3 years but not refunded. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
The bill authorizes human remains to be converted to soil using a container that accelerates the process of biological decomposition, also known as "natural reduction". The bill prohibits the following when done in the course of business: Selling or offering to sell the soil; Commingling the soil of more than one person without the consent of the person with the right of final disposition unless the soil is abandoned; Commingling the human remains of more than one person within the container wherein natural reduction produces soil; Using the soil to grow food for human consumption. Current law has a provision that governs the disposal of abandoned cremated remains. The soil from natural reduction is added to this provision, with an option to return the soil to the earth in a respectful manner. Current law has various provisions that deal with burial, cremation, interment, and entombment. In connection with authorizing natural reduction, the bill replaces these terms with the phrase "final disposition", which term is defined to include natural reduction. The following types of provisions are updated to reflect the option to use natural reduction: Life insurance statutes; Preneed funeral insurance contracts; The "Mortuary Science Code"; Funeral picketing statutes; Litigation damages; The "Colorado Probate Code"; The "Disposition of Last Remains Act"; The "Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act"; Missing person reports for unidentified human remains; Public peace and order statutes; Vital statistics statutes; The "Colorado Public Assistance Act"; and Firefighter pension plans. Natural reduction is added to the statutes that regulate funeral establishments, and this addition will result in the regulation of the natural reduction process. But the definitions of "cremation" and "mortuary science practitioner" are amended so that a practitioner of natural reduction is not regulated as a cremationist or mortuary science practitioner. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Under current law, the state licensing authority is required to treat a metered-dose inhaler the same as a vaporized delivery device for purposes of regulation and testing. The bill repeals this provision. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill allows surplus military vehicles to be driven on roadways. Historical military vehicles, which are vehicles valued for historical purposes, are of a model year 1980 or earlier, and maintain historically appropriate markings, may be driven on a highway, but only: To and from assemblies, conventions, or other meetings where historical military vehicles and their ownership are the primary interest; On special occasions, for demonstrations and parades; On occasions when the operation of the vehicle on the highways will not constitute a traffic hazard; and To, from, and during local, state, or national tours held primarily for the exhibition and enjoyment of historical military vehicles. The vehicles will be issued a certificate of title as a motor vehicle and a registration as a motor vehicle. But if the vehicle is transferred to another person who does not intend to use the vehicle for historical purposes, the title will revert back to an off-highway title and the vehicle will no longer be registered. Historical military vehicles are exempted from emissions testing. An historical military vehicle is exempt from the inspection and use of emission controls unless emission controls are standard equipment at the time of manufacture, in which case, the equipment must be in proper working condition to operate the historic military vehicle on the highway. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)