| Bill # | Calendar Notification | Short Title | Sponsors | Bill Summary | Most Recent Status |
| HB13-1013 |
Wednesday, May 8 2013 GENERAL ORDERS - SECOND READING OF BILLS (1) in house calendar. | Protect Water Right Ownership Rights | SONNENBERG / BAUMGARDNER | Water Resources Review Committee. The bill specifies, in the contexts of rights-of-way for water rights and the basic tenets of Colorado water law, that: * A landowner cannot demand as a condition of granting a right-of-way or special use permit, and a court cannot order as a condition of an eminent domain proceeding, that a water right or conditional water right owner assign to the landowner partial or joint ownership of the water right or limit the alienability of the water right; and * Any such condition is void and unenforceable as against public policy. | 05/03/2013 House Second Reading Lay on the Table-Deemed Lost |
| HB13-1044 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Authorize Graywater Use | FISCHER / SCHWARTZ | Current law is unclear regarding whether, and under what conditions, graywater may be used. Section 1 of the bill declares the importance of water conservation to the economy of Colorado and the well-being of its citizens. Section 2 defines "graywater" as that portion of wastewater that, before being treated or combined with other wastewater, is collected from fixtures within residential, commercial, or industrial buildings or institutional facilities for the purpose of being put to beneficial uses authorized by the water quality control commission (commission) in the department of public health and environment. Sources of graywater may include discharges from bathroom and laundry room sinks, bathtubs, showers, and laundry machines, as well as water from other sources authorized by rules promulgated by the commission. Graywater does not include wastewater from toilets, urinals, kitchen sinks, nonlaundry utility sinks, and dishwashers. Graywater must be collected in a manner that minimizes household wastes, human excreta, animal or vegetable matter, and chemicals that are hazardous or toxic, as determined by the commission. Section 2 also defines "graywater treatment works". Section 3 authorizes the commission to establish minimum statewide requirements, standards, and prohibitions. Graywater may only be used: * In accordance with the terms and conditions of applicable decrees or well permits for source water rights or source water and any return flows therefrom; * In accordance with all federal, state, and local requirements; and * If a local government adopts a resolution or ordinance authorizing its use. Sections 4 and 5 give counties and municipalities the discretion to authorize graywater use and the exclusive authority to enforce compliance with their graywater use resolutions and ordinances. Section 6 authorizes the board of any groundwater management district to adopt rules restricting the use of graywater treatment works. Section 6 also permits a person using a small capacity well within a designated basin to use graywater, subject to the limitations on use contained in the well permit. Sections 7, 8, and 10 authorize a person withdrawing water from a well to use graywater, subject to the limitations on use contained in the well permit or, if applicable, in an approved replacement plan or a decreed plan of augmentation. Section 9 concerns graywater use by water users served by a municipality's or water district's water supplies. The graywater must be used for purposes that are permissible under the municipality's or water district's water rights. Such use of graywater is not reuse and is deemed not to cause injury. | 05/16/2013 Governor action - signed |
| HB13-1057 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Retain Avalanche Information Center In DNR | MITSCH BUSH / NICHOLSON | The bill reverses provisions in HB12-1355 that would have transferred the duties and functions of the Colorado avalanche information center to the Colorado school of mines. The avalanche information center will operate as a program under the executive director of the department of natural resources (department). The bill establishes a new statute within the department that is specific to the avalanche information center, and creates a cash fund for training and materials fees received by the avalanche information center. | 01/31/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| HB13-1130 |
Wednesday, May 8 2013 (2) in house calendar. | Reapprove Interruptible Water Supply Agreements | SONNENBERG / GIRON | Current law allows the state engineer to approve the operation of an interruptible water supply agreement for 3 years out of a single 10-year period; once the agreement has been operated, the state engineer cannot approve the agreement for operation in any later period. The bill allows the state engineer to reapprove an agreement up to 2 additional times by following the same procedures for approval of the original agreement. | 05/23/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| HB13-1185 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Low-income Energy Assistance Transfer From Sev Tax | GEROU / STEADMAN | Joint Budget Committee. Current statute provides a schedule that determines when transfers to 3 funds are made in a fiscal year from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund to provide energy-related assistance to low-income households. The bill repeals that statutory section on July 1, 2013. The effect of this repeal is that the transfers for providing energy-related assistance to low-income households will then be made to all 3 funds 3 times in a fiscal year rather than each fund getting only one transfer in a fiscal year. This will help ensure that any proportional reductions that might need to occur as allowed by law are borne equally by the 3 funds throughout the fiscal year. The bill also provides a mechanism for the state treasurer to equalize the distributions for the 2012-13 state fiscal year. | 03/22/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| HB13-1216 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Incentives for Distributed Energy | DURAN | Existing law directs the Colorado public utilities commission (PUC) to adopt rules implementing the renewable energy portfolio standards for electric utilities, under which increasing amounts of electricity must be generated from renewable sources. The bill directs cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities that are qualifying retail utilities to derive at least 0.5% of their retail electricity sales for 2016 through 2019, and 1% from 2020 forward, from distributed generation. Cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities must also establish standard offers to purchase renewable energy credits from wind generation. The bill also increases the maximum customer generation capacity for cooperative electric associations so that they may allow net metering for up to 25 kilowatts of residential customer-generated electricity and up to 75 kilowatts of industrial or commercial customer-generated electricity. | 04/25/2013 House Committee on Transportation & Energy Postpone Indefinitely |
| HB13-1248 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Irrigation Water Leasing Municipal Pilot Projects | FISCHER / SCHWARTZ | The bill authorizes the Colorado water conservation board to administer a pilot program consisting of up to 3 pilot projects, each up to 10 years in duration, in the lower Arkansas river basin to demonstrate the practice of fallowing agricultural irrigation land and leasing the associated water rights for temporary municipal use. | 05/13/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| HB13-1252 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Petroleum Storage Tank Redevelopment Fund | HAMNER / JAHN | The bill creates the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund, consisting of civil penalties collected for violations of the petroleum storage tank laws. The department of labor and employment may use moneys in the redevelopment fund for administration, investigation, abatement action, and preparing and implementing corrective action plans for petroleum releases not covered by the petroleum storage tank fund if, in the opinion of the director of the division of oil and public safety, such actions would enhance environmental protection and beneficial use of the property affected by the releases. On July 1, 2013, the treasurer will transfer $5,000,000 from the redevelopment fund to the state highway fund to be used for a fire suppression system at the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels. | 05/18/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| HB13-1267 |
Wednesday, May 8 2013 Conference Committee 8:00 a.m. Room 0111 (1) in house calendar. Wednesday, May 8 2013 (1) in senate calendar. Wednesday, May 8 2013 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE 8:00 AM HCR 0111 (1) in senate calendar. | Increase Maximum Penalty Oil Gas Violations | FOOTE / JONES | Current law specifies that a violation of the "Oil and Gas Conservation Act" is punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 per day, subject to a penalty schedule promulgated by the oil and gas conservation commission that considers aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The maximum total fine is capped at $10,000 for violations that are not significant. The bill increases the maximum daily fine to $15,000, sets a minimum fine of $5,000 per violation per day for violations that have a significant adverse impact on public health, safety, or welfare, including the environment and wildlife resources, and repeals the cap on the maximum total fine. | 05/08/2013 Senate Consideration of First Conference Committee Report result was to Adhere |
| HB13-1268 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Mineral Estate Disclosure Real Property Sale | MORENO | The bill requires a seller to disclose in the sale of real property that a separate mineral estate may subject the property to oil, gas, or mineral extraction. A standard disclosure or a substantially similar disclosure is required. A seller that provides this disclosure is not liable for any damages of the purchaser from oil, gas, or mineral extraction. | 05/01/2013 Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely |
| HB13-1269 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Reduce Conflict Of Interest Oil And Gas Commission | FOOTE / JONES | Under current law, the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission: * Has mandates to reduce waste and to foster the development of oil and gas resources in a manner consistent with the protection of public health, the environment, and wildlife resources; and * Can include at least 3 commissioners who are employed by the industry. Section 1 of the bill amends the commission's mandate to ensure that the development of oil and gas resources protects public health, the environment, and wildlife resources. Section 2 redefines "waste" to exclude reduced production that results from compliance with government regulation. Section 3 prohibits a newly appointed commissioner from being an employee, officer, or director of an oil and gas operator or oil and gas service company while serving on the commission. | 05/06/2013 Senate Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily |
| HB13-1273 | NOT ON CALENDAR | New Funding Local Governments Oil Gas Dev Impacts | FISCHER / KEFALAS | Current law authorizes local governments to designate a person to participate in certain proceedings before the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission, including the issuance of permits to drill a well. Section 2 of the bill requires oil and gas operators to pay to the commission a local government designee fee, established by the commission by rule, when applying for a permit to drill. The commission will allocate the fee equally to each local government that has registered a local government designee with the commission within whose boundaries an oil and gas facility authorized by the permit is located. The commission must set the fee, after consulting with local governments, at a level to provide reimbursement to a local government for its costs associated with maintaining a local government designee. The prohibition on local governments charging a tax or fee to conduct inspections or monitoring of oil and gas operations with regard to matters that are subject to rule, order, or permit condition administered by the commission is repealed. Section 3 authorizes local governments to collect an environmental or public health and welfare oversight charge on new oil and gas development, collectible upon issuance of a development permit by the local government. | 04/30/2013 Senate Committee on Local Government Postpone Indefinitely |
| HB13-1274 | NOT ON CALENDAR | State Bd Of Land Commissioners Real Prop Inv | HULLINGHORST / KERR | Section 1 of the bill makes amendments to an existing definition and creates others in order to clarify what the lands are to which the article refers. Section 2 of the bill ensures that any lease payments and rental payments for land, including by definition any lease payments from commercial real property, would be distributed in the same way that all revenues generated from state trust lands are currently distributed. Section 3 of the bill grants the state board of land commissioners the authority to instruct the state treasurer to enter into lease-purchase agreements on behalf of the state school lands for the acquisition, construction, renovation, and improvement of commercial real property that the board will then lease as office space for state agencies or other tenants. The bill specifies that it is the general assembly's intent that annual lease payments be paid from commercial real property revenues, but sets up secondary and tertiary options in the event of a shortfall. Prior to instructing the state treasurer to enter into such lease-purchase agreements, the bill requires the state board of land commissioners to present a financial plan related to such a lease-purchase agreement to the department of personnel and the office of state planning and budgeting. No later than 60 days after presentation of the financial plan, the capital development committee is required to review the financial plan and may make recommendations. The bill also: * Limits the total amount of annual lease payments payable by the state in any fiscal year; * Specifies additional procedural and legal requirements relating to the lease-purchase agreements; and * Creates the state board of land commissioners lease-purchase fund. Section 4 of the bill makes clear that any interest earned on damage deposits that the state board of land commissioners receives from a lessee related to leases on state lands for nonagricultural purposes may be retained by the state board of land commissioners. Section 6 of the bill creates the commercial real property operating fund to properly establish how to account for lease revenues generated from all commercial real property investments held by the state board of land commissioners on behalf of any of the state trust funds. Sections 7, 8, and 9 of the bill make conforming amendments to statutory sections related to contracting for services and procurement for the commercial real property operating fund that are consistent with a similar state board of land commissioners cash fund. | 05/23/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| HB13-1275 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Front Range Oil & Gas Human Health Study | GINAL / AGUILAR | Section 1 of the bill directs the state board of health in the department of public health and environment to issue a request for proposals to conduct a review of existing epidemiological data regarding the effects of oil and gas operations on human health in the counties of Larimer, Weld, Boulder, and Arapahoe and one or more control areas. The selected contractor must provide its analysis of the data in a report to the general assembly by March 15, 2014. The contractor must file interim reports with an oversight committee appointed by legislative leadership and the governor. The report must include the committee's recommendation regarding whether a follow-up study to collect and analyze new epidemiological data is warranted. Section 2 authorizes the use of the mill levy on oil and gas production to pay for the review. The final report or an interim report may include a finding regarding whether the division of administration in the department or the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission should enter a cease-and-desist order against continued oil and gas operations, emission of air pollutants, or the discharge of water pollutants from any specifically identified oil and gas facilities. Section 3 directs the division to enter a cease-and-desist order against the continued emission of air pollutants from those facilities if the report finds that it should and the division agrees that it should, section 4 requires the same for the discharge of water pollutants, and section 5 requires the same of the commission. | 04/11/2013 House Committee on Health, Insurance & Environment Postpone Indefinitely |
| HB13-1278 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Oil Spills Gas Releases Reporting | MITSCH BUSH | The bill requires an oil and gas operator to report a spill of one barrel or more, or the equivalent of one barrel or more, of oil or exploration and production waste within 24 hours after the discovery of the spill. The operator is required to make the report to the oil and gas conservation commission; and to the entity with jurisdiction over emergency response within the local municipality, if the spill occurred within a municipality, or the local county if the spill did not occur within a municipality; to the surface owner; and to the owners of land adjacent to the spill. The operator's report of the spill must include information concerning the constituent compounds involved in the spill. The bill authorizes the commission to promulgate rules to implement these requirements. | 05/11/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| HB13-1293 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Gov To Create Exec Branch Climate Change Position | ROSENTHAL | The bill directs the governor to establish a position for climate change issues. The person appointed to that position is required to develop climate action plans and to report annually to the general assembly regarding how climate change affects the state. | 05/21/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| HB13-1297 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Ft Lewis & School Of Mines Invest Authority | MCLACHLAN / ROBERTS | The board of trustees of Colorado school of mines and the board of trustees of Fort Lewis college (boards) are granted exclusive control and direction of all funds of and appropriations to their institutions. If a board elects to invest the assets of its institution, it must establish an investment advisory committee and a written investment policy. Unless otherwise restrained by the terms of a will, trust agreement, or other instrument of gift, a board may hold investments in one or more consolidated investment funds in which the participating trusts or accounts have undivided interests. Under certain conditions, a board may hold certificates of stock in the name of a selected nominee without disclosing the fact that the certificates are held by the board or are held in a fiduciary capacity. Each board must maintain a list of certificates of stock held in the names of nominees and make the list available for public inspection during normal business hours. Each board must report to the joint budget committee at each regular legislative session regarding investments made and the earnings or losses derived therefrom. Neither board shall request from the general assembly any general fund appropriations to replace any losses incurred due to investment activities. | 05/23/2013 Governor action - signed |
| HB13-1316 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Oil Gas Commn Uniform Groundwater Sample Rule | HULLINGHORST | The Colorado oil and gas conservation commission recently adopted rules that require oil and gas operators to conduct groundwater sampling but specify less rigorous standards for particular areas of the state. The bill requires the commission to adopt uniform statewide groundwater sampling rules that obligate operators to sample groundwater sources at specified intervals before and after drilling of a well. | 05/06/2013 Senate Second Reading Special Order - Lost with Amendments |
| HB13-1322 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Treat Recovered Natural Gas As Lease Gas | YOUNG | After petroleum is pumped from an oil and gas well, the oil, gas, and water are separated. The oil and water are usually stored in tanks. After the initial phase of separation, some entrained gas remains in the oil, which then separates from the oil when the pressure subsequently drops. This is commonly referred to as flash gas. Depending on the amount, this gas may be vented or must be captured and controlled, often by flaring. The gas that has not yet passed through a sales meter can typically be used pursuant to the lease to run processing equipment on-site; neither severance taxes nor royalties are paid on this so-called "lease gas". Available technology allows for the recovery of flash gas vapors. Using this technology reduces potential air emissions when compared to venting or flaring, increases the supply of lease gas, increases the amount of gas that passes through sale meters, and thereby increases both royalty payments and severance taxes. Occasionally, the amount of recovered gas may exceed the amount needed to run processing equipment on-site. The bill defines lease gas to include recovered gas and gives the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission rule-making authority to approve a method to allocate recovered gas that would otherwise be vented or flared as waste. | 05/01/2013 House Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-003 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Coal Mine Methane Gas Capture | BAUMGARDNER / CORAM | The bill establishes a greenhouse gas mitigation project involving the capture of coal mine methane gas from active and inactive coal mines. Each kilowatt-hour of energy generated by captured coal mine methane gas is counted as one kilowatt-hour for purposes of compliance with the renewable energy standard. | 02/13/2013 Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-019 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Promote Water Conservation | SCHWARTZ / FISCHER | Section 1 of the bill declares that increasing water use efficiency by appropriators promotes the maximum utilization of Colorado's water resources and is in the public interest. The amount of water that currently can be changed to a new type or place of use is limited by the amount of water that was historically consumed by the original type and place of use. Therefore, a water user has no incentive to reduce the amount of water diverted. Current law encourages the conservation of water in some contexts by eliminating from the determination of abandonment the period during which water is conserved under a variety of government-sponsored programs. However, in these contexts, the water conserved through a reduction in the application of the water to a beneficial use results in a reduction of consumptive use. Section 2 directs the water judge to disregard the decrease in use of water from such programs in its determinations of historical consumptive use in change of water right cases and adds to the list a decrease in water use to provide for compact compliance. Section 3 defines "conserved water", and section 4 directs water judges to allow a change of water right for conserved water. | 05/18/2013 Governor action - signed |
| SB13-041 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Protect Water Storage Long-term Use | HODGE / FISCHER | In the case of Upper Yampa Water Conservancy Dist. v. Wolfe, 255 P.3d 1108 (Colo. 2011), the Colorado supreme court held that storage of water is not a beneficial use, at least where flood control and fire or drought protection are not the stated uses of the water, and that to perfect a conditional storage right, the water must be released from storage and put to beneficial use. Further, an applicant must show that it has exhausted its absolute storage rights before its conditional storage rights can be perfected. The bill reverses these holdings by: * Expanding the definition of "beneficial use" to include the impoundment of water for firefighting or storage for any decreed purpose (section 1 of the bill); * Specifying in section 2 that: * An applicant doesn't have to demonstrate that all existing absolute decreed water rights that are part of an integrated system have been utilized to their full extent to establish the need to exercise a conditional water storage right or to make it absolute, in whole or in part; * When conditional water storage rights are made absolute, the decreed volume should be the extent of the volume of the appropriation that has been captured, possessed, and controlled at the decreed storage structure; and * Carrying water over in storage from one year to another is not grounds for a determination of abandonment. | 04/08/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-067 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Extend Public Lands Off-road Vehicle Law | TOCHTROP | Current law, which is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2013, prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle on any federal public land unless the land is authorized for such use by the controlling land management agency. Section 1 of the bill moves the law from the wildlife statutes to the parks statutes, adds bicycles to the prohibition, makes the law permanent, and increases the penalty for altering a travel restriction sign from $100 to $150. Section 2 increases the penalty for failing to have a spark arrester on an off-highway vehicle from $50 to $150. | 04/04/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-072 | NOT ON CALENDAR | No Final Well Permit Req Denver Basin Designated | HODGE / SONNENBERG | Water Resources Review Committee. For most water wells in designated basins, the state engineer issues a conditional permit and then issues a final permit after the water has been put to beneficial use. But under current law, the requirement for a final permit does not apply to wells permitted on or after July 1, 1991, that withdraw designated ground water from the Denver basin aquifers. The bill deletes the requirement for a final permit for all wells withdrawing designated ground water from the Denver basin aquifers. | 03/15/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-073 | NOT ON CALENDAR | General Permits Stormwater Rule-making | BROPHY / SONNENBERG | Water Resources Review Committee. Currently, the division of administration (division) of the department of public health and environment may adopt new and amended permit requirements for general permits related to water quality control without providing any of the following information to existing and potential permit holders: * A statement of basis and purpose for the changes; * Evidence and data in support of the changes; and * A cost-benefit analysis of the effect the changes will have on permit holders. The bill requires the division to comply with the rule-making procedures set forth in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" when the division proposes new or amended permit requirements with respect to general permits related to water quality control. | 05/21/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| SB13-074 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Irrigation Water Right Historical Use Acreage | HODGE / SONNENBERG | Water Resources Review Committee. Current law requires irrigation water right decrees to specify the acreage on which the water may be used, but some older decrees do not include an acreage limitation. For such decrees, water courts look to the original appropriator's intent in determining the lawful historical consumptive use of a decreed irrigation water right; however, it is often very difficult to determine the original appropriator's intent, which has resulted in cases that substantially decrease the acreage that has historically been irrigated by a water right. The bill creates a mechanism to determine the amount of acreage for an irrigation water right for which the original decree predates 1937 and is unclear about the amount of acreage that may be irrigated under the water right. | 04/04/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-075 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Promote Water Conservation Of Designated Ground Water | BROPHY / SONNENBERG | Water Resources Review Committee. The bill specifies that once the state engineer issues a final permit for the withdrawal of designated ground water, a reduction in the amount of water used pursuant to the permit due to the conservation of water is not grounds to reduce the maximum annual volume of the appropriation, the maximum pumping rate, or the maximum number of acres that have been irrigated. | 03/15/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-078 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Erroneously Located Water Diversion Points | GIRON / SONNENBERG | Water Resources Review Committee. For a variety of reasons, some points of diversion are erroneously placed at a location that is different from the decreed location established by a water court. The reasons for these erroneous locations include advances in surveying technology and standards, typographical errors in a water rights decree, references in a decree to landmarks that do not exist any more or have changed, and floods and other natural events affecting the diversion structure. The bill provides a process for a holder of a decreed water right with an erroneously located point of diversion to apply for a correction in the point of diversion if the point of diversion meets the definition of an "established erroneous point of diversion", as set forth in the bill. | 03/22/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-113 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Natural Resource Damage Recovery Fund | HODGE / LEVY | Joint Budget Committee. The natural resource damage recovery fund (fund) consists of moneys recovered through litigation by the state acting as the trustee of natural resources pursuant to the federal "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980". Moneys in the fund must be used for purposes authorized by the federal act and in a manner that is consistent with a judicial order, decree, or judgment governing the use of a particular recovery. The moneys in the fund are subject to annual appropriation. Annual interest earned on the moneys in the fund related to a specific litigation settlement is used to repay loans from the hazardous substance response fund and the general fund related to the litigation. This repayment system is repealed on July 1, 2017. The bill authorizes the department of public health and environment to expend the custodial moneys in the fund without further appropriation for the existing purposes. It also permits the department to accept moneys from public or private sources for the purpose of repaying the loans to the natural resource damage recovery fund or the general fund. These payments will reduce the amount of interest from the fund that is required to be transferred to the hazardous substance response fund and the general fund. In addition, the repeal of the repayment system is delayed until July 1, 2020. | 03/29/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-130 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Term Allocations For Conservation Easements | MARBLE / SAINE | Taxpayers are allowed to claim a state income tax credit for a portion of the value of a conservation easement that the taxpayer donates. The law currently requires the easement to be perpetual. The bill allows future donations to have terms of not less than 25 years. The easement would otherwise have to comply with all federal and state requirements for conservation easements. The valuation of the easement for purposes of calculating the tax credit would have to take into account the fact that the easement is not perpetual. | 02/12/2013 Senate Committee on Finance Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-132 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Cnty Assessor Determination Ag Land Prop Tax | GRANTHAM / WILSON | Under current law, for purposes of classifying land for property tax purposes, agricultural land does not include 2 acres or less of land on which a residential improvement is located unless the improvement is integral to an agricultural operation conducted on the land. The bill modifies this requirement for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2014, by giving the assessor the authority to determine, in his or her sole discretion, whether 2 acres or less of land on which a residential improvement is located should be classified as agricultural land. The bill also gives the assessor the sole discretion to determine whether a residential improvement is integral to an agricultural operation. | 02/13/2013 Senate Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Energy Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-135 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Allocate State Severance Tax Gross Receipts | LUNDBERG | Current law requires state severance tax gross receipts (gross receipts) to be distributed as follows: * On July 1 of each year through 2016, the first $1.5 million of gross receipts must be credited to the innovative energy fund. * All remaining gross receipts in any fiscal year must be credited in equal shares to the severance tax trust fund and the local government severance tax fund. For fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2014, the bill requires state severance tax gross receipts (gross receipts) to be distributed as follows: * On July 1, 2014, and on each July 1 thereafter through July 1, 2016, the first $1.5 million of gross receipts must be credited to the innovative energy fund as is the case under current law. * The lesser of all remaining gross receipts or the next $100 million of gross receipts in any fiscal year plus 50% of any additional gross receipts must be credited in equal shares to the severance tax trust fund and the local government severance tax fund as is the case under current law. * The other 50% of any additional gross receipts must be distributed as follows: * The lesser of all of the gross receipts or the amount of gross receipts needed to ensure that a total of $60 million of gross receipts are credited to the perpetual base account of the severance tax trust fund must be credited to that account. * Any remaining gross receipts must be credited in equal shares to a newly created state rainy day fund, a newly created property tax relief fund, and the highway users tax fund. The bill authorizes the general assembly to appropriate or transfer moneys from the state rainy day fund for any purpose by enacting a bill approved by two-thirds of the members of the senate and house of representatives and may appropriate moneys from the property tax relief fund for the purpose of property tax relief. Gross receipts credited to the highway users tax fund are allocated to the state, counties, and municipalities in accordance with an existing allocation formula for use as specified by current law. | 02/12/2013 Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-161 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Sunset Licensing Architects Engineers Surveyors | HEATH / FISCHER | Sunset Process - Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee. The bill implements the recommendations of the sunset review and report on the state board for licensure of architects, professional engineers, and professional land surveyors (board) by: * Extending the repeal date of the board for 11 years, until September 1, 2024 (Recommendation 1, sections 1 and 2); * Allowing professional engineers and land surveyors licensed in other states to advertise in Colorado, subject to the requirement to obtain a Colorado license before providing services here (Recommendation 2, sections 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, and 18); * Clarifying what constitutes an "offer" to practice one of the professions (Recommendation 3, sections 3, 15, and 27); * Repealing the ownership requirements for performing services on behalf of a firm (Recommendation 4, sections 5, 17, and 29); * Requiring architects to report to the board any malpractice claim that is settled or reduced to judgment, under the same conditions as apply to engineers and land surveyors (Recommendation 5, sections 32 and 34); * Removing "mental incompetency" from the grounds for discipline of architects and revising references to drug and alcohol use in all 3 practice acts (Recommendations 6 and 8, sections 8, 20, and 32); * Clarifying that an improvement location certificate is valid only for use by a specified client and reflects the condition of property only as of a specified date (Recommendation 7, section 42); * Repealing the requirement that letters of admonition be sent by certified mail (Recommendation 9, sections 8, 20, and 32); * Updating the requirements for stamping and sealing of documents and giving the board regulatory authority to define retention and copying requirements for sealed documents (Recommendation 10, sections 14, 26, 30, and 38); * Eliminating the obsolete and undefined term "survey point" (Recommendation 11, sections 40 and 41); * Requiring licensees to update their contact information on file with the board within 30 days after any change (Recommendation 12, sections 12, 24, and 36); * Extending title protection to derivatives of the word "architect" (Recommendation 13, section 30); and * Making fining provisions consistent among the 3 practice acts (Recommendation 14, sections 8, 20, and 30). The bill also makes technical amendments to update the governing statutes. | 05/21/2013:56 AM 04:20 Signed by the Speaker of the House |
| SB13-169 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Reintroduce Black-footed Ferret Landowner Consent | CROWDER | Current law, enacted in 2000, requires legislative approval for the introduction or reintroduction of a threatened or endangered species that is not present in Colorado. The general assembly required the reintroduction of black-footed ferrets to occur only pursuant to a management plan dating to 1995. Pursuant to that authority, some black-footed ferrets were reintroduced in Colorado in 2001. Since then, the federal fish and wildlife service has authorized a new tool for endangered species reintroductions based on a programmatic "safe harbor" agreement between the federal government and a consenting landowner and enhancement-of-survival permits under the federal "Endangered Species Act of 1973". Under the permits and agreements: * The reintroduction occurs on private land with landowner consent; * An "incidental take" (that is, an unintentional injury or death) of the threatened or endangered species may result from implementation of conservation actions, specific land uses, and the landowner's exercise of an option to return the land to baseline conditions, and the landowner would not be liable for the taking; and * Landowners have assurances that the federal government will not impose further land, water, or resource-use restrictions or additional commitments of land, water, or finances beyond that agreed to in the agreement. The bill authorizes the reintroduction of black-footed ferrets in Colorado pursuant to programmatic safe harbor agreements and enhancement-of-survival permits without further legislative approval. | 05/21/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| SB13-181 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Water Conservation Bd Construction Fund Projects | SCHWARTZ / FISCHER | The bill appropriates the following amounts from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund for the following projects: * $300,000 for continuation of maintenance to the satellite monitoring system; * $175,000 for continuation of the weather modification program; * $500,000 for continuation of the Colorado floodplain map modernization program; * $250,000 for continuation of the watershed restoration program; * $300,000 for restoration of the balance of the flood and drought response fund; * $215,000 for implementation of the Rio Grande forecasting development project; * $100,000 for the operation and maintenance of Colorado's decision support systems; * $75,000 for continuation of the Colorado river basin study; * $250,000 for continuation of the Arkansas river decision support system; * $225,000 for continuation of the statewide water supply initiative; * $250,000 for continuation of the South Platte river basin groundwater level data collection and analysis; * $2,000,000 for the planning, design, and construction of the Windy Gap reservoir bypass channel project; * $28,000,000 for implementation of the Chatfield reservoir reallocation project. Current law gives the CWCB continuous spending authority of up to $1,000,000 per year to acquire instream flow water rights to preserve the natural environment; the bill allows the CWCB to also acquire these rights to improve the natural environment. The bill authorizes the CWCB to loan an additional $4,040,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the Tri-county Water Conservancy District for the construction of a hydropower project. The bill changes the operational account of the severance tax trust fund into a separate fund and transfers the administration of that fund and the severance tax trust fund from the state treasury to the department of natural resources. The bill also changes the perpetual base account of the severance tax trust fund into a separate fund, the severance tax perpetual base fund, that is administered by the CWCB. The bill also transfers an additional $49,000,000 from the severance tax perpetual base fund to the CWCB construction fund for the Chatfield reservoir reallocation project and $2,000,000 for the Windy Gap reservoir bypass channel project, which is part of the Windy Gap firming project. The bill authorizes the CWCB to loan $18,538,550 from the CWCB construction fund for the purchase of water rights for the Roxborough water and sanitation district water activity enterprise. Finally, the bill makes conforming amendments. | 05/13/2013 Governor action - signed |
| SB13-183 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Water Conservation Common Interest Communities | CARROLL / FIELDS | The bill amends current law to specify that restrictive covenants or declarations, bylaws, and rules and regulations of common interest communities that prohibit or limit xeriscape or drought-tolerant vegetation or require ground covering vegetation to consist of any amount of turf grass are contrary to public policy and unenforceable. The bill also adds a definition of "xeriscape" to the "Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act" and says that a unit owners' association (association) may not prohibit the use of xeriscape or other drought-tolerant vegetative landscapes to provide ground covering and may not levy fines against unit owners for violations of declarations, bylaws, or rules and regulations of the association for failure to adequately water when water restrictions are in place and the unit owner waters in compliance with those restrictions. | 05/10/2013 Governor action - signed |
| SB13-191 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Pipeline Rights-of-way | HODGE / WILLIAMS | Article 5 of title 38, C.R.S., governs rights-of-way for transmission companies and grants the right of eminent domain to any domestic or foreign electric light power, gas, or pipeline company authorized to do business in Colorado for the purpose of obtaining rights-of-way for wires, pipes, regulator stations, substations, and systems needed to conduct its business. The bill clarifies that, subject to state constitutional and statutory requirements that require payment of just compensation and otherwise govern the exercise of the power of eminent domain, companies that operate pipelines that convey oil, gasoline, or other petroleum or hydrocarbon products are pipeline companies granted the right of eminent domain. A pipeline company must also comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, federal pipeline safety regulations. | 04/25/2013 House Committee on Transportation & Energy Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-202 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Additional Inspections At Oil & Gas Facilities | JONES / SINGER | The bill requires the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission to use a risk-based strategy for inspecting oil and gas locations that targets the operational phases that are most likely to experience spills, excess emissions, and other types of violations. The number of commission inspectors must be equivalent to that needed to ensure that each oil and gas location is inspected at least once per year. | 05/21/2013:02 AM 04:20 Signed by the Speaker of the House |
| SB13-203 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Limit Use Of Gov Land For Automotive Serv Stations | SCHWARTZ / CORAM | The bill codifies in statute the current federal prohibition on the commercialization of the interstate rest areas. The bill provides an exception for vending machines placed in rest areas in conformance with the federal "Randolph-Sheppard Vending Stand Act". The bill prohibits certain public entities, including the Colorado department of transportation and political subdivisions, from retailing motor fuel, not including electricity, directly to the public but allows such public entities to enter into contracts with a private entity to retail motor fuel for public use within certain parameters established in the bill. The bill does not prohibit a public entity from servicing its fleets. | 05/01/2013 House Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-230 | NOT ON CALENDAR | 2013-14 Long Appropriations Bill | STEADMAN / LEVY | *** No bill summary available *** | 04/29/2013 Governor Action - Signed |
| SB13-252 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Renewable Energy Standard Retail Wholesale Methane | MORSE / FERRANDINO | In the statute creating Colorado's renewable energy standard, the bill removes in-state preferences with respect to: * Wholesale distributed generation; * The 1.25 kilowatt-hour multiplier for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from eligible energy resources other than retail distributed generation; * The 1.5 kilowatt-hour multiplier for community-based projects; and * Policies the Colorado public utilities commission (PUC) must implement by rule to provide incentives to qualifying retail utilities to invest in eligible energy resources. The bill also raises the percentage of retail electricity sales that must be achieved from eligible energy resources by cooperative electric associations that provide service to 100,000 meters or more from 10% to 25%, starting in 2020, and increases the allowable retail rate impact for cooperative electric associations from 1% to 2%. The bill expands the definition of "eligible energy resources" that can be used to meet the standards to include coal mine methane and synthetic gas produced by pyrolysis of municipal solid waste, subject to a determination by the PUC that the production and use of these gases does not cause a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The bill also implements a new eligible energy standard of 25% for generation and transmission cooperative electric associations that directly provide electricity at wholesale to cooperative electric associations in Colorado that are its members. The standard applies only to sales by these wholesale providers to their members in Colorado. The wholesale providers are required to make public reports of their annual progress toward meeting the standard by 2020. The PUC is granted no additional regulatory authority over these providers in the implementation of this standard. | 05/10/2013 Sent to the Governor |
| SB13-284 | NOT ON CALENDAR | Streamline Oil Gas Enhanced Environmental Permits | CARROLL / HULLINGHORST | Section 1 of the bill requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment to provide for expedited air quality permitting for oil and gas operations for operators that certify that they will use pollution control technology that meets enhanced environmental and human health protection standards as established either by the division through guidance or by the air quality control commission by rule. Section 2 allows the division to provide an analogous permitting schedule and enhanced standards for water quality permitting either by the division through guidance or by the water quality control commission by rule. | 05/07/2013 House Committee on Health, Insurance & Environment Postpone Indefinitely |
| SB13-286 |
Wednesday, May 8 2013 THIRD READING OF BILLS - FINAL PASSAGE (4) in house calendar. | Renewable Energy Inv Tax Credit Carryover Years | HODGE / LEVY | The bill gives renewable energy companies extended carryover periods for enterprise zone investment tax credits that such renewable energy companies have earned in the past and may earn in the future. | 05/21/2013 Sent to the Governor |