The act:

• Continues the sales and use tax simplification task force for 6 years;
• Specifies that the task force will not meet during the 2020 interim;
• Includes a process for selecting a chair and vice-chair of the task force;
• Modifies the task force's duties;
• Requires the joint technology committee to seek regular updates from the office of information technology (OIT) and the department of revenue (DOR) regarding the development of the electronic sales and use tax simplification (SUTS) system, to monitor and encourage participation by businesses and home rule municipalities in the SUTS system, and to seek regular updates from OIT and DOR regarding the purchase and development of a geographic information system (GIS) database; and
• Removes the requirement that the task force undergo an evaluation by the department of regulatory agencies prior to the task force's repeal.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act:

• Establishes a hold harmless provision for vendors who use the state's geographic information system database (GIS database) to determine the jurisdictions to which sales or use tax is owed and to calculate appropriate sales or use tax rates for individual addresses;
• Requires the department of revenue to notify vendors when the GIS database is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use;
• Specifies that the notification to vendors may be provided in any way that the department of revenue deems appropriate and must be accomplished within existing resources;
• Requires the department of revenue to ensure that the GIS database data is at least 95% accurate based on a statistically valid sample of addresses from the database, or based on another acceptable method of proving accuracy;
• Requires the executive director of the department of revenue to promulgate rules for the administration and use of the GIS database;
• Specifies that the statutory section regarding certified address location databases used for collecting and remitting sales and use tax is repealed 90 days after the date that the revisor of statutes is notified by the department of revenue that a geographic information system that meets the defined scope of work set forth in the request for solicitation is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use; and
• Requires the department of revenue to notify the revisor of statutes no later than 15 days after such a system is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Colorado taxpayers can claim a net operating loss deduction on their Colorado tax return. Unless statute otherwise provides, the state deduction is currently allowed in the same manner that a similar deduction is allowed under the internal revenue code to determine federal taxable income.

Under current law, corporate taxpayers in Colorado are allowed to carry forward their net operating loss deduction for the same number of years as allowed for a federal net operating loss. For many years, taxpayers were limited to a 20-year carryforward period for both state and federal taxes. The federal "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (TCJA), enacted in 2017, allowed federal taxpayers unlimited years to carry forward net operating losses. Because Colorado's statute specifies that net operating losses may be carried forward "for the same number of years as allowed for a federal net operating loss", the TCJA's change resulted in the same change to Colorado's law. The act partially decouples the corporate net operating loss deduction from the federal net operating loss deduction by returning the state's carryforward period to 20 years for net operating losses generated in income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2021.

The act also repeals a state provision that was effective only for financial institutions, so that, for purposes of the period of years a loss can be carried forward, financial institutions will now be treated the same as any other taxpayer.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act creates an online transparency task force. Interested legislators and the following individuals, or their designees, may participate in the task force:

• The head of each principal department;
• The state's chief information officer; and
• The executive director of the statewide internet portal authority, who is chair of the task force.

The purpose of the task force is to recommend:

• Ways to enhance citizens' online access to rules and the rule-making process and to increase the transparency of the rule-making process;
• Options for the design and implementation of an integrated state rule-making web portal;
• Common rule-making agency reporting formats, workflows, timelines, and protocols; and
• An entity to manage the integrated state rule-making web portal.

The task force shall submit a written report that summarizes its recommendations by January 1, 2021, to the general assembly's committees of reference with jurisdiction over business and state affairs and cease operations upon submission of the report.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill prohibits an employer from terminating an employee for the employee's lawful off-duty activities that are lawful under state law even if those activities are not lawful under federal law.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act grants a board of county commissioners the authority to license and regulate an owner or owner's agent who rents or advertises the owner's lodging unit for a short-term stay, and to fix the fees, terms, and manner for issuing and revoking licenses issued therefor.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

In response to the growing popularity of series limited liability companies (series LLCs) in the United States, in 2017 the Uniform Law Commission promulgated the "Uniform Protected Series Act" (UPSA or Act). The bill enacts the UPSA, effective January 1, 2021.

Subpart 1 contains general provisions. The UPSA uses the term "protected series" to highlight the internal liability shields that are a defining characteristic of the Act, and to avoid confusion with the term "series", which is often used to refer to classes of interests in business entities that do not affect liabilities to third parties. If the requirements of the UPSA are satisfied, then assets of one protected series (referred to as "associated assets") are not available to satisfy claims of creditors of the LLC or of other protected series of the series LLC.

Subpart 2 explains how to establish a protected series. Subpart 3 includes the record-keeping requirements that must be satisfied for an asset to qualify as an "associated asset" under the Act. Subpart 3 also provides rules for associating members with a protected series and addresses series transferable interests, management, and nonassociated members' rights to information.

Subpart 4 covers limitations on liability and enforcement of claims. The Act provides 2 types of liability shields: Vertical and horizontal. The traditional vertical shield protects equity holders and managers from status-based liability for an organization's obligations. The horizontal shield protects a protected series of a series LLC and its associated assets from liability for the debts, obligations, and other liabilities of the company or of another protected series of the company. A creditor may enforce a judgment against another protected series of a series LLC by pursuing assets owned by the company or by another protected series of the company if the UPSA's requirements are not satisfied for these other assets (or "nonassociated assets").

Subpart 5 addresses grounds for dissolution and provisions for winding up. Subpart 6 includes restrictions on mergers and other entity transactions involving series LLCs and protected series. Subpart 7 addresses foreign protected series. Subpart 8 addresses transitional issues.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act extends the income tax credit for employer contributions to employee 529 qualified state tuition programs for an additional 10 years.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires the judicial department to publish opinions of the Colorado supreme court and the Colorado court of appeals online. The opinions must be published online in a searchable format and be made available free of charge. Colorado supreme court and court of appeals opinions that are not published pursuant to state law or court rules are exempt from the online publishing requirement.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

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.)

Fiscal Note

The bill extends the right to use deadly physical force against an intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and employees of a business.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill prohibits an employer from requiring union membership or payment of union dues as a condition of employment. The bill creates civil and criminal penalties for employer violations regarding union membership and authorizes the attorney general and the district attorney in each judicial district to investigate alleged violations and take action against a person believed to be in violation. The bill states that all-union agreements are unfair labor practices.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Based on the findings and recommendations of the committee on legal services, the act extends all state agency rules that were adopted or amended on or after November 1, 2018, and before November 1, 2019, with the exception of the rules specifically listed in the act. Those specified rules will expire as scheduled in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" on May 15, 2020, on the grounds that the rules either conflict with statute or lack statutory authority.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates tax incentives to encourage employers to voluntarily support paid parental and medical leave programs for their eligible employees and to encourage eligible employees to save for time away from work during parental and medical leave.

Specifically, section 2 of the bill establishes leave savings accounts. A leave savings account is an account with a financial institution for which the individual uses money to pay for any expense while he or she is on eligible leave, which includes:

• The birth of a child of the individual and caring for the child;
• The placement of a child with the individual for adoption or foster care;
• Caring for a spouse, child, or parent of the individual if the spouse, child, or parent has a serious health condition;
• A serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform the functions of the position of the individual;
• Time for an individual to care for himself or herself or to care for a parent or child after being a victim of domestic abuse; or
• Any qualifying exigency, as determined by the United States secretary of labor, arising out of the fact that a spouse, child, or parent of the individual is on covered active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty, in the United States armed forces.

An individual may annually contribute up to $5,000 of wages to a leave savings account. An employer may make a contribution to the employee's leave savings account in any amount. The department of health care policy and financing is required to establish a form for an individual to report information regarding leave savings accounts, and the individual must annually file this form with the department of revenue to be eligible for the tax benefit.

Section 3 allows an employee to claim a state income tax deduction for amounts they or their employer contribute to a leave savings account. A taxpayer is also allowed to deduct any interest or other income earned during the taxable year on the investment of money in their leave savings account.

Section 4 creates an income tax credit for an employer that pays an employee for leave that is between 8 and 12 weeks long. The leave must be for one of the same reasons for which an employee may use money in a leave savings account as specified above. The amount of the credit is equal to 15% of the amount paid, so long as the amount paid is at least 50% of the employee's regular salary for a specified time period.

Section 4 also creates an income tax credit for an employer that contributes to an employee's leave savings account. The amount of the credit is equal to 15% of the amount contributed to the account; except that a credit is not allowed for contributions to a leave savings account that exceed $3,000 in a single year.

Both credits are not refundable, but they may be carried forward up to 5 years.

The bill also specifies that for employers, an amount equal to the amount the taxpayer contributed to an employee's leave savings account and an amount equal to the amount the taxpayer paid in wages for an employee while on family leave, to the extent an income tax credit is claimed, will be added to the taxpayer's federal taxable income.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Because the United States equal employment opportunity commission and the federal courts have found that a private employer's veterans preference employment policy is not a violation of Title VII of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964" if there is a basis for the policy in state law, the bill creates a statutory basis to allow a private employer to give preference to a veteran of the armed forces or the National Guard and the spouse of a disabled veteran or a veteran killed in the line of duty when hiring a new employee as long as the veteran or the spouse is as qualified as other applicants for employment. The bill clarifies that an employer who adopts a program that gives preferences to veterans or their spouses is not committing a discriminatory or unfair labor practice.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill prohibits the state and any city, county, city and county, municipality, or other political subdivision (government entity) from restricting any person from:

• Conducting basic life functions in a public space unless the government entity can offer alternative adequate shelter to the person and the person denies the alternative adequate shelter; and
• Occupying a motor vehicle, provided that the motor vehicle is legally parked on public property or parked on private property with the permission of the property owner.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of education. The general funds portion is increased and the federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in an overall increase to the department.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and state planning and budgeting. The general fund, cash funds, and reappropriated funds portions of the appropriation are increased and the federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in no change in the total amount appropriated to the department.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of health care policy and financing. The general funds and cash funds portions are increased and the federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in an overall increase to the department.

Restrictions on funds for the department in the 2018-19 fiscal year for the payment of overexpenditures of line item appropriations are released in accordance with section 24-75-109 (4)(a).

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of higher education. The general fund portion of the appropriation is increased and the federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in no change in the total amount appropriated to the department.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1196, concerning student financial assistance for students who are classified as in-state students for tuition purposes, are amended to add another appropriation to the department for a financial aid assessment tool and 0.2 FTE.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of human services. The general funds and reappropriated funds portions are decreased and the cash funds and federal funds portions are increased, resulting in an overall increase to the department.

Appropriations made in Senate Bill 19-258, concerning child welfare services funded through federal child welfare laws, are amended to add another appropriation to the department for child welfare legal representation.

Appropriations made in Senate Bill 19-108, concerning changes to improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system, changes to improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system, are amended to decrease the appropriation to the department for personal services related to administration.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of local affairs. The general funds and federal funds portions of the appropriation are increased.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1245, concerning an increase in affordable housing funding from increased state sales tax revenue that results from a modification to the state sales tax vendor fee, are amended to increase the amount appropriated to the department for the division of housing.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of natural resources. The general funds and cash funds portions of the appropriation are increased and federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in an increase in the amount appropriated to the department.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of personnel. The general funds and reappropriated funds portions of the appropriation are increased and cash funds portion is decreased, resulting in a decrease in the amount appropriated to the department.

Appropriations made in Senate Bill 19-135, concerning methods to determine whether disparities involving certain historically underutilized businesses exist within the state procurement process, are amended to clarify that the money appropriated is for personal services.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of public health and environment. The general fund, cash funds, and reappropriated funds portions of the appropriation are increased and federal funds portion is decreased, resulting in an increase in the amount appropriated to the department.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of revenue. The cash funds portion of the appropriation is decreased.

Appropriations made in Senate Bill 19-248, concerning a requirement that the director of research of the legislative council convene a working group to conduct an analysis of the state tax system used by the department of revenue, are amended to clarify that the money appropriated is to be used by the executive director's office for personal services.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1230, concerning marijuana hospitality establishments, are amended to clarify the uses of the amount appropriated.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1234, concerning allowing delivery of regulated marijuana by regulated marijuana sellers, are amended to clarify the uses of the amount appropriated.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1090, concerning measures to allow greater investment flexibility in marijuana businesses, are amended to clarify the uses of the amount appropriated.

Appropriations made in House Bill 19-1327, concerning sports betting, are amended to clarify the uses of the amount appropriated.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of the treasury. The cash funds portion of the appropriation is increased.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated capital construction projects. The capital construction fund, cash funds, and federal funds portions of the appropriation are increased.

The 2017 general appropriation act is amended to increase the amount appropriated to the department of human services for capital expansion and the department of corrections for information technology projects.

The 2016 general appropriation act is amended to add footnotes to explain that the appropriation made for certain capital construction, capital renewal, and capital lease purchase payments in the department of higher education remain available through June 30, 2020.

The 2015 general appropriation act is amended to add a footnote to explain that the appropriation made for certain capital construction, capital renewal, and capital lease purchase payments in the department of higher education remain available through June 30, 2020.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The general assembly recognizes that the actual funded pupil count and the actual at-risk pupil count for the 2019-20 budget year are higher than anticipated when the appropriation amount was established during the 2019 legislative session, resulting in an increase in total program for the 2019-20 budget year. In addition, specific ownership tax revenue was less than anticipated, but local property tax revenue was more than anticipated, resulting in a net increase in the local share of total program funding. The increase in the local share of total program funding offsets a portion of the increase in total program.

The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain the budget stabilization factor at the dollar amount of the original appropriation.

In addition, the total program amount set forth in statute was increased to reflect new provisions concerning funding for full-day kindergarten.

The act increases appropriations for the state share of total program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Joint Budget Committee. The housing assistance for persons transitioning from the criminal or juvenile justice system cash fund (cash fund), which is administered by the division of housing in the department of local affairs (division), currently includes reversions from unspent general fund appropriations to the division of criminal justice. The bill repeals these reversions. and replaces it with money that the division receives from the department of corrections or the department of human services from amounts the general assembly appropriated to those departments for persons transitioning from the criminal or juvenile justice system. The bill also adds explicit authority for the general assembly to appropriate this money to the departments of corrections and human services.

(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.)

Fiscal Note

The bill enacts the "Uniform Collaborative Law Act" (act). The bill authorizes a collaborative law process whereby disputes are resolved without intervention by a court or other tribunal. It specifies:

• Requirements for a collaborative law participation agreement including that both sides be represented and advised by collaborative law lawyers; and
• That communications made during the collaborative law process are confidential and may not be used in later proceedings except in specified situations.
  (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

Under current provisions of the Open Meetings Law (OML), if elected officials use electronic mail to discuss pending legislation or other public business among themselves, the electronic mail constitutes a meeting that is subject to the OML's requirements. The bill substitutes the word "exchange" for the word "use" in describing the type of electronic mail communication that triggers the application of the OML.

The bill clarifies existing statutory provisions to specify that electronic mail communication between elected officials that does not relate to the merits or substance of pending legislation or other public business is not a meeting for OML purposes. Under the bill, the type of electronic communication that also does not constitute a meeting for OML purposes includes electronic communication regarding scheduling and availability as well as electronic communication that is sent by an elected official for the purpose of forwarding information, responding to an inquiry from an individual who is not a member of the state or local public body, or posing a question for later discussion by the public body.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a temporary income tax credit for employers in an amount of $1,000 for each employee that is allowed to telecommute at least two-thirds of the time that the employee is expected to work. Any part of the income tax credit that is not used may be carried forward for a 10-year period but may not be refunded.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Section 1 of the bill requires a department to annually submit a report of all unfunded programs (report) to staff of legislative council (staff) along with a SMART Act report. An "unfunded program" is defined as any program, service, study, or other function that a department is required or permitted by law to undertake, but for which the department has not received an appropriation or money from any other source for the last 6 fiscal years. Staff will provide the report to the applicable SMART Act joint committee of reference and a compilation of the reports to the statutory revision committee. The department is required to include the report in its SMART Act presentation to the joint committee of reference.

Section 2 authorizes the statutory revision committee to recommend legislation to repeal an unfunded program included in the report.
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

The bill makes appropriations for matters related to the legislative department for the 2020-21 state fiscal year.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

A recent Colorado supreme court case held that in a civil action when an employer admits liability for the tortious actions of its employee, the plaintiff cannot assert additional claims against the employer arising out of the same incident. The bill allows a plaintiff to bring such claims against an employer.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Beginning January 1, 2022, the bill requires a health insurance carrier (carrier) that offers an individual health benefit plan in this state to offer a Colorado option plan in the Colorado counties where the carrier offers the individual health benefit plan. The commissioner of insurance (commissioner) is required to develop and implement a Colorado option plan that must:

• Be offered to Colorado residents who purchase health insurance in the individual market;
• Implement a standardized plan that:
• Allows consumers to easily compare health benefit plans; and
• Provides first-dollar, predeductible coverage for certain services;
• Include the essential health benefits package;
• Provide different, specific levels of coverage;
• Include a hospital reimbursement rate formula;
• Require hospital participation;
• Require a minimum medical loss ratio of 85%; and
• Require carriers and pharmacy benefit management firms to pass rebate savings through to consumers and document the savings and pass-through in a form and manner determined by the commissioner.

The Colorado option advisory board (board) is created to advise and make recommendations to the commissioner on all aspects of the Colorado option plan.

The bill authorizes the commissioner to promulgate rules to develop, implement, and operate the Colorado option plan, including:

• Expanding the Colorado option plan to the small group market;
• Establishing a hospital reimbursement rate formula; and
• Requiring carriers to offer the Colorado option plan in specific counties.

If a hospital refuses to participate in the Colorado option plan, the department of public health and environment may issue a warning, impose fines, or suspend, revoke, or impose conditions on the hospital's license.

The commissioner, in consultation with the board, is required to evaluate the Colorado option plan beginning July 1, 2024, and each year thereafter.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

A request for proposals (RFP) is one of many types of competitive solicitation methods that a state agency is authorized to use pursuant to the state "Procurement Code" (Code). Legislation enacted by the general assembly often directs a state agency to issue an RFP for a project rather than generally requiring the state agency to use a method of competitive solicitation authorized by the Code.

The bill specifies that when a law requires a state agency to issue an RFP pursuant to the Code, the law will be construed to require a competitive solicitation pursuant to the Code, as deemed most appropriate and efficient for the project by the state agency, rather than only an RFP.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions, for and during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, except as otherwise noted.
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Beginning when the higher federal match afforded through the federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" expires, the act reduces the adult dental benefit so that it does not exceed $1,000 per year for a participant.

From the savings from the reduction of the adult dental benefit in the medical assistance program, the act transfers $1,139,402 from the unclaimed property trust fund to the general fund in the 2020-21 fiscal year and $2,278,804 in the 2021-22 fiscal year. Furthermore, the act requires $331,462 to be appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to offset general fund expenditures for the state medical assistance program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Current law requires appropriations of $750,000 for state fiscal years 2019-20 through 2023-24 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies to implement a program to increase public awareness concerning the safe use, storage, and disposal of opioids and the availability of naloxone and other drugs used to block the effects of an opioid overdose. The act reduces the appropriation to $250,000 for state fiscal years 2020-21 through 2023-24.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act makes revisions to the higher education funding provisions creating a new higher education funding allocation model (new funding model).

The new funding model begins in the 2021-22 state fiscal year and includes new provisions for calculating fee-for-service contracts for institutions and makes related changes to the calculation of state funding to support specialty education programs, area technical colleges, and local district colleges. Under the new funding model, fee-for-service contracts for institutions are based on 3 components: Ongoing additional funding, performance funding, and temporary additional funding. The Colorado commission on higher education (commission), in conjunction with the department of higher education (department) and in collaboration with the institutions, shall calculate and make funding recommendations to the joint budget committee for these components as part of the annual budget request process.

Ongoing additional funding is base building and may be awarded to an institution to make progress toward the commission's master plan goals, which may include addressing base funding disparities or funding priorities not addressed through performance funding metrics. An institution may also receive ongoing additional funding through a formula set forth in the act to recognize an institution's additional costs associated with educating and providing services to first-generation undergraduate students.

Performance funding is calculated based on an institution's change over time in performance on each performance funding metric compared to other institutions' change in performance and adjusted based on each institution's share of funding in the previous state fiscal year. The performance funding metrics include:

• Resident student full-time equivalent enrollment;
• Credential completion;
• Resident Pell-eligible student population share;
• Resident underrepresented minority student population share;
• Retention rate;
• One-hundred-percent-of-time graduation rate;
• One-hundred-fifty-percent-of-time graduation rate; and
• Resident first-generation undergraduate student population share.

The joint budget committee determines the amount of funding allocated to each performance funding metric for a fiscal year after considering recommendations from the commission and department that are developed in collaboration with the institutions.

Finally, temporary additional funding, which is not base building, may be awarded to an institution for a specified period of time to address commission master plan goals or other areas the commission identifies.

Under current law and the new model, minimum funding for specialty education programs, local district colleges, and area technical colleges is based on their previous year's funding, increased or decreased by the average percentage change in state funding for all institutions (percentage change). However, the act modifies how the percentage change is calculated so that it does not include amounts awarded to institutions for ongoing additional funding or temporary additional funding in the applicable state fiscal year.

The act requires the annual budget request that the commission and the department submit relating to the new funding model to include detailed information and funding recommendations. The act also requires the commission, in conjunction with the department and in collaboration with the institutions, to identify and make recommendations to the joint budget committee by July 1, 2022, concerning ways to better measure success for students who are not first-time, full-time students. This may include a recommendation for a statutory change to the calculation of one of the graduation rate performance funding metrics.

The act repeals fiscal limits, reporting requirements, and budget provisions that do not apply to the new funding model.

The act amends statutory references to reflect the creation of a new higher education funding model.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Existing law requires the department of local affairs (department) to award grants to counties pursuant to the community substance use and mental health services grant program (grant program) and requires the general assembly, beginning in fiscal year 2020-21, to appropriate money for the grant program from the estimated savings from House Bill 19-1263, concerning changing the penalty for certain violations pursuant to the "Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 2013".

The act makes the department's requirement to issue grants subject to available appropriations, removes the requirement to appropriate money for the grant program, and states the general assembly's intent to fund the grant program with money generated from the estimated savings from House Bill 19-1263.

An appropriation to the department for program costs related to field services is decreased by $66,208, and an appropriation to the department for community substance use and mental health services grants is decreased by $1,800,000.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Joint Budget Committee. Pursuant to the declaration of a state fiscal emergency (emergency declaration), for the 2020-21 fiscal year only, the bill expands the purposes for which tobacco tax revenues in the tobacco education programs fund and the prevention, early detection, and treatment fund may be used to include any health-related purpose and to serve populations enrolled in the children's basic health plan and the Colorado medical assistance program at the programs' respective levels of enrollment as of January 1, 2005.

Also pursuant to the emergency declaration, for the 2020-21 fiscal year only, the bill authorizes grantees under certain programs funded through tobacco tax revenue to use the grant money to investigate and control the spread of COVID-19.

The bill repeals an obsolete provision of law.

The bill makes and reduces certain appropriations.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act redirects a portion of tobacco litigation settlement moneys (settlement moneys) to the general fund for state fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 by:

• Transferring $20 million of settlement moneys received during FY 2019-20 to the general fund and offsetting the $20 million reduction in the amount of such settlement moneys available for allocation in FY 2020-21 to the programs that receive settlement moneys by allocating to the programs in FY 2020-21 $20 million of settlement moneys to be received by the state in FY 2020-21 that would otherwise be allocated in FY 2021-22;
• Removing $2,000,130 of settlement moneys received in excess of projections during FY 2019-20 from the base amount used to calculate the statutory allocations of settlement moneys to various programs;
• Reducing the statutory allocations of settlement moneys:
• For the tobacco settlement defense account of the tobacco litigation settlement cash fund (litigation account) from 2.5% to 0.75% of the settlement moneys; and
• For the state dental loan repayment program by $160,717;
• Requiring all settlement moneys received during FY 2019-20 that are not allocated for state fiscal year 2020-21 under the modified statutory allocation formula to be transferred to the general fund on July 1, 2020;
• Requiring additional July 1, 2020, transfers to the general fund of settlement moneys previously credited to cash funds that receive statutory allocations of settlement moneys as follows:
• $8 million from the tobacco settlement defense account;
• $4,237,375 from the nurse home visitor program fund; and
• $3 million from the Colorado state veterans trust fund.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act removes the requirement that the department of health care policy and financing and the department of human services implement high-fidelity wraparound services for children and youth at risk of out-of-home placement or in an out-of-home placement unless money is appropriated for the implementation of the services.

The act removes the requirement that the department of public health and environment provide statewide training for primary care providers on the standardized screening tools unless money is appropriated for the training.

The act reduces appropriations to the department of health care policy and financing and the department of human services.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

For fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21, the act specifies that:

• If a provider or a school district submits a certification of public expenditure pursuant to federal law, the provider or school district shall receive federal matching funds in the amount of 50% of the amount certified, and any federal financial participation in excess of 50% of the amount certified must be transferred to the general fund for the medical assistance program;
• The amount of increased federal financial participation in excess of 50% generated from appropriations out of the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund must be used to offset other general fund appropriations for the medical assistance program;
• The amount of increased federal financial participation in excess of 50% for reimbursements and payments must be transferred from the medicaid nursing facility cash fund to the general fund for the medical assistance program expenditures; and
• The appropriation to the university of Colorado for fee-for-service contracts for health services is reduced by the amount of federal financial participation that exceeds 50%.

The act makes adjustments to the appropriations to transfer the amounts in excess of 50% to the general fund and appropriates those amounts for the medical services program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

For the 2020-21 state fiscal year (FY 2020-21), the act:

• Authorizes the use of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue for state medical assistance program expenditures;
• Requires $161 million to be appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to offset general fund expenditures for the state medical assistance program;
• Reduces the FY 2020-21 general fund appropriation to the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) for medical services premiums by $161 million; and
• Appropriates $161 million from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to HCPF for medical services premiums.

The act also clarifies that if the amount of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue collected exceeds a federal limit, hospitals that received such excess federal matching money are responsible for repaying the excess federal money and any associated federal penalties to the federal government.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act suspends for 3 years transfers to the child welfare prevention and intervention services cash fund of unspent general fund appropriations to the child welfare services line item.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act repeals the pilot programs in the division of youth services that were created to aid in the establishment of a division-wide therapeutic and rehabilitative culture, including the use of trauma-responsive principles and practices.

The act makes the following appropriations:

• The general fund appropriations made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2020-21 state fiscal year to the department of human services for use by the division of youth services are adjusted as follows:
• The appropriation for personal services related to institutional programs is decreased by $406,545, and the related FTE is decreased by 4.0 FTE; and
• The appropriation for operating expenses related to institutional programs is decreased by $204,309.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act removes the requirement that the state department of human services (department) implement a behavioral health capacity tracking system and make available to the public appropriate information from the capacity tracking system, unless money is appropriated for the system.

The act removes the requirement that the department implement a care navigation program to assist engaged clients in obtaining access to treatment for substance use disorders, unless money is appropriated for the program. The act requires the department to report to the general assembly if the care navigation program is implemented.

For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the act reduces the appropriation from the marijuana tax cash fund, created in section 39-28.8-501, to the department of human services by $546,013.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Under current law, the alternative pilot programs to divert individuals with mental health conditions may operate in up to 4 judicial districts. The act allows the programs to be expanded into 5 or more judicial districts to increase the number of participants.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act precludes the department of labor and employment from accepting applications for, awarding, or issuing grants under the "Skilled Worker Outreach, Recruitment, and Key Training Act", also known as the "WORK Act", on or after the effective date of the act. The grant review committee is directed to submit a final report on the WORK Act grant program to the governor and specified legislative committees by August 31, 2021.

The state treasurer is directed to transfer any balance in the WORK fund as of September 1, 2020, and September 1, 2021, to the general fund. The program is repealed on September 30, 2021.

The act adjusts the 2020 long bill by eliminating the $3.3 million general fund appropriation for the WORK Act grant program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Joint Budget Committee. The bill suspends, for 2 years, the operation of statutory provisions allocating specific amounts of revenue derived from the tax on limited gaming activity to the following cash funds:

• The Colorado travel and tourism promotion fund, administered by the board of directors of the Colorado tourism office;
• The advanced industries acceleration cash fund, administered by the Colorado office of economic development;
• The local government limited gaming impact fund, including the limited gaming impact account and the gambling addiction account, administered by the departments of local affairs and human services and local governmental entities;
• The innovative higher education research fund, administered by the higher education competitive research authority;
• The creative industries cash fund, administered by the council on creative industries; and
• The Colorado office of film, television, and media operational account cash fund, administered by the Colorado office of film, television, and media.

The bill adjusts current long bill appropriations to fund the respective programs for the 2020-21 state fiscal year.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act temporarily modifies the manner in which limited gaming tax revenues are allocated between the limited gaming fund and the extended limited gaming fund ( i.e. , the portion of limited gaming tax revenues derived from increased hours of operation, enlarged wagering limit, and the addition of craps and roulette, as authorized by Colorado voters with the passage of Amendment 50 in 2008) in order to more equitably address recovery in the years immediately following the global pandemic and economic recession of 2020. The modification ends in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which total limited gaming tax revenues again equal or exceed the total limited gaming tax revenues collected in state fiscal year 2018-19.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act repeals the prohibition on the general assembly appropriating the bulk of the money from the marijuana tax cash fund until the year following the year that the revenue is received by the state. The fund reserve is clarified in light of this change. The state treasurer is required to transfer $136,989,750 from the fund to the general fund on October 1, 2020.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill authorizes the state treasurer to enter into a contract or contracts to establish a small business recovery loan program (loan program). The purpose of the loan program is to assist the state's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging private investment for loans to Colorado small businesses recovering from the COVID-19 crisis. The treasurer is authorized to contract with the Colorado housing and finance authority or a private entity selected through an open and competitive process.

Subject to the availability of proceeds from insurance premium tax credit purchases, the state treasurer may invest up to $30 million in first loss capital from the small business recovery fund established in the bill in fiscal year 2020-21, and up to $30 million in first loss capital in fiscal year 2021-22; except that the total invested across both fiscal years may not exceed $50 million. The investments must be made in tranches of no more than $10 million each. Each tranche must be matched at a 4-to-1 ratio by money invested from other sources before it is committed or deployed. Once the money in a tranche is matched, it must be used to make loans of working capital to Colorado businesses with between 5 and 100 employees that meet eligibility criteria. The loans must be between $30,000 and $500,000, with a maturity of up to 5 years. The state treasurer may not invest a new tranche of state money until the prior tranche is at least 90% invested in small business loans.

When each tranche is deployed, it is subject to an initial period of time in which a portion of the money is allocated to each county on a per capita basis and proportionate to the county's share of small businesses or small business employees relative to the state, or a similar metric, or based on a formula that accounts for how affected each county has been by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time period, the money allocated to the county is reserved for eligible borrowers located in that county. After the initial period of time passes, the money remaining in the tranche is available on a statewide basis.

The small business recovery loan program oversight board (oversight board) is created in the department of the treasury (department). The oversight board consists of the state treasurer, the director of minority business office on behalf of the office of economic development, a member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, a member appointed by the president of the senate, and a member appointed by the governor. The oversight board consults with the treasurer on the selection of a loan program manager, establishes certain terms and criteria applicable to the loan program in consultation with lending industry leaders and small business representatives , and provides oversight and guidance to the loan program to ensure it complies with statutory requirements and fulfills the purpose of assisting Colorado small businesses recovering from the COVID-19 crisis. The loan program manager must report on a quarterly basis to the oversight board. The oversight board must file written reports with the joint budget committee twice each fiscal year, and must report once each fiscal year for the first 2 years to the business committees of the house and senate.

The department is authorized to issue insurance premium tax credits to insurance companies that are authorized to do business in Colorado and incur premium tax liability, subject to procedures established by the department. The department may contract or consult with an independent third party to manage the bidding process. The department is required to issue a tax credit certificate to each successful purchaser. The department is authorized to issue up to $40 million in tax credit certificates in fiscal year 2020-21. The department is authorized to issue up to an additional $28 million in tax credits in fiscal year 2021-22, unless an equivalent amount of federal money is appropriated or allocated to the program.

A qualified taxpayer may claim the tax credit against its premium tax liability. For a tax credit certificate issued in fiscal year 2020-21, the qualified taxpayer may claim up to 50% of the credit in calendar year 2026, and may claim the remaining amount of the credit beginning in calendar year 2027. For a tax credit certificate issued in fiscal year 2021-22, the qualified taxpayer may claim the credit beginning in calendar year 2028. The amount of the credit claimed cannot exceed the taxpayer's premium tax liability for a given year. The unused amount carries forward and may be claimed in subsequent years; except that a credit cannot be claimed for premium tax liability incurred in a taxable year that begins after December 31, 2031.

The bill creates the small business recovery fund in the treasury. The fund consists of tax credit sale proceeds, any revenues, disbursements, or money returned to the state from the loan program, and any other money the general assembly appropriates or transfers to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department to implement the loan program and to pay for the department's direct and indirect costs in administering the loan program and in issuing the tax credits. Beginning in fiscal year 2025-26, the treasurer must credit any unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year to the general fund. The fund is repealed on July 1, 2029, and all unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund is transferred to the general fund.

(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.)

Fiscal Note

The act establishes that a person engages in a deceptive trade practice if the person, within 180 days following the declaration of a disaster or disaster emergency by the president of the United States or the governor of the state and in the geographic area for which the disaster was declared, sells, offers for sale, provides, or offers to provide any of the following at a price so excessive as to amount to price gouging:

• Building materials;
• Consumer food items;
• Emergency supplies;
• Fuel;
• Medical supplies;
• Other necessities;
• Repair or reconstruction services;
• Transportation, freight, or storage services; or
• Services used in an emergency cleanup.

A price is not unreasonably excessive if the seller can prove that, due to events that gave rise to the disaster declaration, the price is attributable to additional costs imposed on the seller by the seller's supplier or suppliers or other direct costs of providing the good or service sold or offered for sale.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act prohibits a principal, which includes an employer, certain labor contractors, public employers, and entities that contract with 5 or more independent contractors, from discriminating, retaliating, or taking adverse action against any worker who:

• In good faith, raises any concern about workplace health and safety practices or hazards related to a public health emergency to the principal, the principal's agent, other workers, a government agency, or the public if the workplace health and safety practices fail to meet guidelines established by a federal, state, or local public health agency with jurisdiction over the workplace;
• Voluntarily wears at the worker's workplace the worker's own personal protective equipment, such as a mask, faceguard, or gloves, under specified circumstances; or
• Opposes a practice the worker reasonably believes is unlawful or makes a charge, testifies, assists, or participates in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing of alleged unlawful acts.

Additionally, a principal is prohibited from requiring or attempting to require a worker to sign a contract or other agreement that limits or prevents the worker from disclosing information about workplace health and safety practices or hazards related to a public health emergency.

A worker who knowingly discloses false information or discloses information with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the information is not protected under the act.

A person may seek relief by:

• Filing a complaint with the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment;
• Bringing an action in district court, after exhausting administrative remedies; or
• Bringing a whistleblower action in the name of the state in district court, after exhausting administrative remedies.

The division is authorized to adopt rules necessary to implement the act.

$270,153 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment from the employment support fund, of which $206,193 is allocated for use by the division for enforcement of worker's rights related to a public health emergency, based on the assumption that the division will require an additional 2.5 FTE, and $63,960 is reappropriated to the department of law for legal services.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Section 1 of the act specifies that the act shall be known as the "Tax Fairness Act".

Sections 2 and 3 of the act require taxpayers to add to federal taxable income:

• For income tax years ending on and after the enactment of the March 2020 "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act" (CARES Act), but before January 1, 2021, and for income tax years beginning on and after the enactment of the CARES Act, but before January 1, 2021, an amount equal to the difference between a taxpayer's net operating loss deduction as determined under federal law before the amendments made by section 2303 of the CARES Act and the taxpayer's net operating loss deduction as determined under federal law after the amendments made by section 2303 of the CARES Act;
• For income tax years ending on and after the enactment of the CARES Act, but before January 1, 2021, and for income tax years beginning on and after the enactment of the CARES Act, but before January 1, 2021, an amount equal to a taxpayer's excess business loss as determined under federal law without regard to the amendments made by section 2304 of the CARES Act, but with regard to the technical amendment made in that section of the CARES Act;
• For income tax years ending on and after the enactment of the CARES Act, but before January 1, 2021, and for income tax years beginning on and after the enactment of the CARES Act, but before January 1, 2021, an amount equal to the amount in excess of the limitation on business interest under federal law without regard to the amendments made by section 2306 of the CARES Act; and
• For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, but before January 1, 2023, an amount equal to the deduction for qualified business income for an individual taxpayer who files a single return and whose adjusted gross income is greater than $500,000, and for an individual taxpayer who files a joint return and whose adjusted gross income is greater than $1 million. This federal deduction may be claimed for income tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2026, except that the add-back is not required for a taxpayer who files a schedule F, profit or loss from farming, or successor form, as an attachment to a federal income tax return.

Section 4 of the act specifies that for net operating losses incurred after December 31, 2017, the 80% limitation set forth in federal law applies without regard to the amendments made in section 2303 of the CARES Act.

The earned income tax credit is equal to a percentage of the federal earned income tax credit. Section 5 of the act increases the percentage from 10% to 15% beginning in 2022. Section 5 also specifies that for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, taxpayers filing with an individual taxpayer identification number are eligible for the earned income tax credit.

Section 6 of the act specifies that the state treasurer shall transfer $113 million on March 1, 2021, and $23 million on March 1, 2022, from the general fund to the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.

Section 7 of the act makes an appropriation.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Tax Expenditure Evaluation Interim Study Committee. The bill creates the legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy (committee), and the associated task force (task force).

The committee is required to consider the policy considerations contained in the tax expenditure evaluations prepared by the state auditor and is responsible for the oversight of the task force. The committee may recommend legislative changes that are treated as bills recommended by an interim legislative committee.

The task force is required to study tax policy and develop and propose for committee consideration any modifications to the current system of state and local taxation.

The task force is also authorized, upon request by a committee member, to provide evidence-based feedback on the potential benefits or consequences of a legislative or other policy proposal not directly affiliated with or generated by the task force, including any bill or resolution introduced by the general assembly that affects tax policy.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

For income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2020, the bill:

• Reduces both the individual and the corporate state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.49%; and
• Reduces the state alternative minimum tax by 0.14%.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Current law requires a legislative declaration stating the intended purpose of a new tax expenditure or the intended purpose for extending an expiring tax expenditure. The act expands that law by:

• Requiring a statutory legislative declaration, not nonstatutory;
• Requiring any bill that creates a new tax expenditure to include a repeal of the expenditure after a specified period of tax years and any bill that extends an expiring tax expenditure to extend the expenditure for a specified period of tax years; and
• Requiring the statement of the intended purpose to be a part of a tax preference performance statement, which includes:
• The classification of the type of the tax expenditure; and
• Detailed information regarding the legislative purpose of the tax expenditure, which, at minimum, includes clear, relevant, and ascertainable metrics and data requirements that allow the tax expenditure to be measured for effectiveness in achieving the intended purpose.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act changes the date that the statutory revision committee is required to report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly from on or before November 15 of each year to on or before July 1 of each year.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill specifies that for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2021, a senior is deemed to be a 10-year owner-occupier of a primary residence that the senior has owned and occupied for less than 10 years and therefore qualifies for the senior property tax exemption for the residence if:

• The senior would have qualified for the senior property tax exemption for the senior's former primary residence but for the fact that medical necessity required the senior to stop occupying the former primary residence;
• The senior has not previously received the exemption for a former primary residence on the basis of medical necessity; and
• The senior has not owned and occupied another primary residence since the senior first stopped occupying his or her former primary residence due to medical necessity.

"Medical necessity" is defined as a medical condition of a senior that a physician licensed to practice medicine in Colorado has certified, on a form developed by the state property tax administrator, as having required the senior to stop occupying the senior's prior primary residence.

When applying for such an exemption, a senior must provide the form establishing proof of medical necessity.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act enacts the softbound volumes of the Colorado Revised Statutes 2019 as the positive and statutory law of the state of Colorado and establishes the effective date of said publication.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act recodifies statutory provisions governing the department of law (department), especially by replacing outmoded language with updated terms and usage.

The act repeals outmoded language regarding internal divisions within the department, specifies the powers and duties of the attorney general, enumerates internal divisions of the department, updates the statutory provision authorizing the appointment of the chief deputy attorney general, and addresses the appointment and qualifications of the solicitor general.

The act updates statutory provisions governing the victims' services coordinator. It updates statutory provisions governing money received by the attorney general. It also specifies that any money received by the attorney general belonging to the state or received by the attorney general in his or her official capacity must be paid as soon as practicable to the department of the treasury. Moreover, generally, the attorney general has such legal duties in regard to the activities of the state and its various departments, boards, commissions, bureaus, and agencies as are imposed by law. The act specifies requirements pertaining to the legal services the attorney general provides to state agencies and clarifies that nothing in the act is to be construed as affecting, limiting, or supplanting the common law authority of the attorney general or the department.

The act specifies requirements governing the provision of identification cards to retired peace officers.

The act addresses legal representation of the state auditor and specifies that the duty of providing legal representation or otherwise rendering legal services to the state auditor in connection with the auditor's performance of his or her functions and duties is shared between the office of legislative legal services and the attorney general.

The act also repeals existing outmoded sections of law.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill amends the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" (act) to state that a plaintiff in an individual action may be awarded damages equal to the sum of $500 per violation.

The bill also amends the act to state that, under the act, a class action may be brought and damages may be awarded to the class.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

The bill enacts the "Consumer and Employee Dispute Resolution Fairness Act" (act). For certain consumer and employment arbitrations, the act:

• Prohibits the waiver of standards for and challenges for evident partiality prior to a claim being filed and requires any waiver of such provisions after the claim is filed to be in writing;
• Provides that the right of a party to challenge an arbitrator based on evident partiality is waived if not raised within a reasonable time of learning of the information leading to the challenge but that such right is not waived if caused by the opposing party;
• Authorizes the nonobjecting party to seek provisional remedies from court if a party objects to an arbitrator and the parties are not able to agree on an arbitrator;
• Establishes ethical standards for arbitrators; and
• Requires specified public disclosures by arbitration services providers to the parties but includes protections for certain confidential information.

The bill also requires an individual arbitrator for certain consumer and employment arbitrations to make additional disclosures of information that might affect the arbitrator's impartiality.

The bill specifies how attorney fees and other reasonable expenses are to be awarded if a court vacates an award because of an arbitrator's evident partiality or failure to make required disclosures. and clarifies when appeals of orders may be made in consumer and employee arbitrations.

The bill also provides that for a standard form contract involving a consumer or an employee:

• Specified terms are unenforceable as against public policy; and
• Including an unenforceable term constitutes a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act"; and
• How certain cost-shifting provisions are to be interpreted.

(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.)

Fiscal Note

Current law requires an individual who wishes to have a document notarized to appear personally before a notary public.

Effective December 31, 2020:

• The act authorizes a notary public to perform a notarial act on behalf of an individual who is not in the notary's physical presence, but only with respect to an electronic document;
• To perform a "remote notarization", a notary must use an electronic system that conforms to standards established by rules of the secretary of state, including using real-time audio-video communication;
• The act establishes the standards that a notary must comply with to have satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual seeking the remote notarization; and
• The use or sale of personal information of a remotely located individual by a remote notary and the provider of a remote notarization system is prohibited except in specific, limited circumstances.

The governor issued an emergency executive order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that directed the secretary of state to issue an emergency rule to authorize remote notarizations, which the secretary of state did. The act ratifies remote notarizations conducted pursuant to the emergency rule between March 30, 2020, and December 31, 2020.

The act appropriates $132,795 from the department of state cash fund to the department of state to implement the act.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires the staff of the legislative council to prepare business fiscal impact notes (notes) on legislative bills in each regular session of the general assembly. The speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate are authorized to request 2 notes each, or more at the discretion of the director of research of the legislative council.

The bill requires the staff of the legislative council to meet with the member of leadership requesting the note and with the sponsor of the legislative bill to discuss whether a note can practically be completed for that legislative bill. If not, the member of leadership may request a note on a different legislative bill.

A business fiscal impact note is defined as a note that uses available data to analyze the potential direct economic effects of a legislative bill on Colorado businesses, including costs related to compliance, impacts on hiring or job losses, savings or cost reductions, and other fiscal impacts.

The bill requires the director of research of the legislative council to develop the procedures for requesting, completing, and updating the notes and to memorialize the procedures in a letter to the executive committee of the legislative council.

The staff of the legislative council must designate a 5-day period during which Colorado businesses can submit comments on the impacts of a legislative bill selected for the preparation of the note, or a shorter time if the bill is selected during the last 30 days of session. The staff must summarize and compile the comments as part of the note.

Finally, the legislative bill requires each state department, agency, or institution to cooperate with and provide information for a note of a legislative bill in the manner requested by the staff of the legislative council.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act makes the following changes to the Colorado Revised Statutes, in accordance with the statutory charge of the statutory revision committee:

• Section 1 contains a nonstatutory legislative declaration reflecting the scope of the statutory revision committee as it applies to the bill;
• Sections 2-14 update incorrect references in statute related to the term "commitment", as used in the context of treatment and evaluation of mental health disorders, to the current language of "certification";
• Sections 15-19 repeal subsections in title 43 that reference obsolete provisions or actions that have already occurred and are no longer relevant, including deleting references to the terms "motorscooter" and "motorbicycle", which were removed from statute by H.B. 09-1026;
• Sections 20-28 conform and update obsolete federal references for the definition of a "federally qualified health center";
• Sections 29-32 update outdated references to the "Colorado tourism board" and replace them with the "Colorado tourism office" and repeal a reference to a one-time transfer to a now-defunct tourism promotion fund;
• Sections 33-38 repeal outdated and previously repealed references to the "pilot alternate protest procedure" in title 39;
• Sections 39-54 update, repeal, or correct miscellaneous references to programs, funds, boards or commissions, terminology, or other provisions in statute that conflict with current law;
• Sections 55-57 update references to the term "regional accountable entity" to the current language of "managed care entity; and
• Sections 58-60 repeal subsections in title 33 that reference obsolete or conflicting provisions or actions that have already occurred and are no longer relevant.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

A cash fund with fee revenue has a limit on the amount of uncommitted reserves that there may be at the end of a fiscal year, which limit is equal to 16.5% of the amount expended from the cash fund during the fiscal year. The bill exempts from this maximum reserve the following cash funds administered by the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety:

• The fire suppression cash fund;
• The public school construction and inspection cash fund; and
• The health facility construction and inspection cash fund.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

When the statewide internet portal authority (SIPA) was created, it was charged with offering information technology products and services to local governments and "state agencies". At that time, SIPA's statute defined "state agency" to have the same meaning as the term was defined in the statute that governed the former office of innovation and technology. That definition defined "state agency" to mean every state office, whether legislative, executive, or judicial, and all of its respective offices, departments, divisions, commissions, boards, bureaus, and institutions, excepting only state-supported institutions of higher education, the department of higher education, the Colorado commission on higher education, or other instrumentality thereof.

Subsequent to SIPA's creation, the statutes that governed the former office of innovation and technology were amended to create the office of information technology (OIT), and the definition of "state agency" was narrowed to cover only the agencies to be served by OIT. The statute now excludes the legislative and judicial departments, the departments of law, state, and treasury, state-supported institutions of higher education, and the department of education. The changes to the OIT definition of "state agency" have inadvertently excluded these agencies from the scope of state agencies that may obtain services from SIPA.

The act restores the definition of "state agency" in SIPA's statutes to its original scope and also includes higher education institutions and agencies, as the practice has been for SIPA to serve all state agencies, including higher education institutions and agencies.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Section 1 of the act repeals the existing statutory criteria for congressional districts.

Sections 2 to 13 of the act establish statutory provisions concerning congressional districts established by the new independent congressional redistricting commission (congressional commission) and update the existing statutory provisions related to the independent legislative redistricting commission (legislative commission), including:

• Stating the general assembly's intent that the congressional commission and legislative commission (commissions) apply the correct federal citation to the "Voting Rights Act of 1965" rather than the incorrect citation contained in the Colorado constitution;
• Requiring the legislative commission to designate which year an election for each senate district takes place and to specify from which district a new senator is elected when there is a vacancy in a senatorial district;
• Requiring the commissions to provide maps of the proposed and final congressional and legislative districts to county clerks, the Colorado supreme court, and the secretary of state;
• Requiring boards of county commissioners to approve new precinct boundaries and to notify the secretary of state and major party chairs of the new precinct boundaries;
• Specifying how the secretary of state may correct a redistricting plan if an approved plan fails to include property in any district, includes property in more than one district, or splits a residential parcel;
• Specifying that the boundaries of a district approved in a redistricting plan do not change if there is a change in a county or municipal boundary; and
• Requiring the secretary of state to provide maps of districts to candidates.

Section 14 of the act requires the commissions to use the total population used by the federal census bureau in reapportioning the seats in congress as adjusted by nonpartisan staff to move certain prisoners from being counted in the prison.

Section 15 of the act creates separate accounts within the legislative department cash fund (cash fund) for each of the commissions and transfers money from the cash fund to each of the commissions to pay for their work.

Sections 16 to 18 of the act make conforming amendments to update the statutes on the redistricting account in the legislative cash fund, the "Colorado Open Records Act", and duties of county commissioners to reflect the congressional and legislative commissions.

Sections 19 to 25 of the act contain nonstatutory provisions relating to the commissions as required by the state constitution, including:

• Appointing nonpartisan staff to assist the commissions;
• Directing staff to prepare forms for and review applications from persons interested in serving on the commissions and assisting the panels of retired justices and judges who appoint members of the commissions;
• Assembling the necessary hardware, software, and information necessary for the commissions and nonpartisan staff to redistrict congressional and legislative districts; and
• Establishing the necessary procedures for the judicial panels, commissions, and nonpartisan staff to receive a per diem and reimbursement of expenses.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires a staffing agency that places temporary and part-time employees with work-site employers to provide the employees specific information concerning the terms and conditions of employment. The information must be provided in writing before the end of the first pay period.

The bill requires the staffing agency to post a notice in its workplace that includes the name and telephone number of the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment and a description of employees' rights to the receipt of the required terms and conditions of employment.

A staffing agency and a work-site employer are prohibited from charging an employee:

• A fee for certain work-related expenses or deducting expenses from the employee's wages without authorization from the employee;
• The cost of required specific transportation services; or
• More than the actual cost of optional transportation.

The bill prohibits a staffing agency from knowingly issuing, distributing, circulating, or providing false, fraudulent, or misleading information to an employee or applicant for employment and from refusing to refund fees or costs owed to the employee.

The bill requires each staffing agency to annually register and pay a fee to the division. Each staffing agency is required to submit information to the division in a form and manner required by the division. The division is required to maintain a list of the registration status of each staffing agency on its website. Employers who use staffing agencies are required to verify whether the staffing agency is registered with the division. The division may assess a fine for a violation and may revoke or suspend the registration of a staffing agency for any violation.

The division is authorized to promulgate rules, including rules that state the information that a staffing agency is required to submit to the division and that establish circumstances where a staffing agency's registration may be revoked or suspended.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

On the effective date of the act through December 31, 2020, all employers in the state, regardless of size, are required to provide each of their employees paid sick leave for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the amounts and for the purposes specified in the federal "Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act" in the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act".

Starting January 1, 2021, for employers with 16 or more employees, and starting January 1, 2022, for all employers, the act requires employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, accrued at one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year.

An employee begins accruing paid sick leave when the employee's employment begins, may use paid sick leave as it is accrued, and may carry forward and use in subsequent calendar years up to 48 hours of paid sick leave that is not used in the year in which it is accrued. An employer is not required to allow the employee to use more than 48 hours of paid sick leave in a year.

Employees may use accrued paid sick leave to be absent from work for the following purposes:

• The employee has a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; needs a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment related to such illness, injury, or condition; or needs to obtain preventive medical care;
• The employee needs to care for a family member who has a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; needs a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment related to such illness, injury, or condition; or needs to obtain preventive medical care;
• The employee or family member has been the victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or harassment and needs to be absent from work for purposes related to such crime; or
• A public official has ordered the closure of the school or place of care of the employee's child or of the employee's place of business due to a public health emergency, necessitating the employee's absence from work.

In addition to the paid sick leave accrued by an employee, the act requires an employer, regardless of size, to provide its employees an additional amount of paid sick leave during a public health emergency in an amount based on the number of hours the employee works.

The act prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who uses the employee's paid sick leave or otherwise exercises the employee's rights under the act. Employers are required to notify employees of their rights under the act by providing employees with a written notice of their rights and displaying a poster, developed by the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment (department), detailing employees' rights under the act.

The director of the division will implement and enforce the act and adopt rules necessary for such purposes. An employer found in violation of the act is liable to the employee for back pay and other equitable damages.

The act treats an employee's information about the employee's or a family member's health condition or domestic abuse, sexual assault, or harassment case as confidential and prohibits an employer from disclosing such information or requiring the employee to disclose such information as a condition of using paid sick leave.

The act specifies the conditions in which collective bargaining agreements result in compliance with, or exemption from, the act.

$206,566 is appropriated to the department for use by the division to implement the act, based on the assumption that the division will require an additional 2.7 FTE for such purpose.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

Beginning in calendar year 2021 and each year thereafter, the act increases the amount of wages paid to an individual employee during a calendar year on which the employer of that employee is required to pay premiums to the unemployment compensation fund (fund).

The act exempts payment for services to an election judge, up to the maximum amount permissible by federal law, for the purposes of calculating total unemployment compensation benefits.

Current law requires the weekly total and partial unemployment benefit amounts to be reduced by the amount of an individual's wages that exceeds 25% of the weekly benefit amount. For the next 2 calendar years only, the act changes the deduction amount to the amount of an individual's wages that exceeds 50% of the weekly benefit amount.

When determining whether an individual qualifies for unemployment insurance, the act directs the division of unemployment insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment (department) to consider whether the individual has separated from employment or has refused to accept new employment because:

• The employer requires the individual to work in an environment that is not in compliance with: Federal centers for disease control and prevention guidelines applicable to the employer's business and workplace at the time of the determination; state and federal laws, rules, and regulations concerning disease mitigation and workplace safety; or an executive order issued by the governor, or a public health order issued by the department of public health and environment or a local government, requiring the employer to close the business or modify the operation of the business;
• The individual is the primary caretaker of a child enrolled in a school that is closed due to a public health emergency or of a family member or household member who is quarantined due to an illness during a public health emergency; or
• The employee is immunocompromised and more susceptible to illness during a public health emergency.

The act changes the time period that an interested party has to respond to a notice of claim received by the division concerning unemployment benefits from 12 calendar days to 7 calendar days.

Current law authorizes the division to approve a work share plan submitted by an employer if the employee's normal weekly work hours have been reduced by at least 10% but not more than 40%. The act changes the amount that hours may be reduced to an amount consistent with rules adopted by the division and federal law.

The act removes the cap on the amount of money that can be paid into and remain in the employment support fund.

The act prohibits the division from assessing a solvency surcharge for the fund on employers for the calendar years 2021 and 2022.

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer any unexpended federal funds received by the state from the federal "CARES Act" to the fund prior to the close of business on December 30, 2022.

The act requires the office of future of work in the department to study unemployment assistance as part of a study on the modernization of worker benefits and protections and report its findings to the governor and the general assembly.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act prohibits a judgment creditor from initiating a new extraordinary collection action from the effective date of the act through November 1, 2020, except in accordance with the requirements of the act. An extraordinary collection action is defined as an action in the nature of a garnishment, attachment, levy, or execution to collect or enforce a judgment on a debt as defined under the "Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" (FDCPA). Before initiating an extraordinary collection action, the judgment creditor must send a notice to the judgment debtor explaining that the judgment debtor can temporarily suspend the extraordinary collection action if the debtor is facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. To exercise this right, the debtor is required to notify the judgment creditor that the debtor is experiencing hardship as a result of the crisis. The judgment debtor is not required to provide additional documentation to the judgment creditor.

The use of an extraordinary collection action during the period of the prohibition constitutes an unfair and unconscionable means of collecting a debt under the FDCPA. The administrator of the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code" (administrator) is authorized to issue an order extending the prohibition through February 1, 2021, if the administrator finds that the extension is necessary to preserve the resources of state and local agencies or to protect the residents of Colorado from economic hardship as a result of the disaster emergency caused by COVID-19.

From June 29, 2020, through February 1, 2021, up to $4,000 cumulative in a depository account or accounts in the debtor's name is exempt from levy and sale under a writ of attachment or execution.

An attempt to collect amounts in excess of what is permitted under statutes limiting garnishment, attachment, and execution is an unfair or unconscionable debt collection practice for purposes of the FDCPA.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

For purposes of suspending legislative interim committee activities during the 2020 interim, the act:

• Prohibits the legislative council of the general assembly from prioritizing any requests for legislative interim committees, including task forces, for the 2020 interim; and
• Prohibits meetings, field trips, and legislative recommendations and reports by, and suspends for one year certain reports required to be submitted to, existing legislative interim committees, including the Colorado youth advisory council review committee; wildfire matters review committee; statewide health care review committee; Colorado health insurance exchange oversight committee; pension review commission and pension review subcommittee; early childhood and school readiness legislative commission; water resources review committee; and transportation legislation review committee.

Additionally, the act removes the requirement that the early childhood and school readiness legislative commission meet at least 4 times each year and instead limits the commission to up to 4 meetings per year.

The act also reduces the state fiscal year 2020-21 general fund appropriation to the general assembly by $100,867 to reflect the savings resulting from the suspension of interim committee activities in the 2020 interim.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The bill provides that, for purposes of the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado", if an essential worker who works outside of the home contracts COVID-19, the contraction is:

• Presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment; and
• A compensable accident, injury, or occupational disease.

An essential worker is considered to have contracted COVID-19 if the worker tests positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed physician, or has COVID-19 listed as the cause of death on the worker's death certificate.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The act requires the executive director of the department of revenue to collect a fee equal to $25 per truckload for every manufacturer of fuel products who manufactures such products for sale within Colorado or who ships such products from any point outside of Colorado to a distributor within Colorado and every distributor who ships such products from any point outside of Colorado to a point within Colorado. This fee is used primarily to:

• Fund the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) cash fund;
• Support the department of transportation in functions related to the administration of hazardous materials and safe and efficient freight movement and infrastructure in the state as well as infrastructure projects that enhance the safety of movement of freight and hazardous materials; and
• Support the Colorado state patrol in the regulation of hazardous materials on highways in the state.

The executive director of the department of revenue stops collecting the fee for a fiscal year once he or she has collected $8 million of these fees for that fiscal year.

The act creates the PFAS cash fund, which is used to fund the PFAS grant program, fund the PFAS takeback program, and provide technical assistance in locating and studying PFAS to communities, stakeholders, and regulatory boards or commissions.

The act creates the PFAS grant program. The grant program provides funding for the sampling, assessment, and investigation of PFAS in ground or surface water; water system infrastructure used for the treatment of identified perfluoroalkyl and PFAS; and emergency assistance to communities and water systems affected by PFAS.

The act creates the PFAS takeback program. The takeback program is used to purchase and dispose of eligible materials that contain PFAS.

The act also requires the department of public health and environment to report to the general assembly annually on the use of the PFAS cash fund and the administration of the PFAS grant program and takeback program.

The act also creates new civil penalties for owners or operators of storage tanks at gasoline dispensing facilities who violate requirements to maintain a vapor collection system and for owners and operators of gasoline dispensing facilities who violate requirements to maintain records.

Lastly, the act requires stakeholders from gasoline dispensing facilities and gasoline transport truck companies to collaborate with the division of administration in the department of public health and environment in creating maintenance guidelines to assist owners and operators of gasoline dispensing facilities and gasoline transport trucks in complying with the requirements of air quality control commission regulations.

For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $39,769 to the department of revenue from the general fund. From this appropriation, the department of revenue may use $24,750 for tax administration IT system support, $12,600 for the taxation and compliance division for personal services, and $2,419 for the taxpayer service division for the fuel tracking system. For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act also appropriates $1,552,558 from the hazardous materials safety fund to the department of public safety for use by the Colorado state patrol for the hazardous materials safety program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note

The act creates a small business COVID-19 grant program, financed by $20 million from the federal money allocated to the state pursuant to the federal "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act", also referred to as the "CARES Act". The Colorado office of economic development (office) will administer the grant program and the Colorado economic development commission will contract with the Colorado housing and finance authority (CHFA) to operate the grant program. CHFA will work with nonprofit or community-based lenders that will underwrite and distribute the grants to small businesses pursuant to the program.

To be eligible for a grant, a small business must have fewer than 25 employees and have been affected by economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A preference is given for a small business that did not qualify for or receive a paycheck protection program loan; is majority owned by veterans, women, or minorities; or is located in a rural area. Individual grant awards are capped at $15,000, and of the total amount allocated for the grant program, $5 million is earmarked, until October 1, 2020, for tourism businesses. The federal money must be spent by December 30, 2020. The office must submit reports on the grant program to the committees of the general assembly with jurisdiction over business affairs.

The act appropriates $20,000,000 from the care subfund in the general fund to the office for administration of the small business COVID-19 grant program.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Fiscal Note