The act limits the sale or transfer of a product containing sodium nitrite in a concentration greater than 10% of the mass or volume of the product (covered product) to commercial businesses that are verified to require a covered product. The act requires covered products to meet specified labeling requirements. A person who violates the requirements of the act is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 for a first offense and up to $1,000,000 for a second or subsequent violation. The attorney general or an aggrieved individual may bring a civil action to enforce the act and, if an aggrieved individual prevails in a civil action, the aggrieved individual is entitled to the greater of actual economic damages or $3,000, attorney fees, and costs. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Effective September 1, 2024, the act makes changes to Colorado's occupational credential portability program (program) relating to the spouses and dependents of military members and other qualified servicemembers serving in the United States uniformed services, including: In addition to military spouses already covered by the program, allowing gold star military spouses, dependents of military members, and spouses and dependents of other qualified servicemembers who are licensed, certified, registered, or enrolled in a profession or occupation (credentialed) in good standing in another state or United States territory (current state) to be credentialed in Colorado by endorsement from the current state to practice the same profession or occupation in Colorado; Allowing an applicant to be credentialed under the program if the applicant committed an act that would have been grounds for discipline in this state, but for which the applicant remains in good standing in the current state because the act is not grounds for discipline in the current state; Removing the 3-year limitation and nonrenewal provision for a military spouse's credential and allowing military spouses, gold star military spouses, military dependents, and spouses and dependents of other qualified servicemembers to obtain a renewable 6-year credential while in Colorado; Waiving the application and renewal fee for Colorado credentials issued to military spouses, gold star military spouses, military dependents, and spouses and dependents of other qualified servicemembers; and Expanding eligibility for the program to spouses and dependents of Armed Forces Reserve, Ready Reserve, National Guard members in Colorado, and spouses and dependents of other qualified servicemembers. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
To protect public health and the environment, a metropolitan sewage disposal district (district) is required to ensure that wastewater generated by local businesses is properly treated pursuant to the industrial pretreatment program (program) approved by the environmental protection agency. This requires district inspectors to inspect certain properties to investigate actual, suspected, or potential violations of the program. Under current law, the boundaries of a district may exist within multiple municipal and county lines, which makes it challenging for the district to obtain administrative inspection warrants when property owners deny district inspectors entry to a property. The act allows authorized inspectors of a district to enter and inspect, in a reasonable time and manner, any property for the purpose of investigating any violations of the program. If an inspection is denied, the act authorizes a district to obtain a warrant from the district court or county court upon a proper showing of the need for entry and inspection. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2021, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 21-190, concerning additional protection of data relating to personal privacy, which established the "Colorado Privacy Act" (privacy act) as part of the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". The privacy act protects the privacy of individuals' personal data by establishing certain requirements for entities that process personal data. The privacy act also describes certain rights that consumers may exercise regarding the processing of their personal data. The privacy act includes additional protections for sensitive data. For the purposes of the privacy act, the act expands the definition of "sensitive data" to include biological data, which is data generated by the technological processing, measurement, or analysis of an individual's biological, genetic, biochemical, physiological, or neural properties, compositions, or activities or of an individual's body or bodily functions, which data is used or intended to be used, singly or in combination with other personal data, for identification purposes. Biological data includes neural data, which is information that is generated by the measurement of the activity of an individual's central or peripheral nervous systems and that can be processed by or with the assistance of a device. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The attorney general is authorized to appear for the state and prosecute and defend all actions and proceedings, civil and criminal, in which the state is a party or is interested when required to do so by the governor. In these circumstances, the act allows the attorney general to also expend funds, manage staff, and perform other administrative functions essential for the operation of a district attorney's office. If it is essential during this time for the attorney general to hire personnel, while the attorney general has the ultimate authority regarding hiring decisions, a committee consisting of the attorney general, a representative from the Colorado district attorneys' council, and the highest ranking attorney or official at the district attorney's office shall make recommendations regarding hiring decisions that the attorney general must consider. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits counties, cities and counties, and municipalities from limiting the number of people who may live together in a single dwelling based on familial relationship, while allowing local governments to implement residential occupancy limits based only on: Demonstrated health and safety standards, such as international building code standards, fire code regulations, or Colorado department of public health and environment wastewater and water quality standards; or Local, state, federal, or political subdivision affordable housing program guidelines. APPROVED by Governor April 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act specifies that a judgment for a debt for overpayment of paid family and medical leave benefits is eligible to be assigned, released, or commuted and is not exempt from claims of creditors or from levy, execution, and attachment or other remedy or recovery or collection of a debt. The act adds family and medical leave benefits to the list of exceptions for which workers' compensation benefits may be assigned, levied, or attached. The act also allows the division of family and medical leave insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment to obtain reimbursement from a workers' compensation insurer if an employee received both family and medical leave benefits and temporary indemnity benefits for the same absence and allows the insurer to offset benefits in the amount reimbursed. The division may access records regarding compensability and benefit payments of workers' compensation claims for the purpose of coordinating family and medical leave benefits. The department of revenue may provide the division with tax information and may enter into an agreement with the division providing for payment of the costs related to supplying the information and providing for periodic updating of the information supplied. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law limits the duration of employment a public employees' retirement association (PERA) service retiree can work for a PERA employer without a reduction in PERA retirement benefits. Under certain circumstances, a rural school district may hire a service retiree who is a teacher, a school bus driver, a school food services cook, a school nurse, or a qualified paraprofessional without the service retiree receiving a deduction in benefits for any length of employment in the calender year. The act adds superintendents and principals to the list of service retirees hired by a rural school district who may be employed without a reduction in benefits and clarifies that the exemption for a rural school district also includes a small rural school district which has a funded pupil count for the prior budget year of less than 1,000 pupils. The act also requires PERA, on or before December 1, 2025, and on or before December 1 of each 5th year thereafter, to submit a report to the finance and education committees of the house of representatives and the senate or any successor committees regarding certain employment after service retirement allowances. The report must include: The number of service retirees under certain allowances who have been employed after service retirement as of the date of the report; The extent to which certain employment after service retirement allowances have helped employers in the school division address shortages; The costs, if any, to PERA as a result of certain employment after service retirement allowances; and Any other information deemed relevant by PERA. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Each county in the state is categorized for purposes of establishing the salaries of elected officers in the county. The statutory salary amounts are adjusted every 2 years for inflation and take effect for terms commencing after any change is made. The act modifies the categories of 4 counties, which will result in accompanying percentage increases in salaries as follows: Fremont county changes from category II-C to category II-B, resulting in a 9.1% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, and full- and part-time coroners; Elbert county changes from category IV-A to category III-A, resulting in a 17.7% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, and full-time coroners; a 14.1% increase for sheriffs; a 50.0% increase for surveyors; and a 49.8% increase for part-time coroners; Rio Grande county changes from category IV-C to category III-C, resulting in a 17.7% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, and full-time coroners; a 14.1% increase for sheriffs; a 50.0% increase for surveyors; and a 49.8% increase for part-time coroners; and Hinsdale county changes from category V-B to category V-A, resulting in an 8.3% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, and part-time coroners. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, an entity that owns, operates, or has oversight over a storm water detention and infiltration facility (facility) is not allowed to divert, store, or otherwise use water detained in the facility. For facilities that are also approved for use as a precipitation harvesting facility, the act authorizes the use of water detained in the facility pursuant to an approved precipitation harvesting pilot project if precipitation captured in the facility for beneficial use is replaced and any other water captured is managed and released back to the stream system. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires the director of the office of the child's representative and the alternate defense counsel (directors) to be licensed to practice law in Colorado for at least 5 years prior to being appointed as the director of the respective offices and requires the director of the respondent parents' counsel to have 5 years of experience as a licensed attorney prior to being appointed as the director of the respondent parents' counsel. The act removes the requirement that the directors of the office of the child's representative and the alternate defense counsel be licensed to practice law in Colorado prior to their appointment and requires the directors to either be licensed to practice law in Colorado at the time of the appointment or be able to become licensed to practice law in Colorado within 6 months after the appointment. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, if a defendant is charged with a traffic offense, a petty offense, or a comparable municipal offense, a court shall not impose a monetary condition of release. Specifically, the provision applies to a comparable municipal offense that is a property crime and reflects a value of less than $50. The act removes the monetary threshold and instead states that the court cannot impose a monetary condition of release for a comparable municipal offense that would be a petty offense property crime under state law. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 11, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
