Usually, an owner of a powered wheelchair must seek diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services of the wheelchair from the manufacturer. Starting January 1, 2023, the act requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information, to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's powered wheelchairs to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services on the owner's powered wheelchair. A manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirement is a deceptive trade practice. In complying with the requirement to provide these resources, a manufacturer need not divulge any trade secrets to independent repair providers and owners. Any new contractual provision or other arrangement that a manufacturer enters into on or after January 1, 2023, that would remove or limit the manufacturer's obligation to provide these resources to independent repair providers and owners is void and unenforceable. A manufacturer is not liable for faulty or otherwise improper repairs that an independent repair provider or owner performs on a powered wheelchair. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the CASA special license plate. In addition to the standard motor vehicle fees, the plate requires 2 one-time fees of $25. One of the fees is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other to the licensing services cash fund. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $28,943 is appropriated for use by the division of motor vehicles in the department of revenue (department) to implement the act, of which amount $1,979 is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services for the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act enacts the "Colorado 340B Prescription Drug Program Anti-discrimination Act" (act), which prohibits health insurers, PBMs, and other third-party payers (third-party payers) from discriminating against entities participating in the federal 340B drug pricing program (340B covered entity), including a pharmacy that contracts with a 340B covered entity to provide dispensing services to the 340B entity (contract pharmacy). Specifically, the act prohibits a third-party payer from: Refusing to reimburse a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy for dispensing 340B drugs, imposing additional requirements or restrictions on 340B covered entities or contract pharmacies, or reimbursing a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy for a 340B drug at a rate lower than the amount paid for the same drug to pharmacies that are not 340B covered entities or contract pharmacies; Assessing a fee, charge back, or other adjustment against a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy, or restricting a 340B covered entity's or contract pharmacy's access to the third-party payer's pharmacy network, because the 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy participates in the 340B drug pricing program; Requiring a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy to contract with a specific pharmacy or health coverage plan in order to access the third-party payer's pharmacy network; Imposing a restriction or an additional charge on a patient who obtains a prescription drug from a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy; Restricting the methods by which a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy may dispense or deliver 340B drugs; or Requiring a claim for a 340B drug to include a modifier or other method of identifying the claim for a 340B drug. A violation of the act is an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance. The act authorizes the commissioner of insurance to adopt rules to implement the act. The act appropriates $17,109 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes new coverage requirements for homeowners insurance policies issued or renewed in Colorado, which requirements apply in the event of a total loss of an owner-occupied residence as a result of a wildfire disaster that is declared by the governor. The act also establishes new requirements for insurers who issue or renew homeowners insurance policies, which requirements concern an insurer's handling of policy claims after such a total loss occurs. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,781 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance as follows: $59,231 for personal services; and $7,550 for operating expenses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements most of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as contained in the department's sunset review of the board of real estate appraisers (board), as follows: Continues the board for 9 years, until September 1, 2031; Requires the board to adopt rules to authorize an exemption from compliance with the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice that would allow an appraiser to perform an evaluation instead of a full appraisal for a federally regulated financial institution and authorizes an appraiser to conduct an evaluation in accordance with the board's rules; Amends statute to comport with federal law, including updating the number of appraisers with which a licensed appraisal management company does business, updating the qualifications for licensure to require the minimum appraisal experience required by the Appraiser Qualifications Board of the Appraisal Foundation or its successor organization, clarifying that the federal regulating authorities that regulate a financial institution are exempted from state registration or licensure, and aligning the hours of continuing education required for reactivation of an inactive license with the number of hours required by the Appraiser Qualifications Board; Repeals the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail; and Clarifies that fines are assessed on a per-violation basis and reduces the maximum penalty from $2,000 to $1,000, which maximum penalty applies to any violation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise (enterprise) in the department of natural resources for the purpose of: Imposing and collecting mitigation fees; Funding the plugging, reclaiming, and remediating of orphaned wells in the state; Ensuring that the costs associated with the plugging, reclaiming, and remediating of orphaned wells are borne by operators in the form of mitigation fees; and Determining the amounts of mitigation fees. On or before August 1, 2022; on or before April 30, 2023; and on or before April 30 each year thereafter, each operator shall pay a mitigation fee to the enterprise for each well that has been spud but is not yet plugged and abandoned, in accordance with rules promulgated by the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission), in the following amounts: For operators with production that is equal to or less than a threshold to be determined by rules of the commission, $125 for each well; or For operators with production that exceeds a threshold to be determined by rules of the commission, $225 for each well. Money collected as mitigation fees is credited to the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise cash fund (fund), which is created in the act. The act also creates the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise board (enterprise board) and requires the enterprise board to administer the enterprise and, at least annually, to: Consider whether the mitigation fee amounts should be increased or reduced, based on current circumstances and reasonably anticipated future expenditures from the fund; If the enterprise board determines that an increase or reduction of the mitigation fee amounts is warranted, adjust the mitigation fee amounts; and Advise the commission of the outcome of the enterprise board's deliberations. The commission may promulgate rules as necessary to implement the enterprise. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under the law, a business entity submits filing documents that concern the creation, organization, and operations of an entity to the secretary of state through an online filing system. By submitting a document, an individual affirms under penalty of perjury that the individual is authorized to file the document, the facts in the document are true, and the document otherwise complies with the secretary of state's filing requirements. The secretary of state saves the document in an online database as a ministerial act and does not independently verify whether the document is accurate. The act creates a complaint process for a person whose business identity or personal identifying information has been used in the filing of these documents with the secretary of state without authority or for fraudulent activity. If a complaint is submitted with the secretary of state, the secretary must forward the complaint to the attorney general for further investigation. The attorney general may investigate the complaint and refer the complaint to an administrative law judge. If an administrative law judge determines that an entity has been created fraudulently or without authorization, the secretary of state is required to: Mark the business record with a notice that the entity is fraudulent or unauthorized; Redact each address that was used without authorization from the entity's filing and from any other relevant filings; and Disable additional filing functionality on the entity's records. If an administrative law judge determines that an unauthorized filing was made for a legitimate entity, the secretary of state is required to: Mark each unauthorized filing for the entity to notify the public that the filing is unauthorized; Redact from the entity's filing and from the relevant filings each address and name that was used without authorization; and Mark the business record on the entity's filing to notify the public that the entity has been the victim of fraudulent or unauthorized acts. If a person alleged to have committed fraud or unauthorized acts fails to respond to the complaint, the allegations are deemed conceded, and the secretary of state is directed to take the appropriate steps listed above in the same manner as if the finding had been made by an administrative law judge. The act creates a working group to study measures to counteract and prevent fraudulent filings in the online business filing system. The working group has 11 persons who represent the affected state agencies, businesses, and the Colorado bar association. The working group is directed to submit a report to the general assembly by January 31, 2023, containing potential legislative provisions to counteract and prevent fraudulent filings, as well as the costs and benefits associated with each potential legislative provision. The report may include specific recommendations to the general assembly. Fraudulent filings are made an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" and as such are subject to enforcement by the attorney general's office. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as contained in the department's sunset review of preneed funeral contracts, as follows: Continues the regulation of preneed funeral contracts for 7 years, to September 1, 2029; Removes from statute the surety bond or net worth requirements for an applicant for a license to sell preneed funeral contracts and requires the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) to establish the requirements in rule; Allows the commissioner to investigate the books, records, and accounts of a contract seller without the requirement that the commissioner first receive a complaint or indication of noncompliance; Removes the fees for license renewal from statute and requires the commissioner to establish the fees in rule based on the cost of regulating the industry and the outstanding preneed contract obligations of the contract sellers; Declares money held in trust for a preneed contract is unclaimed and must be reported to the state treasurer for deposit into the unclaimed property trust fund at the earlier of: 3 years after the date on which the contract seller has knowledge of the death of the preneed contract beneficiary; the date the preneed contract beneficiary, if living, would have attained 115 years of age; or 65 years from the date that the preneed contract was executed; and Requires each funeral establishment, at the time of registration renewal, to attest to whether the funeral establishment sells preneed contracts and requires the director of the division of professions and occupations to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the commissioner to share information on funeral establishments that sell preneed contracts.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes it unlawful for a person to threaten, coerce, or intimidate an election official with the intent to interfere with the performance of the official's duties or with the intent to retaliate against the official for the performance of the official's duties. The prohibition does not apply to an enforcement action taken by the secretary of state to enforce state election laws or to an enforcement action take by a designated election official against an election judge who has violated a statute, a rule promulgated by the secretary of state, or the election judge's oath. The act also prohibits a person from making the personal information of an election official or an election official's immediate family publicly available on the internet if the person knows or reasonably should know that doing so will pose an imminent and serious threat to the election official or the election official's immediate family. For the purposes of this restriction, "election official" is defined to include a county clerk and recorder, a municipal clerk, an election judge, a member of a canvassing board, a member of a board of county commissioners, a member or secretary of a board of directors authorized to conduct public elections, a representative of a governing body, or any other person contracted for or engaged in the performance of election duties. An election worker may file a request with a state or local official to remove personal information from records that the official makes available on the internet. The request must include an affirmation under penalty of perjury that the election worker has reason to believe that the dissemination of the election worker's personal information on the internet poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election worker. After receiving a request from an election worker, the state or local official is also required to deny access to the personal information in response to a request for records under the "Colorado Open Records Act"; except that a party to a record, settlement service, title insurance agency, mortgage servicer or mortgage servicer's agent, and an attorney engaged in a real estate matter may access records maintained by a county recorder, county assessor, or county treasurer. For purposes of this protection, "election worker" is defined to include a county clerk and recorder, county election staff, a municipal clerk, municipal election staff, the secretary of state, and the secretary of state's election staff but does not include an election judge or a temporary employee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act provides a lessee, including a person with a disability, the right to request adaptive equipment in rental motor vehicles. The act also: Requires lessors of motor vehicles to provide lessees the option to request the a motor vehicle with adaptive equipment during online or in-person reservations; Requires lessors of motor vehicles to display certain information in any reservation or reservation confirmation that includes a request for a motor vehicle with adaptive equipment; Requires lessors of motor vehicles to fulfill reservations made by lessees for motor vehicles with adaptive equipment within a set period of time depending on where a lessee requests the delivery of the motor vehicle; and Provides civil remedies for lessees who are subject to a violation of the requirements of the act that occurs on or after July 1, 2025, or, if the violator is a small business, on or after July 1, 2026.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, in a dispute over a defendant's competency, a party may request a second evaluation of the defendant. The act requires that if a second evaluation is completed and restoration is ordered, the court shall make the second evaluation available to the department of human services (department). If the court finds that the competency report provided by the department does not meet statutory requirements, the act permits a defendant to be placed in the department's custody for an inpatient competency evaluation. Under current law, when a defendant is in custody on a misdemeanor, petty offense, or traffic offense and the defendant is found incompetent to proceed, there is a presumption that the court will enter a personal recognizance bond. The act also creates a presumption that the court will order outpatient restoration services. If the court denies a personal recognizance bond, the court shall notify the department of the specific facts and findings it relied upon in the order for restoration treatment. The department is allowed to offer assistance to an out-of-state provider providing restoration services to a defendant living outside Colorado. The requirement to opine on whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant will be restored to competency and remain competent with the use of medication or not remain competent without the use of forced medication is eliminated. After the court has conducted at least 4 competency reviews, the act requires the court to conduct a competency review every 91 days. The court is required to dismiss the defendant's case if there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will be restored to competency in the reasonably foreseeable future. The act appropriates: $28,562,828 from the economic recovery and relief fund cash fund to the department for use by the office of behavioral health for inpatient bed capacity; and $800,000 from the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the department to contract for a feasibility study of renovating a facility in Adams county to provide inpatient beds for competency services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases election security measures for the secretary of state's office, election officials, candidates for elective office, and voters. Section 4 of the act requires the district court and the supreme court, if applicable, to expedite scheduling and the issuance of any orders in connection with an enforcement action brought by the attorney general or the secretary of state to enforce the provisions of the election code to ensure that a final ruling is made within specified periods. Section 5 requires a designated election official for a county, a coordinated election official for a county, and employees in the election division of the department of state (department), at the discretion of the secretary of state, to complete a certification program for election officials provided by the secretary of state (certification program). The secretary of state is strongly encouraged to complete the certification program. Employees, designated election officials, and coordinated election officials are required to complete the certification program within a specified period and may not serve as the designated election official for a county or the coordinated election official for a county without completing the certification program. Section 6 requires that the certification program curriculum include courses in voter registration and list maintenance, accessibility, coordinated elections, mail ballot and in-person voting processes, voting systems testing, risk-limiting audits, and canvass. Section 7 specifies that a person is ineligible to serve as a designated election official for a county or as a coordinated election official if the person has been convicted of an election offense or of committing or conspiring to commit sedition, insurrection, treason, conspiracy to overthrow the government, or another similar federal offense. Section 8 requires the secretary of state to invoice any county that uses a voting system in an instant runoff voting election for its share of the cost as a proportion of the number of registered active voters in all participating municipalities in that county compared to the total number of registered active voters in all participating municipalities in the state as determined by the secretary of state. Section 9 modifies the prohibition for certain elected officials or candidates for elective office from preparing, maintaining, or repairing any voting equipment or device that is to be used in an election to apply to any contact with the voting equipment or device, rather than just physical contact. In a political subdivision with a population of 100,000 or more, section 9 also prohibits any elected official, any candidate for elective office, and the secretary of state from having key card access to or being present in a room with components of a voting system without being accompanied by one or more persons with authorized access. Section 10 requires that for elections conducted under the "Uniform Election Code of 1992", the governing body of any political subdivision is required to adopt an electronic or electromechanical voting system to be used for tabulating votes at all elections held by the political subdivision. This requirement does not apply to counties with fewer than 1,000 active electors at the date of the last general election. Section 11 prohibits a county from creating, permitting any person to create, or disclosing to any person an image of the hard drive of any voting system component without the express written permission of the department. Section 12 specifies that if a software or hardware malfunction makes it impossible to count all or a part of the ballots with electronic vote-tabulating equipment, the secretary of state, after consultation with the designated election official, may permit the designated election official to direct that such ballots be counted manually. Section 13 requires a designated election official to keep all components of a voting system in a location where entry is controlled by use of a key card access system and that is under video security surveillance recording. The designated election official is required to ensure that records in connection with access to the location of the voting system and video recordings of the location are created and maintained for specified periods. Section 3 defines terms in connection with these requirements. Section 13 also directs the general assembly to appropriate the following amounts for the 2022-23 state fiscal year: One million dollars from the general fund to the department to administer a grant program, which is created by the act, to provide assistance to counties in complying with the security requirements of the act; and $117,000 from the department of state cash fund to the department to assist the state and counties with assessing potential risks to the proper administration of elections. In addition, section 13 requires the general assembly to make appropriations for the 2023-24 state fiscal year and each state fiscal year thereafter from the department of state cash fund to the department to assist the state and counties with assessing potential risks to the proper administration of elections. Section 14 states that if a majority of a canvass board in a county is unable to or does not certify the abstract of votes for any reason by the applicable deadline, the secretary of state is required to review the noncertified abstract of votes and other evidence provided by the canvass board. If, after review, the secretary of state determines that the noncertified abstract of votes is sufficiently explicit in showing how many votes were cast for each candidate, ballot question, or ballot issue, the secretary of state is required to certify the results for the county and proceed to certifying state results. Section 15 specifies that in addition to complying with certain existing rules of the secretary of state when carrying out the duties of the secretary of state, a person is also required to comply with other policies of the secretary of state, including the acceptable use policy for the statewide voter registration system, when carrying out such duties. Section 15 also specifies that any person who willfully interferes with a person in notifying or obstructs a person from notifying the department of a potential violation or retaliates against a person for providing such notice is subject to current penalties for election offenses. Section 16 prohibits a person from accessing electronic voting equipment or an election-night reporting system without authorization and specifies that a person who accesses such equipment or system is guilty of a class 5 felony. Section 16 also specifies that an authorized person who knowingly publishes or causes to be published passwords or other confidential information relating to a voting system will immediately have their authorized access revoked and is guilty of a class 5 felony. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
