The act implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' (department) sunset review and report regarding the office of consumer counsel (office) and the utility consumers' board (board) by:Continuing the office and the board for 7 years, to 2028; Changing the name of the office to the office of the utility consumer advocate and the name of the head of the office from the consumer counsel to the director; Changing the board from a type 1 transfer to a type 2 transfer; and Repealing requirements that the board annually review the office's performance and confer with the executive director of the department regarding hiring and performance evaluation matters. The act also:Authorizes the director to consider statutory decarbonization goals, just transition, and environmental justice when determining whether it is in the public interest to appear in a proceeding before the public utilities commission (commission); Removes the cap on the number of employees that the director may employ; Authorizes the office to intervene in matters before the commission that relate to the provision or quality of telecommunications service; Prohibits the office from recommending that the commission take action that would interfere with collective bargaining regarding a regulated industry's employee wages, health insurance, or retirement benefits; Authorizes the director to inspect records and documents of a public utility and conduct depositions under oath of an officer, agent, or employee of a public utility; Requires the director or the director's designee to provide policy analysis to the executive director of the department regarding legislative matters pending before the general assembly that directly relate to the office's mission; Authorizes the office to make presentations and provide other forms of education to the general assembly about certain public utility matters; and Requires the department to include in its annual "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" presentation to the general assembly information regarding the office's work, including a summary of the matters in which the office intervened in the preceding year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the alcohol beverage production limits for distillery pubs and vintner's restaurants, per calendar year:From 45,000 liters to 875,000 liters of spirituous liquor for distillery pubs; and From 250,000 gallons to 925,000 gallons of wine for vintner's restaurants.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the department of education (department) administers the teaching and learning conditions survey (survey) every 2 years to assess teaching and learning conditions as predictors of student achievement, retention of teachers, and the relationship between teaching and learning conditions and school administration. The department administers the survey to all preschool, elementary, and secondary teachers in Colorado public schools. Under current law, an education support professional (ESP) is not permitted to take the survey. The act authorizes an ESP who provides direct instruction, supports licensed staff in an educational capacity, or supports instruction and the learning environment to take the survey.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $53,500 is appropriated to the department from the general fund to implement this act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of regulatory agencies (department) to conduct a sunset review of the public utilities commission's (commission) regulation of towing carriers in 2025 and changes the department's sunset review of the towing task force (task force) from 2024 to 2025. As part of its sunset review of the commission's regulation of towing carriers, the department must review complaints against towing carriers and whether the towing industry and consumers would benefit from dispute resolution of complaints.The act adds 5 members to the task force to represent:Mobile home owners in the state; The attorney general with experience enforcing the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act"; People with disabilities; Common interest communities; and Communities that might be disproportionately affected by nonconsensual towing, such as communities of color, immigrant communities, elderly communities, and rural communities. The following changes are made to membership:The member who represents an association of automobile owners is removed; The member who represents a towing association is required to be experienced with consensual tows; and The member who represents towing carriers but not a towing association is changed to a member who represents nonconsensual towing carriers. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $20,029 is appropriated to the public utilities commission to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado startup loan program (program) in the office of economic development (office) as a revolving loan program to provide loans and grants to businesses seeking capital to start, restart, or restructure a business. The office must contract with a business nonprofit organization, bank, nondepository community development financial institution, or other entity to administer the program, and does not have direct lending authority to make loans under the program.The office or an administrator is required to establish policies for the program, including:The process and deadlines for applying to the program; The eligibility criteria for businesses; Maximum assistance levels for loans and grants; Loan terms, program fees, and underwriting and risk management policies; and Reporting requirements for recipients. The policies must be developed with the goal of generating enough return to replenish the Colorado startup loan program fund for further loan allocations.In determining the eligibility of applicants and the size and terms of loans and grants, the office or an administrator must consider:The need of the business to restructure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or the ability of the business to fill gaps left by closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; The financial losses or other impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic that may inhibit an entrepreneur from obtaining capital through traditional sources; Whether the applicant or the applicant's community faces other barriers to accessing capital from traditional sources; and The applicant's financial needs and the likelihood the applicant would need to be supported by a nontraditional lender. If the administrator determines that an applicant would likely be eligible to receive a loan and may obtain more favorable terms from a traditional financial institution, the administrator must notify the applicant in a timely manner.The office is required to work with the minority business office and other stakeholders to promote the program to businesses that are owned by women, minorities, and veterans and to businesses in rural and underserved communities. By September 1, 2021, the office is required to develop and administer a marketing initiative for the program in coordination with the minority business office and other stakeholders.The act creates the Colorado startup loan program fund. The state treasurer is required to transfer $30 million from the general fund to the Colorado startup loan program fund on the effective date of the act. The money is continuously appropriated to the office for the program. In addition, $10 million is appropriated from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the Colorado startup loan program fund. This money is continuously appropriated to the office to provide loans and grants through the program to respond to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, subject to the requirements in state and federal law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires the prescription drug monitoring program (program) to track all controlled substances prescribed in Colorado. The act requires the state board of pharmacy (board) to determine if the program should track all prescription drugs prescribed in this state. If the board determines that all drugs should be tracked, the act requires the board to promulgate rules to include all prescription drugs in the program. If the board determines that one or more drugs should not be tracked through the program, the act requires the board to publicly note the justification for the exclusions.$61,118 is appropriated from the prescription drug monitoring fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of professions and occupations to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
When a child is taken into the custody of a county department of human or social services (county department) for allegations of neglect or for other reasons, the act requires the court to enter temporary visitation orders with the child's parent if such orders are in the child's best interests. The act sets forth the contents of those orders and requires contact to commence within 72 hours after a hearing unless the court delays the contact. Absent the issuance of an emergency order, a parent is entitled to a hearing prior to an ongoing reduction in, suspension of, or increase in the level of supervision, including a change from in-person visitation to virtual visitation. The act requires the court to enter visitation orders consistent with the act in various phases of the court proceedings.The act sets forth requirements for an open adoption in Colorado, including provisions for entering into post-adoption contact agreements between a child and the child's birth parent or parents, a birth relative, or an Indian tribe if the child is a member. A post-adoption contact agreement may include provisions for contact, visitation, or the exchange of information. If a child is 12 years of age or older, the court shall not order a post-adoption contact agreement unless the child consents to all terms of the contact agreement. The act includes provisions for the enforcement, modification, and termination of a post-adoption contact agreement.The act creates a task force on high-quality parenting time (task force) in the state department of human services to examine the current policies and statutes governing parenting time in dependency and neglect cases and to study best practices for the provision and determination of individualized plans for parenting time and to make recommendations to the general assembly for administrative or statutory changes to support high-quality parenting time. The task force includes a steering committee selected by executive branch agency directors, and members jointly appointed by the steering committee representing the judicial system and the child welfare system, as well as parents, social workers, and other members described in the act. The act includes specific areas of study by the task force. The task force shall submit a written report by October 1, 2022, to the governor, certain committees of the general assembly, the department of human services, and the child welfare training academy. The report must include the task force's findings concerning best practices to improve high-quality parenting services and practices in dependency and neglect cases and recommendations for changes to implement those best practices.The act appropriates $13,879 from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the office of information technology services for Colorado TRAILS.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy (committee) and the associated task force (task force).The committee is required to annually define in writing, no later than the second meeting of the year, the scope of tax policy to be considered for the committee and the task force. The committee is responsible for considering the policy considerations contained in the tax expenditure evaluations prepared by the state auditor. The committee 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 within its scope as annually defined by the committee and is required to develop and propose for committee consideration any tax policy and legislative recommendations.The task force is also authorized, with approval from the committee chair in consultation with the committee vice-chair, 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 enacted.)
The act creates personal data privacy rights and:Applies to legal entities that conduct business or produce commercial products or services that are intentionally targeted to Colorado residents and that either: Control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers per calendar year; or Derive revenue from the sale of personal data and control or process the personal data of at least 25,000 consumers; and Does not apply to certain specified entities including state and local governments and state institutions of higher education, personal data governed by listed state and federal laws, listed activities, and employment records. The act defines a "controller" as a person that, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. A "processor" means a person that processes personal data on behalf of a controller. Consumers have the right to opt out of a controller's processing of their personal data; access, correct, or delete the data; or obtain from a controller a portable copy of the data.The act:Specifies how controllers must fulfill duties regarding consumers' assertion of their rights, transparency, purpose specification, data minimization, avoiding secondary use, care, avoiding unlawful discrimination, and sensitive data; Requires controllers to conduct a data protection assessment for each of their processing activities involving personal data that present a heightened risk of harm to consumers, such as processing for purposes of targeted advertising, profiling, selling personal data, or processing sensitive data; and Specifies that a violation of its requirements is a deceptive trade practice for purposes of enforcement, but the act may be enforced only by the attorney general or district attorneys. Local governments are preempted from adopting laws that govern the processing of personal data by controllers or processors. The attorney general may promulgate rules to administer the act and is required to adopt rules detailing technical specifications for a universal opt-out mechanism that controllers must use.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act authorizes the department of human services (department) to make fuel assistance payments to supplemental nutrition assistance program recipients to maximize their federal heating and cooling standard utility allowance. Money for the fuel assistance payments comes from a portion of the money collected from the energy assistance system benefit charge (charge), which is a monthly charge that investor-owned electric and gas utilities are required to collect from their customers. Money for the fuel assistance payments is credited to the supplemental utility assistance fund, which fund is continuously appropriated to the department.Section 2 removes the low-income energy assistance program administered by Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) from the grant program reserve funded by tier 2 severance tax operational fund money.Section 3 clarifies that the definition of a "low-income utility customer", with regard to the public utilities commission's (PUC) consideration of a preference or advantage that a gas or electric utility grants a low-income utility customer, means a utility customer who meets the department's income eligibility criteria.Sections 4 and 5 make modifications to the legislative commission on low-income energy assistance, wherein section 4 expands the commission's scope to include water utility assistance and section 5 reduces the composition of the commission from 11 members to 7 members. Section 5 moves the commission from the department to the Colorado energy office (office) on May 1, 2022. Section 5 also requires the commission to:Advise the office on grants awarded from the federal department of energy regarding the office's weatherization assistance program; Advise water utilities that provide their customers with utility assistance and efficiency programs; and Review EOC's annual budget that it submits to the PUC regarding the use of funding for utility bill payment assistance. Section 6 updates the legislative declaration regarding low-income energy assistance with regard to the benefit of allowing all water utilities to participate voluntarily in a program to provide financial assistance to customers in low-income households.Sections 7, 8, and 10 to 12 concern the creation of the charge. From October 2021 through September 2022, the initial amount of the charge per customer is 50 cents for electric service provided and 50 cents for natural gas service provided, and, after September 2022, each is raised to 75 cents. Commencing October 1, 2023, the charge is adjusted for inflation. Investor-owned utilities are required to remit the charges collected to EOC to help finance low-income energy assistance programs. Additionally, each investor-owned utility is required to notify customers of:The possibility of exemption from paying the charge for a period of 12 months based on having received direct utility bill payment assistance from EOC in the previous 12 months; and Contact information for opting out of paying the monthly charge. EOC is required to allocate a portion of the money collected from the charge to the department for its fuel assistance payments and use another portion for EOC's community outreach about the charge, with the remainder of the money collected split between EOC and the office for helping to finance their energy assistance programs.Sections 9 and 13 concern voluntary, opt-in charges that a water utility may offer its customers to help finance the water utility bill payment assistance program that EOC administers. Alternatively, a water utility may implement its own water utility bill payment assistance program.Section 14 requires EOC and the office, when installing energy retrofits for low-income households, to prioritize customer savings, emission reductions, and improving indoor air quality.Section 15 governs reporting requirements for EOC and the office regarding use of the money collected from the charge and, for EOC, additional reporting requirements on voluntary, opt-in monthly water utility bill payment assistance collections.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires that certain language appear at the beginning of a ballot title for an initiated measure that would either increase or decrease tax revenue through a tax change.First, in the case of a measure that would reduce state tax revenue through a tax change, the ballot title must begin "Shall there be a reduction to the (description of tax) by (the percentage by which the tax is reduced in the first full fiscal year that the measure reduces revenue) thereby reducing state revenue, which will reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to (the three largest areas of program expenditure) by an estimated (projected dollar figure of revenue reduction to the state in the first full fiscal year that the measure reduces revenue) in tax revenue...?". If the ballot measure specifies the public services or programs that are to be reduced by the tax change, those public services or programs must be stated in the ballot title.Second, in the case of a measure that would reduce local district property tax revenue through a tax change, the ballot title must begin "Shall funding available for counties, school districts, water districts, fire districts, and other districts funded, at least in part, by property taxes be impacted by a reduction of (projected dollar figure of property tax revenue reduction to all districts in the first full fiscal year that the measure reduces revenue) in property tax revenue...?".Finally, in the case of a measure that would increase tax revenue for any district through a tax change, after the language required by section 20 (3)(c) of article X of the state constitution, the ballot title must state either "in order to increase or improve levels of public services", or, if applicable, "in order to increase or improve levels of public services, including, but not limited to (the program expenditure that the measure states will receive increased funding)".The act also changes the requirements for the ballot information booklet entry for certain measures. The act requires the ballot information booklet entry for an initiated measure that would increase or decrease income tax revenue or state sales tax revenue to include a table that shows the number of tax filers in designated income categories, the total tax burden change for each of those income categories, and the average tax burden change for a filer within each of those income categories. If an initiated measure includes a tax change that reduces state tax revenue, the act requires the ballot information booklet to include a description of the 3 largest areas of program expenditure funded by the affected revenue stream.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law allows an existing association consisting of multiple employers, referred to as a "multiple employer welfare arrangement" (MEWA), to offer health-care benefits to the association's members only if, among other requirements, the MEWA has been in existence continuously since at least January 1, 1983, and is engaged in substantial activities for its employer members other than the sponsorship of an employee welfare benefit plan.The act allows a MEWA that does not meet these requirements to file an application for a waiver with the commissioner of insurance that, if granted, would enable the MEWA to offer health-care benefits to its members' employees. The act specifies the application requirements, substantive requirements that a MEWA must comply with to qualify for a waiver, and factors that the commissioner will consider in determining whether to grant a waiver. If a waiver is granted, the MEWA is subject to the division of insurance's full enforcement authority, and the MEWA may operate for 2 years. To operate past the 2 years, a MEWA must reapply for a waiver, but if the commissioner grants 5 consecutive waivers, a MEWA may continue to operate without again applying for a waiver.The act also appropriates $13,352 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.)
