The act allows a homeless youth who is 15 years of age or older (youth) to consent to receiving shelter or shelter services from a licensed homeless youth shelter. The state department of human services shall promulgate rules for licensed homeless youth shelters to follow when a youth consents to receiving shelter or shelter services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law categorizes each county for purposes of establishing the salaries of elected county 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 2 counties with the accompanying percentage decrease in salary as follows: Alamosa county changes from category III-A to category III-B (7.7% decrease); and Yuma county changes from category IV-B to category IV-C (8.3% decrease).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the Colorado advisory council for persons with disabilities and the disabled parking education program. The general fund appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2020-21 state fiscal year to the department of human services for use by the special purpose division for the Colorado advisory council for persons with disabilities is decreased by $238,497 and the related FTE is decreased by 1.0 FTE. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the occupational credential portability program (program) in the division of professions and occupations within the department of regulatory agencies, which permits a member of a regulated profession or occupation from another jurisdiction to obtain licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment in the profession or occupation in this state by endorsement, reciprocity, or transfer. The program is available to members of business and health care professions and occupations regulated by the division and the regulatory boards in the division for which licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment by endorsement is permitted under current law; except that the following professions and occupations are specifically excluded from the program: Combative sports; Electricians; Fantasy contests; Mortuaries and crematories; Nontransplant tissue banks; Outfitters and guides; Passenger tramway operators; Plumbers; Private investigators; Direct-entry midwives; and Surgical assistants and surgical technologists. Under the program, the director of the division and most regulatory boards and commissions within the division (regulators) are required to strive to reduce certification, registration, licensure, and enrollment barriers for applicants and to adopt rules to establish the program in the least burdensome way necessary to protect the public. The act also relocates the existing occupational credential exemption for military spouses to the new occupational credential portability program and modifies the exemption by specifying that the exemption is valid for 3 years and applying the exemption to all members of business and health care professions and occupations regulated by the division and the regulatory boards in the division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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.)
The act repeals several statutory provisions that allow for unexpended money in programs operated by the department of human services (department) to remain in the program fund rather than reverting to the general fund. The act repeals other statutory provisions that require the general assembly to appropriate money to a department program. The affected programs and funds include the: Aid to the needy disabled program; Child support collection fund; Child care services and substance use disorder treatment pilot program; and High-risk families cash fund. The act makes the following appropriations: (1) Appropriations made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2020-21 state fiscal year to the department of human services for use by adult assistance programs are adjusted as follows: (a) The general fund appropriation for administration is decreased by $165,149, and the related FTE is decreased by 0.1 FTE; and (b) The general fund appropriation for the disability benefits application assistance program is decreased by $3,589,850. (2) The general fund appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2020-21 state fiscal year to the department of human services for use by the office of early childhood for the child care services and substance use disorder treatment pilot program is decreased by $500,000 and the related FTE is decreased by 0.6 FTE. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on home warranty service contracts by continuing the statutes governing the contracts for 6 years, until 2026, and clarifying that home warranty service contracts are not insurance. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the requirement that amounts appropriated to the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety for the law enforcement assistance grant program that are unexpended and unencumbered remain available for expenditure by the division in the next fiscal year without further appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Repeals obsolete provisions that allow an income tax credit for contributions to enterprise zone administrators to implement economic development plans; Moves certain cross references that are incorrectly placed in the section that allows for an investment tax credit in enterprise zones; and Fixes an incorrect cross reference in the section that allows a credit for new enterprise zone business employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The state treasurer is authorized 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 act 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 basis 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 the 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 act 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: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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.)
The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the coal mine board of examiners in the department of natural resources by: Continuing the board for 9 years, until 2029; Defining "commissioner" as the commissioner of mines in the statute that lists the board members; Replacing an obsolete reference to a "flame safety lamp" with a reference to a "digital gas detector"; and Repealing references to "assistant mine foreman" because that is no longer a position held in coal mines.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
