Serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user - appropriation. The act makes it a class 1 traffic misdemeanor when careless driving of a motor vehicle is the proximate cause of serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user, which is defined in the act. The act allows the court to require the violator to attend a driver improvement course and to require the violator to perform useful public service. The act also subjects a violator to a restitution order and 12 points pursuant to the point system schedule. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,575 from the licensing services cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Greenhouse gas emissions reports on bills - process for requesting - content of reports - appropriation. Beginning with the 2020 legislative session, the staff of the legislative council are required to prepare greenhouse gas emissions reports (reports) 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 5 reports each, or more at the discretion of the director of research of the legislative council. When a member of leadership requests a report, the staff of the legislative council must meet with the requesting member and the sponsor of the bill to discuss whether a report can practically be completed for that bill. If not, the member of leadership may request a report on a different bill, within the limits specified in the act. A greenhouse gas emissions report is defined as a report that uses available data to assess whether a legislative measure is likely to directly cause a net increase or decrease in greenhouse gas pollution in the 10-year period following its enactment. The report must identify new sources of emissions, any increase or decrease in emissions from existing sources, and any impact on sequestration, but is not required to quantify the magnitude of the impact. Greenhouse gas is defined to mean to carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride. The director of research of the legislative council must develop the procedures for requesting, completing, and updating the reports and memorialize the procedures in a letter to the executive committee of the legislative council. The director must provide a report to the legislative council on the implementation of the act on or before December 1, 2024. The act is repealed effective September 1, 2025. $81,911 is appropriated to the legislative department for use by the legislative council staff for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Freestanding emergency departments - mandatory licensure - exceptions - appropriation. Effective July 1, 2022, the act creates a new license, referred to as a "freestanding emergency department license". The department of public health and environment (department) may issue the license to a health facility that offers emergency care, that may offer primary and urgent care services, and that is either: Owned or operated by, or affiliated with, a hospital or hospital system and located more than 250 yards from the main campus of the hospital; or Independent from and not operated by or affiliated with a hospital or hospital system and not attached to or situated within 250 yards of, or contained within, a hospital. A facility licensed as a community clinic before July 1, 2010, and that serves a rural community or ski area is excluded from the definition of "freestanding emergency department". The act allows the department to waive the licensure requirements for a facility that is licensed as a community clinic or that is seeking community clinic licensure and serves an underserved population in the state. The state board of health must adopt rules regarding the new license, including rules to set licensure requirements and fees and safety and care standards. $43,248 is appropriated to the department from the health facilities general licensure cash fund to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Capital construction - repeal of requirement to recommend new method of financing the state's capital needs. The act repeals a requirement that the joint budget committee develop and make recommendations concerning new methods of financing the state's ongoing capital construction, capital renewal, and controlled maintenance needs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Marijuana - hospitality establishments - retail hospitality spaces and sales establishments - marijuana hospitality establishment licensing - rules - appropriation. Subject to approval by both the state and local licensing authorities, the act authorizes marijuana hospitality spaces (hospitality spaces) in which medical and retail marijuana may be consumed on site and retail marijuana hospitality and sales establishments in which retail marijuana, retail marijuana concentrate, and retail marijuana products may be sold and consumed on site. Subject to local approval, the act authorizes a retail food establishment to apply for a marijuana hospitality establishment license for a specified portion of the retail food establishment but prohibits an entity from having both a marijuana hospitality establishment license and a liquor license for the same premises. The act establishes requirements and prohibitions for the new hospitality spaces and requires the state licensing authority to promulgate rules governing the new marijuana hospitality establishment licenses and hospitality spaces. The act makes smoking marijuana in the hospitality spaces an exception to the "Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act". For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $399,479 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Complementary and alternative medicine for a person with a spinal cord injury - pilot program - continuation - report. The act continues the department of health care policy and financing's pilot program that allows an eligible person with a spinal cord injury to receive complementary or alternative medicine until 2025. The act requires the independent evaluation of the pilot program and associated report to be completed no later than January 1, 2025.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Industrial hemp - alignment with federal law - state plan of regulation. In 2018, the federal government enacted the "Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018" (federal act), which removed hemp from schedule I of the federal "Controlled Substances Act". The federal act requires the United States department of agriculture (USDA) to develop a plan for the regulation of hemp and authorizes each state to seek approval from the USDA to have primary regulatory authority over hemp production within the state by preparing and submitting a state plan of regulation to the secretary of the USDA. The act updates the laws governing Colorado's industrial hemp regulatory program to align with the federal act and to put the department of agriculture in a position to prepare and submit a state plan to the secretary of the USDA. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Industrial hemp - regulation of industrial hemp products - increased wholesale food manufacturer fee - stakeholder process - local regulation. Section 1 of the act sets the annual registration fee that a wholesale food manufacturer that produces an industrial hemp product is required to pay to the department of public health and environment at $300, regardless of the manufacturer's gross annual sales. Section 1 also authorizes the department to convene a stakeholder work group to study the regulation of industrial hemp products. Sections 2 and 3 authorize local governments to charge a local licensing fee and adopt ordinances or resolutions regulating businesses engaged in the storage, extraction, processing, or manufacturing of industrial hemp or industrial hemp products if the ordinances or resolutions do not conflict with state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Licensed marijuana ownership - allow publicly traded corporations - controlling beneficial owners, indirect financial interest holders, and passive beneficial owners - rule-making authority - suitability finding - notification, disclosure, notice requirements - appropriation. The act repeals the provision that prohibits publicly traded corporations from holding a marijuana license. The act creates new ownership concepts of controlling beneficial owners, indirect financial interest holders, and passive beneficial owners. The act repeals the concept of direct beneficial owner and the associated requirements. The act gives the state licensing authority rule-making authority related to the parameters of, qualifications of, disclosure of, requirements for, and suitability for the new ownership concepts. A "controlling beneficial owner" is limited to a person that satisfies one or more of the following criteria: A natural person, an entity as defined in section 7-90-102 (20) that is organized under the laws of and for which its principal place of business is located in one of the states or District of Columbia, a publicly traded corporation, or a qualified private fund that is not a qualified institutional investor: Acting alone or acting in concert, that owns or acquires beneficial ownership of ten percent or more of the owner's interest of a medical marijuana business; That is an affiliate that controls a medical marijuana business and includes, without limitation, any manager; or That is otherwise in a position to control the medical marijuana business except as authorized in section 44-11-407; or A qualified institutional investor acting alone or acting in concert that owns or acquires beneficial ownership of more than 30 percent of the owner's interest of a medical marijuana business. "Indirect financial interest holder" is a person that is not an affiliate, a controlling beneficial owner, or a passive beneficial owner of a medical marijuana business and that: Holds a commercially reasonable royalty interest in exchange for a medical marijuana business's use of the person's intellectual property; Holds a permitted economic interest that was issued prior to January 1, 2020, and that has not been converted into an ownership interest; Is a contract counterparty with a medical marijuana business, other than a customary employment agreement, that has a direct nexus to the cultivation, manufacture, or sale of medical marijuana, including, but not limited to, a lease of real property on which the medical marijuana business operates, a lease of equipment used in the cultivation of medical marijuana, a secured or unsecured financing agreement with the medical marijuana business, a security contract with the medical marijuana business, or a management agreement with the medical marijuana business, provided that no such contract compensates the contract counterparty with a percentage of revenue for profits of the medical marijuana business; or Is identified by rule by the state licensing authority as an indirect financial interest holder. "Passive beneficial owner" means any person acquiring any interest in a medical marijuana business that is not otherwise a controlling beneficial owner or in control. The act requires a person intending to apply to become a controlling beneficial owner or passive beneficial owner to receive a finding of suitability or an exemption from the state licensing authority prior to submitting a marijuana business application. The act also requires a marijuana business or controlling beneficial owner that is a publicly traded corporation to comply with various notification, disclosure, notice, and suitability requirements. The act limits the types of publicly traded corporations that can be marijuana businesses or controlling beneficial owners. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $2,783,561 was appropriated from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Urban drainage and flood control district - board of directors. The urban drainage and flood control district is a special district created in statute to design and construct flood control and warning measures within portions of the metropolitan Denver area. The district is governed by a board of directors (board). The act repeals a requirement that the board consist of 16 directors and a requirement that the board meet on the first business day of February each year. The act relocates a requirement that each director take an oath of office to a different statutory section. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Campaign and political finance - contributions to issue committees - campaign activity by noncitizens - restrictions on independent expenditure committees - expanded disclaimer requirements for independent expenditures - written affirmation where certain money transfers are earmarked for particular campaign purposes - disclosure by issue committees and small-scale issue committees - appropriation. The act prohibits an issue committee or small-scale issue committee from knowingly accepting contributions from: Any natural person who is not a citizen of the United States; A foreign government; or Any foreign corporation that does not have the authority to transact business in this state. Under the act, a natural person who is not a citizen of the United States, a foreign government, or a foreign corporation is prohibited from establishing, registering, or maintaining a political committee, small donor committee, political party, issue committee, or small-scale issue committee, or making an electioneering communication or regular biennial school electioneering communication. If, within the 6 months before becoming a candidate for public office, a person actively solicits funds for an independent expenditure committee with the intent of benefitting his or her future candidacy, any expenditure made by that independent expenditure committee in that candidate's race is presumed to be controlled by or coordinated with that candidate and deemed to constitute both a contribution by the maker of the expenditures and an expenditure by the candidate committee. The act extends existing restrictions barring a foreign corporation from expending money on an independent expenditure to include a natural person who is not a citizen of the United States or a foreign government. The act also prohibits an independent expenditure committee from knowingly accepting a donation from any natural person who is not a citizen of the United States, any foreign government, or any foreign corporation. The act expands existing requirements requiring a disclaimer to include communication placed on a website, streaming media service, or an online forum for a fee, or that is otherwise distributed. Existing requirements pertaining to the nature of the disclaimer are expanded to include online video or audio communications. Any corporation, labor organization, or independent expenditure committee (covered organization) that contributes, donates, or transfers $10,000 or more to any person during any one calendar year earmarked for the purpose of making an independent expenditure or electioneering communication must provide to the recipient of the contribution, donation, or transfer a written affirmation. Any covered organization that transfers $10,000 or more to any person, earmarked for the purpose of that person making a contribution, donation, or transfer to pay for an independent expenditure or electioneering communication, during any one calendar year, must provide to the recipient of the transfer a written affirmation. Particular disclosure requirements are made applicable to a covered organization that is not a for-profit organization. The act prohibits any person from accepting a contribution, donation, or transfer from a covered organization unless the covered organization provides a written affirmation. The act describes the required contents of the affirmation. The act repeals and reenacts existing statutory provisions addressing small-scale issue committees and, in particular, specifies requirements governing when such committees are required to disclose and file reports of their contributions or expenditures. Under existing law, an issue committee making an expenditure in excess of $1,000 on a communication is required to disclose in the communication the name of the issue committee making the expenditure. The act expands these requirements so they apply to a candidate committee, political committee, small donor committee, political organization, political party, or other person, as well as an issue committee, making or spending more than $1,000 per calendar year on a communication. The act also extends these requirements to communication placed on a website, streaming media service, or online forum for a fee. Instead of requiring that the communication disclose certain information, the act requires that the responsible person include in the communication a disclaimer statement. The act specifies the contents of the disclaimer statement. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $42,650 to the department of state from the department of state cash fund for use by the information technology division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
County - county treasurer to serve as public trustee. Public trustees for Class 2 counties (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Pueblo, and Weld) are currently appointed by the governor. Commencing July 1, 2020, the act specifies that the county treasurer for each Class 2 county will serve as the public trustee for the county. The county treasurer is required to create a transition plan for assuming the new duties of the public trustee. The county treasurer is authorized to consider incorporating staff of the appointed trustee's office, including the prior public trustee, into the treasurer's office.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
