The bill addresses issues related to the state commission on judicial performance and the various district commissions on judicial performance (state commission, district commissions, or collectively all commissions), including: Procedures and duties common to all commissions are combined in a more user-friendly fashion. The current membership of all commissions is left in place as-is until January 31, 2019, at which time the governor's attorney appointment to a district commission and the chief justice's two nonattorney appointments to a district commission expire. The terms of all other existing commissioners continue until such time as the commissioner's term was originally set to expire. Beginning February 1, 2019, the membership of the commissions is structured as follows, with new appointing authorities making appointments on or before March 1, 2019: The state commission consists of 11 members, one attorney and one nonattorney each by the president of senate and speaker of the house of representatives; one nonattorney each by the minority leader of each house; two attorneys appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court; and two nonattorneys and one attorney appointed by the governor. Each district commission consists of 10 members. The make-up of each district commission is the same as that of the state commission except that the governor only appoints two nonattorneys to each district commission and makes no attorney appointment. In the case of a vacancy, the original appointing authority shall make an appointment within 45 days after the date of the vacancy. If the original appointing authority fails to fill the vacancy within 45 days, the governor shall make the appointment. Other conditions related to the membership of state and district commissioners remain as they exist in current law. Duties of all commissions are outlined. The state commission is tasked with developing uniform rules, guidelines, and procedures,, including those related to the development and distribution of surveys for persons affected by justices and judges; promulgation of rules concerning the evaluation of justices and judges, the creation of a standards matrix related to statutory performance criteria and a description of the thresholds for the recommendations of 'meets performance standard' or 'does not meet performance standard', and the continuous collection of data for use in evaluations; and the development of a systemwide judicial training program and a systemwide volunteer courtroom observer program. The state commission is tasked with developing surveys to provide to persons who are affected by justices and judges and to develop guidelines and procedures to make such surveys readily available to those persons. The state commission shall develop rules, guidelines, and procedures to provide attorneys, pro se litigants, and clients with accessible and timely opportunities to review the surveys. Current law requires the state supreme court to approve rules promulgated by the state commission. That requirement is removed. The state commission may, however, at its discretion and within existing appropriations and resources, retain independent legal counsel to review any rules, guidelines, or procedures adopted. The state commission shall post a notice of any proposed rule, guideline, or procedure, allow for a period for public comment, and give the public the opportunity to address the state commission at a public hearing on the proposed rule, guideline, or procedure. The bill adds retired judges who have returned to temporary judicial duties per contract with the judicial department, as allowed by statute, also referred to as senior judges, to the list of judges that commissions are to evaluate. Every third year following the initial appointment of a senior judge to the bench through a contract, the state commission shall conduct a performance evaluation of such judge. The performance evaluation shall be completed and communicate the related narrative to the chief justice no later than 45 days prior to the expiration of the senior judge's contract for that year. Judicial performance evaluation criteria is retained, as is the requirement for all commissions to perform election-retention-year evaluations as well as initial and interim evaluations. Narratives and recommendations stemming from such evaluations are still required. The option to develop an individual improvement plan (improvement plan) for a justice or judge is authorized. If the state or a district commission recommends that a justice or judge receive an improvement plan, the commission shall communicate that recommendation to the chief justice or appropriate chief judge. The chief justice or chief judge shall then develop an improvement plan for the justice or judge in question and forward such improvement plan to the state commission for review. After the state commission reviews and approves an improvement plan, the chief justice or chief judge has the responsibility for implementing the improvement plan. A copy of the improvement plan and a statement of the results of such plan will be maintained in the appropriate commission's files. If a justice or judge is required to complete an improvement plan and he or she fails to satisfactorily do so, the appropriate commission shall automatically issue a 'does not meet performance standard' designation on his or her performance evaluation summary. The state commission is required to gather and maintain statewide data and post a report of the data on its website at least 30 days prior to each retention election; and Beginning in January 2019, and every 2 years thereafter, the judicial department shall include a summary of the commissions' activities in the department's 'State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act' presentation to the joint judicial committee. A private right of action is established in which final actions of the state commission are subject to judicial review if a person is adversely affected or aggrieved by such final action. A 'final action' for purposes of the private right of action is defined as a rule, guideline, or procedure adopted by the state commission. A 'final action' does not include a final recommendation regarding a justice or a judge, an improvement plan, surveys developed by the state commission, or any aspect of an individual justice's or judge's judicial performance evaluation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The existing all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) program includes the state PACE ombudsman. The bill adds local PACE ombudsmen to the state ombudsman's office (office). The bill contains provisions relating to local PACE ombudsmen, including training, designation as representatives of the office, access to PACE centers and participants, authority to file complaints on behalf of PACE participants, and immunity from liability. The bill includes time frames for the state PACE ombudsman to complete duties and functions of the office, including establishing statewide policies and procedures for investigating and resolving complaints relating to PACE programs and training local PACE ombudsmen. The department of human services shall report to the joint budget committee and to its legislative committee of reference concerning the long-term care ombudsman program and the state PACE ombudsman program, including program caseloads and the need, if any, for additional local ombudsmen. The bill repeals statutory provisions relating to stakeholder recommendations and a report concerning the expansion of the PACE ombudsman program to include local PACE ombudsmen. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill adds the definitions 'psychologically traumatic event' and 'serious bodily injury' to the workers' compensation statutes for the purposes of clarifying a worker's right to compensation for any claim of mental impairment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law prohibits a motor vehicle manufacturer (manufacturer) from requiring a motor vehicle dealer (dealer) to substantially alter a facility or premises if the manufacturer required it within the last 7 years at a cost set in statute based on the type of dealer. Section 1 of the bill extends this prohibition to 10 years. Section 1 also prohibits a manufacturer from: Selling a similarly equipped motor vehicle to one dealer at a lower price than to another dealer; Requiring or enforcing a contract giving the manufacturer a right of first refusal or an option to purchase the dealership; and Using an unreasonable, arbitrary, unfair, or surprise performance standard in determining a dealer's compliance with a franchise agreement. Section 2 repeals a provision that gives a dealer a right of first refusal for new franchises when the dealer was terminated due to the insolvency of the manufacturer. Section 2 also authorizes a dealer to sue in court to contest a manufacturer adding or moving a dealership to a market with a current dealer when this action would materially and adversely affect the dealer or the public. Such an action may currently be done administratively. Procedures are set for the civil action and an administrative hearing. Standards are set for determining the outcome. A prevailing party may get attorney fees and costs. Section 3 authorizes a dealer to sue a manufacturer in court to contest whether a termination was for just cause or for failing to provide notice of a termination. Such an action may currently be done administratively. The current process for staying the termination is strengthened. The manufacturer has the burden of proof. A prevailing dealer may get attorney fees and costs. Section 4 requires a manufacturer, when the manufacturer requires the dealer to stop selling a used motor vehicle due to a technical mechanical issue, to provide parts and a solution within 30 days or to provide compensation to the dealer. Standards are set for eligibility and payment.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law authorizes a homeowner to finance certain energy efficiency improvements to the home through a loan pursuant to the property assessed clean energy (PACE) program. The program requires an applicant to file a title commitment on the home and a hearing must be held in order to seek a voluntary subordination of existing liens to the program's junior lien. The bill exempts a homeowner from the title commitment and hearing requirements if the owner or lender is not seeking to subordinate the priority of existing liens. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill clarifies that a student who participates in the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program, which allows the student to remain enrolled as a high school student while concurrently enrolling in postsecondary courses during the school year immediately following the student's twelfth-grade year, is counted in the enrolling school district's or institute charter school's graduation rate in the year in which the student completes the high school graduation requirements. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Under current law, when an employee or manager of a retail business applies for an occupational license, the person must be a Colorado resident on the date of his or her application. The bill gives the state licensing authority the ability to create an exemption to the residency requirement for a person applying for an occupational license for participation in a marijuana-based workforce development or education program if the person files an affirmation that he or she is participating in a program that requires access to licensed premises. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law allows nonadmitted insurers to offer only property and casualty insurance as types of surplus lines insurance. The bill: Defines 'disability insurance' as insurance that is in excess of policy limits available from an admitted insurer, provides income replacement to an insured who becomes an individual with a disability while covered by a policy, and does not provide coverage for the diagnosis or treatment of an insured's disability; and Allows nonadmitted insurers to offer disability insurance as a type of surplus lines insurance.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the state auditor to retain a qualified, independent third-party consulting firm (firm) to evaluate: The centralization of the management of state agency information technology resources in the office of information technology (office) as a result of legislation adopted by the general assembly in 2008; Whether the executive branch of state government has a strategic plan in place to guide its process for evaluating, prioritizing, and selecting information technology projects that require new or ongoing appropriations of state money; The opportunities the state has to interface with the public through information technology; The office's working relationship with state agencies and institutions that were not included in the centralization of state agency information technology resources in the 2008 legislation but that rely on the office to provide certain information technology services or resources; and Consumer satisfaction among state agencies with the management of state agency information technology resources and access to state government via information technology resources. The firm is required to provide the joint budget committee with an update regarding its progress in June 2018 and submit a report to the legislative audit committee, the joint technology committee, the joint budget committee, and the office by December 2018. The report is required to include recommendations to the office for industry best practice standards, recommendations for areas in which the office could work with the general assembly to improve the management of information technology resources and services, recommended future options for the state to solicit feedback from state residents regarding the public's opportunities to interface with state government, and policy discussions directed toward the general assembly. After receiving the report from the consulting firm, the joint budget committee, the joint technology committee, the office of information technology, and any other relevant office or department shall meet to discuss the implementation of the recommendations made in the report. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
With respect to the nongame and endangered wildlife tax check-off, which is scheduled to sunset in 2018, the bill: Expands and renames the check-off as the Colorado nongame conservation and wildlife restoration voluntary contribution program (check-off) for the purpose of benefiting all wildlife in Colorado; Extends the future repeal date of the check-off by 5 years; Specifies that the voluntary contribution moneys allocated to the division of parks and wildlife (division) in the department of natural resources (i.e., 90% of the first $250,000 and $75% of the moneys over that initial $250,000 in contributions per year) will continue to be used by the division for the protection and perpetuation of nongame and endangered wildlife; Provides that the remainder of the moneys received through the check-off (i.e., 10% of the first $250,000 received and 25% of the moneys above $250,000 contributed each year) will be used to make grants for wildlife rehabilitation in the state; For the facilitation of the wildlife rehabilitation grant program, creates the Colorado nongame conservation and wildlife restoration cash fund (fund) authority that is overseen by a seven-member board of directors (board); Describes the process by which the board makes recommendations to the division for authorizing grants to rehabilitators and requires the board to develop guidelines for processing and evaluating grant applications; and Specifies that the board is subject to open records and open meetings laws. Sections 3 and 4 make conforming amendments necessitated by the change of the name of the fund. To implement the bill, section 5 makes an appropriation of $2,200 for the 2017-18 fiscal year from the fund to the department of revenue.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill prohibits engaging in a nuisance exhibition of motor vehicle exhaust, which is the act of knowingly blowing black smoke through one or more exhaust pipes attached to a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less in a manner that obstructs or obscures the view of another driver, a bicyclist, or a pedestrian. A person who violates the prohibition commits a class A traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of $100. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law provides that money allocated to a county through a county block grant for the child care assistance program may be used for the provision of child care services. The bill expands allowable uses of such money to the provision of child care improvement activities as identified in the federal 'Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014', as amended. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
