Joint Budget Committee. The general assembly created the governor's office of marijuana coordination in 2014 to coordinate the executive branch response to the legalization of retail marijuana as directed by the governor. The bill repeals the office of marijuana coordination, effective July 1, 2017.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Statutory Revision Committee. Pursuant to section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), Colorado Revised Statutes, any report that is required to be made to the general assembly by an executive agency or the judicial branch on a periodic basis expires on the day after the third anniversary of the date on which the first report was due unless the general assembly, acting by bill, continues the requirement. The bill addresses the reporting requirements of educational agencies. Section 4 of the bill repeals a report that was scheduled to repeal according to section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I). Currently there is no repeal date listed in the organic statute. Section 13 adds a repeal date in the organic statute that coincides with the scheduled repeal date specified in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I). Sections 1 through 3, and 5 through 23 amend the organic statute to continue indefinitely the reporting requirements notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I).(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Legislative Audit Committee. Section 1 of the bill requires the state auditor (auditor) to establish and administer a telephone number, fax number, email address, mailing address, or internet-based form whereby any individual may report an allegation of fraud committed by a state employee (employee) or an individual acting under a contract with a state agency (contracted individual). This system is referred to in the bill as the 'fraud hotline' or 'hotline' and any report to the hotline as a 'hotline call'. Section 1 defines 'fraud' to mean occupational fraud or the use of one's occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing organization's resources or assets. Section 1 prohibits the auditor from disclosing publicly, or when making a referral to another state agency, the identity of any individual who contacts the fraud hotline unless the individual grants the auditor express permission to make such disclosure. These restrictions do not apply when the auditor makes a disclosure to a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general in connection with a criminal investigation. Under the bill, the auditor is responsible for administering the hotline, including the screening of hotline calls and consulting and coordinating with state agencies to refer allegations of fraud by an employee or contracted individual that are reported to the hotline. In connection with the administration of the hotline, the bill requires the auditor to: Publicize the existence and purpose of the hotline on the official website of the office of the state auditor; and Prepare and maintain workpapers for the purpose of documenting the activities of his or her office in connection with hotline calls and investigations. All workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor in connection with hotline calls and investigations must be held as strictly confidential by the auditor and not for public release. These restrictions shall not prevent communication by and among the auditor, a state agency, the governor, the legislative audit committee (committee), a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general in accordance with the requirements of the bill. The bill specifies that all workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor in connection with hotline calls shall not constitute public records for purposes of the 'Colorado Open Records Act'. Upon receiving a hotline call, the auditor must conduct an initial screening of the call to determine whether the matter being reported constitutes an allegation of fraud committed by an employee or a contracted individual. The auditor is required to forward all hotline calls alleging fraud by a medicaid recipient to the department of health care policy and financing and all calls alleging fraud by a medicaid provider or contractor to the medicaid fraud control unit of the office of the attorney general. If the auditor determines that a hotline call constitutes an allegation of fraud committed by an employee or contracted individual, the auditor is required to consult and coordinate with the management or designee of the affected state agency or, in the case of alleged fraud involving a gubernatorial appointee, the governor's office for the purpose of referring the hotline call and any related workpapers to the affected agency. Upon receiving a referred hotline call from the auditor, the state agency is responsible for determining and taking appropriate action to respond to the referred hotline call and reporting back to the auditor. In determining appropriate action, the state agency may request either the assistance of the auditor to participate in an investigation or request that the auditor conduct the entire investigation. When, at the request of a state agency, the auditor either participates in or conducts an investigation of a hotline call, the following additional requirements apply: The auditor is granted complete access to all of the books, accounts, reports, vouchers, or other records or information maintained by the agency that are directly related to the scope of the investigation; The auditor is required to report the results of the investigation to the head of the affected agency or, in the case of alleged fraud involving a gubernatorial appointee, to the governor's office. The auditor is also required to provide any workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor during the investigation. If the investigation finds evidence that the amount of the alleged fraud exceeds $100,000, the auditor is also required to report the results of the investigation to the committee and, with the approval of the committee, to the governor; and If the investigation finds evidence of apparently illegal transactions or misuse or embezzlement of public funds or property, the auditor is required to immediately report the matter to a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general, as appropriate. When a state agency is referred a hotline call by the auditor and has not requested that the auditor either participate in or conduct the entire investigation, the state agency is required to report back to the auditor within 90 days on the disposition of the referral, including action the agency has taken to respond to the fraud allegation and the results of any subsequent investigation by the agency. If the state agency has not reached a disposition of the referred hotline call within 90 days, the agency must report to the auditor the current status of the referral as of the 90-day deadline. This reporting requirement continues every 90 days thereafter until the agency has reached a disposition of the referred hotline call. Commencing with state fiscal year 2018-19, section 1 also requires the auditor to prepare an annual report to the committee providing an aggregate summary of activity relating to the fraud hotline during the preceding state fiscal year. Section 2 adds the administration of the hotline to existing statutory provisions specifying the auditor's powers and duties. Sections 3 and 4 prohibit retaliation against either a state employee or an entity under contract with a state agency resulting from the employee's disclosure of information to the hotline except where the employee discloses information with disregard for its truth or falsity.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Statutory Revision Committee. Pursuant to section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), Colorado Revised Statutes, any report that is required to be made to the general assembly by an executive agency or the judicial branch on a periodic basis expires on the day after the third anniversary of the date on which the first report was due unless the general assembly, acting by bill, continues the requirement. The bill addresses the reporting requirements of higher education agencies. Section 3 of the bill repeals a report that was scheduled to repeal according to section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I). Currently there is no repeal date listed in the organic statute. Sections 1 through 16 of the bill amend the organic statute to continue indefinitely the reporting requirements to send a report to the general assembly notwithstanding the repeal date specified in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I).(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
In the case of St. Jude's Co. v. Roaring Fork Club, LLC, 351 P.3d 442 (Colo. 2015) ( St. Jude's Co. ), the Colorado supreme court held that direct diversions of water from a river to a private ditch for aesthetic, recreational, and piscatorial purposes on private property, without impoundment, are not beneficial uses of water under Colorado water law. The bill provides that the decision in the St. Jude's Co. case interpreting section 37-92-103 (4) does not apply to previously decreed absolute and conditional water rights or claims pending as of July 15, 2015. The interpretation of section 37-92-103 (4) in St. Jude's Co. applies only to direct-flow appropriations, without storage, filed after July 15, 2015, for water diverted from a surface stream or tributary groundwater by a private entity for private aesthetic, recreational, and piscatorial purposes.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill clarifies the applicability provisions of legislation enacted in 2015 and 2016 to promote an equitable financial contribution among affected public bodies in connection with urban redevelopment projects allocating tax revenues in the following respects: The bill clarifies that a substantial modification of an urban renewal plan (plan) is a proposed modification that substantially changes provisions of the plan regarding land area, land use, authorization to collect incremental tax revenue, the extent of the use of tax increment financing, the scope or nature of the urban renewal project, the scope of method of financing, design, building requirements, timing, or procedure, as previously approved, or where the modification will substantially clarify a plan that, when approved, was lacking in specificity as to the urban renewal project or financing. If the modification is substantial, the modification is subject to pertinent requirements of the urban renewal law addressing modifications. For plans to which a pledge of the revenues deposited into the special fund was made by an indenture or other legally binding document that is separate from the plan itself prior to January 1, 2016, a pledge to secure the payment of refunding bonds is not a substantial modification and is not subject to the modification requirements of the urban renewal law. Not less than 30 days prior to approving any modification of a plan, the bill requires the governing body or an urban renewal authority (authority) to provide a detailed written description of the proposed modification to each taxing entity that levies taxes on property located within the urban renewal area and a notice of the date and time of the meeting at which the governing body will consider the modification. Any taxing entity that levies taxes on property located within the urban renewal area may file an action in the state district court exercising jurisdiction over the county in which the urban renewal area is located for an order determining, under a de novo standard of review, whether the modification is a substantial modification. Further, if requested by the taxing entity, the court is required to enjoin any action by the authority pursuant to the modification until the court has determined whether the modification is a substantial modification and, if so, the court is required to further enjoin any action by the authority until there has been compliance with statutory provisions addressing the sharing of incremental property tax revenues. The bill prohibits any action from being brought to enjoin any undertaking or activity of the authority to a plan, including the issuance of bonds, the incurrence of other financial obligations, or the pledge of revenue, unless the action is commenced within 45 days after the date the authority provided notice of its intention regarding such undertaking or activity. The notice must describe the undertaking or activity proposed to be engaged in by the authority and specify that any action to enjoin the undertaking or activity must be brought within 45 days from the date of the notice. The notice must be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation within the county. On or before the date of publication of the notice, the bill also requires the authority to mail a copy of the notice to each taxing entity that levies taxes on property within the urban renewal area. Finally, the bill clarifies that legislation enacted in 2015 to promote an equitable financial contribution among affected public bodies in connection with urban redevelopment projects allocating tax revenues, legislation adopted in 2016 to clarify such 2015 legislation, and the bill apply to municipalities, authorities, and any plans created on or after January 1, 2016, and to any substantial modification of any plan approved on or after January 1, 2016.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Committee on Legal Services. Current law directs the office of legislative legal services to study the organizational recodification of title 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which relates to professions and occupations. To implement the initial recommendations of the study, the bill relocates the following laws: Article 29.3 of title 12, pursuant to which the department of public health and environment (department) regulates volunteer health practitioners and services provided by volunteer health practitioners during a declared emergency, to part 6 of article 1.5 of title 25 ( section 1 of the bill ); and Article 30 of title 12, pursuant to which the department regulates persons that represent that a drug, medicine, compound, or device is of value in the diagnosis, treatment, alleviation, or cure of cancer, and the drugs, medicines, compounds, or devices so represented, to article 48 of title 25 ( section 2 ). Section 3 repeals the articles where these laws were previously codified.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Technology Committee. The bill adds definitions of 'cybersecurity' and 'data privacy' for the purposes of the joint technology committee (committee). In addition, the bill modifies the definition of 'oversee' for the purposes of the committee to be consistent with other statutory provisions. The bill adds to the powers and duties of the committee the authority to request information and presentations regarding data privacy and cybersecurity within state agencies and the authority to coordinate with the Colorado cybersecurity council created in the department of public safety. In addition, the committee may consider: Whether state agencies are collecting or retaining data that exceeds what is necessary and appropriate for such agencies to perform their functions; Who has access to data, the extent of such access, and appropriate mechanisms to protect sensitive data; and Measures to protect data against unauthorized access, disclosure, use, modification, or destruction. Currently, the committee is required to review and may make recommendations to other legislative committees on any legislative measure that the speaker of the house of representatives or the president of the senate determines to be dealing with information technology. The bill specifies that this requirement includes data privacy and cybersecurity. The bill also specifies that the committee may request to review and make recommendations to other legislative committees on any legislative measure that the committee determines to be dealing with information technology, data privacy, or cybersecurity. Pursuant to current law, the committee will repeal on July 1, 2018. The bill eliminates the repeal of the committee. The bill requires the office of state planning and budgeting to design and prepare, in coordination with the staff of the committee, the forms and instructions to be used in preparation of all budget requests and supplemental budget requests submitted to the committee. The forms and instructions must require that budget requests submitted to the committee include: Information from a request for information or other formal market research regarding the information technology budget request; A defined scope of work and information regarding whether a vendor or consultant assisted in preparing the specifications or statement of work included in the information technology budget request; A range of options for completing the project, including the estimated costs for such options; and Any other available and relevant information obtained from the market research related to the information technology budget request.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Committee on Legal Services. Currently, statute requires that any contract the state enters into to publish or print the Colorado Revised Statutes must specify that the paper used meets certain standards established by the national standards institute for permanent paper for printed library materials. However, that standard is outdated and no longer used in the industry. The bill updates the statutory reference to the current applicable alkaline minimum reserve requirements and acidity levels for uncoated paper as established by the American national standards institute and the national information standards organization. The change will not affect the current publications contract; however, it will apply to future contracts and extensions of contracts.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill designates as a peace officer the manager of the office of prevention and security within the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Capital Development Committee. The bill grants the state historical society the authority to sell a vacant cold storage facility located on the former Lowry Air Force base. The bill specifies that the proceeds of the sale are to be credited to the state museum cash fund to be used for capital outlay, capital construction, or controlled maintenance at museums statewide.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law authorizes a county to propose a county public safety improvements tax by submitting a ballot question to the voters of the county at a general election only. The bill authorizes a county to also submit such a ballot question at a biennial county election or an election held in November of an odd-numbered year. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
