Joint Budget Committee. Since July 1, 2011, money in the educator licensure cash fund, which includes educator license fees, has been continuously appropriated to the state board of education and the department of education (department) for its expenses incurred in the administration of the 'Colorado Educator Licensing Act of 1991'. While the money is continuously appropriated, the department is required to report to legislative committees about its expenditures from the fund and about application processing time. Beginning with the next fiscal year, the general assembly is required to annually appropriate the money and the reporting requirement is repealed. The bill grants the department 3 more years of continuous appropriation authority, and it likewise extends the related reporting requirement. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
A conservation easement is an agreement in which a landowner agrees to limit the use of his or her land in perpetuity in order to protect one or more specified conservation purposes. The easement is held by a third party (holder), which monitors the use of the land and ensures that the terms of the agreement are upheld. Current law allows a taxpayer to claim a state income tax credit for a portion of the value of a conservation easement that is granted in perpetuity. A landowner must submit an application for the tax credit along with a fee, an appraisal setting forth the value of the easement, and other materials to the division of real estate in the department of regulatory agencies (division). The division reviews the application and, if the easement and its appraised value meet the applicable statutory requirements, grants the application to claim the tax credit. Section 1 of the bill freezes the amount of the application fee to the amount charged as of January 1, 2018. Fees are not allowed to be reduced for multiple applicants. If the director of the division believes that the appraisal submitted by the landowner is not credible, the bill allows the landowner to submit 2 additional appraisals and the director must accept the average amount of the 3 appraisals as the value of the easement. The director is required to consider the appraisals as submitted and not attempt to influence the substance of the appraisals. Section 2 requires the governing body of a local government in which a conservation easement is located to hold a public hearing before a conservation easement is created, modified, or transferred. Public notice is required prior to the hearing and the grantor of the easement, the holder of the easement, and the public are allowed to testify. Section 3 limits the terms of conservation easements to 20 years. The instrument creating an easement is required to clearly set forth the conservation purposes of the easement and require the holder to provide a monitoring and compliance report to the landowner not less than annually. Prior to creating an easement a landowner is required to execute a disclosure form acknowledging certain specified consequences and risks associated with creating the easement. Prior to incurring any costs associated with creating an easement, a landowner must sign a good faith estimate of the costs associated with the creation of the easement. The landowner cannot be held liable subsequently for any costs that exceed amounts in the estimate. A holder of a conservation easement is prohibited from permitting or benefiting financially from any type of development on the property subject to the conservation easement including the development of wind, solar, oil, gas, or mineral resources on the property. Section 4 specifies that any instrument modifying the terms of an easement must be recorded in the public real property records. Section 5 allows a landowner to transfer or extinguish a conservation easement if the holder becomes insolvent, dissolved, or delinquent or otherwise fails to monitor and protect the conservation purposes of the easement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More
The bill adds to the list of organizations authorized to obtain a special event permit to sell alcohol beverages for a limited period an organization that is incorporated under Colorado law for educational purposes. Additionally, the bill removes the requirement that a special event permit be issued to a municipality only if the municipality owns an art facility and instead allows a special event permit to be issued to any municipality, county, or special district. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
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The bill requires a motor vehicle rental company to disclose to a potential customer, in any vehicle rental cost quote and in the rental agreement, additional mandatory charges applicable to the motor vehicle rental. Additional mandatory charges are charges specifically related to the operation of the rental vehicle. The failure to disclose additional mandatory charges is a deceptive trade practice. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
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. One recommendation of the study is to relocate laws located in title 24 that are administered by the department of revenue to a new title 44, which will consist solely of laws administered by the department of revenue that regulate a variety of activities. To implement this recommendation, section 1 of the bill creates title 44 and section 2 relocates laws related to the regulation of lottery from title 24 to the new title. Section 3 repeals the relocated laws from their current location. Sections 4 through 16 make conforming amendments necessitated by the relocation of the laws.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Currently, regular special district elections are held on the Tuesday immediately succeeding the first Monday of May in every even-numbered year. Commencing in 2023, the bill moves such elections to the Tuesday following the first Monday of May in odd-numbered years. In order to implement the new date on which regular special district elections will be held, section 4 of the bill provides that the directors elected at the special district elections held in 2020 and 2022 will serve 3-year terms. Section 5 makes a conforming amendment to the 'Rail District Act of 1982', which uses the same election schedule as provided for special district directors.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Legislative Audit Committee. The bill strengthens the requirements necessary to earn performance-based incentives for film production activities in the state by: Requiring a production company that originates production activities in Colorado to have engaged in production activities in the state for other projects in the 12 months prior to applying for the performance-based incentive for a new project, and if the production company creates a business entity for the sole purpose of conducting production activities in the state, requiring the manager of the business to be a resident of the state for 12 consecutive months as of the date of applying for a performance-based incentive as well as defining a manager as someone with decision-making authority to give permission or 'go-ahead' to move forward with a project; Requiring a production company to provide documentation to prove that the production company meets the statutory definition of 'originates'; Requiring the production company's certified public accountant to provide in his or her written report documentation of the production company's expenditures, including the qualified local expenditures, and documentation that proves that the production company hired the necessary workforce to qualify for the performance-based incentive; Requiring the office of economic development (office) to conduct a review of the certified public accountant's written report to ensure the statutory requirements are met; Requiring the office to develop a list of certified public accountants that meet the statutory requirements and make the list available to all production companies as well as post it on the office of economic development's website; and Specifying that the office shall not issue a performance-based incentive to a production company until the production company and the office have entered into a contract in accordance with the procurement code. The bill also specifies that if a performance-based incentive is erroneously or improperly issued to a production company for any reason, the office is required to engage the services of the attorney general to recover from the production company any amount of the performance-based incentive that was erroneously or improperly issued. The bill also requires the Colorado economic development commission to annually schedule an orientation with the staff of the office in order to receive an official overview of the statutory requirements for a production company to earn a performance-based incentive for film production in Colorado. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Statutory Revision Committee. Section 1 of the bill contains a legislative declaration. Section 2 repeals an obsolete provision regarding personal surety bonds for executive agency personnel. Sections 3 through 5 repeal obsolete requirements that a person providing a personal surety bond to a county officer be a property owner in the county and, if requested, provide a statement of assets. Section 6 authorizes a public entity to purchase insurance in lieu of a public official personal surety bond and states the requirements for the insurance. Sections 7 through 9 remove obsolete personal surety bond requirements for certain municipal officials.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Statutory Revision Committee. The bill directs that reporting requirements for programs established in the department of human services that have not received funding in several years be placed on hold until such time as the program receives funding.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. Beginning in state fiscal year 2018-19, current law: Requires 12.59% of the gross retail marijuana sales tax revenue remaining in the general fund after a required allocation of 10% of the revenue to local governments to be transferred to the state public school fund; and Continuously appropriates that revenue for the same state fiscal year in which it is transferred from the state public school fund to the department of education to help meet the state share of total program funding for school districts and institute charter schools. The bill eliminates the continuous appropriation of the revenue in the state fiscal year in which it is transferred to the state public school fund and instead specifies that beginning in state fiscal year 2019-20, the general assembly may appropriate all or any portion of the revenue transferred to the state public school fund during the prior state fiscal year to the department of education to help meet the state share of total program funding for school districts and institute charter schools. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Under current law, if a person does not cooperate with an investigation by the attorney general or a district attorney regarding a potential deceptive trade practice, the attorney general or district attorney may seek a court order requiring compliance with the investigation. The application for a court order must state why the order is necessary to terminate or prevent a deceptive trade practice. The bill would allow a judge to issue a court order if compliance with an investigation is necessary to investigate a deceptive trade practice. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
