Colorado Bills

The bill creates the 'Transparency in Health Care Prices Act', which requires health care professionals and health care facilities to make available to the public the health care prices they assess directly for common health care services they provide. Health care professionals and facilities are not required to submit their health care prices to any government agency for review or approval. Additionally, the act prohibits health insurers, government agencies, or other persons or entities from penalizing a health care recipient, provider, facility, employer, or other person or entity who pays directly for health care services or otherwise exercises rights under or complies with the act. The bill takes effect January 1, 2018. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Purchases of machinery or machine tools to be used in Colorado directly and predominantly in manufacturing tangible personal property are currently exempt from state sales and use tax. The bill extends the exemption to machinery or machine tools purchased by a business for construction materials mining operations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, a retail liquor store licensee that was licensed on or before January 1, 2016, and is a Colorado resident is permitted to obtain one additional retail liquor store license on or after January 1, 2017; 2 additional retail liquor store licenses on or after January 1, 2022; and 3 additional retail liquor store licenses on or after January 1, 2027. With regard to additional retail liquor store licenses, the premises cannot be located within 1,500 feet of any other licensed retail liquor store in the same licensing jurisdiction or, if within a municipality with a population of not more than 10,000 people, the premises cannot be located within 3,000 feet of any other licensed retail liquor store in the same licensing jurisdiction. Also, in addition to selling malt, vinous, and spirituous liquors, a retail liquor store may sell nonalcohol products, but only if the sales revenues from nonalcohol products do not exceed 20% of the store's total annual gross sales revenues. The bill excludes from the calculation of sales revenues from nonalcohol products revenues from the sale of lottery products, cigarettes, tobacco products, nicotine products, ice, and nonalcohol beverages. With regard to multiple licenses, the bill retains the ability for a retail liquor store licensee that is a Colorado resident to obtain one additional retail liquor store license through July 1, 2017, if the new premises satisfies the distance requirements, and starting July 1, 2017, retains the distance requirements and replaces the current time periods and additional license provisions with a structure that mirrors the tiered structure for liquor-licensed drugstores to obtain additional licenses, as follows: For a retail liquor store licensee licensed as of January 1, 2017, that has been a Colorado resident for at least 2 years or has operated a business in Colorado for at least 10 years, in order to obtain an additional retail liquor store license on or after July 1, 2017, the applicant must apply to transfer ownership of 2 licensed retail liquor store licenses within the same local licensing jurisdiction as the premises for which a new license is sought and merge the 2 licenses into a single retail liquor store license; A retail liquor store that qualifies for additional retail liquor store licenses is eligible to obtain: 4 additional licenses, for a total of 5 retail liquor store licenses, on or after July 1, 2017; 7 additional licenses, for a total of 8 retail liquor store licenses, on or after January 1, 2022; 12 additional licenses, for a total of 13 retail liquor store licenses, on or after January 1, 2027; 19 additional licenses, for a total of 20 retail liquor store licenses, on or after January 1, 2032; and an unlimited number of additional retail liquor store licenses, on or after January 1, 2037. A retail liquor store is prohibited from allowing customers to use a self-checkout to complete an alcohol beverage purchase. A retail liquor store is required to: Verify the age of a customer attempting to purchase an alcohol beverage by examining the customer's valid identification; and Maintain certification as a responsible alcohol beverage vendor. An employee of a retail liquor store who is under 21 years of age cannot deliver or otherwise have contact with alcohol beverages offered for sale on, or sold and removed from, the licensed premises. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The 'Colorado Regional Tourism Act' includes a process by which one or more local governments may undertake a regional tourism project (project), create a regional tourism zone in which the project will be built, and create a regional tourism authority to use tax increment financing based on state sales tax revenue to finance eligible improvements related to the project. Currently, once a project has been approved, there is not a process to allow a local government to request and the Colorado economic development commission (commission) to approve a modification to the components of the project. The bill allows a local government that is a participant in an approved project to apply to the commission to modify the project if the local government determines that a planned project component is no longer viable or that the new component will increase the number of out-of-state tourists visiting the project or net new revenue generated by the project. A local government must submit an application to modify an approved project to the Colorado office of economic development (office) for initial review prior to the commencement of substantial work on the project component that will be replaced. The local government is required to include certain information in the proposal but is not required to provide any information that was in the original application and that remains unchanged. The application must include an economic analysis that details whether the modified project meets the requirements specified in law and in guidelines established by the office. The office is required to review and forward an application for a modification of a project to the commission with a recommendation that the commission approve the application, deny it, or approve it with conditions. The commission is required approve the application unless the modified project no longer meets the criteria for a project established in law. The commission may amend its original award, including the percentage of sales tax increment that is awarded and the total cumulative dollar amount to be awarded if specifically impacted by the new component, but may not increase the total cumulative dollar amount of the award beyond that which was previously awarded. If the application for a modification is approved, the commission is required to modify the resolution it adopted when it approved the original application as necessary to conform the resolution to the modified project. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits a court from imposing as a bond condition a ban on marijuana use if the person possesses a valid medical marijuana registry identification card. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Under current law, a conveyance by warranty deed carries the presumption that the grantor's interest in an adjoining vacated street, alley, or other right-of-way is included with the property whose legal description is contained in the deed. However, this presumption does not apply to other types of deeds or to a lease, mortgage, or other conveyance or encumbrance. The bill removes the language containing the presumption from the warranty deed statute and relocates it, with amendments, so as to broaden the application of the presumption of conveyance of an adjoining vacated right-of-way to include not only warranty deeds but also all forms of deeds, leases, and mortgages and other liens. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Under current law, a person must have performed at least 8,000 hours of practical work experience on fire suppression systems over the previous 5 years to register as a sprinkler fitter. This minimum experience requirement is nearly equivalent to the practical experience required to become licensed as a master plumber, which requires at least 8,500 hours of practical experience. The bill aligns the practical experience required to become registered as a sprinkler fitter with the practical experience required to become licensed as a journeyman plumber, which requires 6,800 hours of practical experience. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Currently, the department of revenue issues special license plates to members and veterans of the United States Army special forces. The plates are restricted to people whose orders or DD214 form show an awarded prefix '3' or suffix 'S' or a designation of '5G', 18/180 series MOS, special forces tab, OSS, or UNPIK-8240. The bill removes the ability to get the special license plate based on an awarded 'S' suffix. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill prohibits public institutions of higher education (public institution) from limiting or restricting student expression in a student forum. 'Expression' is defined to mean any lawful verbal or written means by which individuals communicate ideas to one another, including all forms of peaceful assembly, protests, speaking verbally, holding signs, circulating petitions, and disstributing written materials. 'Expression' also includes voter registration activities but does not include speech that is primarily for a commercial purpose. A public institution shall not subject a student to disciplinary action as a result of his or her expression. A public institution shall not designate any area on campus as a free speech zone or otherwise create policies that imply that its students' expressive activities are restricted to a particular area of campus. Additionally, a public institution shall not impose restrictions on the time, place, and manner of student speech unless such restrictions are reasonable, justified without reference to the speech's content, are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information or message. The bill states that it does not grant other members of the college or university community the right to disrupt previously scheduled or reserved activities in a portion or section of the student forum at that scheduled time. Additionally, the bill clarifies that it is not to be interpreted as preventing the public institution from prohibiting, limiting, or restricting expression that is not protected under the 1st Amendment. A student who has been denied access to a student forum for expressive purposes may bring a court action to recover reasonable court costs and attorney fees. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill states that when a peace officer or community parole officer has probable cause to believe that an offender in an intensive supervision program has committed an escape by knowingly removing or tampering with an electronic monitoring device that he or she is required to wear as a condition of parole, the officer shall immediately seek a warrant for the offender's arrest or arrest the offender without undue delay if the offender is in the presence of the officer. However, before an officer arrests an offender, the officer, if practicable, shall determine that the notification of removal or tampering was not merely the result of an equipment malfunction. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Under existing law, the department of education may accept gifts, grants, and donations to use in making monetary awards to certain high-performing public schools and in purchasing tangible items of recognition for the schools. The bill specifies that the department may expend any amount received as a gift, grant, or donation for this purpose without further appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)