The bill specifies that asphalt shingles may be transported and stored in railroad cars pending delivery for recycling and pending recycling at a recycling facility and stored outside pending delivery for recycling and may be stored outside of a recycling facility pending recycling. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
For purposes of the property tax, the bill classifies an improvement that is used to provide short-term stays, which is overnight lodging for less than 30 consecutive days in exchange for a monetary payment. A building or a portion of a building that is designed and used as a residency by a person, a family, or families and that is leased or available to be leased for short-term stays is a residential improvement and, therefore, it is classified as residential property. A short-term rental unit is excluded from the definition of residential improvements and, therefore, it is classified as nonresidential property. A short-term rental unit is defined to mean a building or a portion of a building that is designed for use predominantly as a place of residency by a person, a family, or families, but that is leased or available to be leased for short-term stays during the property tax year and is occupied by the owner for less than 30 days in a year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill establishes a physician-patient relationship between a child born alive after or during an abortion and the physician who performed or attempted to perform the abortion. The bill requires the physician to exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious physician would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age and requires that the child born alive be immediately transferred to a hospital. The bill creates a civil penalty of $100,000 for a violation enforceable by the attorney general, makes a violation a class 3 felony, and makes a conviction unprofessional conduct for licensing purposes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits any person from intentionally or recklessly performing or attempting to perform an abortion on a person if the gestational age of the fetus is 22 weeks or older except in limited circumstances. Any person who performs or attempts to perform an abortion in violation of this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor but may only be subject to punishment by fine and not by jail time. A woman who has an abortion is not subject to criminal penalties. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill prohibits an employer, including a licensed health facility, from taking adverse action against an employee or an applicant for employment based on the employee's or applicant's immunization status. The bill allows an aggrieved person to file a civil action for injunctive, affirmative, and equitable relief. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
A conservation easement is an agreement in which a property owner agrees to limit the use of his or her land in perpetuity in order to protect one or more specified conservation purposes. The instruments creating the conservation easement are recorded in the public records affecting the ownership of the property. The conservation easement is held by a third party, which monitors the use of the land and ensures that the terms of the agreement are upheld. Prior to creating a conservation easement, section 1 of the bill requires the property owner to sign a disclosure form acknowledging certain specified consequences and risks of creating the easement on his or her land. Section 3 requires the commissioner of agriculture to work with local government officials to create a database of conservation easements in the state. The database includes specified information about the easements and a corresponding map displaying each easement in the state relative to county boundaries. Local government officials and the commissioner of agriculture are authorized to enter into contracts to assist in gathering information for the database. The bill specifies the sources of information that may be used to create the database. The commissioner of agriculture is required to annually update the information in the database and make the information and corresponding map available to the public at no charge on the department of agriculture's website. When a conservation easement agreement, amendment, or transfer is recorded with a county clerk and recorder, section 2 requires a complete copy of the agreement, amendment, or transfer to be submitted to the commissioner of agriculture and the county tax assessor of the county in which the easement is located. The commissioner of agriculture is required to create a tracking form with specified information for each conservation easement agreement, amendment, or transfer submitted. The tracking forms are made available on the department of agriculture's website and can be used by the commissioner of agriculture to create and maintain the database of conservation easements. For any state income tax credit claimed for a donation of a conservation easement that is disallowed, section 3 also allows a landowner to elect to either extinguish the conservation easement for which the credit was claimed or receive an equitable relief payment from the state. If a landowner elects to extinguish the conservation easement, the bill requires the department of revenue to reimburse the taxpayer for all reasonable costs incurred by the landowner in establishing the conservation easement donation as well any federal or state income tax liability incurred by the taxpayer. The attorney general is required to assist landowners with executing any documents required to seek a court order to extinguish a conservation easement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the rural development grant program to be administered by the Colorado office of economic development. The grants are to be awarded to early stage rural businesses that are primary employers in a rural area with the potential to export goods or services outside of the rural area or for the programmatic expenses of economic development organizations that help promote early stage rural businesses. Early stage rural businesses must be at the seed stage of capital financing, have raised less than $500,000 of third-party capital, and must be able to provide nonstate matching funding equal to at least 1/3 of the grant award. Grants to the early stage rural businesses may be used for developing prototypes, proof of business concepts, or proof of business models. The grants are funded from the general fund and are limited to no more than $150,000 per early stage rural business per year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, under the federal educator expense deduction, an eligible educator can claim a deduction, not to exceed $250, for the purchase of school supplies and certain professional development courses. The bill creates a state income tax credit for an eligible educator for the purchase of school supplies that qualify for the deduction that exceeds $250 but are less than $750. The amount of the credit that exceeds the educator's income taxes is refunded to the educator.(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. The bill modifies the provisions governing the ability of a retail liquor store to obtain additional retail liquor store licenses as follows: Retains the ability of a retail liquor store owner that applied for a license on or before January 1, 2016, to obtain one additional retail liquor store license on or after January 1, 2017, but removes the requirement that the licensee be a Colorado resident; On or after the effective date of the bill, mirrors the multiple license provisions applicable to liquor-licensed drugstore licenses by allowing a retail liquor store owner to obtain: A maximum of 5 total retail liquor store licenses between the effective date of the bill and December 31, 2021; a maximum of 8 total retail liquor store licenses between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2026; a maximum of 13 total retail liquor store licenses between January 1, 2027, and December 31, 2031; a maximum of 20 total retail liquor store licenses between January 1, 2032, and December 31, 2036; and an unlimited number of retail liquor store licenses on or after January 1, 2037; and For additional licenses obtained on or after the effective date of the bill, requires a person seeking additional licenses to apply to transfer ownership of, change location of, and merge at least 2 retail liquor store licenses located within the same local licensing authority jurisdiction as the applicant's premises into a single retail liquor store license. Additionally, the bill prohibits a retail liquor store from allowing customers to use a self-checkout to complete an alcohol beverage purchase and requires a retail liquor store 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. The bill sets state and local application fees for a retail liquor store licensee applying for a transfer of ownership, change of location, and merger of 2 retail liquor store licenses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill expands the list of persons authorized to conduct evaluations to determine if a defendant charged with a crime is competent to stand trial. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill directs the governor and the department of public safety to include in disaster preparedness plans the credentialing of first informer broadcasters, whose personnel and vehicles would be authorized to enter areas otherwise closed to the public for the purpose of repairing or maintaining antennas or other infrastructure needed to communicate vital information to the public. A local law enforcement agency or other public official is not liable for any act or omission when a first informer broadcaster is granted access to a closed area.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Energy Legislation Review Interim Study Committee. A conservation easement is an agreement in which a property owner agrees to limit the use of his or her land in perpetuity in order to protect one or more specified conservation purposes. The bill specifically authorizes conservation easements to permit electric transmission lines that transmit renewable energy across the land subject to the easement if it is appropriate and consistent with the conservation purposes of the conservation easement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
