Rep. Edie Hooton

Under current law, a unit owner living in a common interest community (community) may grant another unit owner in the community a proxy to vote on behalf of the first unit owner at a unit owners' association (association) meeting. Also under current law, the proxy terminates after 11 months unless the proxy itself provides for an earlier or later termination date. The act limits the maximum duration of a proxy to 11 months. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of regulatory agencies (department) to conduct a sunset review of the public utilities commission's (commission) regulation of towing carriers in 2025 and changes the department's sunset review of the towing task force (task force) from 2024 to 2025. As part of its sunset review of the commission's regulation of towing carriers, the department must review complaints against towing carriers and whether the towing industry and consumers would benefit from dispute resolution of complaints.The act adds 5 members to the task force to represent:Mobile home owners in the state; The attorney general with experience enforcing the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act"; People with disabilities; Common interest communities; and Communities that might be disproportionately affected by nonconsensual towing, such as communities of color, immigrant communities, elderly communities, and rural communities. The following changes are made to membership:The member who represents an association of automobile owners is removed; The member who represents a towing association is required to be experienced with consensual tows; and The member who represents towing carriers but not a towing association is changed to a member who represents nonconsensual towing carriers. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $20,029 is appropriated to the public utilities commission to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law allows an existing association consisting of multiple employers, referred to as a "multiple employer welfare arrangement" (MEWA), to offer health-care benefits to the association's members only if, among other requirements, the MEWA has been in existence continuously since at least January 1, 1983, and is engaged in substantial activities for its employer members other than the sponsorship of an employee welfare benefit plan.The act allows a MEWA that does not meet these requirements to file an application for a waiver with the commissioner of insurance that, if granted, would enable the MEWA to offer health-care benefits to its members' employees. The act specifies the application requirements, substantive requirements that a MEWA must comply with to qualify for a waiver, and factors that the commissioner will consider in determining whether to grant a waiver. If a waiver is granted, the MEWA is subject to the division of insurance's full enforcement authority, and the MEWA may operate for 2 years. To operate past the 2 years, a MEWA must reapply for a waiver, but if the commissioner grants 5 consecutive waivers, a MEWA may continue to operate without again applying for a waiver.The act also appropriates $13,352 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act enacts the "Pharmacy Fairness Act" (act), which:Requires a health insurer to submit to the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) a list of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) the health insurer uses to manage or administer prescription drug benefits under its health benefit plans offered in this state; Prohibits PBMs from: Restricting a covered person's access to prescription drug benefits at an in-network retail pharmacy, except as permitted in limited circumstances; Charging a pharmacy or pharmacist a fee for adjudicating a claim, other than a one-time fee of not more than the lesser of 25% of the pharmacy dispensing fee or 25 cents for receipt and processing of the same pharmacy claim; or Requiring stricter pharmacy accreditation standards or certification requirements than the standards or requirements that are applicable to similarly situated PBM-affiliated pharmacies within the same PBM network. A PBM that administers the drug assistance program operated by the department of public health and environment is exempt from the requirements and prohibitions of the act with regard to the PBM's administration of that program only.The act also precludes a health insurer, a PBM, or an entity acting for a health insurer or PBM to conduct on-site audits of pharmacies within 12 months after a prior on-site audit except in specified circumstances.Additionally, the act requires a health insurer or PBM to respond in real time to a request from an insured, the insured's health-care provider, or a third party acting on behalf of the insured or provider for data regarding the cost, benefits, and coverage under the insured's health benefit plan for a particular drug.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer to the capital construction fund any excess proceeds from the issuance of a lease-purchase agreement under Senate Bill 20-219, concerning the issuance of a lease-purchase agreement to fund the continuations of certain previously funded capital construction projects, that are initially credited to the emergency controlled maintenance account.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes the electric vehicle license plate, which is issued for use on electric motor vehicles. The electric vehicle license plates are issued to the owner of an electric motor vehicle upon registration of the vehicle and payment of applicable fees and taxes, unless the owner elects to use an alternative license plate. A person may be issued personalized electric vehicle license plates. The requirement for decals to identify electric motor vehicles applies only if a person has not obtained the electric vehicle license plate.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $91,636 for use by the division of motor vehicles to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act concerns the concept of "community choice energy" (CCE) (also known as community choice aggregation or CCA), under which a community, or group of communities, may choose to purchase their electricity from a wholesale supplier other than the local investor-owned electric utility. The act declares that CCE has the potential to enable communities to meet their renewable energy goals and to reduce their electricity rates by allowing wholesale competition and local control over the energy supplier and energy mix without changing the local utility's current status as sole supplier of electric transmission, distribution, billing, and customer service functions.To lay the groundwork for evaluating the potential adoption of CCE in Colorado, the act proposes an investigatory proceeding at the public utilities commission that would invite testimony and documentation from interested stakeholders, utilities, the public, invited subject-matter experts, and persons with firsthand knowledge of CCE operations, including regulators from states in which CCE has been implemented. The proceeding would address a series of questions and topics that are specified in the act, with the goal of better understanding CCE in the Colorado context and identifying best practices that would allow CCE to function well in Colorado if adopted. The act does not change current statutes and regulations governing the electricity system.The act directs the commission to submit a report summarizing the investigatory proceeding to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over energy matters by December 15, 2022.The act appropriates $48,391 to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the public utilities commission to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act declares that the regulation of firearms is a matter of state and local concern. A local government is permitted to enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory. The ordinance, regulation, or law may not be less restrictive than state law. The local law may only impose a criminal penalty for a violation upon a person who knew or reasonably should have known that the person's conduct was prohibited.The act permits a local government, including a special district, and the governing board of an institution of higher education to enact an ordinance, resolution, rule, or other regulation that prohibits a permittee from carrying a concealed handgun in a building or specific area within the local government's or governing board's jurisdiction, or for a special district, in a building or specific area under the direct control or management of the district. A local law may only impose a civil penalty for a violation, and the maximum fine that may be imposed for a first offense is $50.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act directs the state treasurer to make an immediate, one-time transfer of $3 million from the general fund to the energy fund administered by the Colorado energy office (CEO). The CEO may use the money for making grants for the weatherization assistance program. The act requires the CEO to periodically report on its expenditures to the office of state planning and budgeting and the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a winery that holds a manufacturer's or limited winery license to maintain licensed premises comprising up to 2 noncontiguous locations within a 10-mile radius. The department of revenue must approve an application for the use of a proposed noncontiguous location if the alcohol and tobacco tax and trade bureau of the United States department of the treasury has approved the description and diagram of the premises at that location, subject to proof of compliance with local codes and zoning requirements. Application and renewal fees are to be established by rule, subject to a limit of $500 per location.Any additional noncontiguous locations that fall outside the approved boundaries of an entertainment district or a common consumption area are excluded from that district or area, and any noncontiguous location that is to be used as a sales room is subject to individual approval for use as a sales room. Only one sales room may be located at a noncontiguous location.To implement the act, $13,247 is appropriated from the liquor enforcement division and state licensing authority cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the liquor and tobacco enforcement division.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)