Rep. Junie Joseph

In the 2024 regular legislative session, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 24-005, concerning the conservation of water in the state through the prohibition of certain landscaping practices, which: Prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2026, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing any person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable property within the local entity's jurisdiction; and Requires a local entity, on or before January 1, 2026, to enact or amend its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects on applicable property in accordance with the new requirements. The act expands the definition of "applicable property" to include a multifamily residential housing premises property that includes more than 12 dwelling units (applicable residential real property). The act prohibits a local entity, on and after January 1, 2028, from installing, planting, or placing, or allowing a person to install, plant, or place, any nonfunctional turf, nonfunctional artificial turf, or invasive plant species, as part of a new development project or redevelopment project, on applicable properties that include multifamily residential housing premises property. The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects to regulate the installation of nonfunctional turf and include consideration of applicable residential real property. The act also requires each local entity with land use planning and zoning authority to enact or amend, on or before January 1, 2028, its laws regulating new development projects and redevelopment projects within the local entity's jurisdiction to regulate the installation of turf to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property. Local entities must also regulate the installation of turf when enacting or amending its laws on and after January 1, 2028, to reduce irrigation water demand for all residential real property that is not applicable residential real property. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, an investor-owned qualifying retail utility serving more than 500,000 customers (utility) may install advanced metering infrastructure (smart meter) at a customer's residential property without the property owner's permission unless the customer opts out of having the smart meter installed. The act requires a utility that deploys smart meters on or after September 1, 2025, to submit a customer communication plan to the public utilities commission on or before December 31, 2025. The customer communication plan must include the information related to the utility's plan for: The deployment of smart meters; Communicating with residential customers before the installation of smart meters on the customer's property, which communication must be sent 90, 60, and 30 days before the smart meter is installed; Communicating with residential customers regarding the customer's right to not have a smart meter installed and to receive a noncommunicating meter instead; and Communicating with a new residential customer about whether the property already has a smart meter installed and the customer's right to have a noncommunicating meter installed instead. A utility that plans to install a smart meter at a residential customer's property shall make reasonable efforts to notify the customer before arriving at the customer's property. A utility that installs or plans to install smart meters shall: Maintain a phone line and public website with information regarding the customer's right to not have the smart meter installed and have a noncommunicating meter installed instead, if requested; Only install smart meters that comply with federal communications commission requirements for radio frequency; and Establish and maintain a public website that includes information regarding customer data privacy and radio frequency communications in relation to smart meters.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act updates energy use benchmarking and performance standard requirements for owners of certain buildings (covered building owners), including: A requirement to meet 2040 performance standards, as adopted by the air quality control commission (commission), in consultation with the Colorado energy office (office) and in consideration of recommendations made by a task force convened by the office; Authorizing an alternative compliance mechanism for covered building owners to comply with certain performance standards; and Updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the benchmarking requirements to an amount up to $577 for a first violation and up to $2,300 for each subsequent violation and, on and after January 1, 2030, updating civil penalties owed for a violation of the performance standard requirements to an amount up to $2,300 for every 30 days that the covered building owner is in violation and up to $5,800 for every 30 days for a subsequent violation. The commission shall adopt rules to annually adjust the penalty amounts for inflation.The act also creates a building decarbonization enterprise (enterprise) to provide financial assistance, technical assistance, and other programmatic assistance to covered building owners to effectively and efficiently implement building decarbonization measures, including energy efficiency measures, electrification measures, energy upgrades, and participation in utility on-bill repayment programs. The enterprise is authorized to impose and collect from covered building owners an annual building decarbonization fee to cover the enterprise's costs in providing the financial, technical, and programmatic assistance. The fees are credited to the building decarbonization enterprise cash fund (cash fund) for use by the enterprise to implement the act.The act clarifies that a local government is not required to adopt an energy code solely as a result of having adopted a wildfire resiliency code.For state fiscal year 2025-26, $3 million is appropriated from the cash fund to the office of the governor for use by the office for the enterprise's implementation of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, life care institutions provide life and health support services to resident seniors who reside at the life care institution through the help of independent living arrangements, assisted living, or skilled nursing. The act allows life care institutions to provide community-based continuing care services to seniors in their homes and other services that benefit individuals who are awaiting admission to a life care institution. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act eliminates the requirement for a second election to negotiate a union security agreement clause in the collective bargaining process. VETOED by Governor 5/16/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act amends the "Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act" and the "Colorado Land Reclamation Act for the Extraction of Construction Materials" to: Contemplate the expedited issuance of reclamation-only permits to persons desiring to conduct reclamation-only operations after September 1, 2025, on less than 5 acres; and Update restrictions and requirements concerning the posting and forfeiture of financial warranties relating to mine reclamation projects. The act prohibits the office of mined land reclamation from issuing a reclamation-only permit to a mining operation at which: Toxic or acidic chemicals used in extractive metallurgical processing are present on site; Acid- or toxic-forming materials will be exposed or disturbed as a result of mining operations; or Uranium is developed or extracted, either by in situ leach mining or by conventional underground or open mining techniques. The act also enacts the "Interstate Mining Compact" and ratifies Colorado's membership in the associated Interstate Mining Commission. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 1 of the act specifies that the short title of the Act is the "Kelly Loving Act". Sections 2 through 5 provide that, if at any point following the issuance of a license to marry or a civil union license, a party to the marriage or civil union presents the issuing county clerk and recorder with appropriate documentation of that party's name change and requests the issuance of a new license to marry or civil union license, the county clerk shall issue a new license to marry or civil union license that reflects the party's name change. After a new license to marry or civil union license is issued, the effective date of the marriage or civil union remains the date listed on the original license to marry or civil union license. Section 6 provides that, if a local education provider, an educator, or a contractor chooses to enact or enforce a policy related to names, that policy must be inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a name that differs from the student's legal name. Section 7 requires a dress code adopted by a school district board of education or by an institute charter school board for a charter school authorized by the charter school institute must allow each student to choose from any of the options provided in the dress code policy. Section 8 defines the term "chosen name" for purposes of the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act" as a name that an individual requests to be known as in connection to the individual's disability, race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, national origin, or ancestry, so long as the name does not contain offensive language and the individual is not requesting the name for frivolous purposes. Section 8 also includes "chosen name and how the individual chooses to be expressed" as forms of gender expression for purposes of the "Colorado Anti-discrimination Act." Section 10 repeals a provision of law that limited the state registrar to amending a gender designation for an individual's birth certificate only 1 time upon the individual's request without the submission of a court order. Sections 11, 12 and 13 change the number of times that the department of revenue may amend a sex designation on an individual's driver's license, identification card, or identification document upon the individual's request from 1 to 3. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act appropriates $4 million from the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" cash fund (fund) to the office of the governor (office) for state fiscal year 2025-26, with roll-forward authority in state fiscal year 2026-27 for any money remaining in the fund after state fiscal year 2025-26. The act authorizes the office to accept gifts, grants, or donations for crediting to the fund to implement the act. The act authorizes the office, in the governor's discretion, to hire and employ personnel or retain contractors for purposes related to federal government actions that impact federal disbursements, grants, contracts, or money received by or transferred to the state. The office may also reimburse the department of law for costs associated with special assistant attorneys general who are contracted for the purposes of providing legal services: To state officers or employees related to legal proceedings, inquiries, hearings, or investigations initiated, pursued, or threatened by the federal government; or For the criminal defense of state officers or employees in legal actions arising out of their official acts or decisions. The office may also incur other expenditures covered by the fund that are consistent with the purposes of the act, as determined by the governor, including expenditures to preserve and protect state sovereignty or federal funding streams that benefit the state. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the state treasurer to invest up to $50 million of state money in bonds, which may have below-market interest rates, that are issued by a quasi-governmental authority to create or finance new affordable, income-restricted for-sale housing that would not be made available at similar rates and terms without the state's investment. The housing must remain affordable long-term and be available to borrowers earning no more than 140% of the statewide area median income. The bonds may have a term of up to 45 years and must have at least 2 credit ratings at or above A- or A3 or its equivalent from nationally recognized rating organizations. Money from principal proceeds of such bonds must be reinvested by the state treasurer for the same purpose once the state treasurer has received repayment of 50% of the principal amount invested. The quasi-governmental authority issuing the bonds shall provide an annual report to the treasurer and the general assembly that includes specified information about the affordable housing created with bond proceeds. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a permit that is issued by the department of transportation (department). The permit authorizes the holder to, for a fee, install or remove tire chains or alternate traction devices at a location designated in the permit. The department may place conditions on the permit concerning the safe and orderly movement of traffic. The department is instructed to avoid issuing permits in a manner that creates a monopoly-type situation for a permit holder at a specific location. The department may charge a fee to issue a permit to an applicant. The fee must be set in an amount to offset the direct and indirect costs of issuing these permits. The department will adopt rules to implement the act. The rules must include: The procedures for issuing a permit, the procedures for revoking a permit, and the qualifications to be issued a permit; and A requirement that the individuals installing tire chains or alternate traction devices wear reflective clothing and use appropriate signs and traffic control devices. A rental car company is required to notify its car renters of the requirements of and penalties for violating the chain law. Colorado law already authorizes the department to close roads during winter weather conditions unless a motor vehicle meets traction equipment requirements. The act also authorizes a 4-wheel-drive vehicle with tires that are imprinted by a manufacturer with a mountain-snowflake, "M&S", "M+S", or "M/S" symbol or that are all-weather rated by the manufacturer to travel on roads that the department restricts for winter weather conditions. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)