Rep. Jonathan Singer

Effective January 1, 2022, the bill prohibits a retail food establishment from distributing an expanded polystyrene product for use as a container for ready-to-eat food in this state. The executive director of the department of public health and environment or the executive director's designee may, through the attorney general, seek injunctive relief against a retail food establishment that violates the prohibition.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Usually, an owner of digital electronic equipment (equipment), such as cell phones and tablets, must seek diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services of the equipment from the original equipment manufacturer (manufacturer) or an authorized repair provider affiliated with the manufacturer. The bill requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information, to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's equipment to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services. A manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirement is an unfair or deceptive trade practice. Manufacturers need not divulge any trade secrets to independent repair providers and owners. Any contractual provision or other arrangement that a manufacturer enters into that would remove or limit the manufacturer's obligation to provide these resources to independent repair providers and owners is void and unenforceable. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Joint Technology Committee. The bill allows the chief information officer of the office of information technology to hire information technology product managers, designers, engineers, and other staff to support the delivery of citizen-facing digital services and other information technology projects across state government.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill permits adoptive parents who are parties to an adoption assistance agreement (agreement) to pay for services or items from a provider that is not enrolled in the medical assistance program. These services or items would otherwise be reimbursable under the medical assistance program pursuant to the terms of the agreement. The adoptive parents must determine that the special needs of the child or youth require items or services from the provider and must enter into a documented agreement with the provider in which the adoptive parents agree to bear the cost of the item or service.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Upon the issuance of a protection order, the court shall: Require the person to state in court or complete an affidavit in court stating the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control and the location of all firearms in the person's immediate possession or control; Require the person to complete a firearm information form that states the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control or subject to the person's immediate possession or control, the type of each firearm, and the location of each firearm; and Transmit a copy of the protection order and the firearm information form to the sheriff of the county of the person's residence. The bill prohibits any full and truthful statements made to the court regarding the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control or subject to the person's immediate possession or control and the location of the firearms from being used against the person in any other civil or criminal proceedings. The bill excludes legal holidays and weekends from the current time frame a person has to relinquish a firearm. The bill allows a court to grant a person an additional 24 hours to relinquish a firearm if the person is unable to comply with the required time frame of relinquishment. Current law requires a person to either sell or transfer possession of the firearm, arrange for the storage of the firearm by a law enforcement agency, or sell or transfer the firearm to a private party who may legally possess the firearm. The bill requires a private party to complete a firearms acknowledgment form that informs the private party of the relevant state and federal laws, lists the consequences of noncompliance, and asks if the private party is able to legally possess a firearm. The bill prohibits the person from transferring the firearm to a private party living in the same residence as the person at the time of transfer. The bill requires the court to conduct a hearing to ensure the person has complied with the relinquishment requirements. Failure to appear at the hearing constitutes a violation of the protection order, and the court may issue a warrant for the person's arrest or a search warrant of the person's residence. The bill requires a person who does not possess a firearm at the time the order is issued to complete a declaration of nonpossession form in court. If the person possessed a firearm at the time of the qualifying incident giving rise to the duty to relinquish the firearm but sold or transferred the firearm to a private party prior to the issuance of the protection order, the person shall disclose the sale or transfer in court. The bill requires a federally licensed firearms dealer, law enforcement agency, or private party to issue a signed affidavit memorializing the sale or transfer of the firearm. The bill allows a law enforcement agency to enter into an agreement with any other law enforcement agency to assume the duties of the sheriff. If a law enforcement agency elects to store a firearm, the bill allows the law enforcement agency to seek a matching incentive fee from the department of public safety on an annual basis in an amount equal to the total amount charged by the agency for providing storage of a firearm. The matching fee must be used to maintain or increase firearm storage capacity. The bill requires a sheriff who elects to store a firearm to obtain a search warrant prior to testing or examining the firearm to facilitate any criminal investigation or prosecution. The bill prohibits a private party from returning a firearm to the person until the private party receives a written statement of the results of the background check conducted by the bureau authorizing the return of the firearm to the person. Current law requires a copy of the written receipt and the written statement of the background check to be filed with the court as proof of relinquishment. The bill requires the signed affidavit to be filed with the court instead of the receipt. Both the signed affidavit and written statement are only available for inspection by the court and the parties to the proceeding. A federally licensed firearms dealer, law enforcement agency, or private party that elects to store a firearm is not civilly liable for any resulting damages to the firearm, as long as such damage did not result from the willful and wrongful act or gross negligence of the person or agency storing the firearm. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act changes the penalty for abuse of a corpse to a class 6 felony. The act states that a defendant may not be convicted of more than one offense for tampering with a deceased human body and abuse of a corpse if the act arises out of a single incident. The statute of limitations for tampering with a deceased human body and abuse of a corpse will commence upon discovery of the criminal act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, it is unlawful for a person to make available on the internet personal information of a law enforcement official (official) or child abuse or neglect caseworker (caseworker), or the official's or caseworker's family if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the official's or caseworker's safety or the safety of his or her family. The act replaces the definition of "caseworker" in statute with a new definition of "human services worker" to include state and county employees, including county attorneys and contractors who are engaged in duties relating to the following matters and who have contact with the public regarding these duties: Investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect pursuant to article 3 of title 19; Investigating allegations of mistreatment of an at-risk adult pursuant to article 3.1 of title 26; Establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support orders pursuant to article 13 of title 26; and Determining eligibility for or investigating fraud in public programs established in article 2 of title 26. "Human services worker" also includes employees of juvenile detention facilities who have contact with juveniles. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the trusted interoperability platform advisory committee to develop a strategic plan to implement a trusted interoperability platform that securely exchanges information between criminal and juvenile justice systems and community health agencies. The act requires the committee to submit an initial strategic plan to the chief information officer no later than May 1, 2021, and a final strategic plan to specified committees of the general assembly no later than September 1, 2021. The act repeals the committee on October 1, 2021. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

At-risk persons - unlawful abandonment - false imprisonment - appropriation. The act makes it a crime to unlawfully abandon an at-risk person. The intentional and unreasonable desertion of an at-risk person in a manner that endangers the safety of that person constitutes unlawful abandonment. Unlawful abandonment is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act creates the crime of false imprisonment of an at-risk person if: The person knowingly confines or detains an at-risk person in a locked or barricaded room or other space; and Such confinement or detention was part of a continued pattern of cruel punishment or unreasonable isolation or confinement of the at-risk person; or The person knowingly and unreasonably confines or detains an at-risk person by tying, caging, chaining, or otherwise using similar physical restraints to restrict the at-risk person's freedom of movement; or The person knowingly and unreasonably confines or detains an at-risk person by means of force, threats, or intimidation designed to restrict the at-risk person's freedom of movement. False imprisonment of an at-risk person is a class 6 felony pursuant to the first 2 ways to commit the crime and a class 1 misdemeanor pursuant to the third. To comply with the statutorily-required prison costs of the act, the act appropriates: For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $110,652 from the capital construction fund to the corrections expansion reserve fund; For the 2020-21 state fiscal year,$26,220 to the department of corrections from the general fund; and For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $1,902 to the department of corrections from the general fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

CSU-Pueblo - Institute of Cannabis Research - governing board - host institution relocation. The act creates the institute of cannabis research (institute) at Colorado state university - Pueblo. The role and mission of the institute is to conduct or fund research related to cannabis and publicly disseminate the results of the research. The act creates the institute of cannabis research governing board (governing board) to oversee the institute and approve its annual budget. The governing board shall advise any Colorado institution of higher education that is developing cannabis-related curriculum and provides input to the Colorado commission on higher education before it approves any cannabis-related degrees or certification. The governing board consists of: The chancellor of the Colorado state university system or his or her designee; The executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education or his or her designee; The president of the University of Colorado or his or her designee; The executive director of the department of public health and environment or his or her designee; The following seven members appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate: Three scientists from relevant fields who have been employed at appropriate research-oriented institutions or entities who support the mission of the institute; and Four members associated with cannabis-related industries within Colorado. The institute has a director that is an employee of the host institution. The director manages the institute's budget and employees, oversees the research-funding process, delivers an annual symposium, and produces an annual report. The act creates a process to relocate the institute if Colorado state university - Pueblo wants to stop hosting the institute or if the governing board believes that the institute should be relocated. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More