Rep. Brianna Titone

Upon a conviction for theft by failing to return property within 72 hours after the agreed-upon time of return in any lease or hire agreement, a court is required to consider, as part of any restitution ordered, lost revenue resulting from the defendant's failure to timely return the rental property.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes human remains to be converted to soil using a container that accelerates the process of biological decomposition, also known as "natural reduction". Natural reduction is added to the statutes that regulate funeral establishments, and this addition will result in the regulation of the natural reduction process. But the definitions of "cremation" and "mortuary science practitioner" are amended so that a practitioner of natural reduction is not regulated as a cremationist or mortuary science practitioner.The act allows the disposal of abandoned naturally reduced remains if the remains are not claimed within 180 days after natural reduction.The act prohibits the following when done in the course of business:Selling or offering to sell the soil; Commingling the soil of more than one person without the consent of the person or persons with the right of final disposition unless the soil is abandoned; Commingling the human remains of more than one person without the consent of the person or persons with the right of final disposition within the container wherein natural reduction produces soil; or Using the soil to grow food for human consumption. Colorado law has various provisions that deal with burial, cremation, interment, and entombment. In connection with authorizing natural reduction, the act replaces these terms with the phrase "final disposition", which term is defined to include natural reduction. The act updates the following types of provisions to reflect the option to use natural reduction:Life insurance statutes; Preneed funeral insurance contracts; The "Mortuary Science Code"; Funeral picketing statutes; Litigation damages; The "Colorado Probate Code"; The "Disposition of Last Remains Act"; The "Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act"; Missing person reports for unidentified human remains; Public peace and order statutes; Vital statistics statutes; The "Colorado Medical Assistance Act"; The "Colorado Human Services Code"; The "Colorado Public Assistance Act"; and Firefighter pension plans.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill creates the digital communications division (division) and the digital communications commission (commission) within the department of regulatory agencies. On an annual basis and for a reasonable fee determined by the commission, the division shall register directs the joint technology committee to study whether and how the general assembly could address, through legislation, consumer protection concerns related to certain digital communications platforms, which are certain communications-oriented online businesses, such as social media platforms or media-sharing platforms. that conduct business in Colorado or own or operate services that are offered to Colorado residents. A digital communications platform that fails to register with the division commits a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 for each day that the violation continues. The division shall investigate and the commission may hold hearings on claims filed with the division alleging that a digital communications platform has allowed a person to engage in one or more unfair or discriminatory digital communications practices on the platform, which practices: committee is authorized to consult with and seek presentations from various experts including an expert in constitutional first amendment law and the media. The committee may study a digital communications platform's existing policies and practices regarding if and how the digital communications platform's policies and practices Include practices that promote hate speech violence ; undermine election integrity; disseminate intentional disinformation; conspiracy theories, or fake news; or authorize, encourage, or carry out violations of users' privacy; and directly attack protected groups, or chill free speech. May include business, political, or social practices that are conducted in a manner that a person aggrieved by the practices can demonstrate are unfair or discriminatory to the aggrieved person. Such practices, if done in an unfair or discriminatory manner, might include: Practices that target users for purposes of collecting and disseminating users' personal data, including users' sensitive data;Profiling users based on their personal data collected;Selling or authorizing others to use users' personal data to provide location-based advertising or targeted advertising; orUsing facial recognition software and other tracking technology. If a person who files a complaint with the division exhausts all administrative remedies and proceedings, the person may file a civil action in district court alleging an unfair or discriminatory digital communications practice.The committee may also study platforms' use of facial recognition software and other tracking technology, personal data, and design practices that increase data collection without users' consent. The committee may consider whether and how the state could address consumer complaints about a digital communications platform's policies and practices.The committee is required to submit a report to the general assembly on its findings and recommendations on or before the 2022 legislative session commences. If the committee's report includes recommendations of legislation, the introduction of any such legislation during the 2022 legislative session does not count against the 5-bill limit. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The act continues the homeland security and all-hazards senior advisory committee until September 1, 2031.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law makes it a class 1 traffic misdemeanor when careless driving of a motor vehicle causes serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user. The bill changes serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user to serious bodily injury to anyone. (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, firmware, 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. The bill does not apply to motor vehicle manufacturers or dealers acting in that capacity, powersports vehicle manufacturers or dealers acting in that capacity, or medical devices; except that the bill does apply to class 2 powered wheelchairs. 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.)

The act clarifies 2008 legislation prohibiting discretionary clauses in certain plans and insurance policies and providing for the de novo standard of review (roughly translated as "anew" or "from a clean slate") in any court by: Declaring that the legislation should be construed broadly to effectuate its remedial purpose, notwithstanding any contractual or statutory choice-of-law provision to the contrary; Nullifying any contract provision that purports to give an insurer or its agent discretionary authority to determine the insured person's entitlement to benefits in any specific circumstance; and Separating the provision requiring de novo review of policy disputes from the provision allowing a claimant to demand a jury trial, to clarify that these are separate issues. The act applies to all plans and policies existing, offered, issued, delivered, or renewed in Colorado or providing health or disability benefits to a resident or domiciliary of Colorado on or after the applicable effective date of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes that a person engages in a deceptive trade practice if the person, within 180 days following the declaration of a disaster or disaster emergency by the president of the United States or the governor of the state and in the geographic area for which the disaster was declared, sells, offers for sale, provides, or offers to provide any of the following at a price so excessive as to amount to price gouging: Building materials; Consumer food items; Emergency supplies; Fuel; Medical supplies; Other necessities; Repair or reconstruction services; Transportation, freight, or storage services; or Services used in an emergency cleanup. A price is not unreasonably excessive if the seller can prove that, due to events that gave rise to the disaster declaration, the price is attributable to additional costs imposed on the seller by the seller's supplier or suppliers or other direct costs of providing the good or service sold or offered for sale. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act states that, generally, evidence relating to the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or if the defendant and victim are or have been involved in an intimate relationship, is irrelevant in a criminal case and does not constitute sudden heat of passion in a criminal case. The act creates a protective hearing if a party claims that such evidence is relevant and wants to use it in a criminal case. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the safe2tell program is required to provide awareness and educational materials to preschools. The act removes this requirement. The act clarifies that safe2tell does not have to provide information about a call to law enforcement and school personnel if the call was forwarded to the statewide behavioral crisis response system. The act requires the safe2tell program to develop training materials outlining appropriate responses to safe2tell tips to ensure standardized messaging. The act directs the department of law to devise a process and develop standardized protocols so that any communication related to mental health or substance use received by safe2tell may be transferred to the statewide behavioral crisis response system. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)