Rep. Shannon Bird

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy. For income tax years beginning January 1, 2024, the bill both: Increases the amount of federal taxable income taxpayers may have and still qualify for the state income tax credit for purchasing long-term care insurance and annually adjusts that amount of federal taxable income for inflation; and Doubles the amount of the credit that a taxpayer may claim and annually adjusts the credit for inflation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions. The grand total for the operating budget is set at $40,533,777,133. The general funds portion of the appropriation is set at $11,207,009,905; the general fund exempt portion is set at $3,489,095,143; the cash funds portion is set at $10,504,822,476; the reappropriated funds portion is set at $2,603,239,303; and federal funds portion is set at $12,729,610,306. The grand total for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, for capital construction projects is set at $471,149,105. The capital construction fund portion is set at $256,358,189; the cash funds portion is set at $212,411,819; and the federal funds portion is set at $2,379,097. The grand total for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, for information technology projects is set at $124,261,834. The capital construction fund portion is set at $64,890,922; the cash funds portion is set at $8,184,071; the reappropriated funds portion is set at $996,386; and the federal funds portion is set at $50,190,455. The 2022 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the judicial department and the departments of corrections, early childhood, education, health care policy and financing, higher education, human services, judicial department, nd public health and environment. Appropriations were made in several bills during the 2022 legislative session as further amended to extend the appropriation for unexpended amounts to the 2023-24 fiscal year. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For purposes of complying with requirements of the "Federal Unemployment Tax Act", the act reduces employer premium rates by 10% across all rates in the standard premium rate schedule. Additionally, the act creates a schedule for the support surcharge rate (schedule), which is used to establish contributions to the employment support fund, the employment and training technology fund, and the benefit recovery fund. The new schedule uses the same methodology as is used in calculating an employer's percent of excess, which is the percentage resulting from the calculation of an employer's excess of premiums paid over benefits charged, divided by the average chargeable payroll. The act changes the cap on the amount of money in the employment support fund at the end of any state fiscal year from an amount calculated based on a portion of the employer premium plus $17 million to a total of $32.5 million for the next state fiscal year, which amount is adjusted annually based on changes in average weekly earnings. The act expands the authorized use of money in the Title XII repayment fund to allow the division of unemployment insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment to use the money for costs associated with bonds or notes issued by the division, including interest on the bonds or notes, to the extent permitted by federal law. The act eliminates the requirement for employers to submit premium reports to the division and instead requires employers to submit wage reports. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act categorizes the remote sales of certain kinds of tobacco products for purposes of establishing the regulation and taxation of the sales. The act exempts transactions involving the sale of cigars or pipe tobacco from the definition of "delivery sale" and instead creates and defines the term "remote retail sale" to include these transactions. The act also resolves an ambiguity about how the "manufacturer's list price" of a tobacco product is determined for both "delivery sales" and "remote retail sales". APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

On July 1, 2023, the state treasurer is required to transfer $10 million from the severance tax operational fund to the capital construction fund. The money is to be used by state-supported institutions of higher education in energy impacted counties for energy-related programs or projects. For fiscal year 2023-24, the act appropriates $6 million from the capital construction fund and $3,108,609 in cash funds from Colorado Mesa university institutional reserves and donations to expand the university's campus-wide geothermal exchange system. For fiscal year 2023-24, the act appropriates $4 million to Western Colorado university to provide additional teaching and laboratory space for the university's petroleum geology program and to generally allow for the expansion of the natural and environmental sciences department. APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 28, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

As a condition of receiving federal money under the federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act", the state was required to maintain the enrollment of nearly all individuals receiving medicaid until April 1, 2023, at which point the state was given 14 months to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations. Additionally, due to the declared public health emergency in Colorado in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to effectuate the federal continuous enrollment requirement, the governor suspended certain statutory requirements related to enrollment and cost sharing in medical assistance programs. The act suspends these requirements statutorily for the 14 months after April 1, 2023. The act suspends certain other statutory enrollment and cost-sharing requirements until May 31, 2023,or June 1, 2024, and other statutory enrollment requirements until 12 months past the declaration of the end of the federal public health emergency. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the office of school safety (office) within the office of the executive director in the department of public safety. The office oversees the school safety resource center (center), which assists schools in preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and crisis situations by offering training and other supportive services. Among other duties, the center is responsible for providing information and resources related to school safety, school emergency response planning and training, and interoperable communications to the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety for distribution to school districts and schools. The act clarifies that this responsibility does not permit the provision of firearms to schools districts or schools. The director of the office is required to appoint the director of the center and appoint a grants manager to assist schools in obtaining funding related to school safety. The act also creates the crisis response unit within the office to assist schools in responding to a crisis or emergency and creates a youth violence prevention grant program within the office. Currently, the school access for emergency response grant program (SAFER) is administered by the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety. The act moves the administration of SAFER to the office. The act specifies that eligible entities may use money received from the school security disbursement program to implement school resource officer programs and co-responder programs. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $25,798,091 is appropriated to the department of public safety for use by the office. This appropriation consists of $20,401,600 from the general fund, $5,000,000 from the school access for emergency response grant program cash fund, $250,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund, and $146,491 from the school safety resource center cash fund. To implement the act, the office may use this appropriation as follows: $5,524,916, which consists of $274,916 from the general fund, $5,000,000 from the school access for emergency response grant program cash fund, and $250,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund, for administrative services, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.8 FTE; $1,825,744, which consists of $1,679,253 from the general fund and $146,491 from the school safety resource center cash fund for the center, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 11.2 FTE; $1,144,023 from the general fund for the crisis response unit, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 3.7 FTE; $303,408 from the general fund for threat assessment, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 0.5 FTE; $16,000,000 from the general fund for the school security disbursement program; and $1,000,000 from the general fund for the youth violence prevention program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $313,951 is appropriated to the department of public safety for use by the office of the executive director of the department of public safety. This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement the act, the office of the executive director may use this appropriation as follows: $108,422 for personal services, which amount is based on an assumption that the office of the executive director will require an additional 0.9 FTE; $80,761 for health, life, and dental; $1,141 for short-term disability; $35,571 for amortization equalization disbursement; $35,571 for supplemental amortization equalization disbursement; $9,135 for operating expenses; $10,800 for vehicle lease payments; and $32,550 for leased space. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act terminates the state's prepayment of insurance premiums for state employee coverage under the paid family and medical leave insurance program based on the state's advance payment of $57 million to the family and medical leave insurance fund from the revenue loss restoration cash fund in May 2022. The act terminates such prepayment at the end of fiscal year 2023-24 and requires the state treasurer to transfer $35 million back to the revenue loss restoration cash fund on or as soon as possible after the date on which the balance of the family and medical leave insurance fund reaches $100 million. The act further requires that, on or as soon as possible after the date the state controller publishes the comprehensive annual financial report of the state for fiscal year 2023-24, the state treasurer shall transfer any actual additional unexpended amount of the state's $57 million advance payment from the family and medical leave insurance fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund. The act makes a conforming amendment to the statute in which the revenue loss restoration cash fund is created. APPROVED by Governor April 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

On or before April 1, 2024, and on or before April 1 of each year thereafter, an entity with an obligation to provide retail or wholesale electricity services in the state (load-serving entity) must file with the entity responsible for approving the resource plans or rates of the load-serving entity (regulatory oversight entity) an annual report detailing the adequacy of its electric resources (resource adequacy annual report). On or before April 30, 2024, and on or before April 30 of each year thereafter, each regulatory oversight entity must submit any resource adequacy annual reports to the Colorado energy office (office). On or before July 1, 2024, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, the office must aggregate the resource adequacy annual reports received from the regulatory oversight entities into a statewide resource adequacy aggregate annual report. If a load-serving entity participates in an active organized wholesale market, which is a regional transmission organization or an independent system operator established for the purpose of coordinating and managing the dispatch and transmission of electricity on a multistate or regional basis, or, if the load-serving entity is participating in a voluntary regional resource adequacy reporting program, the load-serving entity's obligation to provide a resource adequacy annual report terminates on the date that the load-serving entity begins participating in an organized wholesale market or in the year following the submission of a compliance report required by the program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $14,737 from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by the office for program administration. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Removes a $50 fee for dairy plant employees who sample or test milk, cream, or any other dairy product; Increases the licensing fee a dairy plant is required to pay by 30%; and Creates a new fee of one cent for every 100 pounds of milk, to be paid by a dairy plant that receives 20,000 pounds or more of milk each day. The department of public health and environment is required to cap the amount a dairy plant must pay in total for the licensing fee and volume of production fee at $150,000 in a year. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)