Rep. Jenny Willford

For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2035, section 1 of the act creates a refundable state income tax credit (tax credit) that an employer may claim if the employer employs an apprentice for at least 6 months during an income tax year and either has a registered apprenticeship program or is an employer-partner of a registered apprenticeship program. The amount of the tax credit is up to $6,300 for 6 months of employment plus up to $1,050 for each additional month of employment, for a maximum of up to $12,600 per apprentice per income tax year. An employer may not claim a credit for: More than 10 apprentices per income tax year; The same apprentice for more than 24 consecutive months; and An apprentice for months when the apprentice did not receive wages from the employer. To claim a tax credit, an employer must submit an application for the reservation of the tax credit and an application to receive an income tax credit certificate to the state apprenticeship agency (SAA) in the department of labor and employment (department). The SAA shall review the applications for specified criteria to determine whether the employer qualifies for the tax credit and tax credit certificate. An employer issued a tax credit certificate must file the certificate with the employer's state income tax return. The SAA is required to submit certain information and reports, as applicable, regarding the tax credit to the state auditor and the department of revenue. The SAA must also conduct outreach and provide technical assistance to small businesses concerning awareness of and application for the tax credit. Section 2 ends the state income tax credit for qualified investments made in a qualified school-to-career program for income tax years after December 31, 2024. Section 4 creates the scale-up grant program in the department to start new registered apprenticeship programs or expand existing programs in Colorado. The scale-up grant program awards grants from the money in the scale-up grant fund, which is created in the act. Eligible grant recipients include employers or entities that operate an apprenticeship program and that: Plan to develop and register a new registered apprenticeship program; or Currently offer a registered apprenticeship program and plan to expand it. The act requires the department to collect specified data regarding the scale-up grant program and submit a report to specified committees of the general assembly. Section 4 also creates the qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant program in the department to support entities that demonstrate expertise in connecting employers or apprenticeship program participants to registered apprenticeship programs or in convening stakeholders to develop registered apprenticeship programs. The SAA must post a list of the types of entities eligible to apply to the grant program on the SAA's website. The qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant program awards grants from the money in the qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant fund, which is created in the act. An eligible grant recipient must be a qualified apprenticeship intermediary. The act requires the department to collect specified data regarding the qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant program and submit a report to specified committees of the general assembly. On July 1, 2024, the state treasurer shall transfer from the general fund $2 million to the scale-up grant fund and $2 million to the qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant fund. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the following amounts are appropriated to the department for use by the office of future of work to implement the act: $103,515 from the general fund; $666,666 from the scale-up grant fund; and $666,667 from the qualified apprenticeship intermediary grant fund. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 10, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law imposes a uniform state idling standard on an owner or operator of a covered vehicle that prohibits the vehicle from idling for more than 5 minutes within any 60-minute period, except in certain situations. Current law also prohibits a local government from enacting a resolution or ordinance concerning the idling of a covered vehicle that is more stringent than the state idling standard. The act authorizes a local government to enact a resolution or ordinance concerning the idling of a covered vehicle that is at least as stringent as, but not less stringent than, the state idling standard and requires any local government with an idling standard to include certain exemptions. The act also exempts a critical service or utility provider when performing the functions of the provider's duties from the idling standard and declares that the idling standard is a matter of mixed local and statewide concern. APPROVED by Governor April 29, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits a unit owners' association from prohibiting the operation of a home-based business in a common interest community. The operation of a home-based business must still comply with any applicable and reasonable unit owners' association rules or regulations related to architectural control, parking, landscaping, noise, nuisance, and other matters that may impact the operation of a home-based business. The operation of a home-based business must also comply with municipal and county noise and nuisance ordinances or resolutions. APPROVED by Governor April 19, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals and reenacts law originally enacted by House Bill 23B-1002, concerning an increase in the earned income tax credit for income tax year 2023, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation, to increase the amount of the earned income tax credit that a resident individual may claim on the resident individual's state income tax return for 2023 only from 25% to 50% of the federal credit claimed on the resident individual's federal income tax return. The increase in the amount of the credit is a one-time mechanism for refunding excess state revenues for the 2022-23 state fiscal year that are required to be refunded in the 2023-24 state fiscal year. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $51,483 from the general fund to the department of revenue and reappropriates $516 of that amount to the department of personnel for implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor January 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a one-time TABOR refund mechanism for excess state revenues for the 2022-23 state fiscal year that are required to be refunded in the 2023-24 state fiscal year. The TABOR refund mechanism allows for an increase in the earned income tax credit that a resident individual, including a resident individual who does not have a social security number valid for employment, may claim on the resident individual's state income tax return from 25% to 50% of the federal credit claimed on the resident individual's federal income tax return or the federal credit that the resident individual would have been allowed but for the fact that the resident individual does not have a social security number that is valid for employment. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $51,483 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue and $516 of that amount is reappropriated to the department of personnel for implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor November 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE November 20, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the Colorado commodity supplemental food grant program to provide grants of money to aid county public health agencies, district public health agencies, county departments of human or social services, and food banks that have a contract with the department of human services (department) in purchasing and distributing food packages to qualifying low-income older Colorado adults. The act creates the food bank assistance grant program in the department. The purpose of the food bank assistance grant program is to increase the amount of nutritious food that food banks are able to provide to the food bank's hunger relief partners. Subject to available appropriations, the department may provide grants of money to food banks to enhance the food bank's capacity to distribute quality foods to hunger relief partners. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act annually appropriates $1 million from the general fund to the department for the Colorado commodity supplemental food grant program. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The law regulating campaign finance did not set limits on contributions to candidates for municipal elected office. For municipal elections held on or after January 1, 2024, the act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from persons, including any political party and excluding any small donor committee, for any election cycle in the amount of $400. The act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from small donor committees for any election cycle in the amount of $4,000. The act subjects the new contribution limits to existing statutory provisions governing the disclosure of campaign contributions. The act requires campaign contribution reports for candidates for a municipal office for a municipality that has a population of 1,000 or more to be filed with the municipal clerk no later than 60 days, 30 days, and 15 days before and 30 days after the major election in election years and annually in off-election years; except that, for a runoff election, reports must be filed no later than 15 days before and after the runoff election. The act clarifies that an independent expenditure committee that makes expenditures in connection with a municipal election must file its disclosure reports with the applicable municipal clerk. The act also extends the retention requirements for campaign contribution reports from one year to 10 years for a candidate that is not elected and from one year to 6 years after the candidate leaves office for a candidate that is elected and requires that reports be made publicly available without charge on a website or for in-person inspection. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 2 of the act creates the legislative interim committee on ozone air quality (committee) to study ozone air quality in the state. The committee consists of 6 members of the senate and 6 members of the house of representatives. The committee may meet up to 6 times during the 2023 interim. With respect to an allegation in a complaint or the belief of the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division) regarding a violation or noncompliance related to air quality laws (violation), section 3 requires the division to: Cause a prompt and diligent investigation into the violation to be made unless the complaint clearly appears to be frivolous, falsified, or trivial or the complainant withdraws the complaint within the investigation time period; Within 30 days after receipt of the complaint, respond to a complainant to outline the steps of the complaint investigation; If the division is acting in response to a complaint, notify the complainant that an investigation has commenced at the time that the division provides notice to the owner or operator of the air pollution source; and Accept and consider all relevant evidence that it receives or acquires when investigating the alleged violation, unless the evidence is, on its face, falsified. If the division determines that a violation has occurred, current law requires the division to issue a compliance order unless the responsible party gives timely notice that the violation occurred during a period of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction. Section 3 removes the exception for periods of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction. Section 3 also prohibits the division from assessing a penalty for a violation that is less than the economic benefit that the owner or operator derived from the violation. Section 3 also requires, if a hearing is requested, the air quality control commission to provide at least 45 days' notice to any complainant that submitted a complaint alleging the applicable violation and allows the complainant to participate as a party to the hearing. Current law provides that any noncompliance that occurs during a period of start-up, shutdown, or malfunction exempts the owner or operator of a source of pollution from the duty to pay penalties related to that noncompliance. Section 3 removes this provision. Current law requires the division to consider certain factors in determining the amount of a civil penalty to assess for a violation. Section 4 requires the division to also consider the severity of the violation. Current law provides that any action related to an alleged violation of air quality laws that is not commenced within 5 years after the occurrence of the alleged violation is time barred. Section 5 excludes actions commenced to address a failure to obtain a permit from this statute of limitation. Section 6 requires the oil and gas conservation commission (COGCC), by April 28, 2024, to promulgate rules that evaluate and address the cumulative impacts of oil and gas operations. The rules must include a definition of cumulative impacts. Section 7 allows any person to submit a complaint to the COGCC. The COGCC or the director of the COGCC is required to promptly commence and complete an investigation into the violation alleged in the complaint, unless the complaint clearly appears on its face to be frivolous, falsified, or trivial or the complainant withdraws the complaint. The COGCC must also accept and consider all relevant evidence it receives or acquires when investigating the violation, unless the evidence is, on its face, falsified. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, section 8 appropriates $79,493 from the general fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the air pollution control division in the following amounts: $71,473 for personal services related to stationary sources; and $8,020 for operating expenses related to stationary sources. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, section 8 also appropriates $820,697 from the oil and gas conservation and environmental response fund to the department of natural resources in the following amounts: $725,531 for use by the COGCC for program costs; and $95,166 for use by the office of the executive director of the department of natural resources, which is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services for the department of natural resources. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, section 8 also appropriates $61,616 from the general fund to the legislative department in the following amounts: $26,180 for use by the legislative council; $18,452 for use by the committee on legal services; and $16,984 for use by the general assembly. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)