Current law establishes a schedule of filing fees for litigants in civil actions in county courts. The act eliminates the fee for a defendant filing an answer in an eviction proceeding. Current law permits a party to submit and a county court to grant a motion to waive filing fees in a residential eviction action. The act removes the process for securing a waiver of these filing fees. Current law prohibits a county court from assessing fees when indigent parties e-file motions, answers, or documents in connection with evictions. The act removes the reference to indigent parties and instead prohibits a county court from charging defendants fees for filing motions, answers, or other documents in evictions. If a pro se defendant files an answer or other document physically instead of electronically, the act requires a county court, on a defendant's behalf, to timely serve the document on a plaintiff. The act prohibits the court from charging a fee related to the service. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $122,743 to the judicial department from the general fund. The judicial department may use $3,623 for general courts administration and $119,120 for information technology infrastructure. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE November 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act creates the equal justice authority as a special purpose authority to distribute an equal justice fee for the purpose of providing monetary support to local organizations that provide legal representation and legal advice to low-income individuals. The equal justice authority is governed by the equal justice authority board, which is created in the act. The act requires certain court filings to incur the equal justice filing fee, which must be collected by the court and transmitted to the equal justice authority. The equal justice authority must deposit the money collected from the filing fee into an account maintained by a financial institution and distribute the money, beginning July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter, to local organizations that provide legal representation and legal advice to low-income individuals. On or before January 1, 2026, and each January 1 thereafter, the equal justice authority must prepare and submit a report to the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee that details the use of the equal justice fees. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, in the following government buildings, including their adjacent parking areas: State legislative buildings, including buildings at which the offices of elected members are located; A building of a local government's governing body, including buildings at which the offices of elected members or the chief executive officer of a local government are located (local government buildings); and A courthouse or other building used for court proceedings. Unlawful carrying of a firearm in a government building is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act includes exceptions for law enforcement officers, members of the United States armed forces or Colorado National Guard, security personnel, persons carrying as part of the lawful and common practices of a legal proceeding, and persons who hold a permit to carry a concealed handgun (concealed carry permit) who are carrying a concealed handgun in an adjacent parking area. The act permits a local government to enact a law permitting carrying at a local government building included in the act. Members of the general assembly are exempt from the prohibition on carrying in a state legislative building until January 5, 2025. The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, on the property of a child care center, other than a family child care home, that is licensed by the department of early childhood or is exempt from licensing pursuant to state law, and that operates with stated educational purposes (licensed child care center); public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high, or vocational school; or any public or private college, university, or seminary (higher education institution), with exceptions. A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act maintains exceptions in existing law for carrying a firearm on the property of a public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school and adds exceptions for concealed carry permit holders carrying in the parking area of a licensed child care center or higher education institution; security personnel at a licensed child care center or higher education institution; and for a licensed child care center that is on the same property as another building or improvement, carrying a firearm in an area that is not designated as a licensed child care center. Existing law prohibits openly carrying a firearm within any polling location or central count facility, or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box or any building in which a polling location or central count facility is located, while an election or any related ongoing election administration activity is in progress. The act prohibits carrying a firearm in any manner at those locations. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a pilot program for an income tax credit for owners of qualified housing developments focused on rental housing for middle-income individuals and families. Middle-income individuals and families have an annual household income between 80% and 120% of the area median income of the households of the same size in the county in which the housing development is located; except that, for rural resort counties, the annual income is between 80% and 140% of the respective area median income. During the calendar years commencing on January 1, 2025, and ending on December 31, 2029, the owner of a qualified housing development may be allocated a credit by the Colorado housing and finance authority (CHFA). The amount of the credit is determined by CHFA. The allocation of credits must follow CHFA's published allocation plan and the aggregate amount of credits allocated in one calendar year, not including any unallocated credits from preceding years that may be allocated, cannot exceed: $5 million for calendar year 2025; $5 million for calendar year 2026; $10 million for calendar year 2027; $10 million for calendar year 2028; and $10 million for calendar year 2029. The aggregate amount of any unallocated credits remaining as of December 31, 2029, is added to the amount of credits that CHFA may allocate for the state affordable housing tax credit. The allocated credit amount may be used to offset a qualified taxpayer's income taxes each year for a period of 5 years, beginning in the year that the qualified housing development is placed in service. Although the credit may only be claimed for a 5-year period, the owner is required to provide middle-income housing in the qualified housing development for 15 years. A portion of the credit may be recaptured under certain conditions, for instance when the owner reduces the number of units serving middle-income individuals and families. In addition, the credit is allowed against insurance premium taxes for eligible taxpayers that are not subject to income taxes. A governmental or quasi-governmental entity, including the middle-income housing authority, may be allocated a credit if it owns a qualified housing development. A credit allocated to a governmental or quasi-governmental entity is subject to the same conditions, allocation rights, and recapture as a credit allocated to a qualified owner; except that a governmental or quasi-governmental entity may also transfer credits to any qualified taxpayer. The act also requires CHFA to annually report on the middle-income housing tax credit pilot program to the general assembly, to make the report publicly available, and, as part of CFHA's final annual report, to provide certain information summarizing the overall success of the pilot program. The middle-income housing tax credit is repealed on January 1, 2055. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the language access advisory board (advisory board). The advisory board consists of 11 voting and 2 nonvoting members. Each voting member of the advisory board is appointed by either the majority leader or minority leader of either the house of representatives or the senate. The voting members of the advisory board are: 3 members of the house of representatives; 2 members of the senate; One member representing the Colorado Language Access Coalition; One member representing a local government that has implemented a language access plan or has a language access advisory entity; One member representing persons with disabilities; One member who works in translation or interpretation services; One member with experience in language access in rural communities; and One member with expertise in language access relating to elections. The nonvoting members of the advisory board are: The director of research of the legislative council or the director's designee; and The director of the office of legislative legal services or the director's designee. The purpose of the advisory board is to assess and develop recommendations for improving meaningful access to the legislative process for populations with limited English proficiency, to include: Identifying current language-related barriers to the legislative process for state residents with limited English proficiency; Examining the success of current language access measures relating to the legislative process; Considering the development of a language access plan covering the general assembly and the legislative process; Evaluating options for oral interpretation and written translation of legislative activities; and Assessing language access concerning the ballot information booklet. In performing this assessment, the advisory board must solicit public comment and input from subject matter experts. The advisory board must submit the report of its findings and recommendations to the executive committee of the legislative council on or before December 15, 2024. The advisory board is repealed on January 1, 2025. The act appropriates $29,741 from the general fund to the legislative department for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 28, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the pollution prevention advisory board and the pollution prevention advisory board assistance committee when the act takes effect, repeals the recycling resources economic opportunity program on October 1, 2025, and repeals the front range waste diversion enterprise and replaces it with the Colorado circular communities enterprise (enterprise). The enterprise, in merging and modernizing the purposes of the recycling resources economic opportunity program and the front range waste diversion enterprise, awards grants and other funding and provides technical assistance to local governments, nonprofit and for-profit businesses, public and private schools, and institutions of higher education throughout the state that pursue a circular economy for waste management, including waste diversion and aversion. The act also creates the statewide voluntary sustainability program to support businesses engaging, or looking to engage, in sustainability efforts. Under current law, user fees are imposed on operators of attended solid waste disposal sites (operators) to finance the recycling resources economic opportunity program and the front range waste diversion enterprise. The act applies those fees to the enterprise, requiring operators of sites located outside of the front range to pay a fee of either 2 or 4 cents per load transported for disposal and requiring operators of sites located in the front range, between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, to pay a fee of 74 cents per cubic yard per load transported for disposal and, on and after January 1, 2025, to pay a fee of 78 cents per cubic yard per load transported for disposal. APPROVED by Governor May 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changed the requirements to be issued an instruction permit by requiring, on or after January 1, 2027: Minors who are 15 years of age or older and under 18 years of age to complete a 30-hour driver education course, which may include an online course, approved by the department of revenue (department); and Minors who are 18 years of age and older to either complete a 30-hour driver education course, which may include an online course, approved by the department or a 4-hour prequalification driver awareness program approved by the department. The act requires a minor who is under 21 years of age to successfully complete an instruction program in motorcycle safety that is approved by the Colorado state patrol before being issued an instruction permit to drive a motorcycle. The act authorizes the following individuals who hold a valid Colorado driver's license to supervise a minor's driving under a permit: The minor's parent or stepparent; The minor's grandparent with power of attorney; An individual who is 21 years of age or older and who signed the affidavit of liability; The minor's foster parent who signed the affidavit of liability; An approved driver education instructor; An alternate permit supervisor who is 21 years of age or older and is appointed by the person who signed the affidavit of liability; and If the minor is a foster child, an individual authorized to supervise the foster child. The act authorizes the issuance of a temporary driver's license or temporary minor driver's license, which temporary license is valid for up to one year unless extended by the department of revenue and which immediately becomes invalid upon issuance of a permanent driver's license or upon refusal for good cause. The act prohibits a person who has been convicted of certain violent or sexual crimes from providing behind-the-wheel driving instruction to minors and at-risk adults. A commercial driving school is prohibited from employing such a driving instructor to provide behind-the-wheel driving instruction to minors and at-risk adults. Each instructor employed by a commercial driving school must obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history record check to verify that the instructor has not committed a disqualifying crime. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 1, 2026(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies existing warranty of habitability laws by clarifying actions that constitute a breach of the warranty of habitability (breach) and procedures for both landlords and tenants when a warranty of habitability claim (claim) is alleged by the tenant. Updates to existing warranty of habitability laws include: Establishing time frames for when a landlord must communicate with the tenant and commence remedial action after having notice of a condition related to the habitability of a residential premises; Requiring a landlord to perform conduct to address an uninhabitable condition until such condition is completely remedied or repaired; Establishing a rebuttable presumption that a landlord has failed the landlord's duty to remedy or repair a condition if the condition continues to exist either 7 or 14 days after the landlord has notice of the condition, depending on the condition at issue in the tenant's claim; Determining when a landlord is presumed to have notice of a condition; Requiring a landlord to provide a tenant with a comparable dwelling unit or hotel room for up to 60 days while the landlord addresses any uninhabitable conditions that materially interfere with the tenant's life, health, or safety; Requiring a landlord to maintain all records, including correspondence and other documentation, relevant to a tenant's claim and any remedial actions taken by the landlord; Requiring rental agreements entered into after January 1, 2025, to feature a statement in English and Spanish regarding where a tenant can report or deliver written notice of an unsafe or uninhabitable condition; Establishing procedures for when a landlord may enter the dwelling unit of a tenant to address an uninhabitable condition and identifying circumstances when a tenant may deny a landlord entry to the dwelling unit; Clarifying certain conditions or characteristics of residential premises that are considered uninhabitable; Establishing that there is a rebuttable presumption that certain conditions and characteristics of a residential premises materially interfere with a tenant's life, health, or safety; and Modifying and clarifying a tenant's option for remedies when bringing a claim against a landlord and modifying procedures for accessing those remedies. The act establishes legal standards and court procedures related to claims, including authorizing a tenant to raise a breach as an affirmative defense against a landlord's action for possession or action of collection against the tenant. The act also establishes legal standards and procedures for a landlord's defense to a claim and limitations on a tenant's claim. The act instructs the court in its calculation of actual and punitive damages for breach cases. The act prohibits retaliation and specifies what tenant actions are protected by the prohibition on retaliation and what actions constitute retaliation by the landlord. The act clarifies the jurisdiction of the attorney general and county and district courts over matters related to violations of the warranty of habitability. The act also modifies the statement included in a summons issued to a defendant in a court proceeding regarding an action for possession brought by a landlord. APPROVED by Governor May 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The following requirements are repealed, as they are duplicative of an annually required inventory of unused state-owned real property prepared by the department of personnel: The requirement that each state agency and state institution of higher education annually submit to the capital development committee (committee) a list of all nondeveloped real property owned by or under the control of the agency or institution (nondeveloped real property list); The requirement that the committee include the information from the nondeveloped real property list in an annual report; and The requirement that the division of housing within the department of local affairs post a link to the report on the division's website. APPROVED by Governor April 19, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Transportation Legislation Review Committee. The bill creates the vulnerable road user protection enterprise in the department of transportation (CDOT) for the purpose of providing funding for transportation system infrastructure improvements and other data-driven strategies identified in the federal highway administration-mandated vulnerable road user safety assessment, which CDOT is required to develop, that reduce the number of collisions with motor vehicles that result in death or serious injury to vulnerable road users (eligible projects). The enterprise is required to impose a vulnerable road user protection fee, which is imposed in tiered amounts that are calculated based on motor vehicle weight and configuration, on the registration of passenger cars and light trucks that are not commercial vehicles. Fee revenue is credited to a newly created vulnerable road user protection enterprise cash fund and continuously appropriated to the enterprise. The enterprise is authorized to provide grants, subject to specified parameters relating to grant amounts, matching money requirements, and the use of grant money, to fund eligible projects. The enterprise is required to: Publish and post on its website a 5-year plan that details how the enterprise will execute its business purpose and estimates the amount of funding that will be available to implement the plan; Create, maintain, and regularly update on its website a public accountability dashboard; and Prepare an annual report, present the report to the transportation commission and specified legislative committees, and post the report on its website.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)