Rep. Daneya Esgar

The bill makes the following modifications to the existing 'Colorado Job Creation and Main Street Revitalization Act': Adds a definition of a key term and streamlines and clarifies existing definitions; Adds subheadings to subsections to promote greater clarity; Extends the last income tax year for which the tax credit is available from 2019 to 2029; Separates subsections dealing solely with residential structures from subsections dealing solely with commercial structures to promote greater clarity; Under the existing tax credit, the amount of the tax credit, measured by a percentage of the actual qualified rehabilitation expenditures, is increased when the historic structure, whether commercial or residential, is located in a disaster area. The bill also increases the amount of the tax credit when the structure is located in a rural community. The bill prohibits a taxpayer from claiming the benefits offered for a structure in a disaster area or in a rural community. Requires the state historical society (society) to promulgate rules as necessary to to further implement the tax credits to be claimed for the substantial rehabilitation of qualified residential structures. Requires the society to promulgate rules on standards for the approval of the substantial rehabilitation of qualified residential structures and related reporting requirements. In connection with the reservation of tax credits for qualified commercial structures, changes the existing requirements under which the Colorado office of economic opportunity (office) uses a lottery process to determine the order in which it will review applications and plans received on the same day to a process under which the office must date and timestamp each application and review a plan and application on the basis of the order in which such documents were submitted; Streamlines procedures the owner of a qualified commercial structure is to follow upon the completion of rehabilitation of the structure to obtain a tax credit certificate; For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2020 but prior to January 1, 2030, maintains the aggregate limit on the amount of a tax credit certificate issued for any one qualified commercial structure at $1 million as for the 2016 through 2019 tax years; For qualified commercial structures, regardless of the amount of estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures, the bill maintains the aggregate amount of all tax credits that may be reserved for each of the 2020 through 2029 calendar years in the same amount as for the 2017 through 2019 tax years, at $10 million, but specifies that the aggregate reservation amount of the $10 million in tax credits in any tax year that may be reserved by the office must be equally split between large and small projects for qualified commercial structures; Deletes existing provisions specifying the aggregate amount of tax credits that may be issued for particular income tax years; Deletes a reporting requirement that is part of existing law but requires the society to provide a report to the department of revenue by March 15, 2019, and on a quarterly basis thereafter specifying the ownership of tax credits (as well as transfers of tax credits in the case of tax credits for qualified commercial structures) to be claimed for the rehabilitation of qualified residential and commercial structures covering the period since the last report; Changes an existing provision mandating that the office, in consultation with the society, promulgate rules necessary to further implement the tax credits to be claimed for the substantial rehabilitation for qualified commercial structures so that the duty to promulgate rules is permissive; and Clarifies that certain requirements found in existing law are intended to apply only to tax credits issued for qualified commercial structures.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Capital Development Committee. The bill exempts the department of human services' regional center depreciation account in the capital construction fund from the definition of 'cash fund' for purposes of the requirements under the automatic cash fund funding mechanism for payment of future costs attributable to certain of the state's capital assets.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Capital Development Committee. The bill creates the governor's mansion maintenance fund (fund), which is comprised of the money generated from the mansion's operation, such as rental fees. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the governor's office may expend money from the fund for any operating costs for any governor's mansion activities and the department of personnel may expend money from the fund for controlled maintenance of the governor's mansion, except that any appropriation for controlled maintenance is subject to the capital development committee's review. The bill also specifies that the department of personnel is still authorized to seek controlled maintenance funding for the mansion through the existing statutory request process if the money in the fund is insufficient to cover all controlled maintenance needs.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Capital Development Committee. Beginning with the state fiscal year 2019-20 grant cycle, the bill requires an application made to the public school capital construction assistance board under the 'Building Excellent Schools Today Act' for a grant of financial assistance that is for either the construction of a new public school facility that will replace one or more existing public school facilities or the reconstruction or expansion of an existing public school facility to include a plan for the future use or disposition of any existing public school facility that the applicant will stop using for its current use if it receives the grant.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Capital Development Committee. The bill: Codifies the 3-year period that capital construction appropriations remain available; and Clarifies the deadlines for the submission of capital construction budget requests, budget request amendments, and budget request amendments that are related to a request for a supplemental appropriation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Capital Development Committee. The bill specifies that any real property acquired by a state agency or a state institution of higher education through a lease-purchase agreement is not eligible for state controlled maintenance funding. The bill specifies that any bill enacted by the general assembly on or after the effective date of the legislation authorizing a lease-purchase agreement for the acquisition of real property must include a requirement that the state agency or state institution of higher education entering into the lease-purchase agreement present a plan to the capital development committee, by a specified date, that details how the state agency or state institution of higher education is prepared to fund the controlled maintenance needs of the real property so that at least a specified amount is available for the controlled maintenance needs of the real property. The plan may include an additional lease-purchase agreement for such controlled maintenance needs or may include a request for partial or complete state funding of such controlled maintenance needs. The bill also requires the state treasurer to advise any state agency or state institution of higher education regarding the controlled maintenance reserve requirement.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Section 2 of the bill requires all individual and group health benefit plans issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, to provide coverage for specified reproductive health care services, drugs, devices, products, and procedures. Carriers are prohibited from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, copayment, or other cost-sharing requirement for the coverage required under the bill and from imposing restrictions or delays on the coverage. Under specified circumstances, section 2 permits a carrier to offer a religious employer a plan that does not include coverage for abortion procedures that are contrary to the religious employer's religious tenets. Section 2 also prohibits a carrier from excluding an individual from participation in, denying an individual benefits under, or otherwise discriminating against an individual in the administration of a plan on the basis of the individual's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, or disability. Section 4 directs the department of health care policy and financing to administer a program to reimburse the cost of specified reproductive health care services, drugs, devices, products, and procedures provided to eligible individuals, which is defined to include individuals with reproductive health care needs who are enrolled in the medicaid program or the children's basic health plan or who are otherwise disqualified for participation in the medicaid program based on their immigration status. The program must also provide medicaid or children's basic health plan benefits, as applicable, to pregnant individuals for 180 days, rather than the mandated 60 days, post-pregnancy, regardless of whether the individual's medicaid or children's basic health plan eligibility would otherwise terminate during that period based on an increase in income. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More

The bill prohibits a health insurance carrier from excluding or limiting a drug under a health benefit plan and from moving the drug to a disadvantaged tier in the plan formulary if the drug was covered at the time the covered person enrolled in the plan. A carrier may not increase the amount that a covered person pays for a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible or set limits while the covered person is covered by the health benefit plan for drugs that were covered when the person became covered under the plan. If a carrier uses a tiered plan, the carrier may not move a drug to a disadvantaged tier under specified circumstances. A carrier may limit coverage for a drug or biosimilar product if a provider prescribes a generic drug or biosimilar product to treat the covered person's medical condition instead of the originally-prescribed drug and the covered person agrees. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More

The bill prohibits a state or political subdivision from: Providing the race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical disability, intellectual and developmental disability, or religious affiliation of a Colorado resident to the federal government without determining that it is for a legal and constitutional purpose; Aiding or assisting the federal government in creating, maintaining, or updating a registry for the purpose of identifying Colorado residents based on race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical disability, intellectual and developmental disability, or religious affiliation; Aiding or assisting the federal government or a federal agency in marking or otherwise placing a physical or electronic identifier on a person based on his or her race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical disability, intellectual and developmental disability, or religious affiliation; and Aiding or assisting, including using state or local lands or resources, the federal government in interning, arresting, or detaining a person based on his or her race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical disability, intellectual and developmental disability, or religious affiliation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Section 2 of the bill prohibits a person from serving on the public utilities commission if, on or after July 1, 2018, he or she has or acquires any official relation to, or financial interest in, a regulated utility. Section 3 encourages the director of the commission to assign employees to temporary training and development sessions with other state agencies, particularly those with which the commission has frequent interaction, to improve the employees' substantive expertise and familiarity with the operations of those agencies. Section 3 also requires the director to keep written and audio records of the commission's proceedings and make them publicly available online. In addition, section 3 expressly authorizes the executive director of the department of regulatory agencies (of which the commission is a part) to request that the state auditor conduct performance audits of the commission and its staff and operations. Section 4 directs the commission to adopt rules concerning: Policies under which commissioners should recuse themselves from certain proceedings; Conflicts of interest; Activities and relationships that the commission deems incompatible with its policies concerning conflicts of interest; and Ex parte communications. Section 1 makes conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More