The act repeals a moratorium on changing a ratio for valuation for assessment (assessment rate), which is the percentage applied to a property's actual value to determine the taxable amount upon which a mill levy is imposed and classifies agricultural property, lodging property, and renewable energy production property as new subclasses of nonresidential property for purposes of the valuation for assessment. The assessment rate for agricultural property and renewable energy production property is temporarily reduced from 29% to 26.4% for the next 2 property tax years. The law is restructured so that, if an initiated measure to reduce the assessment rate for nonresidential property is approved by voters, then it would only apply to lodging property.Multi-family residential real property is classified as a new subclass of residential real property. The law is restructured so that, if an initiated measure to reduce the residential assessment rate is approved by voters, then it would only apply to multi-family residential real property. If the initiated measure fails or is not on the ballot, then, the assessment rate for multi-family residential real property is temporarily reduced from 7.15% to 6.8% for the next 2 property tax years. The assessment rate for all residential real property other than multi-family residential real property is temporarily reduced from 7.15% to 6.95% for the next 2 property tax years.The property tax deferral program is expanded to allow any person to defer the payment of the portion of real property taxes that exceed the tax-growth cap, which is an amount equal to the average of the person's real property taxes paid for the preceding 2 property tax years for the same homestead, increased by 4%. The minimum amount a taxpayer may defer at one time under this authorization is $100, and the total taxes that a taxpayer may defer is $10,000. The taxpayer is treated like a person called into military service for purposes of surviving-spouse eligibility and the equity the person must have in the homestead to qualify for a deferral.The governor's office, in consultation with the treasurer, is required to commission a study on the property tax deferral program and make recommendations for possible changes to the general assembly by January 1, 2022.Assessors are required to include information about the assessment rates that apply to the various classes of property, which is prepared by the property tax administrator, along with the notices of valuation that are sent in 2022 or make this information available on the assessor's website.Finally, the act makes conforming amendments related to the new classifications or assessment rates.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Section 1 of the act defines "cross-pollination", "licensed outdoor marijuana cultivation", "outdoor cultivation", "registered outdoor hemp cultivation", and "volunteer cannabis plant" in connection with the convening of a working group in section 2 to examine measures to minimize cross-pollination between cannabis plants, which working group is required to report its findings and recommendations on or before November 1, 2022, to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agricultural matters.Section 4 requires the state licensing authority created to regulate and control the licensing of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and testing of regulated marijuana to convene a working group on or before November 1, 2021, to examine existing rules and tax laws that apply to the wholesale marijuana cultivation market to explore how the rules and laws could be amended to better position Colorado businesses to be competitive if marijuana is legalized federally. The working group is required to report its findings and recommendations to the executive director of the department of revenue and the general assembly on or before June 1, 2022.Section 5 authorizes the state licensing authority to engage in rule-making on:The implementation, including the process, procedures, requirements, and restrictions, of contingency plans for outdoor marijuana cultivation facilities to ameliorate crop loss due to adverse weather; and Procedures for the conditional issuance of an employee license identification card. Sections 6 and 7 authorize medical marijuana cultivation and retail marijuana cultivation facility licensees with outdoor cultivation facilities, starting January 1, 2022, to file with the state licensing authority a contingency plan for when there is a threat to operations due to an adverse weather event and, if approved, to follow the plan if there is an adverse weather event. The state licensing authority is required to notify a local licensing authority of its approval of a contingency plan and the local licensing authority may require that an applicant for a license include with the license application a contingency plan for the local licensing authority's review and approval.Section 3 defines "adverse weather event" to mean damaging weather, such as drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind, or tornado, an adverse natural occurrence, such as an earthquake, wildfire, or a flood, or any additional adverse weather event or adverse natural occurrence that the state licensing authority defines by rule.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates:$104,780 from the industrial hemp registration program cash fund and the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of agriculture for agricultural services for the plant industry division and to purchase legal services, with $21,268 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services; and $279,194 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the specialized business group for marijuana enforcement and for the purchase of legal services, with $31,902 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends Senate Bill 21-196, the bill that provides appropriations for the legislative branch for the 2021-22 state fiscal year, to increase the funding for and FTE allocated to the general assembly to allow the general assembly to provide health benefits for legislative aides.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes a special license plate to recognize Colorado nurses. Beginning the earlier of January 15, 2022, or when the department of revenue (department) is able to issue the plates, the department shall issue Colorado nurses license plates to qualified applicants. The nurses foundation that satisfies all applicable requirements may design the Colorado nurses license plate, but the license plate must conform with standards established by the department. A person may apply for a Colorado nurses license plate if the person pays the required taxes and fees and provides to the department a certificate issued by the nurses foundation confirming that the applicant has made a donation to the nurses foundation in an amount that the nurses foundation may determine but that may not exceed $100.For the purpose of addressing the existing statutory requirement that a minimum of 3,000 persons commit to purchasing the Colorado nurses license plate, the department is required to include signatures collected by the Stephen T. Marchello Scholarship Foundation.For each donation that the nurses foundation receives in association with the sale of a Colorado nurses license plate, the nurses foundation shall use a portion of the donation to provide scholarships to nurses from minority populations.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $17,490 to the department for use by the division of motor vehicles. Of this amount, $5,400 is appropriated from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund for DRIVES maintenance and support, and $12,090 is appropriated from the license plate cash fund for license plate ordering.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2020 property tax year, the existing statute corrects the total program mill levies for school districts that are not subject to constitutional property tax revenue restrictions but whose mill levies were erroneously reduced. Each school district that levies a higher number of mills as a result of the correction must grant a tax credit for the number of mills by which the levy is increased.The act requires the department of education to adopt a correction schedule to begin phasing out the tax credits in the 2021 property tax year. The correction schedule must apply consistently to each affected school district; must require each district's tax credit to phase out as quickly as possible, but by no more than one mill per year; and must ensure that the tax credits are fully phased out in 19 years.The act specifies that, until the general assembly determines that stabilizing the state budget no longer requires a reduction in the appropriation for the state share of total program, the general assembly shall annually ensure that the savings to the state share that occurs as a result of the decrease in the temporary property tax credits is appropriated to fund a portion of the state share of total program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
As part of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal act), the state will receive $3,828,761,790, and $380 million of that money will be used for transportation infrastructure. The act creates the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund (fund) and requires the state treasurer to deposit $3,448,761,790, which is the balance of the federal funds after the transportation infrastructure use, in the fund.The general assembly may transfer money from the fund to another cash fund that is established for the purpose of using the money from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund, and the act establishes requirements for this type of cash fund or one that includes any subsequent transfers or appropriations (recipient fund). If there is any money remaining in the fund after the legislatively authorized transfers during the 2021 legislative session, then the governor is authorized to allocate up to $300 million for the purposes permitted under the federal act, and the money is continuously appropriated to the departments the governor designates.In order to ensure proper accounting for and compliance with the federal act, if a recipient fund has money from other sources, then the state controller shall establish an identical, companion fund that only includes the federal funds from the federal act.Money in the fund or a recipient fund must be expended or obligated by December 31, 2024, and any money obligated by December 31, 2024, must be expended by December 31, 2026. The state treasurer is required to transfer the unused and unobligated amounts in the fund as of December 31, 2024, to the unemployment compensation fund. A department is prohibited from using any money from the fund or a recipient fund for any purpose prohibited under the federal act, and transfers from the fund to the general fund are prohibited.The state controller is required to provide the secretary of the treasury of the United States with the periodic reports about the state's use of the money from the fund or a recipient fund. Departments and persons receiving money from departments are required to comply with any reporting record-keeping requirements established by the state controller and the office of state planning and budgeting (office) and with any program evaluation requirements established by the office. The office is required to provide the joint budget committee with a yearly performance report, which includes the information the state controller provides to the secretary.The act also modifies existing federal funds reporting requirements so that, like the reporting on the money from the recipient funds, the joint budget committee receives annual reports instead of quarterly reports. In addition, the state controller is required to make the reports instead of the office, and the information required to be submitted is modified.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Executive Committee of the Legislative Council. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a delay in the ability of the United States Census Bureau (Census Bureau) to deliver to the state the population and demographic data necessary to redraw election districts. The Census Bureau has indicated that the final census data will not be available for at least 6 months after the deadline contemplated in federal law. Under the current definition of "necessary census data" contained in state law, this delay prevents the independent congressional redistricting commission and the independent legislative redistricting commission (commissions) from completing their work by the deadlines in the constitution. An extended delay in finalizing the commissions' redistricting plans will make it impossible to complete all of the steps in the 2022 election procedures in time for the general election. For the commissions convened in 2021 only, the bill amends the definition of "necessary census data" to allow the preliminary and staff plans to be developed using the data on the total population by state that will be released by the Census Bureau on April 30, 2021, and other population and demographic data from federal or state sources that are approved by the commissions. Once final census data is released by the Census Bureau, the nonpartisan staff of the commission must complete adjustments for incarcerated populations required by current law within 5 days. All as soon as practicable, but no later than 10 days after the data is released. Nonpartisan staff are required to use the final data as adjusted to prepare all staff plans presented to the commissions or submitted to the Colorado supreme court after that date must use the final data as adjusted. A plan approved by the Colorado supreme court must be based on the final data as adjusted. (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 requires the governor to make reasonable efforts to appoint members of diverse groups to statewide boards, commissions, committees, and task forces authorized by the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)