The act adds that the false reporting of a mass shooting or active shooter in a public or private place or vehicle that transports people or property that causes the occupants of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation to be evacuated or to be issued a shelter-in-place order; causing any disruptions or impacts to regular activities; or resulting in the initiation of a standard response protocol is a class 6 felony. The act specifies that false reporting of an emergency is a class 1 misdemeanor if the threat causes the occupants of a building, place of assembly, or facility to be issued a shelter-in-place order, the threat causes any disruptions or impacts to regular activities, or the threat results in the initiation of a standard response protocol in response to the false report. The act adds to the "Victim Rights Act" that a crime includes the false reporting of an emergency that is bias motivated. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
Under current law, if the court finds a violation of the open meetings law, a prevailing citizen is entitled to costs and reasonable attorney fees. The act specifies that for certain challenges by a pro se plaintiff that are brought in connection with provisions in the open meetings law governing executive sessions in the open meetings law the pro se plaintiff is not entitled to an award of costs or attorney fees. VETOED by Governor June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the transportation commission to annually allocate $1.5 million from the state highway fund to the department of transportation for allocation to the office of transportation safety (office), which will then distribute the money to local governments that implement high-visibility alcohol and drug impaired driving prevention enforcement episodes. The act also requires local law enforcement agencies to follow written policies and procedures about racial profiling and use of force, complete in-service training annually, implement a recognizable pattern by which vehicles are stopped to prevent a bias-motivated stop, and locate checkpoints in areas where drunk or impaired driving crashes are likely to occur. No money may be allocated to a law enforcement agency subject to a judicially-ordered consent decree. In collaboration with the department of public safety, the office will publish an annual report. A law enforcement agency not complying with the requirements of the act may lose funding or be required to pay back funding already received. The attorney general may bring a civil action to enforce the act. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act expands the definition of "serious bodily injury" in the criminal code to include penetrating gunshot wounds and penetrating knife wounds. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits the state, counties, cities and counties, municipalities, school districts, and any of their departments, institutions, or agencies (public employers) from making it a condition of employment that an applicant for employment or current or past employee (employee) executes a contract or other form of agreement that prohibits, prevents, or otherwise restricts the employee from disclosing factual circumstances concerning the employee's employment with the public employer (nondisclosure agreement) unless the nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of: The employee's identity, facts that might lead to the discovery of the employee's identity, or factual circumstances relating to the employment that reasonably implicate legitimate privacy interests held by the employee who is a party to the agreement if the employee elects to restrict such disclosure; Data, information, including personal identifying information, or matters that are required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations, the state constitution, state law, state regulations, state rules, or a court of law or as attorney-client privileged communications, privileged work product, communications related to a threatened or pending legal or administrative action, or materials related to personnel or regulatory investigations by the employer; Information bearing on the specialized details of security arrangements or investigations, including security arrangements for or investigations into elected officials or other individuals, physical infrastructure, or cybersecurity; Information derived from communications of the employer related to threatened or pending legal or administrative action; Discussions that occur in an executive session authorized by the "Colorado Open Meetings Law"; Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a current or prospective contractor, vendor, or grantee or as part of a public-private partnership or entity working with the state as part of an economic development activity; Trade secrets or information derived from trade secrets or proprietary information of the employer; Information and records not subject to disclosure under the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA); or Trade secrets owned by the employer. For a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Nonpublic and confidential labor relations positions and strategies; Attorney work product; Vendor lists and vendor preferences; State business-related information received from a third party that the third party has designated confidential; or Information and matters related to state active duty orders of national guard soldiers and airmen and personnel disputes subject to the jurisdiction of the United States department of defense; For a public employer that is a county, a city and county, a municipality, or a department, institution, or agency of a county, a city and county, or a municipality, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by an employer's current or prospective customer, contractor, lessee, lessor, business partner, or affiliate; or Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a purchaser or seller of property that is engaged in negotiations or under contract with the employer. The act specifies that any provision in any contract or agreement that amounts to a nondisclosure agreement is deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable against an employee of a public employer who is a party to the contract or agreement unless the provision is intended to prevent disclosure of any information or matters for which an exception to the general prohibition against nondisclosure agreements for the public employer applies. The act prohibits a public employer from taking any materially adverse employment-related action, including withdrawal of an offer of employment, discharge, suspension, demotion, or discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, against an employee on the grounds that the employee does not enter into a contract or agreement deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act. The act also states that the taking of a materially adverse employment-related action after an employee has refused to enter into such a contract or agreement is prima facie evidence of retaliation and that any public employer that enforces or attempts to enforce a contract or agreement provision deemed by a court to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act is liable for the employee's reasonable attorney fees and costs in defending against the action. The act requires an action to enforce a provision of the act to be brought in the district court for the district in which the employee is primarily employed. A settlement agreement between an employer that is subject to the act and an employee of the employer must be signed by both the employer and the employee. A nondisclosure agreement must not prohibit the release of information required to be released under CORA. In addition, a nondisclosure agreement executed by a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state and an employee must state that state employees are protected from retaliation for disclosure of information about state agencies that are working outside the public interest. A public employer may require an employee to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with a third party in the employee's official capacity and on behalf of the employer. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 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 creates a task force to study victim and survivor awareness and responsiveness training requirements for judicial personnel (task force) in the office for victims programs in the division of criminal justice. The task force consists of members who have experience representing victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other crimes; lived experience as a victim or survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other crimes; or are members of the judicial community. The task force is required to analyze current training provided to judicial personnel around the country on topics of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes, in order to determine best practices and training requirements for judicial personnel in the state. The act requires the task force to establish a working group to analyze and determine training standards for judicial personnel regarding issues relevant to domestic relations cases and must consider data provided to the working group by the office of the state court administrator. The office of the state court administrator must provide the working group with the described data not later than November 1, 2023. The task force is required to convene by July 15, 2023, and is required to meet at least 4 times but not more than 10 times no later than January 15, 2024. The task force is required to submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee, or their successor committees, and the judicial department by February 1, 2024. The task force is repealed, effective July 1, 2024. The act appropriates $11,900 from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justices for administrative services. APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Colorado participates in an interstate compact that allows a person convicted of a crime in another state to have the person's probation or parole supervised in Colorado (supervised person) and allows a person convicted in another state who is not required to be supervised to complete the person's court-ordered treatment in Colorado (unsupervised person). The act clarifies the process for treating a supervised or unsupervised person into a private treatment program in Colorado for substance use treatment, sex offender management services, or domestic violence services (program). The act directs the program to assist supervised and unsupervised persons with registering with the interstate compact administrator. The department of corrections (department) is required to complete a criminal history records check of each supervised and unsupervised person to verify that the person is a supervised or unsupervised person. The act specifies requirements for programs when the participant is a supervised person. Current law subjects a program or supervised person to a misdemeanor for violating the provisions of the interstate compact. The act states that a violation may be reported to the program's appropriate licensing, certifying, or approving agency for potential corrective action. The act requires the department to periodically update the out-of-state offender questionnaire used by private treatment program providers. Current law requires a person serving a supervision sentence for a domestic violence-related offense to complete a treatment program that conforms with the standards of the domestic violence offender management board. The act directs a person whose supervision is transferred to another state pursuant to the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders to follow the requirements for a treatment program of the state where the person is being supervised. APPROVED by Governor May 20, 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.)
Before adding a person suspected of child abuse or neglect (person) to the automated child welfare system (system), the bill requires the department of human services (state department) to provide a written notice to the person of the opportunity for a hearing. The person must request a hearing no later than 90 days after the date of the written notice. The bill prohibits the state department from releasing a finding of a person responsible for child abuse or neglect or the state department or a law enforcement entity from releasing information about the person or the allegations against the person to a third party until all administrative appeals are either exhausted or waived. When a hearing is requested, the bill requires an administrative law judge (ALJ) to contact the parties to schedule the hearing no later than 120 days after the date the person requests a hearing. If the ALJ finds that there is sufficient evidence to support the state department's allegations, the bill requires: The state department to enter the substantiated findings against the person into the system for a period of time proportionate to the severity of the findings; and Any law enforcement entity that created a record of the alleged incident of child abuse or neglect to retain the record pursuant to certain restrictions. If the ALJ finds there is insufficient evidence to support the state department's allegations, the bill requires: The ALJ to order the state department to amend the state department's findings accordingly and order that allegation not be entered into the system; and Any law enforcement entity that created a record of the alleged incident of child abuse or neglect to mark the record as unsubstantiated and retain and release the record pursuant to certain restrictions. The bill prohibits a finding from being entered against a person who is less than 13 years of age. The bill authorizes the state department, county departments of human and social services (county departments), and law enforcement entities to retain information concerning unsubstantiated reports of child abuse and neglect in casework files to assist in future risk and safety assessments; except that the state department, county departments, and law enforcement entities shall not release any information contained in any records that are accessible to the public or are used for purposes of employment or background checks in cases determined to be unsubstantiated or false. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Colorado law requires a powersports vehicle dealer or a used powersports vehicle dealer to maintain a principal place of business. The act clarifies that the following activities are not a violation of this requirement: Delivering a powersports vehicle to a customer for a test drive at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business; Delivering documents for a customer to sign or delivering documents to, or obtaining documents from, a customer at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business; or Delivering a powersports vehicle to a customer at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business. APPROVED by Governor March 31, 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.)