Under current law, effective January 1, 2019, the limitation on the maximum alcohol content of fermented malt beverages, also referred to as '3.2% beer', is eliminated, thereby allowing grocery stores, convenience stores, and any other person currently licensed or licensed in the future to sell fermented malt beverages for consumption on or off the licensed premises to sell fermented malt beverages containing more than 3.2% alcohol by weight or 4% alcohol by volume, referred to as 'malt liquor'. The bill modifies laws governing the retail sale of fermented malt beverages, which will be synonymous with malt liquor as of January 1, 2019, as follows: Effective January 1, 2019, prohibits a fermented malt beverage retailer's employees who are under 21 years of age from selling, dispensing, delivering, handling, or otherwise having any contact with malt liquor for sale on or sold and removed from the licensed premises ( sections 3 and 11 of the bill); As of the effective date of the bill, eliminates the fermented malt beverage retailer's license type that allows a retailer to sell malt liquor for consumption both on and off the licensed premises and prohibits renewal of existing on- and off-premises licenses on or after that date ( sections 2 and 4 ); For fermented malt beverage retailer licenses authorizing the sale of malt liquor for off-premises consumption issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2019, the retailer: Must derive at least 20% of its gross annual sales revenues from the sale of food items; cannot sell malt liquor to consumers at a price that is below the retailer's cost to purchase the malt liquor, with limited exceptions; cannot allow customers to use a self-checkout mechanism to purchase malt liquor; may operate under a single or consolidated corporate entity but cannot commingle purchases for multiple licensed premises to secure a better wholesale price based on total product volume purchased; and may deliver fermented malt beverages to customers of legal age under the same conditions applicable to retail liquor store and liquor-licensed drugstore licensees ( section 4 ); As of the effective date of the bill, prohibits the state and local licensing authorities from issuing a new fermented malt beverage retailer's license authorizing the sale of malt liquor for off-premises consumption or allowing a fermented malt beverage retailer to relocate its licensed premises, if the licensed premises is or will be located within 1,500 feet of a licensed retail liquor store; for a premises located in a municipality with a population of 10,000 or fewer, within 3,000 feet of a licensed retail liquor store; or for a premises located in a municipality with a population of 10,000 or fewer that is contiguous to the city and county of Denver, within 1,500 feet of a licensed retail liquor store ( section 5 ); As of the effective date of the bill, precludes issuance of a new fermented malt beverage retailer's license or the relocation of an existing fermented malt beverage retail licensed premises if the building in which malt liquor will be sold is located within 500 feet of a school, unless an exception applies or the local licensing authority or local governing body authorizes an exception within its jurisdiction ( section 7 ); Prohibits the sale of malt liquor in a sealed container by a fermented malt beverage retailer on Christmas day ( section 11 ); and Requires a licensed fermented malt beverage retailer to check the identification of its customers who attempt to purchase malt liquor to verify each customer is at least 21 years of age ( section 11 ). With regard to the retail sale of malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors by retail liquor stores or liquor-licensed drugstores, the bill: Modifies requirements pertaining to the delivery of malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors by a retail liquor store or liquor-licensed drugstore to: Require the delivery to be made by a store employee who is at least 21 years of age and is using a store-owned or store-leased vehicle; require the person delivering the product to verify that the person receiving the delivery is at least 21 years of age; and limit total sales revenues from delivered alcohol beverage products to 50% of gross annual alcohol beverage sales ( sections 8 and 9 ); Modifies provisions governing tastings conducted at a retail liquor store or liquor-licensed drugstore, including allowing tastings to be conducted: Between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.; on up to 156 days per year; and by a representative of the alcohol beverage supplier ( section 5 ); Specifies that if an employee or representative of an alcohol beverage supplier pours or serves the supplier's product during a tasting at a retail establishment, that service does not constitute labor provided by a supplier to a retail licensee ( section 6 ); Applies the 1,500-foot radius restriction, rather than the 3,000-foot restriction, to a retail liquor store or liquor-licensed drugstore premises located in a municipality with a population of 10,000 or fewer that is contiguous to the city and county of Denver ( sections 5, 8, and 9 ); Prohibits a retail liquor store from selling alcohol beverages to consumers at a price that is below the retailer's cost to purchase the alcohol beverages, with limited exceptions, and allows the same exceptions to the restriction on below-cost sales applicable to liquor-licensed drugstores under current law ( sections 8 and 9 ); Allows retail liquor store and liquor-licensed drugstore licensees with multiple locations to operate under a single or consolidated corporate entity but prohibits commingled purchases for multiple licensed premises to secure a better wholesale price based on total product volume purchased ( sections 8 and 9 ); and Allows a liquor-licensed drugstore that applied for its license after July 1, 2016, to obtain additional liquor-licensed drugstore licenses, if obtained in the manner specified in current law for other liquor-licensed drugstores to obtain additional licenses, as follows: a maximum of 2 licenses between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2022; a maximum of 3 licenses between January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2027; and a maximum of 4 licenses on or after January 1, 2027 ( section 9 ). Current law prohibits the public consumption of malt, vinous, and spirituous liquors except on a premises licensed to sell alcohol beverages for consumption on the licensed premises. Section 11 includes fermented malt beverages within the prohibition against public consumption and authorizes a state or local government entity, by rule, ordinance, or resolution, as applicable, to authorize public consumption of any type of alcohol beverage within the government entity's jurisdiction. With regard to the enforcement authority of the state and local licensing authorities, section 10 : Specifies the fine amount, if a fine is imposed, when a licensed retail establishment sells alcohol beverages to minors or to visibly intoxicated persons; and In determining the suspension or fine to impose for that violation, precludes consideration of violations that occurred more than 5 years before the current violation. Section 12 authorizes the state licensing authority to adopt, and requires retailers to comply with, rules prohibiting retailers from accepting an extension of credit from a distributor for more than 30 days. $87,592 is appropriated from the liquor enforcement division and state licensing authority cash fund to the department of revenue to implement the bill, with $10,656 reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Sponsored bills
The bill provides an income tax credit to an individual who retrofits or hires someone to retrofit the individual's residence. The bill specifies that the retrofit must: Be necessary to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of a qualified individual; Increase the residence's visitability; Enable greater accessibility and independence in the residence for a qualified individual; Be required due to illness, impairment, or disability of a qualified individual; and Allow a qualified individual to age in place.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (department) to create and implement a method for meeting urgent transportation needs within the existing nonemergency medical transportation benefit under the medical assistance program. The method created by the department must provide medical service provider and facility access to approved providers who can meet urgent transportation needs, and include an efficient method for obtaining and paying for the transportation services. The department shall annually report to certain committees of the general assembly on the implementation and effectiveness of the process. The bill includes an appropriation to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Statutory Revision Committee. Current law appears to forbid a powersports vehicle manufacturer or distributor from honoring written warranties. The bill clarifies that the powersports dealer is required to honor written warranties.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
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
Section 1 of the bill allows a person on parole to preregister to vote. A person who preregisters is required to meet all the requirements of a person who registers. When the secretary of state (secretary) receives notice that the person has been discharged from parole, the person is automatically registered to vote. Section 2 makes a conforming amendment to the self-affirmation made by a person who is registering or preregistering. Section 3 requires the division of adult parole (division) to facilitate the voting rights of people being discharged from parole. The division is required to provide information to individuals on parole about their right to preregister to vote. When a person is being discharged from parole, the division is required to provide information about the person's right to vote, how the person can register or update their registration, how to obtain and cast a ballot, and how to get voter information materials. The division must send a report of individuals being discharged from parole to the secretary in order to allow the registration of any individual who has preregistered. Section 4 requires a probation officer to provide information to an individual on probation about the person's right to vote, how the person can register or update their registration, how to obtain and cast a ballot, and how to get voter information materials. The bill appropriates funds to the department of corrections, the office of information technology, and the department of state to implement its requirements. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill allows a private collection agency or privately retained attorney collecting on any debt arising from past-due orders, obligations, fines, or fees due to the state, or to any political subdivision within the state, to add to the amount due that has been placed for collection all fees, costs, and costs of collection, including designated contractual attorney fees and costs that are awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction. Exclusive of the accrual of interest and court costs, any fees, costs, and costs of collection may not exceed 18% in the aggregate unless additional reasonable attorney fees are awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction. Under current law, the department of personnel may add a collection fee to the amount of a debt's principal and accruing interest referred to the state controller except where other specific statutory authority, requirements under federal programs, or written agreement with the debtor provide otherwise. The collection fee may include a fee to recover the collection costs incurred by either the controller, private counsel, or private collection agencies, but in no case shall the aggregate fee for the controller or private collection agencies exceed 21%. The bill lowers this limit to 18%. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill updates the Colorado disaster emergency act to include provisions related specifically to recovery, mitigation, and resiliency and to establish the roles and responsibilities of state and local agencies at all stages of emergency management. Section 3 of the bill adds language defining the stages of response and recovery, as well as definitions of emergency, resiliency, and mitigation. Section 4 allows the governor to convene a disaster policy group to coordinate the response and recovery from disaster emergencies. If the governor convenes the policy group, the governor is required to appoint a chair and to delegate to the chair the authority to manage cross-departmental and interjurisdictional coordination of recovery efforts. Sections 5 and 21 repeal and relocate existing language establishing the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee, update the language to reflect amendments throughout the bill, and add the executive director of the department of local affairs or his or her designee to the committee. Subject to available grant funding, the bill creates the Colorado resiliency office in the division of local government within the department of local affairs in sections 17 and 18. Subject to the availability of grant funding or within existing resources, the office is required to develop a resiliency and community recovery program for the state that must address coordination among state and local agencies and risk and vulnerability reduction. The office is required to consult with other state agencies and stakeholders in developing the program. Sections 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 amend existing statutes concerning disaster planning and response at the state and local level to include references to recovery, mitigation, and preparedness. The requirement for a state disaster plan is amended to require a comprehensive emergency management program that addresses preparation, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Local and interjurisdictional disaster agencies are renamed as emergency management agencies. The emergency management agencies are required to develop a local or interjurisdictional plan that includes provisions for preparation, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Agencies may incorporate by reference existing locally adopted plans, plans approved by the office of emergency management or the federal emergency management agency, and other relevant plans. Section 15 amends a requirement in existing law that the governor consider steps that could be taken on a continuing basis to prevent and reduce the harmful consequences of disasters and adds language requiring the governor to also consider mitigation and recovery from disasters. Sections 16, 19, and 20 make conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Current law sets the fees paid by stationary sources of air pollutants by statute and allows the air quality control commission to set the fees below the cap by rule as needed to comply with TABOR. The bill increases the statutory caps as follows: Type of Fee Current Cap New Cap Air pollutant emission notices$152.90$191.13 Per-ton fee for regulated pollutants$ 22.90$ 28.63 Per-ton fee for hazardous pollutants$152.90$191.13 Per-hour permit processing fee$ 76.45$ 95.56 The maximum statutory fees automatically increase by the rate of inflation on each January 1 from 2019 to 2028, but the actual fees collected will be set at or below the statutory cap by the commission by rule. The division of administration in the department of public health and environment shall prioritize its use of the revenues generated by the fee increases to reduce permit processing times. The division will: Engage affected industries to identify and assess measures to improve billing practices, increase accounting transparency, and assess potential efficiency improvements with respect to division activities financed by the fees; and Report to the general assembly through 2022 to provide status updates on the stakeholder process. The bill appropriates $1,555,293 to the department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The Colorado youth advisory council (council) is comprised of 4 legislative members and 40 nonlegislative members who are between 14 and 19 years of age. The council meets 4 times each year to examine, evaluate, and discuss the issues, interests, and needs affecting Colorado youth. On or before April 30 each year, the council reports to legislative committees a summary of the council's work and recommendations. The bill creates the Colorado youth advisory council review committee (review committee). The review committee is comprised of the legislative members of the council, 5 nonlegislative council members who are appointed by the council, and one member of the legislative council. The 5 legislative members of the review committee serve as voting members. All other members are nonvoting members. The review committee may meet up to 3 times each interim and recommend up to 3 bills to the legislative council. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More