The act creates a state income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2027, for employers who make a monetary contribution to an employee for use by the employee in purchasing a primary residence. The amount of the credit allowed is 5% of an employer's contribution to an employee, but the credit is capped at $5,000 per employee per year and an employer cannot receive a credit of more than $500,000 for all contributions made in a year to employees. The employee must use the money contributed for eligible expenses which include a down payment and closing costs, including fees for appraisals, mortgage origination, and inspections. An employee may authorize their employer to withhold a specified amount of the employee's earnings as an employee contribution into the savings account established by the employer that holds the employer contribution. If an employee ends their employment with the employer or if the employee intends to use the employee contribution in a manner that is not consistent with an eligible expense, the employee forfeits any unexpended amount of the employer contribution and the amount of the credit allowed to the employer for the employer contribution is subject to recapture. In such an occurrence, the employee is entitled to the employee contribution, plus any interest earned. The credit is not refundable but may be carried forward by the employer for a period of not more than 5 years. The executive director of the department of revenue may promulgate rules related to the implementation of the credit. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2027, the amount contributed by the employer may be subtracted by the employee from the employee's federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income; except that, if an employee forfeits the employer contribution, then the amount that the employee had subtracted from their federal taxable income is added back to their federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income for the subsequent tax year. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 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.)
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A person applying for a marijuana license is required to pay both an application fee and a licensing fee. The act clarifies that the state licensing authority may issue a refund of a licensing fee if the marijuana license application is denied. Furthermore, the act states that the state licensing authority must retain the applicant's application fee, but a local licensing authority can choose to retain or refund an applicant's application fee. Current law requires a marijuana license applicant to obtain both a state license and local jurisdiction approval, and the state license is conditioned on local jurisdiction approval. The act provides an applicant the opportunity to renew, for up to one year, a state license that would otherwise expire because of failure to receive local jurisdiction approval at the discretion of the state licensing authority. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer from the general fund an amount equal to the unused general fund appropriation in the department of revenue's IDS print production line item at the end of state fiscal year 2022-23 to the department's marijuana cash fund. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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 amends the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code" (code) by: Updating the renewal dates for entities required to be licensed under the code from January 31 of each year to July 1 of each year; Creating the consumer credit unit cash fund, into which all fees collected under the code on and after July 1, 2024, must be deposited; and Repealing the uniform consumer credit code cash fund and the collection agency cash fund and transferring the balances remaining in the funds to the consumer credit unit cash fund. The act amends language in the "Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" relating to the duty of the code administrator to maintain confidentiality to align with the code and the "Colorado Student Loan Equity Act". The act amends the "Colorado Student Loan Equity Act" by: Requiring licensed entities to include an annual report upon application for license renewal; Changing the term "private education loan" to "private education credit obligation" and updating corresponding terms accordingly; Defining the term "refinanced" and excluding student loans subject to refinancing from registration requirements; and Including a cosigner within the definition of "borrower". The act authorizes collection agencies, persons who provide debt-management services, and student loan servicers to allow their employees to work remotely. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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 prohibits debt collectors and collection agencies, when attempting to collect debt that they know or should know is medical debt or to obtain information about a consumer in relation to an attempt to collect medical debt, from making a false, deceptive, or misleading representation that the medical debt will be included in a consumer report or factored into a consumer's credit score unless the information is used in connection with a credit transaction involving, or that may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount that exceeds the national conforming loan limit value determined annually by the federal housing finance agency. "Medical debt" is debt arising from health-care services or health-care goods, including products, devices, durable medical equipment, and prescription drugs. The act also prohibits a consumer reporting agency from making any consumer report containing any adverse information that the agency knows or should know concerns medical debt. The department of revenue is required to study the effect of prohibiting medical debt reporting and, on or before January 1, 2028, report its conclusions from the study to certain legislative committees. In its initial written communication to a consumer, a debt collector or collection agency is required to include a statement regarding the new prohibitions. Current law prohibits a consumer reporting agency from reporting certain types of information. However, the prohibition does not apply to: A credit transaction involving, or that may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of $150,000 or more; or The underwriting of life insurance involving, or that may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of $150,000 or more. The act eliminates both of these exceptions to the prohibition and substitutes a new exception, which applies to a credit transaction involving, or that may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount that exceeds the national conforming loan limit value for a one-unit property as determined annually by the federal housing finance agency. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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.)
To recompense the public employees' retirement association (PERA) for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution of $225 million, House Bill 22-1029, concerning a requirement that the state make an additional direct distribution to the public employees' retirement association to fully recompense the association for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution, required an additional direct distribution to PERA. However, the additional direct distribution did not fully recompense PERA for the cancellation of the previously scheduled direct distribution. To fully recompense PERA, the act requires the state treasurer to issue a warrant to PERA that consists of the balance of the PERA payment cash fund plus $10 million paid from the general fund. The PERA payment cash fund is repealed, effective July 1, 2023. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the definition of "qualified local expenditure" for purposes of the performance-based incentive for film production in Colorado to include payment by a production company to a personal services corporation to pay the wages or salaries of an employee-owner of the personal service corporation. "Personal service corporation" and "employee-owner of a personal service corporation" have the same meaning as set forth in the internal revenue code. A payment by a production company to a personal service corporation is a qualified local expenditure only if the production company documents the payment in an information income tax return. Payments in excess of $1 million per calendar year per personal service corporation are excluded from the calculation of the performance-based incentive. The changes related to the definition of employee and withholding requirements made in the act apply to income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024. The act adds the new information income tax return requirement for production companies to state income tax law and specifies that a production company is generally not required to deduct and withhold state income tax from a payment to a personal service corporation for services. However, if the information return fails to provide a taxpayer identification number for the personal service corporation that can be validated through the taxpayer identification number matching program administered by the internal revenue service, or provides a taxpayer identification number issued for a nonresident alien, then such deduction, withholding, and payment of state income tax to the department of revenue is required. The act also eliminates the withholding exemption for a payment to a nonresident individual who performs services in connection with a film production for less than 120 days in a calendar year. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 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.)
No later than September 1, 2023, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to engage in a stakeholder process to address concerns and identify viable solutions related to individuals who receive long-term services and supports. No later than January 2025, the act requires the state department to report on the stakeholder process, including identifying any administrative resources needed to address any concerns identified during the stakeholder process. The act appropriates $75,000 from the general fund to the state department for use by the office of community living. It is anticipated that the state department will receive $75,000 in federal funds to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a carrier that offers a health benefit plan (carrier) or a pharmacy benefit management firm that administers or manages contraception coverage under a health benefit plan (PBM) to provide coverage for, and reimburse a prescribing provider or in-network dispensing entity for, the single dispensing or furnishing of contraception intended to last the covered person for a duration of 12 months, as permitted by the covered person's prescription, dispensed or furnished at one time, unless requested otherwise by the covered person. A carrier or PBM is subject to certain requirements, as applicable, including: Allowing coverage of continuous use of contraception, as determined by the prescribing provider; A prohibition against implementing utilization management practices that prevent the dispensing of a 12-months' duration of contraception; Allowing for alternate prescribed contraception, if medically necessary; and Providing coverage for over-the-counter contraception without a prescription and without prior authorization, step therapy, utilization management, or cost sharing. The act requires carriers to report annually to the division of insurance in the department of regulatory agencies concerning contraception coverage and requires PBM's to provide information to carriers for purposes of this reporting. The act authorizes the commissioner of insurance to promulgate rules regarding the coverage. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 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 eliminates the prohibition on persons licensed by the "Limited Gaming Act of 1991" (licensee) from extending credit to another person for participation in limited gaming if: The licensee evaluates the person's credit and establishes the person as credit-worthy; The licensee does not have knowledge of a conviction of the person for committing specified unlawful acts; The licensee determines that the person has no outstanding child support debt or unpaid debt due to the state and does not owe restitution from a Colorado criminal case; and The amount of the extension of credit is at least $1,000. Additionally, the act specifies the documentation the licensee must maintain for any extension of credit and requires the licensee to inform every person to whom credit is extended, orally and in writing, that the financial obligations created must be fully paid to the licensee within 150 days. The act prohibits licensees from reducing their gaming tax burden through deducting unpaid credit from their gross proceeds. The act allows licensees to pursue all civil remedies at law to recover unpaid credit, as well as interest and reasonable recovery costs. Additionally, the act restricts licensees from settling or compromising the amount to be repaid until specific conditions are met. Finally, the act outlines record-keeping requirements for licensees that extend credit. VETOED by Governor May 23, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires the department of education (department) to award an annual stipend of $1,600 to teachers, school counselors, principals, and school psychologists who hold national board certification and who are employed by a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school of a school district, or an institute charter school (local education provider). The bill extends the $1,600 stipend to qualified librarians and school social workers who hold national board certification and who are employed by a local education provider. Current law allows the department to award an additional $3,200 annual stipend to teachers, principals, school counselors, and school psychologists who are employed in a low-performing, high-needs school. The bill allows the department to also extend an additional $3,200 stipend to librarians or school social workers who are employed in a low-performing, high-needs school. The additional $3,200 stipend is also extended to teachers, librarians, school counselors, school psychologists, or school social workers (national board-certified educators) who are employed in a rural school district. The bill allows the department to extend an additional $3,200 stipend to national board-certified educators who are employed as math teachers in any school. If a national board-certified educator transfers employment from one low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district to another low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district, the educator remains eligible for the additional stipend. However, if a national board-certified educator leaves employment with a low-performing, high-needs school or rural school district, the educator is no longer eligible for the additional stipend. If a national board-certified math teacher transfers schools as a math teacher, the educator remains eligible for the additional stipend. However, if a national board-certified educator who is a math teacher stops teaching math, the educator is no longer eligible for the additional stipend. If there are insufficient funds, the department shall reduce the amount of each stipend by the same percentage that the deficit bears to the amount required to fully fund the total number of national board-certified educators who qualify for the stipend. A national board-certified educator who is employed as a principal or an administrator in a school and maintains a national certification is eligible for a stipend. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)