The act changes the calculation of the ad valorem credit allowed against the state severance tax on oil and gas. In tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2025, the credit is calculated on a per-well basis for wells that are not exempt from taxation and is equal to 76.56% of the gross income of the well multiplied by the mill levy fixed in the prior calendar year. A working group consisting of the director of the office of state planning and budgeting and the executive directors of the departments of revenue, natural resources, education, and local affairs, or their designees, is required to develop an implementation plan for making additional changes to the state severance tax on oil and gas. The implementation plan must make recommendations concerning the steps necessary to change the legal incidence of tax from interest owners to operators while maintaining revenue neutrality, require electronic filing of returns for severance taxes, and require additional electronic data collection to the tax. The plan must also include a quantitative fiscal analysis of the change in the calculation of the credit for ad valorem taxes and the change in the legal incidence of the tax and how they can be implemented while maintaining revenue neutrality. The group must submit the implementation plan to the joint budget committee by January 15, 2024. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act permits an institution of higher education (institution), or a group of institutions that is managed by a single governing board, that was designated as an enterprise by the institution's or facility's governing body as of January 1, 2021, and that subsequently disqualifies as an enterprise, to qualify and be redesignated as an enterprise without voter approval. The act permits an auxiliary facility, or group of auxiliary facilities with similar functions, that is managed by the governing body of an institution or by the board of directors of the Auraria higher education center that was designated as an enterprise by the institution's or facility's governing body as of January 1, 2021, and that subsequently disqualifies as an enterprise, to qualify and be redesignated as an enterprise without voter approval. The act prohibits a state enterprise that was qualified or created after January 1, 2021, from receiving more than $100,000,000 in revenue from fees and surcharges in its first 5 fiscal years unless approved at a statewide general election. The act repeals the requirement that an election be held based on an enterprise's projected revenue. If a state enterprise has collected $100,000,000 in fees and surcharges in its first 5 fiscal years prior to approval, the state enterprise must stop collecting fees and surcharges. The act clarifies that, for the purpose of applying the approval requirements, enterprises serve primarily the same purpose when they provide the same services in the same geographic area and that the first 5 fiscal years of a state enterprise for the purpose of calculating the $100,000,000 amount are the first 5 state fiscal years since the creation or first qualification of the enterprise. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the commissioner of education (commissioner), in collaboration with the executive director of the department of higher education (executive director) and the chair of the state work force development council (council chair), to convene the secondary, postsecondary, and work-based learning integration task force (task force) to develop recommendations to support the expansion and alignment of programs that integrate secondary, postsecondary, and work-based learning opportunities throughout the state. The act specifies the membership of the task force, to be selected by the commissioner in collaboration with the executive director and the council chair, and the specific duties of the task force. The task force must prepare an interim report and a final report of its findings and recommendations and submit the reports by December 1, 2022, and December 1, 2023, respectively, to the governor, the education leadership council, the state board of education, the Colorado commission on higher education, and the education committees of the general assembly. The act creates a legislative advisory council to provide advice and comment to the task force. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates from the general fund $89,123 to the department of education and $1,966 to the legislative department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the rural provider access and affordability stimulus grant program (grant program) in the Colorado department of health care policy and financing (state department). As part of the grant program, the state department may award grants for projects that modernize the affordability solutions and the information technology of health-care providers in rural communities (rural providers) and projects that expand access to health care in rural communities. The types of rural providers eligible for grants under the grant program are rural hospitals that have a lower net patient revenue or fund balance than other rural hospitals in the state, as determined by the medical services board (state board) by rule. On or before December 31, 2022: The state department must adopt guidelines for the grant program (guidelines); and The state board must adopt rules as necessary for the administration of the grant program (rules). The act creates the rural provider access and affordability advisory committee (advisory committee) in the state department. The advisory committee is required to advise the state department on the administration of the grant program, the adoption of the guidelines, and the selection of grant recipients. The advisory committee is also required to advise on the rules. The act also creates the rural provider access and affordability fund (fund) in the state treasury. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $10,000,000 from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the fund for awarding grants under the grant program and the administration of the grant program. The state department is directed to include a report on the progress of the grant program during its presentation to joint legislative committees pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act". The grant program is repealed on July 1, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act transfers the duties, powers, and functions of the department of local affairs (DOLA) related to backcountry search and rescue, the backcountry search and rescue card (card) and the backcountry search and rescue fund (fund) to the division of parks and wildlife (division), effective January 1, 2023. On and after January 1, 2023: All positions of employment and appropriations for personal services in DOLA related to backcountry search and rescue and the administration of the card and fund are transferred to the division; The division is required to administer the card program and to process requests for reimbursement for search and rescue efforts from the fund and assumes all rights and obligations previously vested in DOLA; The parks and wildlife commission is required to promulgate rules establishing the price and vendor fee for the card and the amount of the surcharges imposed on certain hunting and fishing licenses and on boats, snowmobile, and off-highway vehicle registrations that are credited to the fund; and The fund is continuously appropriated to the division to reimburse local governments for backcountry search and rescue efforts and to support search and rescue efforts throughout the state. The act amends current laws providing immunity from civil liability in certain circumstances to volunteer firefighters and incident management teams responding to emergencies and to volunteers providing services to nonprofit organizations to include persons, including associated legal entities, engaged in backcountry search and rescue efforts. A dependent of a person who died or was permanently disabled while engaged in backcountry search and rescue efforts is eligible for educational benefits that are currently extended to the dependents of individuals who die or are permanently disabled while on active duty as a Colorado National Guardsman or while working as a police officer, sheriff, or other law enforcement officer or firefighter. One million dollars is transferred from the general fund to the wildlife cash fund for use by the division to support backcountry search and rescue efforts. If there is any unobligated and unexpended money remaining from that transfer on January 2, 2023, the remainder is transferred to the backcountry search and rescue fund. The one million dollars transferred to the wildlife cash fund is appropriated to the department of natural resources for use by the division for backcountry search and rescue efforts. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado wildlife safe passages fund (fund) within the state treasury and transfers $5,000,000 from the general fund to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department of transportation (department) to provide funding for projects that provide safe road crossings for connectivity of wildlife and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, for the full range of wildlife crossing project needs, and for matching requirements for federal grant programs relating to wildlife crossing projects. The department must consult with the division of parks and wildlife and the Colorado wildlife and transportation alliance regarding the disbursement of money from the fund and must annually report on the disbursement of such money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2017, but prior to January 1, 2023, the credit for health-care preceptors working in health professional shortage areas offers an income tax credit in the amount of $1,000 to health-care professionals in rural and frontier areas who provide a preceptorship, an uncompensated mentoring experience for eligible health professional students that includes a specified minimum amount of personalized instruction, training, and supervision, during the applicable income tax year. The act modifies the tax credit by: Extending the period for which the tax credit may be claimed to tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2033; Allowing up to 300, rather than 200, preceptors to claim the credit in any tax year; Expanding who may offer a preceptorship to include, in addition to a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic medicine, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, doctor of dental surgery, or doctor of dental medicine as provided by existing law, a registered nurse, registered dental hygienist, pharmacist, licensed clinical or counseling psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, psychiatric nurse specialist, licensed addiction counselor, or certified addiction counselor working in an outpatient clinical setting who has been licensed in his or her primary health-care field in the state by the applicable licensing authority; Expanding who may participate in a preceptorship to include individuals matriculating at any accredited Colorado institution of higher education seeking a degree or certification in a primary health-care field; Allowing nonconsecutive days to be counted when determining the eligibility of a preceptorship for the credit; Modifying the definitions of "rural areas", "preceptorship", and "primary health-care" for purposes of the tax credit; Modifying the certification requirements for taxpayers who claim the tax credit; and Providing a tax preference performance statement for the tax credit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
By the beginning of the 2024-25 school year and continuing thereafter, the act requires each school district, board of cooperative services, and charter school (local education provider) to ensure that each reading interventionist employed to teach children in any of grades 4 through 12, the principal in each school that serves kindergarten or any of grades one through 3, and each school district administrator with responsibility for programs in kindergarten or any of grades one through 3 successfully completes evidence-based training in the science of reading. The local education provider may request a one-year extension from the state board of education to ensure that the teachers, reading interventionists, principals, and administrators whom it employs meet the training requirements. Each local education provider must submit to the department of education (department) evidence that it is in compliance with the reading interventionist, principal, and administrator training requirements to receive per-pupil intervention money in a budget year. The act encourages the director of each public library to work with the department to provide evidence-based training in the science of reading for each librarian and to identify and provide materials and activities for parents and children to improve literacy. Each library director may prepare a plan and submit it to the state librarian describing how the director and librarians will work with children and families to support literacy. At the request of a local education provider or a library director, the department shall provide free training in the science of reading to reading interventionists, principals, and administrators employed by the local education provider and librarians employed at the public library. The act directs the state librarian to work with public libraries throughout the state to facilitate access to evidence-based training in the science of reading for librarians and assist in identifying materials and activities for parents and children to improve literacy. For the 2022-23 budget year, the act appropriates $251,139 from the early literacy fund to the department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) encourages communities, parks, and protected areas to preserve and protect dark skies by various means, including an international dark sky places program that offers designations for 5 types of dark sky places. The act requires the Colorado tourism office (office) to establish the Colorado designated dark sky designation technical assistance grant program (program) to: Provide technical assistance grants to applicants seeking direct support from the IDA for activities related to international dark sky designation; and Provide general education and outreach about dark skies and specifically promote responsible and sustainable tourism opportunities in designated dark sky places in the state. The office may contract with the IDA and the Colorado chapter of the IDA to help the office develop its program policies, evaluate grant applications, and make recommendations to the office regarding which applicants should receive grant awards and what the amount of each award should be. The office is also required, on its own, in consultation with the IDA and the Colorado chapter of the IDA, or by contracting with the IDA and the Colorado chapter of the IDA, to provide general education and outreach and to promote tourism. To fund the program, the act requires $35,000 to be transferred from the general fund to the Colorado travel and tourism additional source fund, which current law continuously appropriates to the office. On or before November 1, 2023, the office is required to submit a report detailing the expenditure of the money dedicated to the program to the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee and the senate business, labor, and technology committee, or their successor committees. The report must specify the grant-supported actions taken in furtherance of designating new dark sky places and indicate how many program grant recipients have opened and maintained an active case file with the IDA or have had a community or other place certified by the IDA as a designated dark sky place. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2021, the state received $3,828,761,790 from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund as part of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal funds). The act modifies administrative requirements established by the United States department of the treasury (treasury) related to these federal funds, which were implemented through the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund, by: Establishing deadlines for a subrecipient, which is a person that carries out a program or project on behalf of the state but is not a program or project beneficiary, to expend or obligate this money, and if not, to return this money to the state for the state to either expend or return to treasury, depending on the timing; Requiring the state controller to determine whether money has been obligated; Requiring the state controller to transmit to the treasury any money that was obligated by December 31, 2024, but not expended by December 31, 2026; Requiring the department of revenue to provide the state controller with any information about any increases in the state's net tax revenue, which is necessary for calculating the state's revenue reductions for 2022 and 2023; Clarifying that the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller apply to a person regardless of whether the person is a beneficiary or a subrecipient and regardless of whether the person receives the money directly from a department or from a subrecipient; and Permitting the state controller to report any expenditures to the treasury as a government service to the extent of the reduction in the state's revenue due to the COVID-19 public health emergency relative to the revenues the state collected for the state fiscal year 2018-19. The act substitutes money from the general fund or from a cash fund that included money that originated from the general fund for allocations of the federal funds that were made in 2021, as follows: $29,894,004 from the housing development grant fund; $36.5 million from the highway users tax fund that was distributed to counties, cities, and incorporated towns; $10 million from the Colorado startup loan program fund; and $98.5 million from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund. The act transfers the following amounts from the economic recovery and relief cash fund: $70 million of federal funds to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund to be used by the executive branch for any expenditures necessary to respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19; $15 million of federal funds to the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund; $1,437,172 of federal funds to the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund; and $10 million that originated from the general fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund. House Bill 22-1409, concerning additional funding for the community revitalization grant program, required the state treasurer to transfer $20 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the community revitalization fund. The act reduces the transfer to $19,278,042, with $4,478,042 from money in the economic relief cash fund that originated from the general fund and the remainder from money in the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund that originated from the general fund. House Bill 22-1379, concerning transfers from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to provide additional funding for the management of certain natural resources, appropriated $15 million of federal funds from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the department of natural resources for use by the Colorado water conservation board. The act expands the allowable uses of this money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)