Rep. Matt Martinez

The act modifies the income tax credit for qualified costs incurred in preservation of historic structures (credit) by: Modifying the requirement that a qualified commercial or residential structure be at least 50 years old to instead require a qualified commercial or residential structure to be at least 30 years old; Extending the period for which a taxpayer may claim the credit through income tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2037; Extending the period for which the Colorado office of economic development may reserve the credit through December 31, 2032; Limiting the credit to apply to past rehabilitation expenditures that occurred 12, rather than 24, months prior to the submission of an application for the credit on or after January 1, 2026; Preventing a person from submitting an application for the credit on or after January 1, 2025, in connection with an already completed rehabilitation project; Increasing the amount of the credit that may be awarded for residential rehabilitation expenditures from $50,000 to $100,000, beginning with credits that are awarded on or after January 1, 2025; Removing the 5% increase in the percentage of applicable rehabilitation expenses incurred in a rehabilitation in a disaster area under the credit for rehabilitations made in connection with an application for the credit submitted on or after January 1, 2025; Creating the commercial historic preservation tax credit program cash fund that consists of gifts, grants, donations, any revenue generated by the issuance fee charged in connection with the issuance of a credit, and any other money that the general assembly credits to the fund; For tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2027, allowing the credit for qualified residential structures to be refundable rather than able to be carried forward; and For calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2030, establishing a second income tax credit pool of up to $5 million annually that is reserved for an owner of a qualified commercial structure that is rehabilitated so that at least 50% of the square footage of the qualified commercial structure will be net new housing rental units, and, if the qualified commercial structure is subject to a deed restriction that requires the owner to lease rental housing to individuals with an income below a certain amount, the taxpayer claiming the credit may claim 5% more of the qualified expenditures. To implement the act, for the 2024-25 state fiscal year: $74,244 is appropriated from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs for general incentives and marketing by the economic development commission; and $54,419 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by history Colorado for the office of archeology and historic preservation. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the ninth-grade success grant program (grant program) provides funding to local education providers and charter schools to implement a ninth-grade success program to assist ninth-grade students to develop the skills needed to successfully graduate high school and succeed in their education and careers. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriated $2 million from the state education fund to the department of education (department) for the grant program and reduced the general fund appropriation in the long bill for the grant program by $792,444. The act requires the general assembly to appropriate $2 million from the state education fund to the department for the grant program in the 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28 state fiscal years. Under current law, the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement (office) submits an annual report to the state board of education, the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, and the governor regarding findings and recommendations to reduce the student dropout rate and increase graduation and completion rates. Starting with the report submitted in March 2026, the act requires the office to include certain ninth-grade performance measures for each public school, school district, the charter school institute, and the state as a whole. APPROVED by Governor May 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires the department of labor and employment (department), in consultation with the department of military and veterans affairs, to create and distribute a poster that provides information on services, resources, and benefits that are available to veterans of the armed services. Each employer in this state with more than 50 employees is required to display the poster created by the department in a conspicuous and accessible area in the workplace. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law allows an entity that wants to access public rights-of-way (rights-of-way) for the deployment of broadband to enter into a public-private initiative agreement with the department of transportation (department) for the entity's access to the rights-of-way. The bill creates an alternative method for entities that want to access rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband, whereby the department may issue a permit and impose a permit fee for access to rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband. The bill specifies that an entity that wants to access rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband may pursue either the permit application and fee process created in the bill or the existing public-private initiative agreement process. In issuing permits that grant access to rights-of-way, the bill: Requires the department to allow competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory access to broadband providers seeking to use rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband; Requires the department to determine the form and manner of the permit application process and to approve or deny a permit application within 30 days; Specifies that the term of any permit issued pursuant to the bill is 30 years and that the department cannot assert ownership of broadband infrastructure except for when a permit recipient abandons the broadband infrastructure; Prohibits the department from requiring the permit recipient to lay additional fiber for use by the department or any third party; Prohibits the department from requiring the permit recipient to provide any in-kind goods or services as a condition of granting access to rights-of way; and Requires the department to produce an anticipated annual budget for the costs associated with the permit application process and an anticipated annual forecast of the revenue that the department will generate from the permit fees. The department may impose a one-time permit processing fee in connection with an application to gain access to rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband (permit processing fee) so long as the fee does not exceed the department's actual costs in connection with granting or administering the permits. The department is prohibited from imposing any other fee or charge for access to rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband. The department is also prohibited from including any charge in the permit processing fee to receive compensation for the fair market value of rights-of-way or access to rights-of-way; except that if the attorney general certifies in writing to the transportation commission that excluding fair market value in the permit processing fee violates federal law and that the violation will result in the loss of federal money apportioned to the state, the department is required to include fair market value in the permit processing fee. In such case, the department is required to set the rate of fair market value at a level that does not exceed the lowest rate of fair market value established by any other state for access to that state's rights-of-way for the deployment of broadband. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires that, in order to plant uncertified potatoes, a potato grower must: Submit the uncertified potato seed stock to the certifying authority of Colorado for testing and have the certifying authority approve the potatoes for planting; or Ensure the uncertified potatoes are no more than one generation removed from certified or qualified parent potatoes and submit the uncertified potato seed stock to the certifying authority for testing. The testing process is aimed to ensure that if uncertified potatoes are planted in Colorado, those potatoes are free from disease or other issues that may be detrimental to Colorado's potato crop. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act concerns the use of telehealth to provide veterinary services. The act defines different types of telehealth tools that can be used in a veterinary practice. In current law, one criterion for the establishment of a veterinarian-client-patient relationship is that the veterinarian has conducted an examination of the animal that is the patient. The act clarifies that the examination must be an in-person, physical examination. The act also extends the veterinarian-client-patient relationship to other licensed veterinarians who share the same physical premises as the veterinarian who established the relationship if the other veterinarians have access to and have reviewed the patient's medical records. The act allows a licensed veterinarian who has established a veterinarian-client-patient relationship to use telehealth to provide veterinary services to clients and patients in Colorado with the consent of the client. A licensed veterinarian may also refer a patient to a veterinary specialist, who may provide veterinary services via telemedicine under the referring veterinarian's veterinarian-client-patient relationship. The act authorizes the state board of veterinary medicine to establish rules for the use of telehealth to provide veterinary services. The act clarifies that only a licensed veterinarian with an established veterinarian-client-patient relationship may prescribe medication using telemedicine. The act allows a licensed veterinarian who has established a veterinarian-client-patient relationship to supervise a registered veterinary technician who is not located on the same premises using telesupervision if the veterinarian and the registered veterinary technician are employees of the same veterinary practice location, the veterinary professionals are licensed or registered in Colorado, and the patient is located in Colorado. The act establishes record-keeping, confidentiality, and privacy requirements related to the use of telehealth. APPROVED by Governor April 19, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Each county in the state is categorized for purposes of establishing the salaries of elected officers in the county. The statutory salary amounts are adjusted every 2 years for inflation and take effect for terms commencing after any change is made. The act modifies the categories of 4 counties, which will result in accompanying percentage increases in salaries as follows: Fremont county changes from category II-C to category II-B, resulting in a 9.1% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, and full- and part-time coroners; Elbert county changes from category IV-A to category III-A, resulting in a 17.7% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, and full-time coroners; a 14.1% increase for sheriffs; a 50.0% increase for surveyors; and a 49.8% increase for part-time coroners; Rio Grande county changes from category IV-C to category III-C, resulting in a 17.7% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, and full-time coroners; a 14.1% increase for sheriffs; a 50.0% increase for surveyors; and a 49.8% increase for part-time coroners; and Hinsdale county changes from category V-B to category V-A, resulting in an 8.3% increase for commissioners, treasurers, assessors, clerks, sheriffs, surveyors, and part-time coroners. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. Under current law, when certain conditions exist, a district court may establish conservancy districts for the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses. Section 1 of the bill allows conservancy districts to conserve, develop, utilize, or dispose of water for commercial uses as well. Section 2 authorizes the board of directors of a conservancy district to: Submit and participate in a plan for augmentation for the benefit of water rights and wells within and outside of the boundaries of the conservancy district; Contract with water users within and outside of the conservancy district for the provision of services; Exercise certain powers concerning the management, control, delivery, use, and distribution of water in conjunction with a plan for augmentation; In conjunction with sections 4 and 5 , establish a water activity enterprise, which is a government-run business, for the purpose of pursuing or continuing water activities; and Sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the use of water or capacity in works by term contracts or by contracts for the perpetual use of the water or works to certain entities. Section 3 authorizes a conservancy district to: Enter into long-term contracts with public and private entities for the accomplishment of functions of the conservancy district; and Avail itself of aid, assistance, and cooperation from the federal government, the state government, and local governments. Sections 4 and 5 allow a conservancy district to establish a water activity enterprise, which is a business that receives less than 10% of its annual revenues in grants from all Colorado state and local governments combined, is authorized to issue its own revenue bonds, and is excluded from the provisions of the "Taxpayer's Bill of Rights" in the state constitution.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under existing law, the peace officer standards and training board may grant a person a provisional certification as a peace officer if the person satisfies the requirements for a provisional certificate. One of the requirements is that the person must have been a peace officer in another state or federal jurisdiction, excluding the armed forces, within the preceding 3 years. The act removes the exception for the armed forces, so that being a peace officer in the armed forces satisfies that requirement for a provisional certificate. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The "Colorado Regional Tourism Act" establishes a process for approving and a mechanism for financing, through state sales tax increment revenue, regional tourism projects that are submitted by local governments and approved by the Colorado economic development commission (commission). The commission currently does not have authority to approve any more regional tourism projects. On or after September 1, 2024, the bill allows the commission to approve up to 2 new regional tourism projects, both of which must be located in a frontier community. The bill also specifies that the term "regional tourism project" includes an agritourism facility together with ancillary uses, structures, and improvements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)