The bill requires that, to file a nuisance suit against an agricultural operation, a plaintiff must occupy land that is within 2,640 feet of the operation. Punitive damages are not allowed unless the agricultural operation has violated certain environmental laws against pollution, the nuisance arises from the violation, and the action is brought within one year after the operation is held to have committed the violation. Under current law, the prevailing party may be awarded court costs and attorney fees in a nuisance action against an agricultural operation. The bill changes this to award court costs and attorney fees only to a prevailing agricultural operation. The bill also requires the state of Colorado, a county, a municipality, or a city and county to pay the owner or operator of an agricultural operation reasonable compensation, as determined by a court, for the loss of agricultural use if: The government brings a nuisance action against the agricultural operation that results in the court enjoining the agricultural operation from continuing agricultural production on the land; and The agricultural operation has been using the land for agricultural production for 10 years or longer.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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The Colorado constitution currently requires any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to be signed by at least 2% of the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the change to be placed on the ballot. If a constitutional amendment that extends this requirement to a citizen-initiated statutory change is approved by the voters of the state at the 2022 general election, the bill makes a conforming statutory change to extend the requirement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The Colorado constitution currently requires any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to be signed by at least 2% of the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the change to be placed on the ballot. If approved by the voters at the November 2022 general election, the concurrent resolution would extend this requirement to a citizen-initiated statutory change. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.)
The act enacts the "Occupational Therapy Licensure Interstate Compact" (compact), allowing occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants who are licensed in any state that is a member of the compact to provide occupational therapy services in other member states.The director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies is authorized to issue provisional occupational therapy licenses and provisional occupational therapy assistant licenses to certain qualified individuals and to implement the compact, including through the adoption of rules and the regulation of telehealth in accordance with the compact.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado agricultural future loan program (loan program) in the department of agriculture (department) and requires the department to administer the loan program.Beginning on or before January 1, 2022, and until January 1, 2025, the department may distribute money from the Colorado agricultural future loan program cash fund (fund), which is also created in the act, to financial entities to award farm-to-market infrastructure loans to eligible applicants. The department is not permitted to engage in direct lending activities.Beginning on or before January 1, 2022, the department may award farm-to-market infrastructure grants to eligible applicants.In administering the loan program, the department, to the extent practicable, shall attempt to award:A total of at least $5 million but no more than $10 million in the form of farm-to-market infrastructure loans or farm-to-market infrastructure grants by June 30, 2022; and A total of at least $10 million but no more than $20 million in the form of low-interest loans to eligible applicants by December 31, 2022. In administering the loan program on and after January 1, 2023, to the extent practicable, the department shall prioritize the provision of loans to eligible farmers or ranchers who apply for loans from the loan program and who have owned or operated a farm or ranch for less than 10 years or represent a population that is underserved or underrepresented in Colorado agriculture.The commissioner of agriculture is required to promulgate rules to implement the loan program, and the department is required to submit an annual report to the general assembly concerning the loan program.The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $30 million from the general fund to the fund for use by the department to implement and administer the loan program. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department to expend for the loan program.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $165,890 to the department of law, from reappropriated funds received by the department of agriculture in the fund, to provide legal services to the department of agriculture.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act defines "cross-pollination", "licensed outdoor marijuana cultivation", "outdoor cultivation", "registered outdoor hemp cultivation", and "volunteer cannabis plant" in connection with the convening of a working group in section 2 to examine measures to minimize cross-pollination between cannabis plants, which working group is required to report its findings and recommendations on or before November 1, 2022, to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agricultural matters.Section 4 requires the state licensing authority created to regulate and control the licensing of the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and testing of regulated marijuana to convene a working group on or before November 1, 2021, to examine existing rules and tax laws that apply to the wholesale marijuana cultivation market to explore how the rules and laws could be amended to better position Colorado businesses to be competitive if marijuana is legalized federally. The working group is required to report its findings and recommendations to the executive director of the department of revenue and the general assembly on or before June 1, 2022.Section 5 authorizes the state licensing authority to engage in rule-making on:The implementation, including the process, procedures, requirements, and restrictions, of contingency plans for outdoor marijuana cultivation facilities to ameliorate crop loss due to adverse weather; and Procedures for the conditional issuance of an employee license identification card. Sections 6 and 7 authorize medical marijuana cultivation and retail marijuana cultivation facility licensees with outdoor cultivation facilities, starting January 1, 2022, to file with the state licensing authority a contingency plan for when there is a threat to operations due to an adverse weather event and, if approved, to follow the plan if there is an adverse weather event. The state licensing authority is required to notify a local licensing authority of its approval of a contingency plan and the local licensing authority may require that an applicant for a license include with the license application a contingency plan for the local licensing authority's review and approval.Section 3 defines "adverse weather event" to mean damaging weather, such as drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind, or tornado, an adverse natural occurrence, such as an earthquake, wildfire, or a flood, or any additional adverse weather event or adverse natural occurrence that the state licensing authority defines by rule.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates:$104,780 from the industrial hemp registration program cash fund and the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of agriculture for agricultural services for the plant industry division and to purchase legal services, with $21,268 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services; and $279,194 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue for use by the specialized business group for marijuana enforcement and for the purchase of legal services, with $31,902 of said amount reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The justice reinvestment crime prevention initiative (initiative), administered by the Colorado department of local affairs in the division of local government (department), incorporates programs that expand small business lending and provide grants aimed at reducing crime and promoting community development in certain target communities. Effective September 1, 2021, the act:Expands the initiative to include Grand Junction and Trinidad; and Adds a statewide business and entrepreneurship training and grant program for justice-system-involved persons to the initiative. The act also modifies the sunset review and repeal date for the initiative from September 1, 2023, to September 1, 2027, and makes an appropriation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill directs the Colorado water conservation board (board), in consultation with the state engineer, to contract with a Colorado institution of higher education (institution) to conduct a study to: Evaluate ways to maximize the beneficial use of water within Colorado and implement the storage recommendations of the Colorado water plan by storing water underground when water is available; Evaluate ways to minimize the amount of water that flows out of Colorado to downstream states, without risking noncompliance with applicable interstate compacts, United States supreme court rulings, other federal law, decreed absolute and conditional water rights, the prior appropriation system, and Colorado's anti-speculation doctrine; Identify: Specific aquifers that are hydrologically and legally available to be used for underground storage and subsequent beneficial use; Sources of revenue that could be used to pay for the underground storage projects; and Planned potential or existing underground storage projects that would meet the objectives identified in the study; Examine the role that various water entities might play in financing and implementing underground storage projects; and Recommend legislative changes needed to implement managed underground storage projects in the identified aquifers. The bill directs the board or the institution to submit a report summarizing the results of the study to the water resources review committee by August 1, 2022, which shall either have legislation drafted to implement the study's recommendations or submit the study along with its own recommendations to the committees of the general assembly with jurisdiction over water resources by January 1, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)