Rep. Jennifer Bacon

The act changes state law to reflect changes to federal law that expand the authority of states, counties, and tribal governments to enter into good neighbor agreements with the federal government to carry out recreation and improvement services on land by:Specifying that the Colorado state forest service may enter into good neighbor authority agreements with the United States department of the interior, the United States department of agriculture, or any agency of the United States department of the interior or United States department of agriculture; andClarifying that the Colorado state forest service is required to conduct, or contract with one or more entities to conduct, demonstration projects that utilize Colorado's good neighbor authority to implement forest management projects that improve forest health, resilience, wildlife habitat, or outdoor recreation opportunities.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act eliminates the homeless prevention activities program advisory committee and gives the division of housing within the department of local affairs the power to administer the homeless prevention activities program, to establish and enforce standards for all homeless prevention activities covered by the program, and to establish standards that assure program funds are properly allocated.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the declarant of a new planned community or condominium, prior to transfer of control from the declarant to the association of a planned community or condominium, to obtain and pay for a reserve study for the planned community or condominium. The study must estimate the projected costs of maintaining, repairing, or replacing the common elements or property of the planned community or condominium over a 30-year period. The reserve study must be conducted by an independent reserve study professional or other qualified professional with knowledge of industry standards and that has no business relationship with or financial interest in the declarant and is not a affiliate of the declarant.     When an association, other than a self-managed association, changes association management companies, the former association management company shall, within 45 days, deliver to the new association management company or the association, at no charge to the association, all association property, records, money, accounts, information, and other items or information specified in the act (property and records).     Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the former association management company shall pay the association $250 for each business day that it fails to timely return the association's property and records and is liable for all interest and late fees on late payments made by the association due to the former association management company's failure to turn over the property and records, as well as any other damages incurred by the association. In a civil action to recover the property and records or the payments owed to the association for the former association management company's failure to turn over the property and records, if the court finds that the former association management company's violation was willful, the former association management company shall be liable for treble the association's actual damages, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes civil immunity for a board member, staff member, or volunteer of a child advocacy center that arises from the performance of the board member's, staff member's, or volunteer's duties if the board member's, staff member's, or volunteer's acts are in good faith.     The act allows certain entities to share information under certain circumstances that is relevant to the protection of a child that is the subject of a child maltreatment case.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits a person from:Identifying an agricultural product as being produced in the state when selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing the product unless the product is grown in the state; andUsing the Colorado proud designation or logo unless authorized by the department of agriculture.     A violation of these prohibitions constitutes a deceptive trade practice. There is no private right of action to enforce a violation of the prohibitions.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Currently, a contractor on a private construction project has a statutory right to secure payment with a general mechanic's lien. However, if the contractor knowingly files on the lien for an excessive amount, the contractor forfeits all rights to the lien and is liable to the person against whom the lien was filed for costs and attorney fees. A contractor on a public construction project has a similar right to secure payment by filing a verified statement of claim, which requires the project owner to withhold funds sufficient to pay the claim, usually in the form of a bond. The act clarifies that a public construction contractor who knowingly files a verified statement of claim for an excessive amount forfeits all rights pursuant to the verified statement of claim. Thus, the act aligns, for both a private and public construction contractor, the penalty for claiming an excessive amount on a lien or verified statement of claim to the loss of rights related to that lien or verified statement of claim, respectively.     The act expressly allows for a private mechanic's lien or public verified statement of claim to include costs otherwise allowed under a contract in the lien or verified statement of claim amount, including costs incurred as a result of delay, lost productivity, or other disruption to the work. The act also clarifies that an award by a court for an amount less than the amount claimed in a lien or verified statement of claim does not render the amount claimed excessive.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a child care center to disclose the following information in its policies and procedures to the parents or guardians of children being served at the child care center:A statement that child care center workers are mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect under state law; andFor a child care center that utilizes video recording equipment, a disclosure of the presence of video recording equipment and the child care center's policies and procedures regarding the use of the video recording equipment and the generated video footage.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The fire and police pension association (association) provides disability retirement and survivor benefits (disability and survivor benefits) for eligible members of the association (members) who become disabled or die. The act recodifies and reorganizes the disability and survivor benefits statutes, removes outdated provisions, and clarifies ambiguous language. In addition, the act makes the following modifications to the disability and survivor benefits statutes:Removes the current requirement that the association require every member who applies for disability retirement benefits to have 3 independent medical exams and instead authorizes the board of the association (board) to appoint a medical advisor to assess the needs of each applicant for disability retirement benefits;Authorizes the board to adopt rules to streamline the appeal process for disability retirement benefit applicants who are denied benefits;Allows the association to require a member who is occupationally disabled to participate in a rehabilitation and retraining program to help the member gain additional skills and knowledge so the member can earn a wage doing a job other than being a police officer or firefighter;Clarifies that a member who is a total disability retirement benefit recipient will begin receiving a cost of living adjustment when the member starts receiving a total disability retirement benefit;Clarifies eligibility for a member to apply for disability retirement benefits; Repeals the statute that makes an employer liable for the payment of disability retirement benefits if a member's disability existed at the commencement of employment, the employment was not ordered by a court, and the employer failed to require the member to complete and file a health history form prior to commencing employment; andRequires members to fill out a health history form, which notifies the association of any preexisting health conditions, prior to employment.     The act does not change the amounts of disability retirement and survivor benefits or the length of time a member must be employed to be eligible for a benefit, nor does it require additional money from the state, employers, or members.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act adds a co-responder who is part of a co-responder community response to the list of community members who may petition the court for an extreme risk protection order. Health-care facilities, behavioral health treatment facilities, school districts, the state charter school institute, K-12 charter schools, private schools, and institutions of higher education are established as institutional petitioners that may petition a court for an extreme risk protection order.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act includes approved facility schools in the definition of 'employer' for purposes of the public employees' retirement association (PERA) and allows an approved facility school to apply to the PERA board to affiliate with PERA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)