Beginning July 1, 2023, the act requires all local law enforcement agencies and the Colorado state patrol to issue body-worn cameras to their officers, except for those working in jails, working as administrative or civilian staff, the executive detail of the state patrol, and those working in court rooms. A peace officer shall wear and activate a body-worn camera when responding to a call for service or during any interaction with the public initiated by the peace officer when enforcing the law or investigating possible violations of the law. A peace officer may turn off a body-worn camera to avoid recording personal information that is not case related; when working on an unrelated assignment; when there is a long break in the incident or contact that is not related to the initial incident; and during administrative, tactical, and management discussions. A peace officer does not need to wear or activate a body-worn camera if the peace officer is working undercover. The act creates inferences, presumptions, and sanctions for failing to activate or tampering with a body-worn camera. The act requires all recordings of an incident be released to the public within 21 days after the local law enforcement agency or Colorado state patrol receives a complaint of misconduct. The act allows for redaction or nonrelease of the recording to the public if there is a specified privacy interest at stake. Beginning July 1, 2023, the act requires the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety (division) to create an annual report of the information that is reported to the division, aggregated and broken down by state or local agency that employs peace officers, along with the underlying data. Each local agency and the Colorado state patrol that employs peace officers shall report to the division: All use of force by its peace officers that results in death or serious bodily injury; All instances when a peace officer resigned while under investigation for violating department policy; All data relating to contacts conducted by its peace officers; and All data related to the use of an unannounced entry by a peace officer. The division of criminal justice shall maintain a statewide database with data collected in a searchable format and publish the database on its website. Any state or local law enforcement agency that fails to meet its reporting requirements is subject to suspension of its funding by its appropriating authority. If any peace officer is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a crime involving the unlawful use or threatened use of physical force or the failure to intervene in another officer's use of unlawful force or is found civilly liable in either case, the P.O.S.T. board shall permanently revoke the peace officer's certification. The P.O.S.T. board shall not, under any circumstances, reinstate the peace officer's certification or grant new certification to the peace officer unless exonerated by a court. The act states that in response to a protest or demonstration, a law enforcement agency and any person acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency shall not: Discharge kinetic impact projectiles and all other non- or less-lethal projectiles in a manner that targets the head, pelvis, or back; Discharge kinetic impact projectiles indiscriminately into a crowd; or Use chemical agents or irritants, including pepper spray and tear gas, prior to issuing an order to disperse in a sufficient manner to ensure the order is heard and repeated if necessary, followed by sufficient time and space to allow compliance with the order. The act allows a person who has a constitutional right secured by the bill of rights of the Colorado constitution that is infringed upon by a peace officer to bring a civil action for the violation. A plaintiff who prevails in the lawsuit is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, and a defendant in an individual suit is entitled to reasonable attorney fees for defending any frivolous claims. Qualified immunity is not a defense to the civil action. The act requires a political subdivision of the state to indemnify its employees for such a claim; except that if the peace officer's employer determines the officer did not act upon a good faith and reasonable belief that the action was lawful, then the peace officer is personally liable for 5 percent of the judgment or $25,000, whichever is less, unless the judgment is uncollectible from the officer, then the officer's employer satisfies the whole judgment. A public entity does not have to indemnify a peace officer if the peace officer was convicted of a criminal violation for the conduct from which the claim arises. The act creates a new use of force standard by limiting the use of physical force and limiting the use of deadly force when force is authorized. The act prohibits a peace officer from using a chokehold. The act requires a peace officer to intervene when another officer is using unlawful physical force and requires the intervening officer to file a report regarding the incident. If a peace officer fails to intervene when required, the P.O.S.T. shall decertify the officer. Under current law, if a grand jury does not bring charges against a person, the grand jury may issue a report. The act requires the grand jury to issue a report when it does not charge a person. Beginning, January 1, 2022, the act requires the P.O.S.T. board to create and maintain a database containing information related to a peace officer's: Untruthfulness; Repeated failure to follow P.O.S.T. board training requirements; Decertification; and Termination for cause. The act makes it unlawful for any governmental authority to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct by peace officers that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the constitution or laws of the United States or the state of Colorado. Whenever the attorney general has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this provision has occurred, the attorney general may in a civil action obtain any and all appropriate relief to eliminate the pattern or practice. The act allows the P.O.S.T. board to revoke peace officer certification for a peace officer who has failed to complete required peace officer training after giving the officer 30 days to satisfactorily complete the training. The act gives the P.O.S.T. board the authority to promulgate rules for enforcement of the provisions related to peace officer certification. The attorney general may bring criminal charges for violations of the provisions related to peace officer certification if violation is willful or wanton, or impose fines upon any individual officer or agency for failure to comply with the provisions related to peace officer certification. The act requires a peace officer to have a legal basis for making a contact. After making a contact, a peace officer shall report to the peace officer's employing agency information that the agency is required to report to the division of criminal justice. The act appropriates $617,478 from the highway users tax fund to the department of public safety for use by the Colorado state patrol. To implement this act, the patrol may use this appropriation as follows: $50,288 for civilians, including an additional 1.0 FTE; $7,550 for operating expenses; $463,700 for information technology asset maintenance; and $95,940 for the purchase of legal services, which is reappropriated to the attorney general's office.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The bill requires a court to hold a bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail or holding center beginning on July 1, 2021, for in-county arrestees and July 1, 2022, for out-of-county arrestees. The bill creates the position of a bond hearing officer to conduct bond hearings on weekends and holidays throughout the state using audiovisual technology. The bond hearing officer conducts bond hearings throughout the state in the counties that request the service of the bond hearing officer. The public will be able to view the hearings. The bill creates the county assistance for bond hearings grant program, which will allow the state court administrator to provide grants to counties to purchase or upgrade audiovisual devices to allow jails and district attorneys to connect with the court to allow remote audiovisual bond hearings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the "Get on Your Feet Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program" to provide no more than 24 monthly payments on a qualified loan on behalf of a qualified recipient. A qualified recipient is required to satisfy eligibility and program participation requirements. The department of higher education is required to administer the program pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the commission on higher education. A person who received a program award but did not satisfy all eligibility and program participation requirements may be required to fully or partially reimburse the state. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires each judicial district to implement a pretrial release assessment process to assess arrested persons as soon as practicable but no later than 24 hours after admission to a detention facility. Each judicial district shall also adopt written criteria in an administrative order allowing for the immediate pretrial release of certain arrested persons on a summons or an unsecured personal recognizance bond without any monetary condition after a pretrial release assessment is completed and without an initial hearing before the court. The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety (DCJ) shall develop statewide standards and guidelines for the development of the pretrial release assessment process, the written criteria for immediate pretrial release, and standards for the setting of the type of bond and conditions of release. The DCJ shall also compile an inventory of approved pretrial risk assessment instruments available for use in Colorado. By October 1, 2022, and every October 1 thereafter, the DCJ shall evaluate the outcome of the bond setting process, including the type of bond set, the amount of any secured or unsecured monetary condition of bond, and any other conditions of release, if available, for bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender by judicial district. Beginning April 1, 2021, if a person is not released without a monetary bond pursuant to an administrative order, the court shall hold a hearing as soon as practicable to determine bond and the conditions of release. The bill creates a presumption that a person will be released without any monetary conditions of release. The court is required to use specified criteria in determining the bond and conditions of release. The bill specifies the types of bond that the court can order including: An unsecured personal recognizance bond; An unsecured personal recognizance bond with additional nonmonetary conditions of release; A bond with a monetary condition; or A bond with secured real estate conditions. The bill specifies the required conditions of release and permissive conditions of release. The bill requires all counties to develop a pretrial services program by April 1, 2021, which is approved by the chief judge of the judicial district where the county is located. The pretrial services program shall use a pretrial risk assessment instrument approved by the DCJ. Each pretrial services program shall provide an annual report to the department of public safety, which shall provide a report to specified legislative committees. The bill creates a pretrial services fund to provide counties with funds to operate or assist in the operation of a pretrial services program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the film, television, and media tax credit. The credit is available to a production company employing a workforce of at least 50% Colorado residents for production activities in the state. For production activities in a prioritized area, defined to mean a nonmetropolitan county or municipality with a population of 150,000 or less, the credit is up to 22% of the total qualified local expenditures. For production activities not in a prioritized area, the credit is up to 18% of the qualified local expenditures. The credit must be authorized and issued by the Colorado office of film, television, and media. Once issued, the credits may be used in the year issued or carried forward by the production company for up to 5 income tax years. The credits may also be transferred to another taxpayer to be used or carried forward as a credit against that taxpayer's income tax liability. The office of economic development is required to establish a system to track and verify the issuance, transfer, and ownership of the credits.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires each district attorney to collect data regarding defendants related to demographics, charges filed, pretrial release results, and sentencing. The district attorney is required to create an annual report with the data collected and make the data collected available to the public upon request. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill states that generally evidence relating to the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant, or if the defendant and victim are or have been involved in an intimate relationship is irrelevant in a criminal case and does not constitute sudden heat of passion in a criminal case. The bill creates a protective hearing if a party claims that such evidence is relevant and wants to use it in a criminal case. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The act enacts the "Colorado Building Families Act", which requires health benefit plans issued or renewed in Colorado on or after January 1, 2022, to cover diagnosis of infertility, treatment for infertility, and fertility preservation services. The coverage for fertility medications must not impose any limits that are not applicable to coverage under the plan for other prescription medications, and the plan cannot impose deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, benefit maximums, waiting periods, or other limitations that are not applicable to other medical services covered under the plan. A religious employer may request an exclusion from the infertility coverage in a health benefit plan offered by the religious employer if the coverage conflicts with the religious organization's bona fide religious beliefs and practices. The act directs the division of insurance to make a determination as to whether the coverage required by the act is in addition to essential health benefits required by the federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (Affordable Care Act) and would be subject to defrayal by the state pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. The division is to seek confirmation of its determination from the federal department of health and human services, and the coverage applies and is to be implemented by the division in health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2022, if the division receives confirmation that the coverage is not an additional benefit or if the federal department fails to respond in a timely manner. The act appropriates $3,337 from the division of insurance cash fund to the division of insurance in the department of regulatory agencies for personal services to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act protects an individual from civil arrest while the person is present at a courthouse or on its environs, or while going to, attending, or coming from a court proceeding. A judge or magistrate may issue a writ of protection to prohibit a civil arrest, but a writ of protection is not required for the protection to apply. The act provides various remedies for violation of this protection. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Based on the findings and recommendations of the committee on legal services, the act extends all state agency rules that were adopted or amended on or after November 1, 2018, and before November 1, 2019, with the exception of the rules specifically listed in the act. Those specified rules will expire as scheduled in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" on May 15, 2020, on the grounds that the rules either conflict with statute or lack statutory authority. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)