Greenhouse gas emissions reports on bills - process for requesting - content of reports - appropriation. Beginning with the 2020 legislative session, the staff of the legislative council are required to prepare greenhouse gas emissions reports (reports) on legislative bills in each regular session of the general assembly. The speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate are authorized to request 5 reports each, or more at the discretion of the director of research of the legislative council. When a member of leadership requests a report, the staff of the legislative council must meet with the requesting member and the sponsor of the bill to discuss whether a report can practically be completed for that bill. If not, the member of leadership may request a report on a different bill, within the limits specified in the act. A greenhouse gas emissions report is defined as a report that uses available data to assess whether a legislative measure is likely to directly cause a net increase or decrease in greenhouse gas pollution in the 10-year period following its enactment. The report must identify new sources of emissions, any increase or decrease in emissions from existing sources, and any impact on sequestration, but is not required to quantify the magnitude of the impact. Greenhouse gas is defined to mean to carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride. The director of research of the legislative council must develop the procedures for requesting, completing, and updating the reports and memorialize the procedures in a letter to the executive committee of the legislative council. The director must provide a report to the legislative council on the implementation of the act on or before December 1, 2024. The act is repealed effective September 1, 2025. $81,911 is appropriated to the legislative department for use by the legislative council staff for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
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Psychiatric technicians - regulation by state board of nursing - grounds for discipline - continuation under sunset law. The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the licensure and regulation functions of the state board of nursing (board) regarding psychiatric technicians as follows: Continues the functions of the board in licensing and regulating psychiatric technicians for 15 years, until September 1, 2034 (sections 1 and 2 of the act); Changes references to "accredited" psychiatric technician education programs to "approved" to more accurately reflect that the programs are approved by the board rather than accredited (sections 3, 5, 6, and 8); Modifies the grounds for discipline related to alcohol or substance use or abuse to eliminate reference to having an alcohol or substance use disorder and instead clarifying that a person is subject to discipline for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol or drugs (section 7); Eliminates as a grounds for discipline having a physical disability or intellectual or developmental disability that renders the person unable to safely practice and instead subjects a person to discipline for failure to notify the board of, or act within the limitations created by, a physical illness or condition or behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that affects the psychiatric technician's ability to safely practice. Additionally, the act authorizes the board to enter into a confidential agreement with the psychiatric technician to limit his or her practice and makes failure to comply with the agreement grounds for discipline (sections 7 and 9). Removes the terms "willfully" and "negligently" from several grounds for disciplining a psychiatric technician (section 7); and Eliminates the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail (section 10). Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Campaign contribution limits - county offices - appropriation. Current law regulating campaign finance does not set limits on contributions to candidates for a county office. The act sets the maximum amount of aggregate contributions that a person may make to a candidate committee of a candidate for a county office, and that a candidate committee for such candidate may accept from such person, as follows: In the case of any person other than a small donor committee or a political party, $1,250 for both the primary and general elections; In the case of a small donor committee, $12,500 for both the primary and general elections; and In the case of a political party, $22,125 for the applicable election cycle. The act defines "county office" to mean a county commissioner, county clerk and recorder, sheriff, coroner, treasurer, assessor, or surveyor. The act specifies that the contribution limits in the act are required to be adjusted for inflation in the same manner as other contribution limits specified in the state constitution. The act also makes statutory requirements governing the disclosure of campaign finance information and the filing of disclosure reports applicable to a contribution made to, or received by, a candidate committee of a candidate for a county office. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $7,000 to the department of state cash fund for personal services related to information technology services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Beginning October 1, 2019, before entering into a professional services contract with personnel costs of $200,000 or more, school districts are required to: Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of contracting for the services rather than using district personnel to perform the services, to be completed prior to making a recommendation to contract for services; Hold at least one public hearing conducted by the school district prior to soliciting bids to provide professional services and before entering into a contract for professional services; Allow competitive bidding for the contract; Review of all bids in a regularly scheduled school board meeting, unless a special meeting is authorized; and Provide an opportunity for affected employees to counter the competitive bid. The bill defines the types of professional services to which the contract requirements apply and excludes educational services and professional services procured in the normal course of business for school construction. The contract requirements do not apply to a small rural school district, board of cooperative services, time-limited contract that the school district enters into because of an emergency, or the renewal of an existing contract entered into before October 1, 2019. The bill also requires a contractor for a contract in any dollar amount to provide proof of liability insurance equivalent in amount and scope with that provided by the school district for the contracting activity. Further, a school district shall not enter into a contract for professional services with a contractor that has committed unfair labor practices within the 5 years preceding the date that bids are solicited. In addition, the school district shall not enter into a contract that takes effect prior to the expiration of an existing collective bargaining agreement concerning the employees impacted by the new contract. The contractor may offer available employee positions to the existing employees. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
The bill requires the board of trustees (board) of the public employees' retirement association (PERA) to retain an organization with experience in public sector pension plans to conduct a study to analyze any climate-related financial risk to the total assets of PERA (fund). The board is required to administer a competitive selection process to solicit unbiased and independent third-party organizations with the necessary credentials to bid for the study and to enter into a contract with the selected organization. The organization selected by the board is required to include the following in its study: A comprehensive analysis of the climate-related financial risk of PERA's portfolio and the exposure of the fund to long-term risks; A summary of climate-related financial risk-related engagement activities undertaken; and A description of additional action that should be taken, or planned to be taken, by the board to address climate-related financial risk, including a list of proxy votes and shareholder proposals initiated by the board. The board is required to deliver a report to the general assembly detailing the findings of the organization's analysis. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Interstate agreement to elect president of the United States by national popular vote. The act makes law and enters into with all other states joining therein the agreement among the states to elect the president of the United States by national popular vote (agreement). Among other provisions, the agreement: Permits any state of the United States and the District of Columbia to become members of the agreement by enacting the agreement; Requires each member state to conduct a statewide popular election for president and vice president of the United States; Prior to the time set for the meeting and voting of presidential electors, requires the chief election official of each member state to determine the number of votes cast for each presidential slate in a statewide popular election and to designate the presidential slate with the largest national popular vote total as the national popular vote winner; Requires the presidential elector certifying official of each member state to certify the appointment in that official's own state of the elector slate nominated in that state in association with the national popular vote winner. At least 6 days before the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, the agreement requires each member state to make a final determination of the number of popular votes cast in the state for each presidential slate and to communicate an official statement of the determination within 24 hours to the chief election official of each other member state. The agreement also requires the chief election official of each member state to treat as conclusive an official statement containing the number of popular votes in a state for each presidential slate made by the day established by federal law for making a state's final determination conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by congress. Specifies that the agreement governs the appointment of presidential electors in each member state in any year in which the agreement is in effect on July 20 in states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes; Permits a state's withdrawal from the agreement, except in limited circumstances; Specifies that the agreement will terminate if the electoral college is abolished; and Provides that the invalidity of any of the agreement's provisions do not affect the remaining provisions. The act specifies that when the agreement becomes effective, it supersedes any conflicting provisions of Colorado law. When the agreement becomes effective and governs the appointment of presidential electors, each presidential elector is required to vote for the presidential candidate and, by separate ballot, vice-presidential candidate nominated by the political party or political organization that nominated the presidential elector. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More