Sen. Byron Pelton

An individual applying for the property tax exemption for a veteran with a disability has been required to submit the application to the division of veterans affairs (division) in the Colorado department of veterans and military affairs. The act instead requires an individual to submit an application to the individual's county tax assessor. When submitting an application, the act requires an individual to include proof of qualifying veteran with a disability status, which the act defines as documentary evidence from the United States department of veterans affairs that the individual is a qualifying veteran with a disability. The act further requires the division to develop guidance that specifies the documentary evidence from the United States department of veterans affairs that must be included with an application. The act eliminates the requirement that the division determine whether an individual is a qualifying veteran with a disability. To comply with an existing statutory requirement that "people first language" be used in new or amended statutes that refer to persons with disabilities, the act also changes the existing terms "disabled veteran" and "disabled veterans" to "veteran with a disability" and "veterans with a disability". APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 1942, Colorado entered into an interstate compact (compact) with Nebraska and Kansas regarding the allocation of water from the Republican river basin (basin). Colorado ratified the compact in 1943. In 2016, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas signed a resolution (resolution) regarding a dispute about Colorado's compliance with the compact, through which resolution and its amendment Colorado agreed to retire 25,000 acres of irrigated acreage in the basin by 2029. The act requires the Colorado water center (center) in the Colorado state university to study the anticipated economic effects of the forced elimination of groundwater withdrawals within and surrounding the Colorado portion of the Republican river basin that could occur if Colorado fails to comply with the resolution. The center is required to prepare a progress report and, on or before January 1, 2026, a final report of the center's findings and conclusions from the study and to post both reports on the center's website. The center must present the progress and final reports to certain legislative committees. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $146,286 from the general fund to the department of higher education for allocation to the Colorado water center. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

If the adult or juvenile parole board decides to discharge a parolee early, the act requires the parole boards to set the date of discharge at least 15 days after notice is provided to the victim of the discharge or at least 15 days after the decision to grant early discharge if the victim chose not to receive victim notifications. The act requires victim notifications to be communicated in plain and easy-to-understand language and in a manner intended to increase the likelihood of the victim's attention to the notice. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act expands the definition of "serious bodily injury" in the criminal code to include penetrating gunshot wounds and penetrating knife wounds. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the Colorado food systems advisory council (council) established within Colorado state university until September 1, 2026. The act adds a representative of a food bank as a member of the council. The act changes how 16 members of the council are appointed, requiring that the governor or the governor's designee appoint 5 members and that 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 appoint 12 members on a rotating basis as new positions or vacancies arise. The act creates new duties for the council, including: Examining best practices to advance or improve food distribution systems and develop new markets for Colorado agricultural producers; and Conducting research and providing support at the request of the governor, members of the general assembly, or any state agency in connection with the council's purpose and duties. The act requires the council to include a summary of the council's activities from the prior year and a summary of the council's planned activities for the upcoming year in council's annual report to specified legislative committees. The council must also accept and consider public comment regarding the annual report. The act repeals the council's authority to engage in any other activity not specified in statute that the council determines is necessary to accomplish the council's purposes. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $151,068 from the general fund to the department of higher education for limited fee-for-service contracts with state institutions, which amount is reappropriated for use by the board of governors of the Colorado state university system for the food systems advisory council. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the state department of human services (state department) to contract with an independent third party to conduct a feasibility study to determine the feasibility of creating a system to support individuals with serious mental illness through a collaboration between Colorado's behavioral health and judicial systems. The act requires the state department to work with the behavioral health administration, department of local affairs, department of public safety, department of health care policy and financing, judicial department, and other state agencies to determine the eligibility requirements and application process for selecting the independent third party. The act requires the state department to submit a report detailing the findings and recommendations from the feasibility study to the general assembly, the governor's office, and impacted state agencies by March 1, 2024. The act appropriates $300,000 to the state department in state fiscal year 2023-24 for purposes of conducting the feasibility study. The appropriation consists of $160,000 from the general fund and $140,000 from the behavioral and mental health cash fund. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Colorado participates in an interstate compact that allows a person convicted of a crime in another state to have the person's probation or parole supervised in Colorado (supervised person) and allows a person convicted in another state who is not required to be supervised to complete the person's court-ordered treatment in Colorado (unsupervised person). The act clarifies the process for treating a supervised or unsupervised person into a private treatment program in Colorado for substance use treatment, sex offender management services, or domestic violence services (program). The act directs the program to assist supervised and unsupervised persons with registering with the interstate compact administrator. The department of corrections (department) is required to complete a criminal history records check of each supervised and unsupervised person to verify that the person is a supervised or unsupervised person. The act specifies requirements for programs when the participant is a supervised person. Current law subjects a program or supervised person to a misdemeanor for violating the provisions of the interstate compact. The act states that a violation may be reported to the program's appropriate licensing, certifying, or approving agency for potential corrective action. The act requires the department to periodically update the out-of-state offender questionnaire used by private treatment program providers. Current law requires a person serving a supervision sentence for a domestic violence-related offense to complete a treatment program that conforms with the standards of the domestic violence offender management board. The act directs a person whose supervision is transferred to another state pursuant to the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders to follow the requirements for a treatment program of the state where the person is being supervised. APPROVED by Governor May 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires a male person who is applying for enrollment or reenrollment to a state-supported institution of higher education (institution) and who is at least 17 years and 9 months of age but younger than 26 years of age (applicant) to provide the institution with a statement of registration compliance for the United States selective service system (selective service). The act removes the requirement that an applicant register for selective service to enroll in an institution but requires institutions to provide information about selective service to eligible males prior to registration. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bridge and tunnel enterprise (BTE) in the department of transportation (department) completes tunnel projects and finances, repairs, reconstructs, replaces, and maintains designated bridges in the state. A designated bridge is a bridge that is part of the state highway system and that the department has identified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and has rated as poor. The act expands the scope of the BTE to include the completion of preventative maintenance bridge projects, which are projects that involve a treatment or strategy to extend the service life of a fair-rated or good-rated bridge by preventing, delaying, or reducing deterioration. The act authorizes the BTE to repair, reconstruct, replace, and maintain a bridge that the department has rated as fair if the fair-rated bridge is included as part of a project to repair, reconstruct, replace, or maintain a designated bridge. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Due to a defective statutory date reference, a property tax exemption for agricultural equipment that is used in any controlled environment agricultural facility was going to be in effect for 6 years instead of the 5 years intended by the general assembly when it enacted the property tax exemption. The act corrects the defective date reference so that the exemption will only be in effect for 5 years. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)