Sen. Pete Lee

Under current law, it is a class 1 felony as it pertains to first degree murder if a person commits or attempts to commit certain specified felonies and the death of a person, other than one of the participants, is caused by anyone during the crime. The act changes the current law by:Moving the crime from first degree murder to second degree murder and changing the penalty from a class 1 felony to a class 2 felony that is subject to crime of violence sentencing; Requiring the death be caused by a participant; and Repealing certain elements of the affirmative defense.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act facilitates business entities' ability to conduct business activities electronically by:Defining terms, including address, delivery, document, e-mail, electronic transmission, notice, and sign, that relate to electronic communications; Specifying how notice may be given by electronic transmission; and Establishing requirements for remote participation in shareholders' and directors' meetings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2013, the general assembly enacted SB13-030, which required, in part, that the office of legislative legal services provide written notice of rules adopted as a result of specific legislation enacted on or after January 1, 2013, to:The prime sponsors of the legislation if still serving in the general assembly; The cosponsors of the legislation if still serving in the general assembly; and The applicable committees of reference in the senate and house of representatives for the legislation. The act removes the requirement to notify cosponsors of the legislation and limits the notification period to up to 8 years after the legislation was enacted.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act enacts the softbound volumes of the Colorado Revised Statutes 2020, the 2020 Colorado Special Supplement of Voter Approved Changes, and the 2020 Colorado Special Session Supplement as the positive and statutory law of the state of Colorado and establishes the effective date of said publication.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act enacts the "Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act", which declares that an electronic will is a will for all purposes of Colorado law. The act specifies the requirements for:Executing and revoking an electronic will; Simultaneously executing, attesting, and making an electronic will; and Certifying a paper copy of an electronic will.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Due to the COVID-19 virus, the judiciary committee of the house of representatives (judiciary committee) was unable to hold a full hearing during the 2020 regular session on the sunset report on the sex offender management board (SOMB report) prepared by the department of regulatory agencies (DORA). The act continues the sex offender management board for one year and directs the judiciary committee to hold a hearing on the SOMB report during the 2021 regular session. DORA is not required to prepare an additional report prior to the 2021 session. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following modifications to the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act" (CGIA): Unless otherwise excepted under the CGIA, the act excludes from the definition of "public employee" under the CGIA any health care practitioner or any health care professional who is employed by the university of Colorado hospital authority (authority) unless the practitioner or professional is providing services within the course and scope of the person's responsibilities as an employee or volunteer of the authority in a facility that is either located on the Anschutz medical campus (AMC) or that is operating under the hospital license issued to the university hospital, including off-campus locations. The act specifies that the "Health Care Availability Act" (HCAA) is applicable to health care practitioners and health care professionals employed by the authority that are not immune from liability because of the definition of "public employee". The act also specifies that the basic immunity from liability granted to public entities by the CGIA does not apply to the authority except for any hospital, clinic, surgery center, department, or other facility it owns or operates that is located on the AMC or that is a facility operating under the hospital license issued to the university hospital, including off-campus locations. The HCAA is applicable to health care institutions that are not immune from liability under the CGIA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the act amends, repeals, and reconstructs various statutory provisions of law that are obsolete, imperfect, or inoperative. The specific reasons for each amendment or repeal are set forth in the appendix to the act. The amendments made by the act are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes various changes and additions to the existing "Mobile Home Park Act" and "Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program" (program). The act clarifies provisions relating to notices that the management of a mobile home park (management) is required to provide to a home owner in the mobile home park (home owner) when management intends to terminate the home owner's tenancy in the mobile home park (park). The time a home owner has to cure certain instances of noncompliance is increased from 30 days to 90 days, and this 90-day period to cure runs concurrently with the period to sell the mobile home or remove it from the premises, which is increased from 60 to 90 days. The act restates, with amendments, the permissible reasons for which management may terminate a home owner's tenancy and the notice requirements associated with a termination. Currently, management may terminate a home owner's tenancy if the homeowner's conduct constitutes an annoyance to other homeowners or interference with management. The act eliminates this as a permissible reason for termination of tenancy. When a landlord intends to change the use of the land on which a park sits, and the change will result in eviction of the home owners, the amount of prior notice that the landlord is required to provide to the home owners is increased from 6 months to 12 months. A notice to quit tenancy and a notice of nonpayment of rent must include language notifying a home owner of the home owner's right to file a complaint through the program. Currently, management may charge an amount up to 2 month's rent as a security deposit for a multiwide unit. The act reduces the amount to no more than one month's rent. The act clarifies management's duties concerning maintenance and repair of a park and creates new duties relating to the maintenance and repair of water, sewer, and other utility service lines or related connections. Management must annually provide certain information concerning water usage and billing to home owners and post the information in a clearly visible location in at least one common area of the park. If management charges home owners for water usage in the park, management must provide each home owner a monthly water bill showing the amount owed by the home owner, the total amount owed by all home owners in the park, the methodologies used to determine the amount billed to each home owner, and, if management purchases the water from a provider, the total amount paid by management to the provider. The act prohibits management from taking retaliatory action against a home owner who exercises any right conferred upon the home owner by law. An action by management is presumed to be retaliatory if the action was taken within 120 days after the home owner made an effort to secure or enforce the home owner's rights, and management may rebut a presumption of retaliation with sufficient evidence that an action was taken against the home owner for a nonretaliatory purpose. The act allows management to add or amend rules and regulations only after acquiring the consent of each home owner or after providing written notice of the amendment to each home owner at least 60 days before the amendment becomes effective. A home owner may file a complaint challenging a rule, regulation, or amendment pursuant to the program within 60 days after receiving the notice. If a home owner files a complaint, and the new or amended rule or regulation will increase a cost to the home owner in an amount equal to or exceeding 10% of the home owner's monthly rent obligation under the rental agreement, management may not enforce the rule, regulation, or amendment unless and until the parties reach an agreement concerning the rule, regulation, or amendment or the dispute resolution process concludes with a written determination that the rule, regulation, or amendment may be enforced. The act requires management to respect the privacy of home owners. Management has a right of entry to the land upon which a mobile home is situated for the maintenance of utilities and to ensure compliance with applicable codes, statutes, ordinances, administrative rules, rental agreements, and the rules of the community. A landlord shall not make entry in a manner that interferes with a home owner's peaceful enjoyment of the land except in the case of an emergency. Except when posting notices that are required by law or by a rental agreement, management shall make a reasonable effort to notify a home owner of management's intention to make entry at least 48 hours before making entry. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a competency report must include an opinion regarding whether the defendant can be restored to competency. In relation to that report and opinion: If a court within the previous 5 years has found that the defendant will not attain competency within the reasonably foreseeable future and the evaluator provides an opinion that there is a substantial probability of attaining competency within the reasonably foreseeable future, the act requires the evaluator to state why the defendant's circumstances are different from the prior court's finding; When the defendant is diagnosed with a moderate to severe intellectual or developmental disability, acquired or traumatic brain injury, or dementia that affects the defendant's ability to gain or maintain competency and the evaluator's opinion is that there is a substantial probability of attaining competency, the act requires the evaluator to state whether the evaluator believes there are unique or different services outside the standard competency restoration curriculum developed by the department that the defendant may need in order to be restored to competency within the reasonably foreseeable future; and When the defendant has been found incompetent to proceed 3 or more times over the previous 3 years in the current case or any other case and even if the defendant is later restored, the act requires the evaluator to specifically identify those instances of findings of incompetency in the report. When the defendant's evaluation includes one of the above situations, the court shall hold a hearing, within 35 days of receiving the report, on the issue of whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant will be restored to competency within the reasonably foreseeable future. At the hearing, there is a presumption that the defendant will not attain competency within the reasonably foreseeable future. A party attempting to overcome that presumption must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that there is a substantial probability that restoration efforts will be successful within the reasonably foreseeable future. Under current law, when a defendant is found incompetent to proceed and charged with certain offenses that are not victims' rights act crimes, the court may dismiss those charges. The act removes the victims' rights act crimes limitation. When the defendant is in custody on a misdemeanor, petty offense, or traffic offense, and is incompetent to proceed, the act requires the court to set a hearing on bond within 7 days of the defendant being found incompetent to proceed. At the bond hearing there is a presumption that the court shall order a personal recognizance bond. If the court does not order a personal recognizance bond, the court shall make findings of fact based on clear and convincing evidence that extraordinary circumstances exist to overcome the presumption of a release and the clinical recommendation for outpatient treatment. When a defendant is found incompetent to proceed or when civil commitment proceedings are initiated in a municipal case, the municipal court shall dismiss the case. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)