Sen. Tony Exum

The law has required that a child's name and identifying information be deleted from criminal justice records released to the public if the child was a victim of certain enumerated sexual offenses. The act removes the limitation that a child be a victim of an enumerated sexual offense for the child's name and identifying information to be deleted from a criminal justice record released to the public. The act also requires that the name and identifying information of a child who witnesses a criminal offense be deleted from criminal justice records released to the public. The act specifies that these deletion requirements do not apply to criminal justice records that solely involve traffic offenses. The act establishes a good cause exception that allows a person to petition a district court for the disclosure of the name and identifying information of a child witness or child victim. The person seeking disclosure must establish good cause for disclosure at a hearing conducted after the child victim, child witness, or their respective legal guardian receives notice. Good cause means a finding that the person seeking disclosure has established that the public interest in accessing the child victim's or child witness's name and identifying information substantially outweighs the harm to the privacy interest of the child victim, child witness, or their respective legal guardian. The law previously required a criminal justice agency to make the notation "CHILD VICTIM" on a criminal justice record involving a child victim when the child victim's name is disclosed during proceedings related to the criminal justice record or when the child victim or child victim's guardian requests the notation. The act requires that a criminal justice agency make the notation "CHILD WITNESS" on a criminal justice record involving a child witness under the same circumstances. The act specifies that a victim's right-to-be-heard and notice requirements of the Victim Rights Act apply to a hearing for the disclosure of a child victim's or child witness's name and identifying information. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $387,449 is appropriated from the general fund to the judicial department for trial court programs and capital outlay needed to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 23, 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 office of emergency management (office) to study the efficacy and feasibility of local or interjurisdictional emergency management agencies with jurisdiction in a wildfire risk area to integrate evacuation and clearance time modeling into the emergency management plans that such an agency is required to adopt for its area. The report must be completed on or before December 1, 2023, and the office must report the findings of the study to specific committees of the general assembly during the 2024 legislative session. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $45,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for program administration related to the office of emergency management. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes a wildfire resiliency code board (board) in the division of fire prevention and control (division) within the department of public safety (department) for the purposes of ensuring community safety from and more resiliency to wildfires by reducing the risk of wildfires to people and property through the adoption of statewide codes and standards. The board consists of 21 appointed voting members with specific government or industry qualifications and 3 non-voting members. The board is required to promulgate rules concerning the adoption of codes and standards for the hardening of structures and reducing fire risk in the defensible space surrounding structures in the wildland-urban interface in Colorado, including rules that: Define the wildland-urban interface and identify areas of the state that are within it; Adopt minimum codes and standards based on best practices to reduce the risk to life and property from the effects of wildfires; Identify hazards and types of buildings, entities, and defensible space around structures to which the codes apply; and Establish a process for a governing body to petition the board for a modification to the codes and establish the criteria and process for the board to grant or deny an appeal from a decision of the board on a petition for modification. The act also creates the wildfire resiliency code board cash fund (cash fund) and, subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the department shall use money in the fund to implement the provisions of the act. The state treasurer is required to transfer $250,000 from the general fund to the cash fund on July 1, 2023. The act requires a governing body with jurisdiction in an area within the wildland-urban interface that has the authority to adopt building codes or fire codes to adopt and enforce a code that meets or exceeds the minimum standards of the codes adopted by the board within 3 months of the date the board adopts its codes. Enforcement of the governing body's adopted codes is done in accordance with the rules and regulations for code enforcement adopted by the governing body and the period to comply with a governing body's adopted codes must be in accordance with the governing body's rules and regulations or within 3 months of adoption, whichever is sooner. If the governing body does not have rules and regulations for code enforcement, the governing body may request support from the division to enforce the code. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $9,302 from the general fund to the cash fund and reappropriates the money to the department of public safety for use by the division for the board and for vehicle lease payments. An additional $250,000 is appropriated to the department for use by the division from the cash fund for the board. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the university of Colorado's natural hazards center to conduct a study by July 1, 2024, to determine what municipalities, sheriff's offices, counties, fire districts, and local 911 agencies need to be able to provide emergency alerts in minority languages, and what local 911 agencies need in order to provide live interpretation during a 911 call. The study must: Identify the components of multi-hazard early warning systems that are necessary in order to reach residents and visitors without requiring an opt-in, as well as opt-in options, outputs for emergency alert systems, and the ability to provide emergency alerts in minority languages; Survey state agencies, counties, municipalities, sheriff's offices, fire districts, fire authorities, and local 911 agencies to identify the capabilities of existing emergency alert systems in Colorado compared to the identified essential components; Identify gaps in the capabilities of existing emergency alert systems requiring correction; Identify resources, including federal funding opportunities, to implement a grant program to assist municipalities, sheriff's offices, counties, fire districts, and local 911 agencies in obtaining emergency response technology systems that can provide emergency alerts in minority languages; Determine best practices, which may be identified by reviewing programs in other states, for hiring multilingual and multicultural staff; Determine best practices for engaging local community organizations with connections to populations that speak a minority language; and Present research regarding effective emergency alerts for people with disabilities after consultation with a statewide organization that advocates for people with disabilities. The university of Colorado's natural hazard center shall submit its study report to the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety and to the general assembly by January 8, 2024. The act appropriates $77,009 from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the study. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the Colorado energy office to award grants for retrofitting existing buildings for installation of geothermal systems for heating and cooling under the single-structure geothermal grant that the office administers, and for generating geothermal energy through direct air capture technology under the geothermal electricity generation grant that the office administers. The act establishes labor standards for thermal energy public projects that a state agency or a state institution of higher education procures. In Colorado, a gas distribution utility providing gas service to more than 90,000 retail customers is required to file with the public utilities commission (commission) a clean heat plan, which plan demonstrates how the utility will use clean heat resources to meet clean heat targets for reducing carbon dioxide and methane emissions. The act adds thermal energy as an eligible clean heat resource for helping to meet clean heat targets. A gas utility that the commission regulates is authorized to apply for review and approval of the use of thermal energy networks in the gas utility's service area. A gas utility that the commission regulates and that serves more than 500,000 customers is additionally required to propose pilot thermal energy network projects for the commission's review and approval. The commission shall initiate a proceeding on or before January 1, 2025, to determine if rule-making or legislative changes are needed to facilitate the development of thermal energy in the state. The act repeals the "Geothermal Heat Suppliers Act", which requires geothermal heat suppliers to obtain operating permits from the commission. APPROVED by Governor May 11, 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.)

Except in certain circumstances, the act requires a landlord to accept from a prospective tenant a portable tenant screening report (screening report). A landlord may require that the screening report was prepared by a consumer reporting agency (reporting agency) within the previous 30 days, at the prospective tenant's request and expense, and made directly available to the landlord by the agency. The act specifies information that must be included in a screening report, including verification of employment and income, rental and credit history, and criminal history. If a prospective tenant provides a screening report, the landlord shall not charge the prospective tenant either an application fee or a fee for the landlord to access or use the screening report. Prior to collecting any tenant information that would generate an application fee, a landlord shall advise a prospective tenant that the landlord accepts screening reports and is prohibited from charging an application fee or other fee to a prospective tenant who provides a screening report. A landlord is not required to accept a screening report or to provide the advisements required in the act if the landlord does not accept more than one application fee at a time for a dwelling unit or, if a dwelling unit is rented to more than one occupant, does not accept more than one application fee at a time for each prospective tenant or tenant group for the dwelling unit, and if the landlord refunds the total amount of the application fee to each prospective tenant within 20 calendar days after written communication from the prospective tenant or the landlord declining to enter into a lease. If a prospective tenant submits a rental application that results in a landlord obtaining a consumer report relating to the prospective tenant, the landlord shall also provide a copy of the consumer report to the prospective tenant and advise the prospective tenant of the tenant's right to dispute the accuracy of the consumer report with the reporting agency. A landlord that violates the provisions of the act is liable for $2,500, plus court costs and attorney fees, but if the landlord cures the violation within 7 calendar days after receiving notice of the violation, the landlord is to pay the prospective tenant a penalty of $50 and is otherwise not liable for damages. The act authorizes the attorney general to independently initiate and bring an action to enforce the "Rental Application Fairness Act". APPROVED by Governor May 4, 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 enacts the "Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act" (act), drafted by the uniform law commission. The act applies to the parent, guardian, or custodian of a child, or an individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption, who wishes to terminate the parent-child relationship and is not transferring custody to family or friends. The act prohibits soliciting or advertising to transfer custody or transferring custody of a child by means other than a legal adoption or guardianship proceeding, a judicial award of custody, other judicial or tribal action, or Colorado's safe haven law. The act applies to the placement for adoption of a child who has been or is in foster care or institutional care, has previously been adopted, or is in the process of being adopted. The act requires child placement agencies facilitating an adoption to: Provide prospective adoptive parents with general information about adopting children, specific information about the prospective adoptee, and guidance and instruction on meeting the needs of the adoptee; and Upon the request of a child placed for adoption or the child's adoptive parents, provide information on accessing certain post-placement and post-adoption support services to the adoptee and parent to help preserve the adoption. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following changes regarding county public hospitals: Allows the board of county commissioners of a county with a population of less than 3,000 to determine, by a resolution of the board of county commissioners, that the public hospital board of trustees (hospital board) will consist of 7, rather than 5, citizens at large and specifies the length of the terms of the additional hospital board trustees in a manner that staggers the terms; Authorizes real property to be in the name of either the county or the hospital, rather than only in the name of the county; Clarifies that any indebtedness incurred by a hospital board is an obligation of the hospital board and not an obligation of the board of county commissioners; Specifies that a hospital board needs the approval of the board of county commissioners before incurring indebtedness only if the repayment of the indebtedness is dependent on tax money received for hospital purposes from the board of county commissioners; Allows a hospital board to offer to the general public products and services of any health-care organization, association, partnership, or corporation to the extent that the products and services are consistent with the powers and duties of a county public hospital; and Removes the annual 5% limit on appropriations from a county's general fund for the improvement or enlargement of any public hospital established in the county and also allows such money to be used for the operation of a public hospital. APPROVED by Governor April 3, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 3, 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 law has required an employer to provide its employees with an annual statement showing the total compensation paid and the income tax withheld for the preceding calendar year. The act requires an employer to also provide written notice of the availability of the federal and state earned income tax credits and the federal and state child tax credits at least once annually. An employer may send the written notice to employees electronically, including via e-mail or text message. The written notice must be in English and any other language the employer uses to communicate with employees and must include any additional content that the department of revenue prescribes. APPROVED by Governor March 31, 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 aligns the timelines for hearings in Colorado law for a juvenile already ordered to be held in an adult facility while awaiting trial with the timelines in the federal "Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act". APPROVED by Governor March 23, 2023 EFFECTIVE March 23, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)