Sen. Bob Gardner

The bill authorizes water districts, including water activity enterprises, to enter into contracts for water and the capacity in works and allows the contracts to be based on municipalities' authority to contract for water and sewer facilities. It also specifies that water conservancy districts' contracts can be for municipal and industrial use by the recipient of the water. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Under current law, the department of education may issue a professional license to a teacher or special services provider who holds a comparable license from another state and has 3 years of continuous teaching or special services experience. The bill exempts military spouses, as defined in the bill, from the requirement that the teaching or special services experience be continuous, and instead requires 3 years of experience within the previous 7 years. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Currently, regular special district elections are held on the Tuesday immediately succeeding the first Monday of May in every even-numbered year. Commencing in 2023, the bill moves such elections to the Tuesday following the first Monday of May in odd-numbered years. In order to implement the new date on which regular special district elections will be held, section 4 of the bill provides that the directors elected at the special district elections held in 2020 and 2022 will serve 3-year terms. Section 5 makes a conforming amendment to the 'Rail District Act of 1982', which uses the same election schedule as provided for special district directors.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Beginning September 1, 2018, the bill requires all state agency fee increases to start on July 1 of a given year, with the exception of an emergency fee increase. A state agency shall not increase a fee unless: On or before the February 1 prior to the starting date of the increase, the state agency submits a fee increase proposal, which includes specified information, to the joint budget committee; A majority of the members on the joint budget committee approve the fee increase as it is described in the fee increase proposal and without alteration; and A grant of authority to the state agency for the fee increase is included in authorizing legislation, which is enacted and becomes law. A state agency may adopt an emergency fee increase that does not meet these conditions, but on or before the next February 1 the state agency is required to submit a fee increase proposal for the emergency fee. If this fee increase proposal is approved by the joint budget committee and included in authorizing legislation, then the state agency may continue to impose the increased fee. If a grant of authority for the associated emergency fee increase is not included in the next possible authorizing legislation, then the state agency is required to lower the fee to the amount it was prior to the increase and refund the increased amount of the fee to the fee payer. If a refund is impossible, then the state agency is required to immediately reduce the fee from its original amount by an amount equal to the emergency fee increase and keep it at that level until the amount of the lost revenue offsets the additional revenue from the increased fee. Thereafter, the fee may return to its original amount. If a state agency adopts a fee increase after April 1, 2018, but prior to September 1, 2018, the fee increase is treated like an emergency fee for which the state agency is required to submit a fee increase proposal. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Committee on Legal Services. Current law directs the office of legislative legal services to study the organizational recodification of title 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which relates to professions and occupations. One recommendation of the study is to relocate laws located in title 12 that are administered by the department of revenue, as well as other isolated laws administered by the department of revenue, to a new title 44, which will consist solely of laws administered by the department of revenue that regulate a variety of activities. To implement this recommendation, section 1 of the bill creates title 44 and section 2 relocates a law that creates the liquor enforcement division and state licensing authority cash fund from title 24 to the new title. Section 3 repeals the relocated law from its current location. Sections 4 and 5 make conforming amendments necessitated by the relocation of the law.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Committee on Legal Services. Current law directs the office of legislative legal services to study the organizational recodification of title 12, which relates to professions and occupations. To implement the initial recommendations of the study, section 1 of the bill relocates article 37.5 of title 12, the 'Colorado Parental Notification Act', to a new part in article 22 of title 13. Section 2 of the bill makes a conforming amendment, and section 3 repeals the part where the law was previously codified. Section 4 of the bill relocates article 26 of title 12, firearms dealers, to a new part in article 12 of title 18. Section 5 of the bill relocates article 26.1 of title 12, gun show background checks, to a new part in article 12 of title 18. Sections 6 and 7 of the bill make conforming amendments, and section 8 repeals the part and article where the laws were previously codified. Section 9 of the bill relocates part 3 of article 55 of title 12, the 'Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act', to a new article in title 13. Section 10 of the bill makes a conforming amendment, and section 11 repeals the part where the law was previously codified.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Committee on Legal Services. Current law directs the office of legislative legal services to study the organizational recodification of title 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which relates to professions and occupations. One recommendation of the study is to relocate laws located in title 24 that are administered by the department of revenue to a new title 44, which will consist solely of laws administered by the department of revenue that regulate a variety of activities. To implement this recommendation, section 1 of the bill creates title 44 and section 2 relocates laws related to the gambling payment intercept program from title 24 to the new title. Section 3 repeals the relocated laws from their current location. Sections 4 through 7 make conforming amendments necessitated by the relocation of the laws.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

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Before the enactment of Senate Bill 17-267, the state levied 2 sales taxes on retail marijuana sales: The 2.9% general state sales tax levied pursuant to article 26 of title 39, C.R.S., and the retail marijuana sales tax, a 10% special sales tax levied on retail marijuana sales only pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39, C.R.S. Senate Bill 17-267 increased the total rate of state sales tax levied on retail marijuana sales, as authorized by prior voter approval, by exempting retail marijuana sales from the 2.9% general state sales tax and increasing the rate of the retail marijuana sales tax from 10% to 15%, effective July 1, 2017. Because enabling statutes specify that the regional transportation district (RTD), the scientific and cultural facilities district (SCFD), and health services districts (HSD) may levy sales tax only on transactions upon which the state levies sales tax 'pursuant to the provisions of article 26 of title 29, C.R.S.,' the exemption of retail marijuana sales from the general state sales tax had the unintended consequence of exempting such sales from RTD, SCFD, and HSD sales taxes even though the state continues to levy the retail marijuana sales tax pursuant to article 28.8 of title 39, C.R.S. In addition, other statutes that empower certain special districts and authorities to levy sales taxes only upon transactions upon which the state levies sales tax, but do not specifically reference article 26, are sufficiently ambiguous that they could be interpreted to no longer authorize those special districts to levy sales tax on retail marijuana sales. The bill clarifies that: Retail marijuana sales remain subject to the sales taxes of the RTD, SCFD, and HSD and any other sales taxes that limited purpose governmental entities levied on retail marijuana sales before July 1, 2017; and A special district or other limited purpose governmental entity that was not levying sales tax on retail marijuana before July 1, 2017, may not levy sales tax on retail marijuana sales.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill amends the "Life and Health Insurance Protection Association Act" as follows: Adds health maintenance organizations (HMOs) as members of the association and subjects HMOs to assessments from the association; Allocates responsibility for long-term care insurance assessments between health insurance and life insurance association members; and Requires member insurers that write health benefit plans in Colorado to collect a fee of up to $2 per month from each certificate holder, policyholder, or contract holder for each certificate, policy, or contract the member insurer issues, to be deposited into a fund for the purpose of defraying the costs of a health insurer insolvency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More