The act makes the following changes to the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA): Prohibits a custodian of public records from requiring a requester to provide any form of identification to request or inspect records pursuant to CORA unless a requester is otherwise required to provide identification pursuant to law; Clarifies that if a public record is available in a digital format that is searchable, the custodian is required to provide a digital copy of the record in a searchable format unless otherwise requested by the requester; Specifies that if a public record is available in a digital format, the custodian is required to transmit copy of the record in a digital format by electronic mail or by another mutually-agreed upon transmission method if the size of the record prevents transmission by electronic mail; Prohibits a custodian from converting a digital record into a non-searchable format prior to transmission; Allows a custodian to deny a requester's right to inspect the telephone number or home address that a person provides to an elected official, agency, institution, or political subdivision of the state for the purpose of future communication with the elected official, agency, institution, or political subdivision of the state; Notwithstanding specified provisions of law, makes certain records of sexual harassment complaints made against an elected official and the results or report of investigations regarding alleged sexual harassment by an elected official available for inspection if the investigation concludes that the elected official is culpable for any act of sexual harassment; Requires each member of the general assembly, the governor's office and each office of the governor, and each state agency and institution to submit, on or before January 1, 2024, a report to the staff of the legislative council of the general assembly outlining its respective electronic mail retention policy; Prohibits a custodian from charging a per-page fee for providing copies of a public record if the record is provided in a digital or electronic format; and Requires a custodian to allow records requesters to pay any fee or deposit associated with the request via a credit card or electronic payment if the custodian allows members of the public to pay for any other service or product provided by the custodian with a credit card or electronic payment. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 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.)
Sponsored bills
Current law provides a film production incentive that allows a production company a performance-based cash rebate equal to 20%, or in the discretion of the director of the office of economic development a higher amount, of qualified Colorado expenditures for films, television, series, commercials, and video games produced in the state. The act: Restructures the film incentive program, from its current state as a cash rebate program into a refundable income tax credit (credit) for qualified production companies only for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2025, and only if there are at least $50 million of excess state revenues for state fiscal year 2023-24 that are required to be refunded above amounts being refunded by specified existing or future refund mechanisms. Specifies that the credit is not otherwise allowed for any such income tax year unless the general assembly, acting by bill, specifies a maximum aggregate amount of such tax credits that is allowed for that income tax year; and Requires the office of economic development and the office of film, televison, and media to jointly review the effectiveness of the credit and report the results of the review to the house of representatives finance committee and the senate finance committee, or their successor committees, no later than February 4, 2025. The act also reduces the state fiscal year 2023-24 long bill appropriation from the Colorado office of film, television, and media operational account cash fund to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs for Colorado office of film, television, and media by $282,417. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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 changes the minimum amount of items of special mobile machinery required to be located in the state from 1000 items to 250 items in order for the owner of the special mobile machinery to be eligible for a registration exempt certificate issued by the department of revenue (department). An owner of special mobile machinery that is issued a registration exempt certificate shall pay all fees and surcharges that would otherwise be paid at the time of registration and any other fees and surcharges due for each item of special mobile machinery upon application, renewal, or within 20 days of the expiration of a registration exempt certificate. To ensure proper administration of registration exempt certificates and payment of the required fees and surcharges, an owner of special mobile machinery is also required to report information about all its special mobile machinery located in the state to the department when applying for or renewing a registration exempt certificate or within 20 days of the expiration of a registration exempt certificate. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $113,476 is appropriated from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to the department for use by the division of motor vehicles to implement the act. 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.)
To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the bill 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 bill. The amendments made by the bill are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. Section 97 takes effect only if House Bill 23-1225 becomes law and takes effect on the effective date of this act or House Bill 23-1225, whichever is later. House Bill 23-1225 took effect May 10, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, the office of public guardianship (office) is authorized to operate in 3 judicial districts and is scheduled to repeal on June 30, 2024. The act extends the office indefinitely and requires the office to begin operating in additional judicial districts in 2025 and to operate in every judicial district in the state by December 31, 2030. The act establishes a board of directors (board) to oversee the office. The board consists of 7 members: 3 members who are attorneys appointed by the chief justice of the Colorado supreme court and 4 non-attorney members appointed by the governor. The existing public guardianship commission that oversees the office is repealed, effective August 31, 2023. The act permits the office to initiate petitions for guardianship and take any action on behalf of a client that a private guardian may take. The act requires the office to prioritize individuals with the greatest needs when the number of cases in which services have been requested exceeds the number of cases in which public guardianship can provide services. The office of administrative services for independent agencies created in the judicial department in Senate Bill 23-228 in 2023 provides administrative and fiscal support to the office of public guardianship. The office is required to employ guardians to provide guardianship services to the office's clients. A guardian must be certified as a guardian or become certified within 2 years after being hired by the office. The office shall provide training to guardians in specified subjects. The act requires a court to waive filing fees for petitions for guardianship filed by the office in cases that involve an indigent and incapacitated person who is eligible for guardianship services from the office. A court is prohibited from requiring the office or a guardian employed by the office to post a bond as a condition for appointment as a guardian. The act authorizes the office to spend any gifts, grants, or donations it receives without prior appropriation by the general assembly. The act requires the state auditor to conduct, or cause to be conducted, a performance audit of the office during the period between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2030. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2023 NOTE: Certain sections of the act are contingent on whether or not Senate Bill 23-228 becomes law. Senate Bill 23-228 was signed by the governor April 20, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act protects an individual applying for licensure, certification, or registration in a profession or occupation in Colorado (applicant), as well as a professional who is currently licensed, certified, or registered in a profession or occupation in Colorado (licensee), from having the license, certification, or registration denied to the applicant, or from discipline being imposed against the licensee, based solely on: A civil or criminal judgment against the applicant or licensee regarding the consumption, possession, cultivation, or processing of marijuana, if the underlying actions were lawful and consistent with professional conduct and standards of care within Colorado and did not otherwise violate Colorado law; or Previous professional disciplinary action concerning an applicant's or a licensee's professional licensure in this or any other state or United States territory, if the professional disciplinary action was based solely on the applicant's or licensee's consumption, possession, cultivation, or processing of marijuana and the applicant or licensee did not otherwise violate Colorado law. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act eliminates the prohibition on persons licensed by the "Limited Gaming Act of 1991" (licensee) from extending credit to another person for participation in limited gaming if: The licensee evaluates the person's credit and establishes the person as credit-worthy; The licensee does not have knowledge of a conviction of the person for committing specified unlawful acts; The licensee determines that the person has no outstanding child support debt or unpaid debt due to the state and does not owe restitution from a Colorado criminal case; and The amount of the extension of credit is at least $1,000. Additionally, the act specifies the documentation the licensee must maintain for any extension of credit and requires the licensee to inform every person to whom credit is extended, orally and in writing, that the financial obligations created must be fully paid to the licensee within 150 days. The act prohibits licensees from reducing their gaming tax burden through deducting unpaid credit from their gross proceeds. The act allows licensees to pursue all civil remedies at law to recover unpaid credit, as well as interest and reasonable recovery costs. Additionally, the act restricts licensees from settling or compromising the amount to be repaid until specific conditions are met. Finally, the act outlines record-keeping requirements for licensees that extend credit. VETOED by Governor May 23, 2023 (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 creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program (program) within the division of fire prevention and control (division). The program allows homeowners to apply to receive a grant for retrofitting or improving a house or other structure on the homeowner's property with strategies and technologies for structure hardening in order to make the house or structure more resilient to the risk of wildfire. The act also creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program cash fund (fund) for use by the division to award grants and to promote best practices for structure hardening, and on August 15, 2023, the state treasurer is required to transfer $100,000 from the general fund to the fund. The division is required to annually report to the wildfire matters review committee on expenditures made from the fund and grants that are awarded pursuant to the program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $100,000 is appropriated from the wildfire resilient homes grant program cash fund to the division of fire prevention and control for the wildfire resilient homes grant program. 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.)
The act directs the Colorado state forest service (state forest service) to consult with other entities to develop educational materials relating to career opportunities in forestry and wildfire mitigation for distribution to high school guidance counselors to provide to high school students. The act creates the timber, forest health, and wildfire mitigation industries workforce development program (development program) in the state forest service to provide partial reimbursement to timber businesses and forest health or wildfire mitigation entities for the costs of hiring interns. The act requires the state treasurer, on June 30, 2023, and on June 30 each year thereafter, to transfer $1,000,000 from the general fund to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund for allowable uses of the fund. The act authorizes the expansion of existing forestry programs, including wildfire mitigation programs, and the creation of new forestry programs at public institutions of higher education (public institutions) to include state institutions of higher education, local district colleges, and area technical colleges. The commission on higher education (commission) shall determine which public institutions receive funding for expanded or new forestry programs, prioritizing public institutions that can provide a trained workforce expeditiously. The act provides for the acquisition of a harvesting simulator to train students, which may be shared among the forestry programs. The act includes funding for the forestry programs. The act directs the state board for community colleges and occupational education (community college board) to administer the recruitment of wildland fire prevention and mitigation educators program (recruiting program) to increase the number of qualified educators at community colleges, area technical colleges, and local district colleges that deliver a wildfire prevention and mitigation program or course. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year: The act appropriates $15,000 to the healthy forests vibrant communities cash fund from the general fund; and The act appropriates $1,545,034 to the department of higher education from the general fund, including: $114,384 for the Colorado state forest service at Colorado state university; $1,180,650 for use by the commission for new and expanded forestry programs; and $250,000 for the college opportunity program to be used for fee-for-service contracts for the community college board state system colleges for the recruiting program. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)