Sen. Marc Snyder

The act provides a statutory procedure for the ratification or validation of corporate actions that may not have been properly authorized and for shares that may not have been properly issued. The statutory ratification procedure supplements common-law ratification and is available only when the board of directors specifies the nature of the defective authorization. Prompt judicial review and validation of the ratification process is available when a listed person claims to be substantially and adversely affected by the ratification. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the sales tax exemption for long-term lodging exempts stays of 30 days or more at hotels, apartment hotels, lodging houses, motor hotels, guesthouses, guest ranches, trailer coaches, mobile homes, auto camps, or trailer courts and parks from the state sales tax on lodgings. The act limits this exemption so it only applies to natural persons. The act applies to sales tax levied on or after January 1, 2021. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill directs the governor and the department of public safety to include in disaster preparedness plans the credentialing of first informer broadcasters, whose personnel and vehicles would be authorized to enter areas otherwise closed to the public for the purpose of repairing or maintaining antennas or other infrastructure needed to communicate vital information to the public. A local law enforcement agency or other public official is not liable for any act or omission when a first informer broadcaster is granted access to a closed area.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Boards of county commissioners - delegation to county administrative officials - land use determinations affecting subdivision platting. The process for review and approval by a county of subdivision plats or other plans and agreements affecting certain land use determinations must be conducted pursuant to county resolutions, ordinances, or regulations. The act provides that such resolutions, ordinances, or regulations may provide for the delegation by a board of county commissioners (board) to one or more county administrative officials the authority to: Approve or deny final plats, amendments to final plats, and correction plats; Approve subdivision improvement agreements and other agreements required in connection with a final plat, an amendment to a final plat, or correction plat; Review and approve the data, surveys, analyses, studies, plans and designs submitted in connection with a final plat, amendment to a final plat, or correction plat; and Review and approve any subdivision exemption. Any delegation of authority made pursuant to the act does not include: The approval of any agreement for the expenditure of public funds; or The waiver or restriction of any appeal process provided by county resolution, ordinance, or regulation. Any delegation of authority made pursuant to the act must include procedures for public notice and the submission of written comments prior to the administrative approval or denial of a final plat or amendment to a final plat and for the appeal to a board of such administrative approval or denial. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Income tax - combined reporting. Two or more corporations controlled by the same interests are required to file a combined report in certain instances for apportioning income for Colorado income tax purposes. The Colorado court of appeals recently interpreted existing law to exclude all holding companies purportedly without property or payroll from combined reports. The act clarifies that only corporations with property and payroll located outside the United States are excluded from a combined report. The act further clarifies when the treatment of the activities of a partnership is treated as the activity of a member of an affiliated group of corporations. The act requires the department of revenue to convene a stakeholder working group to discuss and report on issues related to combined tax reporting.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Returns - electronic filing and payment. The act requires taxpayers, not including individual income taxpayers, to both file tax returns and pay amounts due for specified taxes electronically.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Public guardianship - commission - office of public guardianship - appropriation. The act removes the condition that the public guardianship commission (commission) and director for the office of public guardianship (office) wait to carry out certain duties until the public guardianship cash fund has received $1,700,000 in gifts, grants, and donations. The act requires the office, upon receiving sufficient funding, to begin operations in the second judicial district prior to operating in any other judicial district. The office's reporting deadlines are extended from 2021 to 2023. The office is required to implement its discontinuation plan if there is no legislation to continue or expand the office prior to adjournment sine die of the 2023 legislative session. The act increases specified court fees and requires the state treasurer to deposit the balance of the increased fees in the office of public guardianship cash fund. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $835,386 is appropriated to the judicial department for use by the office of public guardianship. Of this amount, $427,000 is from the general fund and $408,386 is from the office of public guardianship cash fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Greenhouse gas emissions reports on bills - process for requesting - content of reports - appropriation. Beginning with the 2020 legislative session, the staff of the legislative council are required to prepare greenhouse gas emissions reports (reports) on legislative bills in each regular session of the general assembly. 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 are authorized to request 5 reports each, or more at the discretion of the director of research of the legislative council. When a member of leadership requests a report, the staff of the legislative council must meet with the requesting member and the sponsor of the bill to discuss whether a report can practically be completed for that bill. If not, the member of leadership may request a report on a different bill, within the limits specified in the act. A greenhouse gas emissions report is defined as a report that uses available data to assess whether a legislative measure is likely to directly cause a net increase or decrease in greenhouse gas pollution in the 10-year period following its enactment. The report must identify new sources of emissions, any increase or decrease in emissions from existing sources, and any impact on sequestration, but is not required to quantify the magnitude of the impact. Greenhouse gas is defined to mean to carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride. The director of research of the legislative council must develop the procedures for requesting, completing, and updating the reports and memorialize the procedures in a letter to the executive committee of the legislative council. The director must provide a report to the legislative council on the implementation of the act on or before December 1, 2024. The act is repealed effective September 1, 2025. $81,911 is appropriated to the legislative department for use by the legislative council staff for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Estate planning documents - abandoned documents - preservation. The act creates the "Colorado Electronic Preservation of Abandoned Estate Planning Documents Act", which provides a procedure for determining whether an original will document (original document) is abandoned and, if so, the process for creating an electronic estate planning document (electronic document) of the abandoned original document, filing the electronic document with the state court administrator within the judicial department, and destruction of the original document. A will document includes, but is not limited to, wills, codicils, documents purporting to be wills, and other testamentary documents. The state court administrator is permitted to enter into an interagency agreement with another state agency to maintain electronic documents. The act establishes a process for the state court administrator to provide access to electronic documents and sets requirements for the storage and deletion of electronic documents. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More