Beginning on January 1, 2025, the act requires a delivery network company (DNC) to provide various disclosures to its drivers and to consumers of the DNC. The disclosures include payments that a consumer makes to the DNC, the amount that the DNC then pays to a driver, and the distances traveled to complete a delivery task. A DNC is prohibited from decreasing the amount the DNC pays a driver for a delivery task based on the amount of a consumer's tip for that delivery task, and a DNC must pay the driver all tips paid by the consumer. The act imposes specific requirements on the manner in which a DNC may provide contracts to drivers and merchants. The act specifies how a DNC may deactivate a driver from the DNC's digital platform, including: Requiring that a DNC disclose specified information about the DNC's deactivation policy and any revisions to the policy to drivers; and Creating internal account deactivation challenge procedures by which a driver may challenge the driver's deactivation and take steps, if any, to remedy a violation and become reinstated on the DNC's digital platform. The act requires that, when a DNC connects a consumer to a driver, the DNC prompt the consumer to encourage the consumer to ensure driver safety upon arrival, including ensuring a clear, well-lit, safe delivery path and properly securing all pets. The act requires that DNCs allow drivers at least 60 seconds to decide to accept a delivery task offer. The division may investigate and impose fines against a DNC for violations of the act. A consumer or driver aggrieved by a violation may file a civil suit against the DNC that committed the violation. The act exempts a DNC from complying with certain requirements with respect to drivers who receive an annual federal form W-2 from the DNC. The director of the division is required to adopt rules necessary to implement the requirements of the act. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $163,409 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of labor and employment for use by the division of labor standards and statistics to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under current law, the teacher mentor grant program (grant program) provides funding to partnerships between local education providers and educator preparation programs to provide training and stipends for experienced teachers who mentor teacher candidates in clinical practice. The act expands the grant program to include mentorship of novice teachers who have fewer than 3 years of teaching experience. The act requires the general assembly to appropriate $100,000 dollars to the department of higher education for the grant program for the 2024-25 state fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter. Any appropriation remaining at the end of the 2024-25 state fiscal year or subsequent fiscal year may be used for the grant program in subsequent fiscal years. The act appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by the Colorado commission on higher education for growing great teachers - teacher mentor grants. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the equal justice authority as a special purpose authority to distribute an equal justice fee for the purpose of providing monetary support to local organizations that provide legal representation and legal advice to low-income individuals. The equal justice authority is governed by the equal justice authority board, which is created in the act. The act requires certain court filings to incur the equal justice filing fee, which must be collected by the court and transmitted to the equal justice authority. The equal justice authority must deposit the money collected from the filing fee into an account maintained by a financial institution and distribute the money, beginning July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter, to local organizations that provide legal representation and legal advice to low-income individuals. On or before January 1, 2026, and each January 1 thereafter, the equal justice authority must prepare and submit a report to the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee that details the use of the equal justice fees. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Colorado law authorizes the public utilities commission (commission) to deny or refuse to renew a towing carrier permit (permit) if: The towing carrier was convicted within the last 5 years of a felony or a towing-related offense or has failed to satisfy a civil penalty imposed by the commission; or The commission determines that it is not in the public interest for the towing carrier to hold a permit. The act: Authorizes the commission to suspend or revoke a permit for each of these specified violations; Authorizes the commission to suspend or revoke a permit if it is not in the public interest for the towing carrier to hold a permit; and Sets a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the public interest for a towing carrier to hold a permit if the towing carrier has willfully and repeatedly violated the towing laws. The act prohibits a member of the towing task force in the department of regulatory agencies, which advises the commission on towing matters, from voting on a matter if the matter concerns a rate-setting recommendation that will financially benefit the member or if the member is the subject of a complaint about which the task force is advising the commission. Colorado law requires the commission to report certain towing issues and financial information to certain committees of the senate and house of representatives of the general assembly. The act requires the commission to promulgate a rule to require towing carriers to provide any information needed to prepare the report as part of the towing carrier permitting process. The information required by rule may include the annual volume of tows by category, the current pricing per category of tow for all fees charged, and the number of tow trucks each towing carrier operates. A towing carrier is forbidden from patrolling or monitoring property to enforce parking restrictions on behalf of the property owner. If a motor vehicle is towed in violation of the rights granted in state statute, the towing carrier must, within 48 hours after the determination of a statutory violation, return the vehicle to the place it was towed from unless otherwise requested or if not practical, as determined by the commission. Colorado law prohibits a towing carrier from nonconsensually towing a vehicle from private property unless the carrier has received permission from the property owner or an agent of the owner within the last 24 hours. A towing carrier may not be the agent of the property owner. The act requires the permission to be documented and signed and prohibits automated or preapproved permission. If the property owner would earn income from the nonconsensual tow, the towing carrier is prohibited from making the tow but may authorize another towing carrier to make the tow. The act repeals the ability of the agent to authorize the tow and replaces it with authorization by an employee of the property owner or a property management service, except that employees that have a financial interest in or relationship with the towing carrier may not authorize the tow. Before the act, Colorado law required certain nonconsensual tows to occur only after the vehicle owner has been given 24-hours' notice, unless the vehicle is parked without displaying valid authorization in a parking lot used exclusively for residents. The act removes the requirement that the vehicle display valid authorization and replaces it with a requirement that the vehicle have valid authorization and broadens the type of parking lot to include a parking lot for invited guests. The sign requirement for conducting a nonconsensual tow is changed to require the sign to include certain lettering and placement requirements and to require print in both English and Spanish. Colorado law authorizes the owner of a nonconsensually towed vehicle to retrieve the vehicle without paying the full fees for the nonconsensual tow. The act prohibits a towing carrier from requiring a person to undergo an approval process other than signing the appropriate form to retrieve the vehicle. The act requires a towing carrier to be responsible for the security and safety of a towed vehicle, regardless of whether the vehicle was nonconsensually towed. A violation of the towing laws is made a deceptive trade practice in violation of the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act", which authorizes the attorney general or a district attorney to file a civil action for penalties of $10,000 or more. The sunset repeal of the commission's regulation of towing carriers is moved from September 1, 2025, to September 1, 2030. The act makes a violation of the towing laws an independent cause of action, which is not subject to administrative exhaustion, against the towing carrier. To implement the act, $165,629 is appropriated for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to the department of regulatory agencies from the public utilities commission motor carrier fund. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Repeals the broadband deployment board (board); Transfers the function of awarding grant money in the high cost support mechanism from the board to the Colorado broadband office (office) and authorizes the office to award grants for middle mile infrastructure; pole replacements, attachments, and other infrastructure; and other underfunded broadband needs throughout the state (grant program); Authorizes the office to conduct or cause to be conducted studies to assess broadband needs in the state; Requires the office to solicit public input regarding the grant program; Requires the office to establish a work group of stakeholders to help review grant applications for the grant program; Authorizes the chief information officer in the office of information technology (OIT) to adopt rules regarding the grant program; and Repeals the grant-making function of the office on September 1, 2030, subject to review by the department of regulatory agencies. The act decreases appropriations made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to the office of the governor as follows: The amount from various cash funds for health, life, and dental for the office of information technology is decreased by $25,826; and The amount from various cash funds for enterprise solutions for OIT is decreased by $254,276 and the related FTE is decreased by 2.0 FTE. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act expands the authority of the energy and carbon management commission (commission) to include the regulation of activities performed for the purpose of engaging in the injection and underground sequestration of injection carbon dioxide in pore space (geologic storage operations). The commission may: Reimpose any regulatory responsibility or financial assurance obligation imposed on a person that exercises the right to control the conduct of geologic storage operations (geologic storage operator) if the geologic storage operator makes a material misrepresentation or omission that causes the commission to approve a site closure; and Assess and collect regulatory and permitting fees from geologic storage operators. Current law requires the commission to promulgate rules that evaluate and address the cumulative impacts of oil and gas operations by April 28, 2024. The act changes current law by extending the deadline for the rule-making to September 30, 2024, and requiring the evaluation of cumulative impacts to address impacts from all operations regulated by the commission. Wells drilled for the exclusive purpose of obtaining subsurface data or information to support operations are not subject to a cumulative impact analysis. The act also allows the director of the commission to hire and designate employees of the commission as administrative law judges who have the authority to administer proceedings on behalf of the commission. Current law provides a statute of limitations of one year after the date of an alleged violation of energy and carbon management laws (violation). The act changes this statute of limitations to 3 years after the discovery of the alleged violation and provides that the 3-year statute of limitations period does not apply if information regarding the alleged violation is knowingly or willfully concealed by the alleged violator. The act also expands the following energy and carbon management law areas to include geologic storage operations: Enforcement and civil penalty procedures; Use of the energy and carbon management cash fund by the commission; Mitigation of adverse environmental impacts by the commission or an operator; and State agency and local government authority over oil and gas development. The act also establishes that: Ownership of a portion of a pore space necessary for geologic storage (sequestration estate) is vested in the owner of the overlying surface estate if the sequestration estate has not been separately severed, conveyed, or reserved; Any conveyance of the ownership of an overlying surface estate also conveys the grantor's ownership of any sequestration estate except in certain circumstances; and A conveyance of the ownership of a mineral estate does not convey the grantor's ownership in the sequestration estate unless the conveyance instrument provides for the conveyance. Upon application of any interested person, the commission must hold a hearing and enter an order (order) providing for the formation of a unit of one or more geologic storage resources (geologic storage unit) if the commission finds that the geologic storage unit is reasonably necessary to effectuate a geologic storage project. The order must include terms and conditions that are just and reasonable and establish a plan for operations of the geologic storage unit (plan). An order is effective only if the plan has been approved by those persons that collectively own at least 75% of the geologic storage resources included in the geologic storage unit area (required approval) and the commission makes a finding in the order of the required approval. The act also allows a local government to request that the director of the commission appoint a technical review board to assist the local government in analyzing and answering any technical questions regarding the local government's land use regulations. The act also requires the department of public health and environment (department) to develop carbon dioxide accounting procedures for geologic storage operations. The commission must compile relevant data to support the carbon dioxide accounting procedures and work collaboratively with the department in implementing the carbon dioxide accounting procedures. The commission and the department must also work collaboratively to address air emissions from geologic storage operations. APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 21, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes permitting procedures for electric vehicle (EV) charging systems for counties with a population of 20,000 or more (covered county) and municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more (covered municipality). On or before December 31, 2025, a board of county commissioners of a covered county or the governing body of a covered municipality must do one of the following: Adopt an ordinance or resolution that incorporates the same standards and permitting process or less restrictive standards and permitting process as the standards and permitting process described in the Colorado energy office's EV charger permitting model code that the office is required to publish on or before March 31, 2025; Adopt an ordinance or resolution that establishes the covered county's or covered municipality's own objective standards and administrative review process to be used by the covered county or covered municipality permitting agency in the agency's review of EV charger permits, which ordinance or resolution must comply with certain requirements; or Adopt an ordinance or resolution that establishes that the covered county or covered municipality does not intend to adopt the EV charger model code or adopt the standards and administrative review process required by the act, but instead will continue to utilize the covered county's or covered municipality's existing permitting review process for EV charging systems. If a covered county or covered municipality establishes its own objective standards and administrative review process, the covered county or covered municipal permitting agency must provide a checklist to prospective applicants of all requirements that must be included in an application for an EV charger permit. The covered county or covered municipality may deny an application if the application does not comply with the objective standards for EV charging systems set forth by the covered county or covered municipality or for health or safety reasons. A covered county or covered municipality must also notify an EV charger permit applicant of the covered county permitting agency's or covered municipal permitting agency's decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny an applicant within 3 business days after the date the agency makes such determination. The Colorado energy office, in addition to developing the model code regarding the approval of EV charger permits, is required to provide covered counties and covered municipalities technical assistance in developing and administering the expedited EV charger permitting process. If a board of county commissioners of a covered county or governing body of a covered municipality adopts the model code, it is not subject to the other requirements specified in the act. APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the pollution prevention advisory board and the pollution prevention advisory board assistance committee when the act takes effect, repeals the recycling resources economic opportunity program on October 1, 2025, and repeals the front range waste diversion enterprise and replaces it with the Colorado circular communities enterprise (enterprise). The enterprise, in merging and modernizing the purposes of the recycling resources economic opportunity program and the front range waste diversion enterprise, awards grants and other funding and provides technical assistance to local governments, nonprofit and for-profit businesses, public and private schools, and institutions of higher education throughout the state that pursue a circular economy for waste management, including waste diversion and aversion. The act also creates the statewide voluntary sustainability program to support businesses engaging, or looking to engage, in sustainability efforts. Under current law, user fees are imposed on operators of attended solid waste disposal sites (operators) to finance the recycling resources economic opportunity program and the front range waste diversion enterprise. The act applies those fees to the enterprise, requiring operators of sites located outside of the front range to pay a fee of either 2 or 4 cents per load transported for disposal and requiring operators of sites located in the front range, between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, to pay a fee of 74 cents per cubic yard per load transported for disposal and, on and after January 1, 2025, to pay a fee of 78 cents per cubic yard per load transported for disposal. APPROVED by Governor May 17, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The statewide transit pass exploratory committee (committee) is created in the department of transportation (department) to produce a viable proposal for the creation, implementation, and administration of a statewide transit pass (proposal). The committee is required to meet as necessary to produce a viable proposal by July 1, 2026, with the goal of implementing a statewide transit pass by January 1, 2028. The committee consists of members, appointed by the executive director of the department, who represent specified types of organizations and have specified knowledge or experience. In conducting its work, the committee is required to consider specified issues and to solicit input from subject matter experts and interested parties across the state. The committee is required to submit its proposal, including recommendations for any necessary legislation in connection with the proposal, to the executive director of the department and the members of the transportation legislation review committee of the general assembly on or before July 1, 2026. The existing ozone season transit grant program is combined with a new program to provide youth fare free transit grants and together are created as the zero fare transit grant program in the Colorado energy office (office). The zero fare transit grant program is created to provide grants to: The Colorado association of transit agencies (CASTA) for the purpose of providing grants to eligible transit agencies to offer either free transit services for a minimum of 30 days during ozone season or fare free year-round transit services for individuals who are 19 years of age or younger; and The regional transportation district (RTD) for the purpose of providing fare free year-round transit services for individuals who are 19 years of age or younger. To receive a grant, CASTA or the RTD must submit an application to the office in accordance with the act and policies established by the office. An eligible transit agency that receives a grant from CASTA may use the grant money to either cover the costs associated with providing new or expanded free transit services within its service area during ozone season or to provide operating support for its transit operations and general transit programs so long as the eligible transit agency provides uninterrupted fare free year-round transit services to youth riders. The RTD may use the grant money to provide operating support for its transit operations and general transit programs, so long as the RTD provides uninterrupted fare free year-round transit services for youth riders. The RTD is required to report to the office and an eligible transit agency that receives a grant from CASTA is required to report to CASTA regarding its use of the grant money. CASTA is required to submit to the office a summary of the reported information for all eligible transit agencies that received a grant through CASTA. The office is required to establish policies governing the zero fare transit grant program and to report to the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee and the senate transportation committee, or their successor committees, by December 31 of each year of the program. The zero fare transit fund (fund) is created in the treasury. The fund consists of money transferred to the fund from the ozone season transit grant program fund, money transferred to the fund from the multimodal transportation options fund, any other money that the general assembly appropriates or transfers to the fund, and any gifts, grants, or donations credited to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the zero fare transit grant program. The state treasurer is directed to transfer any money remaining in the ozone season transit grant program fund on June 30, 2024, to the fund. In addition, the state treasurer is directed to transfer $10 million from the multimodal transportation and mitigation options fund to the fund on July 1, 2024. A regional transportation authority is allowed to derive up to one-half, rather than one-third, of its total revenue from a visitor benefit tax and, unlike in the past, to levy such a tax at a rate greater than 2%. The department is authorized to use money that was previously transferred to the state highway fund for a designated purpose in connection with the development of the Burnham Yard rail property for new purposes including site preparation, site enhancements, planning, and facilitating a track alignment that preserves buildable land while promoting transit and rail capacity and increasing safety in connection with the development of the Burnham Yard rail property. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 2 of the act requires the division of administration (division) in the department of public health and environment (department) to propose rules to the air quality control commission (commission) to reduce certain emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) generated by upstream oil and gas operations in certain areas of the state by 50% by 2030 relative to 2017 NOx emission levels. Section 3 requires the division to prepare an annual air quality enforcement benchmark report to summarize the division's statewide enforcement actions, including civil penalties assessed. Section 3 also provides that a compliance order issued by the division may include, in addition to civil penalties, a requirement to perform one or more projects to reduce the potential for a recurrence of a violation. Under current law, the division or commission, in an enforcement action, cannot obtain a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction if there is probable cause that the temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction would cause serious harm to the person affected by the temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction or to another person or if the source to which the enforcement action pertains has obtained a renewable operating permit and continues operations in compliance with that permit. Section 4 repeals those limitations on temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. Section 4 also authorizes a district attorney or the attorney general to seek injunctive relief to reduce the potential for a recurrence of a violation. Sections 5 and 6 clarify that the division has authority to impose civil penalties for violations of requirements related to toxic air contaminants, fenceline and community-based monitoring, and, if enacted in House Bill 24-1338, petroleum refinery emissions monitoring. Section 7 authorizes the division, in considering permit applications for new sources of NOx emissions in disproportionately impacted communities in an ozone nonattainment area, to consider more stringent methods of regulating the sources. Section 9 authorizes the director of the energy and carbon management commission (ECMC) to hire at least 2 community liaisons to serve as dedicated resources for disproportionately impacted communities, and section 13 authorizes funding of the community liaison positions from the energy and carbon management cash fund. Under current law, an oil and gas operator (operator) is required to obtain a permit from the ECMC to commence oil and gas drilling operations. Section 10 requires the operator to also obtain from the ECMC a license to conduct oil and gas operations. Section 10 also requires operators to take actions in accordance with ECMC rules to reduce certain emissions of NOx generated from oil and gas production and preproduction operations. The ECMC is also required, in consultation with the department, to adopt rules to require enhanced systems and practices to avoid, minimize, and mitigate emissions of ozone precursors from oil and gas operations at newly permitted oil and gas locations in certain parts of the state. Section 11 limits a court's authority to postpone the effective date of an ECMC order suspending or revoking an operator's license to conduct oil and gas operations or a certificate of clearance, requiring the court to first consider various factors, including whether the moving party would face real, immediate, and irreparable injury if the effective date is not postponed and the effect that such postponement would have on the public interest. Section 12 expands the ECMC's enforcement authority to include revoking an operator's license to conduct oil and gas operations and expands the types of violations that are subject to suspension of all of the operator's permits and certificates of clearance and the operator's license to conduct oil and gas operations to include violations resulting in a penalty of $1,000,000 or more; violations that cause a major adverse impact, as defined by the ECMC by rule; and violations that cause death or serious bodily injury. Section 14 expands the scope of the orphaned wells mitigation enterprise to help finance the plugging, reclamation, and remediation of marginal wells that are at the highest risk of becoming orphaned. Section 15 appropriates $753,157 in state fiscal year 2024-25 from the general fund to the department for expenses related to regulating stationary sources and for legal services. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)