The law regulating campaign finance did not set limits on contributions to candidates for municipal elected office. For municipal elections held on or after January 1, 2024, the act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from persons, including any political party and excluding any small donor committee, for any election cycle in the amount of $400. The act sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for municipal office from small donor committees for any election cycle in the amount of $4,000. The act subjects the new contribution limits to existing statutory provisions governing the disclosure of campaign contributions. The act requires campaign contribution reports for candidates for a municipal office for a municipality that has a population of 1,000 or more to be filed with the municipal clerk no later than 60 days, 30 days, and 15 days before and 30 days after the major election in election years and annually in off-election years; except that, for a runoff election, reports must be filed no later than 15 days before and after the runoff election. The act clarifies that an independent expenditure committee that makes expenditures in connection with a municipal election must file its disclosure reports with the applicable municipal clerk. The act also extends the retention requirements for campaign contribution reports from one year to 10 years for a candidate that is not elected and from one year to 6 years after the candidate leaves office for a candidate that is elected and requires that reports be made publicly available without charge on a website or for in-person inspection. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act requires an oil and gas operator in the state (operator), on or before September 1, 2023, on a monthly basis, with respect to each oil and gas well, and on or before January 1, 2024, and quarterly thereafter, with respect to the operator's oil and gas operations generally, to report information to the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission) regarding the operator's use of water entering, utilized at, or exiting each of the operator's wells or oil and gas locations, including information on the recycling and reuse of produced water. The act also requires the commission to adopt rules, on or before December 31, 2024, requiring a statewide reduction in usage of fresh water and a corresponding increase in usage of recycled or reused water in oil and gas operations. From the information reported to the commission under the act, the commission is required to: Include the information as part of the commission's annual reporting on cumulative impacts of oil and gas operations; and Report to the legislative energy committees a summary of the reported information on or before April 1, 2025. The act creates the Colorado produced water consortium in the department of natural resources (department) to make recommendations to state agencies and the general assembly regarding the recycling and reuse of produced water, develop guidance documents to promote best practices for in-field recycling and reuse of produced water, and analyze and report on: Existing produced water infrastructure, storage, and treatment facilities; The volume of produced water in different oil and gas basins available for recycling and reuse; and Additional infrastructure, storage, and technology needed to achieve different levels of recycling and reuse of produced water throughout the state. Annually starting in 2024, the consortium is required to update the legislative energy committees on the consortium's work, and the executive director of the department is required to report on the consortium's recommendations as part of the department's annual "SMART Act" presentation to a joint committee of the general assembly. The act repeals the consortium on September 1, 2030, subject to a sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies. The act appropriates: $464,512 from the oil and gas conservation and environmental response fund to the department of natural resources for use by the commission for program costs; and $30,169 from the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the water quality control division for personal services related to the drinking water program. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $95,000 from the general fund to the natural disaster mitigation cash fund to defray expenses incurred by the natural disaster mitigation enterprise (enterprise) before the enterprise receives fee revenue or revenue bond proceeds. The transfer is a loan from the state treasurer to the enterprise that is required to be repaid and is not a grant for purposes of the state constitution or any other state law. The enterprise is required to repay the loan and accumulated interest by December 31, 2025. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the evaluating the costs associated with enforcement of and incarceration for drug crimes task force (task force). The act requires the university of Colorado school of public health to conduct a actuarial study (study) to evaluate the costs associated with the enforcement of drug laws and incarceration in the state. The study must: Consider and determine state and local government costs associated with the investigation of drug crimes and the enforcement of drug laws; Consider and determine the costs incurred by the judicial department in adjudicating drug crimes and supervising defendants convicted of drug crimes; Consider and determine state and local government costs associated with confining and incarcerating individuals accused of and convicted of drug crimes and the state costs associated with parole supervision for those convicted of drug crimes; and Determine the total state and local government costs associated with enforcing drug laws, investigating and punishing drug crimes, and rehabilitating those convicted of drug crimes. The university of Colorado school of public health shall provide the study to the task force. The task force shall consider the study and make recommendations to the general assembly regarding how money saved by reducing drug crimes or sentencing for drug crimes could be spent to reduce substance use and dependence in Colorado. The task force shall create a report of its findings by June 1, 2024, and shall present the report to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate. The act appropriates: $79,914 from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by the university of Colorado to complete the study; $16,138 from the general fund to the department of public health and environment for administrative expenses; and $1,324 from the general fund to legislative department for per diem and expense reimbursement. VETOED by Governor June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a water testing program for mobile home parks (parks). The testing program is developed and administered by the water quality control division (division) in the department of public health and environment (department). The act also sets testing prioritization criteria and testing standards. Within 10 days after receiving test results, the division will notify the following of the test results and, if the testing reveals a water quality issue, include information about the availability of the complete test results, any violation of water quality standards, recommended actions, remediation, and the grant program established in the act: The park owner; The county department of health where the park is located; The municipality where the park is located, if any; The division of housing in the department of local affairs; The water supplier; and The environmental justice ombudsperson (ombudsperson). Upon receiving the notice, the park owner must: Notify the park residents within 5 days in the language chosen by the residents; Comply with orders of the division; and Not impose the cost of compliance on park residents. Within 120 days after receiving the notice, the park owner must prepare and submit to the division a remediation plan. The park owner must complete the remediation plan based on a schedule approved by the division, consult with the division, and provide a reasonable and sufficient amount of accessible drinking water or department-approved filters to park residents if necessary to address acute health risks. The division will coordinate with the division of housing in the department of local affairs to identify potential money, including grant money from the grant program created in the act, to support park water quality remediation. The division will develop an action plan to address and improve water quality in parks. Standards are established for the action plan and the development of the action plan. The act creates a grant program to help park owners, nonprofit entities, and local governments address water quality issues in parks. Standards are set for obtaining and spending grants. The division will implement and administer the grant program. The general assembly will annually appropriate money to the department to fund the grant program. The act is enforced by the attorney general and the division, which may issue cease-and-desist orders. The attorney general may request a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or any other relief necessary to protect the public health, water quality, or environment. The act establishes that: The division may impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 plus an additional $5,000 per full calendar month the violation continues; A park owner that fails to register under the "Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program" violates the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act"; Retaliation against a tenant for making a complaint is prohibited; and A person may bring a civil action under the "Mobile Home Park Act". Civil penalties are deposited in the mobile home park water quality fund to be used to provide grants through the grant program and for the division to administer and enforce the act. The ombudsperson is given the duty to represent park residents in matters of water quality. The act adds water quality issues to the database created by the "Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program", which tracks complaints filed against parks. To implement the act, $3,611,859 is appropriated from the general fund to the mobile home park water quality fund, of which $3,407,448 is reappropriated to the department for administration, personal services, and the purchase of legal services, and $136,885 is appropriated from the general fund to the mobile home park act dispute resolution and enforcement program fund for use by the department of local affairs. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as contained in the department's sunset review of the "Pesticide Applicators' Act", and makes additional modifications to the "Pesticide Applicators' Act as follows: Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the "Pesticide Applicators' Act" for 11 years, until September 1, 2034; Section 3 updates the statutory definition of "use" to align with the federal definition adopted by the federal environmental protection agency; The commissioner of agriculture (commissioner) maintains a registry of pesticide-sensitive persons (registry) whose residences are listed in the registry. If a commercial, registered limited commercial, or registered public applicator (applicator) applies a pesticide near the residence of a pesticide-sensitive person included in the registry, the applicator is required to take reasonable actions to notify the pesticide-sensitive person of the pesticide application. Section 4 authorizes a pesticide-sensitive person to apply for inclusion of the person's primary work or school address in the registry as well. In addition, section 4 authorizes an applicator to provide electronic notice to pesticide-sensitive persons. Section 4 also requires that, on or before July 1, 2024, the department of agriculture (department) develop a searchable database of all properties that abut or are entirely located within 250 feet of a residential property listed on the registry for applicators to search. If an applicator will apply pesticides on a property included in the searchable database, the applicator is required to notify the relevant pesticide-sensitive person of the pesticide application. Section 5 increases the maximum civil penalty for a violation of the act from $1,000 to $2,500 for the first violation, which results in the possibility of a maximum civil penalty of $5,000 for a second violation; Section 6 requires that money collected for civil penalties imposed under the "Pesticide Applicators' Act" be credited to the general fund; Section 7 requires the commissioner to publish and periodically update information on the department's website about pesticide applicators' licensing and registration; Section 8 requires the commissioner to establish an online complaint process; Section 9 limits the number of terms that members of the advisory committee, appointed by the state agricultural commission to advise the commissioner, may serve to 2 terms, but allows a member representing the Colorado state university agricultural experiment station or extension service (CSU) or the Colorado department of public health and environment (CDPHE) to serve on the advisory committee for unlimited terms during the duration of the member's employment with CSU or CDPHE; and Sections 10 to 12 amends statutes governing local governments to mirror the language in the "Pesticide Applicators' Act" requiring a local government that adopts an ordinance about pesticides to submit information about the ordinance to the commissioner. Section 13 appropriates $72,150 for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the plant health, pest control, and environmental protection cash fund to the department, which money is reappropriated to the office of information technology in the office of the governor to provide information technology services to the department. 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.)
Currently, a grocery store, supermarket, convenience store, liquor store, dry cleaner, pharmacy, drug store, clothing store, or other type of retail establishment at which carryout bags are traditionally provided to customers (store) is required to collect a fee for each carryout bag the store provides to a customer. The store must remit a portion of that fee to the municipality or county (local government) in which the store is located. When the local government has not established a process to accept the remitted fees, the act requires the store to retain and use the portion of the fee that would otherwise be remitted to a local government: For any recycling, composting, or other waste diversion programs and related outreach and education activities; and To purchase reusable bags. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 2 of the act requires the state electrical board (board) to adopt rules requiring compliance, starting March 1, 2024, with the provisions of the model electric ready and solar ready code that require multifamily buildings to comply with the electric vehicle (EV) power transfer infrastructure requirements. The board is precluded from adopting rules that prohibit the installation or use of EV charging stations unless the rules address a bona fide safety concern. Sections 3 and 4 expand the prohibition against a landlord of rental property or a management association (association) of a common interest community from unreasonably prohibiting the installation of EV charging equipment in the leased premises or a unit in the common interest community (unit) to also apply to an assigned or a deeded parking space for the leased premises or unit, to parking spaces accessible to both the tenant or unit owner and other tenants or unit owners, and to commercial rental property.A landlord or association must also allow an EV or a plug-in hybrid vehicle to park on the premises. Colorado law grants a local government the ability to regulate parking, and this regulation includes requiring that buildings meet minimum parking standards. Sections 5, 6, and 7 require a local government, when counting minimum parking spaces, to count: Any parking space that is served by an EV charging station as at least one standard automobile parking space; and Any van-accessible parking space that is wheelchair accessible and served by an EV charging station as at least 2 standard automobile parking spaces. Sections 8 and 9 prohibit local governments from adopting an ordinance or a resolution that prohibits the installation or use of EV charging stations or restricts parking based on a vehicle being a plug-in hybrid vehicle or plug-in electric vehicle unless the ordinance or resolution addresses a bona fide safety concern. The decision is subject to judicial review. Sections 10 and 11 give local governments that have electrical, elevator and escalator, and plumbing codes adopted by reference to state codes the option to not adopt certain energy efficiency codes when their electrical, elevator and escalator, and plumbing codes are automatically updated because the state has updated these codes. Section 12 exempts, until 2030, EV charging systems from the levy and collection of property tax. Federal law prohibits the construction of automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users along interstate highway rights-of-way, including rest areas. Due to this prohibition, the state cannot construct EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way, including rest areas, in the state. Section 13 specifies that, when the federal law no longer prohibits the construction of EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way, the department of transportation may collaborate with public or private entities to develop projects for the construction of EV charging systems along interstate highway rights-of-way. In addition, the department of transportation may develop these types of projects along state highways. Section 14 defines the phrase "disproportionately impacted community" for state government to include communities in which: The proportion of households that are below 200% of the federal poverty level is greater than 40%; The proportion of households that spend more than 30% of household income on housing is greater than 50%; The proportion of the population that identifies as people of color is greater than 40%; The proportion of the population that is linguistically isolated is greater than 20%; The population has a history of being subject to environmental racism perpetuated through redlining or through anti-indigenous, anti-immigrant, anti-Latino, or anti-Black laws, policies, or practices and that present-day demographic factors and data demonstrate that the community currently faces environmental health disparities; The community is identified by a statewide agency as being one where multiple factors, including socioeconomic stressors, vulnerable populations, disproportionate environmental burdens, vulnerability to environmental degradation or climate change, and lack of public participation, may act cumulatively to affect health and the environment and may contribute to persistent disparities; The community is a mobile home park; or The community is located on the Southern Ute or Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation. All statewide agencies are required to use the definition of disproportionately impacted community, but the agencies are given flexibility in applying the definition. APPROVED by Governor May 23, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 23, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
"Carbon management" is defined by the act as any combination of carbon dioxide removal, carbon storage, carbon capture, and carbon utilization. The act ensures that carbon management projects, except for agricultural, forestry, and enhanced oil recovery projects, are eligible for money under the industrial and manufacturing operations clean air grant program. The act also requires the Colorado energy office (office), in collaboration with the office of economic development and the department of public health and environment, to contract with an organization for the development of a carbon management roadmap for the state. The office is required to ensure that the roadmap functions in concert with other state targets, teams, and documents related to greenhouse gas and carbon. The roadmap must include: Specified economic sectors; necessary infrastructure to support carbon management; specified types of policies and incentives; identification of the state agency best positioned to carry out a potential policy regime of carbon management; public interest, legislative, and administrative policy recommendations; and criteria for carbon management project selection. After receiving a draft of the roadmap, the office is required to hold at least one public hearing to solicit feedback on the roadmap, including comment on the roadmap's environmental health impacts. The contracted organization is required to use that feedback to update the roadmap. The office is required to present the updated roadmap to specified committees in the general assembly and then later update the general assembly on the implementation of the roadmap. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 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.)
Effective July 1, 2023, the act changes the name of the oil and gas conservation commission to the energy and carbon management commission (commission) and expands the commission's regulatory authority to include the authority to regulate a broader scope of energy and carbon management areas beyond oil and gas. The act also changes the name of the oil and gas conservation and environmental response fund to the energy and carbon management cash fund (fund) and allows the fund to also be used by the commission for the purposes of administering the expanded regulatory areas. Section 3 of the act requires the commission to create and maintain a website that serves as the state portal for information and data regarding the commission's regulatory activities. Current law states that the property right to the natural heat of the earth (geothermal resource) that lacks sufficient fluid associated with the geothermal resource (geothermal fluid) to transport commercial amounts of energy to the surface is an incident of ownership of the overlying surface unless expressly severed. Section 7 states that, as to property rights acquired on or after July 1, 2023, the property right to a geothermal resource associated with nontributary groundwater (allocated geothermal resource) is also an incident of ownership of the overlying surface unless expressly severed. Current law requires the operator of a well, prior to constructing the well to explore for or produce geothermal resources, to obtain a permit from the state engineer. Section 8 bifurcates regulation of different types of geothermal operations between the commission and the state engineer. Specifically, the commission is granted the exclusive authority to regulate operations (deep geothermal operations) for the exploration for or production of: An allocated geothermal resource; or A geothermal resource that is deeper than 2,500 feet below the surface. The state engineer retains the exclusive authority to regulate operations that are not deep geothermal operations (shallow geothermal operations). Prior to obtaining a permit from the commission to construct a well for deep geothermal operations, the applicant must provide evidence of any applicable siting application to the local government with jurisdiction over the deep geothermal operations, including the disposition of the application, unless the local government does not regulate the siting of such operations. Upon request by a local government, the commission is also required to provide technical support to the local government concerning implementation of the commission's rules regarding deep geothermal operations. The commission and the state engineer may each adopt rules for the assessment of fees for the processing and granting of a permit to construct a well for deep geothermal operations or shallow geothermal operations, as applicable. Any fees collected by the commission will be deposited by the state treasurer into the fund. Current law requires the operator of a well, prior to the production of geothermal fluid from the well, to obtain a permit from the state engineer. Section 9: Bifurcates the issuance of different types of use permits by the state engineer between permits for the use of geothermal resources that are not allocated resources and permits for the use of allocated geothermal resources (collectively, use permits); and Requires the state engineer to only issue a use permit for allocated geothermal resources after a determination that any associated geothermal fluid is nontributary groundwater (nontributary determination). Section 9 also allows the state engineer to adopt rules for the administration of use permits and the issuance of nontributary determinations. Current law allows the state engineer to adopt procedures that establish geothermal management districts for the management of geothermal operations within the district. Section 10 limits the scope of geothermal management districts to distributed geothermal resources. The state engineer is also required to notify the commission of any application for a geothermal management district that is anticipated to affect deep geothermal operations. Section 11 allows the commission to adopt procedures by rule to establish geothermal resource units for allocated geothermal resources. Section 13 grants the commission the exclusive authority to regulate any intrastate facility that stores natural gas in an underground facility not subject to regulation by the public utilities commission (UNGS facility). If the commission submits a certification to, or enters into an agreement with, the federal secretary of transportation pursuant to applicable federal law, any rules regulating UNGS facilities must be at least as stringent as the applicable federal requirements. If a UNGS facility is proposed to be sited in an area that would affect a disproportionately impacted community, the commission must evaluate and address impacts from the UNGS facility. The commission may assess and collect fees from operators of UNGS facilities in an amount and frequency determined by the commission by rule. Any fees collected will be deposited into the fund. Before commencing construction of a new UNGS facility, the operator of the facility must provide evidence of any applicable siting application to a local government with jurisdiction over the UNGS facility, if applicable, and the disposition of the application. The act directs the commission to conduct and report to the general assembly during the 2025 legislative session the findings of the following studies: A technical study of the state's geothermal resources (section 11); A study, in collaboration with the state engineer, that evaluates the state regulatory structure for geothermal resources and whether any changes to law or rules are necessary (section 11); A study concerning the regulation and permitting of underground hydrogen operations (section 19); and A study, in coordination with the public utilities commission, examining the siting and regulation of intrastate pipelines (section 19). For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, section 43 appropriates $1,200,480 from the fund to the department of natural resources (department) to be used as follows: $1,108,857 for use by the commission for program costs; $7,031, which amount is reappropriated for use by the division of water resources in the department for water administration related to division operations; and $84,592, which amount is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services for the department. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2023 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)