Sen. Rob Woodward

An individual or entity must generally notify the statewide notification association of all owners and operators of underground facilities of its intent to engage in excavation so that any underground facilities that the excavation might affect, such as water and sewer pipes, gas lines, and electric or cable lines, can be located and marked before excavation begins. Underground facilities are often located beneath the right-of-way of county gravel and dirt roads, normally at a depth of at least 18 inches below the road surface. Counties maintain the profile and surface condition of county roads and such county road rights-of-way by engaging in routine and emergency maintenance activities that do not disturb more than 6 inches in depth. Before the passage of the act, these maintenance activities triggered the excavation notification requirement, and the related requirement that the location of underground facilities be marked, even though they occur above the levels where underground facilities are located. The act specifies that excavation that is routine or emergency maintenance of the right-of-way of a county-maintained gravel or dirt road and is performed by county employees does not require notification of the notification association or location marking unless the excavation will:Lower the existing grade or elevation of the road or any adjacent shoulder or the designed and constructed elevation of any adjacent ditch flowline; or Disturb more than 6 inches in depth as it is conducted.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act corrects citations in the marijuana code and grammatical and wording issues.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following modifications to the regulations of factory-built structures, manufactured housing, and installers and sellers of manufactured housing:Clarifies that the division of housing (division) has enforcement powers over the installation and sale of manufactured homes and over the safety of hotels and multi-family structures where no other construction standards exist; Clarifies that a manufacturer who violates applicable law is subject to registration revocation or any other measures prescribed by the division or applicable law; Clarifies that a local government may enforce local rules governing the installation of factory-built housing that are approved by the division of housing; Clarifies that authority granted to the division is over work related to factory-built structures that is completed offsite or completed onsite with components shipped with the factory-built structure; Clarifies that a local government's authority is over work completed onsite and is not over work performed offsite or work that is completed onsite using components shipped with the factory-built structure; Allows the division to authorize a local government to inspect and charge fees related to work that is completed onsite using components shipped with a factory-built structure; Clarifies that a factory-built structure bearing an insignia of approval issued by the division complies with applicable state codes and local government installation requirements approved by the division; Clarifies that an insignia of approval affixed to the factory-built structure does not expire unless the design and construction of the factory-built structure has been modified by approved plans; Clarifies that a homeowner who installs a manufactured home for their own personal use is not required to register with the division; Allows the division to set the surety bond, insurance, and educational requirements for a registered installer of a manufactured home by rule-making; Creates disclosure requirements relating to financial instruments and legal actions for installation contracts; Requires installers to contact the division if the installer is not able to strictly comply with the manufacturer's instructions; Clarifies that a manufacturer must receive an installation authorization unless the installation is occurring in a jurisdiction where a local government is acting as an independent contractor; Clarifies that an installation insignia must be affixed to the manufactured home by the division or the local government independent contractor upon the completion of the installation; Clarifies what costs the installer may be required to pay if a manufactured home was not completely installed; Requires an insurer or financial institution to pay the division the amount of a claim against the letter of credit, certificate of deposit, or surety bond filed with the division by a registered installer if there has been a finding that the installer failed to perform as required by applicable law; Clarifies that a local government may only enact installation rules related to geographic or climatic conditions and any such rules cannot federal law; Allows a local government to require onsite mitigation addressing public safety requirements applicable to manufactured homes that comply with the federal manufactured home construction and safety standard; Clarifies that a person who is employed by a registered seller to negotiate for the sale of manufactured homes is not considered a seller for purposes of the applicable registration requirements; Allows the division to set escrow requirements and the minimum amount of a financial instrument filed by a registered seller of a manufactured home through rule-making; Removes the requirement that the division send the attorney general a monthly list of all persons registered and bonded with the division; Removes the restriction that any financial instrument filed with the division is only revocable upon the written consent of the attorney general; Clarifies the disclosures that are required to be made in contracts for the sale of manufactured homes; Clarifies that any fines paid to the division by a seller must be credited by the state treasurer to the building regulation fund; Clarifies the types of homes that may not be excluded by counties and municipalities; and Clarifies that a county or municipality must comply with the state requirements for local installation standards when enacting building code provisions for a manufactured home.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 39-21-102 accurately specifies the scope and applicability of article 21 of title 39 and establishes all the taxes that the department of revenue is responsible for administering. However, sections 39-21-119 and 39-21-120 attempt to reference similar lists of taxes in order to specify authorized methods of filing and paying the taxes. Unfortunately, some of the tax types are omitted in these sections, making these sections defective. The act removes the references to the tax types in sections 39-21-119 and 39-21-120 so that section 39-21-102 controls instead.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act modifies monthly financial reporting requirements for the department of transportation to:Require the department to include in the monthly report that it submits to the state controller: Sufficient financial information for the controller to complete a review of legal overexpenditures, any deficit fund balances, and a budget to actual report for all budget lines within the annual general appropriations act; and Any additional information that is deemed reasonable and necessary by the controller; and Require the department to submit a monthly budget report to the transportation commission of the expenditures made from each budget category and the unexpended and unencumbered balance of each budget subcategory and to make each report publicly available on the department's website.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 1 of the act changes the cross references to certain definitions related to bingo that were relocated as a result of Senate Bill 17-232. The statutory references were not correctly changed for purposes of the bingo equipment sales and use tax exemption. This section addresses that defect.Section 2 removes the words "low-emitting" from the description of a sales tax exemption because the exemption is no longer conditioned on the motor vehicle being "low-emitting".Section 3 corrects a missed conforming amendment. House Bill 20-1023 provided for the conditional repeal of section 39-26-105.3 to be effectively replaced with section 39-26-105.2. Section 39-26-204.5, a use tax statute, makes reference to section 39-26-105.2 but a conforming amendment to that section was not included in House Bill 20-1023. Section 3 adds the same conditional repeal to the use tax statute and provides the same hold harmless for retailers as is provided in section 39-26-105.2.Section 4 addresses an anachronism in the sales tax statutes by repealing section 39-26-110. That statute specifies that a retailer doing business in 2 or more locations in Colorado may file one return that will cover all business locations. This statute was added as part of the "Emergency Retail Sales Tax Act of 1935" and has not been amended since, only moved around. With the advent of home rule taxing jurisdictions that can collect and administer their own sales and use tax, it is no longer possible that retailers doing business in more than one location in Colorado can file only one return to report all sales and use taxes collected because the department of revenue no longer administers all sales and use taxes in the state.Section 5 addresses a defect in the sales tax statute by updating the statutory reference for the definition of "food" for purposes of a sales tax exemption for certain types of food. The definition of food is no longer located in 7 U.S.C. sec. 2012 (g). It is better to include a more general cross reference to all of 7 U.S.C. sec. 2012 instead of the specific subsection (g), which is now incorrect. A more general reference allows for later amendments to that section.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2020, the general assembly repealed the requirement in the mental health practice act that a professional must be licensed, registered, or certified as a mental health professional in order to practice auricular acudetox. The act makes a conforming amendment to clarify that it is not an unlawful act for a professional who is trained to perform auricular acudetox to perform the practice without a license, registration, or certification as a mental health professional.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act removes the existing restriction on pumped hydroelectric facilities as a source of recycled energy, which is included in the definition of an eligible energy resource under the renewable energy standard statute, and instead includes any pumped hydroelectric facility under 15 megawatts that:Does not combust fossil fuel to pump water; Is not located on a natural waterway; Includes measures to prevent fish mortality in the facility; Does not impact any decreed in-stream flow; and Does not cause any violation of state water quality standards when operated.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)