The Public Airport Authority Law authorizes a county or a municipality, or a combination of counties and municipalities, to create an airport authority to operate an airport located within the county or municipality or the combination of counties and municipalities. The act modernizes the Public Airport Authority Law by: Clarifying the extent of the power of a county, a municipality, or a combination of counties and municipalities, to terminate an airport authority. The act requires a terminating county, municipality, or combination to assume the terminated authority's outstanding financial and contractual obligations, maintain the airport that the airport authority previously operated, and receive and hold title to the land on which the airport is located. Specifying that members of an airport authority's board of commissioners (board) do not receive compensation for their services, are local government officials, and are subject to the statutory ethics and conflict of interest provisions that apply to local government officials; Clarifying that a member of a board who was appointed to fill a vacancy may be appointed to serve a successive term, and that board meetings are subject to statutory open meetings requirements; Changing the requirement that 60% of board members be present for a quorum to 50%; Clarifying that the majority vote of all members of a board is required for questions involving the inclusion in or exclusion from an airport authority of a municipality or county and for authorizing an expenditure greater than $250,000; Modifying the process by which a board procures contracts, including updating the process for a board to award a contract to the lowest bidder after soliciting an invitation for bids and clarifying that the process to award a contract to the lowest bidder applies only to capital improvement projects and the purchase of new vehicles and equipment; Clarifying an airport authority's powers to remove hazards and encroachments, impose fees on airport users to defray the cost of operating an airport, and regulate commercial activities conducted at an airport; Clarifying that an airport authority must follow local zoning regulations when erecting structures within an airport authority and that an airport authority may invest surplus money in a local government investment pool; Allowing an airport authority to request that a county or municipality within which the airport authority is located levy a tax for the airport authority's benefit or modify or adopt certain local zoning regulations; and Clarifying that tenants or users of an airport that an airport authority operates are not entitled to any of the tax exemptions that apply to airport authorities. APPROVED by Governor April 10, 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 authorizes the board of the fire and police pension association (FPPA) to grant compounding cost of living adjustments (COLAs). The act authorizes the board of FPPA, within certain limits, to also grant noncompounding COLAs. APPROVED by Governor March 23, 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 creates the "Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact," which is designed to make it easier for teachers from member states, especially active military members and eligible military spouses, to receive a teacher's license from other member states. The compact becomes effective when 10 or more states enact it. APPROVED by Governor March 10, 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 requires out-of-state online dealers and salespersons selling motor vehicles or powersports vehicles to submit to the jurisdiction of the motor vehicle dealer board (board) when selling to a Colorado consumer. The act does not require these online dealers and salespersons to obtain a Colorado dealer license or have a physical location in Colorado but requires them to comply with Colorado laws and the board's rules. APPROVED by Governor March 3, 2023 EFFECTIVE March 3, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to create a limited risk factors that influence health benefit (benefit) for medicaid recipients under 21 years of age who experience a qualifying risk factor that influences health. The bill requires the benefit to include access to certain behavioral health services. The bill requires the state department to implement the benefit no later than July 1, 2024. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law prohibits a county employee from purchasing a tax lien or property for which a tax lien is sold. The bill narrows the prohibition to apply to a county employee only if the employee participates in the tax lien sales process by preparing, conducting, or executing a sale of lands and town lots. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The school access for emergency response (SAFER) grant program is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2024. The bill extends the SAFER grant program for 5 years, until July 1, 2029, and clarifies when the state treasurer is required to transfer unexpended money from the SAFER grant program's cash fund when the grant program is repealed. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act requires that an owner or operator of a new wind-powered energy generation facility (facility) install light mitigating technology (technology) at the facility if vertical construction of the first wind turbine included in the facility begins on or after April 1, 2022, and the owner or operator is required to obtain a land-use permit from a local government or is an independent power producer. The act defines technology as a sensor-based system that is designed to detect approaching aircraft, that keeps the lights off when it is safe to do so, and that meets federal aviation administration (FAA) requirements. An owner or operator of a facility is responsible for obtaining FAA approval for the installation of approved technology and may request from the governing body of the local government an extension of time up to 24 months if the owner or operator can demonstrate that, despite its commercially reasonable efforts, the technology was not available within the time frame afforded. The board of county commissioners in the county in which a facility is located may adopt and enforce an ordinance or resolution to authorize the board to impose civil penalties of $1,000 per day against a facility owner or operator if the board determines that the owner or operator has failed to comply with the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the state procurement equity program (program) in the department of personnel (department) for the purpose of reducing disparities identified in the state disparity study report prepared as required by Senate Bill 19-135 between the availability of historically underutilized businesses and the utilization of such businesses in state procurement. For preliminary implementation of the program, the department, in line with recommendations made in the state disparity study report, is required to: Provide solicitation assistance, defined by the act as the provision of real-time responses to questions asked by potential contractors who seek guidance as to how best to respond to solicitations for state contracts; and Create a bond assistance program to help historically underutilized businesses to offset all or a portion of the cost of obtaining a surety bond that is required for a solicitation for a state procurement opportunity. The act transfers $2 million from the general fund to a newly created bond assistance program cash fund, and the fund is continuously appropriated to the department to implement the bond assistance program. The department is also required to convene, contract with a facilitator to facilitate discussion among, engage in consultation with, and strongly consider the formal policy recommendations of a stakeholder group, which, to the extent practicable, consists of government employees with procurement expertise, an employee of the procurement technical assistance center, a representative of the associated general contractors, owners or high-ranking employees of various types of historically underutilized businesses, and owners or high-ranking employees of businesses that are not historically underutilized businesses but have a demonstrable record of successful engagement and contracting with small businesses and have competed for or been awarded state contracts. The stakeholder group also includes any other individuals who have a demonstrable commitment to furthering equity in government procurement and substantial knowledge of procurement equity best practices who the department deems necessary or appropriate to include. The stakeholder group is required to: Closely examine the findings, conclusions, and recommendations in the state disparity study report; Using the information in the state disparity study report as a baseline for studying procurement equity programs in other states and at the federal and large local government level, identify best practices for successful program implementation and administration; and No later than November 1, 2023, present to the department a report of specific findings, remedial measures, and recommendations that includes, at a minimum: Prioritization of the recommendations in the state disparity study report; Confirmation or refutation of specified disparity study report findings; A preliminary estimate of the amount of initial and ongoing funding, personnel, information technology resources, and other resources needed to implement the policy recommendations and remedial measures in accordance with identified best practices; A step-by-step timeline for full implementation of the program; Suggested methodologies and metrics for evaluating the success of the program and ensuring program accountability on both the state agency and prime contractor sides; and Identification of any public or private sources of funding or other resources that may be available to expedite the implementation or ongoing administration of the program and reduce costs to the state. The department is required to report on its progress and policy recommendations and any suggested remedial measures of the stakeholder group, the preliminary plans, recommendations, and remedial measures of the department regarding full implementation of the program, and any recommendations that the department has regarding the need for related legislation during its January 2025 annual presentation to legislative oversight committees required by the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act". $2,007,707 is appropriated from the general fund to the department, of which: $1,046,345 is for use by the executive director's office for the state procurement equity program; $961,362 is for use by the division of human resources for liability claims and liability legal services; and $114,824 is reappropriated from the money appropriated to the department to the office of information technology for the purpose of providing information technology services for the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In order to recompense the public employees' retirement association (PERA) for the cancellation of a previously scheduled July 1, 2020, direct distribution of $225 million, the act requires an additional direct distribution to PERA of $380 million to be made on the effective date of the act or as soon as possible thereafter. The act also reduces the $225 million July 1, 2023, direct distribution to PERA that is scheduled under current law by at least $155 million but no more than $190 million, depending upon the amount of investment income earned by PERA on the additional $380 million direct distribution so that the July 1, 2023, direct distribution will be between $35 million and $70 million. Finally, the act reduces the $225 million July 1, 2024, direct distribution to PERA that is scheduled under current law by the lesser of an amount equal to 7.25% multiplied by $380 million or an amount equal to PERA's annual rate of return on investments as reported in PERA's 2022 annual report multiplied by $380 million; except that there is no reduction if the rate of return is zero or less. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)