There is currently an exemption from property tax for business personal property that would otherwise be listed on a single personal property schedule that is equal to $7,400 for the current property tax year cycle. The bill raises the exemption to $50,000 commencing in tax year 2018, and continues to adjust it for inflation for subsequent property tax cycles, so that businesses with personal property under $50,000, or the inflation adjusted amount, would not have to file the business personal property tax forms nor pay the corresponding tax. The bill also raises the value of business personal property that qualifies for an exemption for consumable property from $350, which is the value set by the property tax administrator, to $500. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More
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The bill prohibits an employer from requiring any person, as a condition of employment, to become or remain a member of a labor organization or to pay dues, fees, or other assessments to a labor organization or to a charity organization or other third party in lieu of the labor organization. Any agreement that violates these prohibitions or the rights of an employee is void. The bill creates civil and criminal penalties for violations and authorizes the attorney general and the district attorney in each judicial district to investigate alleged violations and take action against a person believed to be in violation. The bill states that all-union agreements are unfair labor practices. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
The medical marijuana system is a vertically integrated regulatory scheme, meaning a medical marijuana center must grow the marijuana that it sells. There is one exception to the vertically integrated market: A medical marijuana center can sell to or buy from other medical marijuana licensees up to 30% of its inventory. The bill eliminates the statutory limit and requires the limit to be set in rule by the state licensing authority as long as it is not set below 30%. The bill states that a medical marijuana center may transfer medical marijuana to another medical marijuana licensee if the licensees have a common owner without the medical marijuana counting towards the limit set in rule. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires the executive director of the department of local affairs (department), after considering the input from specified interested parties, to establish a form for law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and multijurisdictional task forces (seizing agencies) to use in submitting to the department biannual reports containing specified information on seizures through which the seizing agencies received proceeds from a forfeiture and the use of the proceeds. Based on the reports, the department is to post on its website a searchable database that includes the information contained in the biannual reports and a summary report of the information. Seizing agencies are required to submit the biannual reports containing information known to the agency by specified dates; except that an agency need not include information if the disclosure of the information could endanger a person or disclose certain confidential information. Seizing agencies are required to pay civil penalties for failure to file or late filing of the reports. The bill directs the executive director of the department to submit an annual report to the governor, the attorney general, and the judiciary committees of the general assembly on seizure and forfeiture activity in the state. The bill prohibits seizing agencies from receiving forfeiture proceeds from the federal government unless the aggregate net equity value of the property and currency seized in the case is in excess of $50,000 and the federal government commences a forfeiture proceeding that relates to a filed criminal case. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Commencing in 2018, section 1 of the bill requires signature verification for candidate petitions that are required to be filed with the secretary of state's office, describes the processes by which signatures are evaluated and candidates given an opportunity to cure a signature that is not verified, and authorizes the secretary of state to promulgate rules regarding such signature verification. Section 2 creates a procedure by which a major or minor party candidate who is required to file his or her petition with the secretary of state's office may cure errors or insufficiencies regarding circulator affidavits. Section 2 directs the secretary to promulgate rules to implement the cure process.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill creates the sales and use tax simplification task force (task force) made up of legislative members and state and local sales and use tax experts. The bill requires the task force to study sales and use tax simplification between the state and local governments, and in particular between the state and home rule jurisdictions. The task force is: Authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources in order to meet its goals; Subject to sunset review in 3 years; and Required to make an annual report to the legislative council that may or may not include recommendations for legislation.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill allows the state licensing authority to authorize single-instance transfers of retail marijuana or retail marijuana products from a retail marijuana licensee to a medical marijuana licensee. If granted, the transfer must be completed within 30 days of the date the transfer was approved. A retail marijuana license that is subject to suspension is not eligible for the transfer and any retail marijuana or retail marijuana product that is subject to an administrative hold is not eligible for transfer. Under current law, the department of revenue determines the average market rate for purposes of excise tax collection on retail marijuana every 6 months. The bill gives the department the authority to calculate the average market rate on a quarterly basis. The average market rate cannot include taxes paid on sales or transfers. The bill requires a separate average market rate for unprocessed marijuana for extraction that is lower than the average market rate for unprocessed marijuana for direct sale. The bill states that the average market rate should be used to calculate the state excise tax on affiliated transactions, and the contract price should be used to calculate the excise tax on unaffiliated transactions. The bill clarifies that the average market rate will be used to calculate the excise tax on all county, municipal, or metropolitan district transactions. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Legislative Audit Committee. Section 1 of the bill requires the state auditor (auditor) to establish and administer a telephone number, fax number, email address, mailing address, or internet-based form whereby any individual may report an allegation of fraud committed by a state employee (employee) or an individual acting under a contract with a state agency (contracted individual). This system is referred to in the bill as the 'fraud hotline' or 'hotline' and any report to the hotline as a 'hotline call'. Section 1 defines 'fraud' to mean occupational fraud or the use of one's occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing organization's resources or assets. Section 1 prohibits the auditor from disclosing publicly, or when making a referral to another state agency, the identity of any individual who contacts the fraud hotline unless the individual grants the auditor express permission to make such disclosure. These restrictions do not apply when the auditor makes a disclosure to a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general in connection with a criminal investigation. Under the bill, the auditor is responsible for administering the hotline, including the screening of hotline calls and consulting and coordinating with state agencies to refer allegations of fraud by an employee or contracted individual that are reported to the hotline. In connection with the administration of the hotline, the bill requires the auditor to: Publicize the existence and purpose of the hotline on the official website of the office of the state auditor; and Prepare and maintain workpapers for the purpose of documenting the activities of his or her office in connection with hotline calls and investigations. All workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor in connection with hotline calls and investigations must be held as strictly confidential by the auditor and not for public release. These restrictions shall not prevent communication by and among the auditor, a state agency, the governor, the legislative audit committee (committee), a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general in accordance with the requirements of the bill. The bill specifies that all workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor in connection with hotline calls shall not constitute public records for purposes of the 'Colorado Open Records Act'. Upon receiving a hotline call, the auditor must conduct an initial screening of the call to determine whether the matter being reported constitutes an allegation of fraud committed by an employee or a contracted individual. The auditor is required to forward all hotline calls alleging fraud by a medicaid recipient to the department of health care policy and financing and all calls alleging fraud by a medicaid provider or contractor to the medicaid fraud control unit of the office of the attorney general. If the auditor determines that a hotline call constitutes an allegation of fraud committed by an employee or contracted individual, the auditor is required to consult and coordinate with the management or designee of the affected state agency or, in the case of alleged fraud involving a gubernatorial appointee, the governor's office for the purpose of referring the hotline call and any related workpapers to the affected agency. Upon receiving a referred hotline call from the auditor, the state agency is responsible for determining and taking appropriate action to respond to the referred hotline call and reporting back to the auditor. In determining appropriate action, the state agency may request either the assistance of the auditor to participate in an investigation or request that the auditor conduct the entire investigation. When, at the request of a state agency, the auditor either participates in or conducts an investigation of a hotline call, the following additional requirements apply: The auditor is granted complete access to all of the books, accounts, reports, vouchers, or other records or information maintained by the agency that are directly related to the scope of the investigation; The auditor is required to report the results of the investigation to the head of the affected agency or, in the case of alleged fraud involving a gubernatorial appointee, to the governor's office. The auditor is also required to provide any workpapers prepared or maintained by the auditor during the investigation. If the investigation finds evidence that the amount of the alleged fraud exceeds $100,000, the auditor is also required to report the results of the investigation to the committee and, with the approval of the committee, to the governor; and If the investigation finds evidence of apparently illegal transactions or misuse or embezzlement of public funds or property, the auditor is required to immediately report the matter to a law enforcement agency, a district attorney, or the attorney general, as appropriate. When a state agency is referred a hotline call by the auditor and has not requested that the auditor either participate in or conduct the entire investigation, the state agency is required to report back to the auditor within 90 days on the disposition of the referral, including action the agency has taken to respond to the fraud allegation and the results of any subsequent investigation by the agency. If the state agency has not reached a disposition of the referred hotline call within 90 days, the agency must report to the auditor the current status of the referral as of the 90-day deadline. This reporting requirement continues every 90 days thereafter until the agency has reached a disposition of the referred hotline call. Commencing with state fiscal year 2018-19, section 1 also requires the auditor to prepare an annual report to the committee providing an aggregate summary of activity relating to the fraud hotline during the preceding state fiscal year. Section 2 adds the administration of the hotline to existing statutory provisions specifying the auditor's powers and duties. Sections 3 and 4 prohibit retaliation against either a state employee or an entity under contract with a state agency resulting from the employee's disclosure of information to the hotline except where the employee discloses information with disregard for its truth or falsity.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
On and after July 1, 2017, section 4 of the bill requires 10% of the net revenue generated by existing state sales and use taxes to be credited to the highway users tax fund, paid to the state highway fund for allocation to the department of transportation (CDOT), and spent by CDOT first to make payments due on any transportation revenue notes (TRANs) issued, subject to voter approval, as required by section 7 and, to the extent not needed for that purpose, for highway purposes or highway-related capital improvements as specified in section 6. Section 7 requires the submission of a ballot question to the voters of the state at the November 2017 statewide election, which, if approved, requires the executive director of CDOT to issue TRANs in a maximum principal amount of $3.5 billion and with a maximum repayment cost of $5.5 billion. TRANs must have a maximum repayment term of 20 years and must be paid first from the net state sales and use tax revenue paid to the state highway fund and allocated to CDOT by section 4 and thereafter from any legally available money under the control of the transportation commission. Section 8 requires TRANs proceeds to be used only to provide sufficient funding for the completion of economically and regionally significant state highway system projects throughout the state, including a specific list of projects. Section 2 eliminates required statutory transfers from the general fund to the capital construction fund and the highway users tax fund for state fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. Section 3 requires CDOT rules that govern the consideration of contractor bids for CDOT projects to require consideration of all bids submitted by prequalified contractors and prohibit shortlisting. Section 5 requires CDOT, with respect to any transportation projects for which it awards a competitively bid contract on or after July 1, 2018, to report on its public website within 30 days of the contract award and maintain on its website for at least one year thereafter all information, excluding specific corporate financial information, from all bidders submitted in response to its invitation for bids for the project.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)