Sen. Steve Fenberg

The bill allows persons who were convicted of misdemeanors for the use or possession of marijuana to petition for the sealing of criminal records relating to such convictions if their behavior would not have been a criminal offense if the behavior had occurred on or after December 10, 2012. The court shall order the record sealed after the filing fees are paid, the petitioner establishes the offense is eligible for sealing, and the petition is posted on the website of the state court administrator for 30 days. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill provides that the state board of education may issue an alternative teacher license to an applicant who agrees to participate fully in a one- or 2-year alternative teacher program provided by a designated agency, which may include working in a nonpublic child care facility or other preschool facility. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Sunset Process - Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. The bill implements the recommendations of the sunset review and report on the licensing of bingo and other games of chance through the secretary of state by: Extending the automatic termination date of the Colorado bingo-raffle advisory board to September 1, 2026, pursuant to the sunset law ( section 1 of the bill); Reducing the number of times that the board must meet each year from 6 to 2; Specifying that a person whose license has been revoked or surrendered in lieu of revocation must wait for 3 years to reapply for a license; Clarifying that a licensee may not change the location of a pull-tab device without the secretary's approval; Prohibiting a person who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving gambling from being a games manager, caller, or caller assistant; Allowing a person who has not been convicted within the previous 10 years of a felony or a gambling-related offense to apply for a license; Authorizing a bingo-raffle licensee to presell tickets to a charitable gaming event; Increasing the number of bingo cards that a player may use from 36 to 54; Clarifying that licensees may donate bingo equipment to entities that offer free bingo and other licensees; and Making a variety of technical changes to the law. The bill also relocates the bingo-raffle law from the title governing professions and occupations to the secretary of state's article ( section 2 ).(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

At the 2016 general election, the voters of the state approved 2 initiated measures affecting primary elections: Proposition 107, which restored a presidential primary election, and Proposition 108, which allows participation by unaffiliated voters in primary elections. The bill makes several modifications to some of the statutory provisions that were affected by Propositions 107 and 108 in the following respects for the purpose of facilitating the effective implementation of the state's election laws: Section 1 of the bill adds to the list of questions that a prospective elector who is unaffiliated with a political party may answer prior to registering to vote by means of paper registration to include what political party, if any, whose primary election ballot the elector desires to receive in the mail. For a regular primary election, section 2 requires the county clerk and recorder to send to all active electors in the county who have not declared an affiliation or provided a ballot preference with a political party a mailing that contains the ballots of all the major political parties and eliminates the use of a single combined ballot for regular primary elections.. Section 3 requires the governor to consult the secretary of state (secretary) in selecting the date of the presidential primary election. This section requires, for a presidential primary election, the county clerk and recorder to send to all active electors in the county who have not declared an affiliation or provided a ballot preference with a political party a ballot packet that contains the ballots of all the major political parties as with a regular primary election; authorizes the secretary to adopt by rule additional ballot requirements to avoid voter confusion in presidential primary elections; and repeals provisions requiring the state to reimburse the counties for expenses incurred in connection with the preparation and conduct of presidential primary elections in lieu of the provisions in section 6. Section 4 moves the deadline by which a candidate in the presidential primary election is to submit to the secretary required filing materials to run in the primary election from the second day of January in the year of the primary election to 85 days before the date of the primary election. This section also requires challenges to the listing of a candidate on the presidential primary ballot to be filed with the district court, as with other election challenges, and not the secretary. . In the case of a primary mail ballot election, section 5 deletes an existing statutory requirement that a notice be sent advising eligible electors who are not affiliated with a political party of the ability to vote in the primary election of any political party. This section of the bill also modifies existing law requiring mail ballot packets in a primary mail ballot election to be mailed only to those active registered electors who are affiliated with a political party that is participating in the election to require that the mail ballot packet be mailed only to active registered electors. Section 6 requires the county clerk and recorder or designated election official to record in the statewide voter registration system the names and precinct numbers of eligible electors, together with the date on which the mail ballot was sent and the date on which each mail ballot was returned or otherwise cast. For unaffiliated electors in a primary election, the bill requires the county clerk and recorder to record which political party's ballot the elector cast. If a mail ballot is not returned or otherwise cast, or if it is rejected and not counted, that fact must be recorded in the statewide voter registration system. The information is subject to public inspection under applicable laws and rules. 7 requires the general assembly to appropriate money from the state's general fund to cover the costs of the election incurred by the state arising from the preparation and conduct of a presidential primary election. Section 8 appropriates $208,811 from the department of state cash fund for the 2017-18 state fiscal year. To implement the act, the department of state may use $180,456 of the appropriation for personal services for information technology services and $28,355 of the appropriation for operating expenses for the elections division.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

To promote demand-side management programs for electricity, the public utilities commission (commission) was authorized in 2007 to establish the following electricity goals for investor-owned electric utilities to achieve by 2018: A demonstrated reduction of peak demand by at least 5% of the retail peak demand level in 2006; and Demonstrated energy savings of at least 5% compared to the energy sales in 2006. The bill extends the programs to 2028 and requires the commission to set goals of at least 5% peak demand reduction and 5% energy savings by 2028 for demand-side management programs implemented during 2019 through 2028 when compared to 2018 numbers. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Section 1 of the bill provides a nonstatutory legislative declaration. Section 2 adds 'preference point' to the documents listed under the definition of 'license'. Sections 3 and 18 add 'sponsorships' and 'donations' to the list of money transfers that the parks and wildlife commission (commission) is authorized to receive and expend. Section 3 also adds 'contributions'. Section 4 requires the commission, in using revenue generated from increased license fee amounts authorized by the bill for property purchases, to emphasize easement acquisition and ensure other avenues have been pursued before fee simple acquisition of property. Sections 6, 15, 16, and 19 raise the maximum fee amounts that the commission may assess by rule for certain licenses, permits, and passes. Sections 6, 15, 16, and 19 also authorize the commission to apply a consumer price index adjustment to a fee that has been set at the maximum fee amount allowed, which fee adjustment does not count toward the maximum fee amounts set. Section 7 allows the division of parks and wildlife (division) to grant up to 25% of the money derived from sales of the state migratory waterfowl stamp to nonprofit organizations implementing the North American waterfowl management plan, for the sole benefit of migratory waterfowl habitat conservation and related capital improvements. Section 8 removes references to the fee assessed for the youth small game hunting license since the maximum fee amount for the license is listed in another part of statute. Section 8 also authorizes the commission to establish by rule a special licensing program for young adult hunters and anglers and requires that, if the commission establishes such a licensing program by rule, the commission must define 'young adult' in a manner that does not include adults 26 years of age or older. Section 9 changes the name of the wildlife management public education advisory council to the wildlife council. Section 10 requires the division to prepare reports on the status of certain license fee increases that the commission is authorized to promulgate pursuant to the bill and nonconsumptive users' use of division-managed land, and to present the reports to the agriculture committees in the house of representatives and the senate. Section 11 increases the fine imposed against a person who violates a wildlife statute or rule that does not have a specific penalty listed for the violation from $50 to $100. Section 12 requires all fines collected for violations of wildlife provisions to be split equally between the general fund and the wildlife cash fund; except that, once the general fund has been credited $214,174 of the fines, all of the fines collected thereafter are credited to the wildlife cash fund. Similarly, section 27 requires all fines collected for violations of parks and recreation provisions to be split between the general fund and the wildlife cash fund; except that, once the general fund has been credited $6,250 of the fines, all of the fines collected thereafter are credited to the wildlife cash fund. Section 13 raises the penalty for a number of wildlife-license-related offenses to an amount equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for the species. Section 13 also clarifies that engaging in conduct that requires a license without a license is a violation subject to an assessment of 5 license suspension points and a fine amount equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license issued for the activity that the person unlawfully engaged in without the requisite license; except that a violation based on fishing without a license is subject to a $125 fine and an assessment of 10 license suspension points. Section 13 also raises the age for youth who are exempted from having to obtain a fishing license from youth under 16 years of age to youth under 18 years of age. Section 14 increases the fine for unlawfully transporting, importing, exporting, or releasing native wildlife from $50 to $150. Section 25 requires a person to purchase an aquatic nuisance species sticker to operate or use a vessel on the waters of the state or possess a vessel at a vessel staging area. The fees collected on the sale of aquatic nuisance species stickers are credited to the division of parks and wildlife aquatic nuisance species fund to help fund inspections of vessels and associated conveyances for the presence of aquatic nuisance species, decontamination of vessels or conveyances with the presence of aquatic nuisance species, lake monitoring for the presence of aquatic nuisance species, and outreach efforts. Under current law, 'pass' or 'registration' is defined as a document issued by the division authorizing the use of land or water under the division's control. Section 17 adds 'sticker' to the definition to encompass the aquatic nuisance species sticker created in section 23. Section 20 establishes that a violation of the requirement to obtain an aquatic nuisance species sticker is a class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine equal to twice the cost of a nonresident motorboat or sailboat aquatic nuisance species sticker. Section 21 repeals the division of wildlife aquatic nuisance species fund and renames the division of parks and outdoor recreation aquatic nuisance species fund as the division of parks and wildlife aquatic nuisance species fund, combining the 2 existing funds into one fund. Sections 5 and 28 make conforming amendments regarding the combining of the 2 funds into one renamed fund. Section 22 removes the $5 cap on the fee that the division may charge a person for replacement of a lost or destroyed pass or registration. The fee is set at 50% of the cost of the original pass or registration. Section 24 defines 'nonmotorboat' and 'stand-up paddleboard', and redefines 'sailboat' to exclude a sailboard for purposes of obtaining an aquatic nuisance species sticker. Section 26 changes the penalty for a violation of statutes and rules concerning parks and recreation for which a specific penalty is not listed from a class 2 petty offense to a misdemeanor and raises the fine from $50 to $100. Section 23 establishes that engaging in certain unlawful conduct involving a permit, pass, license, registration, or sticker issued by the division is a misdemeanor violation subject to a $200 fine.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

For purposes of the 'Fair Campaign Practices Act', an independent expenditure committee is one or more persons that make an independent expenditure in excess of $1,000 or that collect in excess of $1,000 for the purpose of making an independent expenditure. An independent expenditure is an expenditure that is not controlled by or coordinated with any candidate or agent of such candidate. The bill prohibits a candidate or candidate committee from establishing, financing, or maintaining an independent expenditure committee to receive contributions or make expenditures for or against any candidate for the same office in the same district or, in the case of a statewide candidate, for or against any candidate for the same statewide office. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

With respect to an application screening fee that a landlord may charge a prospective tenant, the bill: Limits the fee to cover the landlord's actual costs; Requires the landlord to provide any person who has paid the fee with either a disclosure of the landlord's anticipated expenses for which the fee will be used or a receipt that itemizes the landlord's actual expenses incurred. The landlord may provide the person with an electronic receipt, unless the person requests a paper receipt. Requires the landlord to return any amount of the fee that is not used as authorized by law; and Establishes a penalty for a landlord that does not comply with the requirements related to the fee. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)