The act creates the economic recovery and relief cash fund (fund) which consists of money deposited in the fund from the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund. To respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts, the act allows the general assembly to appropriate or transfer money for specified uses.The act transfers $40 million to the Colorado economic development fund for the Colorado office of economic development to use $10 million of the appropriated money to incentivize small businesses to locate in rural Colorado and for the location neutral employment incentive program which provides incremental cash incentives per remote employee per year for up to 5 years to small businesses that hire new employees in designated rural areas of the state. The act specifies that the remaining appropriated money must be used, subject to the fund requirements, to provide grants to small businesses or to undertake any other economic development activity in response to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.The act requires the executive committee of the legislative council to create a task force to meet during the 2021 legislative interim and issue a report with recommendations to the general assembly and the governor on policies that use money from the fund to provide a stimulative effect to the state's economy, necessary relief for Coloradans, or that address emerging economic disparities resulting from the pandemic.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act amends Senate Bill 21-196, the bill that provides appropriations for the legislative branch for the 2021-22 state fiscal year, to increase the funding for and FTE allocated to the general assembly to allow the general assembly to provide health benefits for legislative aides.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act declares that the regulation of firearms is a matter of state and local concern. A local government is permitted to enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory. The ordinance, regulation, or law may not be less restrictive than state law. The local law may only impose a criminal penalty for a violation upon a person who knew or reasonably should have known that the person's conduct was prohibited.The act permits a local government, including a special district, and the governing board of an institution of higher education to enact an ordinance, resolution, rule, or other regulation that prohibits a permittee from carrying a concealed handgun in a building or specific area within the local government's or governing board's jurisdiction, or for a special district, in a building or specific area under the direct control or management of the district. A local law may only impose a civil penalty for a violation, and the maximum fine that may be imposed for a first offense is $50.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The length of the bill summary for this bill requires it to be published on a separate page here: https://leg.colorado.gov/sb21-260-bill-summary(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the community revitalization grant program (grant program) in the division of creative industries (division) in the office of economic development (office). The grant program is established to provide money awards to finance various projects across the state that are intended to create or revitalize mixed-use commercial centers. The grant program is intended to support creative projects in these commercial centers that would combine revitalized or newly constructed commercial spaces with public or community spaces including but not limited to certain projects specified in the act. In allocating grant money under the grant program, preference will be given to certain projects based on prioritization factors enumerated in the act. All grants awarded under this section must be encumbered no later than December 31, 2022.The division will administer the grant program in consultation with the division of local government (DLG) in the department of local affairs (DOLA). The division may contract out part of its administrative duties under the grant program to a third-party administrative entity.In connection with the administration of the grant program, the division and DLG are required to collaborate in creating a process that ensures that grants are only considered and awarded after a fair and rigorous open competition among eligible grant recipients. The division and DLG are also required to collaborate on the review of grant applications and the approval of grant awards. In connection with the review of grant applications and awards, the division must solicit input from a stakeholder group that includes representation from various groups and entities as specified in the act.On or before September 1, 2021, the director of the division, in consultation with the director of the DLG or their designees, are required to adopt polices, procedures, and guidelines for the grant program that include without limitation:Procedures and timelines by which an eligible recipient may apply for a grant; Criteria for determining grant eligibility and grant amounts; and Reporting requirements for grant recipients. The act specifies the types of projects meriting preference in the awarding of grants.The act creates the community revitalization fund (fund) in the state treasury. On the effective date of the act, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the state treasurer is required to transfer $65 million from the general fund to the fund. All money transferred is to be used for either grant awards or the costs of administering the grant program.On or before November 1, 2022, and on or before November 1, 2023, the division is required to publish a report summarizing the use of all of the money that was awarded as grants under the grant program in the preceding fiscal year. The act specifies additional required components of the report. The report must be posted on the website of the office. The act requires the office to summarize the information contained in the report in its "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearings.On June 30, 2021, if there is unexpended and unencumbered money remaining from the amount appropriated to DOLA in the 2020-21 state fiscal year for the program providing small business relief to address the negative effects of capacity limits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer $7,000,000 of the unexpended and unencumbered amount to DOLA for use by the DLG in administering the Colorado main street program.The act reduces the 2020-21 state fiscal year appropriation to DOLA for use by the DLG from $37,000,000 to $30,000,000. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $7,000,000 to DOLA for use by the DLG for the Colorado main street program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2020 property tax year, the existing statute corrects the total program mill levies for school districts that are not subject to constitutional property tax revenue restrictions but whose mill levies were erroneously reduced. Each school district that levies a higher number of mills as a result of the correction must grant a tax credit for the number of mills by which the levy is increased.The act requires the department of education to adopt a correction schedule to begin phasing out the tax credits in the 2021 property tax year. The correction schedule must apply consistently to each affected school district; must require each district's tax credit to phase out as quickly as possible, but by no more than one mill per year; and must ensure that the tax credits are fully phased out in 19 years.The act specifies that, until the general assembly determines that stabilizing the state budget no longer requires a reduction in the appropriation for the state share of total program, the general assembly shall annually ensure that the savings to the state share that occurs as a result of the decrease in the temporary property tax credits is appropriated to fund a portion of the state share of total program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act authorizes the allocation of up to $250,000 per year of the money that the public utilities commission (commission) receives from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund for contracts with outside consultants and experts.Section 2 requires an intervenor in a proceeding before the commission to disclose, and the commission to publish on its website, any corporate affiliation, receipt of funding, or other financial relationship that exists or, within the prior 2 years, existed between that intervenor and the regulated utility in the matter.Section 3 directs the commission to adopt rules to require the commission, when considering any matter before the commission, to improve equity for, minimize impacts on, and prioritize benefits to disproportionately impacted communities.Under current law, the annual fee collected from each regulated public utility to support the fixed utility fund and the telecommunications utility fund is capped at 0.25% of the public utility's gross instrastate utility operating revenue for the preceding calendar year; except that the annual fee collected from a public utility that is a telephone corporation is capped at 0.20% of the telephone corporation's gross intrastate utility operating revenue for the preceding calendar year. Section 4 raises these caps to 0.45% and 0.40%, respectively.Section 5 requires the commission, when considering electric utilities' plans for acquisition of generation facilities, to consider the economic opportunities that such acquisitions would provide for workforce transition and community assistance plans and the benefits for low-income customers and disproportionately impacted communities.Section 6 requires the commission to promulgate rules requiring qualifying retail utilities subject to the renewable energy standard to retire renewable energy credits in a manner that benefits cities, counties, and businesses in the state, enables customers to account for the environmental benefits of the renewable energy, and is consistent with timely attainment of the state's clean energy and climate goals. Section 6 also directs that utilities plan their expenditures on renewable energy and retail distributed generation so as to address historical shortfalls in benefits to low-income customers and disproportionately impacted communities before reaching the 2% statutory cap on such expenditures, with at least 40% of new expenditures allocated to this purpose between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2028.With respect to the retirement of any electric generating facility, section 7 requires an investor-owned electric utility to submit, and the commission to consider, 2 alternative net present value of revenue requirement projections, one based on using Colorado energy impact bonds and one based on not using Colorado energy impact bonds.Section 8 requires the commission, in approving a resource plan, to include the social cost of carbon dioxide with regard to a portfolio's net present value of revenue requirements.Section 9 expands the time for the commission to issue a decision on an application that is not accompanied by prefiled testimony and exhibits from 210 days to 250 days after the commission has deemed the application complete.Section 10 broadens the purposes for which a utility may seek permission to issue Colorado energy impact bonds to include not only the retirement of electric generating facilities but also other programs or projects approved by the commission, including programs or projects to mitigate the effects of extreme weather, wildfires, climate change, or other hazards, but not to include the utility's own liability for wildfire or other damages.Sections 11 and 12 make adjustments to appropriations in related acts, and section 13 makes an appropriation for the purposes of the act to draw from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund rather than from the general fund. The total amount appropriated from the fixed utility fund is $971,839, and the total reduction in general fund expenditures is $471,849.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Executive Committee of the Legislative Council. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a delay in the ability of the United States Census Bureau (Census Bureau) to deliver to the state the population and demographic data necessary to redraw election districts. The Census Bureau has indicated that the final census data will not be available for at least 6 months after the deadline contemplated in federal law. Under the current definition of "necessary census data" contained in state law, this delay prevents the independent congressional redistricting commission and the independent legislative redistricting commission (commissions) from completing their work by the deadlines in the constitution. An extended delay in finalizing the commissions' redistricting plans will make it impossible to complete all of the steps in the 2022 election procedures in time for the general election. For the commissions convened in 2021 only, the bill amends the definition of "necessary census data" to allow the preliminary and staff plans to be developed using the data on the total population by state that will be released by the Census Bureau on April 30, 2021, and other population and demographic data from federal or state sources that are approved by the commissions. Once final census data is released by the Census Bureau, the nonpartisan staff of the commission must complete adjustments for incarcerated populations required by current law within 5 days. All as soon as practicable, but no later than 10 days after the data is released. Nonpartisan staff are required to use the final data as adjusted to prepare all staff plans presented to the commissions or submitted to the Colorado supreme court after that date must use the final data as adjusted. A plan approved by the Colorado supreme court must be based on the final data as adjusted. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)