Sen. Vicki Marble

Under current law, all managers and employees of a medical marijuana business or a retail marijuana business with day-to-day operational control must be Colorado residents when they apply for licensure. The act repeals this residency requirement. The act clarifies that all employee licenses are valid for a period not to exceed 2 years and all regulated marijuana business licenses and licenses granted to a controlling beneficial owner are valid for one year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill allows a person who has a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Colorado constitution that is infringed upon to bring a civil action for the violation. The attorney general can also bring an action under the same circumstances. A plaintiff who prevails in the lawsuit is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, and a defendant in an individual suit is entitled to reasonable attorney fees for defending any frivolous claims. Qualified immunity and a defendant's good faith but erroneous belief in the lawfulness of his or her conduct are not defenses to the civil action. The civil action has a two-year statute of limitations. The bill requires a public entity to indemnify its public employees in a claim unless the employee is convicted of a crime related to the claim.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law allows the director of the oil and gas conservation commission to delay the final determination regarding an oil and gas permit application pursuant to specified objective criteria. The bill repeals this authority and specifies that if a local government that has so-called "House Bill 1041 authority" approves an oil and gas application, the commission or director shall approve the application for a permit to drill.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value of the owner-occupied primary residence of a qualifying senior or a qualifying disabled veteran is exempt from property taxation. The bill increases the $200,000 to $435,000 for the 2020 property tax year to account for the increase in the average actual value of residential real property, excluding new residential construction when initially constructed, in the state from January 1, 2002, when the exemption for qualifying seniors first took effect, through December 31, 2019. Thereafter, the bill annually increases or decreases the amount of actual value of which 50% is exempt by a percentage equal to the percentage change in the average actual value of residential real property, excluding new construction when initially constructed, in the state, as determined by the state property tax administrator.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits an employer from requiring union membership or payment of union dues as a condition of employment. The bill creates civil and criminal penalties for employer violations regarding union membership 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.)

The bill prohibits terminating the life of an unborn child and makes a violation a class 1 felony. The following are exceptions to the prohibition: A licensed physician performs a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother, if the physician makes reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner consistent with conventional medical practice; and A licensed physician provides medical treatment, including chemotherapy or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, to the mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury to or death of the unborn child. The pregnant mother upon whom termination of the life of an unborn child is performed or attempted is not subject to a criminal penalty. The sale and use of contraception is not prohibited by the bill. A conviction related to the prohibition of the termination of the life of an unborn child constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of physician licensing. The bill states that any act, law, treaty, order, or regulation of the United States government that denies or prohibits protection of a human person's inalienable right to life is null, void, and unenforceable in this state and that the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction to interfere with Colorado's interest in protecting human life at conception when human life begins. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill amends the "Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act" (Act) by: Removing language exempting from the Act a person who boards no more than 3 pet animals at one time; Exempting from the Act any pet animal rescue that qualifies as tax exempt under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986"; Decreasing the maximum licensing fee amount that the commissioner of agriculture may charge a pet animal facility and establishing independent contractor pet groomer licensing fees in statute; and Removing language that prohibits a person from importing or causing to be imported any pet animal for the purpose of sale, resale, trade, or barter by a pet animal facility operator unless the person is licensed.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill specifies that asphalt shingles may be transported and stored in railroad cars pending delivery for recycling and pending recycling at a recycling facility and stored outside pending delivery for recycling and may be stored outside of a recycling facility pending recycling. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits an employer, including a licensed health facility, from taking adverse action against an employee or an applicant for employment based on the employee's or applicant's immunization status. The bill allows an aggrieved person to file a civil action for injunctive, affirmative, and equitable relief. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)