Sen. William Lindstedt

Under the "Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act" (CCIOA), every common interest community must be formed by the execution and recording of a declaration. The CCIOA does not state who is required to execute the declaration. The act clarifies that: A declaration that forms a common interest community must be executed by or with the express written authorization of the owner or owners of the real estate that is to be included in the common interest community; and Any amendment to a declaration that adds real estate to a common interest community must be executed by or with the express written authorization of the owner or owners of the real estate to be added. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act removes an automatic repeal to permit businesses licensed to sell alcohol beverages at retail by the drink to deliver these beverages or to allow the customer to take these beverages from the licensed premises after July 1, 2025. A hotel and restaurant licensee or tavern licensee is prohibited from allowing takeout and delivery of alcohol beverages in a sealed manufacturer's container without the assistance of the license holder's employee, unless the license holder is a lodging establishment. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(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/hb24-1447-bill-summary (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Under current law, the division of veterans affairs (division) in the department of military and veterans affairs has a duty to supervise county veterans service offices (county offices). The act changes the division's duty to instead monitor county offices. The act changes procedures for the division's payment to counties for the performance of certain veterans services, and requires the division to convene a working group that includes county commissioners to develop a method for distributing state-funded payments. Under current law, the board of county commissioners (board) appoints all veterans service officers and staff for county offices. The board is required to appoint a county veterans service officer, and may authorize the appointed county veterans service officer to hire additional county veterans service officers and staff as the board finds necessary. Under current law, a county veterans service officer is required to have certain military qualifications. The act requires only an appointed county veterans service officer to have these military qualifications. The act adds state certification and United States department of veterans affairs accreditation requirements in order to be a county veterans service officer and for a county veterans service officer to be eligible to serve as a claimant's representative and to assist a veteran claimant with the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim for a United States department of veterans affairs benefit. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Transportation Legislation Review Committee. The bill creates the vulnerable road user protection enterprise in the department of transportation (CDOT) for the purpose of providing funding for transportation system infrastructure improvements and other data-driven strategies identified in the federal highway administration-mandated vulnerable road user safety assessment, which CDOT is required to develop, that reduce the number of collisions with motor vehicles that result in death or serious injury to vulnerable road users (eligible projects). The enterprise is required to impose a vulnerable road user protection fee, which is imposed in tiered amounts that are calculated based on motor vehicle weight and configuration, on the registration of passenger cars and light trucks that are not commercial vehicles. Fee revenue is credited to a newly created vulnerable road user protection enterprise cash fund and continuously appropriated to the enterprise. The enterprise is authorized to provide grants, subject to specified parameters relating to grant amounts, matching money requirements, and the use of grant money, to fund eligible projects. The enterprise is required to: Publish and post on its website a 5-year plan that details how the enterprise will execute its business purpose and estimates the amount of funding that will be available to implement the plan; Create, maintain, and regularly update on its website a public accountability dashboard; and Prepare an annual report, present the report to the transportation commission and specified legislative committees, and post the report on its website.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act preempts any existing local governmental entity housing growth restriction that explicitly limits either the growth of the population in the local governmental entity's jurisdiction or the number of development permits or building permit applications for residential development or the residential component of any mixed use development submitted to, reviewed by, approved by, or issued by a governmental entity for any calendar or fiscal year and forbids the enactment or enforcement of any such future local housing growth restriction unless the governmental entity has experienced a disaster emergency, has developed or amended land use plans or land use laws covering residential development or the residential component of a mixed-use development, or is extending or acquiring public infrastructure, public services, or water resources. A governmental entity that experiences one of these events may implement a growth cap for up to 24 months in a 5-year period. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 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.)

A person applying for a marijuana license is required to pay both an application fee and a licensing fee. The act clarifies that the state licensing authority may issue a refund of a licensing fee if the marijuana license application is denied. Furthermore, the act states that the state licensing authority must retain the applicant's application fee, but a local licensing authority can choose to retain or refund an applicant's application fee. Current law requires a marijuana license applicant to obtain both a state license and local jurisdiction approval, and the state license is conditioned on local jurisdiction approval. The act provides an applicant the opportunity to renew, for up to one year, a state license that would otherwise expire because of failure to receive local jurisdiction approval at the discretion of the state licensing authority. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer from the general fund an amount equal to the unused general fund appropriation in the department of revenue's IDS print production line item at the end of state fiscal year 2022-23 to the department's marijuana cash fund. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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.)

Current law requires that certain entities submit a plan (clean energy plan) to the division of administration (division) in the department of public health and environment (department) and the public utilities commission (PUC) to reduce the entity's greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entity's electricity sales and to achieve at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the entity's Colorado retail electricity sales by 2030 relative to 2005 levels (2030 clean energy target). In addition to meeting the 2030 clean energy target, the act requires that any clean energy plan submitted to the division on or after January 1, 2024, achieve at least a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the entity's Colorado electricity sales by 2027 relative to 2005 levels if the achievement of the 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will maintain reliability and result in an incremental average annual cost of no more than 2.5% of the entity's system costs (new clean energy plan requirements). As part of any electric resource plan developed, finalized, or submitted on or after July 1, 2023, any entity that submits a clean energy plan to the division before January 1, 2024, is required to model: At least one portfolio that achieves the 2030 clean energy target; and At least one portfolio that achieves greater greenhouse gas emissions reductions than the reductions that the clean energy plan submitted before January 1, 2024, is projected to achieve by 2027 and the 2030 clean energy target. The act also requires any entity that submits a clean energy plan to the division on or after July 1, 2023, to base the entity's 2005 baseline greenhouse gas emissions, estimated 2027 greenhouse gas emissions, and estimated 2030 greenhouse gas emissions on: The greenhouse gas emissions from each resource that is used to supply electricity to the entity's retail electricity customers; and The greenhouse gas emissions from each resource that generates electricity and that is owned by the entity if the applicable greenhouse gas emissions are not otherwise required to be included in another entity's clean energy plan. The act also requires the division to independently confirm or calculate the data it uses in verifying a clean energy plan submitted to the division on or after July 1, 2023, and allow the public to access and provide comments about the data prior to the verification of a clean energy plan. No later than June 1, 2028, the division, for each entity that is required to submit a clean energy plan and does not have its electric resource planning process regulated by the PUC, must: Calculate the percentage of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions achieved by December 31, 2027, relative to 2005 levels; and Determine whether each entity has obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target. If the division determines that an entity has not obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target, no later than December 31, 2028, the entity must submit a report to the division identifying the resources that it has procured to achieve the 2030 clean energy target (report). If the entity does not submit the report on or before December 31, 2028, or if the division determines from the report that an entity has not obtained all of the resources necessary to achieve the 2030 clean energy target, the air quality control commission (AQCC) shall adopt rules that limit the greenhouse gas emissions by the entity to ensure that the entity achieves the 2030 clean energy target and the division shall amend any of the entity's operating permits for sources of greenhouse gas emissions to ensure that the entity achieves the 2030 clean energy target. The act also requires: If a utility's Colorado electricity sales between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, are equal to or greater than 300,000 megawatt-hours, the utility to submit a clean energy plan to the division; and The owner of an electric generating unit that has a nameplate capacity equal to or larger than 50 megawatts and emits greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere to submit a clean energy plan to the division that covers all greenhouse gas emissions from the unit that are not otherwise required to be included in the clean energy plan of another entity. Any entity required to submit a clean energy plan to the division may designate another entity to submit a clean energy plan on its behalf or submit a joint clean energy plan with another entity. No later than October 1, 2024, the division shall submit a report to the general assembly that includes certain data regarding which electric utilities have submitted clean energy plans to the division and the electricity generation resources that are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in the state. No later than December 31, 2024, the division shall issue guidance specifying the manner in which the division will track and account for greenhouse gas emissions associated with electric utility transactions in organized markets. No later than March 31, 2026, any entity that is required to submit a clean energy plan may inform the division in writing of any challenges that the entity is encountering in achieving the 2030 clean energy target (challenges). If an entity informs the division of any challenges, the division and the Colorado energy office must hold at least one stakeholder meeting in 2026 to discuss the challenges. If the entity informs the division that the entity is still encountering challenges after the stakeholder meeting, no later than December 31, 2026, the division shall report the challenges to the general assembly. The act defines "cooperative retail electric utility" as a retail electric utility that has: Indicated an intent to submit or, on or after December 1, 2020, has submitted a clean energy plan; and Provided a non-conditional notice that it is withdrawing from a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative after January 1, 2021, or enters into a partial requirements contract with a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative to obtain more than 5% of its firm capacity supply from a greenhouse-gas-emitting generation source other than the cooperative retail electric utility's wholesale generation and transmission cooperative (cooperative retail electric utility) provider. A cooperative retail electric utility must submit a clean energy plan to the division no later than 24 months after ceasing to be a member of a wholesale generation and transmission cooperative or after the date that a partial requirements contract begins. The division shall verify, in consultation with the PUC, that the cooperative retail electric utility meets the new clean energy plan requirements and the 2030 clean energy target. Upon the request of the cooperative retail electric utility, certain entities must provide any emissions data in their possession that is necessary for the cooperative retail electric utility to develop and submit a clean energy plan to the division. The act also defines "wholesale power marketer" as an entity operating in the state that supplies wholesale capacity or energy to a retail electric utility located in the state and that supplies 300,000 megawatt-hours or more of electricity to entities in the state annually (wholesale power marketer). A wholesale power marketer must submit a clean energy plan with the division if, on or after July 1, 2023: The wholesale power marketer sells, provides, arranges for, or contracts for the delivery of capacity or energy to a retail electric utility in the state; and The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the retail electric utility's operations are not otherwise required to be included in another entity's clean energy plan. The division must verify, in consultation with the PUC, that any clean energy plan submitted by a wholesale power marketer meets the new clean energy plan requirements and the 2030 clean energy target. A wholesale power marketer that supplies electricity to any entity must, upon request of the entity, provide any emissions data in its possession that is necessary for the entity to develop and submit a clean energy plan to the division. The act also defines "new electric utility" as any new electric utility that is incorporated, created, or otherwise formed on or after July 1, 2023, that: Serves retail customers in the state; and Sells 300,000 megawatt-hours or more of electricity in its first year of operation (new electric utility). A new electric utility must submit a clean energy plan to the division no later than 2 years after being incorporated, created, or otherwise formed. If a new electric utility does not submit a clean energy plan to the division within this time, the AQCC shall adopt rules to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by the new electric utility to ensure that the new electric utility meets the new clean energy plan requirements and the 2030 clean energy target. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $276,384 from the general fund to the department for the following uses: $189,420 for use by the air pollution control division for personal services related to stationary sources; $23,520 for use by the air pollution control division for operating expenses related to stationary sources; and $63,444 for legal services. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act modifies the definition of "qualified local expenditure" for purposes of the performance-based incentive for film production in Colorado to include payment by a production company to a personal services corporation to pay the wages or salaries of an employee-owner of the personal service corporation. "Personal service corporation" and "employee-owner of a personal service corporation" have the same meaning as set forth in the internal revenue code. A payment by a production company to a personal service corporation is a qualified local expenditure only if the production company documents the payment in an information income tax return. Payments in excess of $1 million per calendar year per personal service corporation are excluded from the calculation of the performance-based incentive. The changes related to the definition of employee and withholding requirements made in the act apply to income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024. The act adds the new information income tax return requirement for production companies to state income tax law and specifies that a production company is generally not required to deduct and withhold state income tax from a payment to a personal service corporation for services. However, if the information return fails to provide a taxpayer identification number for the personal service corporation that can be validated through the taxpayer identification number matching program administered by the internal revenue service, or provides a taxpayer identification number issued for a nonresident alien, then such deduction, withholding, and payment of state income tax to the department of revenue is required. The act also eliminates the withholding exemption for a payment to a nonresident individual who performs services in connection with a film production for less than 120 days in a calendar year. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 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.)

Current law prohibits a licensed retail marijuana store from selling retail marijuana or retail marijuana products over the internet or through delivery. The act allows a licensed retail marijuana store to accept payment online for the sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products. An individual must be physically present on the retail marijuana store's licensed premises to take possession of the purchased retail marijuana or retail marijuana product. The retail marijuana store must verify that the individual who takes possession of the marijuana is at least 21 years of age and is the same individual who made the online payment and ensure that an individual purchasing retail marijuana or retail marijuana products online is provided with digital versions of all warnings or educational materials that the retail marijuana store is required to post and provide on its licensed premises. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 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.)