Sen. Jeff Bridges

The act extends the time period to offer eligible individuals the opportunity to work in transitional jobs for 5 additional years. The act extends the repeal date of the transitional jobs program from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2030. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 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.)

The act directs the state court administrator's office to reimburse counties located in the eighteenth judicial district for expenses related to establishing a district attorney's office in the new twenty-third judicial district. The act appropriates $668,600 to the judicial department. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In order to allow the department of military and veterans affairs (department) to impose charges for the charging of electric vehicles using electric vehicle services equipment (equipment) provided by the department at Colorado National Guard facilities and to use the revenue to fund the ongoing operation of the equipment, the act: Creates the electric vehicle service equipment fund (fund); Requires all money received by the department from such charges to be credited to the fund; Authorizes the department to accept gifts, grants, and donations to be credited to the fund; Subject to annual appropriation, authorizes the department to expend money from the fund to defray the costs associated with operation of the equipment; and Appropriates $50,000 from the fund to the department for state fiscal year 2023-24. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Starting April 1, 2024, the act allows the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment (department) to use money in the wage theft enforcement fund (fund) to pay employees who are owed money from their employers due to obligations and liabilities related to the payment of wages or other compensation. The division may pay an employee if an employer fails to fulfill an order by the division to pay the employee that results from a wage claim or an investigation: Within 6 months after the division issues a citation and notice of assessment to the employer; or If the employer requests a hearing, within 6 months after the hearing officer issues a decision. The act specifies that after the division pays the employee: The employee cannot recover that payment amount from the employer; The division replaces the employee as creditor and shall continue to pursue the payment from the employer; and Any money recovered from the employer by the division will be credited to the fund. The act requires the division to promulgate rules specifying procedures and criteria for employees to request payments and for the division to make determinations on employee requests. The act continuously appropriates money in the fund to the division for the purpose of making payments to employees for unpaid liabilities, but for purposes of the division's direct and indirect costs implementing wage laws, the money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly. The act excludes the fund from the limit on cash fund reserves. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $12,657 from the fund to the department for use by the department's office of the executive director for personal services. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the maximum length of an employment contract between a state system of higher education, or a campus of a state institution of higher education, and an individual who has a non-tenure-track classroom teaching or librarian appointment from 3 years to 5 years. APPROVED by Governor March 23, 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.)

The act requires a motor vehicle driver to move to one lane apart from a stationary motor vehicle when the stationary motor vehicle has its hazard lights activated, 2 lanes move in the same direction, and the driver is able to move to the lane apart. If a driver cannot move to be one lane apart from the stationary motor vehicle, the driver must slow down and drive at a safe speed. APPROVED by Governor March 17, 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.)

The act removes a reference to the water resources and agriculture review committee (committee) being an interim committee and removes an outdated reference to past legislation in the legislative declaration. The act also removes limitations on the number of meetings and the number of field trips the committee may hold in a calendar year and requires the committee to meet at least 4 times during each calendar year. APPROVED by Governor March 10, 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.)

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the Colorado economic development fund and requires the Colorado office of economic development (office) to use the transferred money in connection with the federal "Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022". The act also requires the office to submit an annual report to the joint budget committee detailing how the office is expending the transferred money. APPROVED by Governor March 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE March 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

With exceptions for the departments of law, state, and the treasury, an executive branch agency and, for a project that is state-funded only, a state-supported institution of higher education is required to submit a budget request for an information technology project to the joint technology committee (JTC) as part of the budget process. In addition, the joint budget committee (JBC) may ask the JTC to review any budget request for an information technology project that was not required to be submitted to the JTC and instead was submitted directly to the JBC. The act clarifies that a review by the JTC as requested by the JBC may include a request for an information technology project submitted to the JBC by the legislative or judicial department, the department of law, the department of state, or the department of the treasury. The act requires the JTC to oversee any such information technology project that receives an appropriation from the information technology account (account) within the capital construction fund. The act also clarifies that the general assembly may appropriate money in the account for information technology projects that are not subject to review by the JTC and instead are submitted directly to the JBC by the legislative or judicial department, the department of law, the department of state, or the department of the treasury. APPROVED by Governor March 3, 2023 EFFECTIVE March 3, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)