The fire and police pension association (association) administers a number of retirement plans for police officers and firefighters throughout the state, including the statewide defined benefit plan, the statewide hybrid plan, and the social security supplemental plan. Effective January 1, 2023, the act merges these 3 plans into separate components of a new plan to be known as the "statewide retirement plan". The act provides for the following with respect to the statewide retirement plan: The administration of the plan by the association; The deposit and investment of funds for the plan; Membership requirements; Employer and member contribution rates for each component of the plan, including phased future increases for specified rates; The purchase of service credit by members; Vesting and retirement eligibility requirements; Annual actuarial valuation of the plan; Actions that may be taken by the board of the association to ensure that the plan is fully funded on an actuarially sound basis; Pension and optional survivor benefits; Late and deferred retirement options; Cost of living adjustments; Refunds of contributions to members; and Modification of the plan by the board of the association. The act also: Provides for the confidentiality of information contained in the records of members of the association; Extends the deadline to file an application for disability; and Makes conforming amendments to and repeals portions of the existing statutes governing the statewide defined benefit plan, the statewide hybrid plan, and the social security supplemental plan.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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For some, but not all, exemptions from state and state-collected local sales and use taxes, a person who wishes to establish the right to obtain an exemption is either explicitly required by state law or required by the department of revenue (department) as it administers and enforces state law to complete a form created by the department, which, depending on which exemption is sought, may be described as an affidavit, application, certificate, certification, declaration, or statement. The act requires the department to examine its forms and requirements relating to their use and, to the extent feasible without impairing the proper administration of the exemptions, simplify the forms and related requirements for persons making tax-exempt purchases. Exceptions to existing statutory requirements relating to the forms are made for any simplifications made by the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill prohibits the unit owners' association of a common interest community from increasing by more than 10% in any 12-month period the amount of any fee that is charged on a regular and ongoing basis for the use, rental, or operation of one or more common elements unless a majority of the unit owners of the common interest community approve the fee increase. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
State sales tax is currently calculated based on the buyer's address when the taxable product or service is delivered to a consumer, and this is known as destination sourcing. There is an exception that allows small retailers with less than $100,000 of retail sales to source their sales to the business' location regardless of where a purchaser receives the tangible personal property or service. The act extends the repeal of this exception from February 1, 2022, until October 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Before the act was passed, the law provided for an electronic system to transmit registration, lien, and titling information to the department of revenue (department).The act imposes a per-transaction fee up to $3, set by the department, on third-party providers that issue registrations and titles to administer the system. This fee will also be set and collected to reimburse the general fund for the $1,631,792 appropriated to implement the system.The general assembly is authorized to make an appropriation from the general fund or the highway users tax fund to fund the system. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $1,631,792 is appropriated from the general fund to the department.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the alcohol beverage production limits for distillery pubs and vintner's restaurants, per calendar year:From 45,000 liters to 875,000 liters of spirituous liquor for distillery pubs; and From 250,000 gallons to 925,000 gallons of wine for vintner's restaurants.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act moves the broadband deployment board (board) from the department of regulatory agencies (department) to the office of information technology (office) and, on September 1, 2021, reduces the membership of the board from 16 to 11 members.The board is required to develop a request for proposal process through which the board will solicit bids for proposed projects that serve critically unserved areas of the state identified by the office. The board is required to reserve up to 60% of the money from the high cost support mechanism that is allocated for broadband deployment to award grants to proposed projects solicited through the request for proposal process. "Critically unserved" is defined in the act to mean a household or area that lacks access to at least one provider of nonsatellite broadband service delivered at measurable speeds of at least 10 megabits per second downstream and one megabit per second upstream or at measurable speeds of at least one-half of the minimum measurable speeds that qualify as broadband under the federal communications commission's definition, rounded up, whichever is faster.The act also:Requires an applicant or appellant to submit either written certification from a local entity indicating that the area to be served by the applicant's project is an unserved area or a statistically representative number of speed tests performed on an incumbent provider's network and conducted in accordance with industry-standard speed-test protocols; Gives additional consideration to proposed projects that would give discounted service for low-income households; Contractually requires an applicant receiving a grant award to: Report annually on the number of homes and businesses served by the grant-supported broadband network, the number of homes and businesses expected to be served in the following year, and the speeds, rates, and services offered to customers through the grant-supported broadband network; and Provide third-party performance-testing certification, after the grant money has been fully expended, that the project meets the original design of, and provides the measurable speeds, rates, and services set forth in, the application. Requires an applicant or appellant to submit to the office, in a form and manner determined by the office, certain granular mapping data, which data is not a public record under the "Colorado Open Records Act"; and Uses the request for proposal process, or a substantially similar process, for the disbursement of any federal money the board receives for broadband deployment projects and programs so long as using the request for proposal process complies with federal requirements for use of the money. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act transfers $202,504 of the appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act from the department of regulator agencies to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a bank to use a certified or licensed appraiser when including property in its financial balance sheet unless the property is initially valued at $250,000 or less. The act deletes the dollar-value limit and changes the exemption to a value consistent with federal requirements and established pursuant to rules of the state banking board.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The career development success program provides financial incentives for participating school districts and participating charter schools to encourage pupils enrolled in grades 9 through 12 to enroll in and successfully complete qualified industry-credential programs; qualified internship, residency, or construction industry pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs; and qualified advanced placement courses (programs and courses). The act amends the list of qualified programs by removing residency programs and expanding pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to include any industry program, not just construction industry programs.The act expands the definition of a qualified industry-credential program to include a career and technical education program that, upon completion, results in an industry-recognized credential with labor market value aligned with a high-skill, high-wage, in-demand job.Current law requires the work force development council (council) to identify the qualified programs and courses by identifying the jobs included in the Colorado talent report with the greatest regional and state demand, including jobs in in-demand industries. The act requires the council to consult with relevant industries to identify the programs and courses by identifying high-skill, high-wage jobs in in-demand industries that have labor market value. Any programs and courses the council determines do not demonstrate labor market value may be removed from the council's website.Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, and each school year thereafter, the department of education (department), in coordination with the department of labor and employment, the department of higher education, the Colorado community college system, and employers from in-demand industries, shall identify the top 10 industry-recognized credentials that may be awarded to high school students. For each identified credential, the department shall specify how the courses taken to earn the credential align with the state academic standards.The act requires each participating school district, each nonparticipating school district on behalf of its participating charter schools, and the state charter school institute on behalf of each participating institute charter school to report to the department the total number of pupils who successfully complete a program or course, disaggregated by each student's race, ethnicity, and gender, and whether each student is a student with a disability, an English language learner, or eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.Current law requires each participating school district and each participating charter school to regularly communicate to all high school students the availability of programs and courses and the benefits a student receives as a result of successfully completing one of the programs or courses. The act expands this requirement to all middle school students and the students' families.The act requires each participating school district and each participating charter school to communicate how industry-recognized credentials and guaranteed-transfer pathways courses that are included in such credentials are aligned with postsecondary degrees and high-skill, high-wage, in-demand jobs, and the top 10 industry-recognized credentials identified by the department. The communications must be provided in a language that the students and the students' families understand.The act updates the department's annual reporting requirements to the general assembly to include:Whether the students participating in the programs and courses enlisted in the military or entered the workforce after graduation; How money received under the career development success program was used to promote the availability of programs and courses; and How the participating school district or participating charter school determined which programs and courses to offer, including how the programs and courses are aligned with local workforce needs. No later than July 1, 2022, the department, in collaboration with the Colorado community college system, shall publish and disseminate materials through existing and relevant platforms used to engage with districts that include, at a minimum, the top 10 industry-recognized credentials and a sample communications plan for how a participating school district or participating charter school may communicate the value of credentials and experiences to students and families.The act requires participating school districts and participating charter schools to utilize program funding to promote access to programs and courses.The act requires the return on investment report to include information specifically identifying the number of high school students enrolled and the number of degrees and certificates awarded through the career development success program.The act appropriates $20,000 from the general fund to the department of education to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)