The act directs the agency that regulates an occupation to dismiss an anonymous complaint that is lodged against the holder of an occupational license, certification, or registration if the complaint is based on words said or actions taken while engaged in official duties as: An elected official of Colorado or a political subdivision of Colorado; or A member of a board or commission of Colorado or a political subdivision of Colorado. If the same type of complaint is submitted, but not anonymously, the agency is authorized to dismiss the complaint. The subject of the complaint need not respond or provide evidence for the complaint to be dismissed. An exception is made for words said to or actions committed for a specific person when the license, certificate, or registration holder is speaking or acting as a member of the regulated occupation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act allows a person to operate a licensed medical marijuana business and a licensed retail marijuana business at the same location if permitted by the local licensing authority and the local jurisdiction where the businesses are located and subject to requirements regarding separation of operations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a marijuana transporter license cannot be transferred with a change of ownership. The act removes this prohibition. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a unit owner living in a common interest community (community) may grant another unit owner in the community a proxy to vote on behalf of the first unit owner at a unit owners' association (association) meeting. Also under current law, the proxy terminates after 11 months unless the proxy itself provides for an earlier or later termination date. The act limits the maximum duration of a proxy to 11 months. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds to the board of directors of the urban drainage and flood control district one director from Douglas county to be appointed by the governor as with existing director appointments representing various counties. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes changes related to the requirements for various boards and commissions (boards). Section 1 of the act includes standard provisions that generally apply to boards for which membership is based in full or in part on representation from the congressional districts of the state. Specifically, unless a statute or constitutional provision creating a board provides otherwise: If a member appointed to represent a district no longer resides in the district due solely to a change in the district's boundaries following redistricting, the member may serve the remainder of their term notwithstanding the nonresidency; If a board increases in size due to the addition of a new congressional district in the state, the appointing authority shall appoint a new member to represent the new district as soon as practicable; and If a board decreases in size due to the loss of a congressional district in the state, the appointing authority shall determine which current member's term should be terminated, or, if the member will be replaced by an at-large or other member, which member should be replaced at the expiration of the member's term. The appointing authority must attempt to ensure that the remaining membership adequately represents the remaining congressional districts. Section 2 establishes standard provisions that apply to all boards unless the statute or constitutional provision creating a board provides otherwise. The standard provisions include: Requiring an appointing authority to fill a vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term; Allowing the designee of a state official who is an ex officio member of a board to fulfill the official's duties on the board; Defining the term "minimum majority" to mean the lowest number of members of a board that is more than half; Allowing members to participate in meetings of the board remotely if allowed by a board's policies or bylaws; and Clarifying that only a partial term that is more than half the length of a standard term counts towards any applicable term limit. Sections 33 and 40 update the statutes that establish the membership of the state board of education and the board of regents of the university of Colorado, respectively, both of which are elected boards created in the state constitution. For the state board of education, section 33 provides for the election of one new member to represent the eighth congressional district and one new member from the state at large at the 2022 general election. For the board of regents, section 40 requires the election of a member to represent the eighth congressional district in place of the election of a member representing the state at large at the 2022 general election. Sections 37, 42, 52, 60, 73, 85, 86, 90, 101, and 107 amend statutes governing boards for which membership is based on the number of congressional districts in the state. For each board, the total number of members is no longer specified. Instead, each statute provides for the appointment of members from each congressional district in the state plus, as applicable, additional members as is currently provided for each board. Provisions requiring staggering of terms and limits on the number of board members who may be affiliated with a single political party are amended to refer to a "minimum majority" of the board to accommodate any future changes in board membership resulting from changes in the number of Colorado congressional districts. Section 133 repeals a statute that addressed the impact of redistricting on boards following the 2000 federal decennial census and a statute that adjusted the lengths of terms of members of certain boards in 1987. The remaining sections of the act make changes to statutory provisions governing various boards with appointed members, including: Repealing deadlines for events or actions that have already occurred; Repealing language setting specific expiration dates or requirements for board members' terms in order to create staggering of the board members' terms and replacing it with a general requirement that terms be staggered; Repealing requirements for notice and hearing before a board member can be removed for cause by an appointing authority; Repealing, for certain boards, the requirement that a board member serve until the board member's successor is confirmed by the senate; Updating archaic language to conform to current drafting standards; Reorganizing sections to clarify requirements related to appointments, qualifications for appointees, and terms of office; Clarifying requirements related to the number of board members that may be affiliated with one political party; and Making conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The federal government enacted the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal act) to provide support to state, local, and tribal governments in responding to the impact of COVID-19 and to assist them in their efforts to contain the effects of COVID-19 on their communities, residents, and businesses. Under the federal act, the state of Colorado receives over $500 million to address the housing needs of populations, households, or geographic areas disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.The act creates the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund (fund) in the state treasury. To respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 or its negative economic impacts, the act authorizes the general assembly to appropriate or transfer money from the fund to a department or cash fund for programs or services that benefit populations, households, or geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency, focusing on programs or services that address housing insecurity, lack of affordable housing, or homelessness.Three days after the effective date of the act, the state treasurer is required to transfer $550 million from the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" cash fund to the fund.The act requires the division of housing (division) within the department of local affairs (department) to use the appropriation made by the act for programs or services of the type and kind financed through the housing investment trust fund or the housing development grant fund to support the programs or services that benefit populations, households, or geographic areas disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency to obtain affordable housing, focusing on programs or services that address housing insecurity, lack of affordable and workforce housing, or homelessness, including the programs or services that are specified as authorized uses under the federal act.Three days after the effective date of the act, the state treasurer is required to transfer $1,500,000 from the fund to the eviction legal defense fund. The eviction legal defense fund is used to provide legal representation to indigent tenants to resolve civil legal matters resulting from an eviction or impending eviction caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Money transferred to the eviction legal defense fund is to be used to make grant awards to qualifying organizations that provide legal services to indigent clients.The act requires the executive committee of the legislative council, by resolution, to create a task force to meet during the 2021 interim and issue a report with recommendations to the general assembly and the governor on policies to create transformative change in the area of housing using money the state receives from the federal act. The task force may include nonlegislative members and have working groups created to assist them.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $98,500,000 to the department for use by the division. This appropriation is from the fund and of money the state received from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund. To implement the act, the division may use the appropriation for the purposes specified in the statutory provisions creating the fund.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $200,000 to the legislative department for its implementation. This appropriation is from the fund and originates from the general fund.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,500,000 to the judicial department for use by the eviction legal defense fund. This appropriation is from the eviction legal defense fund and of money the state received from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund. To implant the act, the judicial department may use the appropriation for the purpose of providing legal representation to indigent tenants.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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.)
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.)