For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act transfers:$191,289,178 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; $110,000,000 from the general fund to the controlled maintenance trust fund to be appropriated in the 2022-23 state fiscal year for controlled maintenance budget requests prioritized by the office of the state architect as level one and level two priority projects; $8,000,000 from the emergency controlled maintenance account to the capital construction fund; $27,040,302 from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund; and $500,000 from the general fund exempt account of the general fund to the capital construction fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under current law, revenue from an assessment on employers' unemployment insurance premiums, not to exceed $10 million per year and not to exceed cumulative revenue of $100 million, is allocated to the employment and training technology fund (technology fund) in the division of unemployment insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment to fund employment and training automation initiatives established by the director of the division. Any amount of revenues from the assessment that exceeds the $10 million annual cap or the $100 million cumulative revenue cap is allocated to the unemployment compensation fund. Additionally, if the balance in the unemployment compensation fund falls below $100 million, the balance in the technology fund is allocated to the unemployment compensation fund.The act:Eliminates the allocation of the technology fund balance to the unemployment compensation fund when the unemployment compensation fund balance falls below $100 million; Eliminates the $10 million cap on annual allocations to the technology fund and adds a new $7 million annual cap starting July 1, 2023; Adds a cap of $31 million on cumulative revenue to the technology fund until June 30, 2023; Transfers any amounts credited to and remaining in the technology fund between July 1, 2020, and the effective date of the act to the unemployment compensation fund; and Repeals the assessment for the technology fund on June 30, 2031.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the definition of the term "residential land" for the purpose of property tax classification. Currently, a parcel of land without a residential improvement is classified as residential land if it is contiguous with a parcel of land under common ownership upon which a residential improvement is located and if it is used as a unit in conjunction with the residential improvements located thereon. The act modifies classification for this type of parcel by:Requiring the parcel to have the identical owner as the adjacent parcel based on the record title; Requiring the parcel to have a related improvement that is essential to the use of a residential improvement located on the identically owned contiguous residential land; and Specifying that contiguity in this instance is not interrupted by an intervening local service street, alley, or common element in a common-interest community. The act also removes from the definition parcels of land in a residential subdivision, the exclusive use of which land is established by the ownership of such residential improvements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act ensures that clean energy resources and energy storage systems used to store electricity are assessed for valuation for the purpose of property taxation in a similar manner to renewable energy facility property used to generate and deliver electricity. The act also modifies the income approach for certain renewable energy facilities by extending the"tax factor" from a 20-year period to a 30-year period. It also specifies that after the 20- or 30-year period, as applicable, a tax factor is not applied and the taxable value shall not exceed the depreciated value floor calculated using the cost basis method. The administrator is also required to utilize the income approach for solar energy facilities that generate 2 megawatts or less, so that similar facilities will be valued in the same manner.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill requires the public utilities commission (PUC) to adopt by rule, no later than July 31, 2022, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction programs (reduction programs) for large natural gas utilities (those that have at least 250,000 customer accounts in Colorado) and small natural gas utilities (those that have fewer than 250,000 customer accounts in Colorado) (collectively, utilities). Municipally owned utilities may, but need not, participate in a reduction program. The rules must include reporting requirements and a process for utilities to fully recover qualified investments, which are prudently incurred costs associated with a reduction program. The bill establishes the following GHG emission reduction targets, using a utility's 2019 GHG emissions as a baseline: By January 1, 2025, at least 5%; By January 1, 2030, at least 10%; and On and after January 1, 2035, at least 15%. GHG emission reductions from the delivery of natural gas to other utilities and transportation sector retail customers are excluded from the reduction programs. The following sources of GHG emission reductions are included in the reduction programs: Methane leaked from the transportation and delivery of natural gas from natural gas distribution and service pipelines; and Carbon dioxide emitted by the utility's retail customers (other than those in the transportation sector) as a result of the combustion of natural gas delivered by the utility. GHG emission reductions can be achieved by: Using renewable natural gas, which must account for at least 35% of the emission reductions; Emission offsets; Methane emission reductions from a variety of mechanisms; and Other programs developed by the utility and approved by the PUC that demonstrate GHG emission reductions. If a large utility's total incremental annual cost to meet the GHG emission reduction targets exceeds 2% of the large utility's total revenue requirement for a particular year, the large utility shall not make additional qualified investments under the reduction program for that year without approval from the PUC. Small utilities may opt in to the reduction program as established by the PUC by rule. The rule must include tradeable credits and a rate cap limiting the small utility's costs of making qualified investments. For included emission reductions and until 2025, a utility participating in a reduction program is not subject to any additional GHG emission reduction requirements or required to incur any additional costs under Colorado's generally applicable GHG emission reduction requirements if the utility: Files with the PUC a plan that contains approvable and cost-effective programs that make progress toward the GHG emission reduction targets and are projected to meet either the applicable emission reduction targets or the applicable retail rate impact; Reports GHG emission reductions consistent with the accounting methodology established by the division of administration in the department of public health and environment; and Is either projected to meet the GHG emission reduction targets in an applicable year or the PUC finds that the projected costs to achieve the emission reductions have met the applicable retail rate impact. The bill gives the oil and gas conservation commission the authority to authorize class VI injection permits, which authorize the deep sequestration of carbon dioxide. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires that firearms be responsibly and securely stored when they are not in use to prevent access by unsupervised juveniles and other unauthorized users. The bill creates the offense of unlawful storage of a firearm if a person stores a firearm in a manner that the person knows, or should know: That a juvenile can gain access to the firearm without the permission of the juvenile's parent or guardian; or A resident of the premises is ineligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law. Unlawful storage of a firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor. The bill requires licensed gun dealers to provide with each firearm, at the time of a firearm sale or transfer, a locking device capable of securing the firearm. Transferring a firearm without a locking device is an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $500 fine. The bill requires the state court administrator to annually report to the general assembly about the number of charges related to unsafe firearms storage and the disposition of those charges. The bill requires the office of suicide prevention within the department of public health and environment (department) to include on its website, and in materials provided to firearms-related businesses and health care providers, information about the offense of unlawful storage of a firearm, penalties for providing a handgun to a juvenile or allowing a juvenile to possess a firearm, and the requirement that gun dealers provide a locking device with each firearm transferred. Subject to available money, the department is required to develop and implement a firearms safe storage education campaign to educate the public about the safe storage of firearms, and state requirements related to firearms safety and storage, and information about voluntary temporary firearms storage programs . (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The act defines and exempts a financial organization loyalty card from the property that is subject to the "Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act". The act also repeals the presumption of abandonment in the act that took effect on July 1, 2020, for demand, savings, or time deposits with a financial organization, and replaces it by reenacting the similar version that was in effect prior to July 1, 2020, which has the same 5-year period for property to be presumed abandoned but has different owner activities that rebut the presumption of abandonment. The act also delays the time that a financial organization is required to deliver this property to the administrator if a penalty or forfeiture in the payment of interest would result from the delivery of the property. With respect to the administrator's reporting of information about an apparent owner, the act:Repeals the requirement that the administrator's record of persons, which includes the apparent owner's name and last-known address, be available for inspection; and Repeals the administrator's authority to identify the physical address of an apparent owner in published notices and on the website.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the requirement for the 2021-22 fiscal year that the annual appropriations for higher education student financial assistance increase by at least the same percentage as the aggregate percentage increase of all general fund appropriations to institutions of higher education. The act clarifies that this standard increase will not apply to appropriations for the 2021-22 fiscal year for increases in funding for the institutions of higher education that restore aggregate general fund appropriations to a level at or below the level of such appropriations for the 2019-20 fiscal year. Furthermore, for the 2021-22 fiscal year, the standard formula will be calculated based on 2020-21 fiscal year financial aid appropriations during the 2020 legislative session and does not include supplemental appropriations for financial aid during the 2021 legislative session.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $6 million from the general fund to the forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grant program cash fund.The state treasurer is also required to transfer $3 million from the general fund to the wildfire preparedness fund. The division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety is required to use this money:As the state match for federal hazard mitigation assistance grants to local governments that are used to mitigate wildland fire hazards; and To provide local governments that are eligible to receive the federal grants with strategic planning assistance for wildland fire hazard mitigation. The state treasurer is also required to transfer $4 million from the general fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. This money is appropriated to the board for the watershed restoration program to support post-fire recovery and mitigation efforts.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)