The act creates exceptions to the general rule that a person must first exhaust the proceedings and remedies available to them before filing an action in district court based on an alleged discriminatory or unfair practice related to certain employment practices, housing practices, or discriminatory advertising for actions alleging discrimination in places of public accommodation and private actions to enforce laws that prohibit discriminatory housing practices. The act also prohibits an individual with a disability from being excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by a place of public accommodation. In addition, the act requires that, in certain civil suits, an individual with a disability is entitled to a court order requiring compliance with applicable provisions along with either actual monetary damages or a statutory fine. APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act prohibits an employer engaged in a business from taking adverse action against an employee who accepts a cash gratuity offered by a patron of the business. The act provides exceptions for: Employers regulated by the division of gaming in the department of revenue; Employees licensed, certified, or registered pursuant to the title governing professions and occupations and who are required to maintain such licensure, certification, or registration as a condition of employment with their employers; Employees working in a health-care facility regulated by the department of public health and environment; Employees working for the program of all-inclusive care for the elderly; and Employees providing housing and services to adults 60 years of age or older. VETOED by Governor May 23, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, various fees imposed on motor carriers are either specified in statute or set administratively by the public utilities commission (commission). The act removes the statutorily set fees and instead authorizes the commission to set the motor carrier fees administratively. The act also requires, on and after January 1, 2024, that the commission establish transportation network company permit fees administratively. The commission is required to notify transportation network companies of an increase in the fees at least 30 days before the increased fees take effect. The commission may adopt rules establishing different tiers of permit fees for distinct types of transportation network companies based on the commission's consideration of market factors. If the commission adopts different tiers of permit fees, the commission is required to publish the criteria that the commission used to establish the different tiers on its website. APPROVED by Governor May 18, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 18, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as specified in the department's sunset review of the "Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts" (law), as follows: Continues the law for 9 years, until September 1, 2032; Repeals the requirement that a certificate evidencing a notarial act performed by a notary public indicate the date of expiration of the notary public's commission; and Increases the maximum statutory fees from $5 to $15 for each document attested by a person before a notary public and from $10 to $25 for the notary public's electronic signature. The act also: Establishes requirements and limitations for the use of interpreters in the facilitation of notarial acts, including a prohibition against the use of an interpreter who has a disqualifying interest, as described in the act, in the transaction for which a notarial act is being performed; Limits the liability of a notarial officer for errors in interpretation made in the facilitation of a notarial act; and Appropriates $96,568 for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the department of state cash fund to the department of state. APPROVED by Governor May 17, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE May 17, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE September 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Currently, certain persons licensed to sell alcohol beverages (licensee) may apply for a permit to hold a festival. The act makes the following changes to the festival permitting process: Requires the licensee to file a permit application at least 30 calendar days before the festival, which increases the current requirement of at least 10 business days before the festival; Increases the fee for a permit from $25 annually to $50 per festival; Authorizes a licensee to jointly participate in up to 52 festivals held by other licensees; and Changes the window during which festivals are counted for the purpose of determining how many festivals a licensee holds or participates in from 12 months after the issuance of a permit to a calendar year. APPROVED by Governor May 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act addresses issues related to a determination of juvenile competency to proceed (competency) and restoration of competency (restoration). The act allows: The district attorney, defense attorney, guardian ad litem, department of human services, a competency evaluator, a restoration treatment provider, and the court, without written consent of the juvenile or further order of the court, to access competency evaluations and restoration evaluations, including all second evaluations; information and documents related to competency evaluations; the competency evaluator, for the purpose of discussing the competency evaluation; and the providers of court-ordered restoration services for the purpose of discussing such services; Parties to exchange names, addresses, reports, and statements of physicians or psychologists who examined or treated the juvenile for competency; The court or any party to raise, at any time, the issue of a need for a restoration evaluation of the juvenile's competency; and A juvenile to be examined by a competency evaluator of the juvenile's own choice and to request a second evaluation in response to a court-ordered competency evaluation or a court-ordered restoration evaluation. If the court determines that the juvenile is incompetent to proceed and unlikely to be restored to competency in the reasonably foreseeable future, a time frame is set forth for the dismissal of charges based on the severity and type of charge. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $120,000 is appropriated to the judicial department from the general fund. The judicial department may use this appropriation for mandated costs for the office of the state public offender and the office of the alternate defense counsel. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act continues the defense counsel on first appearance grant program until September 1, 2028, subject to sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,666,652 from the general fund to the department of local affairs for use by the division of local government. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 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 bill requires a delivery network company (DNC) or a transportation network company (TNC) operating in the state to provide various disclosures to their drivers and to consumers of the DNC or TNC regarding payments that a consumer makes to the DNC or TNC and the amount that the DNC or TNC then pays to a driver. The bill also requires transparency with regard to the procedures that govern a determination by a DNC or TNC to terminate a driver from, or rehire a driver on, the DNC's or TNC's digital platform and authorizes a driver who has been terminated to seek administrative review of the termination. The division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment may impose fines against DNCs and TNCs for violations of the bill or require a DNC or TNC to rehire a wrongly terminated driver, and a consumer or driver aggrieved by a violation may file a civil suit against the DNC or TNC that committed the violation. The director of the division is required to adopt rules regarding the disclosures related to payments made to drivers and driver termination and rehire policies. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Legislative Audit Committee. Under current law, when the public utilities commission (PUC) evaluates electric resource acquisitions and requests for certificates of public convenience and necessity for construction or expansion of generating facilities, the PUC must consider best value regarding employment of Colorado labor and positive impacts on the long-term economic viability of Colorado communities. To this end, the PUC must require electric utilities to obtain certain information regarding certain "best value" employment metrics and report this information to the PUC for its consideration. The bill: Requires the PUC to promulgate rules requiring utilities, when submitting annual progress reports for an electric resource acquisition, to collect and provide to the PUC information concerning the implementation of "best value" employment metrics; Requires the PUC to report annually to committees of reference of the general assembly concerning the information that is reported; and Repeals language requiring the state auditor to conduct a performance audit, which performance audit the state auditor completed in July 2022.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)