Under current law, a person is immune from arrest and prosecution of certain criminal offenses if the person reports an overdose to an emergency responder and satisfies additional requirements related to the reporting. The act extends the immunity to a person who does not report the overdose to an emergency responder, but aids or seeks aid for the person suffering the overdose and satisfies additional requirements related to the reporting. The act also extends that immunity from arrest and prosecution to the following criminal offenses: Unlawful possession of a controlled substance if the material, compound, mixture, or preparation contains fentanyl, carfentanil, benzimidazole opiate, or an analog thereof; and Unlawful distribution or transfer of the controlled substance for the purpose of consuming all of the controlled substance with another person at a time substantially contemporaneous with the transfer, if the distribution or transfer involves certain controlled substances. The act makes it a level 1 drug misdemeanor rather than a level 3 or level 4 drug felony for unlawful distribution, dispensation, or sale of certain controlled substances if the person reports an overdose to an emergency responder, or aids or seeks aid for the person suffering the overdose, and satisfies additional requirements related to the reporting. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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On or before April 1, 2024, and on or before April 1 of each year thereafter, an entity with an obligation to provide retail or wholesale electricity services in the state (load-serving entity) must file with the entity responsible for approving the resource plans or rates of the load-serving entity (regulatory oversight entity) an annual report detailing the adequacy of its electric resources (resource adequacy annual report). On or before April 30, 2024, and on or before April 30 of each year thereafter, each regulatory oversight entity must submit any resource adequacy annual reports to the Colorado energy office (office). On or before July 1, 2024, and on or before July 1 of each year thereafter, the office must aggregate the resource adequacy annual reports received from the regulatory oversight entities into a statewide resource adequacy aggregate annual report. If a load-serving entity participates in an active organized wholesale market, which is a regional transmission organization or an independent system operator established for the purpose of coordinating and managing the dispatch and transmission of electricity on a multistate or regional basis, or, if the load-serving entity is participating in a voluntary regional resource adequacy reporting program, the load-serving entity's obligation to provide a resource adequacy annual report terminates on the date that the load-serving entity begins participating in an organized wholesale market or in the year following the submission of a compliance report required by the program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $14,737 from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by the office for program administration. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 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 repeals statutory provisions prohibiting counties and municipalities from enacting any ordinance or resolution that would control rent on private residential property or a private residential housing unit (rent control) and sets the following guidelines for the enactment of rent control: Rent control must be uniformly applied among all renters that are similarly situated; Rent control must be uniformly applied among all private residential properties and private residential housing units that are similarly situated; except that: For 15 years from the date on which the first certificate of occupancy was issued, no rent control may be applied; Rent control may be applied to a mobile home or mobile home park regardless of the date the mobile home or mobile home park was built or the date a certificate of occupancy was issued; and No rent control may be applied to housing units provided by nonprofit organizations and regulated by fair market rents published by the United States department of housing and urban development or any other similar federal or state program; and Rent control that limits the amount of an annual rent increase must not impose a limit less than the percentage increase in the consumer price index plus three percentage points plus reasonable increases reflective of the actual costs of substantial renovations. Regardless of the first two of these guidelines, the bill permits a local government to have or adopt an ordinance or regulation that is expressly intended and designed to increase the supply of affordable housing. The bill also makes a conforming amendment. (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.)
Current law requires an individual who is in jail to be brought before a judge for a bond hearing within 48 hours of arriving at the jail. The act clarifies the circumstances when the 48-hour requirement does not apply when the individual is unable to attend court. When an arrestee is unable to attend court within the 48-hour requirement, the sheriff shall create a list of those individuals, the date of the individual's arrest, and the location where the individual is in custody. The sheriff shall document the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, and the efforts to abate a delay caused by an emergency. As soon as an emergency has sufficiently abated, the act requires the sheriff to make the in-custody arrestee available to appear. The act also clarifies that the 48-hour requirement applies regardless of whether: The individual is held in custody in a jurisdiction other than the one that issues the arrest warrant; Money bond was previously set ex parte; or The in-custody arrestee did not appear for a first appearance. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE October 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sections 1 through 5 of the act clarify the procedure for filling a vacancy in a municipal elected office. When a vacancy occurs, the governing body shall appoint an eligible elector or call a special election within 60 days. If the governing body lacks sufficient members to reach a quorum, the clerk of the governing body is authorized to call a special election to fill the vacancy. Sections 6 through 8 modify and clarify the requirements for municipal recall elections, by: Requiring members of the committee designated to represent the signers of a recall petition to be registered electors residing in the municipality; Clarifying the number of signatures required for a recall petition for a person holding an office filled by more than one person; Requiring signers to include their municipality and county with their address when signing a recall petition; Clarifying that disassembly of a recall petition section renders that section invalid; Clarifying that a municipal clerk's written initial determination that a recall petition or a refiled recall petition is sufficient or insufficient is final unless a protest is filed in accordance with statutory requirements; Repealing a requirement that the county clerk and recorder prepare a list of registered electors for the protest; Clarifying deadlines and processes for petitions and protests; Requiring that nomination petitions for successors be filed within 20 calendar days after the date a recall election is set; Providing that if the incumbent is not recalled, the votes for a successor are not recorded and any unofficial results of the vote on a successor shall not be disclosed; and Clarifying ballot requirements and election standards for a recall election and specifying that in cases in which more than one officer is is recalled from an office to which more than one person may be elected, candidates equal in number to the number of persons recalled from office who received the highest number of votes for the office are elected for the remainder of the term of each of the offices vacated with the candidate receiving the highest number of votes being elected for the longest remaining term. APPROVED by Governor April 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.)
With regard to a contract between a health insurance carrier (carrier) and a licensed health-care provider (provider) for the provision of health-care services to covered persons under a health coverage plan issued by the carrier (contract), the act: Requires the carrier to offer at least one method of payment to the provider for which there is not an associated fee; and Prohibits the carrier from restricting the form or method of payment the carrier uses to make payments to the provider so that the only acceptable payment method is a credit card payment. If a carrier initiates a payment to a provider using, or changes the payment method to, electronic funds transfer payments, including virtual credit card payments, the act requires the carrier to: Notify the provider of any fees associated with the particular payment method; Advise the provider of the available payment methods and include instructions on how to select an alternative available method; and With each payment, remit an explanation of benefits. The act prohibits a carrier from charging a fee for a change in the payment method to a specified electronic transaction and allows a provider's billing service to charge a fee under certain circumstances. The act grants enforcement authority to the commissioner of insurance. APPROVED by Governor April 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.)
Colorado law requires a powersports vehicle dealer or a used powersports vehicle dealer to maintain a principal place of business. The act clarifies that the following activities are not a violation of this requirement: Delivering a powersports vehicle to a customer for a test drive at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business; Delivering documents for a customer to sign or delivering documents to, or obtaining documents from, a customer at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business; or Delivering a powersports vehicle to a customer at a location that is away from the dealer's principal place of business. APPROVED by Governor March 31, 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.)
For any proposed metropolitan district that has any property within its boundaries that is zoned or valued for assessment as residential, section 1 of the bill prohibits requires the service plan to include a prohibition on the purchase of district debt by any entity with respect to which any director of the district has a conflict of interest necessitating disclosure under current law. Section 2 prohibits a board of county commissioners from approving a service plan for such a metropolitan district unless the service plan includes the prohibition. Section 3 prohibits a court from considering a petition for the organization for such a metropolitan district unless the service plan includes the prohibition. Section 2 4 prohibits a member of the board of a metropolitan district that approved the issuance of any debt while the member was serving on the board from acquiring any interest in the debt individually or on behalf of any organization or entity for which the board member is engaged as an employee, counsel, consultant, representative, or agent unless the debt is acquired indirectly through an investment fund and the member has no input into or control over the individual securities that the fund purchases. Section 3 5 states that proof of a violation of the prohibition set forth in section 2 4 is proof that the violator has breached the actor's fiduciary duty and the public trust. (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.)
A vehicle value protection agreement (agreement) is a contract that provides benefits when an owner of a vehicle replaces the vehicle at trade-in, when the vehicle is stolen, or after an adverse event that lowers the value of the vehicle. An agreement that complies with the act is not insurance and is not subject to regulation as insurance. A person who provides an agreement (provider) is prohibited from conditioning the extension of credit, the terms of credit, or the terms of a vehicle sale or lease upon the purchase of an agreement. To be issued, an agreement must: Provide a benefit to the consumer upon the trade-in, total loss, or unrecovered theft of a covered vehicle; Identify the administrator or provider, the seller, the consumer, and the terms of the sale; Guarantee the provider's obligations by an insurance policy; and Notify the consumer of the agreement's terms, including cancellation terms. To cancel an agreement, the provider must mail a notice to the consumer at least 5 days prior to cancellation. However, if the reason for the cancellation is nonpayment, a material misrepresentation, or a substantial breach of duties by the consumer, the cancellation takes effect immediately upon transmission of the notice of cancellation. If an agreement is canceled by the provider for a reason other than nonpayment of the provider fee, the provider is required to make a refund minus actual paid benefits, but the provider may charge a reasonable administrative fee of up to $75. The provider is required to guarantee the provider's obligations by an insurance policy, which must provide that: The insurer will pay all covered amounts if the provider fails to perform its obligations under the agreement; and The consumer may file a claim directly with the insurer for reimbursement. 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.)