Sen. Angela Williams

Currently, the state or a local licensing authority may suspend or revoke a licensee's license or permit for the licensee's violation of a law related to the regulation of alcohol beverages. The licensee may choose to pay a fine instead of the revocation or suspension. The act: Authorizes the state and local licensing authorities to fine the licensee initially; Increases the potential fine for violations related to alcohol beverages from between $200 and $5,000 to between $500 and $100,000; and Requires the manner in which licensees pay fines to the state licensing authority to be determined by the state licensing authority.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Continues the sales and use tax simplification task force for 6 years; Specifies that the task force will not meet during the 2020 interim; Includes a process for selecting a chair and vice-chair of the task force; Modifies the task force's duties; Requires the joint technology committee to seek regular updates from the office of information technology (OIT) and the department of revenue (DOR) regarding the development of the electronic sales and use tax simplification (SUTS) system, to monitor and encourage participation by businesses and home rule municipalities in the SUTS system, and to seek regular updates from OIT and DOR regarding the purchase and development of a geographic information system (GIS) database; and Removes the requirement that the task force undergo an evaluation by the department of regulatory agencies prior to the task force's repeal.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill states that a domestic stock insurer (dividing insurer) may divide into 2 or more resulting insurers pursuant to a plan of division. A plan of division must include: The name of the dividing insurer; The name of each resulting insurer created by the proposed division and, for each resulting insurer, a copy of proposed articles of incorporation and proposed bylaws; The manner of allocating assets and liabilities, including policy liabilities, between or among all resulting insurers; The manner of distributing shares in the resulting insurers to the dividing insurer or the dividing insurer's shareholders; A reasonable description of all liabilities and all assets that the dividing insurer proposes to allocate to each resulting insurer, including the manner by which the dividing insurer proposes to allocate all reinsurance contracts; All terms and conditions required by the laws of this state and the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the dividing insurer; and All other terms and conditions required by the division. A plan of division must include additional provisions, the nature of which depends on whether the dividing insurer will survive the division. A dividing insurer may not file a plan of division with the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) until the plan of division has been approved in accordance with all provisions of the dividing insurer's articles of incorporation and bylaws. After a dividing insurer approves a plan of division, the dividing insurer shall file the plan of division with the commissioner. The commissioner shall approve the plan of division if, after considering certain criteria, the commissioner finds that certain requirements are met. If the commissioner approves a dividing insurer's plan of division, an officer or duly authorized representative of the dividing insurer shall sign a certificate of division that sets forth certain information concerning the division. The bill establishes procedures for amending and abandoning plans of division. The bill provides for the protection of confidential information, documents, and materials that are submitted to, obtained by, or disclosed to the commissioner in connection with a plan of division or in contemplation of a plan of division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under preexisting law, the executive director of the department of revenue was required to notify by first-class mail an alcohol beverage licensee of the license expiration date. The act authorizes the executive director to use any reasonable method to notify a licensee of a license expiration date, but the executive director must promulgate rules governing the notice. The act also authorizes the executive director to set and collect a fee for applications for license or permit renewals for all types of alcohol beverages, including fermented malt beverages. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes Frances Xavier Cabrini day as a state legal holiday on the first Monday in October and repeals Columbus day. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law exempts from the definition of a "real estate appraisal" certain analyses prepared by an officer, director, or regularly salaried employee of a financial institution or its affiliate when the analyses are used for internal purposes only. Federal law also exempts such analyses when they are prepared by an agent of a financial institution or its affiliate. The act adds these agents to the list of people who can make these exempt analyses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Establishes a hold harmless provision for vendors who use the state's geographic information system database (GIS database) to determine the jurisdictions to which sales or use tax is owed and to calculate appropriate sales or use tax rates for individual addresses; Requires the department of revenue to notify vendors when the GIS database is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use; Specifies that the notification to vendors may be provided in any way that the department of revenue deems appropriate and must be accomplished within existing resources; Requires the department of revenue to ensure that the GIS database data is at least 95% accurate based on a statistically valid sample of addresses from the database, or based on another acceptable method of proving accuracy; Requires the executive director of the department of revenue to promulgate rules for the administration and use of the GIS database; Specifies that the statutory section regarding certified address location databases used for collecting and remitting sales and use tax is repealed 90 days after the date that the revisor of statutes is notified by the department of revenue that a geographic information system that meets the defined scope of work set forth in the request for solicitation is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use; and Requires the department of revenue to notify the revisor of statutes no later than 15 days after such a system is online, tested, and verified by the department of revenue to be operational, supported, and available for use.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Electric utilities - electric vehicles - charging ports and related infrastructure - cost recovery for investments - limitation on rate impact. The act authorizes electric public utilities to provide charging ports as regulated services and allows cost recovery. The retail rate impact from the development of electric vehicle infrastructure must not exceed one-half of one percent of the total annual revenue requirements of the utility. The act requires an electric public utility to apply to the public utilities commission to build facilities to support electric vehicles. Standards are set for approval. When a facility is built, the rates and charges for the services may allow: A return on any investment made by a public utility at the utility's weighted average cost of capital with the most recent rate of return on equity approved by the commission; For rate recovery mechanisms that allow earlier recovery of costs; and For performance-based incentive returns or similar investment incentives.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More