The act creates, initially within the department of labor and employment, the Colorado office of new Americans (ONA). The act sets forth the ONA's duties and responsibilities and provides details regarding funding. The ONA serves as the point of contact for immigrant-serving state agencies, private sector organizations, and the public about immigrant issues in Colorado, and has as one of its central purposes the successful integration and inclusion of immigrants and refugees in our state's communities. As its main priority, the ONA is required to implement a statewide strategy to facilitate economic stability and promote successful economic, social, linguistic, and cultural integration by investing in the success of immigrants in Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act addresses the following items related to landlord and tenant rights in residential rental agreements:After a complaint is filed by a landlord, the clerk of the court or the attorney for the plaintiff shall issue a summons, including information concerning filing an answer and legal aid. A court shall not enter a default writ of restitution before the close of business on the date upon which an appearance is due. Provides additional details regarding the defendant's answer, including that a defendant does not waive any defense related to proper notice by filing an answer; that the court shall set a date for trial no sooner than 7, but not more than 10, days after the answer is filed, unless the defendant agrees to waive this provision and schedule the trial for an earlier date, except that a court may extend beyond 10 days if either party demonstrates good cause for an extension or if the court otherwise finds justification for the extension. In the time after an answer is filed and before a trial occurs, the court shall order that the landlord or tenant provide any relevant documentation that either party requests. A landlord who provides a tenant with proper notice of nonpayment shall accept payment of the tenant's full amount due according to the notice, as well as any rent due under the rental agreement, at any time until a court has ordered a writ of restitution; Eliminates the bond requirement for the warranty of habitability and allows the tenant to assert an alleged breach of the warranty of habitability as an affirmative defense;Establishes allowable court procedures and remedies in cases of an alleged breach of warranty of habitability; Bans unreasonable liquidated damage clauses that assign a cost to a party stemming from a rental violation or an eviction action; Prohibits rental agreements that contain one-way fee-shifting clauses that award attorney fees and court costs only to one party; and The act prohibits a landlord of a mobile home park or a residential premises (landlord) from:Charging a tenant or mobile home owner (tenant) a late fee for late payment of rent unless the rent payment is late by at least 7 calendar days; Charging a tenant a late fee in an amount that exceeds the greater of: $50; or 5% of the amount of the rent obligation that remains past due; Requiring a tenant to pay a late fee unless the late fee is disclosed in the rental agreement; Removing, excluding, or initiating eviction procedures against a tenant solely as a result of the tenant's failure to pay one or more late fees; Terminating a tenancy or other estate at will or a lease in a mobile home park because the tenant fails to pay one or more late fees to the landlord; Imposing a late fee on a tenant for the late payment or nonpayment of any portion of the rent that a rent subsidy provider, rather than the tenant, is responsible for paying; Imposing a late fee more than once for each late payment; Requiring a tenant to pay interest on late fees; Recouping any amount of a late fee from a rent payment made by a tenant; or Charging a tenant a late fee unless the landlord provided the tenant written notice of the late fee within 180 days after the date upon which the rent payment was due. A landlord who commits a violation must pay a $50 penalty to an aggrieved tenant for each violation. Otherwise, a landlord who commits a violation has 7 days to cure the violation, which 7 days begins when the landlord receives notice of the violation. If a landlord fails to timely cure a violation, the tenant may bring a civil action to seek one or more of the following remedies:Compensatory damages for injury or loss suffered; A penalty of at least $150 but not more than $1,000 for each violation, payable to the tenant; Costs, including reasonable attorney fees if the tenant is the prevailing party; and Other equitable relief the court finds appropriate. In an action for possession or collection based upon nonpayment of rent, the tenant may assert, as an affirmative defense the landlord's alleged breach of the warranty of habitability, provided that the landlord had previously received notice of the alleged breach of the warranty of habitability. If a county or district court is satisfied that the defendant is unable to deposit the amount of rent specified into the registry of the court because the defendant is found to be indigent, as described in the act, the defendant shall not be required to deposit any amounts to raise warranty of habitability claims as an affirmative defense and the claim will be perfected.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $15,756 to the judicial department. This appropriation is from the general fund and is based on an assumption that the department will require an additional 0.2 FTE. To implement this act, the department may use this appropriation for trial court programs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act specifies measures in several categories to protect personal identifying information (PII) kept by state agencies.Limitations on PII shared by state agencies: A state agency employee is prohibited from disclosing or making accessible PII that is not available to the public for the purpose of investigating for, participating in, cooperating with, or assisting in federal immigration enforcement, except as required by federal or state law or as required to comply with a court-issued subpoena, warrant, or order. The department of revenue is prohibited from sharing motor vehicle records with law enforcement agencies and other government agencies if the information is to be used for the purpose of investigating for or assisting in federal immigration enforcement, except as required by federal or state law or as required to comply with a court-issued subpoena, warrant, or order.Reduction of PII collected by state agencies: Beginning January 1, 2022, a state agency employee is prohibited from inquiring into, or requesting information or documents to ascertain, a person's immigration status for the purpose of identifying if the person has complied with federal immigration laws except as required by state or federal law or as necessary to perform state agency duties, or to verify a person's eligibility for a government-funded program for housing or economic development if verification is a condition of the government funding.In addition, beginning January 1, 2022, a state agency shall not collect data regarding a person's place of birth, immigration or citizenship status, or information from passports, permanent resident cards, alien registration cards, or employment authorization documents, except as required by state or federal law or as necessary to perform state agency duties, or to verify a person's eligibility for a government-funded program for housing or economic development if verification is a condition of the government funding.Access to state agency records: Beginning January 1, 2022, to be granted access to PII through a database or automated network maintained by a state agency that is not otherwise available to the public, a third party must have, within the past year, certified under penalty of perjury that the third party will not use or disclose PII obtained for the purpose of investigating for, participating in, cooperating with, or assisting in federal immigration enforcement, unless required by federal or state law or to comply with a court-issued subpoena, warrant, or order that is not related to prosecution for a violation of specified provisions of federal immigration law. The attorney general's office is required to create a model certification form and provide it to state agencies.Record keeping and reporting: The act specifies what a request for records includes and does not include for purposes of the act. Beginning January 1, 2022, if a third party requests a record from a state agency and the record contains PII, the state agency is required to retain a written record of the request that contains specified information (written record). Beginning January 1, 2022, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, the state agency is required to provide the information contained in the written record to the governor's office of legal counsel and to attest that no request was granted for any purpose prohibited by the act. On March 1, 2022, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, the governor's office is required to provide a report to the joint budget committee of the general assembly containing quarterly and year-to-date summaries of the information provided by state agencies in the written record.For a request made by a third party through the Colorado driver's license, record, identification, and vehicle enterprise solution, if the department of revenue is unable to gather the information for the written record because doing so would require technology or programming changes outside the department's control, the department is required to continue to allow access to the information if access is required by state or federal law or is a condition of receiving federal or state funding. The department of revenue is required to submit quarterly reports including the identity of the third party, the reason for the inability to collect the written record, and an attestation that the department of revenue and third party have met the other applicable requirements of the act.Data privacy breaches: Any state agency employee who intentionally violates the provisions of the act is subject to an injunction and is liable for a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each violation.The act includes an identification document issued to an individual who is not lawfully present in the United States in the list of records that the department of revenue shall not allow a person to inspect pursuant to the "Colorado Open Records Act". In addition, the act specifies that the provisions of the act are included in the laws that the department of revenue is required to follow when releasing records for public inspection.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows the division of housing within the department of local affairs to use the housing development grant fund for rental assistance, tenancy support service programs, and awarding grants and loans for the rental, acquisition, or renovation of underutilized hotels, underutilized motels, and other underutilized properties to provide noncongregate sheltering or affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness. The act expands those who are eligible to benefit from the rental assistance and tenancy support programs to include individuals experiencing homelessness.The act transfers $30 million from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund to the housing development grant fund for the funding of rental assistance and tenancy support programs related to the rental, acquisition, or renovation of underutilized hotels, underutilized motels, and other underutilized properties, and the awarding of grants and loans for the rental, acquisition, or renovation of underutilized hotels, underutilized motels, and other underutilized properties. The act also transfers $15 million from the general fund to the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund.Additionally, the act requires the department of local affairs, during its annual report to the assigned committee of reference, to report on the rental and tenancy support service programs provided by the division of housing related to the rental, acquisition, or renovation of underutilized hotels, underutilized motels, and other underutilized properties and the grants and loans awarded by the division for the rental, acquisition, or renovation of underutilized hotels, underutilized motels, and other underutilized properties.Finally, the act further expands the permissible use of the housing development grant fund to allow the awarding of grants to nonprofit organizations for the issuance of direct assistance to individuals who are currently experiencing financial need and are not eligible for certain other types of assistance. The act transfers $15 million from the general fund to the housing development grant fund for this purpose and requires the state treasurer to transfer all unexpended and unencumbered money that is transferred to the fund for this purpose to the general fund on June 30, 2022.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act updates language that must be included on a court summons issued to a defendant-tenant in an eviction action explaining the consequences for failing to answer the complaint, the content of an answer, and the fees and deposits related to filing an answer.The act prohibits a county sheriff from executing a writ of restitution, which directs the sheriff to assist the landlord in removing the tenant, until at least 10 days after a landlord wins judgment in an eviction action.The act prohibits residential landlords from increasing rent more than one time in a 12-month period of tenancy. For a residential tenancy of any duration in which there is no written agreement, the act requires a landlord to give a tenant 60 days' notice prior to increasing rent. The act prohibits a landlord from terminating a residential tenancy in which there is no written agreement with the primary purpose of increasing a tenant's rent without providing 60 days' notice.(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.)
Current law defines as a "covered facility" a stationary source of air pollutants that reported in its federal toxics release inventory filing at least one of the following amounts of the following "covered air toxics" in one year:For hydrogen cyanide, 10,000 pounds; For hydrogen sulfide, 5,000 pounds; and For benzene, 5,000 pounds. The act changes the definition of "covered facility" to include specific listed North American industry classification system codes and expands upon the requirements applicable to covered facilities by:Directing the air quality control commission to consider, at least every 5 years, adding new types of covered facilities and covered air toxics; Requiring that a covered facility's outreach to communities near the covered facility be conducted in the 2 most prevalent languages spoken in the communities; and Requiring covered facilities to conduct real-time fenceline monitoring of covered air toxics and to publicly report the results of the monitoring. The act also requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment to:Establish notification thresholds for covered air toxics, the exceedance of which covered facilities must disclose to the affected community; and Conduct community-based monitoring of covered air toxics in areas near covered facilities and to publicly report the results, and authorizes the division to spend up to $800,000 from the general fund to buy a mobile air-quality monitoring van to use for community-based monitoring. The act appropriates $480,939 from the stationary sources control fund to the department of public health and environment to implement the act, of which $12,761 is reappropriated to the department of law for the provision of legal services to the department of public health and environment and $283,896 is reappropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology for the provision of information technology services for the department of public health and environment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires each law enforcement agency that employs a peace officer who is required to be peace officers standards and training board (P.O.S.T.) certified to adopt written policies and procedures concerning eyewitness identifications, which must be consistent the provisions of this act. Beginning January 1, 2022, each law enforcement agency that uses a showup shall collect for each showup the date, the technique that was used, the gender and race of the suspect, the alleged crime, and the outcome of the showup. Each law enforcement agency shall create an annual report of the data collected.The act directs that a peace officer may only utilize a showup:Following the report of a crime, when a peace officer, acting on reasonable suspicion, has detained a subject in the crime within minutes of the commission of the crime and near the location of the crime; When, given the circumstances, neither a live lineup nor a photo array isavailable as a means of identification and the eyewitness reasonably believeshe or she can identify the subject; To verify the identity of an intimate relationship in a domestic violence case; or To confirm the identity of a familial subject, including a parent, child, or sibling known to the eyewitness. Beginning January 1, 2022, a P.O.S.T.-certified peace officer must comply with certain conditions when conducting a showup. The act requires a court to consider any failure by law enforcement to comply with the showup conditions if there is a challenge to the showup identification. The act directs a peace officer conducting a showup to communicate to the eyewitness certain information and instructions about the showup process, and the eyewitness must agree to comply with the instructions for the showup to proceed.Under current law, local law enforcement agencies must begin collecting certain data relating to contacts conducted by the agencies' peace officers. The act adds data related to showups to that collection requirement beginning in 2023.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the financial empowerment office (office) and the director of the office (director) in the department of law to grow the financial resilience and well-being of Coloradans through specified community-derived goals and strategies. The director is appointed by the attorney general and may hire staff as necessary to perform the duties and functions of the office. The office also consists of a manager who is appointed by the director.The office is authorized to partner with governmental bodies, community organizations, financial institutions, local service providers, philanthropic organizations, and other organizations as necessary to achieve the purposes of the office. The office is also authorized to develop or promote new or existing:Methods to increase access to safe and affordable financial products; Tools and resources that advance, increase, and improve Colorado residents' financial management; Community-informed strategies that dismantle systemic barriers to building ownership and wealth for all, especially low-income communities and communities of color; and Tools that promote financial stability such as those that assist with service navigation, eviction avoidance, or connections to income supports. The financial empowerment office is required to:Support the organization of community efforts to define and lead financial resilience strategies; Align, support, and build ties to build financial education and well-being in communities across the state; Establish a council to assist the director; Work with stakeholders to increase access to safe and affordable credit-building loans and financial products and to identify products and practices that may undermine financial stability; Develop technical assistance to launch or expand local financial coaching and counseling efforts; Raise money to support coaching, safe and affordable banking, and potential loan funds; and Track community feedback on consumer financial abuses. The department of law is required to report on affordable banking access in Colorado and other specified information as part of its presentation under the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act".(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a medical marijuana cultivation facility licensee to receive and change marijuana's designation from retail to medical and a medical marijuana products manufacturer licensee to receive and change a marijuana product from retail to medical.The act clarifies that a transfer and change of designation of the marijuana from retail to medical does not create a right to a refund of a retail marijuana excise tax imposed or paid prior to the transfer and change of designation.The act requires the state licensing authority to submit a report to the general assembly analyzing the feasibility of allowing a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee to receive and change marijuana's designation from medical to retail and a retail marijuana products manufacturer licensee to receive and change a marijuana product from medical to retail.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)