Sen. Bob Rankin

The act requires the Colorado state forest service to make certain upgrades and improvements to its seedling tree nursery in order to expand its capacity and its ability to contribute to reforestation efforts in the state. The act is repealed as of January 1, 2025. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $5,000,000 is appropriated to the department of higher education for use by the board of governors of the Colorado state university system for the Colorado state forest service tree nursery. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to establish a schedule for a review of provider rates paid under medicaid so that each provider rate is reviewed at least every 5 years and to provide the schedule to the joint budget committee (JBC). Beginning July 1, 2023, the act requires the state department to establish a schedule so that each provider rate is reviewed at least every 3 years and to provide the schedule to the medicaid provider rate review advisory committee (advisory committee) in addition to the JBC. Current law authorizes the advisory committee or the JBC, by a majority vote, to direct the state department to conduct a review of a provider rate that is not scheduled for review during that year. Effective July 1, 2023, if the state department determines the request for an out-of-cycle review cannot be conducted, the act requires the state department to provide written notification to the advisory committee and the JBC within 30 days after the request is made stating the reasons the out-of-cycle request cannot be conducted. Effective July 1, 2023, the act requires the state department to conduct a public meeting at least quarterly to inform the state department's review of provider rates. Current law requires the advisory committee consist of 24 members. Effective December 1, 2022, the act decreases the advisory committee to 7 members and requires the members to have proven expertise related to medicaid in one or more specific areas. The advisory committee is currently scheduled to sunset September 1, 2025. The act moves the sunset to September 1, 2036. On or before December 1, 2023, and each December 1 thereafter, the act requires the advisory committee to present to the JBC an overview of the provider rate review process, a summary of the provider rates that were reviewed, and the strategies for responding to the findings of the provider rate review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of human services (DHS) and the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF), in consultation with county departments of human and social services (county departments), to develop a scope of work for a comprehensive assessment of the best practices related to the administration of public and medical assistance programs. The act requires DHS to enter into an agreement with a third party to conduct the comprehensive assessment, evaluate existing practices for the administration of public and medical assistance programs, and make recommendations related to administration of public and medical assistance programs and ongoing evaluation of the public and medical assistance program system. On or before July 1, 2023, DHS is required to submit the results of the comprehensive assessment to HCPF, county departments, and the joint budget committee. On or before November 1, 2023, DHS is required to submit a fiscal impact analysis of implementing the third party's recommendations to the joint budget committee. Following completion of the comprehensive assessment, and no later than January 1, 2024, DHS is required to enter into an agreement with an outside entity to develop a public and medical assistance programs funding model (funding model) to determine the amount of money necessary to fund county administration of certain public assistance programs overseen by DHS and HCPF. On or before November 1, 2024, DHS is required to deliver the results of the funding model for fiscal year 2025-26 to HCPF, county departments, and the joint budget committee. The act requires DHS to enter into an agreement with an outside entity to annually update and modify the funding model and requires DHS to submit the results of the funding model to HCPF, county departments, and the joint budget committee by November 1 of each year. Beginning with fiscal year 2025-26, the joint budget committee shall use the results of the funding model to inform its decisions regarding the amount of the appropriation to DHS and HCPF to fund county administration of public assistance programs. DHS and HCPF shall allocate money to counties for public assistance program administration in accordance with the results of the funding model. The act requires DHS and HCPF to submit an annual report to the joint budget committee on the funding model. The act appropriates $80,000 to HCPF for administration related to office of economic security - medicaid funding, of which $48,120 is from the general fund and $31,880 is from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund. The act also appropriates $280,000 to DHS for administration, of which $120,000 is from the general fund and $160,000 is from reappropriated funds received from HCPF. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Currently, there is a property tax deferral program (program) for the state to make a secured loan to a qualified taxpayer to pay property taxes owed for the taxpayer's homestead. The act shifts the administrative responsibilities for the program from county treasurers to the state treasurer. This includes requiring: A taxpayer to file a claim for deferral with the state treasurer; The state treasurer to supply the deferral forms; The state treasurer to issue the certificate of tax deferral and record the certificate with the appropriate county clerk and recorder free of charge; The county treasurer to refund any overpayment on an account that has been deferred to the person who paid the taxes; A taxpayer to tender repayment of the loan to the state treasurer; and The state treasurer to send a deferral notice to taxpayers who have previously deferred property taxes, which notice has been updated to reflect the state treasurer's administrative role. The state treasurer cannot be held personally liable for failure to provide notices relating to property in the program. In addition, the state treasurer is permitted to: Conduct a public education campaign about the program; Contract with a third party to administer the program on behalf of the state treasurer; and Promulgate rules for the administration of the program. The act also creates an exception to the requirement that a loan becomes payable for a taxpayer when a property is no longer the taxpayer's homestead or when the taxpayer's equity in the property is less than the amount of the deferral and accrued interest on the deferral if the property becomes uninhabitable and loses its value as a result of natural causes, and it permits the state treasurer to foreclose a deferred tax lien once taxes and accrued interest become delinquent, instead of requiring the foreclosure. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act provides funding for early stage work required for front range passenger rail corridor development by: Requiring the state treasurer to transfer $1,900,000 from the general fund to the southwest chief rail line economic development, rural tourism, and infrastructure repair and maintenance fund (fund) on June 15, 2022. This will cause the transferred money to be paid to the front range passenger rail district (district) when the unencumbered balance of the fund is paid to the district, as required by current law as technically amended by the act, before the fund is repealed on July 1, 2022. Transferring $6,500,000 from the general fund to the state highway fund on July 1, 2022, for the purpose of funding specified environmental assessment work required in connection with the development of the Burnham Yard rail property; and Transferring $500,000 from the general fund to the unused state-owned real property fund on July 1, 2022. The act also requires the executive director of the department of personnel to engage with governmental and affected community stakeholders to create a site plan to support transit-oriented development at the Burnham Yard rail property site and potential recommendations for how to suballocate parcels for various beneficial uses at the site. The executive director, in consultation with the governmental stakeholders, is also required to actively reach out to and listen to the opinions of affected community stakeholders and citizens regarding all stages of the development of the Burnham Yard rail property and identify any additional or already engaged stakeholders who may have an interest in developing the suballocated parcels for the best use. The site plan must consider various specified types of development opportunities and uses for the site, must promote the development and operation of quality public private partnership opportunities, must include a well-defined framework to facilitate collaboration between public and private entities in infrastructure development and operation, and must enable investment of public and private capital. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act changes the calculation of the ad valorem credit allowed against the state severance tax on oil and gas. In tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2025, the credit is calculated on a per-well basis for wells that are not exempt from taxation and is equal to 76.56% of the gross income of the well multiplied by the mill levy fixed in the prior calendar year. A working group consisting of the director of the office of state planning and budgeting and the executive directors of the departments of revenue, natural resources, education, and local affairs, or their designees, is required to develop an implementation plan for making additional changes to the state severance tax on oil and gas. The implementation plan must make recommendations concerning the steps necessary to change the legal incidence of tax from interest owners to operators while maintaining revenue neutrality, require electronic filing of returns for severance taxes, and require additional electronic data collection to the tax. The plan must also include a quantitative fiscal analysis of the change in the calculation of the credit for ad valorem taxes and the change in the legal incidence of the tax and how they can be implemented while maintaining revenue neutrality. The group must submit the implementation plan to the joint budget committee by January 15, 2024. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The small community-based nonprofit infrastructure grant program (grant program) is created in the division of local government in the department of local affairs (division) to provide grants to small community-based nonprofit organizations that have been impacted or disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency for infrastructure and capacity building. The division is required to administer the grant program and to contract with no more than 10 nonprofit organizations with specified qualifications (regional access partners) to award and monitor the grants. To be eligible to receive a grant through the grant program, an organization must be one of the following: A small community-based nonprofit organization that operates under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code; A small community-based nonprofit organization that does not operate under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code and that works with a fiscal agent; or A collaboration of multiple small community-based groups that are not nonprofit organizations and that work with a fiscal sponsor. Each small community-based nonprofit organization or each of the small community-based groups that apply for a grant collaboratively is required to satisfy specified criteria to be considered an eligible recipient for a grant through the grant program. Grant recipients may use grant program money for infrastructure and capacity building purposes, including data technology needs, professional development for staff and board members, strategic planning and organizational development for capacity building and fundraising, communications, and existing program expansion, development, or evaluation. Grant recipients may not use grant money for capital improvements, real estate or land acquisition, payment of debt, advocacy or lobbying, organizing, endowments, or reserves. To receive a grant, an applicant must submit an application to a regional access partner in accordance with policies and procedures developed by the division. The regional access partner is required to award grants and ensure that: The maximum grant award does not exceed $100,000; and A grant award does not exceed 30% of the recipient's annual operating budget. The act appropriates $35 million from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the division for the purposes of the grant program. The regional access partners are required to award the grants for the purposes of the grant program on or before December 30, 2024, and recipients of the grants are required to expend all grant money by December 30, 2026. The division and any person that receives money from the division, including a regional access partner, is required to comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the advanced industry investment tax credit (credit) for an additional 4 years, increases the aggregate annual maximum amount of credits that may be allowed from $750,000 to $4 million, increases the credit from 30% to 35% of the amount of a qualified investment in rural or economically distressed areas, and increases the total amount of the credit for each qualified investment from $50,000 to $100,000. Current law requires that individuals who are co-owners of a business claim only their pro rata share of the credit. The act allows the credit to be allocated among partners, shareholders, members, or other constituent qualified investors in any manner agreed to by such partners, shareholders, members, or other constituent qualified investors. The act appropriates $90,000 to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs for advanced industries. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes new coverage requirements for homeowners insurance policies issued or renewed in Colorado, which requirements apply in the event of a total loss of an owner-occupied residence as a result of a wildfire disaster that is declared by the governor. The act also establishes new requirements for insurers who issue or renew homeowners insurance policies, which requirements concern an insurer's handling of policy claims after such a total loss occurs. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $66,781 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance as follows: $59,231 for personal services; and $7,550 for operating expenses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the Colorado energy office (office), in collaboration with the department of local affairs (department) and the Colorado resiliency office (resiliency office), to develop a grid resilience and reliability roadmap (roadmap) for improving the resilience and reliability of electric grids in the state (grid), which roadmap must include guidance on how microgrids may be used to harden the grid, improve grid resilience and reliability, deliver electricity where extending distribution infrastructure may not be practicable, and operate autonomously and independent of the grid, when necessary. In developing the roadmap, the office, department, and resiliency office are required to engage interested persons throughout the state in stakeholder meetings and consider stakeholder input. The roadmap may identify: The potential benefits of developing microgrids, including whether and how developing microgrids improves grid resilience and reliability; The critical facilities and infrastructure and the high-risk communities that should be prioritized for microgrid projects (projects); and Recommendations regarding potential legislative or administrative changes needed to help facilitate projects, including needed statutory or rule changes, key factors to consider regarding the safety, development, maintenance, and deployment of microgrids, metrics for evaluating the costs and benefits of microgrids, financial and technical support for microgrid deployment, and education and outreach programs, including apprenticeship programs. The office is required to post a draft of the roadmap on its website on or before July 1, 2024, and the office and department are required to post the completed roadmap on their websites. The office is also required to submit a copy of the roadmap to the public utilities commission (commission), and, on or before March 1, 2025, in collaboration with the department, present the roadmap to the legislative committees of reference with jurisdiction over energy matters. On a periodic basis at least every 5 years, the office, department, and resiliency office are required to review the roadmap and, if necessary, update it. If the roadmap is updated, it must be posted on the office's and department's websites and submitted to the commission and the legislative committees of reference with jurisdiction over energy matters. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $22,470 is appropriated from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by the Colorado energy office to develop the roadmap. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)