The act appropriates the following amounts from the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) construction fund to the CWCB or the division of water resources in the department of natural resources for the following projects: Continuation of the satellite monitoring system, $380,000; Continuation of the Colorado floodplain map modernization program, $500,000; Continuation of the weather modification permitting program, $350,000; Continuation of technical assistance for federal cost-share programs, $300,000; Continuation of the Arkansas river decision support system, $500,000; Continuation of the Colorado Mesonet project, $150,000; Continuation of the water forecasting partnership project, $450,000; Support of modeling and data analyses for the upper Colorado river commission's interstate planning and negotiation efforts, $200,000; Performance of comprehensive dam safety evaluations for the reservoir enlargement assessment project, $250,000; Support of the Platte river recovery implementation program, $3,800,000; and Support of Republican river matters related to meeting compact compliance obligations, $2,000,000. The act appropriates $8,200,000 from the water plan implementation cash fund to the CWCB for grant-making for projects that assist in implementing the state water plan. The act directs the state treasurer to transfer the following amounts on July 1, 2022: Up to $2,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the litigation fund; and $1,000,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the water plan implementation cash fund. The act authorizes the CWCB to make loans of up to $13,130,000 from the CWCB construction fund to the town of Breckenridge to rehabilitate the Goose Pasture Tarn dam. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act creates the groundwater compact compliance and sustainability fund (fund) to help finance groundwater use reduction and sustainability efforts in the Rio Grande river basin and the Republican river basin, such as efforts to buy and retire irrigation wells and irrigated acreage in the river basins. The Colorado water conservation board (board) administers the fund and can make expenditures from the fund based on recommendations from the board of directors of the Rio Grande water conservation district or the Republican river water conservation district. A conservation district's recommendations must first be approved by the state engineer. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $60 million is appropriated from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the fund and, on August 15, 2024, up to $20 million of any unobligated money in the fund is transferred to the water plan implementation account, which account the board administers to finance efforts to help accomplish critical actions identified in the state water plan. The board and any recipient of money from the fund or the account must comply with the compliance, reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements that the office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller establish for use of money allocated to the state pursuant to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines a "controlled environment agricultural facility" (CEA facility) as a nonresidential structure and related equipment and appurtenances that combines engineering, horticultural science, and computer management techniques to optimize hydroponics, plant quality, and food production efficiency from the land's water for human or livestock consumption. The sole purpose of growing crops in a CEA facility is to obtain a monetary profit from the wholesale of plant-based food for human or livestock consumption. Commencing January 1, 2023, for property tax purposes: The definition of "agricultural and livestock products" includes crops grown within a CEA facility in a raw or unprocessed state for human or livestock consumption excluding marijuana or any other nonfood crop agricultural products; The definition of "agricultural equipment" that is used on the farm or ranch or in a CEA facility includes any personal property within a facility, whether attached to a building or not, that is capable of being removed from the facility, and is used in direct connection with the operation of a CEA facility, which facility is used solely for planting, growing, or harvesting crops in a raw or unprocessed state; and On and after January 1, 2023, but prior to January 2, 2028, agricultural equipment that is used in any CEA facility is exempt from the levy and collection of property tax. Under section 3 of the act, a CEA facility is valued for assessment purposes as all other agricultural property using the cost, market, and income approaches to value. If the sole use of the CEA facility is not the growing of crops for human or livestock consumption, then the property is classified and valued for assessment purposes based on actual use. Under section 3, as part of the personal declaration that the owner of a CEA facility signs and returns to the county assessor, the act requires the owner to include an affidavit executed by the owner in which the owner affirms that the CEA facility meets the requirements for such a facility as specified in the act. If the crop grown in the CEA facility is hemp, the owner must also include a copy of a license to verify to the assessor that the crop is not marijuana . Section 3 is repealed, effective July 1, 2029.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the competitive transportation innovation grant program (grant program) in the department of education (department) to address the public school transportation shortage. The bill allows school districts, charter schools, institute charter schools, the state charter school institute, boards of cooperative services, a consortium of school districts, tribal governments, local governments, and community organizations that partner with school districts (eligible applicants) to apply to the grant program. The state board of education (state board) shall select grantees who develop and implement innovative solutions, strategies, and services to address the public school transportation shortage. Eligible applicants shall serve students of color and students from under-resourced communities who are disproportionately impacted by the transportation shortage and struggle to access school districts of their choice and career pathway programs because of their limited access to transportation. The department operates the grant program. The grant program is a one-time grant program, but grantees have 2 years to spend the grant money. If selected for a grant, a grantee is required to submit a report to the department on or before August 1, 2024, and to submit a second report on or before August 1, 2025. The report must include an explanation of the solutions, strategies, and services developed and implemented with the grant money as described in the grantee's grant application. On or before August 30, 2024, and again on or before August 30, 2025, the department is required to submit a report summarizing information submitted by the grantee. The bill requires the general assembly to appropriate money from the revenue loss restoration cash fund to address the public school transportation shortage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill repeals the grant program, effective July 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates a new state income tax credit (new credit) for certain taxpayers who were denied state income tax credits for conservation easements donated between 2000 and 2013 (original credit) if the federal internal revenue service allowed a federal income tax deduction for the same donation. A donation is eligible for the new credit only if the land subject to the donated conservation easement for which the original credits were disallowed was owned by the landowner, a family member of the landowner, or a trust or other legal entity controlled by the landowner or one or more members of the family of the landowner for not less than 3 consecutive years prior to the date of the donation. The amount of the new credit is based upon the amount of the original credit that could have been claimed at the time of the original donation based upon the value of the donation accepted by the internal revenue service; except that the fair market value of the land used to calculate the value of the new credit cannot exceed 250% of the donor's cost basis in the land subject to the donated conservation easement. The amount of the new credit is reduced by any amount that was allowed to be claimed against Colorado income tax or otherwise reinstated to the claimant of the original credit. The new credit is not refundable but may be carried forward or transferred in the same manner as the original credit. The department of revenue is required to make information about the new credit available online. The bill establishes a process for applying to the division of conservation to claim the new credit. If the original credit that was denied was transferred to another taxpayer as transferee, the bill provides a process for all parties to the transaction to submit a mutual application to claim the new credit or, if there is objection, an ombudsman process to resolve disputes about the distribution of the credit. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act expands the existing pretrial diversion program to include diversion programs that are intended to identify eligible individuals with behavioral health disorders and divert such individuals out of the criminal justice system and into community treatment programs. This expansion replaces the alternative pilot programs to divert individuals with mental health conditions that are set to repeal July 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The habitat partnership program (program) assists the division of parks and wildlife (division) with reducing wildlife conflicts and meeting game management objectives. The act: Authorizes the director of the division (director) to independently appoint members of the habitat partnership council (council) that, in part, advises local habitat partnership committees (committees) that help implement program objectives; Expands the scope of the program to assist the division with private land conservation and wildlife migration corridor efforts; With respect to reducing wildlife conflicts, prioritizes conflicts that arise from forage and fence issues related to big game ungulate species, which are big game species that are hooved mammals; Authorizes the council to allocate an annual budget to each committee, subject to final approval by the director, and expend funds in areas of the state that are not covered by a committee; Requires the director to set terms for committee members; and Identifies the council and each committee as an independent organizational unit for purposes of purchasing, accounting, and procurement-related issues. The act clarifies that any balance of unexpended and unencumbered money in the habitat partnership cash fund (fund) at the end of a fiscal year that exceeds the amount transferred to the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year from the wildlife cash fund reverts to the wildlife cash fund and continues the fund indefinitely. The act also exempts the program from the "Procurement Code". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases, from 10% to 100%, the amount of tuition revenues that a governing board of an institution of higher education or group of institutions of higher education designated as an enterprise may pledge in a contract for the advancement of money. If an institution of higher education issues a revenue bond and the governing board of the institution wants the bond to be an intercept bond, the act raises the amount of the pledged revenue for the new intercept bond from not less than 10% of tuition to not less than 100% of tuition if the institution is an enterprise. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a board of county commissioners, which appoints directors to a board of directors for a cemetery district, to remove any director from such a board for cause after giving the director notice and an opportunity to be heard at a public hearing. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, municipalities and regional service authorities are authorized to file an application for dissolution of a special district with the board of directors of the special district. The act expands current law to authorize a board of county commissioners to file such an application if the special district is wholly located in the boundaries of the county and to file jointly with another board of county commissioners such an application if the special district is located in 2 or more counties. If more than 85% of the special district's territory is located within the boundaries of one or more municipalities, the board of directors of the special district shall not take any action on the application unless the governing bodies of all such municipalities have consented to or joined the application. Current law also allows the governing body of a municipality and a special district wholly within the corporate limits of the municipality that has no financial obligations or outstanding debt to mutually consent to dissolution of the special district via a court order dissolving the special district without an election. The act expands current law to allow a board of county commissioners and a special district that is wholly within the county's boundaries to mutually consent to dissolution of the special district in the same manner via a court order dissolving the special district without an election; except that, if more than 85% of the special district lies within one or more municipalities, the governing bodies of all such municipalities also must consent to dissolution via court order without an election. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)