Sen. Ray Scott

Commercial driver's licenses - interstate commerce - 18 to 21 years of age. The act authorizes the department of revenue to adopt rules authorizing a person who is at least 18 years of age but under 21 years of age to be licensed to drive a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce if the person holds a commercial driver's license and operation of a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce by a person in that age range is permitted under federal law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Transportation Legislation Review Committee. The bill creates the expedited registration program (program). The program authorizes the department of revenue (department) to promulgate rules authorizing private providers to register interstate commercial vehicles. The provider may collect and retain a convenience fee. The bill requires the program to: Operate efficiently; Result in overall cost savings to the state by providing additional services or by increasing the speed or quality of service; and Register commercial vehicles and collect taxes and fees in compliance with state law. To qualify, a private provider must: Be approved by the department; Use appropriate software approved by the department; and Submit evidence of financial responsibility. The department may deny, suspend, or revoke the authority to be a provider if the provider violates the law, makes a material misstatement in an application, or fails to perform. To implement the bill, annual general appropriation to the department for driver services is decreased by $30,747, $25,471 is appropriated to the department from the licensing services cash fund, and $26,141 is appropriated to the department from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

In current law, second degree burglary is a class 4 felony, but it is a class 3 felony under 2 specified circumstances. The bill designates a third type of second degree burglary as a class 3 felony: that is, a burglary, the objective of which is the theft of one or more firearms or ammunition. The bill also states that when a person is convicted of such a burglary, in addition to any other sentence, the court may require the person to pay a fine of at least $5,000 but not exceeding $750,000. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Section 1 of the bill repeals the wind for schools grant program. Section 2 repeals the renewable energy and energy efficiency for schools loan program. Section 3 removes the Colorado energy office's (office) involvement with the forest service and the air quality control commission to support the increased use of woody biomass in bio-heating. Section 4 removes the office's involvement in grants with the Colorado energy research institute for the development of a central resource for building trade professionals. Section 5 : Specifies nuclear and hydroelectric power as a cleaner energy source that the office should promote; Adds energy storage systems as items that the office should promote; Adds propane as a traditional energy source that the office should promote; Amends the office's requirement to develop and encourage increased utilization of energy curricula, and expands the collaborative groups to include the energy industry and executive departments; and Repeals certain programs for which the office is responsible. Section 6 renames the clean and renewable energy fund as the energy fund and adds the authority to spend the money in the fund for educating the general public on energy issues and opportunities. Section 7 removes the requirement that the funds used in the innovative energy fund for grants or loans shall be limited to innovative energy efficiency projects and policy development. Section 8 repeals the office's authority to submit a proposal for credentialing photovoltaic installers. Section 9 repeals the green building incentive pilot program. Section 10 repeals the 'Colorado Clean Energy Finance Program Act'. Section 11 removes the office's responsibility to maintain a list of solar installers and instead requires the list to be maintained by the Colorado solar energy industries association, or a successor organization, and removes the requirement for the office to offer training on solar installations. Section 12 removes an obsolete section of law pertaining to a computer system for tracking the movement of gasoline or special fuel in the state. Section 13 removes the office as the administrator of the Colorado carbon fund special license plate. Section 14 makes conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Currently, the first $40 million of retail marijuana excise tax revenue annually collected is credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund (assistance fund) for purposes of the 'Building Excellent Schools Today Act' (BEST) and the remainder of the revenue is credited to the state public school fund. For state fiscal years commencing on and after July 1, 2018, sections 1 and 4 of the bill increase the amount of retail marijuana excise tax revenue credited to the assistance fund to the greater of 90% of the revenue annually collected or the first $40 million of such revenue. The remainder of the revenue continues to be credited to the state public school fund. Section 2 increases the maximum total annual amount of lease payments on BEST lease-purchase agreements authorized to be paid with both state money and local matching money to $110 million for the 2018-19 fiscal year and $120 million for the 2019-20 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter. If, for any state fiscal year, the total amount of revenue credited to the assistance fund from all sources during the prior state fiscal year is less than the total amount of all payments due during the state fiscal year on BEST lease-purchase agreements, then section 3 requires the amount of the annual appropriation to fund the state's share of total program funding for all school districts and institute charter schools to be reduced and general fund money made available by the reduction to be transferred to the assistance fund to make up for the shortfall. Section 5 appropriates $34 million from the assistance fund to the department of education for BEST lease-purchase agreement payments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill creates a framework for the department of revenue to establish electronic processing for issuing certificates of title, filing or releasing liens, or registering vehicles and special mobile machinery. This is subject to the department promulgating rules: Vendors are authorized to electronically register vehicles; County clerks continue to receive registration fees; The department may maintain titling information electronically and may produce paper titles only upon request of a party; The department may accept electronic signatures; Notarization requirements are eliminated; The vender may order, manage, and distribute license plate inventory to a client; The vendor may access, print, and distribute the registration information to a client on demand; The vendor is an agent of the department, so the vendor must collect and remit taxes and fees; and The vendor may perform these services only for business entities. The department's approval of a third-party provider to register a vehicle, file or release liens, or issue any type of certificate of title must be evidenced by an agreement between the department and the third-party provider. The vendor may charge a fee. A vendor is authorized to give the department gifts, grants, and donations to implement electronic transactions. The department may deny a person access to the records for misuse and shall ensure that addresses of people in the address protection program are not released. Current law prohibits denying legal effect or enforceability of an electronic document to issue a certificate of title. The bill expands this provision to cover vehicle registration, clarifies that this includes electronic signatures, and clarifies that this applies to a court of law. Currently, tow carriers, insurers, and salvage pools use an electronic system to access department records to ascertain the motor vehicle's owner and lienholder. The bill allows motor vehicle dealers and other businesses approved by the department to use the same system to determine a motor vehicle's owner and lienholder for purposes authorized by current law. The department shall ensure that addresses of people in the address protection program are not released. Current law requires a manufacturer's certificate of origin to issue a certificate of title for a vehicle. The bill allows a motor vehicle rental company to obtain title without a manufacturer's certificate of origin if the business: Presents a manufacturer's invoice; and Submits a signed affidavit attesting that the motor vehicle is new and has not been issued a certificate of title and that the business is entitled to be issued a certificate of title for the motor vehicle. $1,187,502 is appropriated to the department of revenue from gifts, grants, and donations in the highway users tax fund to implement this act. From that appropriation, $16,590 is appropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

If there are fewer than 3 bidders on a design bid build highway project, a provision of current law generally prohibits the department of transportation (CDOT) from awarding a contract in an amount that is more than 10% over CDOT's estimate on the project, but allows the executive director of CDOT (executive director) to award a contract that is more than 10% but less than 25% over the estimate if the estimate is less than $1,000,000. The bill authorizes a designee of the executive director to award such a contract. Another provision of current law, which is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2018, authorizes the executive director to award a contract for a design bid build highway project to the low responsible bidder regardless of CDOT's estimate on the project if the executive director determines that it is in the best financial, economic, or other interest of the state to do so and requires CDOT, in its annual report to its legislative oversight committees, to explain the reasons for making the award and estimate the amount of cost savings achieved by making any such award. The bill prevents the authorization and reporting requirements from being repealed. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Current law requires a person, before conducting an excavation, to contact a nonprofit notification association (comprised of all owners and operators of underground facilities) by dialing '811' to learn the location of underground facilities in the excavation project area. The owners and operators must then accurately mark the location of their facilities. Violations of the excavation damage prevention law are enforced exclusively through civil actions initiated by damaged parties to collect specified civil penalties and damages. In 2016, the United States department of transportation's pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration (PHMSA) conducted an adequacy evaluation of Colorado's enforcement of its excavation damage prevention law and determined that the enforcement is inadequate, which may eventually result in the withholding of federal funds from Colorado. The bill creates the underground damage prevention safety commission (commission) as an independent agency within the department of labor and employment. The commission has rule-making and enforcement authority regarding specified portions of the excavation damage prevention law and is required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the notification association to facilitate implementation and administration of the law. The notification association is required to provide administrative support to the commission in performing its duties. A review committee of the commission initially determines whether a violation of the law has occurred and, if appropriate, recommends remedial action, potentially including a fine. Fines range from $250 for a single minor violation within the previous 12 months to $75,000 for a fourth major violation within the previous 12 months. The full commission is bound by the review committee's determination of facts but determines the final agency action regarding alleged violations. Fines are credited to the damage prevention fund, which the commission will use to develop educational programming, including by making grants, that is designed to improve worker and public safety relating to excavation and underground facilities. Current law allows only an excavator to submit a location request to the notification association. The bill authorizes a licensed professional engineer designing excavation to submit a location request. The engineer is required to ensure that the engineering plans meet certain standards established by the American Society of Civil Engineers for defining the accuracy of an underground facility location. Current law creates 2 tiers of membership in the notification association. Tier 2 members are limited members with limited benefits and include certain special districts, local governments, cable television providers, and small telecommunications providers; tier 1 members are full members with full benefits, and tier 1 consists of all other owners and operators. If, after receiving a location request, the notification association determines that a tier 1 member owns or operates the underground facilities, the notification association contacts the tier 1 member to arrange for the marking of the underground facilities. If a tier 2 member owns or operates the underground facilities, the excavator must contact the tier 2 member to arrange for the marking of the underground facilities. Effective January 1, 2021, all underground facility owners and operators are full members of the notification association with full benefits, and excavators will no longer need to contact the owners or operators to arrange for the marking. All new underground facilities installed on or after January 1, 2020, must be electronically locatable when installed. Home rule local governments and power authorities are not subject to the commission's enforcement authority, but the governing body of a home rule local government or power authority is required to either adopt a similar enforceable damage prevention safety program or waive its exemption and delegate its damage prevention enforcement authority to the commission. Information regarding the location of underground facilities is exempt from the 'Colorado Open Records Act', pursuant to the existing exemption for specialized details of critical infrastructure. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Current law sets the fees paid by stationary sources of air pollutants by statute and allows the air quality control commission to set the fees below the cap by rule as needed to comply with TABOR. The bill increases the statutory caps as follows: Type of Fee Current Cap New Cap Air pollutant emission notices$152.90$191.13 Per-ton fee for regulated pollutants$ 22.90$ 28.63 Per-ton fee for hazardous pollutants$152.90$191.13 Per-hour permit processing fee$ 76.45$ 95.56 The maximum statutory fees automatically increase by the rate of inflation on each January 1 from 2019 to 2028, but the actual fees collected will be set at or below the statutory cap by the commission by rule. The division of administration in the department of public health and environment shall prioritize its use of the revenues generated by the fee increases to reduce permit processing times. The division will: Engage affected industries to identify and assess measures to improve billing practices, increase accounting transparency, and assess potential efficiency improvements with respect to division activities financed by the fees; and Report to the general assembly through 2022 to provide status updates on the stakeholder process. The bill appropriates $1,555,293 to the department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

In the speedy trial statute, there is a list of time periods that are excluded from the speedy trial calculation. The bill adds the period of delay caused by a continuance ordered by the court to the list, if the court finds that the continuance is necessary to protect the defendant's constitutional rights. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More