Bill Tracker

The bill requires county and municipal building codes to allow the use of lumber milled from lodgepole pine and Englemann spruce trees having a grade of "stud" or better as building framing material. County and municipal building codes must also encourage the use of lumber milled from these trees for this purpose.

Wood and wood products from trees killed or infested in Colorado by the mountain pine beetle are currently exempt from sales and use tax.

The exemption expires on July 1, 2013.

The bill specifies that the current exemption includes trees killed or infested in Colorado by the spruce beetle and extends the expiration of the exemption to July 1, 2020.

The bill establishes a nonseverable wind energy right in real property.

If a service plan for a proposed special district is approved by a board of county commissioners, current law requires any interested party who appeared and objected to the plan to be given notice and have the right to appear at a court hearing on the petition to organize the district.

Section 1 of the bill would require the party to also be a taxpayer or eligible elector of the proposed district in order to be given notice and have the right to appear at the hearing. Section 2 requires the notice of court hearing to be sent by certified mail rather than registered mail.

Current law allows the court, in the order authorizing the organizational election, to name an eligible elector as the designated election official. Section 3 allows the court, by any order of the court, to name a person experienced in conducting special district elections to serve as the designated election official.

The bill establishes a nutrients scientific advisory board, appointed by leadership of the general assembly, to review proposed numeric water quality nutrient standards regulating nitrogen and phosphorus to determine how the proposed rules comply with an executive order; reflect active stakeholder participation; fully consider a cost-benefit study; are structured to avoid unnecessary regulation and minimize the fiscal impact to state agencies and local governments; and are designed to address basin-specific conditions. The advisory board will deliver a report to the water quality control commission and the general assembly by February 1, 2013. The commission cannot adopt the proposed rule until the rule is approved by the general assembly acting by bill.

The bill requires a title insurance agent doing business in this state to maintain a physical office within this state for its employees, including the designated responsible insurance producer. An attorney who is licensed to practice law in Colorado and who is a licensed title insurance agent is exempt from the requirement.

The bill adopts, with some revisions, suggested language from the commission on uniform state laws concerning the records required to be kept by a unit owners' association concerning the finances, board meeting minutes, and other affairs of a common interest community under the "Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act".

Currently, only a person who owns property within the territory or proposed expanded territory of a special district is eligible to vote in a special district election. Section 1 of the bill allows a person who owns property within the service area or proposed expanded service area of a special district to vote in a special district election. Section 2 modifies the process by which a special district expands its service area by:

• Allowing a special district to expand its service area into anew county only with the approval of the board of county commissioners of the county and specifying the process by which a special district may obtain such approval; and
• Prohibiting a board of county commissioners fromapproving a special district's expanded service plan that includes property of a property owner who has not consented to the inclusion of his or her property in the expanded service area.

In lieu of the existing requirement that the lesser of 30% or 200 of the taxpaying electors of a proposed special district sign the petition for organization of the district, section 3 requires a petition for organization of a special district that is a metropolitan district to be signed by the lesser of 90% or 200 of the taxpaying electors of the proposed metropolitan district.

The bill changes the reallocation of conservation trust fund moneys to a metropolitan district that provides parks and recreation services exclusively within the unincorporated area of a county from one-half of the percentage to the full percentage which the district's population within the county is to the total population of the unincorporated area of the county. A metropolitan district may opt-out of the increased reallocation.

The bill clarifies that oil and gas operations are subject to local governments' authority, as well as the authority of the oil and gas conservation commission. The bill establishes that oil and gas operations are subject to the same local government control as is established for other mineral extractions.

Under current law governing the review by a board of county commissioners (board) of a map of a proposed subdivision (plan), the board or its authorized representative is required to distribute copies of prints of the plan to, among others, the Colorado geological survey (survey) for an evaluation of the geologic factors that would have a significant impact on the proposed use of the land. The bill exempts the survey from having to perform this function upon written request from the board or its authorized representative.

Currently, if no interest rate is specified, creditors are entitled to receive interest at a rate of 8% per annum compounded annually. The bill changes this statutory interest rate to a rate equal to 2 percentage points above the discount rate that the federal reserve bank of Kansas City charges commercial banks as of January 2 of the year in which the moneys become due. The secretary of state will certify the interest rate each January 2.

Currently, the secretary of state certifies the interest rate for judgments that are appealed and for damages for personal injuries on December 31 for the following year. The bill changes the date of certification to January 2 for each year.

The bill clarifies language on interest recoverable for damages in a personal injury action.

The bill changes the name of the governor's energy office to the Colorado office of energy development (office). As part of the reorganization of the office, the bill changes the mission of the office to:

• Promoting all Colorado energy;
• Promoting economic development in Colorado throughenergy-market advances that create jobs;
• Encouraging Colorado-based clean and innovative energysolutions that include traditional and renewable energy sources;
• Increasing energy security;
• Lowering long-term consumer costs; and! Protecting the environment.
• Protecting the environment.

The bill aligns the duties of the office with the new mission of the office.

The bill requires the office to obtain legislative approval prior to changing office policies related to its strategic plan, the definition of "renewable energy", energy transmission, or any policy that could negatively impact the use of traditional energy sources.

The bill creates the renewable energy fund and specifies that the fund be used by the office to work with communities, utilities, private and public organizations, and individuals to promote:

• The renewable energy standard;
• Renewable energy such as wind, solar, biomass,hydroelectricity, thermal gasification, and geothermal;
• Energy efficiency technologies;
• Cleaner technologies by utilizing traditionalColorado-sourced energy; and ! New energy technologies.
• New energy technologies.

The bill changes the name of the clean energy fund to the innovative energy fund, aligns the purposes of that fund with the new mission of the office, limits the expenditures from the fund for those projects related to the severance of minerals subject to taxation under state law, and transfers moneys to the innovative energy fund from the perpetual base account of the severance tax trust fund.

The bill repeals:

• The wind for schools grant program;
• The Colorado clean energy development authority; and
• The green truck grant program.

The bill ends the office's role as a consultant to the reenergize Colorado program and the geothermal resource leasing fund.

The bill changes the name of the clean energy improvement debt reserve fund to the energy improvement debt reserve fund and includes improvements to the efficiency of traditional energy fixtures as part of the definition of "renewable energy improvement" for purposes of local improvement districts. The bill ends the authority of the office to use up to 5% of the moneys in the Colorado office of energy development low-income energy assistance fund for planning, overseeing, and evaluating the program to improve the energy efficiency of low-income households.

Finally, the bill terminates the office on July 1, 2018, unless extended through the sunset review process.

Currently, moneys in the local government severance tax fund are primarily used for 2 purposes:

• For the executive director of the department of local affairsto provide grants and loans to political subdivisions impacted by development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels; and
• For direct distributions to counties and municipalities basedon factors related to oil and gas production. 

The bill prohibits any local government that restricts or delays the ability of an oil and gas producer to exercise the producer's property right as a lessee or owner to extract oil and gas from receiving any grants or direct distributions from the local government severance tax fund.

The bill requires residential roofing contractors to sign a written contract with customers that details the following:

• The scope of roofing services and materials to be provided;
• The approximate dates of service;
• The costs of the services;
• The roofing contractor's contact information;
• Identification of the roofing contractor's surety and liabilitycoverage insurer and their contact information, if applicable;
• The roofing contractor's policy regarding cancellation ofthe contract and refund of any deposit, including a rescission clause allowing the client to rescind the contract and obtain a full refund of any deposit within 72 hours after entering the contract; and
• A written statement that if the client plans to use theproceeds of a property or casualty insurance policy to pay for the roofing work, the roofing contractor cannot pay, waive, rebate, or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any deductible applicable to the claim for payment for roofing work on the covered residential property.
A person who enters into a contract with a roofing contractor to perform roofing work on his or her residential property and who submits a claim to his or her property and casualty insurer for payment for the roofing work may rescind the contract for the roofing work if the insurer denies the claim in whole or in part, as long as the person notifies the roofing contractor within 72 hours after the claim is denied. The roofing contractor must refund any moneys paid by the customer within 10 days

after receipt of the cancellation notice.

When residential roofing work will be paid from the proceeds of a property and casualty insurance policy covering the residential property, the roofing contractor is prohibited from paying, waiving, rebating, or offering or promising to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any deductible that applies to the claim.

The bill requires the holder of an evidence of debt (typically a mortgage lender), before initiating or completing the process of foreclosing on residential real property containing 4 or fewer dwelling units, to make and fully document its efforts to:

• Contact the borrower directly;
• Negotiate in good faith with the borrower in an effort toeffectuate a cure for default rather than move directly into the foreclosure process;
• Fully assess the eligibility of the borrower, the property,and the loan for any available public or private loan modification programs or other alternatives to foreclosure;
• Communicate with, and inform, the borrower aboutimpending deadlines and the consequences of missing them at every major step of the foreclosure process;
• Carry the burden of proof in court proceedings regardingthe holder's compliance with procedural as well as substantive requirements before obtaining an order authorizing sale of the property under rule 120 in the Colorado rules of civil procedure; and
• Abide by the terms of any offer of modification it makes,if the borrower signs and returns documents containing those terms.

The bill prohibits a county or municipality from requiring sprinklers to be installed in single-family dwellings.

The bill applies to interest imposed on property taxes illegally or erroneously levied and collected. Under current law, interest on such refunded moneys accrues only from the date payment of taxes and delinquent interest on such payment was received by the county treasurer from the taxpayer except as provided in specified circumstances. Under the bill, interest on the refunded moneys accrues from the later of the date a complete abatement petition is filed with the board of county commissioners or the date the taxes are paid.

The bill specifies that the regulation of oil and gas operations is a matter of statewide concern, the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas operations, and local regulation of oil and gas operations is preempted by state law.

The bill enacts the "Water Rights Protection Act", under which the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission (commission) must establish rules for:

• Hydraulic fracturing near radioactive materials and siteslisted on the national priority list pursuant to the federal "superfund" law; and
• The shut-down of hydraulic fracturing operations whenmonitoring equipment detects a pressure drop.
Oil and gas operators must submit water quantity reports showing projected and actual sources and amounts of water needed for hydraulically fracturing a well. Operators must also submit pre- and post-fracturing water quality reports for all active water wells located within .5 mile of oil and gas wells that will be or have been hydraulically

fractured. This information will be posted on the commission's web site.

Operators cannot inject into the ground any chemical compound that would cause cancer.

In addition to existing financial assurances, each operator that engages in a high-risk hydraulic fracturing treatment must take out an environmental bond that would be forfeited if the operator's operations cause any damage to water rights.

Subject to listed affirmative defenses, an operator is presumed to be responsible for the pollution of a water supply that is within .5 mile of a line between the well head and the surface projection of the bottom hole location of the well, if the pollution occurred within 6 months after the completion of the hydraulic fracturing of the well. Hydraulic fracturing would be prohibited within .5 mile of any surface water, including a pond, reservoir, or other natural or artificial impoundment or stream, ditch, or other artificial waterway, unless the operator uses a closed-loop system.

In connection with the filing of documentation submitted for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building permit issued by a county or municipality (local government), the bill restates existing statutory requirements under which county and municipal building departments are required to review interior design construction documents and specifications submitted by an interior designer who meets certain qualifications.

A local government may adopt requirements in its building code or otherwise that are more strict than the requirements specified in the bill.

The bill does not limit, restrict, prevent, or otherwise affect:

• Any person from using the title "interior design" or"interior designer";
• Any of the legal rights or exemptions enjoyed by a personwho is a licensed professional under statutory provisions governing architects;
• A person who is able to submit interior design constructiondocuments and specifications as of the effective date of the bill from continuing to submit such documents in the same manner on or after such date; and
• Any person from designing, planning, or administering theconstruction contracts for construction, alterations, remodeling, additions to, or repair of specified structures.

The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that information concerning a public hazard (information) must be disclosed in a court action. A party objecting to the disclosure can seek a protective order to limit disclosure if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that certain factors have been met, including that the information is not relevant to the public hazard and is not useful to members of the public in protecting themselves from injury resulting from the public hazard.

The division of housing in the department of local affairs (DOLA) is a public housing agency that provides financial and other assistance to individuals in low- and moderate-income households. The division also administers various state housing programs and the supportive housing program, a public housing agency that provides financial and other assistance to persons with disabilities. The bill provides for consolidation of the 2 public housing agencies in such a manner that the division of housing in DOLA will be the only public housing agency and serve as the sole state agency for the purpose of administering and distributing financial housing assistance to persons in low- and moderate-income households and to persons with disabilities.

The homeless prevention activities program is currently administered by a nongovernmental agency selected by the executive director of the department of human services. The bill would require the division of housing in DOLA to administer the program.

Section 1 of the bill removes the statutory cap of $5,000 on the amount that a county may seek reimbursement for in connection with pest control efforts on private property. Section 2 authorizes a county pest inspector to exercise the powers already granted to counties to control weeds and rodents.

Currently, the county board of equalization receives and hears petitions for appeal regarding the valuation for assessment of taxable property. The county board of equalization process has multiple filing deadlines and addresses valuation appeals in a single year. The board of county commissioners also receives and hears petitions for appeal and has jurisdiction over petitions for abatement or refund of taxes, including assessment of taxable property overvaluation. The board of county commissioners process has one filing deadline and can address valuation appeals, abatements, and refunds over multiple years.

The bill creates a pilot program that authorizes the governing body of the city and county of Denver, at the request of the assessor, to elect to use an alternate protest and appeal procedure that combines the multiple steps in the annual valuation dispute process through the county board of equalization into the single hearing and appeal process conducted by the board of county commissioners. The filing deadlines for tax petitions and for resolving valuation disputes are specified for the city and county of Denver to use the alternate protest and appeal procedure.

The bill also authorizes the city and county of Denver board of equalization and the board of county commissioners to request that the taxpayer that filed a petition, or the taxpayer's representative, to be present at the hearing and requires each board to dismiss the petition with no right to appeal if the taxpayer or the taxpayer's designee fails to be present at the hearing absent good cause.

The bill defines "building and construction contract" as any contract subject to statutory provisions regarding mechanics' liens. Any provision in a building and construction contract that is performed in Colorado making the contract subject to the laws of another state or requiring dispute resolution in another state is void. Any provision requiring a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier to waive a right to a mechanics' lien is void.

Contractors and subcontractors must pay subcontractors and material suppliers within 7 days after completion of the work under a building and construction contract. The owner of the property for which the work is performed must make monthly progress payments to the contractor unless the building and construction contract provides otherwise.