Bill Tracker

Existing law creates a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) under which certain electric utilities are required to generate an increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, in a series of increments from 3% in 2007 to 20% in 2020 and thereafter. The bill boosts these RPS percentages to achieve 30% renewable generation by 2020 and requires a portion of the RPS to be met through a subset of renewable generation, "distributed generation" (DG), which does not require additional transmission facilities to connect to the grid.

Section 1 of the bill directs the Colorado public utilities commission (PUC) to consider employment and economic factors when evaluating proposed new electric generation resource acquisitions by utilities, including the use of "best value" employment metrics such as the availability of training programs and the wages, health benefits, and pensions that workers will earn.

Section 2 defines terms, increases the RPS percentages, and, within each RPS percentage, replaces an existing carve-out for solar generation with a larger carve-out for DG (which includes customer-sited solar generation). Section 2 also directs the PUC to monitor compliance with the DG carve-out by issuing a new series of renewable energy credits (RECs) and by redesignating RECs already earned, when appropriate. Finally, section 2 limits the existing 1.25 multiplier for in-state renewable electric generation to utility-scale projects only.

Section 3 gives the PUC discretion to incrementally reduce the existing standard rebate offer (which utilities must pay as an incentive for new customer-sited renewable generation facilities such as rooftop solar panels) from $2 to some lesser amount if the PUC finds that the market no longer requires this level of subsidy. In addition, section 3 requires that the rebate offer for DG systems decline based on market conditions, as determined by the PUC, but allows the PUC to adopt performance-based incentives for DG systems.

Section 4 allows a utility to develop and own, as part of its rate base, up to 50% of the DG capacity it acquires from power purchase agreements and new construction if the cost is reasonably comparable to current market cost. Section 4 also requires the PUC to allow a utility cost recovery for the construction of new DG on a par with the cost recovery allowed for new coal-fired facilities.

For large DG facilities of one megawatt or more, section 4 directs the PUC to require registration with a regional system for tracking renewable energy generation. Effective January 1, 2012, sections 4 and 7 require new DG installations funded wholly or partly through ratepayer incentives and rebates to be installed by licensed electricians or apprentices, where appropriate, and supervised by persons who are certified by the North American board of certified energy practitioners (NABCEP) or another nationally recognized organization designated by the PUC. Finally, section 4 specifies that DG program expenditures be allocated 10% to wholesale and 90% to retail, with residential and nonresidential retail receiving a proportionate share based on the utility's customer profile. The utility may retain its costs of administering DG programs, not to exceed 5% annually.

Section 5 expressly authorizes any committee formed by executive order for the purpose of studying the desirability of regulating solar installers to submit a request for sunrise review by the department of regulatory agencies under the state's sunrise and sunset law.

Sections 5 and 6 require that for projects funded by federal or state grants or by clean energy loans made through the state's clean energy finance program, the licensing and NABCEP requirements apply beginning July 1, 2011.

Section 8 defines special terms used in sections 4 to 7.

Transportation Legislation Review Committee. Current law gives several departments authority over fees collected upon the sale of new motor vehicle tires to deal with waste tires. The bill consolidates all such authority in the department of public health and environment (department) and adds requirements for fire prevention planning, registration, decals, and manifests for certain waste tire haulers and waste tire facilities.

Section 1 of the bill ends the transfer of waste tire fees to the innovative higher education research authority program effective July 1, 2014. Section 2 repeals the department of local affairs' administration of the waste tire cleanup fund. Sections 3 and 4 repeal the advanced technology fund and, effective July 1, 2011, end the transfer of waste tire fees to the recycling resources economic opportunity grant program.

Section 5 repeals and reenacts, with amendments, the law that imposes the $1.50 waste tire fee, repeals the 3.33% vendors' fee, and allocates the fee as follows:

Until July 1, 2014, 30.33% to the processors and end users fund and 6.67% to the innovative higher education research fund; after July 1, 2014, 37% to the processors and end users fund;

39.66% to the waste tire cleanup fund;

6.67% to the waste tire fire prevention fund until July 1, 2011, after which the allocation is increased to 8%;

16.67% to the recycling resources economic opportunity fund until July 1, 2011;

After July 1, 2011, 6.67% to the waste tire market development fund; and

After July 1, 2011, 8.67% to the law enforcement grant fund.

Section 6 updates the law regarding the processors and end users fund. Section 7 recreates the waste tire cleanup fund, creates the waste tire fire prevention fund, and creates the waste tire market development fund. Sections 6 and 7 also increase the maximum reimbursements to processors and end users from $50 to $65 per ton of waste tires.

Sections 8 and 9 update the law regarding waste tire haulers to require decals on hauling vehicles and the completion and retention of manifests. Section 9 also prohibits a person from hauling more than a quantity of waste tires in excess of a limit established by rule by the solid and hazardous waste commission (commission) unless the person is registered.

Section 10 creates several new sections of law that:

Specify requirements for decals and manifests;

Require the registration of waste tire facilities;

Require, as a condition of maintaining their registration, that waste tire monofills submit to the department a waste tire inventory reduction plan and that certain waste tire facilities process 75% of the 3-year rolling annual average amount of waste tires accepted by that facility each year;

Impose requirements relating to financial responsibility for closure and reclamation of waste tire facilities;

Establish fees, give the commission general rule-making authority regarding waste tires, and identify enforcement authorities;

Create a waste tire advisory committee; and

Create a waste tire fund, used for the department's costs in administering the program.

Section 11 directs the department of regulatory agencies to conduct a sunset review of the waste tire advisory committee prior to the committee's repeal on July 1, 2020.

Section 12 conforms the definition of "waste tire" in the solid waste statute to that in the waste tire fee statute. Section 13 specifies that sales tax is not assessed when the waste tire fee is collected upon the sale of a new tire.

Section 1 of the bill adds a requirement that the air quality control commission (commission) make an annual public report about stationary industrial sources permits.

Consistent with the federal "Clean Air Act", section 2 of the bill exempts small non-Title V sources of air pollution from needing operating permits under the large Title V source permitting category.

Current law requires a person granted a construction permit to provide 30 days' advance notice to the division of administration (division) prior to starting the operations for which the permit was granted. Section 3 revises this notice requirement, allowing a newly permitted entity to notify the division within 15 days after the start-up of its permitted operations.

Section 3 also deletes a requirement that the commission annually review all permits that required 5 or more hours of professional staff time to process.

The open burning law limits the type of materials that can be burned outside and requires a permit to burn approved materials. Section 4 increases the civil penalty from $100 to $1,500 for a violation of the open burning law by a person who conducts a burn for noncommercial purposes without a permit.

Section 3 of the bill eliminates the July 1, 2010, repeal date for the existing statutory section creating the recycling resources economic opportunity fund.

Section 4 of the bill eliminates the July 1, 2010, repeal date for the
existing statutory section creating the recycling resources economic opportunity program.

Section 1 of the bill prohibits a basic telephone service provider from delivering a white page directory to a customer unless the customer requests the delivery.

Section 2 prohibits a person from delivering paper documents to another person's property in excess of one pound unless the recipient requests the delivery, which request remains valid for 5 years. A violation is punishable by a $50 fine per delivery for the first 100 recipients and $1,000 per recipient for subsequent deliveries, and the fines are capped at $100,000 per year.

The bill requires the department of transportation, using existing or easily obtainable data, to determine which state highways and portions of state highways located within metropolitan planning areas are commuter highways and to report the determination to the transportation commission by a specified date. The bill requires the commission to adopt a resolution that removes all of the highways and portions of highways that the department has determined to be commuter highways from the state highway system as of a specified date. The bill defines "commuter highway" as a highway or a portion of a highway that is:  

• Part of the state highway system;
• Located within the territory of a metropolitan planning organization;
• Not an interstate highway; and
• Determined by the traffic study conducted by the department to be used at least a specified percentage of the time, measured as a percentage of total trips on the highway or portion of a highway, for travel within the territory of the metropolitan planning organization.

The bill specifies that the removal of a highway or a portion of a highway from the state highway system shall not be deemed to require the department to cease working on or funding an uncompleted highway project.

Existing law allows cooperative electric associations to exempt themselves from regulation by the public utilities commission and become self-governing, under the control of a board of directors (board) elected by member-consumers (members). Current provisions concerning board meetings, notices, elections, and conflicts of interest lack specificity in some areas.

Section 1 of the bill requires an opportunity for member input on matters to be decided by the board at meetings, and requires the posting of meeting minutes on the association's web site.

Section 2 requires the association to adopt, and post on its web site, a written policy governing elections of directors and information about how a member may become a candidate for a position on the board. In addition, the date of an election and notice of the ballot mailing deadline for the election must be posted in advance. Section 2 also requires disclosure of campaign contributions by persons employed by the board.

Section 3 requires that candidates for positions on the board be given equal access to member lists and supply contact information for use by members.

Section 3 also:

• Requires the order of names on the ballot to be determined randomly, without automatically assigning the top line to the incumbent;
• Prohibits any candidate or association employee from handling cast ballots without a neutral third party present; and
• Prohibits the association from expending any money or resources, including mailings, to support or oppose a candidate in connection with a board election.

Section 4 requires posting on the association's web site of notice of board meetings and all available documents that will be discussed at such meetings, at least 14 days in advance for regular meetings and as soon as possible for special meetings.

Section 5 requires that, in case of any conflict between the provisions governing cooperative electric associations and the general law governing nonprofit corporations, the provisions governing cooperative electric associations will control.

Effective July 1, 2010, the bill modifies the penalties for late registration of vehicles as follows:

• Section 1 changes the administrative penalty for operation of special mobile machinery during a period for which specific ownership tax has not been paid by:
• Changing the amount of the penalty from the greater of $500 or double the amount of the specific ownership tax owed to double the amount of the specific ownership tax owed; and
• Waiving the penalty if the owner of the machinery pays all specific ownership tax due and registers the machinery by the last day of the month following the month in which the machinery was operated without being registered.

Section 2 of the bill:

• Reduces the maximum fee for late registration of a vehicle without motive power that weighs 2000 pounds or less to $25.
• Exempts from the fee for late registration of a vehicle the owner of a vehicle who, at the time an application for renewal of registration is made, signs an affidavit indicating that the vehicle has been an idled vehicle that has not been operated on any public highway of the state or, if the vehicle is mobile machinery or self-propelled construction equipment required to be registered, has not been operated at all, since the end of the last registration period for which the vehicle was registered and the grace period for renewal of registration except for the purposes of obtaining a required emissions control inspection or actually registering the vehicle.
• Specifies that a vehicle owner who knowingly signs a false affidavit commits perjury on a motor vehicle registration application and that exemption from the late fee does not exempt the owner from any other taxes or fees related to vehicle registration.

Section 3 of the bill prohibits any area that has been designated as an urban renewal area from containing any agricultural land unless:

• The agricultural land is a brownfield site as designated by the United States environmental protection agency;
• The area containing the agricultural land is at least two-thirds contiguous with urban-level development and at least one-half of the area consists of urban-level development that is determined to constitute a slum or blighted area;
• The agricultural land is an enclave within the territorial boundaries of a municipality and the entire perimeter of the enclave has been contiguous with urban-level development for a period of not less than 3 years;
• Each public body that levies an ad valorem property tax on the agricultural land agrees in writing to the inclusion of the agricultural land within the urban renewal area; or
• The agricultural land was included in an approved urban renewal plan prior to the effective date of the bill.

In addition, section 3 of the bill:

• Where agricultural land is included within an urban renewal area under the conditions specified in the bill, requires the county assessor to value the agricultural land at its fair market value solely for determining the base amount of taxes to be paid to the public bodies without consideration of the tax increment. Nothing in the bill affects the actual classification of agricultural land for property tax purposes.
• Expands the grounds allowing counties to challenge information contained in urban renewal impact reports.
• Permits the required agreement to be entered into by or among the municipality and urban renewal authority and county taxing entities in the case of tax increment financing to provide for a waiver of certain requirements under the urban renewal law.

Section 4 of the bill requires urban renewal plans to include a legal description of the urban renewal area, including the legal description of any agricultural land proposed for inclusion within the urban renewal area pursuant to the conditions specified in the bill.

Section 5 of the bill provides that, not later than 30 days after the municipality has provided the county assessor notice that the urban renewal plan contains tax increment financing provisions, the assessor may provide written notice to the municipality if the assessor believes that agricultural land has been improperly included in the urban renewal area under the conditions specified in the bill. If the notice is not delivered within the 30-day period, the inclusion of the land in the urban renewal area as described in the urban renewal plan shall be incontestable in any suit or proceeding notwithstanding the presence of any cause. If the assessor provides written notice to the municipality within the 30-day period, the municipality may file an action in state district court for an order determining whether the inclusion of the land in the urban renewal area is consistent with one of the conditions specified in the bill and shall have an additional 30 days from the date it receives the notice in which to file the action. If the municipality fails to file such an action within the additional 30-day period, the urban renewal area shall not include the agricultural land.

The bill makes various changes regarding animal welfare laws.

Section 1 identifies a person engaged in animal control for a local governmental entity as a peace officer and specifies that the person's authority is limited to enforcement of ordinances and resolutions related to pet animal control.

Section 2 allows conviction of an offense of cruelty to animals or any felony or crime of moral turpitude to be used as grounds for denial of employment in local animal control or as an animal protection agent in the bureau of animal protection (agent).

Section 3:

• Grants a court discretion to waive the bond requirement for indigent owners of impounded animals;
• Requires courts to hear matters related to animal impoundment on an expedited basis;
• Requires the bonds paid by an owner of an animal impounded in connection with a charge or investigation of an animal-related offense to be refunded, or the entire amount of the proceeds from sale of the animal to be forwarded, to the owner if the owner is not convicted of the charges; and
• Applies the Colorado rules of civil procedure to impoundment hearings, establishes a clear and convincing standard of proof for such proceedings, and prohibits testimony given by the owner or custodian of an impounded animal from being admitted in any subsequent criminal prosecution.

Section 4 requires nongovernmental entities that contract with counties to enforce pet animal control regulations to make certain information available for public inspection.

Section 5:

• Limits the authority of animal control officers to enforcement of laws concerning pet animals;
• Requires persons engaged in animal control to undergo a criminal history record check prior to such engagement;
• Requires personnel engaged in pet animal control by local governments to carry picture identification and to produce the identification upon request by any interested person;
• Requires animal control officers engaged on and after January 1, 2011, to undergo, at a minimum, the same training as is required for an agent prior to being so engaged; and
• Declares the imposition of minimum standards for persons engaged in animal control to be a valid exercise of the state police power and a matter of statewide concern.

Sections 6 and 11 relocate provisions describing the scope of the "Animal Protection Act" (act).

Section 7:

• Specifies the minimum qualifications and recommendations for, respectively, an agent enforcing the act or animal control officer;
• Requires the commissioner of the Colorado department of agriculture (commissioner) to revoke or refuse to renew the commission of any agent convicted of an offense of cruelty to animals or other felony or crime of moral turpitude;
• Increases from $100,000 to $1,000,000 the minimum amount of liability insurance that animal protection agents who are agents of nonprofit corporations are required to carry;
• Restricts the scope of authority of agents to enforcement of laws related to animal care, welfare, and protection; and
• Requires agents of the Colorado bureau of animal protection and personnel engaged in pet animal control by local governments to carry picture identification and to produce the identification upon request by any interested person.

Section 8 requires an agent to undergo a criminal history record check before being commissioned to enforce the act, and prohibits the commissioner from appointing a person convicted of an offense of cruelty to animals after the commissioner's review of the person's criminal history record check.

Section 9 repeals the requirement that the animal of an owner adjudged to be able to adequately provide for the animal and fit to care for the animal not be returned to the owner until the owner pays the costs of the food, shelter, and care of the animal during the pendency of the matter.

Section 10 requires the commissioner to obtain a search warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction before conducting a search of private property for purposes of the act.

Section 12 clarifies that the dangerous dog registry is open to public inspection.

The bill creates the Colorado kids outdoors grant program (grant program) in the department of natural resources to provide grants for programs that allow Colorado youth to participate in outdoor activities in the state, including but not limited to programs that emphasize the environment and experiential, field-based learning. The executive director of the department of natural resources (executive director) will adopt rules to implement the grant program, including criteria for selecting grant recipients. An advisory council will assist the executive director in reviewing the applications and creating the criteria. The grant program will be funded through gifts, grants, and donations, which will be deposited in the newly created Colorado kids outdoors grant program fund. The executive director will report to certain legislative committees concerning implementation of the grant program, including the amount awarded and the activities that receive funding.

The bill directs the department of education, in consultation with the department of natural resources, to create and the state board of education (state board) to adopt a state plan for environmental education (state plan). The state plan will be designed to strengthen environmental education in the state and provide to educators professional development in environmental education. The department of education and the state board will create and adopt the state plan only if the department receives gifts, grants, and donations to pay the costs of creating and adopting the plan. Any moneys received by the department of education for creating the state plan will be credited to the newly created state environmental education fund.

Section 2 of the bill codifies the existing bicycle and pedestrian policy directive of the department of transportation (CDOT) into law and makes legislative declarations.

Section 3 of the bill:

• Requires CDOT and the departments of education and public safety to collaborate, under the auspices of the safe routes to schools program of CDOT, with local governments, school districts, and appropriate organizations to develop and make available to schools a comprehensive educational curriculum regarding the safe use of public streets and premises open to the public by users of nonmotorized wheeled transportation.
• Requires an individual 2 years of age or older but under 18 years of age to wear a helmet that meets the applicable federal safety standard for helmets whenever the individual uses nonmotorized wheeled transportation on a public street or premises open to the public.
• Defines "nonmotorized wheeled transportation" as any human-powered vehicle or equipment intended for use on public streets and premises open to the public and designed primarily to transport one or more individuals and that rolls on wheels including, but not limited to, a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or in-line skates. The definition does not include a wagon, a trailer, or any other vehicle or equipment that is primarily designed to be towed or pulled by an individual or by any other vehicle or equipment.
• Categorizes a violation of the helmet requirement as an unclassified traffic infraction but specifies that its enforcement shall consist only of the stopping of a violator or an accompanying adult, the informing of the violator or accompanying adult of the violation, and the provision of a card to the violator or accompanying adult that explains the risks of not wearing a helmet and provides information as to where the violator may obtain a free or low-cost helmet if the violator or the violator's family cannot afford to purchase one.
• Specifies that a violation of the helmet requirement is not admissible as evidence in court as a defense against liability or to reduce damages in a lawsuit arising out of the violator's death or injury and that the parent or legal guardian of a violator shall not be subject to any legal liability due to the violation.
• Exempts from the helmet requirement an individual whose religious beliefs or practices would be violated by the wearing of a helmet.

The bill requires a water judge to consider, in decrees for water rights, leases of water for at least 10 years, or changes of use of water rights that divert at least 1000 acre-feet of consumptive use per year from one water division into another, terms and conditions to ensure that present and prospective beneficial uses of water within the water division from which water would be diverted are not impaired or increased in cost as a result of the transdivision diversion.

These requirements will be deemed to have been met if the applicant has reached a mitigation agreement with the water conservation district and conservancy districts from within whose boundaries the waters are proposed for diversion or within whose boundaries water would be purchased for exchange and the terms and conditions of the mitigation agreement are included in the decree. Districts that propose to enter into such a mitigation agreement are required to notify the public of, and hold a public meeting on, the proposed terms of the agreement.

Under current law, a state income tax credit is allowed for a portion of the value of a perpetual conservation easement that is granted by a taxpayer on real property located in Colorado. The executive director of the department of revenue (executive director) is authorized to review the appraisal supporting the valuation of an easement and to reject the value of the easement and the amount of the credit claimed in certain circumstances.

The bill restricts the ability of the executive director to contest an appraisal and credit claimed for an easement donated prior to January 1, 2008, unless the valuation has been disallowed by the internal revenue service on or before July 31, 2010, or the valuation is supported solely by an appraisal from an appraiser convicted of fraud or misrepresentation prior to January 1, 2011, in connection with preparing the appraisal.

Current law is unclear regarding the scope of the existing right of navigation. Section 1 of the bill recognizes that the state's adoption of the common law of England established the right of navigation. Section 2:

• Clarifies that a guide employed by a licensed river outfitter and the guide's passengers may float on waterways that have historically been used for commercial float trips without committing civil or criminal trespass if they gain access to the waterway from public land or from private land with consent and make only incidental contact with the beds and banks of the waterway while floating and portaging;
• Limits a landowner's liability to such persons to damages willfully or deliberately caused by the landowner unless the person is an invitee or licensee of the landowner;
• Specifies that such a person who damages private property is liable for the damage; and
• Specifies that nothing in the law regulating river outfitters affects water rights.

Sunset Process - House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee. The bill implements the sunset review recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies regarding river outfitters pursuant to the provisions of the sunset law, with modifications. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the bill extend the river outfitting licensure program until September 1, 2019. Sections 4 and 6 broaden the definition of "advertise" in connection with the licensure requirement. Section 6 also directs the board of parks and outdoor recreation (board) to adopt a schedule for license renewals, with license terms not to exceed 3 years, and allows the length of license terms to be staggered so that approximately equal numbers of licensees renew their licenses each year. Section 5 requires the board to e-mail a notice of every proposed rule to each licensee. Section 7:

• Specifies that, of the 500 river miles currently required to be qualified as a trip leader, at least 250 must be from regulated trips and no more than 250 may be from nonregulated trips;
• Requires all guides to be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and
• Repeals the guide qualification exemption for designated faculty members of institutions of higher education in charge of water sport activity courses.

The bill allows the department of transportation (department), in consultation with the division of wildlife in the department of natural resources, to establish areas within the public highways of the state as wildlife crossing zones. If the department receives authorization from the federal government to designate areas of the federal highways of the state as wildlife crossing zones, the department may do so. The department is prohibited from establishing a lower speed limit for more than 100 miles of the public highways of the state that have been established as wildlife crossing zones.

If the department establishes an area as a wildlife crossing zone, the department may erect signs identifying the zone and establishing a lower speed limit for the portion of the highway that lies within the zone. In establishing a lower speed limit within a wildlife crossing zone, the department shall give due consideration to the percentage of traffic accidents that occur within the area that involve the presence of wildlife on the public highway, the relative levels of traffic congestion and mobility in the area, and the relative numbers of traffic accidents that occur within the area during the daytime and evening hours and involve the presence of wildlife on the public highway. If the department erects a new wildlife crossing zone sign, it shall ensure that the sign indicates, in conformity with the state traffic control manual, that increased traffic penalties are in effect within the zone.

The bill requires the department to prepare and submit a report to the transportation and energy committee of the house of representatives and the transportation committee of the senate concerning the establishment of wildlife crossing zones. The report, at a minimum, shall include the location and length of each wildlife crossing zone; the total number of miles within the public highways of the state that the department has established as wildlife crossing zones; the total number of wildlife crossing zones for which the department of transportation has established a lower speed limit; the effect, if any, that the establishment of each wildlife crossing zone has had in reducing the frequency of traffic accidents within the wildlife crossing zone; and a recommendation by the department as to whether the general assembly should discontinue the establishment of wildlife crossing zones, continue the limited establishment of wildlife crossing zones, or expand the establishment of wildlife crossing zones.

The bill subjects a person who commits a moving traffic violation in a wildlife crossing zone to increased penalties and surcharges. If the department erects a traffic sign designating an area of a public highway as a wildlife crossing zone, the department shall establish when the area will be deemed to be a wildlife crossing zone and ensure that the sign indicates when the area will be deemed to be a wildlife crossing zone.

The bill creates the "Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act" (act), which prohibits a manufacturer from knowingly selling, offering for sale, or distributing for sale or use in Colorado on and after September 1, 2011, any personal care product that contains a chemical identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity.

The bill sets forth legislative findings and declarations regarding chemicals in consumer products and the harmful health effects of those chemicals, particularly on women of childbearing age, fetuses, and children.

The bill further establishes a process for identifying those chemicals that cannot be contained in personal care products sold or distributed in Colorado by recognizing existing lists of harmful chemicals established by authoritative bodies such as the United States environmental protection agency, the international agency for research on cancer, the national toxicology program, and the national institute for occupational safety and health.

"Personal care products", consistent with the definition of "cosmetics" in the federal "Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act", is defined to include any article intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering a person's appearance.

Private citizens may file suit to enforce the act, and the prevailing plaintiff may recover an award of attorney fees and costs if a violation is found. If a manufacturer violates the act, the bill authorizes the imposition of a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per product for the first offense and up to $10,000 per violation per product for a second or subsequent offense.

The bill appropriates the following amounts from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund for the following projects:

• $250,000 for continuation of satellite monitoring system maintenance;
• $50,000 for instream flow engineering and technical support services;
• $175,000 for continuation of the weather modification program;
• $500,000 for continuation of the Colorado floodplain map modernization program;
• $250,000 for continuation of the watershed restoration program; and
• Up to $300,000 to restore the unencumbered balance in the flood response fund to $300,000.

Household furnishings that are not used for the production of income are exempt from property tax. The bill specifies that household furnishings include an independently owned residential solar electric generation facility. The bill further specifies that:

• An independently owned residential solar electric generation facility shall not be considered to be used for the production of income unless the facility produces income for the owner of the residential real property on which the facility is located; and
• Rebates, offsets, credits, and reimbursements made available by a utility shall not constitute the production of income.

The bill permits any railroad company to sell its right-of-way for the operation of a public passenger rail service, which the bill defines as any passenger service that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways. The bill specifies that the right-of-way shall continue to be used as a public highway only for operation of public passenger rail service if ownership of the right-of-way is transferred to a public passenger rail service provider, regardless of:

• Whether or not an order of abandonment has been issued for the right-of-way by the federal surface transportation board, any successor federal agency, or by any court of competent jurisdiction; 
• The technology used to operate the public passenger rail service; or 
• Whether ownership of the railroad is public or private.

The bill further provides that no rail service provider operating public passenger rail service shall be required to offer its right-of-way for use by any other rail service provider by operation of Colorado law after an order of abandonment has been issued.

Budget Package Bill. Section 1 of the bill adjusts the authorization of appropriations from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund for tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2009, as follows:

• Decreases the authorization to the Colorado oil and gas conservation commission from up to 40% to up to 35% of the account;
• Increases the authorization to the division of parks and outdoor recreation (parks division) from up to 5% to up to 10% of the account; and
• Allows the increased appropriation to supplant moneys that would otherwise be available to the parks division.

Section 1 of the bill creates the Colorado new energy improvement district (district) as an independent public body corporate and a public instrumentality performing an essential public function, clarifies that, under applicable Colorado supreme court case law, the district is not subject to the provisions of the taxpayer's bill of rights, and specifies the qualifications, manner of appointment, and terms of the board of directors of the district.

Section 1 of the bill also specifies that the purpose of the district is to help provide the special benefits of new energy improvements to owners of eligible real property who voluntarily join the district by establishing, developing, financing, and administering a new energy improvement program (program) in counties that have approved the conduct of the program by the district through which the district can provide assistance to any such owner in completing a new energy improvement by providing reimbursement or a direct payment for all or a portion of the cost of completing a new energy improvement and further specifies the powers and duties of the district, including but not limited to the power to:

• Develop and implement a process by which an owner of eligible real property may join the district;
• Impose special assessments on eligible real property included in the district; and
• Issue bonds payable from the special assessments for the purpose of generating the moneys needed to make a reimbursement or a direct payment to district members for all or a portion of the cost of completing new energy improvements.

Section 1 of the bill also requires the public utilities commission to:

• Determine the extent to which the marketing, promotional, and other efforts of a utility for which the commission has developed demand-side management targets or goals have contributed to energy efficiency improvements funded by the district; and
• Allow a utility to count the related energy savings towards compliance with the targets or goals using any method deemed appropriate by the commission.

Section 1 of the bill adds a definition of the term "commission", which means the solid and hazardous waste commission (commission) in the department of public health and environment (department), to the definitions section of the laws pertaining to hazardous waste sites.

Section 2:

• Requires the commission to establish and impose, by July 1, 2011, a solid waste user fee on persons disposing of solid waste at an attended solid waste disposal site;
• Specifies criteria for determination of the fee and the destinations to which portions of the fee shall be sent;
• Repeals, on the date that the new fee takes effect or on July 1, 2011, whichever occurs first, current provisions relating to solid waste user fees; and
• Extends from July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2017, the future repeal date of the solid waste user fee laws.

Section 3 requires 100% of the state-imposed solid waste user fees that are collected by attended solid waste disposal sites to be credited to those sites if, and to the extent that, the sites are also subject to local government solid waste disposal fees for hazardous substance response activities at sites listed on the national priority list under the federal "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980" (federal act).

Section 4 authorizes the state treasurer to make the following one-time transfers from the hazardous substance response fund for the state fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2010:

• Up to $400,000 to the solid waste management fund, for use by the department in connection with its solid waste management activities; and
• Up to $550,000 to the department of law, to be used in connection with the department of law's duties under the federal act.

The bill creates in the office of the governor the green jobs Colorado training program, which is a 2-year pilot program. The pilot program will offer grants to applicants who train individuals for jobs in the wind, solar, renewable energy, and energy efficiency industries.

The bill also creates the green jobs Colorado advisory council, which will review grant applications and award grants to applicants who meet the requirements specified in the bill.

The bill specifies that the pilot program is to be funded by federal funds received by the department of labor and employment for the purposes of the pilot program and by funds received from the governor's energy office.

Finally, the bill requires the executive director of the department of labor and employment to evaluate the green jobs Colorado training program and report his or her findings to the governor and the legislative committees of reference assigned in the bill.

Existing law directs the Colorado public utilities commission (PUC) to adopt rules implementing the renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) for electric utilities, under which increasing amounts of electricity must be generated from renewable sources. The current rules provide for standard rebates for the cost of installation and renewable energy credits (RECs) to promote customer-sited solar generation facilities.

The bill directs the PUC to adopt new rules under which standard offers can apply to solar generation facilities that are beneficially owned by 10 or more customers at a shared location, called a "community solar garden". This will help customers participate in solar generation even though solar facilities on their own properties may not be feasible due to cost, the physical characteristics of their sites, their status as renters, or other factors.

Section 1 of the bill amends an existing legislative declaration to state that it is in the public interest to allow renters and low-income utility customers to own interests in solar generation facilities, to make interests in solar generation facilities portable and transferable, and to leverage Colorado's solar generating capacity through economies of scale. Section 1 also:

• Defines a solar community garden as an on-site eligible solar electric generation facility with a nameplate rating of 2 megawatts or less and in which subscriptions are owned by 10 or more customers of a qualifying retail utility;
• Limits the size of a subscription to 120% of the average annual electric consumption of each subscriber at the premises to which the subscription is attributed;
• Allows the creation of a community solar garden owned by a subscriber organization, subject to rules adopted by the PUC by October 1, 2010;
• Specifies that, in their first 2 compliance plan years after the effective date of the bill, qualifying retail utilities must purchase the greater of 3 megawatts, or half their total purchases of electricity from community solar gardens, from gardens that are sized at 500 kilowatts or smaller;
• Exempts community solar gardens from the definition of a utility; and ! Specifies that section 1 does not apply to cooperative electric associations or municipally owned utilities.

Section 1 of the bill requires uranium mills, uranium processing facilities, and associated disposal facilities licensed for the disposal of radioactive waste originating outside of Colorado or the acceptance of classified material (uranium processing and disposal facilities) that have caused a release that exceeds groundwater standards to submit an annual report to the owners of wells located within a mile of the contaminated groundwater plume. Section 2 requires such facilities to submit an annual report to the department of public health and environment (department) regarding the adequacy of the facilities' financial assurance warranties, adjusts the applicable hearing procedures relating to the warranties, and prohibits the receipt of classified material at such a facility that disputes the department's proposed adjustment of a warranty unless the facility posts a cash bond equal to the amount in dispute. Section 3 amends the decommissioning fund to explicitly allow it to be used for uranium processing and disposal facilities.

Sections 4 and 5 modify the procedural requirements, including public notice, that a uranium processing and disposal facility must meet for license applications, renewals, and amendments. Section 4 also:

• Modifies the department's deadlines for determining such actions; and
• Modifies the procedural requirements, including public notice, that such a facility must meet to receive, store, process, or dispose of classified material.

Section 1 of the bill directs the governor's energy office or its designee to create an inventory and map of lands under the control of the department of natural resources or other state agencies that have potential to support the development of renewable resource generation projects to meet the electrical energy needs of the division of parks and outdoor recreation. Sections 2 and 3 authorize the executive director of the department of natural resources and the state land board, respectively, to include such lands among those suitable for acquisition or leasing for the purpose of allowing renewable energy generation projects to proceed.

Section 1 also creates the re-energize Colorado program, under which the division of parks and outdoor recreation is encouraged to undertake renewable energy generation projects on state land to supply or offset all of its electrical energy needs by the year 2020. Finally, Section 1 authorizes a qualifying retail utility to waive some of the existing statutory limits placed on net metering and customer-sited generation projects for purposes of meeting this goal.

Section 4 directs the public utilities commission to give the fullest possible consideration to projects under the re-energize Colorado program, especially where such projects offer good prospects for job creation and local economic growth, when considering the issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity to utilities.

The bill requires every person that builds a new single-family detached residence for which a buyer is under contract to offer the buyer the opportunity to select one or more of the following water-smart home options for the residence:

• Installation of water-efficient toilets, lavatory faucets, and showerheads;
• If dishwashers or clothes washers are financed, installed, or sold as upgrades through the home builder, the model selected must be qualified pursuant to the federal environmental protection agency's energy star program at the time of offering;
• If front yard landscaping is financed, installed, or sold as upgrades through the home builder and will be maintained by the home owner, either average water use of the landscape must be no more than 10 gallons per square foot per year or turf grass shall not exceed 40% of the landscaped area; and
• Installation of a pressure-reducing valve that limits static service pressure in the residence to a maximum of 60 pounds per square inch.

An owner of a fee simple title to a parcel of real property owns all possible interest in the property. The bill allows the wildlife commission (commission) to purchase and retain a fee simple title to real property using habitat stamp moneys only when no other type of interest is viable or available. When the commission acquires and retains a fee simple title to real property using habitat stamp revenue, the bill requires the commission to issue a report to the house agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and natural resources committee setting forth its finding that no other interest was available or viable. Furthermore, a fee simple title purchase must be accompanied by a realistic estimate of the operation, maintenance, and enhancement costs for that particular property, which amount shall be deposited in the Colorado wildlife habitat stamp operation, maintenance, and enhancement fund (fund), which is created in the bill.

The commission is also required to report to the joint house agriculture, livestock, and natural resources committee and the senate agriculture and natural resources committee, at least biennially, on the lands that it holds in fee simple and, in light of the policy regarding fee simple title interests being held by the commission, the commission must establish guidelines and procedures to sell all or portions of those lands when possible, consistent with the continued achievement of goals for which that property was originally acquired. Proceeds from the sale of such lands shall be handled and expended in the same manner as revenues from habitat stamp sales, and proceeds from all other transactions involving real property held in fee simple shall be deposited in the fund.

In order to meet anticipated federal "Clean Air Act" requirements to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants, section 1 of the bill requires all rate-regulated utilities that own or operate coal-fired electric generating units to submit to the public utilities commission (PUC) an emission reduction plan for emissions from those units covering the lesser of 900 megawatts or 50% of the utility's coal-fired electric generating units in Colorado. The plans have to give primary consideration to replacing or repowering coal-fired electric generators with natural gas and to also consider other low-emitting resources, including energy efficiency.

The PUC will provide the department of public health and environment (department) an opportunity to comment on the utilities' plans. The department will determine whether certain new or repowered electric generating units proposed under the plans will emit more than 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour and whether the plans comply with applicable requirements of the federal and state clean air laws. The plans are to be implemented by December 31, 2017.

In evaluating the plans, the PUC is to consider the following factors: The pollution reductions to be achieved; the increased use of existing natural gas-fired electric generating capacity; and the plan's effect on economic development, electricity reliability, cost and rate increases, compliance with renewable energy standards, and reliance on energy efficiency or other low-emitting resources. The PUC is to approve, deny, or modify the plans by December 15, 2010. The utilities' actions in complying with the plans are presumed to be prudent actions, the costs of which are recoverable in rates.

The air quality control commission will consider incorporating the emissions reductions derived from the plans into the regional haze element of the state implementation plan. Early reductions of greenhouse gas emissions will count as voluntary for purposes of early reduction credits under federal law.

Section 2 authorizes the PUC to approve interim rates taking effect no later than 60 days after a rate increase filing. Section 3 directs the PUC to require a utility to rebate rates if a final rate is lower than an interim rate.

The bill appropriates money from the species conservation trust fund for programs submitted by the executive director of the department of natural resources that are designed to conserve native species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under state or federal law, or are candidate species or are likely to become candidate species as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service.

The bill also directs the state treasurer to transfer, on July 1, 2010, $500,000 from the capital account of the species conservation trust fund (capital account), which moneys were appropriated for instream flow protection in fiscal year 2009, to the operation and maintenance account of the species conservation trust fund (operation and maintenance account), for use in the upper Colorado river recovery program.

For fiscal year 2011, the bill:

• Reduces from $4,000,000 to $3,000,000 the amount to be transferred to the capital account from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund; and
• Transfers $1,000,000 to the operation and maintenance account from the operational account of the severance tax trust fund.

• $4,500,000 to the capital account; and
• $2,500,000 to the operation and maintenance account.

With regard to the renewable energy portfolio standard, the bill:

• Allows each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from eligible energy resources at a community-based project to be counted as 2 kilowatt hours;
• Prohibits qualifying retail utilities from claiming the benefit of this new multiplier for any electricity that the qualifying retail utility claims for satisfaction of the distributed generation requirement enacted by House Bill 10-1001; and
• Modifies the definition of a "community-based project" to mean either a project that interconnects to electric transmission or distribution facilities owned by a Colorado cooperative electric association or municipal utility or a project that is owned by an organization or cooperative that is controlled by individual residents of the community.

Effective July 1, 2010:

• Section 2 of the bill repeals the mandatory late vehicle registration fee of $25 per month up to a maximum of $100 enacted by Senate Bill 09-108 and reinstates the waivable fee of up to $10 that was in effect prior to the enactment of Senate Bill 09-108.

• Section 5 of the bill repeals the supplemental unregistered vehicle fine of $25 per month up to a maximum of $100 enacted by Senate Bill 09-108 that is imposed on a person who is convicted of a misdemeanor for knowingly failing to register a vehicle within 90 days of becoming a Colorado resident.

Water Resources Review Committee.

The water efficiency grant program is currently scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2012. Section 1 of the bill extends the repeal until July 1, 2020, and authorizes up to $550,000 of annual appropriations from the cash fund beginning on July 1, 2010. Section 2 annually transfers $550,000 from tier 2 of the operational account of the severance tax trust fund to the water efficiency grant program cash fund beginning on July 1, 2012.

The bill creates efficiencies and cost savings in state and local government by:

• Eliminating all duties of the office of the executive director of the department of local affairs and directing those duties and appropriations to the lieutenant governor;
• Implementing a 2-year statewide hiring freeze that will require the governor or his or her designee to sign off on all new hires. All new hires must meet the test of being critical to protecting the life, health, or safety of Colorado residents. The governor shall provide the general assembly a monthly report of each new hire made in that month.
• Eliminating all bonuses paid to any state employee for 2 years;
• Reducing the personnel budget of the governor's office, the executive directors' offices, and the directors of each principal department's offices to 2005-06 fiscal year levels;
• Reducing by 3% the number of all full-time equivalent state employees paid in whole or in part with general fund dollars within 5 years;
• Requiring the governor to report in writing to the general assembly by April 1, 2010, regarding the consolidation of existing boards and commissions;
• Authorizing the governor to repeal the Colorado commission on higher education and to direct any necessary responsibilities and appropriations to the lieutenant governor;
• Requiring the governor to report in writing to the general assembly by April 1, 2010, regarding which agencies and departments perform similar or redundant functions and should be consolidated;
• Limiting the governor's energy office to spending no more than 10% of its total budget on personnel;
• Requiring that all executive branch expenditures on professional organization dues and memberships be made from gifts, grants, or donations and not from any general fund or cash fund appropriation, except from cash funds established for the purpose of receiving gifts, grants, and donations;
• Requiring the state school board to strongly encourage school districts to create boards of cooperative services where feasible for the purpose of enabling 2 or more school districts to cooperate in furnishing services authorized by law and for consolidating central administrative services;
• Requiring that all actions performed by an existing or newly created board of cooperative services that result in cost savings to the member school districts, as compared to the cost of the school districts performing the same actions individually, to be calculated, and requiring each member school district to remit to the state general fund an amount equal to 50% of the savings realized by the member school district. However, such amount shall not exceed the amount the member school district received as its state share of total program funding for the applicable budget year.
• Requiring the governor to reduce by 10% the pay of all full-time equivalent state employees earning $125,000 or more annually, except employees of state institutions of higher education;
• Requiring the controller to transfer from the general fund to the newly created general fund overflow reserve fund an amount that he or she calculates to be the equivalent of the total amount of general fund moneys appropriated in all bills that are vetoed by the governor, including any general fund line item appropriation in the general appropriation act that is line-item vetoed by the governor;
• Removing the requirement that motor vehicles have a front license plate.

According to new requirements for pesticide containers and containments under the "Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act" (FIFRA), a state with primary enforcement responsibility for pesticide use must have authority over establishments that refill pesticide containers to ensure compliance with the FIFRA. In order to meet this requirement, the bill amends the state "Pesticide Act" (state act) as follows:

• Section 1 of the bill includes refilling pesticides among the regulated activities mentioned in the legislative declaration;
• Section 2 defines the terms "refillable container", "refiller", and "refill";
• Section 3 grants the state department of agriculture (department) jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to removal of pesticide residue from containers;
• Section 12 requires pesticide refillers to comply with record-keeping and reporting regulations specified by the commissioner of the department of agriculture (commissioner) by rule;
• Section 13 requires pesticide refillers to comply with residue removal requirements promulgated by the commissioner; and
• Section 16 declares certain acts by pesticide refillers to be unlawful.

• Section 2 of the bill defines the term "federal act" to mean the FIFRA;
• Section 4 authorizes the commissioner to exempt, in accordance with the FIFRA, certain pesticides from the registration requirement;
• Section 5 allows the commissioner to waive the requirement that a person applying to register a pesticide list all inert ingredients in the application;
• Sections 5 and 9 require the commissioner to set by rule the date on which registrations of pesticides and devices, respectively, expire;
• Sections 6 and 8 repeal redundant provisions stating that applicants must pay a penalty fee when cease-and-desist orders are issued for distribution of an unregistered pesticide or unregistered device, respectively;
• Section 7 clarifies that the confidentiality provisions in the state act apply only to inert ingredients;
• Section 10 allows an expired pesticide registration to be renewed within the 2-year period following the date of the registration's expiration, rather than the date the registration was issued;
• Sections 10 and 11 require applications for renewal of pesticide and device registrations or pesticide dealer licenses, respectively, to be received, rather than postmarked, by the date specified by the commissioner;
• Section 11 clarifies that, if an application for renewal of a pesticide dealer license is not timely received, the license shall not be renewed and the dealer must apply for a new license;
• Section 14 amends an incorrect citation to federal rules; and
• Section 15 adds to the list of unlawful acts making a false statement by any person on an invoice, record, report, or application required under the state act or under any rule promulgated pursuant to the state act. Section 15 also identifies making such a false statement as a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act".

Effective July 1, 2010:

• Section 2 of the bill repeals the mandatory late vehicle registration fee of $25 per month up to a maximum of $100 enacted by Senate Bill 09-108 and reinstates the waivable fee of up to $10 that was in effect prior to the enactment of Senate Bill 09-108.
• Section 5 of the bill repeals the supplemental unregistered vehicle fine of $25 per month up to a maximum of $100 enacted by Senate Bill 09-108 that is imposed on a person who is convicted of a misdemeanor for knowingly failing to register a vehicle within 90 days of becoming a Colorado resident.

Sections 1, 3, 4, and 6 of the bill make conforming amendments.

The bill defines the term "decreed consumptive use water", defines "reusable effluent" to include decreed consumptive use water, and:

• Authorizes an appropriator to use, reuse, and make a succession of uses of the return flows of reusable effluent in any place or for any beneficial use and to dispose of such water by exchange or otherwise; and 

• They originate from reusable effluent;
• The appropriator has established an adequate measuring and accounting system to measure the volume of the return flows of reusable effluent;
• The appropriator has established an adequate means of measuring transit loss between the point of introduction and the point of withdrawal of the return flows of reusable effluent; and
• The appropriator can demonstrate that the return flows of reusable effluent to be withdrawn for use have previously been placed to beneficial use at least one time and discharged back to the water body after passing through a domestic wastewater facility.

The bill repeals the substantive provisions of Senate Bill 09-003, thus restoring the laws regarding the automobile inspection and readjustment program (AIR program) and designation of collector's items motor vehicles to the manner in which they existed as of May 2009. Specifically, the bill:

• Moves Larimer and Weld counties from the enhanced emissions program of the AIR program back to the basic emissions program of the AIR program;
• Restores the geographical boundaries of the counties included in the AIR program to those in existence prior to the passage of Senate Bill 09-003;
• Withdraws from the air quality control commission (commission) in the department of public health and environment (department) the authorization to review and adjust the boundaries of the AIR program area;
• Reinstates the definition of "collector's items" to mean a motor vehicle at least 25 years old;
• Resets from 1975 to 1959 the latest model year at which a collector's item motor vehicle is excluded from the emissions testing process;
• Restores the ability of the commission, upon recommendation from the division of administration in the department, to exempt from the requirement that certification of emissions control be obtained in order to register a collector's item motor vehicle of model year 1970 or older; and
• Repeals the provision of Senate Bill 09-003 that prevents a collector's item motor vehicle from being registered as such after being sold or transferred to a new owner.

The bill declares that utility customers have a right to transparency in their utility bills, and therefore requires investor-owned gas and electric utilities to include in customer bills or bill inserts, at least 4 times per year, information about:

• For electric utilities, the types of fuels used to generate electricity, the percentage of the utility's electricity attributable to each, the load profile for each, and the total cost of generating electricity per kilowatt-hour for each fuel type;
• For gas and electric utilities, all ancillary costs associated with providing gas or electricity to the customer, including the costs of underground natural gas storage, natural gas pipeline expansions, and new electric transmission infrastructure.

Sections 1 and 4 of the bill relocate certain definitions related to voter registration drives, and section 2 makes a conforming amendment resulting from the relocation. Section 4 also defines terms for persons working for voter registration drives and specifies that a voter registration drive circulator (circulator) must be a registered elector in the state.

Section 3 requires a county clerk and recorder to preserve paper voter registration records for a period of 2 years, unless the record is stored electronically in the statewide voter registration database, at which point the paper records may be destroyed.

Section 5 of the bill adds new requirements for conducting a voter registration drive. Specifically, a voter registration drive organizer must submit a list of circulators, along with a circulator affidavit and a copy of photo identification of each circulator, to the secretary of state prior to commencing a voter registration drive. A circulator's affidavit must attest that the circulator:

• Has read and understands the laws governing the conduct of voter registration drives;
• Has never been convicted of a crime involving fraud or other dishonesty;
• Will ask each eligible elector registering to vote whether the elector will be 18 or older before the date of the next election, whether the elector is a citizen of the United States, and whether the elector will have resided in this state and the county in which the elector intends to register for the 30 days immediately prior to the election at which the elector intends to vote; and
• Has submitted a copy of valid photo identification to the voter registration drive organizer.

Section 5 also requires the secretary of state to give each voter registration drive, and each circulator working for a voter registration drive, a unique identifying number.

Section 6 requires a circulator to only collect voter registration applications from eligible electors who have answered the eligibility questions contained in section 5 in the affirmative.

Section 6 also requires a circulator working for a voter registration drive to include the circulator's unique identifying number assigned by the secretary of state on each voter registration application form distributed by the circulator.

Finally, section 6 requires that the voter registration drive agent of any voter registration drive complained of in any court proceeding or hearing make himself or herself available to be deposed and to testify. If an agent fails to do so, the registration applications at issue will be deemed invalid.

Pursuant to the "Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act", enacted in 2007, physicians licensed in Colorado are required to report information pertaining to their practice history, including the following:

• The physician's name, address, and telephone number;
• Information pertaining to any license to practice medicine held by the physician at any time;
• Any board certifications and specialties;
• Any affiliations with hospitals or health care facilities;
• Any health care-related business ownership interests or employment contracts if the aggregate value of the contracts exceeds $5,000 annually;
• Any public disciplinary action taken by the state board or the regulatory body of another state or country;
• Any agreement or stipulation to temporarily cease or restrict practice or any board order restricting or suspending the physician's license;
• Any final action resulting in an involuntary limitation or probationary status on, or reduction, nonrenewal, denial, revocation, or suspension of the physician's medical staff membership or clinical privileges at a hospital or health care facility on or after September 1, 1990;
• Any involuntary surrender of the physician's United States drug enforcement administration registration;
• Any final criminal conviction or plea arrangement relating to the commission or alleged commission of a felony or crime of moral turpitude;
• Any final judgment, settlement, or arbitration award in a medical malpractice claim; and
• The refusal of an insurance carrier to issue a medical malpractice insurance policy to the physician due to past claims experience.

The bill enacts the "Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act of 2010" to extend similar reporting requirements, as applicable, to the following health care professionals who apply for a new license, certification, or registration or to renew, reinstate, or reactivate a license, certification, or registration, on or after July 1, 2011:

• Audiologists and licensed hearing aid providers;
• Acupuncturists;
• Podiatrists;
• Chiropractors;
• Dentists and dental hygienists;
• Physician assistants;
• Direct-entry midwives;
• Practical nurses, professional nurses, and advanced practice nurses;
• Optometrists;
• Physical therapists; and
• Psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, addiction counselors, and unlicensed psychotherapists.

The reporting requirements, as enacted in the original "Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act" of 2007, are modified to require all impacted professionals, including physicians, to:

• Report the location of the applicant's practice if different than the applicant's address of record;
• Report information about the education and training the person received pertaining to his or her profession;
• Provide information about other licenses, certifications, or registrations to practice the applicant's profession that were issued in the previous 10 years, rather than those issued at any time in the person's career; and
• Comply with their responsibility to report adverse actions to the appropriate regulatory body as otherwise required by law.

The requirement to report the license number, type, original issue date, last renewal date, and expiration date of any other license, certification, or registration issued to the person is eliminated.

In addition to the information required to be reported, an impacted professional is also permitted to submit information pertaining to relevant awards and recognitions received by the person.

Section 1 of the bill exempts forestry equipment that is used in the production of woody biomass from property taxes, effective July 1, 2013. Sections 2 through 4 require biomass energy facilities to be valued for the purpose of property taxation in the same manner in which wind or solar energy facilities are valued.

For purposes of consideration by the public utilities commission (PUC) of electric utilities' acquisition of generation capacity, section 5 includes the generation of electricity from the combustion of woody biomass, biosolids derived from the treatment of wastewater, and municipal solid waste in the definition of "new clean energy and energy-efficient technologies".

For purposes of renewable energy credits in the renewable energy standard, section 6:

• Prohibits the PUC from restricting a qualifying retail utility's ownership of the credits if the qualifying retail utility uses the statutory definitions of eligible energy resources, as clarified by the PUC; and
• Specifies that once a qualifying retail utility enters into a contract that relies on or is affected by the definitions of eligible energy resources, those definitions apply to the contract during its term notwithstanding any subsequent alteration of the definitions, whether by statute or rule.