Bill Tracker

Under current law, a qualified student who is selected to
participate in the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment
(ASCENT) program by the department of education (department) may
enroll in postsecondary courses and be included in the pupil enrollment
of a school district, board of cooperative services, or charter school (local

education provider) for funding during the year following the student's
fourth year of high school. The number of students who are selected to
participate in the ASCENT program is limited each year through the
budget process.
The bill removes the limit on the number of program participants
and allows each qualified student selected by the enrolling local education
provider to participate in the program. The bill reduces the number of
postsecondary credits a qualified student must have completed to be
eligible to participate in the ASCENT program. The bill directs the
department to distribute to each local education provider for each
ASCENT program participant an amount equal to 3% of the per-pupil
extended high school funding amount to pay for non-tuition expenses the
qualified student incurs in participating in the postsecondary courses.
Under existing law, a qualified student who fails to complete a
concurrent enrollment course must repay the local education provider for
the amount of tuition, and a local education provider may require a
qualified student to repay the tuition amount if the qualified student earns
a failing grade for a concurrent enrollment course. The bill repeals these
provisions.

Under current law, for tax years commencing on or after January
1, 2017, but prior to January 1, 2023, the credit for health-care preceptors
working in rural and frontier areas offers an income tax credit in the
amount of $1,000 to health-care professionals who provide a
preceptorship, an uncompensated mentoring experience for eligible health
professional students that includes a specified minimum amount of

personalized instruction, training, and supervision, during the applicable
income tax year.
The bill modifies the tax credit by:
  • Extending the period for which the tax credit may be
claimed to tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2033;
  • Allowing up to 300, rather than 200, preceptors to claim
the credit in any tax year;
  • Expanding who may offer a preceptorship to include a
medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic medicine, advanced
practice nurse, physician assistant, doctor of dental surgery
or doctor of dental medicine, registered nurse, registered
dental hygienist, licensed clinical or counseling
psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed
professional counselor, licensed marriage and family
therapist, psychiatric nurse specialist, licensed addiction
counselor, or certified addiction counselor working in an
outpatient clinical setting who has been licensed in his or
her primary health-care field in the state by the applicable
licensing authority;
  • Expanding who may participate in a preceptorship to
include individuals matriculating at any accredited
Colorado institution of higher education seeking a degree
or certification in a primary health-care field;
  • Allowing nonconsecutive days to be counted when
determining the eligibility of a preceptorship for the credit;
  • Modifying the definitions of rural areas, preceptorship,
and primary health-care for purposes of the tax credit;
  • Modifying the certification requirements for taxpayers who
claim the tax credit; and
  • Providing a tax preference performance statement for the
tax credit.

Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative
Commission. For 5 income tax years, the bill creates a refundable income
tax credit for an eligible early childhood educator who:
  • Has an adjusted gross income below specified thresholds;
and
  • For at least 6 months of the taxable year, holds an early

childhood professional credential and is either the head of
a family child care home or is employed with an eligible
early childhood education program or a family child care
home.
The bill specifies that an early childhood education program must
have achieved at least a level 2 quality rating under the Colorado shines
quality rating and improvement system and either have fiscal agreements
with the Colorado child care assistance program or meet the federal early
head start or head start standards for a program. The amount of the credit
is dependent on the eligible early childhood educator's credentialing level
and is annually adjusted for inflation.
The department of human services, or a successor department, is
required to provide the department of revenue with an electronic report
of each individual who held an early childhood professional credential
during the previous calendar year for which the credit is allowed.

Wildfire Matters Review Committee. The bill establishes the
wildfire mitigation incentives for local government grant program (grant
program) in the Colorado state forest service (forest service). The grant
program is established to provide state funding assistance in the form of
grant awards to local governments to match revenue raised by such

governments from a dedicated revenue source that is intended to be used
for forest management or wildfire mitigation efforts at the local level.
Such wildfire mitigation efforts include, without limitation, projects that
promote fuel breaks, forest thinning, a reduction in the amount or extent
of fuels contributing to wildfires, outreach and education efforts directed
at property owners and other members of the public, and any other means
of forest management or wildfire mitigation as determined appropriate for
funding by the forest service.
The grant program is administered by the forest service.
On or before March 1, 2023, the forest service is required to adopt
polices, procedures, and guidelines for the grant program that include,
without limitation:
  • Procedures and timelines by which an eligible recipient
may apply for a grant;
  • Criteria for determining grant eligibility and grant amounts;
and
  • Reporting requirements for grant recipients.
Any funding awarded under the grant program must match
revenues raised by the local government from a dedicated revenue source
that is intended to be used for forest management or wildfire mitigation
efforts at the local level in accordance with policies, procedures, and
guidelines developed by the forest service.
In allocating funding under the grant program, preference will be
given to certain eligible recipients based on prioritization factors
enumerated in the bill.
Eligible recipients may apply for funding from the grant program,
and the recipient's application for funding may be approved by the forest
service, before the local government has created a dedicated revenue
source that forms the basis for the match if the electors of the local
government approve a ballot issue creating the revenue source at an
election that takes place in the same calendar year in which the funding
is awarded.
The bill creates the wildfire mitigation incentives local government
grant program fund in the state treasury.
On or before November 1, 2024, and on or before November 1 of
each year thereafter, the forest service is required to publish a report
summarizing the use of all of the money that was awarded under the grant
program in the preceding fiscal year. The bill specifies additional required
components of the report. The report must be posted on the website of the
forest service. The bill requires the Colorado department of higher
education to summarize the information contained in the report in its
State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent
(SMART) Government Act hearings.
The bill requires the forest service to prepare educational materials
concerning the grant program and to display such materials on its official
website. In addition, the forest service is also required to undertake
outreach activities to inform local governments located in priority areas
for wildfire mitigation of the grant program.

Wildfire Matters Review Committee. Section 1 of the bill
creates the wildfire mitigation and recovery grant program (grant
program) in the Colorado state forest service (forest service) to provide
grants to help counties with forested areas prevent and recover from
wildfire incidents and ensure that such efforts are undertaken in a manner

that reduces the amount of carbon that enters the atmosphere. In
expending grant money, a county, to the extent practicable, shall ensure
that biomass that is removed from forests is recycled or disposed of in a
manner that reduces the amount of carbon that enters the atmosphere.
The forest service shall administer the grant program and, subject
to available appropriations, award grants out of money annually
appropriated to the forest service for the grant program. The forest service
shall review grant applications in consultation with the division of fire
prevention and control in the department of public safety and with the
Colorado forest health council in the department of natural resources.
The grant program is repealed, effective September 1, 2028.
Before the repeal, the grant program is scheduled for a sunset review by
the department of regulatory agencies. Section 2 schedules this review.

The bill creates the microgrids for community resilience grant
program (grant program) to be administered by the division of local
government (division) in the department of local affairs (department), in
collaboration with the Colorado resiliency office (office) in the division.
A cooperative electric association or a municipally owned utility (utility)

may apply to the division for a grant award to finance the purchase of
microgrid resources in eligible rural communities within the utility's
service territory that are at significant risk of severe weather or natural
disaster events and in which there are one or more community anchor
institutions. The microgrids, which can be connected to or be
disconnected from, and work independent of, the utility's electric grid,
can increase an eligible rural community's resilience regarding any
interruptions to the electric grid, such as those caused by severe weather
or natural disaster events. On an annual basis, the division is required to
report on the progress of the grant program, submit copies of the report
to the house of representatives energy and environment committee and
the senate transportation and energy committee, or their successor
committees, and publish the report on the department's website.

The bill prohibits a state agency, local government, and common
interest community from limiting or prohibiting the use of natural gas,
propane, solar photovoltaics, micro wind turbines, or small hydroelectric
power for electricity generation, cooking, hot water, or space heating in
residences, units, or businesses.

For income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2022,
the bill reduces both the individual and the corporate state income tax
rates from 4.55% to 4.4%. The bill also exempts the rate reductions from
the existing statutory requirements that tax expenditure legislation include
a tax preference performance statement in a statutory legislative
declaration and a repeal after a specified period of tax years.

Concerning the replacement of the income tax deduction for amounts spent by an employer to provide alternative transportation options to employees with an income tax credit for amounts spent by an employer for that purpose, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy. The
bill replaces an existing income tax deduction for expenses incurred by

employers when providing alternative transportation options to employees
with a refundable income tax credit of 50% of such expenses for such
employers. The credit is allowed for income tax years beginning on or
after January 1, 2023, but before January 1, 2033.

The bill grants a person who is at least 21 years old and permitted
to possess a handgun pursuant to federal and state law the same authority
to carry a concealed handgun as a person who holds a permit to carry a
concealed handgun (permit). A person who carries a concealed handgun
without a permit has the same rights, limitations, and authority to carry as
a person who holds a permit. A person may obtain a permit for the
purpose of using the permit to carry a concealed handgun in another state
that recognizes a Colorado permit.

Under existing law, a permit is valid for 5 years. The bill makes a
permit valid for the life of the permit holder. Existing permits, other than
temporary emergency permits, are converted to lifetime permits. Because
permits are valid for the life of the holder, the bill repeals provisions
relating to the renewal of permits. The bill repeals the temporary
emergency permit to carry a concealed handgun.
The bill repeals local government authority to regulate open or
concealed carry of a handgun, including repealing the authority of special
districts and the governing boards of institutions of higher education, as
applicable.

The Colorado constitution currently requires any petition for a
citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to be signed by at least 2% of

the registered electors who reside in each state senate district for the
change to be placed on the ballot. If a constitutional amendment that
extends this requirement to a citizen-initiated statutory change is
approved by the voters of the state at the 2022 general election, the bill
makes a conforming statutory change to extend the requirement.

Concerning facilitating the integration of international medical graduates into the Colorado health-care workforce.

Section 1 of the bill makes legislative declarations and findings
regarding the shortage of health-care providers in the state, the presence
of qualified, internationally trained medical professionals in the state, the
ability of those professionals to assist the state in addressing health-care
workforce needs, the barriers to entry into the health-care workforce these

professionals face, and the need to reduce those barriers to facilitate the
integration of these professionals into the state's health-care workforce.
Section 2 establishes the following 2 programs in the department
of labor and employment (CDLE) to assist international medical
graduates (IMGs) seeking to integrate into the state's health-care
workforce:
  • The IMG assistance program, the purpose of which is to
provide direct services to IMGs, including a review of an
IMG's education, training, and experience to recommend
appropriate next steps for integrating IMGs into the state's
health-care workforce; technical support through the
credential evaluation process; and scholarships to assist in
defraying the medical licensure process; and
  • The clinical readiness program, the purpose of which is to
provide curriculum for and assessments of IMGs to help
them build the skills necessary to enter a medical residency
program.
Section 2 also directs the executive director of CDLE to include
in its annual report to the general assembly pursuant to the State
Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART)
Government Act information about the IMG assistance program, the
clinical readiness program, and any progress made in addressing barriers
IMGs face in securing positions in medical residency programs.
Section 3 authorizes the executive director of the department of
regulatory agencies (DORA), subject to available funding, to award
funding to medical residency programs to provide additional residency
positions dedicated to qualified IMGs and directs the executive director
of DORA to report on any funding awarded for this purpose as part of
DORA's annual report to the general assembly pursuant to the State
Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART)
Government Act.
With regard to requirements for licensure under the Colorado
Medical Practice Act (act):
  • Section 4 defines IMG for purposes of the act;
  • Section 5 reduces the length of postgraduate clinical
training that an IMG must complete to qualify for a
medical license from up to 3 years to one year; and
  • Section 6 allows an IMG to obtain a reentry license if the
IMG has a current or expired international medical license
and meets Colorado medical board-specified qualifications
and requirements, including an assessment of the IMG's
competency to practice.

The Colorado housing and finance authority (CHFA), under the
Colorado affordable tax credit program, may allocate income tax credits

in an annual aggregate amount of up to $10 million for the years
beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2024. The
bill extends this period to December 31, 2034, and increases the annual
aggregate cap for the years beginning on January 1, 2023, and ending on
December 31, 2034, to $15 million.

Concerning emergency temporary care for children, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

The bill permits county departments of human or social services
(county departments) to enter into an agreement with one or more
facilities to provide emergency temporary shelter to children who are
neglected and dependent, who are taken into temporary custody, or who
have had contact with law enforcement and are unable to return home.
Emergency temporary shelter is described in the bill as the temporary

care of a child in a physically unrestricted setting for no more than 5 days,
pending a return to the child's home or placement in an alternate setting.
Receiving temporary care in emergency temporary shelter is voluntary,
and a child may leave emergency temporary shelter at any time.
A county department may contract with any of the following
facilities to provide emergency temporary shelter in the county: Group
care facilities and homes or a foster care home, homeless youth shelter,
residential child care facility, respite child care center, specialized group
facility, or any other licensed or certified 24-hour nonsecure care and
treatment facility away from the child's parent or guardian. A county can
enter into agreements with more than one facility, and 2 or more counties
may jointly enter into an agreement with a facility.
The bill requires the general assembly to appropriate money to the
state department of human services (state department) for emergency
temporary shelter services. The state department allocates the money to
a county after approving the county's emergency temporary shelter plan.

The bill creates a requirement that any bill that imposes a new fee,
authorizes the imposition of a new fee, increases an existing fee, or
authorizes the increase of an existing fee be approved by a two-thirds vote

of all members elected to each house of the general assembly to become
law. The two-thirds vote requirement applies only to the vote on final
passage of such a bill in each house of the general assembly.
The bill defines a fee as a charge that is levied to defray the cost
of the particular government service provided to those charged and not
levied for the purpose of raising any revenue for a general public purpose.

Current law regulating campaign finance does not set limits on
contributions to candidates for school district director.
Section 2 of the bill:
  • Sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for
school district director from persons other than small donor

committees for any regular biennial or special school
election in the amount of $2,500; and
  • Sets aggregate limits on contributions to candidates for
school district director from small donor committees for
any regular biennial or special school election in the
amount of $25,000.
The bill requires that these aggregate contribution limits be
periodically adjusted for inflation consistent with other contribution
limits.
Section 3 subjects the new contribution limits to existing statutory
provisions governing the disclosure of campaign contributions.
Section 4 contains requirements governing when a candidate for
school district director is required to disclose information concerning
campaign contributions and clarifies that such candidates are required to
file their disclosure with the secretary of state.

The bill expands the state sales and use tax exemption for food,
which currently exempts most food for domestic home consumption, by
also exempting from state sales and use tax most food that is not for
domestic home consumption and is instead prepared for on-site
consumption at a restaurant, grocery store, or other establishment or to be

carried out and consumed without additional cooking or preparation.

Concerning creation of a jail standards commission to standardize the operation of Colorado jails, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

The bill creates the Colorado jail standards commission
(commission) in the department of public safety. The commission creates
standards for the operation of Colorado's county jails (jails) and updates
the standards as necessary. The commission consists of the following 20
members:
  • 5 sheriffs or senior jail administrators;

  • 2 county commissioners;
  • 3 people with lived experience of being incarcerated or
having a family member who is or was incarcerated in a
jail;
  • One mental health professional with experience working in
a jail;
  • One health professional with experience working in a jail;
  • One person representing a lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, or queer advocacy organization;
  • One person representing an organization advocating for the
rights of people with disabilities;
  • One person representing an organization advocating for the
rights of communities of color;
  • One person representing an organization advocating for the
rights of persons with mental or physical disabilities;
  • One non-law-enforcement person with experience working
in a jail, appointed by the executive director of the
department of public safety;
  • The state public defender or the state public defender's
designee;
  • One district attorney, appointed by the Colorado district
attorneys' council; and
  • One person representing the department of public safety
with expertise in jail operations.
The commission shall develop standards for all aspects of jail
operations as follows:
  • Reception and release;
  • Classification of inmates;
  • Security;
  • Housing;
  • Sanitation and environmental conditions;
  • Communication;
  • Visitation;
  • Health care, mental and behavioral health care, and dental
care;
  • Food service;
  • Recreation and programming;
  • Inmate disciplinary processes;
  • Restrictive housing;
  • Inmate grievances;
  • Staffing; and
  • Inmates' prerogatives.
The commission shall establish standards regarding oversight of
the standards; compliance with the standards, including a requirement for
a biennial compliance inspection of each jail; a complaint process and
investigation process; and possible sanctions for noncompliance with or
violations of the standards. The department of public safety shall
promulgate rules adopting the standards and possible sanctions.
The department of public safety shall provide oversight of the
implementation of the standards. The commission shall evaluate the
effectiveness of the standards after implementation and make any needed
changes to the standards.
The bill sunsets the commission on September 1, 2029.

Under current law, when a defendant is detained in jail on a
municipal hold, the defendant must receive a hearing before the
municipal court within 2 calendar days, excluding Sundays and federal
holidays. The bill requires the hearing to be held within 48 hours after the
defendant arrives at the jail.
The bill makes clarifying changes to the district attorney assistance

for bond hearings grant program and repeals the district attorney
assistance for bond hearings cash fund.

The bill authorizes the parents of children enrolled in a
low-performing school, or the parents of children enrolled in schools that
matriculate to a low-performing school, (petitioner) to petition the school
district board of education for the low-performing school, or the state
charter school institute board if the low-performing school is an institute
charter school, (oversight board) to implement specified reforms. A

school is considered low-performing if it is required to adopt a priority
improvement or turnaround plan for 2 consecutive school years. The bill
specifies the types of reforms that a petitioner may request and the
requirements for petitions. A petition must be signed by at least 50% of
the parents of students enrolled in the low-performing school or in
schools that matriculate to the low-performing school.
If an oversight board receives a valid petition, the oversight board
must hold a meeting at which the petitioner may present the requested
reforms. The oversight board may propose alternative reforms, and the
petitioner may amend the requested reforms or withdraw the petition. At
the conclusion of the meeting, if the petitioner has not withdrawn the
petition, the oversight board must vote whether to implement the reforms,
as originally presented or as amended, and, if applicable, adopt a plan to
implement the reforms by the following school year.
If the oversight board chooses not to approve and adopt a plan to
implement the reforms, the petitioner may submit the petition to the state
board of education (state board) and may consider recall procedures
against the oversight board if it is a school district board of education.
If the state board receives a petition, it must hold a public hearing
at which it takes testimony from the petitioners, other eligible parents, and
the oversight board concerning the requested reforms. At the conclusion
of the hearing, the state board must decide whether to require the school
district or state charter school institute, whichever is applicable, to
implement the reforms or to require other specified actions. If the state
board requires the school district or the institute to take actions, the
low-performing school is subject to the same oversight and requirements
that apply to public schools that have been on priority improvement or
turnaround plans for 5 school years.

Beginning January 1, 2023, the bill requires that all voting systems

and voting equipment satisfy the latest voting systems standards
promulgated by the federal election assistance commission. The bill also
allows the secretary of state to promulgate rules requiring that voting
systems and voting equipment satisfy additional requirements, so long as
such requirements meet or exceed the latest voting systems standards
promulgated by the federal election assistance commission.

The bill:
  • Expands the statutory list of state laws for which the
attorney general may bring civil and criminal enforcement

actions to include various statutory provisions relating to
housing; and
  • Creates the fair housing unit within the department of law.

The bill repeals an existing income tax credit available to
taxpayers who make contributions to enterprise zone administrators to
promote temporary, emergency, or transitional housing programs for
people experiencing homelessness and replaces that income tax credit
with one that is available in the entire state. Instead of having the
enterprise zone administrators and the office of economic development

manage the credit, the bill places that responsibility on the division of
housing in the department of local affairs.
The bill also expands the scope so that a taxpayer may claim the
tax credit when permissible contributions are made not only to an
approved project, but also to approved nonprofit organizations providing
certain qualifying activities.
The amount of the income tax credit remains the same for each
contribution; except that, for contributions made in an underserved, rural
county, the amount is 30% rather than 25%, and the new credit is capped
at $750,000 in contributions for the nonprofit organization, and if the
nonprofit organization also administers one or more approved projects,
the new credit is capped at an additional $750,000 per project. The new
credit's availability is limited to 8 years, and, in the same manner as the
enterprise zone tax credit that is being repealed, any credit in excess of a
taxpayer's liability for the income tax year for which the credit is claimed
may be carried forward for up to 5 years.

The bill requires the state court administrator to provide the
secretary of state with a report of all persons who report as ineligible to
serve as a trial or grand juror because they are either not a citizen or do
not reside in the county in which they are summoned for juror service.
The bill also requires the secretary of state to forward this report to each
county clerk and recorder.
The bill then requires county clerk and recorders to cancel the
voter registration of any elector who is either not a citizen or does not
reside in the county and who the county clerk and recorders have received
notice of from the state court administrator's report. The secretary of state
may cancel the voter registration of any elector who is not a citizen and
who the secretary of state has received notice of from the state court
administrator's report.
Nothing in the bill allows a county clerk and recorder or the
secretary of state to cancel the registration of a uniformed-service voter
who is absent from the county in which he or she is registered to vote by
reason of active duty.

The bill prohibits a person from openly carrying a firearm within
any polling location or central count facility, or within 100 feet of a ballot
drop box or any building in which a polling location or central count
facility is located, while an election or any related ongoing election
administration activity is in progress. Exceptions are made for persons
who own private property within the 100-foot buffer zone to carry a

firearm on the private property and for peace officers acting within the
scope and authority of their duties to carry a firearm.
Openly carrying a firearm inside or within 100 feet of a polling
location, central count facility, or drop box is a misdemeanor, punishable
by a maximum $1,000 fine, up to 364 days imprisonment in the county
jail, or both.

Beginning January 1, 2023, the bill grants a survivor of torture
who is receiving care and rehabilitation services from a rehabilitative
service provider eligibility for medical assistance without federal
financial participation.

The bill requires the office of legislative legal services (office) to
publish drafts on the general assembly's website (website) of any bills that
may be introduced as one of a legislator's 5 bills by right (covered bills).
Specifically, the bill establishes the following requirements for the office:
  • 40 days prior to the 1st day of a regular legislative session,
the office is required to publish the current draft of a

returning member's covered bill;
  • 30 days prior to the 1st day of a regular legislative session,
the office is required to publish the subject of a new
member's request for a covered bill;
  • 10 days prior to the 1st day of a regular legislative session,
the office is required to publish the current draft of a new
member's covered bill;
  • If there is no draft as of the deadline, the office is required
to publish the subject of the request for the covered bill and
then publish the draft as soon as it has been completed;
  • A redraft of the covered bill is required to be published;
and
  • The office is required to publish a notice of any covered
bill that is withdrawn after the bill subject or draft has been
published on the website.
To accommodate the deadlines for publishing the bill drafts and
subjects on the website, the bill establishes the following bill request
deadlines for covered bills:
  • 70 days prior to the 1st day of a regular legislative session
for a returning member; and
  • 33 days prior to the 1st day of a regular legislative session
for a new member.

The bill forbids anyone selling or renting a dwelling from
discriminating against an individual based on their veteran or military
status. The bill forbids anyone from refusing to negotiate for housing with
an individual on the basis of their veteran or military status or otherwise
denying or withholding housing on the basis of an individual's veteran or

military status. For purposes of the bill, an individual who was
dishonorably discharged from military service does not have veteran or
military status.

The bill extends the right to use deadly physical force against an
intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and
employees of a business.

With certain exceptions, current law prohibits a concealed carry
permit holder from carrying a concealed handgun on public elementary,
middle, junior high, or high school grounds. The bill removes this
limitation. The bill prohibits a local government from prohibiting carrying
a concealed handgun on school grounds by a person who has a valid
concealed carry permit.

The bill creates in the department of higher education (department)
the inclusive higher education grant program to provide grants to state
institutions of higher education for the purpose of establishing, or
expanding existing, inclusive higher education programs for students with
intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The bill requires the department to contract with an organization
that has demonstrated success in assisting students with intellectual and
developmental disabilities attend institutions of higher education to
administer the grant program, perform annual evaluations of the grant
recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the education
committees of the house of representatives and the senate.

The bill requires all state departments to spend at least 50% of the
money they spend on advertising to Colorado residents in a fiscal year on
advertising through local newspapers. The bill further requires all
departments to report on their advertising spending during their annual
State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent
(SMART) Government Act presentations.
The bill also creates an income tax credit for supporting local
newspapers. For income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023,

but before January 1, 2033:
  • A taxpayer is allowed a credit against their income taxes in
an amount equal to 50%, not to exceed $250, of the total
amount paid by the taxpayer for local newspaper
subscriptions or memberships for the personal use of the
taxpayer and of the contributions made by the taxpayer to
nonprofit local newspapers; and
  • A small business is allowed a credit against their income
taxes, not to exceed $2,500, in an amount equal to the
amount paid by the eligible small business for local
newspaper advertising.
If the amount of the credit allowed exceeds the amount of income
taxes otherwise due in the income tax year for which the credit is being
claimed, the bill permits the amount of the credit not used in the income
tax year to be carried forward as a credit against subsequent years' income
tax liability for a period not to exceed 10 years. Any amount of the credit
that is not used after such period is not refunded to the taxpayer.

For the purposes of determining state taxable income and
calculating state income tax for taxpayers who claim the standard
deduction allowed under section 63 (c) of the internal revenue code, the
bill subtracts an amount from the taxpayer's federal taxable income equal
to the standard deduction claimed by the taxpayer not adjusted pursuant

to section 63 (c)(4) or (c)(7)(B)(ii) of the internal revenue code multiplied
by the combination of:
  • The percentage change in the United States department of
labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid by all urban
consumers, or its applicable predecessor or successor
index, (CPI) in the most recent year compared to 2017; and
  • Twenty thousandths of a percent for every percent that the
United States department of labor's bureau of labor
statistics motor fuel index, or its applicable predecessor or
successor index, exceeds the increase in CPI since 2017.
The subtraction is only allowed for income tax years commencing
on or after January 1, 2023.

One of the mechanisms for refunding state revenues in excess of
the state fiscal year spending limit imposed by the Taxpayer's Bill of
Rights (TABOR) is a temporary income tax rate reduction. For any state
fiscal year commencing on or after July 1, 2022, the bill makes this
income tax rate reduction permanent and establishes the reduction as

always equaling a .05% reduction of the current income tax rate.
Thus, under the bill, every year when the executive director of the
department of revenue determines it is necessary to reduce the state
income tax, both the individual state income tax rate and the corporate tax
rate are permanently reduced by .05%.
The bill exempts the state income tax rate and corporate tax rate
reduction in the bill from the otherwise required tax preference
performance statement and repeal date.

The bill creates an income tax deduction of up to $17,500 for
tenants with taxable income under $40,000 for an individual or under
$80,000 for a head-of-household or a married couple for rent paid on a
rental residence in Colorado.

The bill specifies that, commencing January 1, 2023, a retail food
establishment or third-party food delivery service (service) may provide
a customer with single-use food serviceware or a single-use condiment
that accompanies food ordered for delivery or carryout only if the
customer requests single-use food serviceware or a single-use condiment
or confirms that the customer wants single-use food serviceware or a

single-use condiment when offered, with limited exceptions.

For income tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, but
before January 1, 2030, the bill creates an income tax credit (tax credit)
for any employer that:

  • Creates a clean commuting plan to implement strategies to
increase the use of alternative transportation options and
reduce the number of measurable vehicle miles driven by
its employees in single-occupancy vehicles when
commuting to and from their work site (clean commuting
plan) for the purpose of reducing automobile-related air
pollution, traffic congestion, and transportation costs,
particularly for essential workers and workers earning
under $40,000 per year;
  • Conducts an employer commuter survey to determine how
its employees commute to and from their work site; and
  • Offers 2 or more alternative transportation options to some
or all of its employees in furtherance of the employer's
clean commuting plan.
The amount of the tax credit is 50% of the amount spent by the
employer to provide alternative transportation options to some or all of its
employees.
In addition, the bill requires the executive director of the
department of transportation (director), in coordination with the Colorado
energy office and metropolitan planning organizations, to create an
annual commuter survey for employers to use to determine how their
employees commute to and from their work site. The director and the
Colorado energy office are required to determine the content of the
commuter survey and the form and manner in which the commuter survey
will be completed and returned to the department of transportation.
Beginning in specified calendar years, in an effort to reduce the
number of employees who commute to and from their work site in a
single-occupancy vehicle, employers with over 100 employees are
required to:
  • Annually conduct a commuter survey of its employees and
submit the completed commuter surveys to the department
of transportation by April 30 of the year in which the
survey was conducted;
  • Offer its employees qualified transportation fringe benefits
allowed pursuant to federal law;
  • Offer its employees commuter choice information in
electronic or hard copy format and update the information
every 6 months; and
  • Offer a cash allowance in lieu of a parking space under
certain circumstances.
The bill requires that any private sector employer that wishes to
claim the tax credit participate in the employer commuter survey and
submit the results of the survey to the department by April 30 of the year
in which the survey is conducted, even if the employer's participation in
the commuter survey is not otherwise required.
For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, and for each state fiscal year
thereafter through the 2029-30 state fiscal year, of the money allocated to
the transportation commission for state multimodal projects from the
multimodal transportation and mitigation options fund, the transportation
commission is required to allocate $250,000 to each of the transportation
management associations and transportation management organizations
operating in a nonattainment area for the purposes of assisting employers
in creating a clean commuting plan and complying with the requirements
of the bill.

There is a state auxiliary services pilot program that arranges for
the provision of auxiliary services for state departments and agencies that
employ or serve individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind.
The bill requires the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing,
and deafblind (commission) to continue the operations of the state

auxiliary services program (program) indefinitely.
The commission is required to perform the following functions:
  • Coordinate on a statewide basis the day-to-day scheduling
for auxiliary services;
  • Create and manage efficient and consistent processes
through which an auxiliary services provider may submit
required documentation and receive payment for auxiliary
services provided;
  • Create and manage a process for the intake and fulfillment
of requests by state departments and agencies for auxiliary
services;
  • Resolve any issues that may arise with regard to auxiliary
services;
  • Communicate with auxiliary services users, auxiliary
services providers, and appointing authorities; and
  • Establish, monitor, and publish a list of CART providers
and qualified interpreters.
The bill requires the commission to convene an advisory council
to make recommendations concerning the provision of auxiliary services.
The bill requires the commission to include data on the functions
of the program in its annual report to the governor and the general
assembly.

Under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to sell, transfer, or
possess large-capacity ammunition magazines (LCMs), with some
exceptions. The bill allows a person to possess an LCM for the purpose
of participating in a firearm shooting competition that is sanctioned by,
under the auspices of, or in coordination with a state agency.

Concerning measures to incentivize water-wise landscapes, and, in connection therewith, creating a state program to finance the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf and making an appropriation.

The bill requires the Colorado water conservation board (board)
to develop a statewide program to provide financial incentives for the
voluntary replacement of irrigated turf with water-wise landscaping (turf

replacement program). The bill defines water-wise landscaping as a
water- and plant-management practice that emphasizes using plants with
lower water needs. Local governments, certain districts, Native American
tribes, and nonprofit organizations with their own turf replacement
programs may apply to the board for money to help finance their turf
replacement programs. The board will contract with one or more third
parties to administer one or more turf replacement programs in areas
where local turf replacement programs do not exist.

Section 1 of the bill makes legislative findings and declarations.
Section 2 creates the circular economy development center (center) in the
department of public health and environment (department). The purpose
of the center is to grow existing markets; create new markets; and provide
necessary infrastructure, logistics, and marketing to create a sustainable
circular economy for recycled commodities in Colorado. On or before
July 1, 2023, subject to available appropriations, the department must
contract with a third-party administrator to operate the center.
The center must conduct a statewide, end-market gap analysis and
opportunity assessment and submit a final report of the analysis and
assessment to the department by August 1, 2024. Beginning September
1, 2023, and on or before each September 1 thereafter, the center must
also submit a report to the department describing the progress of the
center. The department must include the report in its annual presentation
to the general assembly pursuant to the State Measurement for
Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act.
Section 2 also repeals the center, effective September 1, 2030.
Section 3 requires the front range waste diversion enterprise
(enterprise), in coordination with the department, to pay for direct and
indirect costs associated with the operation of the center through the front
range waste diversion cash fund (fund). Section 3 also makes changes to
the front range waste diversion enterprise grant program as follows:
  • Current law imposes limitations for grant applications that
are received from a waste hauler or a landfill owner or
operator. Specifically, as to the portions of such an
application that relate to infrastructure or equipment, only
50% of infrastructure or equipment can be funded through
the grant program and, if the board awards a grant to a
waste hauler or landfill owner or operator for infrastructure
or equipment, the grantee is ineligible to receive a grant for
the following 5 years. The bill removes these limitations.
  • Current law prohibits the board of directors of the
enterprise from allocating more than 20% of the annual
fund revenue in any single grant award. The bill raises this
maximum to 50%.
Section 3 also extends the repeal date of the enterprise from
September 1, 2029, to September 1, 2030.
Sections 4 and 5 extend the repeal dates of the recycling resources
economic opportunity program and the associated recycling resources
economic opportunity fund from July 1, 2026, to September 1, 2030.
Section 4 also requires the department to use money appropriated from
the recycling resources economic opportunity fund to pay for direct and
indirect costs associated with the operation of the center.
Under current law, the solid waste user fee is repealed, effective
July 1, 2026. Section 6 extends this repeal date to September 1, 2030.
Section 6 also extends, from September 1, 2029, to September 1, 2030,
the repeal date of a specific user fee that is associated with the solid waste
user fee.

The bill allows local education providers, upon entering into an
agreement with an individual or entity that offers hunter education
courses certified by the division of parks and wildlife (division), to
provide a hunter education course (course) to all seventh graders. The
course must satisfy the requirements of a hunter education course
certified by the division; except that hands-on activities are not required.

The course must be taught by a division-certified instructor. A parent or
legal guardian must provide permission for a student to participate in any
hands-on activities that are offered as part of the course. The bill defines
local education providers to mean school districts, charter schools, and
boards of cooperative services that enroll students in seventh grade. The
parks and wildlife commission may accept completion of a course toward
meeting the requirements of a hunter education certificate.

Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance. The bill
identifies a new at-risk measure to identify students who are at risk of
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
below-average academic outcomes because of socioeconomic
disadvantage or poverty in order to allocate resources through the state's
public school funding formula to serve those students. The new at-risk
measure will include:
  • The percentage of students certified as eligible for the
school lunch program based on documentation of benefit
receipt or categorical eligibility, supplemented by the
expansion of direct certification to participants in the
medical assistance program and the children's basic health
plan; and
  • A neighborhood socioeconomic-status index that weights
student needs based on socioeconomic-status index
neighborhood factors linked to each student's census block
group.
The commissioner of education (commissioner) shall convene a
working group to prepare for the implementation of the new at-risk
measure in the 2023-24 budget year. The bill specifies the membership
of the working group.
The bill includes issues that the working group may consider in
constructing and implementing the new at-risk measure, including
collecting necessary data, constructing a neighborhood
socioeconomic-status index linked to students' addresses, and testing the
at-risk measure with actual student data, if available.
The commissioner shall report findings and recommendations for
the construction and implementation of the new at-risk measure to the
legislative interim committee on school finance, the joint budget
committee, and the education committees of the general assembly.
The bill requires the department of education to apply to the
United States department of agriculture to obtain authorization for direct
certification of students participating in the medical assistance program
and the children's basic health plan.

The bill establishes a private school tuition income tax credit for
income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2023, but prior to
January 1, 2028, that allows any taxpayer to claim a credit when the
taxpayer enrolls a qualified child in a private school or the taxpayer
provides a scholarship to a qualified child for enrollment in a private
school. The private school issues the taxpayer a credit certificate and the

amount of the credit is:
  • For full-time attendance, an amount equal to either the
tuition paid or the scholarship provided to a qualified child,
as applicable, or 50% of the previous year's state average
per pupil revenues, whichever is less; and
  • For half-time attendance, an amount equal to either the
tuition paid or the scholarship provided to a qualified child,
as applicable, or 25% of the previous year's state average
per pupil revenues, whichever is less.
The bill also establishes an income tax credit for income tax years
commencing on or after January 1, 2023, but prior to January 1, 2028,
that allows any taxpayer who uses home-based education for a qualified
child to claim an income tax credit in an amount equal to:
  • $1,500 for a taxpayer who uses home-based education for
a qualified child who was enrolled on a full-time basis in a
public school in the state prior to being taught at home; and
  • $750 for a taxpayer who uses home-based education for a
qualified child who was enrolled on a half-time basis in a
public school in the state prior to being taught at home.
Both credits may be carried forward for 3 years but may not be
refunded. In addition, the credits may be transferred, subject to certain
limitations.

The bill makes changes to the laws governing elections. The
secretary of state is required, within 30 days after the effective date of the
bill, to withdraw the state from participation in the electronic registration
information system.
Voters are required to cast their ballots in person at the voters'
precinct polling place on election day, unless the voter has completed a
valid request for an absentee ballot. A voter may request an absentee
ballot if the voter will be out of the state on election day, is hospitalized
or in a nursing home, has a visual impairment, or is a uniformed overseas
voter. All ballots are required to be counted by hand. Counting and
canvassing must be completed within 24 hours after polls close. County
clerk and recorders are required to mail ballots to electors prior to election
day, with written instructions advising that the voter must appear in
person at a precinct polling place to cast the ballot. A person is required
to show a valid state-issued identification to vote.
County clerk and recorders are required to divide the county into
precincts and to designate adequate and reasonable polling places in each
precinct. County clerk and recorders are required to use schools and
government buildings as polling places when possible and are prohibited
from changing a polling place in a precinct unless the electors of the
precinct are given 2 years notice, or in the event of an emergency
rendering the original polling place unusable.
The bill establishes new requirements for the certification and use
of electronic voting systems. The secretary of state (secretary) is required
to create a committee consisting of a member of the faculty in the
engineering department at a state institution of higher education, a
member of the state bar of Colorado, and one person familiar with voting
processes in the state. The committee must test voting systems and make
recommendations to the secretary, who is then required to make final
adoption of the systems to be certified for use in the state. Use of
electronic voting systems is limited to complying with accessibility
requirements for voters who are blind or visually impaired established in
the bill.
The bill makes additional changes to the election laws, including:
  • Requiring county clerk and recorders to send sample ballot
proofs of primary ballots to party committee chairs, and to
send a proof of the general election ballot to any candidate
who was not on the primary ballot;
  • Establishing a 100-foot limit around polling places,
requiring voters to promptly leave the 100-foot area after
voting, and allowing electioneering activity outside the
100-foot limit except in specific circumstances;
  • Requiring ballots to be printed on anti-fraud paper;
  • Allowing a court to order a recount when presented with
facts that require one; and
  • Establishing new election offenses related to unlawful acts
by voters and other persons.

The bill prohibits teaching or using instructional materials at
public schools that promote discrimination.
The bill prohibits public schools from certain discriminatory
practices based on a student's, student's family, or teacher's race or
ethnicity.
The bill creates a $25,000 fine to be paid by the school district of

the public school, or by the state charter school institute in the case of an
institute charter school, to the state education fund if the commissioner of
education finds that a public school knowingly violates a prohibition.
The bill waives sovereign immunity and creates a civil action
against a public school and the school district or board of cooperative
services or the state charter school institute that violates a prohibition.

Section 1 of the bill creates a property tax exemption for mobile
homes that have an assessed value of $2,000 or less.

Section 2 eliminates the requirement that a county treasurer
publish a notice in a newspaper of a sale of a mobile home due to
property taxes owed if:
  • A distraint warrant has been delivered to the owner of the
mobile home or to his or her agent; and
  • The county treasurer publishes a notice of the sale on the
treasurer's website.

Concerning the regulation of structures that are manufactured at a location that is not at the site where the structure is occupied, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

Current law regulates the manufacturers, sellers, and installers of
manufactured homes. This regulation includes requirements for the
installation of manufactured homes, contract and disclosure requirements,
and the registration, escrow, reimbursement, bonding, and inspections of
the manufacturers, installers, and sellers. In addition, the state housing

board (board) sets standards for the proper manufacture and installation
of manufactured homes. The board consults with an advisory committee
when promulgating rules.
The bill adds tiny homes, which are typically manufactured, to this
regulation on substantially similar terms. This includes adding 2
representatives of the tiny home industry to the advisory committee. The
board is given the duty to regulate foundations for manufactured homes
and factory-built structures where no construction standards otherwise
exist.
In addition to adding tiny homes to these provisions, the bill
addresses tiny home regulation in the following manner:
  • The board shall promulgate rules establishing specific
standards for tiny homes. When the national or
international standard is created, the board may use that
standard. The board may modify these standards as
necessary.
  • The board shall establish standards for connecting a tiny
home to utilities, including water, sewer, natural gas, and
electricity;
  • A local government may require the inspection of a tiny
home manufactured before July 1, 2023, if the tiny home is
not manufactured in accordance with the board's standards;
  • A state electrical inspector or a local government may
approve the connection of a tiny home for electric utility
service if the tiny home is in compliance with applicable
codes and standards for connection for electric utility
service; and
  • A state plumbing inspector or a local government may
approve the connection of a tiny home for water, gas, or
sewer utility service if the tiny home is in compliance with
applicable codes and standards for connection for water,
gas, or sewer utility service.
If a tiny home is approved for connection to utilities through the
process described above, the tiny home may be connected to the
appropriate utilities. Current law governing the connection to each utility
is amended to avoid conflicts with the process established in the bill.
Selling or installing a tiny home without complying with the bill
is declared a deceptive trade practice, which subjects a violator to
damages in a lawsuit, a class 1 misdemeanor, and civil penalties of:
  • Up to $20,000 per violation;
  • Up to $10,000 for violating a court order or injunction; and
  • Up to $50,000 per violation if the victim is an elderly
person.
Current law regulates mobile home parks, including notice
requirements, lease termination limits and requirements, security deposit
regulations, entry fee prohibitions, antitrust prohibitions, selling fee
prohibitions, kickback prohibitions, retaliation prohibitions, regulation of
how and if park rules are established, a right of first refusal when the
owner wants to sell the mobile home park, a peaceful enjoyment right,
and remedy provisions. The bill includes tiny homes under these
provisions.
Current law exempts manufactured homes from sales and use tax.
The bill adds tiny homes to this exemption.

The bill creates a new program to regulate a subset of air
pollutants, referred to as toxic air contaminants, which are defined as
hazardous air pollutants, covered air toxics, and all other air pollutants
that the air quality control commission (commission) designates by rule
as a toxic air contaminant based on its adverse health effects. In
implementing the program, the commission has the authority to adopt

rules that are more stringent than the corresponding requirements of the
federal Clean Air Act.
Beginning no later than January 1, 2024, and every 5 years
thereafter, the commission will review the list of existing toxic air
contaminants and determine whether to add any additional toxic air
contaminants to the list.
On or before April 1 of each year, beginning on April 1, 2024,
owners and operators of major and synthetic minor sources of pollution
will submit to the division of administration (division) in the department
of public health and environment (department) an annual emissions
inventory report that reports the levels of criteria air pollutants and toxic
air contaminants that were emitted by the source in the preceding calendar
year, beginning with January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
Beginning no later than January 1, 2024, the division will develop
a monitoring program to determine the concentration of toxic air
contaminants in the ambient air of the state. The monitoring program will
establish at least 6 long-term monitoring sites throughout urban and rural
areas of the state. The division must provide public notice of and an
opportunity to comment on the locations of the monitoring sites.
On or before November 1, 2025, and at least every 5 years
thereafter, the division will prepare a report summarizing the findings of
the monitoring program, provide public notice of and an opportunity to
comment on the report, and submit the report to the general assembly.
Beginning no later than July 1, 2027, the commission will identify
by rule toxic air contaminants that may pose a risk of harm to public
health in the state (high-risk toxic air contaminants) and adopt
health-based standards and emissions limitations (airborne toxic control
measures) for high-risk toxic air contaminants.
On or before July 1, 2032, and at least every 5 years thereafter, the
commission will review the health-based standards and airborne toxic
control measures to determine if the commission should:
  • Identify any additional high-risk toxic air contaminants;
and
  • Adjust the existing health-based standards and airborne
toxic control measures.
Beginning on July 1, 2027, when applying for a new or modified
air pollution permit that is subject to the new source review requirements
of the federal Clean Air Act, the owner or operator of a stationary
source of pollution must submit an analysis of the impacts of the
stationary source's emissions of toxic air contaminants on concentrations
of toxic air contaminants in the ambient air. The division may only
approve the application if the division determines, based on the analysis,
that the source's emissions will not contribute to an increase in
concentrations in the ambient air at or in excess of a health-based
standard.
Beginning on July 1, 2027, to protect public health and the
environment, the division may reopen any existing air pollution permits
and require the owner or operator of a stationary source of pollution to
submit to the division an analysis of the impacts of the stationary source's
emissions of toxic air contaminants on concentrations of toxic air
contaminants in the ambient air. If the division determines, based on the
analysis, that the source's emissions contribute to concentrations in the
ambient air at or in excess of a health-based standard, the division may
require a decrease or cessation in the applicable emissions over the
shortest practicable time until the emissions no longer contribute to
concentrations in the ambient air at or in excess of a health-based
standard.
The bill also creates the toxic air contaminant scientific advisory
board (advisory board) in the department. The advisory board consists of
3 voting members appointed by the executive director of the department
and a nonvoting member representing the department. Each member of
the advisory board shall:
  • Be professionally active or engaged in scientific research;
  • Be highly qualified to evaluate health effects from
exposure to toxic substances; and
  • Have expertise in pathology, oncology, epidemiology, or
toxicology.
The advisory board will advise the commission on identifying
toxic air contaminants and high-risk toxic air contaminants, establishing
and revising health-based standards for high-risk toxic air contaminants,
and reviewing and revising the list of covered air toxics.

The bill requires the Colorado energy office (office), in
collaboration with the department of local affairs (department) and the
Colorado resiliency office (resiliency office), to develop a grid resilience
and reliability roadmap (roadmap) for improving the resilience and
reliability of electric grids in the state (grid), which roadmap must include
guidance on how microgrids may be used to harden the grid, improve grid

resilience and reliability, and help serve communities' electricity needs
independent of the grid. In developing the roadmap, the office,
department, and resiliency office are required to engage interested
persons throughout the state in stakeholder meetings and consider
stakeholder input. The roadmap may identify:
  • The potential benefits of developing microgrids, including
whether and how developing microgrids improves grid
resilience and reliability;
  • The critical facilities and infrastructure and the high-risk
communities that should be prioritized for microgrid
projects (projects);
  • Existing and potential threats to grid resilience and
reliability and how microgrids may help to overcome the
threats; and
  • Recommendations regarding potential legislative or
administrative changes needed to help facilitate projects,
including needed statutory or rule changes, metrics for
evaluating the costs and benefits of microgrids, financial
and technical support for microgrid deployment, and
education and outreach programs.
The office and department are required to post the roadmap on
their websites. The office is also required to submit a copy of the roadmap
to the public utilities commission (commission), and, on or before March
1, 2025, in collaboration with the department, present the roadmap to the
legislative committees of reference with jurisdiction over energy matters.
On a periodic basis at least every 5 years, the office, department, and
resiliency office are required to review the roadmap and, if necessary,
update it. If the roadmap is updated, it must be posted on the office's and
department's websites and submitted to the commission and the legislative
committees of reference with jurisdiction over energy matters.

The bill requires the department of higher education (department)
to submit, as a part of its annual State Measurement for Accountable,
Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act hearing, data
related to postsecondary outcomes for students with a disability. The
department shall gather the data in collaboration with institutions of
higher education (institutions).

The bill creates the postsecondary services advisory committee
(committee) in the department for the purpose of making
recommendations to institutions and the general assembly concerning
necessary services and best practices to improve successful outcomes for
students with disabilities at institutions. The committee is required to
complete and submit a report to the education committees of the house of
representatives and the senate by June 15, 2023, and June 14, 2024. The
committee is repealed on June 30, 2024.

The bill allows the state board of human services (state board) to
utilize eligibility processes from other public assistance or entitlement
programs when promulgating rules for redetermining and verifying
eligibility for the Colorado works program (works program).
When determining income requirements for the works program,
the bill requires the department of human services (state department) to
use an income conversion ratio for converting weekly and biweekly
income to a monthly amount using the lowest ratio or methodology that

results in the lowest monthly income amount allowable under federal law.
Current law prohibits a person convicted of a drug-related felony
offense from being eligible for assistance under the works program unless
the person is determined by a county department of human or social
services to have taken action toward rehabilitation. The bill removes the
ban on eligibility.
The bill requires the state board to promulgate rules establishing
statewide standards and procedures that require counties to offer an
extension:
  • Beyond the 60-month lifetime maximum for all households
that demonstrate good cause, which includes an applicant
or participant who is a child-only case, the head of a single
parent household and has a child under one year of age,
experiencing hardship, or addressing family or medical
needs; and
  • From work requirements to all households that demonstrate
good cause, which includes for an applicant or participant
who is the head of a single-parent household and has a
child under one year of age, experiencing hardship, or
addressing family or medical needs.
The bill requires the state department to annually review and
promulgate rules as necessary to update the standard of need to ensure the
standard of need is equitable, promotes economic mobility and
self-sufficiency, and reflects the current economic status of the state.
The bill requires the state department to disregard any earned
income for at least the first 6 months an applicant or participant is
employed while enrolled in the works program. The bill requires that the
state department determine the amount of earned income that must be
disregarded after the first 6 months and ensure a gradual step down of the
amount of earned income disregarded and that the appropriate work
supports are made available to the applicant or participant.
Current law requires the state department to ensure the amount of
a basic cash assistance grant that an applicant or participant receives is
equal to or exceeds 102% of the need standard for a participant in a
similarly sized household on January 1, 2008. By the 2027-28 state fiscal
year, and each state fiscal year thereafter, the bill requires the amount of
the basic cash assistance grant to equal or exceed 50% of the federal
poverty guidelines established by the federal department of health and
human services for a similarly sized household for that fiscal year.
No later than January 1, 2023, the bill requires the state department
to begin phasing in the increase in basic cash assistance that is equal to or
exceeds 50% of the federal poverty guidelines.
The bill requires a county department to attempt to contact each
participant using each method of communication provided by the
participant in order to conduct exit and follow-up interviews upon case
closure. The bill expands the purpose of the exit and follow-up interviews
to include evaluating the participant's experience with the works program,
how well the program met the participant's needs and assisted the
participant in meeting the participant's goals, and informing the state
department of any changes to rules that are needed to improve the
participant's experience.
The bill requires the state department to monitor impacts to
counties' workload in the works program and consult with counties
regarding additional need for money to administer the works program.
Beginning January 2023, and each January thereafter, the state
department is required to submit a report to the general assembly on the
effectiveness of the works program.
Current law requires the state board to promulgate rules that
require a percentage reduction in the basic cash assistance grant upon the
imposition of a sanction affecting the grant, with the percentage to be
specified in the rules but not to be less than 25%. The bill requires the
percentage not to exceed one dollar.
No later than September 30, 2022, the bill requires the state
department to develop an outreach and engagement plan to promote
access to the works program for eligible persons.

The bill makes it unlawful for a person to threaten, coerce, or
intimidate, or attempt to threaten, coerce, or intimidate, an election
official with the intent to interfere with the performance of the official's
duties or with the intent to retaliate against the official for the
performance of the official's duties. The prohibition does not apply to an
enforcement action taken by the secretary of state to enforce state election
laws.
The bill also prohibits a person from making the personal

information of an election official or an election official's immediate
family publicly available on the internet if the person knows or
reasonably should know that doing so will pose an imminent and serious
threat to the election official or the election official's immediate family.
There is a presumption that dissemination of the personal information of
an election official or the election official's immediate family poses an
imminent and serious threat if a federal, state, or local law enforcement
agency has issued a safety warning or advisory that applies to the election
official. For the purposes of this restriction, election official is defined
to include a county clerk and recorder, a municipal clerk, an election
judge, a member of a canvassing board, a member of a board of county
commissioners, a member or secretary of a board of directors authorized
to conduct public elections, a representative of a governing body, or any
other person contracted for or engaged in the performance of election
duties.
An election worker may file a request with a state or local official
to remove personal information from records that the official makes
available on the internet. The request must include an affirmation under
penalty of perjury that the election worker has reason to believe that the
dissemination of the election worker's personal information on the
internet poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the election
worker. After receiving a request from an election worker, the state or
local official is also required to deny access to the personal information
in response to a request for records under the Colorado Open Records
Act; except that certain individuals may access records maintained by a
county recorder, county assessor, or county treasurer if such access is
related to a real estate matter. For purposes of this protection, election
worker is defined to include a county clerk and recorder, county election
staff, a municipal clerk, municipal election staff, the secretary of state,
and the secretary of state's election staff but does not include an election
judge or a temporary employee.

The bill declares that every individual has a fundamental right to
use or refuse contraception; every pregnant individual has a fundamental
right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion; and
a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative
rights under the laws of the state.

The bill prohibits state and local public entities from:
  • Denying, restricting, interfering with, or discriminating
against an individual's fundamental right to use or refuse
contraception or to continue a pregnancy and give birth or
to have an abortion in the regulation or provision of
benefits, services, information, or facilities; and
  • Depriving, through prosecution, punishment, or other
means, an individual of the individual's right to act or
refrain from acting during the individual's own pregnancy
based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on the
pregnancy, the pregnancy's outcomes, or on the pregnant
individual's health.

The bill creates the innovative housing incentive program
(program) within the office of economic development (office). A business
located in Colorado that manufactures certain types of housing may apply
for funding through the program. Funding may be awarded through grants
for capital operating expenses and for incentives for units manufactured
based on criteria established by the office, such as affordability, location

where the unit is installed in the state, or meeting energy efficiency
standards. Or, funding may be awarded through loans for the purpose of
funding a manufacturing factory. The bill creates the innovative housing
incentive program fund, requires a $40 million transfer to the fund, and
continuously appropriates all money in the fund to the office to fund the
program.

The bill amends the Mobile Home Park Act and the Mobile
Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program to:
  • Prohibit a landlord from increasing rent on a mobile home
lot by an amount that exceeds the greater of inflation or 3
percentage points in any 12-month period;
  • Require the landlord or the landlord's representative to
attend up to 2 public meetings for residents of the park
each year at the request of the residents;

  • Clarify that a landlord is responsible for the cost of
repairing any damage to a mobile home or lot that results
from the landlord's failure to maintain the premises of the
park;
  • Clarify the triggering events that demonstrate a park
owner's intent to sell a park for purposes of providing
notice to home owners and the method for giving notice;
  • Change the period in which a group or association of
mobile home owners may make an offer to purchase the
park from 90 to 180 days, and provide for tolling of that
time period in certain circumstances;
  • Provide a right of first refusal for a public entity that
accepts an assignment of a group or association of mobile
home owners' opportunity to purchase;
  • Clarify the obligations of a landlord to provide notice to
home owners concerning the terms and conditions of an
offer to purchase the park that the landlord would accept
and to negotiate in good faith with the home owners;
  • Require a landlord who changes the use of the land
comprising the park to compensate a mobile home owner
who has not given notice to terminate the lease or rental
agreement and who is displaced by the change in use for
the reasonable costs of relocating the mobile home to a
location within 100 miles of the park, the fair market value
of the mobile home before the change in use, or in the
amount of $7,500 for a single-section mobile home or
$10,000 for a multi-section mobile home;
  • Allow the department to enforce statutory provisions
concerning the required notice of intent to sell or change
the use of the land and the mobile home owners'
opportunity to purchase by imposing a fine for a violation
or filing for injunctive relief in district court;
  • Allow the attorney general to investigate and enforce
statutory provisions providing protections for mobile home
owners;
  • Allow a resident, local government, or a nonprofit to file a
complaint with the division under the dispute resolution
program;
  • Clarify the procedures and penalties that apply when a
party does not respond to a subpoena from the division;
  • Allow the division to take immediate action in response to
complaints or violations that will cause immediate harm to
mobile home owners;
  • Prohibit landlords from harassing or coercing mobile home
owners in an effort to require a mobile owner to sign an
agreement or to influence a decision by the home owner
about an opportunity to purchase;
  • Establish criteria for when a mobile home park rule or
regulation that limits a home owner's right to control the
use, appearance, and structure of a mobile home is
enforceable;
  • Prohibit a landlord from interfering with the mobile home
owner's right to sell a mobile home to the buyer of his or
her choice, except in limited circumstances;
  • Establish record retention requirements for landlords; and
  • Consolidate provisions concerning private rights of action
for landlords, home owners, and residents, and establish
penalties and remedies available in private actions.

Concerning improving access to health benefits for economically insecure Colorado families by enhancing public health programs, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

The bill makes the following changes to health insurance coverage
for low-income pregnant people and children in low-income families:
  • Provides full health insurance coverage for Colorado
pregnant people who would be eligible for medicaid and
the children's basic health plan (CHIP) if not for their

immigration status and continues that coverage for 12
months postpartum at the CHIP federal matching rate;
  • Provides comprehensive health insurance coverage to all
Colorado children who would be eligible for medicaid and
CHIP if not for their immigration status;
  • Requires the state department of health care policy and
financing to create an outreach and enrollment strategy for
enrolling eligible groups into new coverage options;
  • Makes comprehensive lactation supports and supplies,
including breast pumps, a covered benefit for perinatal
people on medicaid and CHIP;
  • Draws down federal funds to improve perinatal and
postpartum support and requires that priorities for the funds
be determined through a stakeholder process;
  • Permanently authorizes an existing survey of birthing
parents, run by the state department of public health and
environment and increases the ability of the survey to
collect and report on the experiences of birthing people of
color in Colorado;
  • Creates a special enrollment period for health insurance
coverage due to pregnancy so that an eligible person can
sign up for insurance as soon as the person becomes
pregnant; and
  • Improves the quality of health insurance coverage available
through the health insurance affordability enterprise.

The bill creates the primary care and behavioral health statewide
integration grant program in the department of health care policy and
financing to provide grants to primary care clinics for implementation of
evidence-based clinical integration care models.
The bill requires the department of health care policy and

financing, in collaboration with the behavioral health administration and
other agencies, to develop a universal contract for behavioral health
services.
The bill makes an appropriation.

Concerning an increase in the number of residential behavioral health beds, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation.

The bill requires the department of human services (department)
to renovate a building at the mental health institute at Fort Logan to create
at least 16 additional civil beds for persons in need of residential
behavioral health treatment. The bill authorizes the new beds to be used
for persons needing competency restoration services until the backlog of

such persons is eliminated.
The bill also directs the department and the department of health
care policy and financing to create, develop, or contract to add at least
125 additional beds at mental health residential treatment facilities
(treatment facilities) throughout the state for adults in need of ongoing
supportive services. The bill requires treatment facilities to be licensed by
the department of public health and environment as an assisted living
facility or by the department as a behavioral health entity during the
2022-23 state fiscal year. Starting in the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the
treatment facilities must be licensed by the behavioral health
administration.
The bill appropriates $65 million for the renovation of the building
and the creation, development, or contracting for the new beds at
treatment facilities.

The bill creates 2 state grant programs:
  • The local investments in transformational affordable
housing grant program (affordable housing grant program),
administered by the division of housing (DOH) in the
department of local affairs (department); and
  • The infrastructure and strong communities grant program
(strong communities grant program), administered by the
division of local government (DLG) in the department.
The affordable housing grant program provides grants to local
governments and nonprofit organizations to enable such entities to make
investments in their communities or regions of the state in
transformational affordable housing and housing related matters. The
strong communities grant program provides grants to eligible local
governments to enable local governments to invest in infill infrastructure
projects that support affordable housing.
The strong communities grant program portion of the bill requires
a multi-agency group, comprised of DLG, the state energy office, and the
department of transportation, with the assistance of stakeholders, to
develop a list of sustainable land use best practices that will accomplish
the goals of the grant program and improve a local government's viability
in being considered for a grant award.
The bill requires both DOH and DLG to develop policies,
procedures, and guidelines governing the administration of the respective
grant programs. The bill specifies how grant funding is to be prioritized
and eligible uses of grant money awarded under the grant programs.
The bill creates 2 funds in the state treasury: The local investments
in transformational affordable housing fund and the infrastructure and
strong communities grant program fund. The bill specifies requirements
pertaining to the administration of these funds.
Both funds are initially supported with a transfer of a specified
amount of money from different funds.
Both grant programs are subject to reporting requirements
specified in the bill, and both grant programs are repealed by a date
specified in the bill.