State Legislation

This bill has three sections. Section 1 of the bill changes the date on which Energy Outreach Colorado disburses to the Department of Human Services a portion of the energy assistance system benefit charges that investor-owned electric and gas utilities collect from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 1, 2023. Section 2 requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to adopt rules prohibiting electric and gas utilities from disconnecting a customer's service and alters requirements on requests for reconnection of service. Section 3 establishes three income standards for determining a household’s eligibility for federal utility assistance and clarifies that the PUC may approve a year-round utility preference or advantage given to income-eligible customers.

This bill would offer employers an income tax credit when they provide alternative transportation options for their employees. The refundable tax credit would replace an existing income tax deduction and cover 50% of an employers’ expenses for providing alternative transportation options. It would be available for the tax years covering Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2033.

This bill extends the affordable housing tax credit for another 10 years after it’s set to expire in 2024, and it increases the allocation from $10 million annually to $15 million annually from 2023 to 2034.

This bill allows for an exemption from the water quality control commission’s regulations related to graywater for scientific research.

This bill requires that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) may only consider proposals for a public-private initiative that pay no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits set by the U.S. Department of Labor as directed by the federal Davis-Bacon Act.

This bill requires the Center of Excellence to conduct a study and implement a pilot program on integrating unmanned aircraft systems within state and local government operations that relate to public safety.

The bill makes any local government that bans or imposes a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing of an oil and gas well liable to the affected mineral interest owners, oil and gas operators, mineral lessees and royalty owners.

This bill prevents the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from increasing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane requirements from two passengers currently to three passengers, counting the driver. This bill also requires that any funding CDOT receives that is not already allocated to another project must be allocated to the expansion projects for portions of Interstate 25 between the town of Castle Rock and Monument and between State Highways 14 and 66.

This bill increases reporting and auditing restrictions on urban renewal authorities using an approved urban renewal plan. It also holds the authority liable if it’s deemed to have been used inappropriately.

This bill requires that the Transportation Commission submit a ballot question in November 2017 asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding.

This bill extends and expands the current Colorado water conservation board pilot program on temporarily leasing fallowed agricultural land by allowing for five additional pilot projects, including one additional pilot project in any one of the four major river basins, and extending the program by an additional five years.

This bill extends a 2007 program requiring the PUC to reduce peak demand by at least 5 percent and demonstrate energy savings of at least 5 percent using 2018 energy sales numbers as a baseline for the period from 2019 through 2028.

This bill enables public utilities to recover the costs of implementing electric motor vehicle or natural gas fueling stations. It also allows public utilities to consider transportation electrification and natural gas vehicle programs to support greater adoption of these technologies.

This bill applies a water use exemption for participants of government-sponsored water conservation programs statewide.

This bill refers a ballot question to voters in November 2017 asking for approval of a .62 percent sales and use tax increase to fund transportation infrastructure and mobility. The funding would generate approximately $700 million in its first full year, allocating $300 million to CDOT and, of the remaining new revenue, 70 percent to counties and municipalities so they can address unique local needs and 30 percent to create a multimodal transportation fund. The tax increase would sunset automatically in 20 years.

This bill increases the current setback rules for oil and gas drilling from 1,000 feet from a school or other high occupancy building to 1,000 feet from the property line of that building.

This bill would enact an informed consent process and require that a majority of homeowners vote to proceed with a construction defect claim before a lawsuit is filed.

This bill requires that the state engineer develop rules to allow for a quicker, more streamlined process for calculating historical consumptive use of a water right when selling or leasing. However, it doesn’t eliminate the option for the seller to go through water court if they so choose.

The bill requires a majority of royalty interest owners to agree to apply for an order to pool oil and gas resources within a given drilling unit as opposed to any one interested party. The process includes giving notice to all interest owners, holding a hearing and holding a vote.

This bill would require any public private partnership agreement for the Interstate 25 north project to say that high--occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes must be free of charge for any motor vehicle that is occupied by two or more individuals, counting the driver.

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for marijuana cultivation.

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for toilet flushing.

This bill allows treated reclaimed domestic wastewater that meets state and federal food safety standards to be used for food crop irrigation.

This bill permits the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to roll over environmental response account funds that are not used in one year to the next year, allowing them to tackle larger environmental projects that take more than one year’s worth of funds to address.

This bill requires additional reporting for oil and gas operators for certain major and minor reportable events.

Current law requires a state or local agency to get a search warrant before obtaining location information from an electronic device. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to use highway infrastructure technology to communicate with motor vehicles using vehicle location information to facilitate transportation or manage traffic.

This bill directs the Public Utilities Commission to consider whether to establish a process for electric utilities to buy energy storage systems, with the ultimate goal to decide if those systems are a valuable addition to Colorado’s overall grid system based on an analysis of costs and benefits.

This bill requires mobile service providers to add distraction-control technology to their service platforms.

This bill requires that statewide greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by at least 80 percent of 2005 levels by the year 2050.

This bill exempts local governments and school districts that own mineral rights from automatic inclusion in the pooling of oil and gas resources when the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approves an order to pool and develop those resources.

This bill would disqualify internet service providers from receiving high-cost support mechanism funds or other money to finance broadband development if the provider engages in practices that interfere with the open internet.

The Long Appropriation Act (“Long Bill”) appropriates Colorado’s state budget and funding. While the Long Bill spans a variety of interests, the Chamber’s position is focused on the current transportation proposal that allocates funding to transportation infrastructure.

This bill increases the current setback rules for oil and gas drilling from 1,000 feet from a school or other high-occupancy building to 1,000 feet from the property line of that building.

This bill allows investor-owned utilities to enter into agreements with local governments, subject to approval of the public utilities commission, to provide utility service that meets the energy goals of that local government, separate from state offerings, as long as the agreement does not require utility customers outside the local government boundaries to subsidize the costs of those agreements.

This bill creates an income tax credit pilot program to promote employer-assisted housing projects in rural areas.

This bill will allow certain owners of eligible plug-in electronic motor vehicles to pay a onetime per year access fee at the time of registering their vehicle that will allow them to access tolled express lanes and high occupancy vehicle lanes for free or at a reduced cost and without the required number of passengers.

Currently a person is required to use certain traction control equipment, such as chains or snow-rated tires, when the Colorado Department of Transportation restricts road use due to a winter storm. The bill broadens this law to require the traction equipment to be carried on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison during icy or snow-packed conditions, before CDOT issues winter storm restrictions. It also updates the law to allow for current technology and traction options.

This bill increases the allocation for the affordable housing tax credit from $5 million annually to $10 million annually for the years 2020 to 2024.

This bill will require manufactured housing built in Colorado to meet the standards of the state it will be used in, rather than the standards of Colorado.

This bill requires the statewide emission of greenhouse gas targets to be reduced by at least 25 percent by 2025; at least 50 percent by 2030; and at least 90 percent by 2050 – compared to 2005 levels. This impacts all stationary and mobile sources and excludes agriculture. It directs the governor-appointed Colorado Air Quality Commission, (CAQC), to develop policies and promulgate rules for how to achieve those reductions most effectively, or across the board, with input from the Public Utilities Commission on targets for electricity providers.

This bill establishes new clean energy targets for utilities serving more than 500,000 customers. By 2030, the targets seek to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels. By 2050, the targets seek to reduce carbon emissions by 100 percent from 2005 levels. Other electric utilities may opt in to these standards.

Under current law, an affordable housing project that received a state property tax exemption may be required to pay property taxes that otherwise would have been owed from the date the exemption was granted if it begins to make a profit or is transferred. This bill specifies that the state could only collect property taxes owed from the date the exemption is terminated.

This bill would study community choice energy, also known as community choice aggregation, which would allow communities to choose their wholesale electricity suppliers and be able to purchase energy outside of the local utility while still utilizing the infrastructure and delivery of that utility.

This bill specifies that local governments that ban fracking are liable to the mineral owner for the value of the mineral and shall compensate oil and gas operators, mineral lessees and royalty owners for all costs, damages and losses associated with any moratorium placed on oil and gas activities.

This bill will allow a local government to certify that an area is unserved for the purposes of receiving grants from the Broadband Fund. To overturn a local certification, a supermajority (10 out of the 15 members) of the broadband deployment board must vote and determine otherwise.

The bill creates a new program to regulate hazardous air pollutants specified by the air quality control commission (AQCC), including hydrogen cyanide, fluoride, sulfide and benzene. The AQCC would set health-based emission limits for covered air toxins if not already covered by state or federal regulation, require covered facilities to monitor their emissions of covered air toxins, and create a real-time community alert system for incidents that occur at a covered facility. The bill directs the AQCC to set standards that are stricter than the federal clean air act.

This bill allows low-emission vehicles access to toll lanes for free or at a reduced cost regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle.

This bill requires the Colorado Division of Housing to prepare a public report that gives detail on the total money that the division or the Colorado State Housing Board received from any federal, state, public or private sources during the prior fiscal year. It would also report what the division or board granted or loaned from state funding to promote providing affordable housing.

This bill caps the amount a property owner can withhold from a contractor and a contractor can withhold from a subcontractor or supplier for unsatisfactory work at 5%. This cap applies only to contracts of at least $150,000 in the private sector.

This bill creates a new state enterprise that would collect a fee from insurance companies. Fees would be used to create a grant program for disaster mitigation and to assist with matching funds to qualify for federal grants.

This bill makes a multitude of changes to transparency, disclosure, regulation and executive governance practices for unit/homeowners associations (HOAs). Changes range from new digital posting requirements for community fees and standards to new agenda and voting rules at HOA meetings.

This bill allocates $20 million from the general fund to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to implement the state water plan. The state will transfer $15 million to the water plan implementation cash fund for expenditures and grants, while the remaining $5 million will be transferred to the water supply reserve fund to disperse to basin roundtables.

This bill offers state assistance to local governments with the goal of creating more affordable housing strategies and practices. The Department of Local Affairs would distribute a total of $13 million to create and administer three programs (local government affordable housing development incentives grant program, local government planning grant program, and the affordable housing guided toolkit and local officials guide program). Grant eligibility depends on government adoption of affordable housing strategies and tools.

This bill requires owners of certain large buildings to collect and report the building’s energy use on an annual basis to the Colorado Energy Office. Owners of these covered buildings will be charged $100 annually for each building and beginning in 2027 will have to meet use standards outlined in the bill. Penalties ranging from $500 to $5,000 will be imposed for violations of energy standards.

This bill gives the Public Utilities Commission authority to consider proposals from investor-owned utilities that would expand clean energy production, use and storage.

This bill creates the Microgrids for Community Resilience Grant Program, allowing cooperative electric associations or municipally owned utilities in eligible rural communities to apply for funds to finance the purchase of microgrid resources. Communities within the utility's service territory are eligible if they have significant risk of severe weather or natural disasters, and if they contain one or more community anchor institutions, such as a school, library or hospital.

This bill establishes penalties, procedures and limitations regarding any individual who defrauds the state, a county or a municipality. Any such individual is subject to a civil penalty as established by the federal False Claims Act and is liable for additional damages to the defrauded entity and other attorney fees or costs.

This bill places electric vehicle standards on commercial buildings and multifamily residences by requiring electric vehicle charging stations for at least 10% of their parking spaces if the building is 25,000 square feet or more. It also requires contractors to provide electric efficiency options when constructing certain buildings.

This bill creates the innovative housing incentive program and enables businesses that manufacture housing stock to apply. The program awards grants based on certain criteria, such as affordability, location within the state and energy efficiency. Funds may also be awarded for building manufacturing facilities. The bill appropriates $40 million to the fund to encourage housing manufacturers to develop affordable housing stock.

This bill amends the Mobile Home Park Act and the Mobile Home Park Act Dispute Resolution and Enforcement Program. This bill prohibits a landlord from increasing rent greater the rate of inflation or 3% over any 12-month period for mobile homes. It also requires landlords to repair a mobile home that incurs damage as a result of the landlord’s failure to maintain the premises, clarifies the disclosure responsibilities of a landlord with intent to sell a park, and mandates that public entities representing mobile homeowners have a right of first refusal to purchase a park.

This bill creates two grant programs: the local investments in transformational affordable housing grant program and the infrastructure and strong communities grant program. The affordable housing grant program provides grants to nonprofits for investment in affordable housing in their communities. The strong communities grant program provides local governments money to complete infill infrastructure projects to encourage affordable housing development.

This bill requires wholesale electricity services in the state to file a report on the adequacy of its electric resources with the regulatory oversight entity responsible for approving resource plans or rates. The regulatory oversight entity must then submit annually any resource adequacy reports to the Colorado Energy Office. The Colorado Energy Office will then aggregate the resource adequacy reports into a statewide resource adequacy report.

For any residential special district, the district is prohibited from approving a purchase of debt from any entity with which the director has a conflict of interest. The bill further prohibits any board member from acquiring any interest in the debt.

This bill amends current law to prohibit a rental agreement from including: an unreasonable liquidated damage clause stemming from an eviction notice; a one-way, fee-shifting clause that awards court costs and attorneys’ fees to only one party; and the clause must award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party. The bill also prohibits a waiver of the right to jury trial or to join a class action lawsuit or the implied covenant of quiet enjoyment; a provision allowing a landlord to levy a fee if tenant does not provide notice of renewal prior to the end of the rental agreement; and a provision that requires a tenant to pay a fee in excess of the amount a landlord paid for a service.

This bill increases the flexibility of the ozone season transit grant program by: allowing transit agencies in areas where ozone is highest at a different time than between June 1 to Aug. 31 to designate such time as its “ozone season”; to use grant money to advertise free ridership; to use grant money to increase free routes or increase their frequency; and allowing the regional transit district (RTD) to use grant money to cover the full costs, not just 80%, of free ridership fares. The bill also requires the governing body of each transportation district to include one voting member of a transit agency that offers transit service per region.

This bill creates the Homeowners' Association (HOA) Task Force and the Metro District Task Force. The HOA Task Force is required to: study issues regarding homeowners’ rights, including HOA fining and authority, foreclosure practices, and communications with homeowners; prepare an interim report regarding its findings; and prepare a final report on or before Dec. 31, 2023. The Metro District Task Force is required to: study issues confronting metropolitan districts homeowners’ rights, tax levying authority and practices, and foreclosure practices; and prepare a report regarding its findings on or before March 1, 2024.

This bill repeals a statute that prohibits counties and municipalities from enacting rent control on residential property.

This bill allows local governments to match an acceptable purchase offer on residential real property within its boundaries if the property is used for long-term affordable housing. The local government may assign its first right of refusal to the state or its local housing authority. This bill also requires notices be given by the seller to local governments, and the local government has 14 days to preserve its right of first refusal, 90 days to make an offer, and must close within 180 days. If the local government preserves the property as permanently affordable housing for 50 years, the use may be changed given the following criteria is met: notice is given to residents, residents are compensated for relocation, and the local government guarantees an equal or greater number of affordable housing units will be built in its place, and it offers these units to previous residents who have been displaced.

This bill clarifies that money transferred from the general fund or the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund to the Colorado heritage communities fund on June 27, 2021 must be expended before July 1, 2025. It further clarifies that the division of housing may award multiple grants in the Metro Denver area to prevent homelessness.

This bill preempts any existing local growth restriction and prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing one unless the local government has experienced a natural disaster emergency.

This bill removes the requirement that the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) make rules setting conditions and limitations for start-up, shutdown or malfunction of air pollution that justify temporary relief from an emission control regulation. Currently, a person cannot permit air pollution emission at a nonresidential structure unless a notice has been filed with the Division of Administration in the Department of Public Health and Environment. This law adds more requirements, including that permits being approved by the division and the applicable period of review by the federal environmental protection has been completed. The law also removes the prohibition against the AQCC adopting stricter rules than federal law and adds new regulations to oil and gas construction permits to aggregate emission from a proposed or modified oil and gas system and consider emissions from exploration and preproduction activities. The bill also modifies the complaint process for noncompliance, adds requirements for the division to investigate, and creates new control measures that must be included in any state implementation plan for ozone adopted by the AQCC until a serious, severe, or extreme ozone nonattainment area is re-designated.

This bill modifies the accessible housing standards exception process for building plans submitted after July 1, 2023. When approving plans, a government may only grant an exception to the accessible housing standards when it is determined that the standards are technically infeasible or would create an undue hardship. The bill also requires that alteration of walls must also conform with certain minimum alteration requirements. This bill states that failure to comply with these minimum requirements constitutes discrimination and creates a civil action. This bill also requires a certain number of type B dwellings and in some cases at least one type A unit. The bill also requires newly constructed housing to have at least one building entrance on an accessible route, accessible fire alarms, accessible emergency exits, accessible mailboxes, and accessible signage.

This bill modifies the voter-approved Proposition 123 in a number of ways. It allows tribal governments to participate; requires the Division of Local Government to administer the land planning capacity development program; allows the office to use a portion of the money from the fund for administrative expenses; allows for a certain recalculation of the area median income for affordable units; ensures that affordable units are included in the 3% growth obligation; and requires the Division of Housing to publish three annual reports.

This is a bipartisan bill that aims to increase the number of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Colorado through new requirements, grant programs and limiting permitting restrictions. The bill requires jurisdictions to allow, subject to an administrative approval process, one ADU to a single unit detached dwelling. The bill also prohibits qualifying jurisdictions from enacting or enforcing certain local laws that would restrict the construction or conversion of an accessory dwelling unit.

A bipartisan bill that requires local governments to notify affected utility companies of road improvement projects and establishes the process by which local governments and utility companies may enter into agreements concerning the relocation of utility facilities. The bill requires local governments and utility companies to coordinate on road improvement projects necessitating the alteration of utility lines. The utility must pay for the costs associated with an unreasonable delay.

A bill that seeks to increase the affordability of housing in transit-oriented communities (TOCs). This includes providing definitions for TOCs and counties required to adhere to the new requirements to meet housing opportunity goals. A housing opportunity goal is a zoning capacity goal based on an average zoned housing density and the number of transit-related areas within a transit-oriented community. The bill requires a transit-oriented community to meet its housing opportunity goal by ensuring that enough areas in the transit-oriented community qualify as transit centers. The bill creates the transit-oriented communities infrastructure fund grant program to assist local governments in upgrading infrastructure within transit centers and neighborhood centers. In addition, a transit-oriented community is required to demonstrate that it has met its housing opportunity goal by submitting a housing opportunity goal report to the department of local affairs.

The bill creates a pilot program for an income tax credit for owners of qualified housing developments focused on rental housing for middle-income individuals and families. Middle-income individuals and families are defined as having an annual-household income between 80% and 120% of the median income of households the same size within their region. Rural resort counties would be defined as having an annual income of 80% and 140% of the area median income. The amount is credited and determined by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) and the aggregate amount of credits allocated in a year cannot exceed $10 million. The bill also requires CHFA to annually report on the middle-income tax credit pilot program to the general assembly and to make the report publicly available.

A bill that prohibits the sale and distribution of certain HVAC systems manufactured after Jan. 1, 2027, and sets up a process that allows individuals to make anonymous reports of violation of technical standards. The bill imposes new penalties for violation, including a warning letter to the alleged violator and in the case of a third subsequent violation, the attorney general may bring a civil action and seek up to $2,000. The bill also would require the Colorado Energy Office to conduct a study comparing the cost difference between an HVAC system that meets the technical standards and the HVAC system that does not. In addition, the bill creates a $5,000 refundable state income tax credit per installation of an eligible heat pump available for home builders or HVAC contractors. Lastly, the bill requires recipients of state financial assistance for new building construction projects that include energy-consuming products covered by the Energy Star program to use covered energy-consuming products certified by the Energy Star program.

A bill that seeks to make changes to the existing pipeline safety rules, requiring the Public Utilities Commission to increase mapping requirements for all pipelines within its jurisdiction, decommission sections of pipeline that have not been used for two or more years, and develop a website for pipeline safety data in Colorado. The bill also makes significant changes to the penalties for violating pipeline safety law, increasing the penalties from $200,000 to $500,000, allowing the Commission to increase penalties based on certain metrics and factors, and beginning in 2026, the Commission would be required to adjust the penalty for inflation every two years.

The bill would require the Colorado Energy Office to solicit interest from local governments that are served by a dual-fuel utility in becoming a gas planning priority community. Once a local government expresses their interest, this would formally indicate their interest in working with the utility to mutually explore opportunities for neighborhood-scale alternatives projects. This project targets either decommissioning a portion of the gas distribution system or avoiding expanding the gas distribution system. The bill requires the utility to work with an approved community to identify neighborhood-scale alternatives projects in each community and then follow up with reporting on the implementation of any approved neighborhood-scale alternatives projects. The commission must allow the utility to recover costs incurred from the implementation of a neighborhood-scale alternatives project.

The bill mandates the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission to establish rules by May 31, 2025, for a state dredge and fill discharge authorization program, overseen by the Department of Public Health and Environment. These rules must focus on minimizing and compensating for the impacts of dredge and fill activities, aligning with federal Clean Water Act guidelines. The Division of Administration within the department will administer authorizations for activities involving dredged or fill material discharge into state waters. It will issue individual and general authorizations, with specific conditions to mitigate adverse effects. Compensatory mitigation is required for impacts exceeding specified thresholds. Until the rules are enacted, the division will enforce existing Clean Water Policy 17 and may issue temporary authorizations under certain conditions, with a maximum duration of two years. Certain activities are exempt from authorization, and the definition of "state waters" includes wetlands. Additionally, the bill extends requirements for informing relevant state bodies and submitting mitigation proposals to applicants seeking permits or authorizations for water diversion, delivery, or storage facilities requiring approval from the United States.

The introduced bill makes modifications of the Regional Transportation District, including modifications to increase transit ridership and to promote district transparency and accountability. Other modifications include regional fixed guideway mass transit systems, changes to the current board, creating a transitional board from Jan. 1, 2025, through Jan. 31, 2026; the creation of a new board; district elections and procedures; additional modifications to the statutes governing the board; the creation of a 10-year strategic plan. This bill also requires the district to make its annual budget and other specified budget information available to the public on its website in a format that is easy to access, understand, and navigate. It will repeal the requirement that a person pay rent at fair market value for use of a transfer facility. It will require the department to establish a mass transit bus driver training program; establish the coordination between transit providers and metropolitan planning organizations to propose and implement fixed-route transit service plans; and it authorizes the department to use the money that was designated for the development of the Burnham Yard rail property and instead use it for site preparation, site enhancements, planning, and facilitating a track alignment that preserves buildable land while promoting transit and rail capacity and increasing safety in connection with the development of the Burnham Yard rail property.

A bipartisan bill to incentivize the deployment of wireless telephone infrastructure in the state by requiring the Colorado Broadband Office to implement a wireless telephone infrastructure deployment grant program. The bill allows for the broadband office to allocate high-cost support mechanism (HCSM) money for the grant program to help finance the deployment of wireless telephone infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the state.

A bill to expand the definition of anti-growth laws to include any local restrictions that impose additional limitations on specific housing types beyond existing zoning or building codes. It reaffirms that local governments cannot enforce population growth limits or restrict residential development permits unless temporarily following a declared disaster emergency. Additionally, it clarifies when local governments must allow private property owners to pay a fee instead of dedicating land if their property does not meet dedication standards.

A bill that standardizes apprenticeship requirements for public and energy sector public works projects, mandating that contractors and subcontractors performing mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or construction laborer work participate in a registered apprenticeship program with specified graduation standards. It also aligns enforcement provisions, requiring lead contractors to identify and certify all subcontractors, include apprenticeship requirements in contracts, provide compliance documentation, and allow waivers under certain conditions. Additionally, the bill permits government agencies to require project labor agreements for public projects, which, if applied to all construction work, would exempt the project from apprenticeship and prevailing wage requirements. Finally, it allows counties to opt into state apprenticeship and prevailing wage requirements, collaborating with state agencies through intergovernmental agreements for enforcement and implementation.

The bill increases legal requirements for construction professionals by mandating extensive documentation disclosures, including personal information, plans, maintenance recommendations, and insurance policies. It also requires an automatic 8% prejudgment interest for prevailing claimants and voids contract provisions that limit group lawsuits. Additionally, the bill expands the ability of homeowner associations to pursue construction defect claims.

The bill updates energy benchmarking and performance standards for certain building owners, requiring compliance with new 2040 emissions targets set by the Air Quality Control Commission. It also authorizes alternative compliance mechanisms for building owners to allow for compliance with certain performance standards and significantly increases civil penalties owed for a violation of the benchmarking and performance standard requirements. Additionally, this bill would establish a Building Decarbonization Enterprise to provide financial and technical assistance, funded by an annual fee at quadruple the rate of the current fee, on covered building owners. Lastly, it exempts local governments with an approved wildfire resiliency code from energy code adoption requirements.

The bill targets the construction of middle market housing through a series of proposals, including: 1) establishing a rebuttable presumption that a property is defect-free if a state agency or local government has issued a certificate of occupancy, 2) requiring a claimant to file an affidavit of a third-party licensed professional indicating the negligence or other action, error, or omission of the construction professional, and 3) requiring that a construction professional must offer to settle the claim or specify why the defect does not require repair. Additionally, the bill extends the statute of limitations to 10 years, raises the homeowner association approval threshold for filing claims from 50% +1 to 65%, and allows a construction professional that meets specified requirements to use certain affirmative defenses.

This bill repeals restrictions meant to keep governments from competing with telecommunication companies. The bill also removes restrictions that prevent governments from using governmental immunity to circumvent federal and state rules and from engaging in preferential or discriminatory practices in the provision of telecommunication services.

The bill directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require all utilities in the state to allow electric customers to install and use electricity storage systems on their property without restrictions or regulations and without changes in their rate.

This bill requires alternative dispute resolution before filing a construction defects lawsuit if written into the governing documents. It also requires that all owners receive notification of any legal proceedings related to their property and that a majority of homeowners vote to proceed with the construction defect claim before a lawsuit is filed.

This bill requires that a homeowners’ association (HOA) board must notify all unit owners before filing a lawsuit against a developer or builder, disclosing information about the lawsuit and its potential costs and benefits and obtain the approval of a majority of unit owners. This bill also preempts municipal ordinances requiring alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and extends the statute of limitations by freezing the clock while the HOA is going through the voting process with owners.

This bill is a referred measure that repeals the current income tax credit on purchased and leased innovative trucks and vehicles and uses that money to fund the highway users tax fund.

This bill clarifies technical portions of HB15-1348, a bill that modified provisions governing urban redevelopment, by expressly listing the types of changes to existing plans that will trigger retroactive compliance with HB15-1348.

This bill refers a measure to the November 2017 ballot asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding and requires that 10 percent of existing revenue from state sales and use taxes be transferred to the Colorado Department of Transportation for payment of bonds and ongoing maintenance.

This bill provides $500 million in one-time and $250 million in ongoing transportation funding, and gives the legislature the option to refer a measure to the November 2019 ballot asking voters to approve $3.5 billion in bonds for transportation funding.

Currently nonrural local exchange carriers receive subsidies from the high-cost support mechanism fund (HCSM) to deploy telephone services in underserved areas of the state. This bill requires that starting Jan. 1, 2019, the Public Utilities Commission repurpose 20 percent of the total amount of the HCSM fund to assist in broadband deployment in underserved areas of the state and in 20 percent cumulative increments every year thereafter on Jan. 1 through 2023.

This bill changes the name of the existing low-income housing tax credit to the affordable housing tax credit and extends the credit for five years. Modeled after the federal program, the state program allows the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to allocate tax credits for the development of low-income rental housing.

This bill prohibits a utility from being able to accurately measure the amount of energy a customer with an electricity storage system on their property is distributing back to the grid by removing the utility’s right to install additional meters on the customer’s property. It also allows electric customers to install, interconnect and use electricity storage systems on their property without restrictions or regulations and without additional rates or fees.

This bill allows reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for industrial hemp cultivation.

This bill expands the land use authority of local governments in relation to oil and gas mineral extraction areas.

This bill requires that an oil and gas operator be able to demonstrate that they have the finances to cover all foreseeable expenses should an event occur where they have failed to meet compliance obligations. Only at that time would the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission be allowed to issue financial assurance to approve operations.

This bill updates the renewable energy standard to require that all electric utilities, including cooperative electric associations and municipally owned utilities, derive their energy from 100 percent renewable sources by 2035.

This bill creates the Underground Damage Prevention Safety Commission to help bring Colorado law surrounding underground excavations up to the standards of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s requirements.

This bill repeals the late vehicle registration fee for all motor vehicles effective Jan. 1, 2019.

This bill enables public utilities to recover the costs of implementing electric or natural gas vehicle fueling stations. It also allows public utilities to consider transportation electrification and natural gas vehicle programs to support greater adoption of these technologies.

This bill modifies reporting and disclosure requirements to provide clarity and notice to all impacted parties of pooling procedures and options available to mineral owners and reduces the liability for those owners who do not voluntary consent to pooled drilling in instances where they are compelled to allow access to their minerals.

Current law enacted by SB18-001 dedicated a total of $150 million from the general fund to fund transportation as the following: $105 million to the state highway fund, $22.5 million to the highway users tax fund and $22.5 million to the multimodal transportation options fund. This bill increases the total amount to $340 million for the transfer, increasing the amount to the state highway fund to $226.5 million, the amount to the highway users tax fund to $51 million and keeping the amount to the multimodal transportation options fund the same.

This bill would prohibit the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) from constructing or designating a managed (toll/high occupancy vehicle) lane on a state highway unless they take several steps to prove that a managed lane is the best option for the project. CDOT must publish findings that show the alternatives to the managed lanes are unfeasible or unsafe and must publish a report of the results of its public outreach efforts relating to the managed lane.

Current law states that local governments have authority over oil and gas mineral extractions only if the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has identified the specific area for designation. This bill expands local government control by repealing the need for the designation. This bill also:
• Directs the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt rules to minimize emissions of methane and other hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from the oil and gas fuel cycle and to require operators to install continuous emission monitoring equipment at a facility,
• Reforms the mission and composition of the COGCC by directing the COGCC to focus on minimizing impacts to public health, safety, the environment and wildlife resources, and by reducing the number of members with experience in the oil and gas industry and increasing the number of members with experience in wildlife and environmental protection and
• Alters forced pooling laws by requiring that the owners of more than 50 percent of the mineral interest join the application for a pooling order.

This bill requires that all construction contracts for public projects that are expected to cost over $1 million be awarded by a competitive, sealed best-value bidding process, rather than invitation for lowest bid. A best-value bidding process requires the contractor to disclose the estimated use of registered apprentices, minority-owned businesses and craft labor, as well as the contractor’s and subcontractor’s job standards, which includes disclosing their health care, wage and retirement benefits, whether they pay industry standard wages and their long-term career opportunities for workers. This bill also requires the contractor to disclose all subcontractors when submitting a bid.

This bill repeals a prohibition that prevents towns, cities and counties from enacting a rent control ordinance on a private residence, whether it’s housing or apartments.

This bill requires the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to convene a group of stakeholders to examine various impacts to the transportation system including new and emerging transportation technologies, business models and funding options that raise fees on the use of motor vehicles used for commercial purposes but are not calculated under the TABOR cap. The stakeholder group will prepare a report on policy recommendations for CDOT, which will consider these recommendations in their annual presentation to the legislature.

This bill removes the ability of an electric utility to a charge a summer residential tiered rate for certain utilities. Mandates that all electric utilities currently charging residential summer tiered rates must move to a single rate system based on kilowatt-hours consumed during the summer by June 1, 2020.

This bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $100 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund, which allocates 60 percent to the state highway fund, 22 percent to counties and 18 percent to municipalities.

This bill delays a referred measure asking voters to approve bonds for transportation funding from the 2019 ballot to the 2020 ballot. It also requires the state treasurer to transfer $50 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund, which allocates 60 percent to the state highway fund, 22 percent to counties and 18 percent to municipalities.

This bill would allow an investor-owned public utility to seek approval from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to implement an innovative energy technology project which would allow them to test emerging technologies in an effort to lower emissions. It would also allow the public utility to recuperate costs it incurs from researching, testing and implementing the project.

This bill authorizes the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise to impose fees on the registration of plug-in electric motor vehicles. Fees would contribute to funding for surface transportation infrastructure projects.

This bill increases the statute of limitations for actions based on construction defects from six years to 10 years.

This bill will create an enterprise fund to finance water providers including drinking water suppliers, wastewater treatment suppliers and raw water suppliers. The fee will be 25 cents per 1,000 gallons of water, collected after the first 4,000 gallons of water.

This bill clarifies that the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) may give notice of rulemaking prior to 60 days before a hearing and requires the notice to include a description of the classes of people and entities that will be affected by the proposed rule. It also adds requirements for the AQCC related to timing and deadlines, governance, economic impacts and stakeholder outreach and impacts for any alternate proposals submitted in a rulemaking process.

This bill dramatically adjusts landlord and tenant rights in residential rental agreements. Changes include prosecuting wrongful eviction claims under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, modifying the timeline for default writ of restitution, eliminating the bond requirement for warranty of habitability and implementing an array of new landlord prohibitions.

This bill directs the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to enhance its role in rulemaking aimed at reducing statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It directs wholesale generation and transmission electric cooperatives to file with the public utilities commission plans to achieve an 80% GHG reduction by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, eventually working to 100% reduction by 2040. It also gives AQCC authority to collect annual emission fees from GHG pollution. Further, this bill creates an environmental justice advisory board and an ombudsperson position within the Department of Public Health and Environment.

This bill establishes the Community Revitalization Grant Program in the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade Division of Creative Industries to provide funding to various projects across the state that will create or revitalize mixed-use commercial centers. These creative projects will combine revitalized or newly constructed commercial spaces with community spaces. The division will create the program structure by Sept. 1, 2021, and grants will be awarded by Dec. 31, 2022.

This bill creates new sources of funding specifically to maintain and modernize Colorado’s infrastructure. Areas of investment include electric vehicle support, state highways, air pollution mitigation, bridge and tunnel projects, multimodal and public transportation. These projects would be funded through a variety of fees and general fund transfers.

This bill makes substantial changes to the state’s renewable energy standards and customer-sited distributed generation facilities (e.g., rooftop solar panels). Major changes include eliminating the 120%-of-usage cap on energy production through distributed generation facilities and the implementation of meter collar adapters.

This bill creates clean heat targets for “gas distribution utilities” (GDU), defined as gas utilities that have more than 90,000 retail customers. GDUs would be required to develop and register a plan with the Public Utilities Commission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the air quality control commission would participate in a rulemaking process to define qualified offsets that meet the clean heat targets.

This bill transfers $25 million to expand the middle-income access program through the department of local affairs. It is administered by the Colorado housing and finance authority.

This bill authorizes the public-private collaboration unit in the Department of Personnel to perform additional functions to provide housing. These include: accepting gifts, grants and donations to be credited to the state-owned real property fund if unused; utilizing proceeds from real estate transactions and revenue from public-private agreements; acting as an agent on behalf of the department in real estate transactions deeded to the department; and creating a process for using requests for information to solicit projects.

The bill commits Colorado to a net-zero target by revising its 2050 goal to 100% emissions reductions and sets additional interim targets at five-year intervals. This bill includes measures that establish a state income tax credit in an amount equal to 30% of the purchase price for new, electric-powered lawn equipment and construction of new transmission lines for a cleaner electric grid by requiring local governments to expedite reviews of transmission projects.

This bill clarifies that the middle-income housing authority has the ability to enter into public-private partnerships by specifying that: the affordable rental housing component of a public-private partnership is exempt from state and local tax; a public-private partnership may transfer interest of the project to an entity other than the authority; the authority may issue bonds to finance affordable rental housing; and bonds issued by the authority may be paid with the revenue and assets of the affordable rental housing component of a partnership.

This bill requires the Director of the Department of Local Affairs to conduct a housing needs assessment every five years, beginning no later than Dec. 31, 2024, which must determine current statewide housing stock as well as future need. It also requires Urban Municipalities and Rural Resort Communities to develop their own housing needs assessments, which will detail their plan to address the housing needs assigned to them by the Department of Local Affairs. The bill also prohibits local governments from enacting any ordinance that does not allow construction of accessory dwelling units where single-family residential zoning is a use-by-right. In addition, the bill requires Tier 1 Urban Municipalities and Rural Resort Communities to allow middle housing (multiplex structures up to six units) to be constructed where single-family residential zoning is currently a use-by-right. In designated key corridors, the bill sets guidelines for number of units which must be reserved for low and moderate income households and sets minimum density standards. The bill also requires a municipality to adopt either a standard model code or adopt local laws that satisfy the minimum standards for the above provisions of the bill. Further, the bill prohibits municipalities from setting different or stricter standards on the construction of factory-built homes, prohibits minimum square footage, prohibits residential occupancy limits, and appropriates $15 million from the general fund to assist local governments to administer the provisions of the bill.

This bill clarifies that money from the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” cash fund can be used by the Governor’s Office as project planning support and requires that the State Treasurer transfer $86 million from the general fund to the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” cash fund.

This bill socializes on-site solar costs to install systems; changes fuel cost modeling; gives discretion to the administrative state to determine the standard of review in cases on a case-by-case basis; mandates disclosure requirements; builds out extensive cost recovery exclusions; requires disclosure of individuals employed by regulated entities; including salaries and wages; establishes “fuel cost sharing” models; eliminates line extension allowances; establishes a study process to shorten depreciation lives; and grants special rights to non-regulated energy providers.

The bill establishes the Stream and Wetlands Protection Commission within the Department of Natural Resources and mandates it to develop and manage a dredge-and-fill permit program for regulating the discharge of dredged or fill material into specified state waters. The program aims to ensure protections for state waters in alignment with federal Clean Water Act standards as of May 24, 2023. Additionally, a Stream and Wetlands Protection Division is created within the department to oversee the permit program's administration and enforcement. Until specific rules are implemented, the bill temporarily restricts the Department of Public Health and Environment's Water Quality Control Division from taking enforcement actions against activities involving the discharge of dredged or fill material into state waters, provided such activities maintain consistent protection of state waters akin to compliance with federal law before May 25, 2023. Penalties are established for violations of permits, rules, or enforcement orders under the program, with fines of up to $10,000 per day per violation. Furthermore, the bill directs a transfer of $600,000 from the Severance Tax Operational Fund to the Capital Construction Fund on July 1, 2024, to facilitate the bill's implementation.

The introduced bill prohibits a person from operating or expanding certain units that combust municipal solid waste and specifies exemptions to the prohibition. The bill also clarifies that combustion and combustion units do not meet certain standards established by state law or rules and changes current law to provide that synthetic gas produced by the pyrolysis of waste materials is not an eligible energy resource for the purpose of certain state-level renewable energy standards. Lastly, the bill also changes current law to specify that methane derived from the pyrolysis of municipal solid waste is not recovered methane that is a clean heat resource for clean heat plans.

The bill requires the executive director of the Department of Local Affairs to develop reasonable methodologies for conducting statewide, regional, and local housing needs assessments and reasonable guidance for a local government to identify areas at elevated risk of displacement. The bill also requires the director to conduct and publish several different types of housing reports including a statewide housing needs assessment, a report identifying current housing stock and estimating statewide needs, and several directories detailing different components of housing and land use strategies. In addition, the bill requires a local government with a population of 1,000 people or more to make an annual housing action plan, which is an advisory document that demonstrates a local government’s commitment to address housing needs, guiding legislative action. Lastly, the bill also sets up a $15 million dollar grant program to provide technical assistance to aid local governments in establishing regional entities, creating local and regional housing needs assessments, making the housing action plan, enacting laws and policies that encourage the development of housing that mitigate displacement, and creating strategic growth in master plans.

A bill that seeks to build and fund multimodal surface transportation infrastructure projects, including rail projects. This includes imposing a “congestion impact” fee in maximum amounts of $3 per day on short-term rental vehicles or $2 per day on electric or hybrid electric vehicles. As a part of this effort, the bill specifies that the Regional Transportation District (RTD) extend construction and operations of its northwest rail fixed guideway corridor to include an extension of the corridor to Fort Collins as the first phase of front range passenger rail service. The bill would require the transportation enterprise to develop a new multimodal strategic capital plan that aligns with the 10-year transportation plan of the Colorado department of transportation (CDOT) and statewide greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals as well as assess and leverage federal money made available to the state on an ongoing basis.

A bipartisan bill that establishes requirements for the development of inclusive community solar capacity, also known as community solar gardens, by investor-owned electric utility companies. The bill requires utility companies with over 500,000 customers to make at least 50 megawatts of inclusive community solar capacity available, while companies with 500,000 customers or fewer must make 4 megawatts available. Under current law, a utility customer may subscribe to a portion of a community solar facility and receive a bill credit for their share of the community solar facility output. The bill lays out a number of new requirements for new community solar facilities, protections for subscribers of the facilities, subscription discounts for income-qualified subscribers of the facilities, and a standardized format of disclosures that must be provided to prospective subscribers. The bill also directs the commission to establish cost-sharing mechanisms for new facilities that are connecting to the utility's distribution system and reporting requirements for a utility regarding cost-sharing mechanisms and effectiveness.

The bill mandates upgrades to electric utilities to support state goals and standards, including data collection, cost caps, and customer options for interconnection. Utilities must plan for distribution system improvements, consult with affected communities, and ensure adequate staffing. Labor for projects must meet specific requirements and the bill establishes a grant program for line worker apprenticeships, funded by a transfer of $800,000. The commission will set rules and approve recovery of related costs through a grid modernization adjustment clause. Utilities must implement virtual power plant programs and file plans for undergrounding utility infrastructure by specified deadlines.

The bill removes the jurisdiction of state plumbing, electrical, and fire suppression boards over factory-built structures once the state housing board adopts related rules. By July 1, 2026, an advisory committee must develop regional building codes for these structures, which the board will adopt to supersede conflicting local laws unless local governments adopt the board's rules. The board will also establish rules for inspections, manufacturer accountability, and third-party design plan approvals.

The bill authorizes the state treasurer to invest up to $50 million of state money in bonds that may have below-market interest rates that are issued by a quasi-governmental entity if the proceeds of the bonds are used for the creation of affordable for-sale housing that otherwise would not be created without the state's investment. Money from redemption of such bonds may be reinvested by the state treasurer for the same purpose.

A bill that modifies construction defect claims by restricting them unless they result in actual property damage due to code violations, loss of property use, bodily injury, or imminent safety risks. It also rolls back recent tenant protections by repealing updates to warranty of habitability laws, limiting the attorney general’s ability to enforce them, and eliminating mandatory mediation and extended eviction timelines for tenants receiving cash assistance. Additionally, it requires that any new energy codes adopted after January 1, 2026, must be cost-effective, ensuring their economic benefits outweigh implementation costs.

The bill expands eligibility for property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing and tax credits to include embodied carbon improvements, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions in building materials and infrastructure projects. It adds these improvements to the Colorado New Energy Improvement District’s financing program and modifies the industrial clean energy tax credit to recognize them as greenhouse gas reduction measures.

This concurrent resolution will refer to the voters on the November ballot a real estate transfer tax of 1/10 of one percent that will be used to fund affordable housing.

This resolution refers an amendment to the Colorado constitution to voters in 2020 requiring that the General Assembly enact a law to replace the existing gas tax with a state sales-and-use tax to be used exclusively to fund the construction, maintenance and supervision of the surface transportation system.