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Bill:
HB21-1042
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Title: |
Water Storage Tanks Grant Program |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Livestock, & Water (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning the creation of the water storage tank wildfire mitigation grant program. | Background | | Summary | The bill establishes the water storage tank wildfire mitigation grant
program (grant program) within the forest service. Grant recipients may use grant money to purchase water storage tanks for wildfire firefighting efforts. The grant program only awards grants to entities that are an agency of local government, a county, a municipality, a special district, a tribal agency or program, or a nonprofit or not-for-profit organization
that is registered and in good standing with the secretary of state's office. In awarding grants, the forest service considers the potential impact of additional water storage tanks in the applicant's jurisdiction or area.
Grant recipients are required to report to the forest service, and the
forest service is required to annually report on the grant program to the wildfire matters review committee.
The bill also creates the water storage tank wildfire mitigation cash
fund. Money in the fund is used to implement the grant program. The general assembly is required to transfer $5 million into the fund beginning September 1, 2021, through and including the 2024-25 fiscal year.
| Hearing Date | 03/01/2021 | House Sponsors | R. Hanks (R) | House Committee | Agriculture, Livestock, and Water | Senate Sponsors | | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/24/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1043
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Title: |
Study Underground Water Storage Maximum Beneficial Use |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Livestock, & Water (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning a study of underground water storage to maximize the beneficial use of water within Colorado. | Background | | Summary | The bill directs the Colorado water conservation board (board), in
consultation with the state engineer, to contract with a Colorado institution of higher education (institution) to conduct a study to:
Evaluate ways to maximize the beneficial use of water within Colorado and implement the storage recommendations of the Colorado water plan by storing
water underground when water is available;
Evaluate ways to minimize the amount of water that flows out of Colorado to downstream states, without risking noncompliance with applicable interstate compacts, United States supreme court rulings, other federal law, decreed absolute and conditional water rights, the prior appropriation system, and Colorado's anti-speculation doctrine;
Identify:
Specific aquifers that are hydrologically and legally available to be used for underground storage and subsequent beneficial use;
Sources of revenue that could be used to pay for the underground storage projects; and
Planned potential or existing underground storage projects that would meet the objectives identified in the study;
Examine the role that various water entities might play in financing and implementing underground storage projects; and
Recommend legislative changes needed to implement managed underground storage projects in the identified aquifers.
The bill directs the board or the institution to submit a report
summarizing the results of the study to the water resources review committee by August 1, 2022, which shall either have legislation drafted to implement the study's recommendations or submit the study along with its own recommendations to the committees of the general assembly with jurisdiction over water resources by January 1, 2023.
| Hearing Date | 03/01/2021 | House Sponsors | R. Holtorf (R) | House Committee | Agriculture, Livestock, and Water | Senate Sponsors | J. Sonnenberg (R) | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1045
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Title: |
Invasive Pest Control Administration |
Position | Monitor | Status | House Second Reading Laid Over to 03/01/2021 - No Amendments (02/25/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning the department of agriculture's authority to control pests. | Background | | Summary | The bill creates the emergency invasive-pest response fund (fund),
which is subject to annual appropriation. The commissioner of agriculture (commissioner) may expend money from the fund to implement the bill and emergency measures to control or eradicate invasive pests. The state agricultural commission (commission) may request that, at the end of each fiscal year, money in the plant health, pest control, and
environmental protection cash fund be transferred to the fund. The commissioner is authorized to seek and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the new fund.
The commissioner may:
Enter into an agreement with any person or local government to provide pest control services. The department of agriculture may provide pest control services directly or through a local government and may require remuneration for providing pest control services. The remuneration is deposited in the fund.
Work cooperatively with the United States secretary of agriculture to implement a joint phytosanitary program if the program would economically or environmentally assist with mitigating or eradicating the spread of a regulated nonquarantine pest; and
Quarantine anything that harbors a pest if the pest has an economically unacceptable impact and if the measures to control the pest may achieve an acceptable level of official control.
If the commissioner determines that a public nuisance creates an
unacceptable risk of spreading a pest, the commissioner may coordinate with industry to, support local governments to, and make grants to take emergency action to quarantine, control, or eradicate an invasive pest.
The commission may establish procedures for determining what
is a public nuisance.
| Hearing Date | 03/01/2021 | House Sponsors | D. Valdez (D) M. Young (D) | House Committee | Agriculture, Livestock, and Water | Senate Sponsors | R. Fields (D) | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/17/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1046
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Title: |
Water Share Right Mutual Ditch Corporation |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In House - Assigned to Agriculture, Livestock, & Water (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning the use of a water right obtained through a mutual ditch corporation. | Background | | Summary | For a mutual ditch corporation, the bill creates a presumption,
which may be changed by changing the corporation's articles of incorporation or bylaws, that the shares of stock owned by a stockholder in the corporation represent:
The right to use the water rights appropriated or purchased by the corporation; and
Corresponding rights to divert and deliver the stockholder's water rights through a ditch, canal, reservoir, or other works.
The bill also authorizes these water rights to be limited to a pro
rata amount at times when shareholder demand exceeds available supply. A mutual ditch corporation may operate using traditional ditch operating practices.
The bill clarifies that:
When a shareholder is not using some of or all of the available water under the shareholder's rights, the right to use the water rights does not include the right to prevent other stockholders from using any portion of the corporation's water rights; and
The statutes covering ditch and reservoir companies do not prevent a stockholder from changing the use of the stockholder's shares or change the standards for water court approval to change a water right.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | J. Arndt (D) M. Catlin (R) | House Committee | Agriculture, Livestock, and Water | Senate Sponsors | J. Sonnenberg (R) R. Fields (D) | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1050
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Title: |
Workers' Compensation |
Position | Monitor | Status | House Committee on Business Affairs & Labor Refer Amended to Appropriations (02/24/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado", and, in connection therewith, making changes that affect the timely payment of benefits, guardian ad litem and conservator services, benefit offsets related to the receipt of federal disability or retirement benefits, the reduction of benefits based on apportionment, the selection of independent medical examiners, limits on temporary disability and permanent partial disability payments, the withdrawal of admissions of liability, mileage expense reimbursement, the authority of prehearing administrative law judges, the reopening of permanent total disability awards, and petitions for review and appeals of orders. | Background | | Summary | The bill:
Adds guardian ad litem and conservator services to the list of medical aid that an employer is required to furnish to an employee who is incapacitated as a result of a work-related injury or occupational disease (section 1 of the bill);
Requires an injured worker who is claiming mileage reimbursement for travel related to obtaining compensable medical care to submit a request to the employer or insurer within 120 days after the expense is incurred, and requires the employer or insurer to pay or dispute mileage within 30 days after submittal and to include in the brochure of claimants' rights an explanation of rights to mileage reimbursement and the deadline for filing a request (sections 1 and 7);
Clarifies that offsets to disability benefits granted by the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Amendments of 1965 only apply if the payments were not already being received by the employee at the time of the work-related injury (section 2);
Prohibits the reduction of an employee's temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, or medical benefits based on apportionment under any circumstances; limits apportionment of permanent impairment to specific situations; and declares that the employer or insurer bears the burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, at a hearing regarding apportionment of permanent impairment or permanent total disability benefits (section 3);
Adds the following conditions that must be met for an employer or insurer to request the selection of an independent medical examiner when an authorized treating physician has not determined that the employee has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI): An examining physician must have examined the employee at least 20 months after the date of the injury, have determined that the
employee has reached MMI, and have served a written report to the authorized treating physician specifying that the examining physician has determined that the employee has reached MMI; and the authorized treating physician must have responded that the employee has not reached MMI or must have failed to respond within 15 days after service of the report (section 4);
Changes the whole person impairment rating applicable to an injured worker from 25% to 19% for purposes of determining the maximum amount of combined temporary disability and permanent partial disability payments an injured worker may receive (section 5);
Clarifies when benefits and penalties payable to an injured worker are deemed paid (section 6);
Prohibits an employer or insurer from withdrawing an admission of liability when 2 years or more have passed since the date the admission of liability on the issue of compensability was filed, except in cases of fraud (section 7);
Prohibits the director of the division of workers' compensation or an administrative law judge from determining issues of compensability or liability unless specific benefits or penalties are awarded or denied at the same time (section 8);
Clarifies the scope of authority of prehearing administrative law judges (section 9);
Increases the threshold amount that an injured worker must earn in order for permanent total disability payments to cease and allows for annual adjustment of the threshold amount starting in 2022 (section 11); and
Clarifies the orders that are subject to review or appeal (sections 10 and 12).
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | K. Van Winkle (R) M. Gray (D) | House Committee | Business Affairs and Labor | Senate Sponsors | J. Cooke (R) J. Bridges (D) | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1074
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Title: |
Immunity For Entities During COVID-19 |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning civil immunity for entities that comply with applicable health guidelines related to COVID-19. | Background | | Summary | The bill establishes immunity from civil liability for entities for
any act or omission that results in exposure, loss, damage, injury, or death arising out of COVID-19 if the entity attempts in good faith to comply with applicable public health guidelines.
The bill is repealed 2 years after the date the governor terminates
the state of disaster emergency declared on March 11, 2020.
| Hearing Date | 03/11/2021 | House Sponsors | M. Bradfield (R) | House Committee | State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs | Senate Sponsors | | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
HB21-1095
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Title: |
811 Locate Exemption For County Road Maintenance |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In House - Assigned to Transportation & Local Government (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning excavation notification requirements for underground facility location in connection with county road maintenance, and, in connection therewith, specifying that excavation does not include routine or emergency maintenance of right-of-way on county-owned gravel or dirt roads that does not lower the existing grade or elevation of the road, shoulder, and ditches and that does not disturb more than six inches in depth during maintenance operations. | Background | | Summary | Current law requires an individual or entity to notify the statewide
notification association of all owners and operators of underground facilities of its intent to engage in excavation so that any underground facilities that the excavation might affect, such as water and sewer pipes, gas lines, and electric or cable lines, can be located and marked before excavation begins. Underground facilities are often located beneath county gravel and dirt roads, normally at a depth of at least 18 inches below the road surface. Counties maintain the profile and surface condition of such county roads and county road rights-of-way by engaging in routine and emergency maintenance activities that do not disturb more than 6 inches in depth. These maintenance activities currently trigger the excavation notification requirement, and the related requirement that the location of underground facilities be marked, even though they occur above the levels where underground facilities are located. To prevent such activities from triggering the excavation notification requirement, the bill specifies that excavation does not include routine or emergency maintenance of right-of-way on county-owned gravel or dirt roads performed by county employees that:
Does not lower the existing grade or elevation of the road, shoulder, and ditches; and
Does not disturb more than 6 inches in depth during maintenance operations.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | M. Baisley (R) C. Kipp (D) | House Committee | Transportation and Local Government | Senate Sponsors | J. Ginal (D) R. Woodward (R) | Senate Committee | | Fiscal Notes | |
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Bill:
HB21-HJR1002
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Title: |
Water Projects Eligibility Lists |
Position | Monitor | Status | House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments (02/24/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning approval of water project revolving fund eligibility lists administered by the Colorado water resources and power development authority. | Background | | Summary | CONCERNING APPROVAL OF WATER PROJECT REVOLVING FUND
ELIGIBILITY LISTS ADMINISTERED BY THE COLORADO WATER
RESOURCES AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | J. Arndt (D) | House Committee | Agriculture, Livestock, and Water | Senate Sponsors | K. Donovan (D) | Senate Committee | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Fiscal Notes | |
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Bill:
SB21-005
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Title: |
Business Exempt From Public Health Order To Close |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning exemptions from orders requiring businesses to close. | Background | | Summary | The bill exempts a business from a public health agency order or
executive order requiring businesses to close if:
The products sold or services offered by the business are also available at a business that has not been required by the applicable order to cease or limit operations and the open business is operating at a physical location in the
geographical area that is subject to the order; and
The business that is required by the applicable order to limit or cease operations complies with any safety precautions that the order requires of businesses that are permitted to continue operations.
| Hearing Date | 03/09/2021 | House Sponsors | C. Larson (R) | House Committee | | Senate Sponsors | R. Woodward (R) | Senate Committee | State, Veterans and Military Affairs | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
SB21-080
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Title: |
Protections For Entities During COVID-19 |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning protections for entities that comply with public health guidelines related to COVID-19. | Background | | Summary | An entity is not liable for any damages that result from exposure,
loss, damage, injury, or death arising out of COVID-19 unless:
A claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the exposure, loss, damage, injury, or death was caused by the entity's failure to comply with public health guidelines; or
The exposure, loss, damage, injury, or death was caused by gross negligence or a willful and wanton act or omission of the entity.
The bill is repealed 2 years after the date the governor terminates
the state of disaster emergency declared on March 11, 2020.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | S. Bird (D) M. Bradfield (R) | House Committee | | Senate Sponsors | R. Woodward (R) | Senate Committee | Business, Labor and Technology | Fiscal Notes | Fiscal Notes (02/16/2021) |
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Bill:
SB21-087
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Title: |
Agricultural Workers' Rights |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology (02/16/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning agricultural workers' rights. | Background | | Summary | The bill:
Removes the exemption of agricultural employers and employees from the Colorado Labor Peace Act and authorizes agricultural employees to organize and join labor unions; engage in protected, concerted activity; and engage in collective bargaining;
Removes the exemption of agricultural labor from state and local minimum wage laws;
Requires the director of the division of labor standards and statistics to promulgate rules to establish the overtime pay of agricultural employees for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week or 12 hours in one day;
Grants agricultural employees meal breaks and rest periods throughout each work period, consistent with protections for other employees;
Requires agricultural employers to provide agricultural employees with access and transportation to key service providers;
Authorizes agricultural employees to have visitors at employer-provided housing without interference from other persons;
Requires agricultural employers to provide overwork and health protections to agricultural employees;
Prohibits the use of the short-handled or long-handled hoe for agricultural labor except in specific circumstances;
During a public health emergency, requires an agricultural employer to provide extra protections and increased safety precautions for agricultural employees;
Creates the agricultural work advisory committee to study and analyze agricultural wages and working conditions; and
Creates rights, remedies, and enforcement actions for aggrieved agricultural employees, whistleblowers, relators, and key service providers.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | Y. Caraveo (D) K. McCormick (D) | House Committee | | Senate Sponsors | J. Danielson (D) | Senate Committee | Business, Labor and Technology | Fiscal Notes | |
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Bill:
SB21-119
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Title: |
Increasing Access To High-Quality Credentials |
Position | Monitor | Status | Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education (02/23/2021) | Category | | Bill Position | | | | Description | Concerning increasing access in high school to high-quality credentials within the career development success program. | Background | | Summary | The career development success program provides financial
incentives for participating school districts and participating charter schools to encourage pupils enrolled in grades 9 through 12 to enroll in and successfully complete qualified industry-credential programs; qualified internship, residency, or construction industry
pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs; and qualified advanced placement courses (programs and courses). The bill amends the list of qualified programs by removing residency programs and expanding pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs to include any industry program, not just construction industry programs.
The bill expands the definition of a qualified industry-credential
program to include a career and technical education program that, upon completion, results in an industry-recognized credential with labor market value aligned with a high-skill, high-wage, in-demand job.
Current law requires the work force development council (council)
to identify the programs and courses by identifying the jobs included in the Colorado talent report with the greatest regional and state demand, including jobs in in-demand industries. The bill requires the council to consult with relevant industries to identify the programs and courses by identifying high-skill, high-wage jobs in in-demand industries that have labor market value. Any programs and courses the council determines do not demonstrate labor market value may be removed from the council's website.
Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, and each school year
thereafter, the department of education (department), in coordination with the department of labor and employment, the department of higher education, the Colorado community college system, and employers from in-demand industries, shall identify the top 10 industry-recognized credentials that may be awarded to high school students. For each identified credential, the department shall specify how the courses taken to earn the credential align with the state academic standards.
The bill requires each participating school district, each
nonparticipating school district on behalf of its participating charter schools, and the state charter school institute on behalf of each participating institute charter school to report to the department the total number of pupils who successfully complete a program or course, disaggregated by the student's race, ethnicity, and gender, and whether the student is a student with a disability, an English language learner, or eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Current law requires each participating school district and each
participating charter school to regularly communicate to all high school students the availability of programs and courses and the benefits a student receives as a result of successfully completing one of the programs or courses. The bill expands this requirement to all middle school students and the students' families.
The bill requires each participating school district and each
participating charter school to communicate how industry-recognized credentials and guaranteed-transfer pathways courses that are included in such credentials are aligned with postsecondary degrees and high-skill, high-wage, in-demand jobs, and the top 10 industry-recognized
credentials identified by the department. The communications must be provided in a language that the students and the students' families understand.
The bill updates the department's annual reporting requirements to
the general assembly to include:
Whether the students participating in the programs and courses enlisted in the military or entered the workforce after graduation;
How money received under the career development success program was used to promote the availability of programs and courses; and
How the participating school district or participating charter school determined which programs and courses to offer, including how the programs and courses are aligned with local workforce needs.
No later than July 1, 2022, the department, in collaboration with
the Colorado community college system, shall publish and disseminate materials through existing and relevant platforms used to engage with districts that include, at a minimum, the top 10 industry-recognized credentials and a sample communications plan for how a participating school district or participating charter school may communicate the value of credentials and experiences to students and families.
The bill requires participating school districts and participating
charter schools to utilize program funding to promote access to programs and courses.
| Hearing Date | | House Sponsors | | House Committee | | Senate Sponsors | P. Lundeen (R) J. Bridges (D) | Senate Committee | Education | Fiscal Notes | |
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