Colorado legislators pass flurry of bills as session comes to an end

DENVER — Usually, the tip of the legislative session is busy with a bit work and a whole lot of speeches and shenanigans. There’s the annual harp efficiency and a rubber band ball drop. Members usually deliver their households and ship speeches in regards to the legacies of outgoing lawmakers.

Whereas there was actually a whole lot of that on Wednesday, lawmakers additionally had fairly a bit of labor to get via earlier than midnight.

As of Wednesday morning, there have been nonetheless 88 payments left needing some form of motion, together with substantial ones like adjustments to fentanyl prison legal guidelines, local weather payments, a statewide recycling invoice and extra.

“Legislators are quite a bit like excessive schoolers, we save the entire work till the very finish. And there is one thing good to that. Proper, the stress of realizing we have now to finish by midnight tonight signifies that conversations occur,” mentioned Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Arapahoe County.

Right here’s a take a look at among the remaining payments that handed:

Payments that handed

Medical insurance shock billing protections and a invoice to ban hospitals from not disclosing costs: Home Invoice 22-1285 would prohibit hospitals from pursuing assortment actions towards a affected person if the hospital was not in compliance with federal value transparency legal guidelines when the affected person was handled. Home Invoice 22-1284, in the meantime, would enable individuals to request an exterior, impartial evaluation of a cost for an out-of-network supplier to see whether or not it may be charged at an in-network degree.

Driver License Payment Discount: Home Invoice 22-1004 Requires the state to maintain driver’s license registration charges at present ranges quite than permitting them to rise. Presently, the charge for a driver’s license is $30.87. Nonetheless, the Division of Income initiatives that it might want to improve the charge for the following two years to keep up its similar ranges of service. The projected improve is $2.

TABOR Refunds: the Colorado Dividend would supply $500 for all Colorado taxpayers who file their 2021 tax returns by Could 31, 2022. They may obtain their rebate within the mail by August or September.

Inside Election Safety Measures: SB22-153 strengthens among the election safety legal guidelines already on the books but in addition places new loss in place, together with making it a felony to entry voting gear with out authorization or publishing confidential election info.

Lacking And Murdered Indigenous Family members: The invoice would create an workplace to focus solely on the Lacking and Murdered Indigenous Family members (MMIR) epidemic within the Colorado, one thing that advocates say is a long-time coming. The invoice acknowledges the distinctive challenges that stem from these instances, which incorporates poor and inconsistent reporting, lack of interagency cooperation, and misclassification of racial id.

Towing Provider Nonconsensual Tows: Home Invoice 22-1314 would crack down on non-consensual tows, like these seen regularly at condominium complexes. It will additionally ban tows for expired plates and stop tow firms from protecting vehicles if somebody cannot pay.

Restrictive Employment Agreements: Home Invoice 22-1317 would restrict non-competes to staff making greater than $101,000. It will additionally stipulate that companies should current the settlement to candidates to evaluation earlier than they settle for a place with the corporate.

Perfluoroalkyl And Polyfluoroalkyl Chemical compounds: Home Invoice 22-1345 prohibits the sale of carpets, cosmetics, cookware, cloth therapies, meals packaging, youngsters’s merchandise, furnishings and different objects which have PFAS chemical compounds in them beginning in 2024.

Constructing Greenhouse Gasoline Emissions: Home Invoice 22-1362 requires municipalities, counties and state companies to start to undertake power efficiency insurance policies according to the 2021 Worldwide Vitality Conservation Code by 2026. For invoice co-sponsors, the aim is to cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions by updating the necessities for brand spanking new buildings within the state.

Producer Accountability Program For Recycling: Home Invoice 22-1355 would create a producer accountability program within the state. It will require firms that promote merchandise within the state to pay into this system for the quantity of products they promote within the state and the waste they contribute. The cash would then be used in the direction of a statewide recycling program that might set up a transparent, uniform record of what’s recyclable and educate the general public on it.

Oversight Of Chemical compounds Used In Oil & Gasoline: Home Invoice 22-1348 reviews that a part of the issue is operators and suppliers of the merchandise usually wouldn’t have data of the chemical info, thus the information is vastly underreported. This invoice takes the onus away from operators. As a substitute, it might require producers to reveal the chemical lists by July 31, 2023.

Colorado Election Safety Act: Lawmakers despatched the Election Safety Act to Gov. Polis’ desk Tuesday. SB22-153 strengthens among the election safety legal guidelines already on the books but in addition places new loss in place, together with making it a felony to entry voting gear with out authorization or publishing confidential election info. It additionally requires election officers and staff to get licensed on election regulation, safety, and risk-limiting audits, bars individuals from being an election official if they’ve prior election offense convictions, requires 24/7 surveillance of election gear, provides $1 million in grant cash to counties to have a look at attainable election dangers and improve gear, and provides new necessities and guidelines requiring digital voting gear and election certifications.

The invoice was a direct response to the election safety breach final 12 months in Mesa County, over which Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and her deputy clerk have been indicted on felony expenses tied to tampering with election gear, id theft and official misconduct.