Bill Tracker

Current law requires an employer to provide its employees with an
annual statement showing the total compensation paid and the income tax
withheld for the preceding calendar year. The bill requires an employer
to also provide, within a week before or after providing the statement and
in the same manner as the statement is provided, written notice of the
availability of the federal and state earned income tax credits and the
federal and state child tax credits. The written notice must be in English
and any other language the employer uses to communicate with
employees and must include any additional content that the department
of revenue prescribes.

Usually, an owner of agricultural equipment must seek diagnostic,
maintenance, or repair services of the equipment from the agricultural
equipment manufacturer (manufacturer).
Starting January 1, 2024, the bill requires a manufacturer to
provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation,
such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar
information (resources), to independent repair providers and owners of
the manufacturer's agricultural equipment to allow an independent repair
provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services
on the owner's agricultural equipment.
The bill folds agricultural equipment into the existing consumer
right-to-repair statutes, which statutes provide the following:
  • A manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirement to
provide resources is a deceptive trade practice;
  • In complying with the requirement to provide resources, a
manufacturer need not divulge any trade secrets to
independent repair providers and owners; and
  • Any new contractual provision or other arrangement that a
manufacturer enters into that would remove or limit the
manufacturer's obligation to provide resources to
independent repair providers and owners is void and
unenforceable.

The bill makes 3 primary clarifications about the remedies a
person with a disability is entitled to under current Colorado law related
to protections against discrimination on the basis of disability for persons
with disabilities:
  • That a person with a disability is prohibited from being
subject to discrimination by, excluded from participating
in, or denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities
of a place of public accommodation;
  • That the types of monetary damages to which a person with
a disability is entitled include damages for emotional
distress; and
  • That a person with a disability is entitled to both a court
order requiring compliance and either monetary damages
or a statutory penalty.
The bill also allows a court to award reasonable attorney fees and
costs to a prevailing plaintiff for any action commenced pursuant to
certain Colorado law related to protections against discrimination on the
basis of disability for persons with disabilities.
Lastly, the bill specifies that certain types of relief do not require
exhaustion of potential administrative remedies.

The bill specifies that actions brought for violations of minimum
wage laws must be commenced within 2 years after the cause of action
accrues or, for a willful violation, within 3 years after the cause of action
accrues.

The bill extends the right to use deadly physical force against an
intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and
employees of a business and to any person in lawful possession of a
firearm at a place of business.

Current law authorizes an art gallery to be issued a permit that
allows the art gallery to serve complementary alcohol beverages. Under
current law, a permit holder is prohibited from:
  • Selling alcohol beverages by the drink;
  • Serving alcohol beverages for more than 4 hours in a
24-hour period;
  • Serving alcohol beverages more than 15 days per year;
  • Charging an entrance fee or a cover charge in connection
with offering complimentary alcohol beverages;
  • Violating the Colorado Liquor Code; or
  • Allowing more than 250 people to be on the premises at
one time when alcohol beverages are being served.
The bill broadens this permit to allow all retail establishments to
obtain the permit if the establishment conducts business at a physical
building in Colorado, sells goods or services to the public at the location,
and derives less than 50% of the establishment's gross sales of goods and
services from the sale of food. The prohibitions applicable to art gallery
permit holders under current law are not changed and apply to a retail
establishment that obtains a permit; except that:
  • The prohibition on selling alcohol is broadened to cover the
sale of alcohol beverages in any form; and
  • The number of days that an establishment may serve
alcohol beverages in a year is increased from 15 to 24 days.

Section 1 of the bill increases the limit on medical impairment
benefits based on mental impairment from 12 weeks to 36 weeks.
Section 2 removes language authorizing an employee to petition
the division of workers' compensation in the department of labor and
employment (division) prior to receiving a replacement of any artificial
member, glasses, hearing aid, brace, or other external prosthetic device,
including dentures.
Section 3 allows an employee to request a hearing when the
employee's temporary total disability benefits end based on an attending
physician's written release to return to regular employment.
Section 4 specifies that when a physician recommends medical
benefits after maximum medical improvement, the benefits admitted by
the insurer or self-insured employer are not limited to any specific
medical treatment.
Current law requires an insurance carrier to provide an
independent medical examiner and all other parties a complete copy of all
medical records in its possession pertaining to an injury. Section 5 limits
the medical records required to be provided to records relevant to the
injury. Section 5 also specifies how the division is required to determine
the amount and allocation of costs to be paid by the parties for an
independent medical examination.
Section 6 allows a prehearing administrative law judge to issue
interlocutory orders resolving disputes regarding the content and format
of the independent medical examiner's medical record packet, indigency
status, and the allocation of independent medical examiner costs.
Current law states that a contingent attorney fee exceeding 20% of
the amount of contested benefits is presumed to be unreasonable. Section
7 increases the amount to 25%.

The bill imposes requirements for certain types of employers with
regard to:
  • The determination of employee work schedules;
  • Employee requests for changes to work schedules; and
  • Notices and posting of employee work schedules.
In addition to pay for hours worked by the employee, the bill
requires certain types of employers to pay employees:
  • Predictability pay when an employer makes certain changes
to an employee's work schedule;
  • Rest shortfall pay when an employee is required to work
hours without a minimum period of rest after a prior shift;
  • Retention pay when an employer provides work hours to a
new employee without first offering the work hours to
existing employees; and
  • Minimum weekly pay in an amount that corresponds to
15% of the average weekly hours indicated on the
employee's anticipated work plan, paid at the greater of the
employee's regular rate of pay or the minimum wage,
regardless of whether the employee works such hours.
The bill prohibits employers from discriminating or taking any
adverse action against an employee based on the hours an employee is
scheduled or actually works, the expected duration of employment, or the
employee's desired work schedule. The bill also prohibits retaliation
against an employee for attempting to exercise any right created in the
bill. Employers are required to retain records demonstrating their
compliance with the requirements of the bill.
A person who is aggrieved by a violation of the requirements of
the bill may file a complaint with the division of labor standards and
statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment or bring
a civil action in district court. The division is authorized to investigate
complaints and, upon determining that a violation occurred, to impose
fines, penalties, or damages and award attorney fees and costs. The
division is also authorized to bring a civil action to enforce the
requirements of the bill. The bill includes protections for whistleblowers
and establishes penalties for violations.
The director of the division is required to promulgate rules to
implement the bill.

The bill prohibits an employer engaged in a business from taking
adverse action against an employee who accepts a cash gratuity offered
by a patron of the business.

Current law establishes water and energy efficiency standards
(standards) for certain appliances and fixtures sold in Colorado. Sections
1 through 7 of the bill expand the appliances and fixtures that are subject
to the standards and update the standards.
Specifically, section 4 updates standards for certain appliances and
fixtures that are sold in Colorado on and after certain dates, including:
  • Certain faucets and urinals;
  • Certain lamps;
  • Commercial hot food holding cabinets;
  • Portable electric spas;
  • Residential ventilating fans; and
  • Spray sprinkler bodies.
Section 4 also creates new standards for certain appliances and
other fixtures that are sold in Colorado on and after January 1, 2024,
including:
  • Air purifiers;
  • Commercial ovens;
  • Electric storage water heaters;
  • Electric vehicle supply equipment;
  • Gas fireplaces;
  • Irrigation controllers;
  • Tub spout diverters and showerhead tub spout diverter
combinations; and
  • Certain residential windows, residential doors, and
residential skylights.
Section 4 also removes standards for air compressors, general
service lamps, and uninterruptible power supplies.
Section 5 requires the executive director of the department of
public health and environment (executive director) to promulgate rules on
or before January 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter:
  • Adopting a more recent version of any standard; and
  • Establishing standards for appliances and other devices that
are not subject to the standards if certain conditions are
met.
Section 6 exempts manufacturers of products subject to the
standards from having to demonstrate that a product complies with the
law if the product appears in the state appliance standards database
maintained by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, or a
successor organization. Section 6 also requires the executive director to
conduct periodic, unannounced inspections of major distributors or
retailers, including online retailers, of new products in order to determine
compliance with the standards.
Under current law, any person who sells or offers to sell in the
state any new consumer product that is required to meet an efficiency
standard but that the person knows does not meet that standard is subject
to a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 for each violation, which
amount is credited to the general fund. Section 7 credits any penalties
imposed to the energy fund created in the Colorado energy office rather
than to the general fund and specifies that each transaction or online
for-sale product listing constitutes a separate violation.
Section 8 establishes the Clean Lighting Act to phase out the
sale of general-purpose fluorescent light bulbs that contain mercury. With
certain exceptions:
  • On and after January 1, 2024, a person shall not
manufacture, distribute, sell, or offer for sale in Colorado
any new compact fluorescent lamp with a screw- or
bayonet-type base; and
  • On and after January 1, 2025, a person shall not
manufacture, distribute, sell, or offer for sale in Colorado
any linear fluorescent lamp or any compact fluorescent
lamp with a pin-type base.
Section 9 establishes standards for heating and water heating
appliances. With certain exceptions, on and after January 1, 2025, a
person shall not manufacture, distribute, sell, offer for sale, lease, or offer
for lease in Colorado any new water heater, boiler, or fan-type central
furnace unless the emissions of the product do not exceed certain limits
on emissions. On or before January 1, 2029, the air quality control
commission in the department of public health and environment must
promulgate rules lowering the emission limits. Section 9 also requires
manufacturers to use certain testing protocols, display certain information
on each product, and demonstrate compliance through one of various
described means.
Sections 8 and 9 both require the executive director to conduct
periodic, unannounced inspections of major distributors or retailers,
including online retailers, of new products to determine compliance and
to report violations to the attorney general. If the attorney general has
probable cause to believe that a violation occurred, the attorney general
may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of
civil penalties, and any civil penalties are to be deposited in the energy
fund.

A retail delivery is a retail sale of tangible personal property that
is subject to state sales tax by a retailer for delivery by a motor vehicle to
the purchaser at any location in the state. As authorized by current law,
retail delivery fees are imposed on each retail delivery by:
  • The state;
  • The community access enterprise;
  • The clean fleet enterprise;
  • The statewide bridge and tunnel enterprise;
  • The clean transit enterprise; and
  • The nonattainment area air pollution mitigation enterprise.
Effective July 1, 2023, the bill eliminates the retail delivery fees
by specifying that they may only be collected for the 2022-23 state fiscal
year.

The bill allows an employee to use accrued paid sick leave when
the employee needs to:
  • Care for a family member whose school or place of care
has been closed due to inclement weather, loss of power,
loss of heating, loss of water, or other unexpected
occurrence or event that results in the closure of the family
member's school or place of care; or
  • Grieve, attend funeral services or a memorial, or deal with
financial and legal matters that arise after the death of a
family member.

Current law specifies that a covered individual's weekly paid
family and medical leave benefit is determined based on the individual's
average weekly wage earned during the covered individual's base period
or alternative base period from the job or jobs from which the covered
individual is taking paid family and medical leave, which excludes from
the calculation recent wages from previous jobs. The bill eliminates the
limit on calculating the benefit based on the average weekly wage earned
only from the job or jobs from which the individual is taking paid family
and medical leave.

Starting July 1, 2024, the bill prohibits employers from inquiring
about a prospective employee's age, date of birth, and dates of attendance
at or date of graduation from an educational institution on an employment
application.
An employer may request an individual to verify compliance with
age requirements imposed pursuant to or required by:
  • A bona fide occupational qualification pertaining to public
or occupational safety;
  • A federal law or regulation; or
  • A state or local law or regulation based on a bona fide
occupational qualification.
The department of labor and employment (department) is charged
with enforcing the requirements of the bill and may issue warnings and
orders of compliance for violations and, for second or subsequent
violations, impose civil penalties. A violation of the restrictions does not
create a private cause of action. The department is directed to adopt rules
regarding procedures for handling complaints against employers.

The bill requires a delivery network company (DNC) or a
transportation network company (TNC) operating in the state to provide
various disclosures to their drivers and to consumers of the DNC or TNC
regarding payments that a consumer makes to the DNC or TNC and the
amount that the DNC or TNC then pays to a driver.
The bill also requires transparency with regard to the procedures
that govern a determination by a DNC or TNC to terminate a driver from,
or rehire a driver on, the DNC's or TNC's digital platform and authorizes
a driver who has been terminated to seek administrative review of the
termination.
The division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the
department of labor and employment may impose fines against DNCs and
TNCs for violations of the bill or require a DNC or TNC to rehire a
wrongly terminated driver, and a consumer or driver aggrieved by a
violation may file a civil suit against the DNC or TNC that committed the
violation.
The director of the division is required to adopt rules regarding the
disclosures related to payments made to drivers and driver termination
and rehire policies.

Current law authorizes the director of the division of labor
standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment
(director) to create and administer a process to accept and mediate
complaints, to provide legal resources concerning alleged wage inequity,
and to promulgate rules as necessary for this purpose. The bill changes
these authorizations to requirements.
Additionally, the bill requires the director to:
  • Investigate complaints or other leads concerning wage
inequity;
  • Upon finding of a violation, order compliance and relief;
and
  • Promulgate rules to enforce the bill.
The bill also requires an employer to:
  • For each job opportunity or promotional opportunity where
the employer is considering more than one candidate,
follow specific guidelines for posting the opportunity;
  • For all job opportunities and promotional opportunities,
provide specific information to employees regarding the
candidate selected for the opportunity; and
  • For all objectively defined career progressions, disclose the
requirements for career progression and the terms of
compensation, benefits, status, duties, and access to further
advancement.

Joint Budget Committee. Currently, with exceptions for the
departments of law, state, and the treasury, an executive branch agency
and, for a project that is state-funded only, a state-supported institution of
higher education is required to submit a budget request for an information
technology project to the joint technology committee (JTC) as part of the
budget process. The JTC studies the information technology requests and
makes recommendations to the joint budget committee (JBC) regarding
the priority to be accorded to each request. In addition, the JBC may ask
the JTC to review any budget request for an information technology
project that was not required to be submitted to the JTC and instead was
submitted directly to the JBC.
The bill clarifies that a review by the JTC as requested by the JBC
may include a request for an information technology project submitted to
the JBC by the legislative or judicial department, the department of law,
the department of state, or the department of the treasury. The bill
requires the JTC to oversee any such information technology project that
receives an appropriation from the information technology account
(account) within the capital construction fund.
The general assembly is currently authorized to make
appropriations for information technology projects to state agencies and
to institutions of higher education from the account. The bill clarifies that
the general assembly may appropriate money in the account for
information technology projects that are not subject to review by the JTC
and instead are submitted directly to the JBC by the legislative or judicial
department, the department of law, the department of state, or the
department of the treasury.

Currently, the state and several state enterprises impose fees on
retail sales of taxable tangible personal property delivered by motor
vehicle to a location in the state. These fees are collectively known as the
retail delivery fee (RDF), and a retailer who makes a retail delivery is
required to add the RDF to the price of the retail delivery, collect it from
the purchaser, and pay the RDF revenue to the department of revenue
(department), which distributes the revenue to the appropriate cash funds.
The department generally administers the RDF in the same manner
as the state sales and use tax. The bill modifies this administration by
permitting a retailer to pay the RDF on behalf of the purchaser. If the
retailer elects to pay the RDF, then the retailer is:
  • Not required to add the RDF to the price of the retail
delivery, separately itemize the RDF, or collect the RDF
from the purchaser, who is not liable for the amount nor
eligible for a refund of an erroneously paid RDF; and
  • Required to remit the RDF on the date that would be
required if the RDF had been received from the purchaser
on the date of the retail delivery.
The department is required to waive any processing costs for a
retailer's electronic payment by automated clearing house (ACH) debit of
the RDF if the charges would exceed the amount of the RDF revenue
being remitted.
The bill creates an exemption from the RDF for a retail delivery
by a qualified business, which is a business that has $500,000 or less of
retail sales in the prior year or is new, that applies retroactively to when
RDFs were first imposed. A purchaser is not eligible for a refund of any
RDF that is collected and remitted to the department by a qualified
business prior to the effective date of the bill.
The bill also creates a primary definition for retail delivery that
is cross-referenced in other RDF provisions, and related to this change,
a definition of retail sale is repealed where the cross reference makes
it unnecessary.

Section 1 of the bill requires an entertainment facility with a
seating capacity of 7,000 seats or more to designate and enforce at least
4% of its seating capacity as substance-free seating. Substance-free
seating is defined as seating where the use of alcohol, electronic smoking
devices, marijuana, and tobacco (prohibited substances) is banned.
Substance-free seating must include seats that are accessible to persons
with disabilities and cannot be limited exclusively to seats that are higher
than or farther away from the sport or entertainment activity relative to
the majority of seats at the facility. Written policies and procedures,
including those that enforce the ban on prohibited substances, are
required. Signs regarding the ban must be prominently displayed in and
around the substance-free seating sections.
Failure by an entertainment facility to comply with the requirement
for designating and enforcing 4% or more substance-free seating is
deemed good cause for refusal or denial of an alcohol beverage license
renewal or initial license issuance by the state licensing authority as part
of the existing regulatory scheme for such licenses. Failure to comply is
also a basis for other license-related discipline, including suspension,
revocation, or fine.
Sections 2 and 3 make conforming amendments to the statutory
scheme for regulation of smoking. Section 4 makes conforming
amendments to the statutory scheme for regulation of alcohol.

For purposes of addressing discriminatory or unfair employment
practices pursuant to Colorado's anti-discrimination laws, the bill enacts
the Protecting Opportunities and Workers' Rights (POWR) Act, which:
  • Directs the Colorado civil rights division (division) to
include harassment as a basis or description of
discrimination on any charge form or charge intake
mechanism;
  • Adds a new definition of harass or harassment and
repeals the current definition of harass that requires
creation of a hostile work environment;
  • Adds protections from discriminatory or unfair
employment practices for individuals based on their
marital status;
  • Specifies that in harassment claims, the alleged conduct
need not be severe or pervasive to constitute a
discriminatory or unfair employment practice;
  • For purposes of the exception to otherwise discriminatory
practices for an employer that is unable to accommodate an
individual with a disability who is otherwise qualified for
the job, eliminates the ability for the employer to assert that
the individual's disability has a significant impact on the
job as a rationale for the employment practice;
  • Specifies that it is a discriminatory or an unfair
employment practice for an employer to fail to initiate an
investigation of a complaint or to fail to take prompt,
reasonable, and remedial action;
  • Specifies the requirements for an employer to assert an
affirmative defense to an employee's proven claim of
unlawful harassment by a supervisor; and
  • Specifies the requirements that must be satisfied for a
nondisclosure provision in an agreement between an
employer and an employee or a prospective employee to be
enforceable.

Currently, certain persons licensed to sell alcohol beverages
(licensee) may apply for a permit to hold a festival, and other licensees
are allowed to jointly participate in the festival with the licensee to which
the permit was issued. Current law imposes a cap on the number of
festivals a permittee may hold, but there is no specified limit on the
number of festivals in which another licensee may jointly participate. The
bill authorizes a licensee to jointly participate in up to 52 festivals held by
another licensee within a 12-month period.

Section 3 of the bill requires the secretary of state to refer a ballot
issue to voters at the November 2023 election that asks voters whether
property taxes should be reduced and that seeks voter approval to retain
and spend excess state revenues that will be used to backfill some of the
reduced property tax revenue. Most of the bill only becomes effective if
the voters approve the ballot issue.
Local government property tax revenue limit. Beginning with
the 2023 property tax year, section 6 establishes a limit on specified
property tax revenue for local governments, excluding those that are
home rule and school districts, that is equal to inflation above the property
tax revenue from the prior property tax year (limit). A local government
may establish a temporary property tax credit, which does not change the
gross mill levy, that is up to the number of mills necessary to prevent the
local government's property tax revenue from exceeding the limit.
Alternatively, the governing board may approve a mill levy that would
cause the local government to exceed the limit, if the governing board
approves the mill levy at a public meeting that meets certain criteria.
Valuation changes. The valuation for assessment (valuation) of
nonresidential real and personal property, excluding producing mines and
lands or leaseholds producing oil or gas, is based on an assessment rate
of 29% of actual value, but currently, there are temporary reductions in
the valuation for certain subclasses of property. Section 8 creates the
additional temporary reductions. For the 2023 property tax year:
  • For lodging property, property listed under any improved
commercial subclass code, and all other nonresidential
property, excluding agricultural property and renewable
energy production property, the assessment rate is reduced
from 27.9% to 27.85%;
  • For renewable energy agricultural land, which is a newly
created subclass of agricultural property that is valued
under section 7, the assessment rate is reduced from 26.4%
to 21.9%.
Thereafter, the assessment rate for lodging property and all
nonresidential property, excluding agricultural property and renewable
energy production property and property that is not under a vacant land
subclass, is reduced from 29% to:
  • 27.85% for the 2024 through 2026 property tax years;
  • 27.65% for the 2027 and 2028 property tax years;
  • 26.9% for the 2029 and 2030 property tax years; and
  • 25.9% or 26.9% for the 2031 and 2032 property tax years,
depending on the increase in the valuation in the 32
counties with the smallest increases from the 2030 to 2031
property tax years (revenue increases).
The assessment rate for agricultural property, excluding renewable
energy agricultural land, and renewable energy property is reduced from
29% to:
  • 26.4% for the 2025 through 2030 property tax years; and
  • 25.9% or 26.4% for the 2031 and 2032 property tax years,
depending on the increase in the valuation in the 32
counties with the smallest revenue increases.
The assessment rate for renewable energy agricultural land is
reduced from 29% to 21.9% for the 2024 through 2032 property tax
years.
Beginning with the 2033 property tax year, all of the temporary
valuation reductions expire and the valuation of all nonresidential real
property is 29% of the actual value of the property.
The valuation of residential real property is based on an
assessment rate of 7.15% of actual value, but currently, there are
temporary reductions in the valuation. Section 9 further reduces the
valuation of residential real property. For the 2023 property tax year, the
valuation is reduced from 6.765% of the amount equal to the actual value
minus the lesser of $15,000 or the amount that causes the valuation to be
$1,000 (alternate amount) to 6.7% of the amount equal to the actual value
minus the lesser of $40,000 or the alternate amount.
For the 2024 property tax year, the valuation is reduced as follows:
  • For multi-family residential real property, the valuation is
reduced from 6.8% of the actual value to 6.7% of the
amount equal to the actual value minus the lesser of
$40,000 or the alternate amount; and
  • For all other residential real property, the valuation is
reduced from an estimate of 6.98% of the actual value to
6.7% of the amount equal to the actual value minus the
lesser of $40,000 or the alternate amount.
For the 2025 through 2032 property tax years:
  • For multi-family residential real property and primary
residence real property, including multi-family primary
residence real property, the valuation is reduced from
7.15% of the actual value to 6.7% of the actual value minus
the lesser of $40,000 or the alternate amount;
  • For qualified-senior primary residence real property,
including multi-family qualified-senior primary residence
real property, the valuation is reduced from 7.15% of the
actual value to 6.7% of the amount equal to the actual value
minus $140,000 or the alternate amount; and
  • For all other residential real property, the assessment rate
is reduced from 7.15% to 7.1%.
Beginning with the 2033 property tax year, all of the temporary
valuation reductions expire and the valuation of all residential real
property is 7.15% of the actual value of the property.
The bill also establishes that all of the temporary reductions in
valuation for residential and nonresidential property created in the bill are
contingent on the state's ability to retain and spend state surplus up to the
proposition HH cap. If, for any reason, excluding a legislative enactment
by the general assembly, the state is not permitted to retain and spend this
money, then the temporary reductions in the bill do not apply.
Section 11 creates the residential subclass of primary residence
real property for owner-occupiers and establishes administrative
procedures related to the classification that are based on the procedures
for the homestead exemption, with those procedures expanded to treat
civil union partners like spouses. Section 11 also creates the residential
subclass of qualified-senior primary residence real property, which is a
property with an owner-occupier who previously qualified for the senior
homestead exemption for a different property and who does not qualify
for the exemption for the current property tax year.
Sections 1, 12, 13, 15, and 16 delay deadlines as necessary due to
the valuation changes for the 2023 property tax year.
The state is currently required to reimburse local governmental
entities for property tax revenue lost as a result of the reductions in
valuation enacted in Senate Bill 22-238. Section 14 modifies this backfill
mechanism by:
  • Specifying that the amount of revenue lost for a property
tax year is based on a local governmental entity's mill levy
for the 2022 property tax year, excluding specified mills;
  • Including the additional property tax revenue reductions
that result from the bill in the backfill for the 2023 property
tax year;
  • Eliminating the maximum amount of the backfill for the
2023 property tax year that is a refund of excess state
revenues;
  • Extending the backfill for the 2024 through 2032 property
tax years for the valuation reductions in the bill, but making
a local governmental entity that has an increase in real
property total valuation of 20% or more from the 2022
property tax year ineligible for the backfill;
  • Creating the local government backfill cash fund, which
includes a $128 million general fund transfer, and requiring
the money from the fund to be used to backfill revenue to
local governments beginning with the 2024 property tax
year; and
  • Beginning with the 2024 property tax year, proportionally
reducing the amount that each eligible local government
receives, if necessary to avoid exceeding the total amount
that is available for the backfills statewide.
Section 14 also modifies the backfill mechanism to treat cities and
counties as counties instead of municipalities, and this change is not
contingent on voter-approval of the ballot issue. Section 18 requires the
department of revenue to calculate the amount of excess state revenues
that will be refunded for the fiscal year 2022-23 with and without the
changes from the bill.
Voter-approved revenue change. If the voters approve the
referred ballot issue, then the state will be authorized to retain and spend
revenues up to the proposition HH cap, created in section 3. For the
2023-24 fiscal year, the proposition HH cap is equal to the excess state
revenues cap for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for inflation plus 1% and
population changes. Thereafter, the proposition HH cap is equal to the
proposition HH cap for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for inflation plus
1% and population changes. The proposition HH cap is also annually
adjusted for the qualification or disqualification of enterprises and debt
service changes.
If the general assembly does not enact assessment rates for the
2033 property tax year that are the same or lower than the assessment
rates for the 2032 property tax year described above, then the proposition
HH cap is reduced to be equal to the excess state revenues cap, and the
state will retain $0 under this authority beginning with the 2031-32 fiscal
year. Thereafter, the general assembly may partially or wholly restore the
proposition HH cap without additional voter approval if the general
assembly enacts valuation reductions equal to or greater than those for the
2032 property tax year.
The amount retained under this authority is first used in the
following fiscal year to backfill certain local governments for the reduced
property tax revenue as a result of the property tax changes in the bill and
Senate Bill 22-238, and the remainder is transferred to the state education
fund to offset the revenue that school districts lose as a result of the
property tax changes. Section 5 requires the state controller to include the
new voter-approved revenue change in the annual report on TABOR
revenues.
Sections 2, 4, 10, and 17 make conforming amendments related
to the valuation changes and related procedures and the voter-approved
revenue changes.