Bill Tracker

The state constitution allows a veteran who has a
service-connected disability rated as a 100% permanent disability to claim
a property tax exemption for a portion of the actual value of the veteran's
owner-occupied primary residence. The 100% permanent disability
requirement can only be changed through a constitutional amendment.
If, at the 2024 general election, the voters of the state approve a
constitutional amendment to expand eligibility for the exemption by
allowing a veteran who has individual unemployability status, as
determined by the United States department of veterans affairs, to claim
the exemption, the bill makes conforming statutory changes to reflect that
expansion of the exemption. In most cases, to have individual
unemployability status, a veteran must be unable to keep a steady job
because the veteran either has at least one service-connected disability
rated at 60% or more disabling or has 2 or more service-connected
disabilities with at least one disability rated at 40% or more disabling and
a combined rating of 70% or more disabling.
The bill also requires a veteran who has individual
unemployability status to be treated equivalently to a veteran who has one
hundred percent permanent disability when determining eligibility for any
state veterans benefit. Finally, to comply with an existing statutory
requirement that people first language be used in new or amended
statutes that refer to persons with disabilities, the bill also changes the
existing terms disabled veteran and disabled veterans to veteran with
a disability and veterans with a disability.

• April 06, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report
• April 06, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report
• January 23, 2023: House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee Report
• January 23, 2023: House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee Report

Most real property is reassessed every odd-numbered year. The bill
establishes a one-time exception by making the reassessment cycle
beginning on January 1, 2021, a 4-year cycle so that the next reassessment
cycle will begin in 2025 instead of 2023.
Under current law, for the 2023 property tax year, the actual value
used for purposes of valuation for assessment is reduced for commercial
real property by $30,000 and for residential real property by $15,000. The
bill eliminates these reductions.
The bill also sets the assessment rates for nonresidential real
property and multi-family residential real property for the 2024 property
tax year, so that they are the same rates as for the 2023 property tax year.
Lastly, the bill ensures that the actual value of property used for
purposes of valuation for assessment does not increase by more than 5%
between 2022 and 2025, for property that does not have an unusual
condition which results in an increase or decrease in actual value.

• March 09, 2023: House Finance Committee Report
• March 09, 2023: House Finance Committee Report

Section 1 of the bill authorizes an individual to move from one
corner of public land to another corner of public land where 2 public
parcels meet 2 private parcels and share a common border, without being
liable for criminal or civil trespass, if:
  • 2 parcels of public land touch so that the individual can
reasonably step from one parcel of public land to the other
parcel of public land, or if there's a fence, could make the
step as if there were not a fence;
  • The individual moves over private land only as much as
necessary to cross from one parcel of public land to the
other;
  • The individual does not step on or stand on the privately
owned land or touch a fence on or other improvement to
the privately owned land, but the individual may use
mechanical means to move over the privately owned land;
and
  • The individual does not use a vehicle other than a
wheelchair to cross over the private land.
This authorization does not apply to the following:
  • Moving over an improvement to public land that is
designed to be occupied by individuals;
  • Entering public land to use it in a way that violates the law;
  • Moving over public land that the governing entity has
prohibited the general public from entering or has
controlled access to.
Section 1 also prohibits a landowner from erecting an
improvement to such a corner that is more than 54 inches high within 4
feet of the corner.
Section 2 requires a court to dismiss a trespass tort if the defendant
has complied with section 1. A successful defendant is awarded costs,
including attorney fees.
Section 3 instructs the parks and wildlife commission to
promulgate rules codifying the actions allowed in section 1. The division
of parks and wildlife will publicize the rules.

• May 07, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• April 29, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• March 13, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report
• March 13, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report

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%.

• May 04, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• May 02, 2023: Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee Report
• April 18, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• February 02, 2023: House Business Affairs & Labor Committee Report
• February 02, 2023: House Business Affairs & Labor Committee Report

The bill creates a state income tax credit for employers who make
a monetary contribution to an employee for use by the employee in
purchasing a primary residence. The amount of the credit allowed is 5%
of an employer's contribution to an employee, but the credit is capped at
$5,000 per employee per year and an employer cannot receive a credit of
more than $750,000 for all contributions made in a year to employees.
The employee must use the money contributed for eligible expenses
which include a down payment and closing costs, including fees for
appraisals, mortgage origination, and inspections. An employee may
authorize their employer to withhold a specified amount of the employee's
earnings as an employee contribution into the savings account established
by the employer that holds the employer contribution. If an employee
ends their employment with the employer or if the employee intends to
use the employee contribution in a manner that is not consistent with an
eligible expense, the employee forfeits any unexpended amount of the
employer contribution and the amount of the credit allowed to the
employer for the employer contribution is subject to recapture. In such an
occurrence, the employee is entitled to the employee contribution, plus
any interest earned. The credit is not refundable but may be carried
forward by the employer for a period of not more than 5 years. The
amount contributed by the employer may be subtracted by the employee
from the employee's federal taxable income for the purpose of
determining their state taxable income; except that, if an employee
forfeits the employer contribution, then the amount that the employee had
subtracted from their federal taxable income is added back to their federal
taxable income for the purpose of determining their state taxable income
for the subsequent tax year. The executive director of the department of
revenue may promulgate rules related to the implementation of the credit.

• May 05, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• May 04, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Report
• April 28, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• February 27, 2023: House Finance Committee Report
• February 27, 2023: House Finance Committee Report

No later than September 1, 2023, the bill requires the department
of health care policy and financing (state department) to engage in a
stakeholder process to address concerns and identify viable solutions
related to individuals who receive long-term services and supports.
No later than January 2025, the bill requires the state department
to report on the stakeholder process, including identifying any
administrative resources needed to address any concerns identified during
the stakeholder process.

• April 26, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• April 20, 2023: Senate Health & Human Services Committee Report
• April 14, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• March 21, 2023: House Health & Insurance Committee Report
• March 21, 2023: House Health & Insurance Committee Report

The bill creates the task force on corporate housing ownership
(task force) in the division of housing in the department of local affairs
and directs the task force to examine data concerning home sales and
home ownership in Colorado, including a quantification of:
  • The total number of home sales that have occurred in
Colorado since January 1, 2008, within certain sales price
ranges;
  • The total number of such home sales that resulted in the
home being owned entirely or partially by a corporation;
  • The total number of homes in each zip code of the state that
are owned entirely or partially by a corporation; and
  • The total number of homes in the state that are owned
entirely or partially by a corporation and are unoccupied.
The task force must report its findings to the legislative
committees of reference with jurisdiction over housing matters by
October 1, 2025. The report must include legislative recommendations to
address the issue of corporate ownership of housing in Colorado,
including recommendations regarding the potential creation of a fee to be
imposed upon corporations that own significant numbers of homes in
Colorado, which fee could be used to fund a grant program to award
grants to programs and organizations that address housing issues in
Colorado.
The task force is repealed, effective September 1, 2027.

• May 05, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• May 04, 2023: Senate Local Government & Housing Committee Report
• April 25, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• April 05, 2023: House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee Report
• April 05, 2023: House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee Report

The bill creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program
(program) within the division of fire prevention and control (division).
The program allows homeowners to apply to receive a grant for
retrofitting or improving a house or other structure on the homeowner's
property with strategies and technologies for structure hardening in order
to make the house or structure more resilient to the risk of wildfire.
The bill also creates the wildfire resilient homes grant program
cash fund (fund) for use by the division to award grants and to promote
best practices for structure hardening, and on August 15, 2023, the state
treasurer is required to transfer $2 million from the general fund to the
fund. The division is required to annually report to the wildfire matters
review committee on expenditures made from the fund and grants that are
awarded pursuant to the program.

• May 05, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• May 02, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• April 13, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report

Current law requires an individual applying for the property tax
exemption for a veteran with a disability to submit the application to the
division of veterans affairs (division) in the Colorado department of
veterans and military affairs. The bill instead requires an individual to
submit an application to the individual's county tax assessor. When
submitting an application, the bill requires an individual to include proof
of qualifying veteran with a disability status, which the bill defines as
documentary evidence from the United States department of veterans
affairs that the individual is a qualifying veteran with a disability. The bill
further requires the division to develop guidance that specifies the
documentary evidence from the United States department of veterans
affairs that must be included with an application. The bill eliminates the
requirement that the division determine whether an individual is a
qualifying veteran with a disability.
To comply with an existing statutory requirement that people first
language be used in new or amended statutes that refer to persons with
disabilities, the bill also changes the existing terms disabled veteran and
disabled veterans to veteran with a disability and veterans with a
disability.

• April 18, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• March 16, 2023: House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee Report
• March 16, 2023: House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee Report
• February 17, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• February 17, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• February 02, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report
• February 02, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report

The bill modifies the closing and settlement procedure for real
estate transactions to ensure that the funds intended to be used at closing
have been:
  • Received and deposited into a trust account at least one
business day before the scheduled closing; and
  • Confirmed as deposited and available for immediate
disbursement upon the settlement and closing of the real
estate transaction.
The bill takes effect September 1, 2024.

• February 09, 2023: Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee Report
• February 09, 2023: Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee Report

For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2023, the
bill specifies that a senior is deemed to be a 10-year owner-occupier of a
primary residence that the senior has owned and occupied for less than 10
years and therefore qualifies for the senior property tax exemption for the
residence if:
  • The senior would have qualified for the senior property tax
exemption for the senior's former primary residence but a
medical necessity required the senior to stop occupying the
former primary residence;
  • The senior has not previously received the exemption for a
former primary residence on the basis of medical necessity;
and
  • The senior has not owned and occupied another primary
residence since the senior first stopped occupying the
senior's former primary residence due to medical necessity.
Medical necessity is defined as one or more medical conditions
of a senior that a physician licensed to practice medicine in Colorado has
certified on a form developed by the state property tax administrator as
having required the senior to stop occupying the senior's prior primary
residence.
When applying for an exemption on the basis of medical necessity,
a senior must provide the form establishing proof of medical necessity.
For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2023,
but before January 1, 2028, the bill increases the maximum amount of
actual value of the owner-occupied residence of a qualifying senior or
veteran with a disability that is exempt from property taxation from
$200,000 to $300,000.
For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2028, the
bill increases the maximum amount of actual value of the owner-occupied
residence of a qualifying senior or veteran with a disability that is exempt
from property taxation from $300,000 to $500,000.

• February 09, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report
• February 09, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report

The bill allows a local government to provide temporary property
tax relief through temporary property tax credits or mill levy reductions
and later eliminate the credits or restore the mill levy. The bill clarifies
that a local government may temporarily reduce property taxes due by
providing for tax credits or reducing the mill levy and later eliminate the
tax credits or restore the mill levy.

• April 10, 2023: House Finance Committee Report
• February 23, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Report
• February 23, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Report
• February 09, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report
• February 09, 2023: Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Report

Statutory Revision Committee. House Bill 22-1301 enacted a
property tax exemption for agricultural equipment that is used in any
controlled environment agricultural facility. The Senate adopted an
amendment to the bill that was intended, as described by the amendment
sponsor when the Senate considered the amendment on second reading,
to limit the exemption to 5 property tax years, specifically the 2023, 2024,
2025, 2026, and 2027 property tax years. However, the amendment, and
the bill as subsequently enacted, stated that the exemption is available
prior to January 2, 2028, rather than prior to January 1, 2028,.
Because the assessment date on which the status of property as taxable or
tax-exempt is determined is January 1 of each property tax year, the
exemption will also be allowed for the 2028 property tax year if the
defective date reference is not corrected. The bill corrects the defective
date reference by changing it from January 2, 2028, to January 1,
2028,.

• April 17, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report

The bill requires the seller of residential real estate and a landlord
of residential real estate to provide to prospective buyers and tenants in
writing:
  • A warning statement about the dangers of radon and the
need for testing;
  • Any knowledge the seller or landlord has of the residential
real property's radon concentrations and history, including
tests performed, reports written, and mitigation conducted;
and
  • A copy of the most recent brochure published by the
department of public health and environment that provides
advice about radon in real estate transactions.
If a seller fails to provide the written disclosures, the buyer has a
claim for relief against the seller for damages to the buyer resulting from
the failure plus court costs. If a landlord fails to provide the written
disclosures or fails to mitigate an elevated radon level, the tenant may
void the lease without penalty.
A real estate broker must take reasonable steps to ensure the real
estate broker's clients comply with the bill.

• April 18, 2023: House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee Report
• April 04, 2023: Senate Local Government & Housing Committee Report
• April 04, 2023: Senate Local Government & Housing Committee Report

Housing needs planning. The executive director of the
department of local affairs (director) shall, no later than December 31,
2024, and every 5 years thereafter, issue methodology for developing
statewide, regional, and local housing needs assessments. The statewide
housing needs assessment must determine existing statewide housing
stock and current and future housing needs. The regional housing needs
assessments must allocate the addressing of housing needs identified in
the statewide housing needs assessment to regions of the state. Similarly,
the local housing needs assessments must allocate the addressing of the
housing needs allocated in the regional housing needs assessment to
localities in the relevant region.
The director shall, no later than December 31, 2024, issue
guidance on creating a housing needs plan for both a rural resort job
center municipality and an urban municipality. Following this guidance,
no later than December 31, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, a rural
resort job center municipality and an urban municipality shall develop a
housing needs plan and submit that plan to the department of local affairs
(department). A housing needs plan must include, among other things,
descriptions of how the plan was created, how the municipality will
address the housing needs it was assigned in the local housing needs
assessment, affordability strategies the municipality has selected to
address its local housing needs assessment, an assessment of
displacement risk and any strategies selected to address identified risks,
and how the locality will comply with other housing requirements in this
bill.
The director shall, no later than December 31, 2024, develop and
publish a menu of affordability strategies to address housing production,
preservation, and affordability. Rural resort job center municipalities and
urban municipalities shall identify at least 2 of these strategies that they
intend to implement in their housing plan, and urban municipalities with
a transit-oriented area must identify at least 3.
The director shall, no later than December 31, 2024, develop and
publish a menu of displacement mitigation measures. This menu must,
among other things, provide guidance for how to identify areas at the
highest risk for displacement and identify displacement mitigation
measures that a locality may adopt. An urban municipality must identify
which of these measures it intends to implement in its housing plan to
address any areas it identifies as at an elevated risk for displacement.
The director shall, no later than March 31, 2024, publish a report
that identifies strategic growth objectives that will incentivize growth in
transit-oriented areas and infill areas and guide growth at the edges of
urban areas. The multi-agency advisory committee shall, no later than
March 31, 2024, submit a report to the general assembly concerning the
strategic growth objectives.
The bill establishes a multi-agency advisory committee and
requires that committee to conduct a public comment and hearing process
on and provide recommendations to the director on:
  • Methodologies for developing statewide, regional, and
local housing needs assessments;
  • Guidance for creating housing needs plans;
  • Developing a menu of affordability strategies;
  • Developing a menu of displacement mitigation measures;
  • Identifying strategic growth objectives; and
  • Developing reporting guidance and templates.
A county or municipality within a rural resort region shall
participate in a regional housing needs planning process. This process
must encourage participating counties and municipalities to identify
strategies that, either individually or through intergovernmental
agreements, address the housing needs assigned to them. A report on this
process must be submitted to the department. Further, within 6 months of
completing this process, a rural resort job center municipality shall submit
a local housing needs plan to the department. Once a year, both rural
resort job centers and urban municipalities shall report to the department
on certain housing data.
A multi-agency group created in the bill and the division of local
government within the department shall provide assistance to localities
in complying with the requirements of this bill. This assistance must
include technical assistance and a grant program.
Accessory dwelling units. The director shall promulgate an
accessory dwelling unit model code that, among other things, requires
accessory dwelling units to be allowed as a use by right in any part of a
municipality where the municipality allows single-unit detached
dwellings as a use by right. The committee shall provide
recommendations to the director for promulgating this model code. In
developing these recommendations, the committee shall conduct a public
comment and hearing process.
Even if a municipality does not adopt the accessory dwelling unit
model code, the municipality shall adhere to accessory dwelling unit
minimum standards established in the bill and by the department. These
minimum standards, among other things, must require a municipality to:
  • Allow accessory dwelling units as a use by right in any part
of the municipality where the municipality allows
single-unit detached dwellings as a use by right;
  • Only adopt or enforce local laws concerning accessory
dwelling units that use objective standards and procedures;
  • Not adopt, enact, or enforce local laws concerning
accessory dwelling units that are more restrictive than local
laws concerning single-unit detached dwellings; and
  • Not apply standards that make the permitting, siting, or
construction of accessory dwelling units infeasible.
Middle housing. The director shall promulgate a middle housing
model code that, among other things, requires middle housing to be
allowed as a use by right in any part of a rural resort job center
municipality or a tier one urban municipality where the municipality
allows single-unit detached dwellings as a use by right. The committee
shall provide recommendations to the director for promulgating this
model code. In developing these recommendations, the committee shall
conduct a public comment and hearing process.
Even if a rural resort job center municipality or a tier one urban
municipality does not adopt the middle housing model code, the
municipality shall adhere to middle housing minimum standards
established in the bill and by the department. These minimum standards,
among other things, must require a municipality to:
  • Allow middle housing as a use by right in certain areas;
  • Only adopt or enforce local laws concerning middle
housing that use objective standards and procedures;
  • Allow properties on which middle housing is allowed to be
split by right using objective standards and procedures;
  • Not adopt, enact, or enforce local laws concerning middle
housing that are more restrictive than local laws concerning
single-unit detached dwellings; and
  • Not apply standards that make the permitting, siting, or
construction of middle housing infeasible.
Transit-oriented areas. The director shall promulgate a
transit-oriented area model code that, among other things, imposes
minimum residential density limits for multifamily residential housing
and mixed-income multifamily residential housing and allows these
developments as a use by right in the transit-oriented areas of tier one
urban municipalities. The committee shall provide recommendations to
the director for promulgating this model code. In developing these
recommendations, the committee shall conduct a public comment and
hearing process.
Even if a tier one urban municipality does not adopt the
transit-oriented model code, the municipality shall adhere to middle
housing minimum standards established in the bill and by the department.
These minimum standards, among other things, must require a
municipality to:
  • Create a zoning district within a transit-oriented area in
which multifamily housing meets a minimum residential
density limit and is allowed as a use by right; and
  • Not apply standards that make the permitting, siting, or
construction of multifamily housing in transit-oriented
areas infeasible.
Key corridors. The director shall promulgate a key corridor model
code that applies to key corridors in rural resort job center municipalities
and tier one urban municipalities. The model code must, among other
things, include requirements for:
  • The percentage of units in mixed-income multifamily
residential housing that must be reserved for low- and
moderate-income households;
  • Minimum residential density limits for multifamily
residential housing; and
  • Mixed-income multifamily residential housing that must be
allowed as a use by right in key corridors.
The committee shall provide recommendations to the director for
promulgating this model code. In developing these recommendations, the
committee shall conduct a public comment and hearing process.
Even if a rural resort job center municipality or a tier one urban
municipality does not adopt the key corridor model code, the municipality
shall adhere to key corridor minimum standards promulgated by the
director and developed by the department. These minimum standards,
among other things, must identify a net residential zoning capacity for a
municipality and must require a municipality to:
  • Allow multifamily residential housing within key corridors
that meets the net residential zoning capacity as a use by
right;
  • Not apply standards that make the permitting, siting, or
construction of multifamily housing in certain areas
infeasible; and
  • Not adopt, enact, or enforce local laws that make satisfying
the required minimum residential density limits infeasible.
The committee shall provide recommendations to the director on
promulgating these minimum standards. In developing these
recommendations, the committee shall conduct a public comment and
hearing process.
Adoption of model codes and minimum standards. A relevant
municipality shall adopt either the model code or local laws that satisfy
the minimum standards concerning accessory dwelling units, middle
housing, transit-oriented areas, and key corridors. Furthermore, a
municipality shall submit a report to the department demonstrating that
it has done so. If a municipality fails to adopt either the model code or
local laws that satisfy the minimum standards by a specified deadline, the
relevant model code immediately goes into effect, and municipalities
shall then approve any proposed projects that meet the standards in the
model code using objective procedures. However, a municipality may
apply to the department for a deadline extension for a deficiency in water
or wastewater infrastructure or supply.
Additional provisions. The bill also:
  • Requires the advisory committee on factory-built structures
and tiny homes to produce a report on the opportunities and
barriers in state law concerning the building of
manufactured homes, mobile homes, and tiny homes;
  • Removes the requirements that manufacturers of
factory-built structures comply with escrow requirements
of down payments and provide a letter of credit, certificate
of deposit issued by a licensed financial institution, or
surety bond issued by an authorized insurer;
  • Prohibits a planned unit development resolution or
ordinance for a planned unit with a residential use from
restricting accessory dwelling units, middle housing,
housing in transit-oriented areas, or housing in key
corridors in a way not allowed by this bill;
  • Prohibits a local government from enacting or enforcing
residential occupancy limits that differ based on the
relationships of the occupants of a dwelling;
  • Modifies the content requirements for a county and
municipal master plan, requires counties and municipalities
to adopt or amend master plans as part of an inclusive
process, and requires counties and municipalities to submit
master plans to the department;
  • Allows a municipality to sell and dispose of real property
and public buildings for the purpose of providing property
to be used as affordable housing, without requiring the sale
to be submitted to the voters of the municipality;
  • Requires the approval process for manufactured and
modular homes to be based on objective standards and
administrative review equivalent to the approval process
for site-built homes;
  • Prohibits a municipality from imposing more restrictive
standards on manufactured and modular homes than the
municipality imposes on site-built homes;
  • Prohibits certain municipalities from imposing minimum
square footage requirements for residential units in the
approval of residential dwelling unit construction permits;
  • Requires certain entities to submit to the Colorado water
conservation board (board) a completed and validated
water loss audit report pursuant to guidelines that the board
shall adopt;
  • Allows the board to make grants from the water efficiency
grant program cash fund to provide water loss audit report
validation assistance to covered entities;
  • Allows the board and the Colorado water resources and
power development authority to consider whether an entity
has submitted a required audit report in deciding whether
to release financial assistance to the entity for the
construction of a water diversion, storage, conveyance,
water treatment, or wastewater treatment facility;
  • Prohibits a unit owners' association from restricting
accessory dwelling units, middle housing, housing in
transit-oriented areas, or housing in key corridors;
  • Requires the department of transportation to ensure that the
prioritization criteria for any grant program administered
by the department are consistent with state strategic growth
objectives, so long as doing so does not violate federal law;
  • Requires any regional transportation plan that is created or
updated to address and ensure consistency with state
strategic growth objectives;
  • Requires that expenditures for local and state multimodal
projects from the multimodal transportation options fund
are only to be made for multimodal projects that the
department determines are consistent with state strategic
growth objectives; and
  • For state fiscal year 2023-24, appropriates $15,000,000
from the general fund to the housing plans assistance fund
and makes the department responsible for the accounting
related to the appropriation.
1

• May 04, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• May 02, 2023: House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee Report
• April 26, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• April 18, 2023: Senate Local Government & Housing Committee Report

The bill creates the wolf depredation compensation fund (fund) to
compensate landowners and agricultural producers for depredation of
livestock and working animals by wolves. For the 2023-24 state fiscal
year and each state fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer is directed to
transfer $350,000 from the general fund to the fund. At the end of the
2023-24 and 2024-25 state fiscal years, any unencumbered balance in the
fund that exceeds $100,000 is transferred to the wildlife cash fund. At the
end of subsequent state fiscal years, the amount transferred to the wildlife
cash fund is any unencumbered balance in the fund that exceeds 120% of
the amount spent from the fund in the previous state fiscal year.
Each year, the director of the division of parks and wildlife will
issue a report and make a presentation at the appropriate SMART Act
hearing.
The bill reduces by $175,000 the fiscal year 2023-24 general fund
appropriation to the department of natural resources for use by the
division of parks and wildlife for the reintroduction and management of
gray wolves.

• April 25, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report
• April 24, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report
• April 14, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report

The bill prohibits the introduction of gray wolves into an area if:
  • The United States secretary of the interior has not made a
final determination as to whether the gray wolf population
in the area is experimental, which gives the state greater
flexibility to manage the wolves; or
  • The United States secretary of the interior or the United
States department of agriculture has not completed an
environmental impact study under federal law.

• April 24, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report
• April 14, 2023: Senate Appropriations Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report
• March 30, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report

Currently, an urban renewal area cannot contain agricultural land
unless the land meets an exception. One exception for including
agricultural land is that the land was included in an approved urban
renewal plan prior to June 1, 2010.
The bill updates the exception to specify that agricultural land may
be included in an urban renewal area if the urban renewal plan was
originally approved or modified to include the agricultural land prior to
June 1, 2010, and if the land still remains in the same urban renewal plan.

• April 24, 2023: House Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources Committee Report
• April 12, 2023: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Report

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.

• May 06, 2023: House Appropriations Committee Report

Section 1 of the bill specifies that when a property tax assessor
values real property, the property tax assessor must consider:
  • The current use;
  • Existing zoning and other governmental land use or
environmental regulations and restrictions;
  • Multi-year leases or other arrangements affecting the use of
or income from real property;
  • Easements and reservations of record; and
  • Covenants, conditions, and restrictions of record.
Beginning January 1, 2024, section 2 requires certain counties to
use an alternative procedure to determine objections and protests of
property tax valuations in any year of general reassessment of real
property that is valued biennially.
Currently, at the request of a taxpayer, a property tax assessor is
required to provide the taxpayer with certain data that the assessor used
to determine the value of the taxpayer's property. Section 3 clarifies that
the data the assessor is required to provide must include the primary
method and rates the assessor used to value the property.

• May 05, 2023: House Finance Committee Report
• May 02, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Report

The bill creates the property tax task force (task force). The task
force consists of both members of the general assembly and individuals
who are not members of the general assembly. The purpose of the task
force is to develop a permanent and sustainable tax structure for the state
of Colorado.
The task force is required to:
  • Convene by July 15, 2023;
  • Meet at least 4 times in its first year and at least 8 times
every year; and
  • Submit reports with its findings and recommendations to
the general assembly by November 1.
After the task force makes its first report to the general assembly,
the task force may determine that it has fulfilled its purposes and the task
force may be disbanded.
The task force is repealed on November 1, 2026.

• May 04, 2023: Senate Finance Committee Report