Legislation Passed During the 2013 Legislative Session
| Citation | Vol. 42 No. 8 Pg. 33 |
| Pages | 33 |
| Publication year | 2013 |
In and Around the Bar 2013 CBA Legislative Update
Legislation Passed During the 2013 Legislative Session
By Michael Valdez.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Administrative Rule Review
Agriculture
Consumer and Commercial Transactions
Corporations and Associations
Courts
Criminal Law and Procedure
Elections
Family Law
Financial Institutions
Government-County
Government-Local
Government-Special Districts
Government-State
Health and Environment
Health Care Policy and Financing
Human Services-Behavioral Health
Human Services-Social Services
Insurance
Juvenile Law
Labor and Industry
Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation
Natural Resources
Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Professions and Occupations
Property
Public Utilities
Statutes
Taxation
Water and Irrigation
Workers' Compensation
ON THE COVER
The photo on the cover of the Legislative Update was taken by Brian E. Donovan during the 2009 People's Fair. Donovan used a Canon Rebel Xsi. He is Assistant General Counsel for Venoco, Inc., an independent energy company headquartered in Denver.
INTRODUCTION
The CBA's Department of Legislative Relations deals with legislative policy that is set by the CBA Board of Governors (Board), the CBA's statewide governing body of attorneys. The Board meets twice a year; however, in the event legislative action needs to be taken between Board meetings, the CBA Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) is empowered to act on behalf of the CBA. The LPC comprises the CBA President, President-Elect, and Immediate Past President, as well as eight appointed members.
The goal of the LPC is to promote improvements in the administration of justice and advancements in jurisprudence. The LPC generally is involved in legislation that affects the practice of law, the business of lawyering, the court system, lawyer fees, and lawyer-client relations.
Michael Valdez is the Director of the CBA Department of Legislative Relations. The Director is charged with representing CBA interests at the Colorado Legislature.
The 2013 CBA Legislative Update is a product of the Department of Legislative Relations. It was compiled by Michael Valdez and is provided as a free service to CBA members.
The abbreviations "S.B." and "H.B." in the Legislative Update refer to "Senate Bill" and "House Bill," respectively. Numerical references are to existing or to new sections of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The primary sponsor of the bill is listed, as well as the primary sponsor in the second house.
The Legislative Update is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all legislation passed during the 2013 legislative session. It is intended only to alert practitioners to new legislation of general interest to attorneys. For more information on specific bills, please contact Michael Valdez at the CBA, 1900 Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, CO 80203; (303) 860-1115 or (800) 332-6736; or mavaldez@cobar.org.
Summaries of bills may have been abbreviated for space. This Legislative Update also is available online in the August issue of The Colorado Lawyer at www.cobar.org/tcl. The Legislative Update has not been edited by The Colorado Lawyer editors. Corrections may be sent to mavaldez@cobar.org.
ADMINISTRATIVE RULE REVIEW
S.B. 13-79. Concerning implementation of recommendations of the committee on legal services in connection with legislative review of rules and regulations of state agencies. By Sen. Morse and Rep. Gardner. Continuation of 2012 rules of executive agencies. Based on the findings and recommendations of the committee on legal services, the act extends all state agency rules and regulations that were adopted or amended on or after November 1, 2011, and before November 1, 2012, with the exception of the rules and regulations specifically listed in the act. Those specified rules and regulations will expire as scheduled in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" on May 15, 2013, on the grounds that the rules and regulations either conflict with statute or lack or exceed statutory authority.
The act repeals, effective May 15, 2013, a rule of the medical services board of the department of health care policy and financing concerning presumptive eligibility of prenatal care clients in the children's basic health plan. The act repeals, effective May 15, 2013, a rule of the Colorado state board of chiropractic examiners of the department of regulatory agencies concerning the scope of practice of chiropractors. Effective May 11, 2013.
AGRICULTURE
S.B. 13-223. Concerning the continuation of the noxious weed advisory committee. By Sen. Brophy and Rep. Mitsch Bush. The act continues the state noxious weed advisory committee until September 1, 2023, and adds two nonvoting members to the committee: One representing the Colorado department of transportation and the other representing the department of natural resources. The committee is also directed to make recommendations about noxious weeds on surface waters and public lands. Effective May 28, 2013.
S.B. 13-241. Concerning the creation of a program in the department of agriculture to regulate industrial hemp production and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. By Sen. Schwartz and Rep. Coram. The act repeals the industrial hemp remediation pilot program in the department of public health and environment, enacted by House Bill 12-1099, and replaces the pilot program with a program in the department of agriculture (department) that requires a person seeking to engage in industrial hemp cultivation for commercial purposes or to grow industrial hemp for research and development purposes to register with the department. A person registered under the industrial hemp remediation pilot program may continue industrial hemp activities if the registrant applies for a registration under the new program within 60 days after applications are available. The act renames the industrial hemp remediation pilot program committee, established pursuant to House Bill 12-1099, as the industrial hemp committee, specifies the qualifications and terms of office of members serving on the committee, and tasks the committee with assisting the department and the commissioner of agriculture in the development of the registration program. Effective May 28, 2013.
H.B. 13-1250. Concerning the administration of county powers to maintain the landscape. By Rep. Sonnenberg and Sen. Tochtrop. The act extends from two to three years the expiration date of a county pest inspector license. The act raises from $5,000 to $10,000 the cap on how much a landowner may be billed for pest mitigation on the person's land and prohibits the county from compelling pest mitigation that exceeds that done on adjacent government land. A county pest inspector cannot sue the landowner or occupant for personal injury or property damage unless the landowner caused the injury or damage willfully. The act authorizes a county pest inspector to exercise the powers already granted to counties to control weeds and rodents. The act authorizes a county's agent to exercise the powers already granted to county pest inspectors to control pests. Effective August 7, 2013.
CONSUMER AND COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS
S.B. 13-18. Concerning the use of consumer credit information by employers. By Sen. Ulibarri and Rep. Fischer. The act creates the "Employment Opportunity Act," which specifies the purposes for which consumer credit information, such as consumer credit reports and credit scores, can be used by an employer or potential employer, jointly referred to as "employer" and defined to exclude state and local law enforcement agencies. Effective July 1, 2013.
S.B. 13-182. Concerning deceptive trade practices related to time share resale services. By Sen. Nicholson and Rep. Williams. The act amends provisions of the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" relating to time share transactions and, in particular, transactions involving resale time shares, which are time shares that have been acquired previously. In any time share resale transfer agreement, an entity that provides time share resale services must disclose specified information about the services to the owner of the resale time share. Effective August 7, 2013.
S.B. 13-215. Concerning alternative health care practitioners and, in connection therewith, enacting the "Colorado Natural Health Consumer Protection Act" to provide an exemption from state regulation for unlicensed complementary and alternative health care practitioners, require a person providing complementary and alternative health care services to disclose to clients the person's educational background and the nature of the services to be provided, and prohibit complementary and alternative health care practitioners from engaging in specified activities that only state-regulated health care professionals may perform. By Sen. Jahn and Rep Ginal. The act specifies that a person engaging in traditional, cultural, complementary, or alternative healing arts and health care treatments who makes specified written disclosures to a client and who does not engage in specifically prohibited acts is not violating the practice acts regulating licensed, certified, or registered health care professionals and is not required to obtain a state-issued license, certification, or registration.
A complementary and alternative health care practitioner must make specified information to each client during the initial contact with the client in a plainly worded written statement and obtain the client's written, signed acknowledgment of receipt of the information. Failure to make the required disclosures to clients, or performing a prohibited act, constitutes a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer...
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