Colorado’s hourly minimum wage will increase from $12.32 per hour to $12.56 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022, the result of voter approval of Amendment 70 in 2016.

At that time, the state’s minimum wage was $8.31 per hour.

Tipped wages, which started at $5.29 per hour prior to passage of Amendment 70, will increase from $9.30 per hour to $9.54 per hour, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

In a statement Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis also noted that all direct care workers funded with state dollars and those who work at in-home and community-based settings will receive a minimum wage of $15 per hour. 

The statement pointed out that 47% of direct care workers “access some form of public assistance to meet their daily needs and 34% are involved with Medicaid.” 

In September, the Joint Budget Committee approved a plan put forward by the governor to increase hourly pay for the lowest-paid direct care workers.

“This wage increase would target workers who currently receive the lowest rate of pay, yet provide the vast majority of hands-on care to older adults and individuals with disabilities within our state, including personal care workers, homemakers, direct support professionals, and others,” according to a Polis statement.

Those wage increases will be supported by federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, the Polis administration said.

Along with the minimum wage hike, 14 bills from the 2021 session also will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Among the new laws:

House Bill 1207 limits the definition of overpayments of workers’ compensation benefits to include only benefits paid as a result of fraud or duplicate benefits. Previously, insurance carriers and employers could recoup these overpayments against future benefits and/or from the employees who received those benefit payments. 

The most significant part of HB 1211 doesn’t go into effect until July 1, 2022. The bill limits the ability of jails to put a detainee in solitary confinement if the individual exhibits signs of serious mental illness or shows “grossly abnormal and irrational behaviors or breaks with reality or perceptions of reality.” The law’s Jan. 1 enactment requires jails to keep records on those placed in solitary confinement, including those with mental illness or substance abuse issues.

HB 1239 changes the law around contracts for dating services, allowing buyers to cancel the contract up through midnight of the third business day after the day on which the contract is signed.

Colorado Proposition DD allowed sports betting to take place in Colorado. As of Jan. 1 under HB 1292, the Colorado Department of Revenue will start reporting monthly and annual public reports of revenues, expenses and other information from sports betting, similar to the reports the agency already does for casinos.

Beginning Jan. 1, counties will start notifying the state about how much revenue is lost from an increase in the business personal property tax exemption, under HB 1312. Those losses must be reimbursed by the state. Taxes on business personal property are paid to the counties, with an exemption for the first $7,900 of property. That includes things like computers, desks and other non-salable equipment.

Under the law, the exemption increased to $50,000 for tax years 2021 and 2022.

HB 1314 removes discretionary and/or mandatory authority of the Department of Revenue to strip Coloradans of their driver’s licenses for a variety of reasons, including:

• First conviction for illegal underage possession or consumption of alcohol or marijuana or attempting to obtain alcohol when underage
• Failure to pay judgments for traffic or municipal violations while a minor
• Failing to pay fare on public transportation

Portions of HB 1317, which dealt with marijuana concentrates, have already gone into effect. A Jan. 1 provision requires coroners to conduct toxicology screens for the presence of THC, alcohol or drugs for non-homicide deaths for anyone under the age of 25.

In addition, the law limits purchases of medical marijuana concentrates to no more than 8 grams for patients over 21 years old, and those 18 to 20 are limited to two grams per day. The previous limit was 40 grams per day. Dispensaries will be required to track a patient’s daily purchase with the state’s marijuana inventory tracking system to ensure patients are not buying more than their daily limit. 

Under SB 73, the statute of limitations for sexual assault of a minor, which under current law is six years, goes away on Jan. 1 for assaults taking place on or after that date. For assaults prior to Jan. 1 for which the six-year limitation had not yet expired, the statute of limitations continues indefinitely. SB 88 also makes changes tied to sexual abuse of minors, allowing for a civil cause of action for abuses going back to 1960. Victims of sexual misconduct, where the abuse took place between 1960 and prior to Jan. 1, 2022, must file the civil action by Jan. 1, 2025.