Twenty new laws are set to hit the books on Jan. 1, 2023. Here’s a look at what changes in the Colorado Revised Statutes.

House Bill 22-1025: Repeals eight tax breaks that have had little usefulness. The state will gain revenue from the repeals, to the tune of about $400,000 in fiscal year 2023-24. What those tax breaks include:

• an income tax credit for investment in technologies for recycling plastics
• an income tax credit for crop or livestock contributions to a charitable organization.

House Bill 1031: The consumer right to repair wheelchairs legislation requires manufacturers of power wheelchairs to supply documentation and parts to independent repair shops. Currently, it’s usually only the manufacturer that can conduct those repairs. Under the law, the manufacturer could face deceptive trade fines for refusing to supply the information or parts for those repairs.

House Bill 1043: Changes the definition of “autocycle” to distinguish it from a motorcycle. An autocycle, under the law, is a three-wheeled motor vehicle in which the driver and each passenger ride in a fully or partly enclosed seating area equipped with seat belts. Under the law, drivers of autocycles would not need a motorcycle endorsement on their drivers’ licenses and would no longer have to pay certain fees for motorcycle operator safety training.

House Bill 1067: Modifies the law around municipal bond hearings. Under the law, a municipal court must hold a bond hearing within 48 hours after receipt of notice that the defendant is being held only on a municipal hold. Under current law, municipal courts do not count Sundays or holidays for purposes of bond hearings; the law would include Sundays and holidays under that 48-hour requirement.

House Bill 1099: One of the consumer protection laws from the 2022 session, this law requires online marketplaces that use third-party sellers to require those sellers to provide a bank account, contact information, business or individual tax ID number and a current email address and phone number. The law also requires online marketplaces to suspend the accounts of third-party sellers that refuse to provide or keep current their information, and the online dealer must verify that the information is correct. The law applies to third-party sellers with at least $20,000 per year in annual gross revenues.

House Bill 1254: Cracks down on people who move to Colorado and don’t register their motor vehicles in a timely manner. Under the law, those who fail to register within 90 days will be assessed late fees and be required to pay back taxes and fees. Current law requires residents to register vehicles within 60 days of purchase or within 90 days of becoming a Colorado resident. The Department of Revenue already assesses a $25 per month penalty once that 90 days has expired without vehicle registration, to a maximum of $100. The law adds back-dated taxes and fees that begin with the date the person becomes a Colorado resident.

Portions of House Bill 1326, the controversial measure dealing with fentanyl, also go into effect on Jan. 1. The most significant change is that on Jan. 1, a county jail that receive funding for jail-based behavioral health services programs must develop and publish a policy on or before Jan. 1 that describes how it will handle medication-assisted treatment and other appropriate withdrawal management care upon a person’s release from jail. The Department of Public Health and Environment is also required to contract with a third party that will develop an independent study on the implementation of HB 1326 by Jan. 1. That study will look at data on criminal charges filed tied to fentanyl and certain other drugs, the disposition of the case, if the defendant served time in jail or prison and whether that defendant received substance abuse treatment; age, gender and race of the defendant and whether the defendant was represented by a court-appointed attorney, a determinant of income.

Managed care organizations have new responsibilities as of Jan. 1 from HB 1326, including providing short-term residential placements for withdrawal management, crisis stabilization or medication-assisted treatment for those in immediate need of detox services.

Jan. 1 also marks the date that emergency service providers, emergency departments, state and local law enforcement, sheriffs, and coroners may participate in a web-based overdose detection mapping application program. That program would track incidences of fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses. Participation in the mapping program, however, is voluntary, not mandatory.

Senate Bill 204: Current law allows the Department of Revenue to issue a driver’s license, instruction permit, or identification card to a person who is lawfully present in the United States if the person qualifies for the ID, produces documents that satisfies the department’s requirement that the person is lawfully present, or if the federal government confirms the person’s status. SB 204 removes the federal government provision.

Office of Legislative Legal Services Digest of Bills, 2022By MARIANNE GOODLAND
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.comMarianneGoodland, Colorado Politics
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
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