Twenty-eight new laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Here’s a look at a few that most affect people’s wallets.

The law that everyone will notice

The end to grocery, convenience and retail food establishments handing out – or allowing you to pay for – plastic bags. 

That’s the result of a 2021 law that bans plastic bags for just about any retail sales establishment. Stores that still have plastic bags in their inventories have until June 1, 2024 to use them up.

From the 2022 session

Three new laws go into effect on Monday, most notably new rules around minimum standards for ambulance services. The law would, for the first time, license and regulate ground ambulance services in Colorado, although air ambulance services are already covered under other existing laws.

Those standards include the minimum equipment carried on an ambulance, staffing requirements, medical oversight and quality assurance of ambulance services, issuing licenses and how complaints against an ambulance service are handled.

From the 2023 session

Farmers and ranchers will have the ability to repair their own agricultural equipment, under HB 23-1011. The law requires manufacturers of ag equipment to provide parts, software, firmware, tools, or documentation to ag equipment owners or independent repair shops. 

A law that puts limits on homeowner and fire insurance providers on their policies around pets goes into effect on Monday. Under HB 23-1068, insurers would not be allowed to change premiums, refuse to issue policies, cancel or refuse to renew a policy based on a particular dog breed, unless the premium is abased on “sound underwriting and actuarial principles.”

Beginning Jan. 1, medical providers must obtain informed consent from patients before conducting intimate examinations of that patient when they are sedated or unconscious under HB 23-1077.

A law allowing remote participation in eviction hearings also goes on the books Monday. HB 23-1186 continues the practice that began during COVID-19 of allowing those who face evictions to ask for remote access to county court hearings.

For the first time, candidates seeking a municipal office, as of Jan. 1, 2024, will have to abide by campaign contribution limits established under HB 23-1245. The new limits are $400 for individual contributions and a maximum of $4,000 for contributions from small donor committees (such as those that obtain funds from members). 

A law carried by four Western Slope lawmakers intends to put the brakes on speeding commercial trucks on public highways. Under HB 23-1267, and beginning Monday, fines will double for commercial truckers who speed on a public highway where the downhill grade is 5% or greater.

Veterans with disabilities should have an easier time of applying for the homestead property tax exemption under Senate Bill 23-036. The law removes a requirement for a second application, previously sent to the Division of Veterans Affairs, and now only requires one application, to be sent to the veteran’s county assessor. 

Under Senate Bill 23-039, as of Jan. 1, new rules from the Department of Human Services should be in place to help facilitate communication and family time between children and their parents who are incarcerated. 

A new set of protections, including medical standards, for people with eating disorders goes into effect Monday. Under SB 23-176, health insurers are prohibited from using body mass index (BMI), ideal body weight, or other standards around weight when determining the appropriate care for someone with a diagnosed eating disorder.

The law also considers it a “deceptive trade practice” if a retail store sells over-the-counter diet pills to anyone under 18 years of age.

Minimum wage and family leave 

Colorado’s minimum wage will increase from $13.65 to $14.42 per hour. The hourly rate for tipped employees will increase from $10.63 to $11.40 per hour.

Beginning Jan. 1, many Colorado employees will be eligible to file for benefits for the first time under the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act, adopted under a 2020 voter-approved ballot measure.