December 2023 Bite-Size Colorado Legislation News
Discover the latest updates on Colorado State Legislation! As new legislation is introduced, it’s important to stay informed about the changes it may bring. The following are immediately impactful topics from the recent legislative session.
First Extraordinary Session Convened on November 7, 2023
An emergency session of the Colorado State Assembly was called after Proposition HH was rejected by the Colorado voters. This session sought to bring about property tax relief due to a significant rise in the average property tax value in Colorado.
- HB23B-1003 – A commission to study Colorado Property Tax was created and it shall have a board of 19 members. The purpose of the commission is “TO IDENTIFY, CONSIDER, AND EVALUATE LEGISLATIVE OPTIONS FOR A PERMANENT AND SUSTAINABLE PROPERTY TAX STRUCTURE FOR THE STATE”.
- HB23B-1001 – A rental assistance grant program was created to provide aid to residential tenants who have an annual household income of 80% or less of the median income for their area and are at risk of facing eviction or displacement.
- SB23B-001 – This bill temporarily reduces the property tax rate from 6.765% to 6.7%. The state will be required to backfill local governmental entities for a total of $54,000,000.
- SB23B-003 – This bill equalizes all TABOR refunds. The refund will be $1,600 for two qualifying taxpayers filing jointly and $800 for one qualifying taxpayer.
Summary of the Previously Submitted Water Loss Accounting of SB23-213, Section 14
(https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023A/bills/2023a_213_01.pdf)
This portion of the bill was not considered overly controversial and laid out a method to standardize water loss accounting across the state.
- Proposed the use of the American Water Works Association, Manual M36: “Water Audits and Loss Control Programs” and its accompanying free water audit software.
- The Colorado Water Conservation Board shall adopt guidelines for Water Loss Accounting.
- Attendance of one of the following from a covered entity will be required to attend any water loss audit submitted to the board:
- The Chief Financial Officer
- The Chief Engineer, or
- The General Manager
- Technical and Financial Assistance is available for qualifying entities.
Recent Federal ADA PROWAG Rules Clarifications
(https://www.access-board.gov/prowag/preamble.html)
The distinction between an alteration and maintenance have been expanded upon, please read the linked document (https://archive.ada.gov/doj-fhwa-ta.htm).
- Please take note that there are a high number of requirements for low to no visibility pedestrians such as dark-on-light and light-on-dark contrasting for truncated domes, the material of truncated domes and audible pedestrian signals.
- MUTCD references will be eliminated in PROWAG, and these references will be directly provided as part of the ADA design manual.
- The minimum accessible route clear width will increase from 36” to 48”.
- An exception to meeting some requirements will be in place for streets with a grade of 5% or more, as the accessible route will be allowed to match this grade.
- At a curb ramp, if it requires “chasing grade” to meet compliance, only 15’ of chasing will be required. A transition shall be allowed to be placed outside of the typical landing to match grade. This shall be handled on a case-by-case basis for each curb ramp.
- Curb ramps will be required to be directed into the intended direction of travel. This will impact the previous allowance of diagonal ramps that were intended to cover two paths of travel, the design will need to be adjusted such that it orients the path of travel ramps in both directions.
- Please take note this is a brief summary of particular changes, and there are additional details on the ADA PROWAG website.
In next month’s newsletter, we will be covering the upcoming Colorado legislative session.
Note: The material contained in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent a legal opinion on any subject matter. We encourage you to review this summary and consult with your legal counsel to determine applicability to your particular situation.
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