September 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. HR Green is monitoring the priorities of our state legislators. Here are our team’s insights on three topics that are making an immediate impact in Colorado.
SB23-183 Local Government Provision Of Communications Services
This bill is a repealing of several portions of legislation that present processes detailing how a community shall handle communications-related community issues.
- “Has redefined all the instances of “Advanced Service and High-Speed Internet” as Broadband Service
- Removes the requirement: 29-27-201. Vote – referendum. (1)-
Before a local government may engage or offer to engage in providing cable television service, telecommunications service, or advanced service, an election shall be called on whether or not the local government shall provide the proposed cable television service, or advance service. (2) The ballot at an election conducted pursuant to this section shall pose the question as a single subject and shall include a description of the nature of the proposed service, the rol that the local government will have in provision of the service, and the intended subscribers of such service. The ballot proposition shall not take effect until submitted to the electors and approved by the majority of those voting on the ballot.- There is not any mention of “Dig Once” policies, and thus these for the time being will be the responsibility of the local governments to choose if they want to adopt.
HB23-166 Establishment Of A Wildfire Resiliency Code Board
The board is currently funded for this bill, and final appointments to this board from entities shall be complete by September 30, 2023.
This board has several powers granted to it, and one is listed below.
- (II) ADOPT MINIMUM CODES AND STANDARDS, REFERRED TO IN THIS SECTION AS THE “CODES”, THAT MUST:
- (A) BE BASED ON BEST PRACTICES TO REDUCE THE RISK TO LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM THE EFFECTS OF WILDFIRES;
- The bills minimum codes and standards will apply to any community identified in a Wildland-Urban Interface
- DEFINE THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE AND IDENTIFY THE AREAS OF COLORADO THAT ARE INCLUDED WITHIN IT; EXCEPT THAT, PAGE 6-SENATE BILL 23-166 NOTWITHSTANDING THE AREA THAT THE BOARD IDENTIFIES AS INCLUDED WITHIN THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE, ANY THIRTY-FIVE ACRE PARCEL WITH ONLY ONE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE ON IT THAT DOES NOT ABUT A RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL AREA IS EXEMPT FROM ADHERENCE TO THE CODES. IN DEFINING COLORADO’S WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE, THE BOARD MAY CONSIDER BEST PRACTICES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PRACTICES OF OTHER STATES AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT; REGIONAL DIFFERENCES AND RISKS WITHIN THE STATE; ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY IMPACTS; ANY EXISTING DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE; AND INDIVIDUAL RISK PROFILES IDENTIFIED BY THE COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE. THE DEFINITION OF THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE SHALL BE UPDATED ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS, AS THE BOARD DETERMINES MAY BE NECESSARY.
- Shall apply to all new construction, alterations, or repairs of structures identified in the Wildland-Urban Interface by this board
SB23-213 Land Use
As this bill did not pass in the previous legislative session, it is now one of the major topics of discussion for the next legislative session.
- The previous bill stated that objective standards will not be violated which is typically referring to engineering design manuals and building code (typically modeled after the International Business Code (IBC) with local enhancements)
- The “Ten Year Plan” was referred to as an instrument for the communication of the state’s residential requirements for areas related to state highway right-of-way
- In the early versions of this bill, it was attempting to standardize state water loss accounting with the technical guidance per the AWWA “Water Audits and Loss Control Programs” Manual M36 and its accompanying free software
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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