August 8th marks ninety days since state lawmakers wrapped up their annual session. Under Colorado law, that also makes it the day that many of the new policies they passed take effect.
Here are a few of the dozens of new laws going on to Colorado’s books:
Truth-in-pricing for event tickets
If you’ve ever experienced sticker shock at the end of the ticket-buying process (when a litany of last-minute service and facilities charges push your night out from splurge to budget-buster), then Colorado lawmakers feel your pain.
A new state law requires ticket sellers to show the full cost of a ticket upfront; the only charges that can be added on the back end are sales tax and a delivery fee. The law also requires venues to accept valid tickets purchased through a reseller and requires operators to guarantee refunds in certain circumstances.
New concealed carry permit requirements
State lawmakers moved this year to put more concrete requirements on the courses gun owners take to get a concealed carry permit. The new law requires at least eight hours of instruction, including a live fire exercise. Topics covered by the classes must include safe handling and storage of firearms, interactions with law enforcement as well as state and federal gun laws.
The law's Democratic backers say the beefed-up education will help keep gun owners and the people around them safer. However, opponents argue the new requirements are unnecessary and impose an unfair barrier for people seeking to defend themselves.
More resources to investigate illegal gun purchasers
Lawmakers are explicitly giving the Colorado Bureau of Investigation jurisdiction to investigate illegal guns and gun purchases. To help with that effort, the state is sending a $1.6 million infusion to put together an 11-person CBI team to look into things like ghost guns, straw purchases and people with felony records who try to buy weapons.
New warning signs for hikers who walk on private property
Under this new law, if a landowner posts a warning sign of potential dangers at the entry point where hikers and other recreators cross onto their property, they cannot be sued for a willful or malicious failure to protect people on their property.
The law also requires anyone entering private land for recreational purposes to stay on the designated trail, or else risk being deemed a trespasser.
Allowing people with felony convictions work in more professions
A criminal record will no longer be an automatic bar to entry for a wide range of licensed positions in the state. Instead, regulators will have to consider whether someone’s conviction history means they might pose a threat to public safety if they’re allowed into a particular line of work. They also can’t consider convictions more than three years after they’re handed down or three years after someone leaves prison.
The law does contain an exception for crimes directly related to the profession in question.
Backers say the change will help people move on from their criminal history by making it easier for them to find stable employment, while also broadening the labor pool for employers.
Motorcycle lane filtering
Motorcyclists in Colorado can now legally pass stopped cars under certain conditions: if traffic is stopped; the lanes are wide enough; the motorcyclist moves at 15 mph or less; and conditions permit “prudent operation” of the motorcycle while passing.
It’s still illegal for motorcyclists to pass a moving vehicle, pass on the right side of a vehicle, on a shoulder, or in the lane of oncoming traffic.
Lawmakers legalized the practice, called “lane filtering,” to protect motorcyclists from rear-end crashes.
Helping cities buy affordable housing
It may be getting somewhat easier for local governments to buy affordable housing projects and ensure they remain affordable.
The new law applies to apartment buildings that are currently designated as affordable housing. If the owner wants to sell such a building, they must notify the local government. If the local entity can match the best offer on the building, it gets to buy it. The local government would generally get up to 44 days to make an offer, and it must keep the property affordable after it’s purchased.
The idea is to preserve these affordable properties before their affordability restrictions expire. The right only applies to buildings that took advantage of tax credits and other affordable housing programs. The new “right of first refusal” policy is only temporary; it will expire in 2029 if lawmakers don’t extend it.
The bill would also require sellers to give advance notice when putting certain older apartment buildings on the market. Critics say it’s an impingement on property owners’ rights.
Broadband for apartment buildings
This law is meant to clear away obstacles for apartment tenants and mobile home residents who want to get broadband service but have run into hurdles with their property owners. It says that landlords have to allow broadband providers access to the property to install broadband service.
Increased fines for speeding 18-wheelers
Tractor-trailer drivers are no longer able to use the left lane on certain stretches of Interstate 70 through the mountains. Those areas are Glenwood Canyon, through Dowd Junction, over Vail Pass, in the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, on Georgetown Hill, and on Floyd Hill.
The new law also expands where truckers are required to carry chains during winter months. Those areas are now:
- Interstate Highway 70 (I-70) west of milepost 259 (Morrison);
- Colorado State Highway 9 from milepost 63 to milepost 97 (Frisco to Fairplay);
- U.S. Route 40 west of milepost 256 (Empire);
- U.S. Route 50 west of milepost 225 (Salida);
- U.S. Route 160 west of milepost 304 (Walsenburg);
- U.S. Route 285 west of milepost 250 (Morrison); and
- U.S. Route 550 from milepost 0 to 130.
Truckers are also subject to heightened speeding fines in Glenwood Canyon.
New coroner requirements in big counties
Until now, the only qualifications someone has needed to serve as a coroner in Colorado have been a high school diploma and to live in the county they serve.
Now, for the 11 counties with more than 150,000 residents, coroners will need to be licensed as either a forensic pathologist or a death investigator.
Planting of uncertified potatoes
The state is trying to do more to fight the PYV virus that has ravaged potato fields in Colorado and hurt growers’ ability to export their potatoes to other nations.
So under a new law, commercial potato farmers will have to get their seeds tested before planting them. That should result in them getting more information about the level of PYV virus that is present in their seed stock. However, the law does not actually ban farmers from planting virus-affected potato seeds — it just discourages the practice.
“We’re relying on common sense and best business practices. If a farmer gets their seed stock back and it’s at 30 percent [infected,] that is not a smart move to plant those,” said Rep. Matthew Martinez, a sponsor of the bill.
The testing requirement falls only on what are known as “uncertified” potato seeds. It doesn’t apply to certified potato seeds because those are already tested.
