Government - Local - Digest of Bills

Digest of Bills - 2006

GOVERNMENT - LOCAL

S.B. 06-90 Illegal immigration - "sanctuary" policies - local cooperation with federal immigration officials - prohibited ordinances and policies - required reporting of illegal immigrant status. Prohibits a local government from passing any ordinance or policy that would limit or prohibit a peace officer, local official, or local government employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of a person within the state.

Requires a peace officer who has probable cause to believe that an arrestee for a criminal offense is not legally present in the United States to report the person to the federal immigration and customs enforcement office if the arrestee is not held at a detention facility. If the arrestee is held at a detention facility and the county sheriff reasonably believes that the arrestee is not legally present in the United States, requires the sheriff to report the arrestee to the federal immigration and customs enforcement office. Exempts arrestees who are arrested for a suspected act of domestic violence.

Requires each local government to provide notice to peace officers of the duty to report and to provide written confirmation of such notice and reporting statistics to the general assembly. Prohibits a local government that violates this provision from receiving any grants administered by the department of local affairs.

APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2006
EFFECTIVE May 1, 2006

S.B. 06-95 Special district elections - limitations on transfer of property rights for purpose of qualifying electors. Prohibits any person from knowingly taking or placing title to taxable property in the name of another or entering into a contract to purchase or sell taxable property for the purpose of attempting to qualify such person as an eligible elector at any special district election or from aiding or assisting any person to do so. Makes void any ballot cast in violation of the act as determined in an election contest.

Specifies the limited circumstances in which a person may take or place title to taxable property in the name of another or enter into a contract to purchase or sell taxable property for the purpose of attempting to qualify such person as an eligible elector for a special district election.

Specifies that the incidental qualification of the spouse of a person as an eligible elector shall not constitute a qualification of more than the number of voters necessary to be eligible electors.

Specifies that it shall not constitute a violation of the act for a person to take or place title to taxable property in the name of another or to enter into a contract to purchase or sell taxable property in substitution of property acquired in accordance with the act.

Specifies that any person who is an eligible elector as of July 1, 2006, or who has been qualified as an eligible elector under the act shall remain qualified as an eligible elector until such time as the person ceases to meet the applicable qualifications.

Specifies that any person elected to a board whose qualification as an eligible elector is not challenged and overturned shall not be subject to further challenge based upon qualification as a property owner under the act for the remainder of the person's term in office.

APPROVED by Governor March 29, 2006
EFFECTIVE March 29, 2006

S.B. 06-145 Local government - fee authority - reimbursement - unreimbursed medicaid costs. Authorizes a local government to charge a fee on the gross or net revenue of certain medical providers located within its territorial boundaries for the purposes of obtaining federal financial participation under the state's medicaid program to reimburse providers for unreimbursed medicaid costs. Subject to federal medicaid regulations, authorizes a local government, in any given year, to elect to not assess the fee imposed on certain medical providers and not make the reimbursements to the providers for that year. Requires the local government to certify to the department of health care policy and financing ("department") the amount paid to qualified providers for unreimbursed medicaid costs, which shall include the distribution of the fee collected. Requires the local government to pay qualified providers within the local government's territorial boundaries consistent with the department's calculation of the unreimbursed medicaid costs for the qualified providers within that territorial boundary.

Requires the department to amend the state medicaid plan, effective July 1, 2006, for the purpose of paying for unreimbursed medicaid costs incurred by qualified providers. Requires the medical services board to define unreimbursed medicaid costs by rule. Requires the department to distribute to a local government that has certified payment to qualified providers the federal financial participation received for eligible unreimbursed medicaid costs of the qualified providers within the local government's territorial boundaries.

BECAME LAW May 5, 2006
EFFECTIVE May 5, 2006

S.B. 06-148 Community policing program - local community policing plans - grant applications - division of criminal justice - administration of grants - funding. Creates the Colorado community policing program (program) in the division of criminal justice (division) for the purpose of providing grants to local law enforcement agencies to implement community policing plans designed to reduce or prevent crime in communities and at-risk neighborhoods.

Authorizes the division to administer the program and to establish procedures for the submittal of grant applications by local law enforcement agencies seeking to implement a community policing plan or to continue the operation of an existing program. Requires a local law enforcement agency to apply to the division in order to be eligible for a grant from the community policing program cash fund and for the application to include a plan that meets the criteria developed by the division. Specifies certain community policing activities a plan may include.

Directs the division to select those local law enforcement agencies that will receive grants through the program and the amount of each grant. Creates the community policing program cash fund. Authorizes the division to accept grants, gifts, or donations from any private or public source for purposes of implementing the program.

APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2006
EFFECTIVE May 25, 2006

S.B. 06-154 Eminent domain - entities, individuals, and corporations authorized to use.Without making any substantive changes to the law of eminent domain, cross-references in a single statutory section various statutory provisions and a constitutional provision that pertain to the power of eminent domain in order to help Coloradans to more easily determine whether any given governmental entity, corporation, or person may exercise the power of eminent domain and identify the procedural requirements that the entity, corporation, or person must follow in exercising the power of eminent domain.

APPROVED by Governor April 6, 2006
EFFECTIVE August 7, 2006
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

H.B. 06-1143 Election employees and election judges - criminal history records check.Requires a county clerk and recorder to request criminal history records from the public website maintained by the Colorado bureau of investigation for county employees who staff a vote counting center and who have access to voting systems or equipment. Requires the request to be made annually prior to the first election of the year. Authorizes a clerk and recorder, in his or her discretion, to request the criminal history records of an election judge. Allows a clerk and recorder that does not have access to a credit card to request that the county sheriff access the criminal records.

APPROVED by Governor March 27, 2006
EFFECTIVE March 27, 2006

H.B. 06-1159 Municipal annexation of enclaves - annexation transition committee - intergovernmental agreements pertaining to annexation. In the case of an enclave the population of which exceeds 100 persons according to the most recent United States census and that contains more than 50 acres, prohibits the enclave from being annexed unless the governing body of the annexing municipality has:

● Created an annexation transition committee (committee) composed of 9 members, 5 of whom shall reside, operate a business, or own real property within the enclave, 2 of whom shall represent the annexing municipality, and 2 of whom shall represent one or more counties in which the enclave is situated; and

● Published notice of the creation and existence of the committee, together with appropriate contact information, in the same manner as provided by current law for notices of annexation petitions and resolutions initiating annexation proceedings.

Specifies the following duties of the committee:

● To serve as a means of communication between or among the annexing municipality, one or more counties within which the enclave is situated, and the persons who reside, operate a business, or own real property within the enclave regarding any public meetings on the proposed annexation; and

● To provide a mechanism by which persons who reside, operate a business, or own real property within the enclave may communicate with the annexing municipality or any counties within which the enclave is situated regarding the proposed annexation.

Requires any municipality that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement that addresses issues pertaining to the annexation of enclaves to promptly record the agreement with the clerk and recorder of any county within which any land area addressed in the agreement is situated.

APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2006
EFFECTIVE September 1, 2006