by Thomas Morris

Progress Through 2017

In 2016, the General Assembly enacted S.B. 16-163, which directs the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) to study an organizational recodification of Title 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) governing the regulation of professions and occupations and to bring recommendations, including any legislative proposals to recodify the title, to the Committee on Legal Services (COLS). During the 2017 legislative session, in furtherance of the study recommendations, the General Assembly enacted 14 bills proposed by the COLS to relocate 21 articles to more appropriate titles in the C.R.S. (See the Title 12 Recodification Project’s website for links to these bills). The General Assembly also enacted a bill, H.B. 17-1006, to allow agencies that need to correct statutory citations in the code of Colorado regulations because of these relocations to do so without the notice, comment, and hearing that usually accompany rule making by submitting to the secretary of state a specific, written determination by the attorney general.

During the 2017 interim, the OLLS staff solicited feedback from stakeholders, drafted and distributed numerous relocation bills, and provided the COLS with updates regarding the project’s progress. During the COLS’s December meeting, the OLLS recommended, and the COLS approved, introducing for the 2018 legislative session 10 additional relocation bills. Nine of the relocation bills create a new Title 44 in the C.R.S. to which the bills will move current articles and parts in Titles 12 and 24 that are administered by the Department of Revenue. The tenth relocation bill relocates three articles and one part from Title 12 to other appropriate titles in the C.R.S.

Because of the complexity of the remainder of the project, which entails reorganizing and restructuring the articles administered by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DoRA) that remain in Title 12 and the need for more stakeholder meetings and in-depth discussions with the department and the regulated community, the OLLS recommended, and the COLS approved, introducing a bill to extend the Title 12 Recodification Project for one additional year.

2018 Regular Session Legislation

Members of the COLS are sponsoring the Title 12 Recodification Project bills in the 2018 legislative session. With the exception of the bill to extend the project, the bills simply relocate a particular set of statutes from one location in the C.R.S. to another location with minor technical updates and do not make any substantive changes to the law. Half of the relocation bills and the project extension bill were introduced in the Senate and the other half of the relocation bills were introduced in the House of Representatives. Here’s a list of the 11 bills introduced so far this session.

During the stakeholder process that the OLLS conducted during the 2017 interim, some interest was expressed in not only relocating but also reorganizing both the marijuana laws and the laws governing automobile dealers and power sports dealers. Staff have distributed draft bills to accomplish these reorganizations to stakeholders, but there was insufficient time to develop consensus on them before the beginning of the 2018 regular session. The OLLS therefore did not recommend the introduction of these bills to the COLS; if consensus is reached later there is still a possibility that one or both of these bills could be introduced in the 2018 regular session.

So, what’s left?

Actually, the whole point of the project – to reorganize Title 12. If all of the 2018 legislation is enacted, the only laws left in Title 12 will be those administered by DoRA. But they will still be in their preexisting form – with lots of duplicative or nearly duplicative requirements scattered throughout Title 12 and without the benefit of one or more common provisions articles that would apply broadly throughout Title 12. Additionally, there are several laws administered by DoRA relating to professions and occupations that are codified outside of Title 12 (primarily in Title 24) that would benefit from being codified along with the rest of DoRA’s Title 12 authorities.

The plan is for the OLLS to conduct more stakeholder outreach during the 2018 interim, distribute draft reorganization bills, and try to reach consensus on those bills by November. The OLLS would then present its recommendations to the COLS for the introduction of the consensus Title 12 reorganization legislation for the 2019 regular session. Stay tuned!

by Patti Dahlberg and Thomas Morris

The Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws (CCUSL) meets each year during the Uniform Law Commission’s (ULC) annual conference in July to discuss a preliminary agenda of approved uniform acts for consideration in Colorado. In addition, the CCUSL typically hosts one or more public meetings at the State Capitol to discuss the proposed legislation and to finalize its legislative agenda. The CCUSL sends advance notice of any meetings held in the Capitol to interested parties, posts meeting information on the General Assembly and the CCUSL websites, opens the meetings to public testimony, and broadcasts the meetings over the internet.

The CCUSL held meetings to discuss its legislative agenda on September 22, 2017, and November 3, 2017, and approved two ULC acts for introduction as commission bills for the 2018 regular session. These acts were not newly approved acts from this past ULC annual meeting in July, but were ULC-approved acts previously discussed and approved. They are:

• Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. Approved by the ULC in 2016, this update to the 1954, 1981, and 1995 versions of the act addresses recent technological developments and updates provisions on numerous issues, including gift cards and other stored-value cards, life insurance benefits, securities, dormancy periods, and use of contract auditors. Colorado first adopted the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act in 1987, and this new version of the act repeals and reenacts our current law governing how unclaimed property is determined, accounted for, and distributed.
• The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) was first approved by the ULC in 2000, last amended by the ULC in 2010, and has been adopted in more than half the states. The UTC is more than 150 pages long and replaces much of current Colorado trust law, so it is no surprise that it has taken a couple of years for review and consideration. The Colorado Bar Association (CBA) undertook the huge task of adapting the UTC to Colorado law, included numerous interested parties in discussions, and still maintained the act’s uniformity. The CBA will continue to work on the draft of the CCUSL bill and will work with the bill’s sponsor for introduction and passage of the act. Because the uniform act adopted in Colorado will include numerous amendments to fit within current law, the Colorado version will be called the Colorado Uniform Trust Code.

(For links to a preliminary draft of the Colorado Uniform Trust Code and some of the other ULC acts discussed in CCUSL meetings this year go to the CCUSL Meeting Documents Archive page and open the agenda for November 3, 2017.)

The ULC also approved six new acts for states to consider for legislation at the annual July meeting, but none of these acts will be drafted for introduction in Colorado this year. The CCUSL may consider introducing the following 2017 ULC acts in 2019:

• The Uniform Regulation of Virtual Currency Businesses Act: creates a statutory framework for regulating virtual currency business activity and covers a variety of businesses engaged in the exchange of virtual currencies.
• The Uniform Directed Trust Act: addresses the division of a trustee’s traditional responsibilities regarding estate planning and asset management among several specialists.
• The Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act: an updated version of the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act, originally promulgated in 1969. The commission is asking the CBA to form a special study group to look at how the act will work within current Colorado law and work with stakeholders most affected by the act’s changes.

The CCUSL, as a standing legislative committee, may recommend bills for introduction that are exempt from the five-bill limit imposed on legislators. Serving as CCUSL commissioners for 2017-18 are Senator Robert Gardner, former Senators Brandon Shaffer and Pat Steadman, Representative Cole Wist, and former Representatives Claire Levy and Anne McGihon. The CCUSL is Colorado’s delegation to the national ULC, which is comprised of more than 300 commissioners appointed by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The ULC has worked for the uniformity of state laws since 1892.

Other articles regarding the ULC and CCUSL:

• The Uniform Law Commission Works to Promote Uniformity of Law Among the States – August 6, 2015
• The Uniform Law Process Takes its Time – September 17, 2015
• The “C” in Uniform Law Commission – November 5, 2015