The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - Mail Packet - 03/18/2025 - Legislative Review Committee Agenda – March 18, 2025 City Manager’s Office 970.221.6505 fcgov.com Legislative Review Committee Agenda Tuesday, March 18, 2025 4:00 - 5:00PM Council Information Chambers (CIC) in City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave In-person with Teams option: Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 251 152 965 654 Passcode: WM2n4GF6 Upon request, the City of Fort Collins will provide language access services for individuals who have limited English proficiency, or auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities, to access City services, programs and activities. Contact 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Dial 711 for Relay Colorado) for assistance. Please provide advance notice. Requests for interpretation at a meeting should be made by noon the day before. A solicitud, la Ciudad de Fort Collins proporcionará servicios de acceso a idiomas para personas que no dominan el idioma inglés, o ayudas y servicios auxiliares para personas con discapacidad, para que puedan acceder a los servicios, programas y actividades de la Ciudad. Para asistencia, llame al 970.221.6515 (V/TDD: Marque 711 para Relay Colorado). Por favor proporcione aviso previo cuando sea posible. Las solicitudes de interpretación en una reunión deben realizarse antes del mediodía del día anterior. A. Call Meeting to Order B. Approval of Minutes from March 4, 2025. Draft attached C. Bill Overview and Discussion Position Bills a. HB-1029: Municipal Authority over Certain Land-Support – (PASSED and headed to Governor!) b. HB-1039 Commercial Vehicle Muffler Requirements- Support c. HB- 1044: Local Funding for Vulnerable Road User Protection-Support (PI’d; new bill anticipated) d. HB-1051: Repeal Recycled Bag Carryout Fee- Oppose (has been Postponed Indefinitely) e. HB-1056: Local Government Permitting Wireless Telecommunications Facilities-Oppose f. HB-1060: Electronic Fence Detection System – Oppose g. HB-1077: Backflow Prevention Devices Requirement – Support (Passed) h. HB-1096: Automated Permits for Clean Energy Technology – Oppose i. HB-1113: Limit Turf in New Residential Development – Monitor j. HB-1147: Fairness and Transparency in Municipal Court – Oppose (Passed) k. HB-1224: Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act Modifications (CML Amend) l. HB-1268: Utility On-Bill Repayment Program Financing – Support m. HB-1272: Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing – Support n. SB-001: Colorado Voting Rights Act – Monitor o. SB-002: Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures – Amend p. SB-020: Tenant and Landlord Law Enforcement – Amend (Sponsor NOT open to amendments) q. SB-030: Increase Transportation Mode Choice Reduce Emissions – Amend r. SB-077: Modifications to Colorado Open Records Act – Monitor s. SB-163: Battery Storage Programs – Support City Manager’s Office 970.221.6505 fcgov.com Tracked Bills a. HB-1031: Law Enforcement Whistleblower Protection (CML Amend) b. HB-1032: Improving Infrastructure to Reduce Homelessness (CML Amend) c. HB 1042: Air Quality Control Regulation Workforce Impact (Fiscal Note) d. HB-1169: Housing Developments on Faith and Educational Land (CML Oppose) e. HB- 1239: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CML Oppose) (Fiscal Note) f. HB-1273: Residential Building Stair Modernization (CML Amend) g. HB-1276: Court Actions Related to failure to Appear in Court (CML Support) h. HB-1295: Food Truck Operations (CML Oppose) i. SB-132: Spirituous Liquor Manufacturer Tastings Conducted (CML Oppose) j. SB-161: Transit Reform (CML Amend) k. SB 182: Embodied Carbon Reduction (Fiscal Note) Noted Bills that Passed a. HB-1030: Accessibility Standards in Building Codes (CML Opposed) b. HB-1180: Prohibiting Pet Animal Sales in Public Spaces (CML Amend) D. CC4CA/CML Policy related E. Other Business F. Adjournment Next Scheduled Committee Meetings: • Tuesday, April 1, 2025 at 4:00 PM • Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM • Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM • Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM City Manager’s Office 970.221.6505 fcgov.com DRAFT-Legislative Review Committee Minutes Tuesday, March 4, 2025 A. Meeting Called to Order at 4:01 PM Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Canonico, Councilmember Pignataro, Councilmember Gutowsky (Alternate), Councilmember Ohlson Staff/Guests Present: Ginny Sawyer, Tyler Marr, Max Valadez, Sylvia Tatman-Burruss, Megan DeMasters, Dianne Criswell, Brian Tholl, Jenn Cassell, Ed Bowditch B. Approval of Minutes from February 4, 2025. Draft attached. a. Moved by Pignataro, seconded by Ohlson, motion passed 3-0. C. Bill Overview and Discussion Position Bills a. HB-1029: Municipal Authority over Certain Land-Support Continued work with sponsors and stakeholders on concerns regarding current park policing statutes. Finalization expected next week. b. HB-1039 Commercial Vehicle Muffler Requirements- Support c. HB- 1044: Local Funding for Vulnerable Road User Protection-Support (new bill anticipated) Expecting an insurer fee or surcharge on auto policies, expect an amendment or new bill. d. HB-1051: Repeal Recycled Bag Carryout Fee- Oppose (Postponed Indefinitely) e. HB-1056: Local Government Permitting Wireless Telecommunications Facilities-Oppose f. HB-1060: Electronic Fence Detection System – Oppose Bill surrounded by a lot of misinformation. Close House vote; Likely to will be rejected in the Senate. g. HB-1224: Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act Modifications (CML Amend) h. HB-1077: Backflow Prevention Devices Requirement – Support i. HB-1096: Automated Permits for Clean Energy Technology – Oppose In Finance Committee. Staff to provide testimony on permit system costs. j. HB-1113: Limit Turf in New Residential Development – Monitor k. HB-1147: Fairness and Transparency in Municipal Court – Oppose No additional testimony planned. l. SB-001: Colorado Voting Rights Act – Monitor m. SB-002: Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures – Amend n. SB-020: Tenant and Landlord Law Enforcement – Amend Awaiting response from sponsor on amendment request. o. SB-030: Increase Transportation Mode Choice Reduce Emissions – Amend MPO requesting bicycle and pedestrian inventory. Aim to shift burden off local governments. p. SB-077: Modifications to Colorado Open Records Act – Monitor Tracked Bills a. HB-1031: Law Enforcement Whistleblower Protection (CML Amend) Recent amendments insufficient. Further revisions expected. b. HB-1032: Improving Infrastructure to Reduce Homelessness (CML Amend) c. HB-1112: Local Authorities Enforce Vehicle Registration (CML Support) d. HB-1152: Tech Accessibility Liability Contractor (CML Support) e. HB-1169: Housing Developments on Faith and Educational Land (CML Oppose) Rep. Boesenecker open to further discussion. Concerns over ease of church establishment in City Manager’s Office 970.221.6505 fcgov.com CO, however federal property tax exemption may address. Proposed amendment: local governments can follow current deed restrictions; 20% of housing at 80% AMI. Committee monitoring further developments. f. HB-1224: Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act Modification (CML Amend) CML amendment would remove local opt-out option. g. HB- 1239: Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CML Oppose) Secured an amendment to lower damage caps and provide correction time for local governments. Considering another amendment to halve the damage cap. h. HB-1247: County Lodging Tax Expansion i. HB- 1261: Consumers Construction Defect Act (CML Oppose) More consumer-friendly than alternative bills, but opposition due to potential increase in litigation, discouraging affordable housing development. j. HB-1272: Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing (CML Support) Compromise bill. Supports middle-market housing with occupancy certification protections and warranties. k. HB-1276: Court Actions Related to failure to Appear in Court (CML supports) Bipartisan bill addressing monetary conditions for release. Allows fines after multiple no- shows for certain offenses. Staff to follow up on rationale for City's current non-support stance. D. CC4CA/CML Policy Related a. HB-1241: Accessibility of Admission Records – Likely to fail due to fiscal note concerns. b. HB-1268: Utility On-Bill Repayment Program Financing – CC4CA Support Committee agrees with support stance. c. HB 1269: Building Decarbonization Measures Covers performance standards for buildings over 50K sq. ft. Possible amendment for wildfire resiliency plans. d. Proposed Bill from Estes Park – Fee on second homes for affordable housing. Not expected to advance. e. HB-1093: Land Use Limitations & Local Anti-Growth – CML Oppose Bipartisan sponsorship; potential to pass in the Senate. f. HB-1113: Turf Limits in Residential Developments Clarified multi-family definition to 12+ units. Passed in House. CML seeking amendments. g. Battery Stewardship Program (HB-163?) CML supports. Committee agreed to back the bill. E. Other Business a. HB-1042: Bipartisan Support i. CC4CA in amend position; CML has no position. Monitoring. F. Meeting Adjourned at 5:04 PM. Bill explanations and comparisons requested at March 4, 2025 LRC Meeting. HB-1147: Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court Overall concern: Bill is very broad and most problematic in Section 6 which addresses sentencing and ﬁnes. Our Municipal Court Judge recently testiﬁed on 2/26 to oppose this bill during the Judiciary hearing. The City currently complies with many aspects of this bill, however, below are some of the concerns: • Section 2 regarding remote participation could add cost to City to for speciﬁc equipment as well as a potential increase in court staffing. • Section 6 of the bill, amends C.R.S. § 13-10-113 (Fines and Penalties); o Requires municipal charges align with the similar state charge maximum penalty. Currently the city has one level for misdemeanor violations with a maximum penalty of up to180 days in jail, and/or up to $3000 ﬁne. Examples include:  For higher-level misdemeanors such as assault and harassment (physical). City has up to 180 days/ $3000 ﬁne, the state equivalent is up to 364 days and $1000 ﬁne. Our ﬁne would need to be adjusted down to $1000 max for this type of crime but the city max jail is already lower than the state so we wouldn’t need to amend that.  For other types of misdemeanors such as harassment (non-physical) and Theft (over $300 but less than $1000) our max is 180 days/$3000 ﬁne, the state equivalent is a max of 120 days jail/ $750 ﬁne. The City would need to adjust the possible penalties to lower both the jail and ﬁne for the city to 120 days jail/$750 ﬁne.  Civil infractions- state caps the penalty at not more than $100 ﬁne. The City’s current ﬁne is up to $3000, although the range actually imposed is generally $100- $1000. Having a cap on ﬁnes such as Building Efficiency Water Scoring (BEWS) cases could be problematic since it may be cheaper for someone to “take the ticket” pay the max $1000 ﬁne rather than make potentially costly repairs and upgrades to their building to comply with the city’s BEWS standards o The City also has municipal-only charges that have no state equivalent; for these, HB25-1147 has a catch-all, which caps the no-equivalent state charge penalty at the state “petty offense” maximum – 10 days jail and/or $300 ﬁne. This would essentially reclassify many of the City’s offenses to “petty offenses” instead of misdemeanors. • Issues: o Requires rewrite to large sections of the code. o Reduces likelihood of participants in some alternative sentencing programs like the right track and drug court. o Removes the City’s home rule authority and ability to be responsive to certain types of crime we see in our community vs what is happening in other parts of the state. o The City’s innovative specialty courts may be rendered useless. HB 1276: Court Actions Related to Failure to Appear in Court This is a different topic for Municipal Court from anything addressed in HB25-1147. This bill only addresses people who fail to appear in municipal court. It is very convoluted and confusing the way it is written, however, If the City wants to support one bill over the other, this bill should be supported in lieu of HB25-1147. • The City complies with much of 1276, since our maximum penalties for misdemeanors are not over 180 days, the City currently cannot authorize a monetary bond amount unless there is a state equivalent change. • Therefore, most people receive a personal recognizance – PR bond instead of a monetary bond setting. This bill would allow us to set a monetary bond in cases where a defendant has failed to appear 2-3 times previously, which would be helpful. For example, we have a current defendant who has 19 open cases because every time they get arrested, they get a PR bond and then never show up to court until they get arrested on another new case. • HB25-1276 provides some additional authority to set a bond – prior to the “failure to appear” – when the City’s charge does not have a state equivalent. • HB25-1276 does have a few provisions that could create additional work for the Court (checking databases). Fort Collins Position Bills – March 18, 2025 Bill # Title Description Position Sponsors (House and Senate) HB25-1029 Municipal Authority over Certain Land Concerning the scope of municipal authority over land that a municipality acquires that is outside its municipal limits. Support House: A. Boesenecker (D); Senate: L. Liston (R), C. Kipp (D) HB25-1039 Commercial Vehicle Muffler Requirements Concerning muffler requirements for commercial vehicles. Support House: B. Titone (D), L. Smith (D); Senate: M. Catlin (R), D. Roberts (D) HB25-1044 Local Funding for Vulnerable Road User Protection Concerning authorization for local governments to generate additional fee-based funding for local vulnerable road user protection strategies. Support House: A. Boesenecker (D); Senate: F. Winter (D), L. Cutter (D) HB25-1051 Repeal Recycled Paper Carryout Bag Fee Concerning repealing the requirement that retail establishments charge a fee for providing recycled paper carryout bags. Oppose House: R. Gonzalez (R), R. Pugliese (R); Senate: B. Pelton (R) HB25-1056 Local Government Permitting Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Concerning local government permitting of wireless telecommunications facilities. Oppose House: J. Bacon (D), M. Lukens (D); Senate: D. Roberts (D), N. Hinrichsen (D) HB25-1060 Electronic Fence Detection Systems Concerning the use of electronic fence detection systems. Oppose House: M. Soper (R), C. Clifford (D); Senate: K. Mullica (D), B. Kirkmeyer (R) HB25-1077 Backflow Prevention Devices Requirements Concerning requirements for individuals who work on backflow prevention devices, and, in connection therewith, removing the licensure requirement for individuals who inspect, test, or repair the devices. Support House: N. Ricks (D), S. Lieder (D); Senate: D. Roberts (D), J. Rich (R) HB25-1096 Automated Permits for Clean Energy Technology Concerning automated permitting for residential clean energy technology projects, and, in connection therewith, requiring counties and municipalities over a certain population and the state electrical board to implement an automated residential solar permitting platform to review and issue permits related to residential solar panel installations. Oppose House: L. Smith (D), K. Brown (D); Senate: M. Ball (D) HB25-1113 Limit Turf in New Residential Development Concerning limiting the use of certain landscaping practices in new residential development. Monitor House: L. Smith (D), K. McCormick (D); Senate: D. Roberts (D) HB25-1147 Fairness & Transparency in Municipal Court Concerning measures to ensure that municipal court defendants are subject to similar conditions as state court defendants. Oppose House: J. Mabrey (D), E. Velasco (D); Senate: M. Weissman (D), J. Amabile (D) HB25-1224 Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act Modifications Concerning modification of the ""Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act"". Monitor House: B. Titone (D), M. Soper (R); Senate: M. Snyder (D) 2 HB25-1268 Utility On-Bill Repayment Program Financing Concerning the financing of a utility on-bill repayment program for certain energy- related improvements. Support House: M. Froelich (D), J. Joseph (D); Senate: F. Winter (D), K. Mullica (D) HB25-1272 Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing Concerning housing. Support House: S. Bird (D), A. Boesenecker (D); Senate: J. Coleman (D), D. Roberts (D) SB25-001 Colorado Voting Rights Act Concerning the administration of elections, and, in connection therewith, creating the Colorado Voting Rights Act. Monitor Senate: J. Gonzales (D); House: J. Bacon (D), J. Joseph (D) SB25-002 Regional Building Codes for Factory-Built Structures Concerning the development of regional building codes that account for local climatic and geographic conditions for the construction and installation of residential and nonresidential factory-built structures. Amend Senate: J. Bridges (D), T. Exum Sr. (D); House: A. Boesenecker (D), R. Stewart (D) SB25-020 Tenant and Landlord Law Enforcement Concerning the enforcement of existing landlord-tenant law. Amend Senate: M. Weissman (D), J. Gonzales (D); House: M. Lindsay (D), J. Mabrey (D) SB25-030 Increase Transportation Mode Choice Reduce Emissions Concerning measures to increase transportation mode choice to reduce emissions. Amend Senate: F. Winter (D), N. Hinrichsen (D); House: M. Froelich (D) SB25-077 Modifications to Colorado Open Records Act Concerning modifications to the ""Colorado Open Records Act"". Monitor Senate: J. Rich (R), C. Kipp (D); House: M. Soper (R), M. Carter (D) SB25-163 Battery Stewardship Programs Concerning the establishment of battery stewardship programs for the disposal of certain batteries. Support Senate: L. Cutter (D); House: K. Brown (D), R. Stewart (D) Fort Collins Tracking Bills – March 18, 2025 Bill # Title Summary HB25- 1031 Law Enforcement Whistleblower Protection The bill creates a civil cause of action for a peace officer if the peace officer reports or discloses conduct that is in violation of, or the peace officer reasonably believes is in violation of, any law or policy and the report or disclosure is a contributing factor in the employer of the peace officer's decision to take adverse employment action against the peace officer. A peace officer may seek the following damages: • Reinstatement, with or without back pay; • Any other equitable relief the court deems appropriate; • Compensatory damages for other pecuniary losses, emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses; and • Reasonable attorney fees and costs. If the court finds that an action or defense brought was frivolous, groundless, or vexatious, the court may award costs and attorney fees to the defendant or peace officer, respectively. The bill creates an affirmative defense to the action if the peace officer's employer would have taken the action that forms the basis of the suit against the peace officer, based on a legitimate nonretaliatory basis. The action is not subject to the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. The statute of limitations to bring the action is 2 years. HB25- 1032 Improving Infrastructure to Reduce Homelessness The bill creates the Colorado interagency council on homelessness (council) within the governor's office. The council's powers and duties include: • Facilitating and coordinating homelessness response, resources, and best practices between state and local partners; • Setting statewide strategy for homelessness resolution and prevention; • Developing an outreach and education campaign to understand and respond to issues related to homelessness; • Increasing access to supportive resources for homeless individuals, including income benefits, food benefits, healthcare coverage, and support related to mental health and substance use; • Identifying and maximizing housing resources provided by state agencies; • Improving cross-system policies and procedures for state agencies and homelessness service providers; and • Organizing other homelessness response measures as the council sees fit. The council is required to meet at least once a month and submit and present an annual report providing a summary of the council's activities and recommendations for legislative action to the general assembly no later than January 26 of each year. The advisory council shall meet at least once a month, shall develop and implement a plan to receive public feedback on statewide strategy related to homelessness prevention and resolution, and shall recommend funding and policies to support homelessness prevention and resolution to the council. HB25- 1042 Air Quality Control Regulation Workforce Impact The bill requires the executive director of the department of public health and environment (department) to establish a workforce advisory council (council) on or before August 1, 2025, for the purposes of: • Discussing recommendations concerning the incorporation of workforce impact analyses into the rule-making procedures for rules that impact air quality; • Recommending standard procedures for the department and the air quality control commission (commission) to follow when conducting workforce impact analyses for inclusion in rule- making procedures; and • Determining if the establishment of a full-time workforce advocate position would add value to the air quality control rule-making process. The bill requires the department to report the council's recommendations to the general assembly on or before January 15, 2026. After January 15, 2026, the council Fort Collins Tracking Bills – March 18, 2025 2 is required to: • Meet at least 4 times per year; • Continue to advise the department on the impact of proposed air quality control rules on matters related to employment; and • Make ongoing recommendations to the governor, the department, and the commission on legislative and regulatory air quality control policies that impact employment matters. HB25- 1169 Housing Developments on Faith and Educational Land The bill requires a subject jurisdiction, on or after December 31, 2026, to allow a residential development to be constructed on a qualifying property that does not contain an exempt parcel, subject to an administrative approval process. The bill specifies that a subject jurisdiction shall not: • Disallow construction of a residential development on the basis of height if the tallest structure in the residential development is no more than 3 stories or 45 feet tall; • Disallow construction of a residential development on the basis of height if the tallest structure in the residential development complies with the height-related standards for the zoning district in which the residential development will be built or any zoning district that is contiguous to the qualifying property on which the residential development will be built; • Disallow construction of a residential development based on the number of dwelling units that the residential development will contain, except in accordance with standards listed in the bill; or • Apply standards to a residential development on a qualifying property that are more restrictive than the standards the subject jurisdiction applies to similar housing constructed within the subject jurisdiction, including standards related to structure setbacks from property lines; lot coverage or open space; on-site parking requirements; numbers of bedrooms in a multifamily residential development; or on-site landscaping, screening, and buffering requirements. A subject jurisdiction shall allow the following uses in a residential development on a qualifying property: • Childcare; and • The provision of recreational, social, or educational services provided by community organizations for use by the residents of the residential development and the surrounding community. A subject jurisdiction may condition additional uses in a residential development on the uses being allowed only on the ground floor of the residential development and the uses occupying no more than 15% of the ground floor area of the residential development. The bill requires a faith-based organization, school district, or state college or university to notify the county assessor that a subject jurisdiction has allowed the construction of a residential development on a qualifying property within the county. HB25- 1239 Colorado Anti- Discrimination Act The bill consolidates damages provisions for individuals with disabilities who experience an unfair housing practice, discrimination in places of public accommodation, or a violation of their civil rights with the general protections under the Colorado anti-discrimination act (CADA) for all protected classes. With the consolidation of these provisions, the allowable remedies under CADA include a court order requiring compliance with the applicable section of CADA, actual monetary damages, attorney fees and costs, damages for noneconomic loss or injury, and a statutory fine of $5,000 per aggrieved party and per violation. An award of damages for noneconomic loss or injury is capped at $50,000, and if a defendant is a small business, it is entitled to a 50% reduction of a noneconomic loss or injury award if it corrects the violation within 30 days of the complaint being filed and did not knowingly or intentionally make or cause to be made the violation. The bill also extends the deadline for filing a charge with the Colorado civil rights commission alleging discrimination in places of public Fort Collins Tracking Bills – March 18, 2025 3 accommodation or discriminatory advertising from 60 days to one year after the alleged discriminatory act occurred. HB25- 1273 Residential Building Stair Modernization The bill defines a subject jurisdiction as a municipality with a population of 100,000 or more that is served by a fire protection district or fire department that is or was accredited by a specified organization. On or before December 1, 2027, the bill requires the governing body of a subject jurisdiction to adopt a building code, or amend an existing building code, to allow up to 5 stories of a multifamily residential building that satisfies certain conditions to be served by a single exit. This requirement only applies to the area within a subject jurisdiction that is served by a single fire protection district or fire department. The bill also clarifies that the adoption or amendment of a building code to satisfy the requirements of the bill does not qualify as adopting or enforcing a building code for the purpose of determining whether the governing body of a municipality is required to adopt an energy code. HB25- 1276 Court Actions Related to Failure to Appear in Court Under current law, a court is required to release a person on a personal recognizance bond if the person was charged with an offense for a violation with a maximum penalty that does not exceed 6 months' imprisonment, and the court cannot require the person to give security of any kind for their appearance for trial other than their personal recognizance, unless certain conditions exist. The bill clarifies these provisions apply in both state and municipal courts. The bill adds to the conditions for which a person may be required to give security that the defendant previously failed to appear in court 2 or more times in the present case. Existing law prohibits a court from imposing a monetary condition of release for a defendant charged with a traffic offense, petty offense, or comparable municipal offense, or a municipal offense for which there is no comparable state misdemeanor offense, with specified exceptions. HB25- 1295 Food Truck Operations The bill creates a reciprocal licensing and permitting system for the operation of food trucks within the jurisdictions of local governments in the state. The bill requires a local government to grant the owner or operator of a food truck a reciprocal business license, reciprocal health department permit, and reciprocal fire safety permit (reciprocal license and reciprocal permits), which reciprocal license and reciprocal permits allow the owner or operator of a food truck to operate within the local government's jurisdiction, if the owner or operator of a food truck: • Has an active business license from another local government; • Has an active health department permit from another local government; • Has an active fire safety permit from another local government; and • Pays applicable application and licensing and permitting fees. A local government must review an application for the reciprocal license and reciprocal permits within 14 calendar days after receiving the application and decide whether to approve or deny the application SB25- 132 Spirituous Liquor Manufacturer Under current law, a licensed manufacturer of spirituous liquor (manufacturer) may conduct tastings of the manufacturer's own spirituous liquors at the manufacturer's licensed premises or at one other approved sales Fort Collins Tracking Bills – March 18, 2025 4 Tastings Conducted room location. The bill authorizes the manufacturer to also conduct tastings: • Of other alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler licensed in the state; and • At up to 5 approved sales room locations. SB25- 161 Transit Reform The bill makes the following changes for the purpose of improving the performance of the regional transportation district (RTD): • Authorizes RTD to enter into a service partnership agreement with a local government, institution of higher education, or other entity to expand services within RTD's service territory ( section 2 of the bill); • Requires RTD, in discharging its responsibilities, to ( section 3 ): • Align with statewide greenhouse gas reduction targets, Transportation Vision 2035 goals, and mode choice targets as will be developed according to Senate Bill 25-030, if enacted; • Create worker retention goals; • Adhere to the requirements of General Directive 24-1: Required Actions Regarding Assaults on Transit Workers, issued on September 25, 2024, by the federal transit administration of the United States department of transportation; and • Develop performance measures to evaluate its progress in aligning with state climate goals and achieving its worker retention goals; • Requires RTD to create a 10-year strategic plan no later than April 10, 2026, and a comprehensive operational analysis no less frequently than every 5 years beginning in 2026, and to report quarterly to the RTD board of directors regarding the plan and analysis ( section 4 ) SB25- 182 Embodied Carbon Reduction Embodied carbon is the carbon associated with greenhouse gas emissions arising from the production, construction, use, and end-of-life of products or systems used in the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. An embodied carbon improvement is a real property installation or modification that is completed in a manner that generates relatively less embodied carbon. Section 1 of the bill adds embodied carbon improvements to the list of new energy improvements that are eligible for property-assessed clean energy financing provided by the Colorado new energy improvement district. Section 2 modifies the industrial clean energy tax credit so that embodied carbon improvements are greenhouse gas emissions reduction improvements.