Calendar Notification of Your Bill Dossier

Bill HB25-1021 - W. Lindstedt | R. Taggart / J. Bridges Tax Incentives for Employee-Owned Businesses
   Wednesday, February 19 2025
   Business Affairs & Labor
   Upon Adjournment Room 0112
   (3) in house calendar.

Bill SB25-046 - J. Bridges | C. Kipp / R. Taggart Local Government Tax Audit Confidentiality Standards
   Thursday, February 20 2025
   Finance
   Upon Adjournment Room 0112
   (3) in house calendar.

Bill HB25-1139 - R. Keltie Income Tax Credit for Eligible Veterans
   Monday, February 24 2025
   Finance
   1:30 p.m. Room 0112
   (7) in house calendar.

Bill HB25-1156 - S. Lieder / C. Kolker Make Senior Home Tax Valuation Reduction Permanent
   Monday, February 24 2025
   Finance
   1:30 p.m. Room 0112
   (3) in house calendar.

Bill HB25-1170 - E. Hamrick | A. Boesenecker / F. Winter Lobbying by Nonprofit Entities
   Monday, February 24 2025
   State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs
   1:30 p.m. Room LSB-A
   (1) in house calendar.

Bill SB25-138 - J. Carson Permanent Reductions to State Income Tax
   Thursday, February 27 2025
   SENATE STATE, VETERANS, & MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
   Upon Adjournment SCR 352
   (1) in senate calendar.

Bill HB25-1157 - NOT ON CALENDAR

Bill SB25-018 - NOT ON CALENDAR

Bill SB25-026 - NOT ON CALENDAR

Bill SB25-029 - NOT ON CALENDAR

Bill SB25-040 - NOT ON CALENDAR


BILL HB25-1021



The bill creates 2 income tax subtractions for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2027, but before January 1, 2038. The first subtraction is for an amount equal to state capital gains that are realized by a taxpayer during the taxable year for the conversion by an increment of at least 20% ownership to a qualified employee-owned business of a qualified business. The taxpayers that are eligible for this subtraction are the same taxpayers that would be eligible for the tax credit for conversion costs for employee business ownership.

The second subtraction is allowed to worker-owned cooperatives in an amount equal to the worker-owned cooperative's federal taxable income for the tax year not to exceed $1 million.

The bill also makes changes to the tax credit for conversion costs for employee business ownership (credit). Under current law, the credit is available through income tax year 2026. The bill extends the credit through income tax year 2037. The bill also specifies that the aggregate amount of credits that can be claimed for each income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2032, is $3 million and that the aggregate amount of credits that can be claimed for each income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2032, but before January 1, 2038, is $4 million. The percentage of conversion or expansion costs that are eligible to be claimed for the credit is currently 50%; however, the bill increases this percentage to 75% beginning in tax year 2026 while maintaining the existing dollar caps for the different methods of conversion.

Additionally, the bill revises several definitions to expand eligibility for the credit and allows for qualified support entities, which are nonprofit organizations that provide services to businesses that qualify under the credit to convert or expand to employee-ownership, to be eligible to receive the credit for up to 75% of the costs incurred for providing such support, including for staff salaries and benefits, marketing and outreach, and consulting and technical assistance not to exceed $167,000.

The bill makes conforming amendments to several of the credit's expanded definitions that are also applicable to the tax credit for new employee-owned businesses.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to Business Affairs & Labor


BILL HB25-1139


For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2026, the bill allows a veteran who is honorably discharged, possesses a service-connected disability rating of at least 10%, and owns and occupies a primary residence in the state (eligible veteran) to claim a refundable income tax credit (tax credit) in an amount equal to a percentage, based on the eligible veteran's service-connected disability rating, of the amount of property tax that the eligible veteran paid on their primary residence during the income tax year.

To claim a tax credit, a taxpayer must apply to the county assessor for the county in which the taxpayer's primary residence is located and submit a decision letter from the U.S. department of veterans affairs that sets forth their service-connected disability rating. The county assessor is required to determine whether the taxpayer is an eligible veteran and if so, the amount of the income tax credit the eligible veteran may claim, based on the property tax paid by the eligible veteran and the eligible veteran's service-connected disability rating. The county assessor is required to issue a tax credit certificate to an eligible veteran in an amount equal to the amount of the tax credit that may be claimed.

Upon the death of an eligible veteran, the eligible veteran's surviving spouse or legal dependents are eligible to claim the tax credit until specified events have occurred.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/29/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance


BILL HB25-1156


The bill extends an existing reduction in the valuation for assessment of qualified-senior primary residence real property (valuation reduction) that applies for only the 2025 and 2026 property tax years so that the valuation reduction is permanent. The bill also makes permanent the existing obligation of the state to annually reimburse local governments that levy property tax for the amount of property tax revenue lost due to the valuation reduction.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/29/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance


BILL HB25-1157


Currently, the advanced industry investment tax credit (credit) expires on December 31, 2026. The bill extends the credit until December 31, 2031. The credit is currently available to a qualified investor that makes a qualified investment in a qualified small business that is in an advanced industry. On and after January 1, 2028, the credit is also available to a qualified investor that makes a qualified investment in a qualified small business that is not an advanced industry business, operates in the manufacturing sector, generates revenue from operations, is a primary employer, is producing a product that is distributed outside of Colorado, and, in the judgment of the Colorado office of economic development (office), is a commercially scalable and capital-intensive business that will bring incremental income to the local economy.

The bill changes the definition of "qualified investment" by eliminating the current prohibition against a qualified investor having more than 30% of the voting power in the qualified small business before the investor makes a qualified investment and more than 49% of the voting power in the qualified small business after making a qualified investment.

The bill changes the definition of "qualified investor" by clarifying that an entity subject to income tax may qualify as an investor, except that a C corporation, including any limited liability or other legal entity treated as a C corporation for federal and state income tax purposes, is not a qualified investor. A qualified investor may include a partner, shareholder, or beneficiary that is allocated a credit. A qualified investor does not include a person that had control of a qualified small business for 6 months preceding or following the date of the investment in the qualified small business. A founder, employee, or contractor or a spouse of a founder, employee, or contractor of a qualified small business is not a qualified investor. A person that has invested more than $50,000 in the qualified small business or owns more than 10% of the qualified small business on a fully diluted basis is not a qualified investor.

The office administers the credit. The office may certify a small business as a qualified small business until October 1, 2031. A small business certified as a qualified small business must report to the office as requested to confirm the certified small business's status as a qualified small business. The office may require a qualified small business to provide information to confirm that a qualified investment has been made in the qualified small business, the intended use of the qualified investment, and the expected number of new employees that will be hired by the qualified small business as a result of the qualified investment. A qualified small business that receives a qualified investment is required to report data relevant to the impact of the credit and development of the qualified small business annually to the office for 5 years following a qualified investment. The office may assess a penalty against a qualified small business that does not meet this reporting requirement.

The office may issue $4 million in credits per calendar year for the years through the 2026 calendar year for which the credit is currently available. The bill decreases the cap to $2.5 million per calendar year beginning with the 2027 calendar year through the 2031 calendar year.

If the qualified investor receiving a credit is a trust, the qualified investor may allocate the credit between the trust and its beneficiaries in any manner determined by the trust. The office shall issue a credit certificate to a trust beneficiary and a trust beneficiary may claim the amount indicated on the credit certificate.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/29/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance
2/6/2025 House Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations


BILL HB25-1170


Currently, a lobbyist may be either a professional lobbyist or a volunteer lobbyist. A professional lobbyist must register with the secretary of state before conducting lobbying activities with one or more covered officials. For each month in which a professional lobbyist lobbies one or more covered officials, a professional lobbyist must complete and submit a disclosure statement to the secretary of state.

The bill creates a new category of lobbyist for nonprofit lobbyists and exempts nonprofit lobbyists from the registration and disclosure statement requirements for professional lobbyists. A nonprofit lobbyist is a lobbyist who is exclusively employed by a single nonprofit entity and who lobbies as an incidental part of the lobbyist's duties with the nonprofit entity. A nonprofit entity may use a nonprofit lobbyist to lobby a maximum of 30 days during a state fiscal year, with a maximum of 20 of those days occurring when the general assembly is in session. A nonprofit entity that employs a nonprofit lobbyist must report to the secretary of state the following information within 72 hours of engaging in lobbying of one or more covered officials:

A nonprofit entity may submit a single form for more than one nonprofit lobbyist if more than one nonprofit lobbyist lobbied for the nonprofit entity on the same day.

A lobbyist who was a nonprofit lobbyist but no longer qualifies as a nonprofit lobbyist or who is employed by a nonprofit entity that does not comply with the timing limitations, and who meets the requirements of a professional lobbyist, must register and file disclosure statements with the secretary of state beginning in the month in which the lobbyist first lobbied as a professional lobbyist and must comply with the regulations imposed on a professional lobbyist.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
2/4/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs


BILL SB25-018


Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force. Currently, the department of revenue (department) does not have authority to allow a sales and use tax license and a sales and use tax exemption certificate to be searchable by the name and identification number of the sales and use tax licensee or the sales and use tax exemption certificate holder. The bill directs the department's executive director to allow this type of search.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Finance
1/28/2025 Senate Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations


BILL SB25-026


Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy. The bill adjusts several tax expenditures as follows:



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Finance


BILL SB25-029


Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. The bill broadens the definition of "ranch" for purposes of property taxation to include a parcel of land used for grazing or raising livestock for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit rather than a parcel of land used only for grazing livestock for the primary purpose of obtaining a monetary profit. The bill also eliminates the limited definition of "livestock" included in the definition of "ranch" and replaces it with the general definition of "livestock" used for property tax purposes that includes all animals.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Agriculture & Natural Resources
1/29/2025 Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources Postpone Indefinitely


BILL SB25-040


Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. The bill creates the future of severance taxes and water funding task force (task force).

The department of natural resources is required to contract with a third party to conduct a study on severance taxes and water funding and develop recommendations for ways to continue funding water needs in the face of decreasing severance tax revenue (study). The purpose of the task force is to work with the third party to conduct the study and develop recommendations.

No later than January 15, 2026, the third party must submit a draft report, detailing the results of the study and any recommendations, to the department of natural resources and the task force for review. The task force is required to provide input on the draft report. No later than July 15, 2026, the third party must submit a final report, which incorporates the input of the task force, to the water resources and agriculture review committee (committee). The task force must present the final report to the committee during the 2026 legislative interim.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Agriculture & Natural Resources
1/29/2025 Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources Refer Amended to Appropriations

Amendment

Senate Journal, January 29
After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends that SB25-040 be amended
as follows, and as so amended, be referred to the Committee on Appropriations with
favorable recommendation.
Amend printed bill, page 2, after line 1 insert:

"SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) Severance taxes provide a source of revenue to the state and the
state's political subdivisions;
(b) A portion of revenues derived from severance taxes is used to fund
the development and conservation of the state's water resources;
(c) Another portion of revenues derived from severance taxes is made
available to local governments to offset the impact created by nonrenewable
resource development;
(d) The state also relies on severance tax revenue to fund staff positions
in the department of natural resources and the department of local affairs;
(e) In times of need, the state has relied on severance tax revenue to
backfill the state budget, which depletes funding from programs that would
otherwise benefit local governments; and
(f) There is a need to study how the state can:
(I) Avoid using severance tax revenue to backfill the state budget in the
future;
(II) Begin to pay back the severance tax revenue previously used to
backfill the state budget; and
(III) Continue to fund water needs and grants to local governments
without relying on the revenues derived from severance taxes.".

Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.


Page 3, line 15, strike "WITH" and substitute "WITH, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE,".

Page 3, strike line 23 and substitute "BEEN SOCIALLY OR ECONOMICALLY
IMPACTED BY THE DEVELOPMENT, PROCESSING, OR ENERGY CONVERSION OF OIL
AND GAS OPERATIONS SUBJECT TO TAXATION UNDER ARTICLE 29 OF TITLE 39,
APPOINTED BY THE".

Page 4, line 15, after "NEEDS" insert "AND ENERGY IMPACT GRANTS
DISTRIBUTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 39-29-110 (1)(b)(I)".

Page 4, line 18, after "RECOMMENDATIONS." add "THE STUDY MUST FOCUS ON
IDENTIFYING WAYS TO ALLEVIATE THE NEED TO TRANSFER REVENUES DERIVED
FROM SEVERANCE TAXES TO THE GENERAL FUND AND TO REPLACE SEVERANCE
TAX REVENUE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY TRANSFERRED.".

Page 5, after line 5 insert:

"(6) THE TASK FORCE SHALL BE FUNDED SOLELY WITH MONEY FROM
THE SEVERANCE TAX OPERATIONAL FUND CREATED IN SECTION 39-29-109
(2)(b)(I).".

Renumber succeeding subsection accordingly.


Agriculture &
Natural
Resources




BILL SB25-046


Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force. Section 1 of the bill establishes uniform confidentiality standards for the protection of taxpayer information used or obtained in connection with a sales or use tax investigation performed by a third-party auditor on behalf of a local taxing jurisdiction. Third-party auditors are generally prohibited from divulging or making known in any way to any person information that is obtained from a sales or use tax investigation on behalf of a local taxing jurisdiction or disclosed in any document, report, or return filed in connection with local sales or use taxes. Third-party auditors are permitted to disclose taxpayer information in certain limited circumstances, including disclosure to:

Violation of the confidentiality provisions in section 1 is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation. Section 2 clarifies the authority of the executive director of the department to share taxpayer information with statutory local governments, special districts, and requesting home rule jurisdictions as necessary to facilitate dispute resolution, coordination, intergovernmental agreements, and information sharing between the department and such local governments consistent with current law, which prohibits the disclosure of any such shared information to any third party.
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)



Status
1/8/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Finance
1/28/2025 Senate Committee on Finance Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole
1/31/2025 Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments
2/3/2025 Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
2/3/2025 Introduced In House - Assigned to Finance

Amendment

Senate Journal, January 29
After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends that SB25-046 be amended
as follows, and as so amended, be referred to the Committee of the Whole with favorable
recommendation and with a recommendation that it be placed on the Consent Calendar.
Amend printed bill, page 3, line 13, strike "(e)" and substitute "(e) (I)".

Page 3, after line 17 insert:

"(II) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION (1)(e), "PUBLIC AGENT OF A
LOCAL TAXING JURISDICTION" INCLUDES:
(A) AN OFFICIAL, EMPLOYEE, OR AGENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
REVENUE WHO CONDUCTS A SALES OR USE TAX INVESTIGATION OF A TAXPAYER
ON BEHALF OF A LOCAL TAXING JURISDICTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PART
2 AND ARTICLE 21 OF TITLE 39; AND
(B) AN OFFICIAL, EMPLOYEE, OR AGENT OF THE MULTISTATE TAX
COMMISSION, ESTABLISHED IN SECTION 24-60-1301, WHO CONDUCTS A SALES OR
USE TAX INVESTIGATION OF A TAXPAYER ON BEHALF OF A LOCAL TAXING
JURISDICTION PURSUANT TO SECTION 24-60-1306, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE MULTISTATE TAX COMPACT, SET FORTH IN PART 13 OF ARTICLE 60 OF TITLE
24.".

Finance





BILL SB25-138


Under current law, the state income tax rate imposed on the taxable income of individuals, estates, trusts, and corporations is 4.4%; except that, for the income tax year commencing on January 1, 2024, the income tax rate is 4.25% and for any income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2035, the income tax rate is temporarily reduced if state revenue exceeded the limitation on state fiscal year spending imposed by section 20 (7)(a) of article X of the state constitution for the state fiscal year that ended during the income tax year. The extent to which the rate is temporarily reduced depends on the total amount of excess state revenues remaining after homestead exemption reimbursements and qualified-senior primary residence reimbursements are paid.

The bill makes the 4.25% tax rate permanent beginning with the income tax year commencing on January 1, 2025, makes any additional temporarily reduced income tax rate permanent for subsequent income tax years, and eliminates the state income tax on individuals, estates, and trusts for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2035.


(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)



Status
2/5/2025 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs