| The word “30” echoed around the Capitol Monday morning April 8th. “We can do anything for 30 days”. For the lobbyists and the legislators, the crunch is here. Of note, significant legislation is still being introduced.
On Wednesday afternoon SB24-205 Concerning Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence was introduced. This bill is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez. There is a national task force with 13 state legislators that has been meeting to take up the issue of artificial intelligence. Similar legislation is being considered in Connecticut. We can expect additional legislation in Colorado and other states as well. SB24-205 requires a developer of a high-risk artificial intelligence system to use reasonable care to avoid algorithmic discrimination in the high-risk system. The attorney general and district attorneys have exclusive authority to enforce the bill. We are in conversations with the sponsor and the Attorney General’s office regarding an exemption for FDIC-insured institutions and affiliates since banks are regulated at the federal level with respect to artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, SB24-106 Construction Defect Reform was debated on the Senate floor. This was a master class in political floor debate. The bill sponsors, Senators Coleman and Zenzinger, did an excellent job of holding their votes against a flurry of amendments to undermine and weaken the legislation. The bill was amended to gain support for the legislation. The work that has gone into this effort is impressive. Some will feel like the bill has been compromised but the foundation of the legislation remains, and this will improve construction defects moving forward. Language that concerned attorney and homeowners’ associations was removed from the legislation, but language remains in the bill that will reduce the number and frequency of litigation. This is a compromise for all sides.
HB24-1175 Concerning a Right of First Offer/First Refusal for a Municipality passed the House last week. The bill creates a right of first refusal and a right of first offer for local governments for certain types of multifamily rental properties. While the governor vetoed this legislation last year, there is no indication that a veto is forthcoming this year. Therefore, we have been in negotiations with the bill sponsor for amendments to improve the bill.
Yesterday, April 10, 2024, the Senate debated HB24-1259 Price Gouging. The bill prohibits price gouging in the provision of housing during a declared disaster. The legislation would place a 2-year cap on rents once the governor declares an emergency and would make housing price gouging a deceptive trade practice. We have been working with the bill sponsors on amendments, but we could not reach a reasonable compromise on deceptive trade practices or the time limit. Working in conjunction with the Apartment Association, we counted votes for a floor fight. The result was a compromise during the floor debate: a 1-year cap once an emergency is declared, the governor will declare the housing emergency as part of the emergency declaration, and 'deceptive trade practice' was removed from the bill.
This morning, April 11, HB24-1351 Concerning the Division of Banking Sunset, was debated on the House floor. Representative Lisa Frizell offered the floor amendment to remove Section 9 authorizing a credit union to purchase the assets and liabilities of a bank. A bi-partisan group of legislators argued in favor of the amendment with floor debate on the bill lasting more than an hour. The debate was spirited and impassioned. CBA knew going into the vote that we did not have the 33 votes necessary to pass the amendment in the House, but with the help of the legislators supporting the banking industry, we put forth a strong fight against the credit unions. The bill will have a final vote in the House on April 12 then move to the Senate. We continue the fight.
A Final Thought: We don’t need a reminder that Monday, April 15, 2024, is Tax Day. Looking for something else to celebrate, I found that Saturday April 13, 2024, is Peach Cobbler Day. This struck me as more than curious. Colorado harvests its peaches in August. Georgia, which claims to produce the most peaches in the US, harvests their peach crop mid-May to July. California, the largest peach producer, harvests from mid-July to mid-September. So, how did we end up with Peach Cobbler Day on April 13? I’m sticking with Taco Tuesday. ◼
Alison Morgan, Director of State Government Relations |
