Twenty new state laws go into full or partial effect New Year’s Day. Some are a long time coming, others surprised us. A look at some:
If you don’t have a reusable shopping bag, it’s time to get one – or four. Colorado’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (HB 21-1162) requires certain stores charge 10 cents for single-use paper and plastic bags.
Until we’re used to this, we’ll forget our bags. We’ll hold as many groceries as humanly possible. Onions and apples will roll through parking lots.
But this law benefits all of us, reducing reliance on disposable bags and eliminating litter. Plastic bags take 10 to 20 years to decompose. That’s a really long time.
Starting Jan.1, 2024, no plastic bags will be in stores. Polystyrene food containers will be banned, too.
Voters love tax cuts. But Proposition 121, reducing the state’s flat statutory income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.4%, won’t make much of a difference to individuals.
A taxpayer with an income of $79,000, would save about $119. That’s not much. Savings are much greater for the wealthiest.
Lower tax rates can boost the economy. The flip side is if a recession were to happen, a lighter state budget will impact K-12 education, health and human services, corrections, higher education, public safety and more.
Colorado’s safety net would be stretched. But the people have spoken.
The new law is retroactive for tax year 2022.
Those tax savings can pay for eggs! All eggs sold in Colorado grocers must be cage-free. We’ve already seen the effect with an unprecedented run on eggs. Stores sold out. Are clandestine egg markets coming to parking lots near you? We’ll get our reporters on it.
This law sneaked up on us; HB20-1343 passed in 2020.
Farms with fewer than 3,000 egg-laying hens are exempt.
We prefer healthier ways to produce eggs and treat chickens, but we can’t ignore the steep price increase of likely $1 to $2 per dozen. (Yikes!)
The law allows a grace period without fines. By 2025, farmers must ensure each chicken has one square foot of floor space.
Still, Colorado’s livestock industry is mixed on the law.
The good news is chickens will spread out and act like chickens. This is egg-cellent.
Payroll deductions will start with contributions to the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, which provides wage replacement benefits by January 2024, during circumstances that pull workers from jobs. Taking care of an infant or a loved one with a serious illness or preparing for a family member’s deployment.
Premiums will be 0.9% of an employee’s wage, with 0.45% paid by the employer and 0.45% by the employee. Small employers are responsible for the 0.45% employee share.
Workers can receive 12 weeks of payments (or 16 weeks in some cases).
We’re happy to support coworkers. One question. How many employees can take family leave at once? What if – at the same time – babies are born, elderly parents need care and spouses gear up to deploy?
With SB 21-249, registering a vehicle costs an additional $29 and includes an annual state parks Keep Colorado Wild Pass. But people can opt out.
Not bad, considering the current pass with access to 43 state parks is $84. (Hello, Mancos State Park and Navajo State Park!)
Funds will go to park maintenance, search and rescue programs, avalanche awareness, wildlife conservation, and education and equity programs.
Criminal penalties from HB 22-1326 – legislation that split midterm voters – have kicked in. Now, people convicted of possessing fentanyl must be given a drug assessment and complete an education program. It steers some into treatment as a condition of probation. We appreciate this.
Also, jails must give qualifying inmates an opioid antagonist – to reverse overdoses – and medications to treat an opioid-use disorder upon release. Jails must also help coordinate ongoing care.
