Eight new Colorado laws take effect Jan. 1
Measures include affordable Epipens, plastic bag ban, remote evictions, tractor repair rights
Two dozen new Colorado laws — concerning issues including tractor repairs, electric vehicle tax credits, how evictions are handled and the running of elections — go into effect on New Year’s Day, shortly before state legislators return to the Capitol and begin the lawmaking process all over again.
The bills that are set to kick in next year touch on some of the most pressing issues legislators debated last year. One measure allows tenants facing eviction to participate in the court process remotely. Another addresses a loophole in state law that had been exploited by predatory lenders.
Others address health care costs, treatment for eating disorders and how doctors treat patients while those they are unconscious.
Here’s a look at six of the new laws taking effect Jan. 1.
Right to Repair
In April, Colorado became the first state to pass a law giving farmers and agricultural workers the legal ability to repair their own tractors and equipment. Sponsored by Democrats Rep. Brianna Titone and Sens. Nick Hinrichsen and Janice Marchman, along with Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg, HB23-1011 was a rare bipartisan bright spot in an often-acrimonious session.
The measure compels manufacturers to provide manuals, software, parts and tools to owners so they can fix broken equipment. Under prior law, tractor owners couldn’t repair their own gear and instead had to wait for approved service workers to fix broken equipment.
Ban on single-use plastic bags
A 2021 law called the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act has provisions that kick in Jan. 1 to ban single-use plastic bags at checkout lines. A ban on foam to-go cups and takeout containers also will start. Stores and restaurants can use up the supplies of bags
and containers they have on hand at the end of this year, and the law exempts some locally based stores and restaurants from the plastic bag ban.
Remote evictions
HB23-1186 will allow renters facing eviction to participate in the court proceedings remotely, including by filing their responses to the court digitally. As the state continues to contend with record-breaking eviction filings, supporters of the measure argued the bill would help more renters stay in their homes. Tenants facing eviction often don’t have legal representation, and many don’t show up for court at all.
As a result, judges and magistrates typically rule in favor of landlords and order renters out.
According to a nonpartisan analysis of the bill, more than 7,800 renters who otherwise wouldn’t participate in their eviction proceedings now are projected to engage in the process. Eighty percent of those are projected to be indigent.
Affordable Epipens
Under HB23-1002 — one of the first bills introduced to legislators in January 2023 — the out-ofpocket costs for Epipens are capped at $60 in Colorado. The medicine is typically used to treat people experiencing a severe allergic reaction, and two of the devices can otherwise cost nearly $700.
“No one should ever have to choose between paying their bills and being able to afford their life-saving medication, which is why we passed a law that limits corporate price-gouging and makes Epipens more accessible for all,” Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat, said in a statement. He sponsored the bill with fellow Democrats Rep. Iman Jodeh and Sen. Dylan Roberts.
Electric vehicle tax credit
HB23-1272 provides an extra state income tax credit for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle. Buyers can use the new $2,500 credit toward the purchase of a vehicle priced at $35,000 or less, on top of the state’s existing $5,000 EV credit.
Eating disorder protections
After the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in mental health diagnoses, patients are increasingly flocking to Denverbased eating disorder clinics. Some patients, though, could be discharged or blocked from treatment if they weighed too much, thanks to an insurance provision that used an archaic measurement of body mass.
To curb that practice, legislators passed SB23176, which prohibits the use body weight metrics in determining the need for eating disorder care. The bill also bans the sale of certain diet pills to underage Coloradans; that provision kicks into effect next summer.
Nonconsensual patient exams
HB23-1077 prohibits health care providers from performing intimate exams — such as on a patient’s genitals — if that patient hasn’t previously consented to the exam. Advocates and legislators said that unconscious patients, including people undergoing an unrelated surgery, previously had been subjected to medical exams without their knowledge or consent, sometimes at the hands of providers giving demonstrations to medical students.
“Too many patients have woken up after a surgery to learn a nonconsensual pelvic, prostate, rectal or breast exam was performed on them, leaving them surprised and traumatized,” Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat, said in a statement. Willford sponsored the bill with fellow Democrats Rep. Lorena Garcia and Sen. Faith Winter.
Changes to the state election system
Every two years, Colorado legislators tweak the state’s election system based on experiences from the most recent major election cycle.
This year was no different. Among other, smaller changes, SB23-276 opens up automatic voter registration to Native American tribal members living in Colorado. Larger counties are also now required to begin counting votes four days before Election Day, and the number of polling centers will be increased on college campuses. The new law allows voters to use digital ID when they show up to cast a ballot.