As the legislature winds down, Governor Hickenlooper continues to sign bills into law. So far this legislative session, Governor Hickenlooper has signed 191 bills into law.

On Thursday, April 26, the governor signed ten bills into law. Four of those are summarized here.

• HB 12-1236 – Concerning the Regulation of Charitable Solicitations, and, in Connection Therewith, Making an Appropriation
  Sponsored by Rep. Ken Summers and Sen. Cheri Jahn. The bill makes several changes to the regulation of charitable solicitations.
• HB 12-1126 - Concerning On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems
  Sponsored by Rep. Cheri Gerou. The bill updates statutes related to the regulation of on-site wastewater treatment systems.
• HB 12-1313 - Concerning Procedures Related to the Statewide Initiative Title Board
  Sponsored by Rep. Libby Szabo and Sen. Bob Bacon. The bill makes several changes to the procedures of the statewide initiative Title Board.
• HB 12-1209 - Concerning the “Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act”
  Sponsored by Rep. Bob Gardner and Sen. Morgan Carroll. The bill establishes procedures for the publication and authentication of certain legal material, including the Colorado Revised Statutes, session laws, constitution, and Code of Colorado Regulations.

Governor Hickenlooper signed 19 bills into law on Thursday, May 3, 2012, including several from the Joint Budget Committee. Four of the bills signed on May 3 are summarized here.

• HB 12-1258 – Concerning Regulation of Public Utilities in Terms of Alternative Fuel Vehicles
  Sponsored by Rep. Brian DelGrosso and Sen. Cheri Jahn. The bill requires public utilities to make reasonable efforts to provide service connection for fueling of alternative fuel vehicles.
• SB 12-158 – Concerning the Consolidation of Two Public Housing Agencies Within the Division of Housing in the Department of Local Affairs
  Sponsored by Sen. Betty Boyd and Rep. Laura Bradford. The bill clarifies that the Division of Housing is the sole public housing authority for providing financial housing assistance, and shifts the Homeless Prevention Activities Program to the Division of Housing.
• HB 12-1340 – Concerning a Reduction in the General Fund Portion of the Per Diem Rates Paid to Nursing Facilities, and, In Connection Therewith, Reducing an Appropriation
  Sponsored by Rep. Jon Becker and Sen. Kent Lambert. The bill reduces the per diem rates paid to skilled nursing facilities by 1.5 for Fiscal Year 2012-13 only.
• SB 12-110 – Concerning a Fund Consisting of Surcharges on Insurance Premiums to Pay for Costs Associated with Criminal Prosecution of Insurance Fraud Investigations, and, in Connection Therewith, Making an Appropriation
  Sponsored by Sen. Pat Steadman and Rep. Claire Levy. The bill changes the amount of fees paid to the state by insurance companies to a two-tier schedule set by the Commissioner of Insurance.

On Monday, May 7, Governor Hickenlooper signed the budget bill for the next fiscal year. The bill was approved by an overwhelming majority of legislators – it received 86 yes votes and only 8 no votes. Governor Hickenlooper lauded the legislature for approving the bill with such an impressive majority. The “long bill,” HB 12-1335, contains separate links to the budgets for all state agencies, including add-ons for some agencies.

Governor Hickenlooper signed seven more bills into law on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Three of them are summarized here.

• SB 12-012 – Concerning the Department of Revenue’s Audits of Automobile Emissions Inspection Facilities
  Sponsored by Sen. Steve King and Rep. Joe Miklosi. The bill decreases the frequency of overt audits of vehicle emission inspection facilities and increases the frequency of covert audits.
• SB 12-060 – Concerning Improving Medicaid Fraud Prosecution
  Sponsored by Sen. Ellen Roberts. The bill requries reporting by certain state agencies for the legislature’s use the following year in order to evaluate Medicaid fraud.
• HB 12-1262 – Concerning Enactment of Amendments to the Secured Transactions Provisions of the “Uniform Commercial Code”
  Sponsored by Rep. Bob Gardner and Sen. Ellen Roberts. The bill adopts changes to the Uniform Commercial Code as recommended by the Colorado Commission on Uniform Laws.

A complete list of legislation signed by Governor Hickenlooper in 2012 is available here.