As the final days of the 2013 Legislative Session wind down, Governor Hickenlooper continues to sign bills into law. To date, he has signed over 350 bills over several areas of law.

On Friday, May 24, 2013, the governor signed 5 bills into law. These included a bill about staffing for corrections officers (SB 13-210) and a bill creating an economic gardening pilot project in the Office of Economic Development (HB 13-1003).

The governor signed 26 bills into law on Saturday, May 25, 2013. Five of them are summarized here.

• SB 13-137 - Concerning System Improvements to Prevent Fraud in the Medicaid Program and, In Connection Therewith, Employing Advanced Data Analytics, by Sen. Ellen Roberts and Rep. Clarice Navarro. The bill directs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to solicit requests for information regarding the use of predictive analytics in the Medicaid program.
  
• SB 13-229 - Concerning Changes to Statutory Provisions Related to Criminal Proceedings, by Sen. Lucia Guzman and Rep. Elena Kagan. The bill addresses several areas of law related to criminal proceedings.
• SB 13-246 - Concerning Creation of a Task Force to Study Discovery Costs in Criminal Cases, by the Joint Budget Committee. The bill creates the Discovery Task Force to study the feasability of conducting discovery electronically in criminal cases.
  
• SB 13-248 - Concerning the Authority of the Attorney General or a District Attorney to Enforce Subpoenas for Consumer Protection Violations Against Persons Located Outside Colorado, by Sen. Irene Aguilar and Rep. Kevin Priola. The bill clarifies the authority of the District Attorney and Attorney General in issuing and enforcing subpoenas against out-of-state parties for certain financial violations.
  
• SB 13-249 - Concerning Procedures Regarding Independent Medical Examiners’ Reports in Workers’ Compensation Cases, by Sen. Lois Tochtrop and Rep. Angela Williams. The bill requires the Division of Workers’ Compensation to review IME reports within 5 days, notify parties of the report, and request correction of any deficiencies.

Governor Hickenlooper was busy on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, when he signed 73 bills into law. Although they cannot all be summarized here, there are several bills of interest to environmental, criminal, real estate, and marijuana law attorneys in Colorado briefly summarized here.

• Environmental – Several bills, including SB 13-219 regarding meth lab remediation and SB 13-223 regarding the sunset of the noxious weeds advisory committee, will be of interest to environmental law practitioners.
  
• Criminal – Many of the bills signed into law this legislative session dealt with specific provisions of criminal law. SB 13-007 eliminates the repeal of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. SB 13-227 prevents victims of rape who are impregnated by their rapist from having to have contact with their baby’s father. HB 13-1210 provides criminal defendants with a right to counsel during plea negotiations.
• Real Estate – Bills regarding homeowners’ associations were prolific this legislative session. Some of the HOA bills signed on May 28 include HB 13-1276 regarding debt collections and HB 13-1277 regarding licensing of common interest community managers.
• Marijuana - The legislature scurried to implement regulations in order to legalize marijuana pursuant to Amendment 64. Several bills were signed regarding marijuana regulations, including SB 13-283 to implement the Amendment 64 consensus regulations and HB 13-1317 to implement the Amendment 64 majority recommendations.

For a complete list of the governor’s 2013 legislative decisions, click here.