2019 Legislative Updates

The 2019 legislative session is now in full swing. So what Bills have been introduced that impact common interest communities?

House Bill 19-1050 seeks to invalidate restrictions contained in governing documents that limit or prevent the use of xeriscape or drought-tolerant vegetative landscapes to provide ground covering to an association’s common elements. Currently, C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5 only prohibits restrictions in covenants that seek to limit the use of xeriscape “on the unit owner’s property or property for which the unit owner is responsible”.  Given that the governing documents of most associations currently already provide the board of directors and/or an architectural review committee with discretion as to the type of ground covering that can be installed in the common elements, the Bill has limited value to most associations.

House Bill 19-1076 seeks to revise and extend the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act as follows:

-Eliminating exceptions in the current Act in which smoking may be permitted

– Prohibiting the use of electronic smoking devices (i.e. vape pens) along with emissions from secondhand smoke in certain public places

-Extending the prohibition on smoking from 25 to 35 feet from an entryway of a public place

Not much stands to change for common interest communities except to extend prohibitions in common areas against smoking to also apply to electronic smoking devices and further extending the prohibition against smoking from 25 to 30 feet from an entryway.

Manager Licensure Bill Developments: No Bills have been introduced yet, however, it is anticipated that a Bill will be introduced relating to manager licensing before the legislative session is over.