HB 19-1089 (Tipper, Valdez/Pettersen, Moreno)
Exemption from Garnishment for Medical Debt HB 19-1189 (Gray, A. Valdez/Bridges, Fields) Wage
Garnishment Reform
This bill would have exempted medical debt from earnings
garnishment for an individual whose family income does not
exceed 400 percent of the current federal poverty guidelines. It
failed to pass through its first committee of reference. This bill makes changes regarding the garnishment of a debtor's
wages for the payment of debt to a creditor. The amount of money
that may be garnished from a debtor's weekly earnings is changed
from the lessor of 25 percent or 30 times the federal minimum
hourly wage to the lessor of 20 percent or 40 times the federal
minimum hourly wage. Currently, the cost of court-ordered health
insurance is excluded from the disposable earnings that is subject
to garnishment. This bill adds the cost of any health insurance that
is provided by an individual's employer and withheld from earnings
to the amount excluded from disposable earnings. Under current
law, a notice of a continuing garnishment must be provided by
the creditor and include the formula used to determine exempt
earnings and the amount of nonexempt earnings per pay period.
This notice must also notify the debtor of his or her ability to
object to the calculations. This bill expands the information that
must be provided in this notification to include the amount owed
by the debtor and information related to Colorado garnishment
requirements and how the garnishment process works. The format
in which this notification must be provided is specified in the bill.
Position: Monitor
Outcome: Postponed Indefinitely
HB 19-1118 (Jackson, Galindo/Williams) Time Period to
Cure Lease Violation
Under current law a tenant is given three days to pay unpaid
rent or vacate the property before a landlord may begin eviction
proceedings. This bill requires that a landlord provide ten days
notice of insufficient rent prior to beginning eviction proceedings
or terminating a lease agreement for a subsequent violation
of terms. The bill creates an exception to this requirement for
a nonresidential agreement or an employer-provided housing
agreement, in which case, three days' notice is required. As
introduced, the bill required 14 days. Numerous attempts to amend
this bill further proved futile, and it ultimately passed with the new
10-day notice requirement.
Position: Neutral (previously opposed)
Outcome: Passed House & Senate
Effective Date: August 2, 2019
Position: Amend
Outcome: Sent to Governor
Effective Date: Upon Signature of Governor
HB 19-1170 (Jackson, Weissman/Williams, Bridges)
Residential Tenants Health & Safety Act
Current law presumes that every rental agreement between
a landlord and a tenant carries an implicit guarantee that a
residential property is fit for human habitation. This is referred to
as a warranty of habitability. This bill:
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modifies the conditions for a breach of the warranty of
habitability, the method for notifying a landlord of problems
with the premises, and time limits for the landlord to address
defective conditions;
adds specific conditions of a property to the description of an
uninhabitable residence to include the presence of mold or
the absence of functioning appliances;
if requested by the tenant, requires that a landlord move the
tenant to a reasonably comparable unit, pay for incidental
moving costs, or pay for the tenant to reside in a temporary
location when a property is hazardous or uninhabitable and
conditions are being remedied;
under specific circumstances, allows a tenant to deduct from
subsequent rent payments the cost to repair defective conditions;
allows a tenant to terminate a rental agreement for recurring
defective conditions;
repeals the current law requirement that a tenant notify a local
government prior to seeking a court injunction; and
modifies the current law prohibition on landlord retaliation
when a tenant alleges a breach, to specify damages and
remove presumptions.
Position: Amend
Outcome: Passed House & Senate
Effective Date: August 2, 2019
www.aamdhq.org
HB 19-1228 (Bird, Titone/Zenzinger, Tate) Increase Tax
Credit Allocation Affordable Housing
For tax years 2020 through 2024, this bill increases the amount
of state affordable housing tax credits that the Colorado Housing
and Finance Authority (CHFA) may allocate from $5 million to $10
million each year. This results in a total of $150 million in additional
tax credits that can be allocated by CHFA over five years.
Position: Support
Outcome: Passed House & Senate
Effective Date: September 1, 2019
HB 19-1309 (Hooton, McCluskie/Fenberg, Lee) Mobile
Home Park Act Oversight
This bill gives counties and municipalities greater authority to
enact certain ordinances for mobile home parks. This bill gives
mobile home owners additional time between the notice of
nonpayment of rent and eviction, and additional time to vacate
a mobile home park after a court ordered eviction. Lastly, the
bill creates the Mobile Home Park Dispute Resolution and
Enforcement Program and creates a new cash fund to cover
associated costs. Under this program, the division of housing in
the Department of Local Affairs is required to:
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register a mobile home park and collect registration fees;
collect and annually report data on disputes and violations;
create and maintain a database of mobile home parks; and
take complaints, conduct investigations, participate in
administrative dispute resolutions and impose penalties.
Position: Oppose
Outcome: Passed House & Senate
Effective Date: Upon Signature of Governor
JUNE 2019
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