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February 18, 2022 HB 22-1152
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 22-0239
Rep. Hooton; Titone
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 18, 2022
House Business
Jake Carias | 303-866-4776
Jake.Carias@state.co.us
Bill Topic: PROHIBIT EMPLOYER ADVERSE ACTION MARIJUANA USE
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☒ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☒ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
This bill prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees or
applicants who use medical marijuana, both on duty and off, or retail marijuana, off
duty, except for when an occupational safety requirement exists that would necessitate
a restriction. The bill will increase state expenditures and may minimally increase state
revenue on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2022-23, the bill requires appropriations of $1,350,926 to multiple departments.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 22-1152
Budget Year
FY 2022-23
Out Year
FY 2023-24
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $1,350,926 $177,426
Cash Funds - $1,173,500
Total $1,350,926 $1,350,926
Total FTE 2.0 FTE 2.0 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $202,639 $26,614
TABOR Refund - -
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February 18, 2022 HB 22-1152
Summary of Legislation
The bill prohibits employers from taking adverse actions, such as not hiring, firing, harassing, etc.,
against employees or applicants for employment who use medical marijuana during working hours.
Additionally, the bill prohibits adverse actions against employees who use medical or retail marijuana
during non-working hours. The bill permits restrictions on an employee’s use of medical or retail
marijuana at work and off-duty where bona fide occupational requirements exist.
Assumptions
In recent years, the state has received an average of 15 employment-related discrimination claims per
year. The fiscal note assumes that an additional three cases will be filed that involve adverse actions
taken due to marijuana use under this bill. The fiscal note assumes that all positions that meet the
bona fide requirement for exclusion from this bill’s effects are excluded and, therefore, pose no
additional legal risk for the state. However, employee travel that is not excluded as a bona fide job
requirement is assumed to be subject to state liability for motor vehicle crashes where marijuana is
found to be a factor.
State Revenue
To the extent the bill increases civil case filings, state revenue will increase beginning in FY 2022-23.
This fee revenue is subject to TABOR.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in the Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) and
Department of Law by $1,350,926 in FY 2022-23 and $FY 2023-24 from the General Fund and Risk
Management Fund. Expenditures are shown in Table 2 and detailed below.
Department of Personnel and Administration. Based on the assumptions above, the DPA is
estimated to have costs in three areas starting in FY 2022-23.
Legal services. Assuming 350 hours per case for three additional cases, legal services costs provided
by the Department of Law will increase by $103,500 per year. Additionally, for motor vehicle
claims, assuming the same conditions, for three additional cases, the cost of legal services
provided will be $70,000. These costs are paid from the General Fund in FY 2022-23 and the Risk
Management Fund in FY 2023-24.
Settlement payments. It is assumed one discrimination case per year will result in a settlement with
the state in the amount of $125,000. Claim settlement costs, including liability and property
damages, are expected to total approximately $875,000 per year for motor vehicle claims. These
costs are paid from the General Fund in FY 2022-23 and from the Risk Management Fund in
FY 2023-24.
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February 18, 2022 HB 22-1152
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 22-1152
Cost Components FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24
Department of Personnel and Administration
Legal Services $173,500 $173,500
Settlement Costs $1,000,000 $1,000,000
FTE – Legal Services 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE
DPA Subtotal $1,173,500 $1,173,500
Department of Law
Legal Services $177,426 $177,426
FTE – Legal Services 1.0 FTE 1.0 FTE
Law Subtotal $177,426 $177,426
Total $1,350,926 $1,350,926
Total FTE 2.0 FTE 2.0 FTE
Department of Law. The department will increase by 1,800 hours per year to provide counsel to state
agencies with respect to supervisor responsibilities under the bill. At the blended rate of $98.57 per
hour, an appropriation of $177,426 and 1.0 FTE will be required to carry out the requirements in the
bill.
Department of Labor and Employment. The bill’s requirements will increase the workload for the
department to determine and classify which occupational requirements may require the new
restrictions on the use of medical or retail marijuana. The expected workload increase is minimal and
can be absorbed within existing staff and appropriations.
Judicial Department. To the extent that the bill increases the number of employment-related cases,
workload in the trial courts of the Judicial Department will increase. No change in appropriations is
required to manage a small number of additional civil cases.
Other Budget Impacts
TABOR refunds. The bill is expected to minimally increase the amount of state revenue required to
be refunded to taxpayers. Because TABOR refunds are paid from the General Fund, increased cash
fund revenue will reduce the amount of General Fund available to spend or save.
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve beginning in FY 2022-23. Based
on this fiscal note, the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the
amounts shown in Table 1, which will decrease the amount of General Fund available for other
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February 18, 2022 HB 22-1152
Local Government
Similar to the state, the bill potentially increases costs for cities, counties, school districts, and other
local governments relating to increased liability as an employer. These impacts will vary by local
government and have not been estimated.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 90 days following adjournment of the General Assembly sine die, assuming no
referendum petition is filed.
State Appropriations
For FY 2022-23, the bill requires the following General Fund appropriations:
$177,426 to the Department of Law and 1.0 FTE; and
$1,173,500 to the Department of Personnel and Administration, of which $173,500 is
reappropriated to the Department of Law with 1.0 FTE.
State and Local Government Contacts
Counties Judicial Labor
Law Municipalities Personnel
Regulatory Agencies
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.