Second Regular Session Seventieth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 16-0734.01 Duane Gall x4335 HOUSE BILL 16-1108 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Conti, SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees Business Affairs and Labor A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning the obligation of the seller of residential real property to disclose the prior use of the property for indoor horticultural operations. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill requires the Colorado real estate commission to adopt rules for the disclosure in a listing contract, contract of sale, or seller's disclosure of whether the property was used for the cultivation of 7 or more plants of specified size using any amount of pesticides or fertilizers. An exemption from the disclosure requirement is provided if the seller has the property inspected and certified safe by a qualified inspector. Section 2 of the bill authorizes and directs the state board of health, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture, to adopt rules for the training and certification of inspectors. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds and determines that: (a) Section 16 (3) (b) of article XVIII of the Colorado constitution gives adult Coloradans the right to possess up to six marijuana plants for their personal, recreational use; (b) Section 14 (4) (b) of article XVIII of the Colorado constitution provides an affirmative defense to a charge of possession of more than six plants based on a person's asserted need for more than this amount for medicinal purposes; (c) Due to the recent increase in the number of home marijuana-growing operations for recreational purposes, the ease of obtaining a medical marijuana card, the availability of the affirmative defense based on asserted medical necessity, and the budgetary and practical limitations on enforcement of the six-plant limit, many single-family homes in Colorado are now being used for the cultivation of more than six marijuana plants; (d) A mature marijuana plant is large, often over five feet in height, and like any other large plant, its cultivation requires significant amounts of water in addition to any fertilizers, pesticides, artificial light, and increased heat that the owner may use to promote growth; and (e) When such an operation is conducted inside a residential space, the resulting increases in temperature and humidity and the introduction of chemicals may make the residence unusually susceptible to mold and other biological contaminants as well as an unhealthy accumulation of chemicals not normally found in a home. (2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that it is in the public interest to require the seller of a home in which seven or more large plants have been grown to disclose this fact to potential buyers. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 25-1-108, add (1.5) as follows: 25-1-108. Powers and duties of state board of health - definition - rules. (1.5) (a) The board, in consultation with the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's designee, shall promulgate rules in accordance with section 24-4-103, C.R.S., concerning: (I) Procedures for testing contamination, evaluating contamination, and establishing the acceptable standards for cleanup of residential structures in which indoor horticultural operations have been or may have been conducted; (II) Procedures for a training and certification program for people involved in the assessment, decontamination, and sampling of indoor horticultural operations. The board may develop different levels of training and certification requirements based on a person's prior experience in the assessment, decontamination, and sampling of illegal drug laboratories, agricultural operations, or other similar operations. (III) A definition of "assessment", "decontamination", and "sampling" for purposes of this subsection (1.5); (IV) Procedures for the approval of persons to train consultants or contractors in the assessment, decontamination, or sampling of indoor horticultural operations; and (V) Procedures for contractors and consultants to issue certificates of compliance to property owners upon completion of assessment, decontamination, and sampling of indoor horticultural operations to certify that the remediation of the property meets the clean-up standards established by the board under subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a). (b) The board shall establish fees for the following: (I) Certification of persons involved in the assessment, decontamination, and sampling of indoor horticultural operations; (II) Monitoring of persons involved in the assessment, decontamination, and sampling of indoor horticultural operations, if necessary to ensure compliance with this article; and (III) Approval of persons involved in training for consultants or contractors under subparagraph (IV) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1.5). (c) As used in this subsection (1.5), "indoor horticultural operation" means the cultivation, within any residential structure, of seven or more plants of any species capable of growing to a height of three feet or a diameter of two feet and in which any detectable amount of pesticide or fertilizer is used. SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 38-35.7-109 as follows: 38-35.7-109. Disclosure of indoor horticultural operation - applicability - rules. (1) (a) By January 1, 2017, the real estate commission created in section 12-61-105, C.R.S., shall, by rule, require each listing contract, contract of sale, or seller's property disclosure for residential real property that is subject to the commission's jurisdiction pursuant to article 61 of title 12, C.R.S., to disclose whether the subject property was used for an indoor horticultural operation, as defined in section 25-1-108 (1.5), C.R.S. (b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) does not apply if the seller obtains, and the listing agent provides to any party to the contract upon request, a written statement that the property is not contaminated, which statement is signed by a person certified to conduct inspections in accordance with rules of the state board of health under section 25-1-108 (1.5), C.R.S. (2) The obligation to provide the disclosure set forth in subsection (1) of this section is upon the seller. If the seller complies with this section, the purchaser does not have any claim under this section for relief against the seller or any person licensed pursuant to article 61 of title 12, C.R.S., for damages to the purchaser resulting from any alleged effect of indoor horticultural operations. Nothing in this section affects any remedy that the purchaser may otherwise have against the seller. (3) For purposes of this section, "residential real property" means residential land and residential improvements, as those terms are defined in section 39-1-102, C.R.S., but does not include hotels and motels, as those terms are defined in section 39-1-102, C.R.S.; except that a mobile home and a manufactured home, as those terms are defined in section 39-1-102, C.R.S., constitute residential real property only if the mobile home or manufactured home is permanently affixed to a foundation. SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 10, 2016, if adjournment sine die is on May 11, 2016); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2016 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.