(1) The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that:
Colorado's conservation easement program is an important preservation tool used tobalance economic needs with natural resources such as land and water preservation. Colorado's conservation easement tax credit and the federal tax deduction have allowed many farmers and ranchers the opportunity to donate their development rights to preserve a legacy of open spaces in Colorado for wildlife, agriculture, and ranching.
Citizens throughout Colorado believe good, sound conservation practices are important to Colorado's quality of life, agriculture, and natural heritage;
Colorado's conservation easement tax credit program was designed to give landowners an incentive to conserve and preserve their land in a predominantly natural, scenic, or open condition;
Creating a division of conservation within the department of regulatory agencies willkeep a firewall between professional evaluation and professional discipline, while creating a division to ensure this program allows landowners to exercise their private property rights while protecting taxpayers from the fraud and abuse that existed in the program prior to 2009;
Establishing the division of conservation to administer the conservation easement taxcredit program will:
Allow the division to continue to certify conservation easement holders to identifyfraudulent or unqualified organizations and prevent them from holding conservation easements for which tax credits are claimed in the state;
Allow the conservation easement oversight commission to advise the division andthe department of revenue regarding conservation easements for which a tax credit is claimed and to review applications for conservation easement holder certification;
Ensure that the division and the department of revenue are sharing relevant information concerning conservation easement appraisals in order to ensure compliance with accepted appraisal practices and other provisions of law; and
Ensure that the fees paid by taxpayers are adequate to pay for the administrativecosts of the division and the conservation easement oversight commission in administering the requirements of this article 15, but not so high as to act as a disincentive to the creation of conservation easements in the state.
Source: L. 2019: Entire title R&RE with relocations, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 717, § 1, effective October 1; (1)(e)(II) and (1)(e)(III) amended and (1)(e)(IV) added, (HB 19-1264), ch. 420, p. 3681, § 12, effective October 1.
Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 12-61-1101 as it existed prior to 2019.
(2) Before its relocation in 2019, this section was amended in HB 19-1264. Those amendments were superseded by the repeal and reenactment of this title 12, effective October 1, 2019. For those amendments to the former section in effect from June 30, 2019, to October 1, 2019, see HB 19-1264, chapter 420, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.