DENVER—A summary of bills signed Wednesday by Gov. Bill Ritter:
— Fund a new state judicial complex to be named after former Gov. Ralph Carr and a replacement for the aging Colorado History Museum. The 615,000-square-foot judicial complex will consolidate the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Attorney General’s Office and several other judicial and legal offices. The History Museum, which is now next door to the Supreme Court building, will be relocated to a new 200,000-square-foot facility one block south to make room for the new justice center.
— Change the formula for how federal energy revenue is distributed. Of the $2.7 billion that’s expected in the next 10 years, nearly $2 billion would pay for higher education construction and grants for larger scale projects in oil and gas communities.
— Allow state-funded colleges and universities to use the state’s strong credit rating to get lower interest rates when borrowing money for construction.
— Allow commercial wineries to share production facilities.
— Require the state to regulate oil and gas exploration and waste disposal facilities. Sites must be at least a half mile from homes, schools and parks; fabric must be used to line pits to prevent waste from getting into groundwater.
