A slew of new state laws take effect today, affecting everything from benefits for elderly legal immigrants to late fees for folks who register boat trailers.
Truckers driving on Interstate 70 will have to start moving over for faster traffic thanks to Senate Bill 196. The law requires trucks in left lanes going up hills with grades of 6 percent or more to drive not less than the minimum speed posted, or if there is no minimum, not less than 10 mph below the regular posted speed.
The law also would bar state Department of Transportation officials from setting a speed limit for trucks that is more than 25 mph lower than the regular speed limit. In some stretches of I-70, the speed limit for trucks is as much as 30 mph lower than the regular limit.
Taken together, the new requirements are likely to speed trucks up some and get them out of the far left lane more often on mountainous stretches of I-70.
Senate Bill 128 will crack down on high-tech Peeping Toms starting today. The measure comes in response to a case in which a man was using a live video feed to spy on a family in a hotel room.
The new law will define as an “invasion of privacy for sexual gratification” the use of live video feeds where a person on camera is naked and has not consented to being photographed.
Also taking effect today is a section of House Bill 1384 that bars elderly legal immigrants from getting on the state’s Old Age Pension program for at least five years. State officials hope that closing a loophole in eligibility requirements will deter families of elderly immigrants who had pledged to take care of their relatives when they sponsored their immigration from trying to enroll their aging family members in the program at the expense of Colorado taxpayers.
The change is expected to save at least $13 million, and more than 2,000 legal elderly immigrants would be barred from the program.
And Coloradans aggravated about a 2009 law that imposed sky-high late fees for registering trailers and camper trailers will see some relief. House Bill 1211 and Senate Bill 198 will lower those late fees from $100 to $10.
Other laws taking effect include:
• House Bill 1347, which increases the penalties for drunk drivers who commit second and third offenses.
• Senate Bill 80, allowing judges to include family pets in the protective orders issued in domestic-violence cases.
• Senate Bill 156, which gives those who own or rent mobile homes more protections from being evicted from mobile-home parks without cause or on short notice.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
