These new Colorado laws take effect Tuesday — regulating gun shops, sexual assault cases, youth detention and more

New laws regulating Colorado gun store licenses firearm permits and the number of youth the state can keep in pretrial detention kicked into effect Tuesday The first day of July is typically one of the earliest effective dates for new laws passed by the legislature in the spring and winter and it remains a common implementation day for bills passed in prior years too Among the several new laws coming online Tuesday include a provision of a drug remedy bill that allows more access to medication-assisted medicine and requires improved tracking of detox services Another brings an easing of requirements for people who inspect water or gas backflow devices One new law consolidates two emergency hotlines into one making both reachable by calling a mental robustness source Another ends a new scheme that has recognized employers designated as recovery-friendly workplaces for people with substance-use disorders Here s a look at other new laws that went into effect Tuesday New gun regulations Two holdovers from the legislative session kick into effect Tuesday Part of a broader package of gun-control bills passed last year both measures apply tighter regulations to segments of selling and carrying firearms They were sponsored by Democratic lawmakers House Bill - requires Coloradans seeking a concealed-carry permit to complete an in-person training class and pass a written exam and a live-fire exercise with a gun The lesson must last at least eight hours which can include both the written and live-fire tests House Bill - requires gun shops to have a state license on top of a federal permit to sell firearms They re required to conduct fingerprint background checks on their employees every three years while training staff on preventing self-harm or straw purchases in which one person buys a weapon for another person Stores are also subject to random inspections The law was intended to give local bureaucrats more investigative and if necessary punitive power over gun stores rather than relying on federal oversight Compromise on youth detention beds The product of extensive behind-the-scenes negotiations this spring House Bill allows more beds to be used to keep kids in custody before their trials State law caps that number at youths at any one time HB- increases the extra urgency beds now allowed by another but they are only to be used if the state has hit its ceiling The bill s backers had initially sought to nearly double the bed cap But pushback to the proposal and Denver Post reporting about the lack of safety in the facilities prompted the bill to be scaled back to a smaller emergency-only boost The bipartisan bill also launches a pilot plan for staff members to wear body-worn cameras in one detention facility and another commitment facility More judges across state Senate Bill adds judges to various district and county courts across the state Five of those positions are funded starting Tuesday and the rest will kick in next year This year one new district judge will go to district courts for the judicial regions based in El Paso Adams Arapahoe and Douglas counties La Plata County will also receive a new county judge Repealed grant programs The Joint Budget Committee during this year s legislative session was not exactly a land of plenty As such budget-writing legislators trimmed cut reshuffled and repealed until they d scaled back spending by roughly billion Among the departing programs officially repealed starting Tuesday are a computer-science development grant for teachers in citizens schools a fund to help high schools pay for advanced placement and International Baccalaureate exams and grants for institutions of higher coaching to pay for programs for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities Related Articles Republican state legislator from Berthoud resigning for new job in Arizona RTD board gives tentative yes to pursuing Front Range traveler rail between Denver Fort Collins Colorado attempts crackdown on maintains sharks for veterans benefits amid national debate over industry Charity fundraiser organizers send to CBI to urge faster action on rape kit backlog Tough years ahead for Colorado especially if Trump s budget bill passes as is economists warn Expanded shield law Last year lawmakers passed House Bill - which generally prohibited courts from allowing descriptions of a victim s clothing or past sexual history with their alleged assailant to be used in proceedings of criminal sexual assault cases This year the legislature passed House Bill a bipartisan law that applies to civil cases about sexual assault In those settings speech hairstyle lifestyle and clothing generally can t be used as evidence related to consent harm or credibility Defense attorneys can seek to include them but that can happen only after a hearing with the judge overseeing the matter Past sexual history can also generally not be included except for DNA and biological evidence intended to prove another person committed the assault Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot