CO HB1315

Creates "major political party vacancy elections" held during odd-year coordinated elections to fill General Assembly vacancies, replacing the current system where vacancy committees alone select replacements for certain timeframes

Candidates must be party members by the first business day of January preceding the election and district residents for at least one year; voters must be affiliated with the same party or unaffiliated and reside in the district

Candidates qualify for the ballot by obtaining signatures from 30% of vacancy committee members or submitting a petition with 200 elector signatures

Requires vacancy committee meetings to be livestreamed and recorded for public access; newly appointed precinct committeepersons cannot participate in vacancy committee processes for 91 days after appointment

Appropriates $320,240 from the Department of State cash fund for implementation; state reimburses counties 45% of costs for conducting these elections when no other statewide ballot content exists