The Colorado Self Storage Association (CoSSA), with financial support from the national Self Storage Association (SSA), introduced a new bill to the Colorado legislature on Jan. 13 to modernize the states self-storage lien law. The first Senate hearing on the bill will take place Jan. 31 in Denver, where both the CoSSA and the SSA will testify.

Senate Bill 11-039, A Bill for an Act Concerning the Consequences of Default in Payments Due for Storage of Personal Property in a Self-Storage Facility, provides self-storage operators with more options for lien-sale notifications and eliminates the newspaper lien-advertising requirement. It also includes an improved vehicle lien law.

Under SB 11-039, self-storage operators in the state could use e-mail and verified mail for lien notification in lieu of the more expensive Certified Mail standard. The bill also allows lien sales to be advertised in a commercially reasonable manner as opposed to in the newspaper.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Lois Tochtrop and House Representative Tom Massey.

CoSSA hired lobbyist firm Colorado Communiqué Inc. to help shepherd the new bill and get it passed. The current self-storage lien law in Colorado, Section 38-21.5, was enacted in the 1980s. CoSSA believes the proposed changes to the law will create a more efficient and less expensive lien-sale process for the states facility operators.