The bill creates the health care services reserve corps task force (task force) in the department of public health and environment. The purpose of the task force is to evaluate and make recommendations on the creation of a health care services reserve corps program (program), in which medical professionals could cross-train to be able to serve the state in an emergency or disaster and receive student loan relief for their service.

The task force is required to consider and make findings and recommendations on issues including:

• The types of medical professionals who could participate in a health care services reserve corps program, including how to ensure an appropriate cross section of providers;
• The types of emergencies and disasters for which the program could prepare and provide assistance, and whether the program could be deployed out of state;
• Any legal or regulatory obstacles to creating such a program;
• Liability protections for professionals and facilities participating in the program;
• Whether the program could be streamlined or integrated with existing programs or procedures;
• The types and hours of training that would be required;
• How to ensure the program and cross-training are accessible to rural medical professionals;
• The costs associated with the program;
• Issues related to insurance coverage and reimbursement;
• How the health care services reserve corps would be deployed; and
• The amount, terms of, and funding for the student loan relief that participants would receive.

The task force is required to consult with medical and nursing schools in making recommendations related to the cross-training elements of the program. The task force is authorized to consult with additional stakeholders with expertise in identifying the physical and mental health needs of Coloradans or in coordinating emergency response at the local, state, or federal level to identify additional questions for future consideration by the program.

The task force is required to submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the house public health care and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee by December 1, 2023. The task force is required to meet at least once every 2 months. Task force members serve without compensation and are not eligible for reimbursement for expenses.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires the secretary of state (secretary) and county clerk and recorders (county clerk) of certain counties to provide multilingual ballot access.

The secretary is required to establish a multilingual ballot hotline (hotline) to provide access to qualified translators or interpreters in each of the languages in which the most recent decennial census was offered to assist electors in translating ballot language. The secretary is required to establish the hotline for use during the general election held in November 2022, and for every general election and statewide odd-year election thereafter. The secretary is also required to:

• Provide notice of the hotline to electors through election day;
• Ensure that the translators who provide translations for the multilingual hotline are qualified translators or interpreters; and
• Promulgate rules as may be necessary to create and administer the hotline.

The county clerk of any county that satisfies specified criteria is required to create, in coordination with the secretary, a minority language sample ballot (sample ballot) in any minority language spoken in the county that satisfies the following:

• The minority language is spoken by at least 2,000 citizens in the county age 18 years or older, who speak English less than very well, and who speak the minority language at home; or
• The minority language is spoken by at least 2.5% of citizens in the county age 18 years or older, who speak English less than very well, and who speak the minority language at home.

The bill specifies that the sample ballot must include all of the same content that is on the English language ballot and also specifies the format of the sample ballot. In addition, the bill requires that the sample ballots be available for the general election held in November 2022, and for each general election and statewide odd-year election thereafter.

The county clerk of any county that satisfies specified criteria is required to provide, upon the request of an elector, an in-person minority language ballot (in-person ballot) in any minority language spoken in the county that satisfies the same criteria specified for sample ballots. An in-person ballot can be a ballot on demand, a ballot from a printed stock of ballots, or a ballot via an electronic voting device.

The bill specifies that the in-person ballot must include all of the same content that is on the English language ballot and specifies that in-person ballots are required to be available for the general election held in November 2022, and for each general election and statewide odd-year election thereafter.

The secretary is required to determine, pursuant to specified criteria, which counties in the state are required to provide multilingual ballot access by creating a sample ballot and providing an in-person ballot, and to notify the county clerk of any county that is required to provide such multilingual ballot access.

The secretary is required to provide each county clerk that is required to provide multilingual ballot access with a translation in the applicable minority language or languages of all content that is certified to the county clerks by the secretary of state for use by the county clerk in creating the multilingual ballot access.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill prohibits terminating the life of an unborn child and makes a violation a class 1 felony. The following are exceptions to the prohibition:

• A licensed physician performs a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother, if the physician makes reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner consistent with conventional medical practice; and
• A licensed physician provides medical treatment, including chemotherapy or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, to the mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury to or death of the unborn child.

The pregnant mother upon whom termination of the life of an unborn child is performed or attempted is not subject to a criminal penalty. The sale and use of contraception is not prohibited by the bill. A conviction related to the prohibition of the termination of the life of an unborn child constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of physician licensing.

The bill states that any act, law, treaty, order, or regulation of the United States government that denies or prohibits protection of a human person's inalienable right to life is null, void, and unenforceable in this state and that the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction to interfere with Colorado's interest in protecting human life at conception when human life begins.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates the "Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act" (act) in article 4.5 of title 19, Colorado Revised Statutes. The act:

• Establishes eligibility requirements for entering into surrogacy agreements (agreements) and required elements of agreements;
• Contains provisions governing the termination of agreements and the effect of a death or a change in marital status of any of the parties to such agreements;
• Authorizes court orders recognizing and enforcing agreements;
• Specifies the duties of persons under agreements;
• Authorizes court orders determining parentage; and
• Creates new definitions for agreements.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a pregnancy-based parking placard. The placard is available to a person during the last trimester of the person's pregnancy through the first 2 months after the person gives birth. The placard authorizes the person to park in reserved disability parking spaces.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

With certain exceptions, current law prohibits a concealed carry permit holder from carrying a concealed handgun on public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school grounds. The bill removes this limitation.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates, unless otherwise required by federal law , a public or assisted housing benefit exception to the requirement that an applicant for federal, state, or local public benefits verify lawful presence in the United States.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

The bill adds a requirement, as part of mandatory health insurance coverage of preventive health care services, that health plans cover an annual mental health wellness examination of up to 60 minutes that is performed by a qualified mental health care provider. The coverage must:

• Be comparable to the coverage of a physical examination;
• Comply with the requirements of federal mental health parity laws; and
• Not require any deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance for the mental health wellness examination.

The coverage applies to plans issued on or after January 1, 2022.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill updates certain actions described as sexual exploitation of a child to reflect access and viewing due to evolving technology.

The bill makes sexual exploitation of a child an extraordinary risk crime, enhancing the presumptive sentencing range in certain circumstances.

The bill creates the sexual exploitation of children surcharge for any person who is convicted of or receives a deferred sentence for sexual exploitation of a child. Ninety-five percent of the surcharge goes to the sexual exploitation of children surcharge fund. The money in the fund will provide funding to the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) to develop and acquire, and allow the bureau to help other law enforcement agencies with developing and acquiring, necessary technological and expert resources to investigate and prosecute computer-facilitated crimes of sexual exploitation of a child.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill repeals statutory provisions:

• Prohibiting the sale, transfer, or possession of certain large-capacity ammunition magazines; and
• Requiring each large-capacity ammunition magazine manufactured in Colorado on or after July 1, 2013, to include a permanent stamp or marking indicating that the magazine was manufactured or assembled after July 1, 2013.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Beginning in 2023, the bill allows a municipality to refer a municipal election using instant runoff voting to be conducted as part of a coordinated election. The secretary of state is required to promulgate rules establishing the minimum system requirements and specifications for a voting system to be used in an election using instant runoff voting by March 31, 2022. After March 31, 2022, a system that has been tested and satisfies the standards promulgated by the secretary of state may be submitted for certification for use in an election using instant runoff voting. If the secretary of state certifies a system, the secretary is required to negotiate and purchase, if possible, a single annual statewide license with the provider to allow each county that uses the voting system to conduct elections using instant runoff voting.

On and after January 1, 2023, a statutory city or town or home rule municipality that has taken formal action to conduct an election using instant runoff voting may refer the election to be conducted as part of a coordinated election by providing written notice to the county clerk and recorder. If the county uses a voting system that is certified for use in an election using instant runoff voting, the county clerk and recorder must conduct the election as part of the coordinated election. The municipality referring the election is responsible for any reasonable additional costs the county incurs as a result of conducting an instant runoff voting election.

If the referring municipality is located in more than one county, the counties are required to conduct the election using instant runoff voting only if each county receives timely notice, each county uses a voting system certified for such use, and the data from all the counties' voting systems can be tabulated together in accordance with rules promulgated by the secretary of state for conducting instant runoff elections across multiple counties. The counties and the municipality are required to enter into an agreement for the conduct of the election, which must specify the procedures for the county canvass boards to canvass the election.

For any instant runoff voting election conducted as part of a coordinated election, the secretary of state is the designated election official responsible for tabulating and reporting the results. The secretary of state is required, by December 31, 2022, to promulgate rules related to instant runoff voting elections including the procedures for conducting logic and accuracy tests and risk limiting audits, and for the tabulation, reporting, and canvassing of results.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires a provider of services related to child and youth out-of-home placement (service provider) to provide fair and equal access to all available programs, benefits, and services offered by the service provider. Services related to out-of-home placement must be provided in a manner that is culturally responsive to the complex social identity of the youth receiving such services.

A service provider is prohibited from denying any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent, or delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care, on the basis of the real or perceived disability, race, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or any communicable disease, including HIV, of the prospective adoptive or foster parent or the child.

The bill requires that foster parent training include instruction on the right of a foster child to have fair and equal access to all available services and other health and educational services available to foster children.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill replaces the term "illegal alien" with "worker without authorization" as it relates to public contracts for services.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires the court, when determining the type of bond and conditions of release for a person arrested for violating a protection order, if it sets a bond with a monetary condition, to set the amount not less than:

• $10,000 for the person's first arrest for violating a protection order; and
• $25,000 for the person's second or subsequent arrest for violating a protection order.

The bill does not prohibit the court from determining the type of bond or non-monetary conditions of release to a person's bond.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Federal law requires federally licensed firearms dealers to conduct background checks of prospective transferees prior to transferring a firearm by contacting the national instant criminal background check system (NICS). A dealer is not required to conduct a NICS background check of a prospective transferee if the transferee presents a state license or permit that is recognized by the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives (ATF) as an alternative to a NICS background check. In order to be eligible for recognition, a permit must have been issued within 5 years before the transfer and the state must have completed a NICS background check prior to issuing the permit.

The bill makes a Colorado-issued permit to carry a concealed handgun eligible for recognition as an alternative to a NICS background check by requiring a sheriff to receive the results of a background check prior to issuing or renewing the permit. The Colorado attorney general is required to contact the ATF to request that a Colorado-issued permit qualifies as an alternative to the federal background check requirement. Upon approval by the ATF, a concealed carry permit issued after the effective date of the bill can be used to satisfy a background check required by state or federal law. A permit issued in another state that is otherwise recognized in Colorado is not valid as a substitute for a background check.

A prospective transferee who presents a permit as an alternative to a background check must attest, in writing, that the person has not, since the issuance of the permit, been convicted of a crime of domestic violence or been treated for a mental health condition, or is otherwise ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to state or federal law.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires the state department of human services (state department) to reimburse a county or district department of human or social services (county department) for costs paid by the county department to a public or private driving school for the provision of driving instruction to an individual in the custody of the county department who is 15 to 20 years of age.

The bill states that it does not waive or limit a county department's governmental immunity or place any liability on a county department for:

• Contracting with a driving school to provide driving instruction to an individual who is in the custody of the county department; or
• An injury alleged to have occurred while an individual in the custody of the county department received driving instruction.

The bill requires the state board of human services to promulgate rules on or before December 1, 2021, to administer the new requirements.

The bill states that:

• A guardian ad litem, an official of a county department, or an official of the division of youth services in the state department who signs a minor's application for an instruction permit or a minor driver's license but does not sign an affidavit of liability does not impute liability on themselves, on the county, or on the state for any damages caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the applicant; and
• An individual who is in the custody of the state department or a county department who does not possess all of the required documents to apply for an instruction permit or a minor driver's license may be eligible for exception processing pursuant to rules of the department of revenue.

The bill requires the executive director of the department of revenue to promulgate rules on or before November 1, 2021, establishing, to the extent permissible under federal law, forms of documentation that are acceptable for the purpose of allowing individuals who are in the custody of the state department or a county department to verify their legal residence in the United States, establish identity, and satisfy any other prerequisites for the acquisition of an instruction permit or a minor driver's license.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a regulatory and service system to provide secure transportation services, with different requirements from traditional ambulance services, for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The department of human services shall allow for the development of secure transportation alternatives.

The board of county commissioners of the county in which the secure transportation service is based (commissioners) shall issue a license to an entity (licensee), valid for 3 years, that provides secure transportation services if the minimum requirements set by rule by the state board of health are met or exceeded. The commissioners shall also issue operating permits, valid for 12 months following issuance, to each vehicle operated by the licensee. A fee may be charged for each license to reflect the direct and indirect costs to the applicable county in implementing secure transportation services licensure. The state board of health is given authority to promulgate rules concerning secure transportation licensure.

The department of health care policy and financing (department) is directed to create and implement a secure transportation benefit on or before January 1, 2023. The department is required to include information on secure transportation services and benefits in its annual "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" report.

The bill exempts secure transportation services from regulation under the public utilities commission.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill provides that only an elector who has provided proof of citizenship can vote in an election. Registered electors who have presented a county clerk and recorder with proof of citizenship receive regular mail ballots. All other registered electors receive provisional mail ballots. Electors who receive provisional mail ballots must present those ballots at the county clerk and recorder's office and must provide proof of citizenship at the county clerk and recorder's office.

The bill also ensures that only voters who have provided proof of citizenship can cast a regular in-person ballot.

Finally, the bill requires the computerized statewide voter registration list maintained by the secretary of state to note whether an elector has shown proof of citizenship.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a civil cause of action for a person who suffers injury or damages as a result of not being able to use a firearm to defend himself, herself, or his or her family as a result of a temporary extreme risk protection order or an ongoing extreme risk protection order. The civil action may be brought against any person who drafted, proposed, promoted, or provided support, financial or otherwise, to pass, implement, or enforce House Bill 19-1177, extreme risk protection orders. A successful plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees and compensatory damages or liquidated damages.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law does not expressly recognize domestic abuse as a form of child abuse or neglect. The bill adds domestic abuse, when a child's parent, legal guardian, or custodian exposes a child to their perpetration of domestic abuse, to the definition of child abuse or neglect.

Under current law, child welfare caseworkers do not have established training policies or assessment procedures to identify and assess situations when a child's parent, legal guardian, or custodian exposes a child to their perpetration of domestic abuse. The bill requires the department of human services to promulgate rules to implement assessment policies, procedures, and training for child welfare caseworkers to recognize and assess situations when a child's parent, legal guardian, or custodian exposes a child to their perpetration of domestic abuse.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

With respect to a hearing in dependency and neglect for a child under 6 years of age, the bill states that a court may find good cause for granting a delay or continuance if there is evidence that in-person visitation or services were significantly delayed or interrupted by a public health emergency.

When a child is taken into the custody of a county department of human or social services (county department) for allegations of neglect or for other reasons, the bill requires the court to enter temporary visitation orders with the child's parent if such orders are in the child's best interests. The bill sets forth the contents of those orders, including the minimum frequency and level of supervision of the visits. The court shall order ongoing, in-person visitation unless it finds that in-person visitation would endanger the child's health or welfare. Within 30 days after the initial hearing, the county department shall make recommendations to the court concerning ongoing visitation between the parent and child and between the child and the child's siblings. A parent is entitled to a hearing prior to an ongoing reduction in, suspension of, or increase in the level of supervision, including a change from in-person visitation to virtual visitation. The bill requires the court to enter visitation orders consistent with the bill in various phases of the court proceedings.

The bill sets forth requirements for an open adoption in Colorado, including provisions for entering into post-adoption contact agreements between a child and the child's birth parent or parents, a birth relative, or an Indian tribe if the child is a member. A post-adoption contact agreement may include provisions for contact, visitation, or the exchange of information. If a child is 12 years of age or older, the court shall not order a post-adoption contact agreement unless the child consents to all terms of the contact agreement. The bill includes provisions for the enforcement, modification, and termination of a post-adoption contact agreement.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Section 1 of the bill removes the low-income energy assistance program administered by Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) from the grant program reserve funded by tier 2 severance tax operational fund money.Section 2 clarifies that the definition of a "low-income utility customer", with regard to the public utilities commission's (PUC) consideration of a preference or advantage that a gas or electric utility grants a low-income utility customer, means a utility customer who meets the Colorado department of human services' income eligibility criteria.Sections 3 and 4 make modifications to the legislative commission on low-income energy assistance, wherein section 3 expands the commission's scope to include water utility assistance and section 4 reduces the composition of the commission from 11 members to 7 members. Section 4 also requires the commission to:

• Advise the Colorado energy office (office) on grants awarded from the federal department of energy regarding the office's weatherization assistance program;
• Advise water utilities that provide their customers with utility assistance and efficiency programs; and
• Review EOC's annual budget that it submits to the PUC regarding the use of funding for utility bill payment assistance.

Sections 5, 6, and 8 to 10 concern the creation of an energy assistance system benefit charge, which is a mandatory monthly charge that investor-owned electric and gas utilities are required to collect from their customers. The initial amount of the charge per customer is $1 for electric service provided and $1 for natural gas service provided, but the PUC may adopt rules to modify the amount of the charge, so long as the charge is at least $1 per service provided. Investor-owned utilities are required to remit the charges collected to EOC to help finance the direct utility bill payment assistance and energy retrofit programs that EOC administers for low-income households.Sections 7 and 11 concern voluntary, opt-in charges that a water utility may offer its customers to help finance the water utility bill payment assistance program that EOC administers. Alternatively, a water utility may implement its own water utility bill payment assistance program.Section 12 requires EOC and the office, when installing energy retrofits for low-income households, to prioritize customer savings, emission reductions, and improving indoor air quality.Section 13 governs reporting requirements for EOC regarding the mandatory monthly energy assistance system benefit charge and voluntary, opt-in monthly water utility bill payment assistance collections.Sections 14 to 17 make conforming amendments.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires that firearms be responsibly and securely stored when they are not in use to prevent access by unsupervised juveniles and other unauthorized users. The bill creates the offense of unlawful storage of a firearm if a person stores a firearm in a manner that the person knows, or should know:

• That a juvenile can gain access to the firearm without the permission of the juvenile's parent or guardian; or
• A resident of the premises is ineligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law.

Unlawful storage of a firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor.

The bill requires licensed gun dealers to provide with each firearm, at the time of a firearm sale or transfer, a locking device capable of securing the firearm. Transferring a firearm without a locking device is an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $500 fine.

The bill requires the state court administrator to annually report to the general assembly about the number of charges related to unsafe firearms storage and the disposition of those charges.

The bill requires the office of suicide prevention within the department of public health and environment (department) to include on its website, and in materials provided to firearms-related businesses and health care providers, information about the offense of unlawful storage of a firearm, penalties for providing a handgun to a juvenile or allowing a juvenile to possess a firearm, and the requirement that gun dealers provide a locking device with each firearm transferred. Subject to available money, the department is required to develop and implement a firearms safe storage education campaign to educate the public about the safe storage of firearms and state requirements related to firearms safety and storage.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Under current law, it is unlawful for a person to make available on the internet personal information of a law enforcement official (official) or a human services worker (worker), or the official's or worker's family, if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the official's or worker's safety or the safety of the official's or worker's family. A violation of this law is a class 1 misdemeanor.

Further, a worker meeting certain requirements specified in statute may submit a written request to a state or local government official to remove personal information from public records that are available on the internet.

The bill adds the same protections for public health workers, including employees, contractors, or employees of contractors of the department of public health and environment, or of county or district public health agencies, who are engaged in public health duties, and for members of county or district boards of health, other than elected county commissioners.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill amends the definition of "sexual orientation" and adds definitions of the terms "gender expression" and "gender identity". The bill also adds the terms "gender expression" and "gender identity" to statutes prohibiting discrimination against members of a protected class, including statutes prohibiting discriminatory practices in the following areas:

• Membership of the Colorado civil rights commission;
• Employment practices;
• Housing practices;
• Places of public accommodation;
• Publications that advertise places of public accommodation;
• Consumer credit transactions;
• Selection of patients by direct primary health care providers;
• Sales of cemetery plots;
• Membership in labor organizations;
• Colorado labor for public works projects;
• Issuance or renewal of automobile insurance policies;
• The provision of funeral services and crematory services;
• Eligibility for jury service;
• Issuance of licenses to practice law;
• The juvenile diversion program;
• Access to services for youth in foster care;
• Enrollment in a charter school, institute charter school, public school, or pilot school;
• Local school boards' written policies regarding employment, promotion, and dismissal;
• The assignment or transfer of a public school teacher;
• Leasing portions of the grounds of or improvements on the grounds of the Colorado state university - Pueblo and the Colorado school of mines;
• Enrollment or classification of students at private occupational schools;
• Training provided to peace officers concerning the prohibition against profiling;
• Criminal justice data collection;
• Employment in the state personnel system;
• The availability of services for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections;
• Membership of the health equity commission;
• The availability of family planning services;
• Requirements for managed care programs participating in the state medicaid program and the children's basic health plan;
• The treatment of and access to services by individuals in facilities providing substance use disorder treatment programs;
• Employment practices of county departments of human or social services involving the selection, retention, and promotion of employees;
• Practices of the Colorado housing and finance authority in making or committing to make a housing facility loan;
• The imposition of occupancy requirements on charitable property for which the owner is claiming an exemption from property taxes based on the charitable use of the property;
• The determination of whether expenses paid at or to a club that has a policy to restrict membership are tax deductible; and
• Practices of transportation network companies in providing services to the public.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill adds language to strengthen current Colorado law related to protections against discrimination on the basis of disability for persons with disabilities. The added provisions include:

• Prohibiting a person with a disability from being excluded from participating in or being denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of a public entity;
• Clarifying that such prohibition includes the failure of a public entity to substantially comply with web content accessibility guidelines established and published by an international consortium;
• Any Colorado agency with the authority to promulgate rules shall not promulgate a rule that provides less protection than that provided by the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990".
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill clarifies that the existing authority of cities and counties to plan for and regulate the use of land includes the authority to regulate development or redevelopment in order to promote the construction of new affordable housing units. The provisions of the state's rent control statute do not apply to any land use regulation that restricts rents on newly constructed or redeveloped housing units as long as the regulation provides a choice of options to the property owner or land developer and creates one or more alternatives to the construction of new affordable housing units on the building site.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill broadens the state's priorities and focus on suicide and suicide attempts and the after-effects of those actions on attempt survivors, family, friends, health care providers, first and last responders, educators, and students in schools where a suicide or suicide attempt has occurred.

The following entities are renamed as follows to reflect the new state focus:

• The "office of suicide prevention" is renamed as the "office of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention";
• The "suicide prevention commission" is renamed as the "suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention commission" and its duties expanded to include training and education for health care providers, first and last responders, and educators, as well as developing a plan for follow-up care for suicide attempt survivors who were treated in an emergency department;
• The "Colorado suicide prevention plan" is renamed as the "Colorado suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention plan". The components of the plan are expanded to include training and education for health care providers, first and last responders, and educators, as well as developing a plan for follow-up care for suicide attempt survivors who were treated in an emergency department.
• The "crisis and suicide prevention training grant program" is renamed as the "crisis and suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention training grant program"; and
• The "suicide prevention coordination cash fund" is renamed as the "suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention coordination cash fund".
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill creates the "Guard Training and Standards Act" (Act). The Act requires the following persons to obtain a license to practice their occupation:

• Armed guards who, for financial compensation, carry a firearm and may use physical force to protect a person or property;
• Protection guards who, for financial compensation, may use physical force to protect a person or property; and
• Security guards who, for financial compensation, secure a person or property.

The Act also requires a guard employer to be registered with the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies (director).

The licensing is administered by the director, who, subject to the administrative procedures act, has the power and duty to:

• Promulgate rules;
• Establish licensure fees;
• Investigate, hold hearings, and gather evidence;
• Enter, during business hours, the business premises of a licensee where violations are alleged to have occurred;
• Take disciplinary action upon proof of a violation of the Act or the rules promulgated to implement the Act;
• Issue cease-and-desist orders;
• Apply to a court for an order enjoining any act or practice that violates the Act;
• Approve training programs that are required to meet the standards for licensure as a protection guard or an armed guard;
• Implement a requirement that protection guards and armed guards wear body cameras and record interactions with members of the public in a similar manner to the requirements for peace officers;
• Set marking, design, and equipment standards for motor vehicles used by a guard in the guard's duties;
• Set standards for uniforms, including external identification, worn by a guard;
• Set standards for when it is appropriate to wear plain clothes and for the issuance of a plainclothes permit; and
• Establish a procedure and standards for waiving a portion of the training required for a protection guard or an armed guard to be issued a license.

A person may use the titles of "security guard", "protection guard", or "armed guard" only if the person is licensed. A person who engages in the occupation of being a guard without the required license or who employs a guard without a registration commits a class 2 misdemeanor for the first offense and a class 6 felony for the second or subsequent offense. Peace officers are exempt from the licensing requirements.

To be issued a license, a person must apply, pay a fee, prove qualifications as required in the Act, and submit to a criminal history background check. Upon being licensed, the person is given a license document that contains the guard's photograph and other relevant information.

Security guards are prohibited from carrying a firearm and using physical force to secure or protect people or property. To be qualified for a security guard license, a person must not have a conviction within the last 10 years for certain crimes that relate to violence or unlawful sexual behavior or for attempting or conspiring to commit these types of crimes.

Protection guards are prohibited from carrying a firearm. To be qualified for a protection guard license, a person must:

• Not have a conviction, within the last 10 years, for the same type of crimes described for security guards; and
• Have successfully completed 80 hours of training that is approved by rule and covers the obligations and restrictions imposed on a protection guard by the Act.

To be qualified for an armed guard license, a person must:

• Have a concealed carry permit for firearms;
• Not have a conviction, within the last 10 years, for the same type of crimes described for security guards;
• Have successfully completed 80 hours of training that is approved by rule and covers the obligations and restrictions imposed on an armed guard by the Act; and
• Have completed firearms training that is substantially equivalent to the training required to be certified as a peace officer.

To renew a protection guard license or armed guard license, the license holder must successfully complete 8 hours of training approved by the director by rule.

Within 30 days after a felony or misdemeanor conviction for certain listed crimes, which are broader than the crimes that disqualify a person to be a guard because the crimes cover certain property offenses and offenses involving fraud, a guard must report the conviction to the director. Within 30 days after terminating the employment of a guard for misconduct, a guard employer must report the termination and the misconduct that is the basis for the termination to the director. Within 30 days after using physical force to protect a person or property, a guard and the guard's employer must report the use of physical force to the director. The report must include the demographic information, as required by rule, of the guard using physical force and of the individual subjected to the physical force.

The director will maintain a database of licensed guards. The database contains the name of each licensee and the following information about each licensee:

• Each criminal conviction of the type the guard must report; and
• Each termination of employment for misconduct and the misconduct.

The director will make the database available, including online through the director's website, to a registered guard employer.

The Act establishes standards of conduct for guards that include obeying the Act and rules promulgated under the Act and the following standards:

• All guards must:
• Wear a uniform unless the guard has been issued a plainclothes permit;
• Carry the guard's license;
• Use a vehicle that complies with the marking, design, and equipment rules promulgated by the director; and
• Not use a canine to detect explosive devices unless the canine is certified by a nationally recognized training association or a law enforcement agency, and the guard handling the canine is one of the canine's primary handlers.
• An armed guard must wear a form of identification on the outermost part of the armed guard's uniform.

The director sets standards for issuing a plainclothes permit.

The director may discipline each type of guard or a guard employer for:

• Fraud or intentional misrepresentation in obtaining or attempting to obtain, reinstate, or renew a license;
• Violating a currently valid order of the director;
• Violating the Act or a rule promulgated under the Act;
• Being convicted of a felony when acting within the course and scope of the guard's duties;
• Using false advertising or intentionally misleading advertising;
• Failing to meet the mentioned standards of practice;
• Failing to pay a fine assessed by the director; and
• Using deadly force or authorizing the use of deadly force against any individual unless the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent an immediate risk of serious physical harm to an individual.

The director may discipline or require additional training of:

• A security guard for using unlawful physical force on another person;
• A protection guard or armed guard for:
• Failing to use a body camera;
• Using physical force that is prohibited for peace officers to use; or
• Being convicted of a crime that would disqualify the protection guard or armed guard from being issued a license; and
• A guard employer for:
• Authorizing a guard to take an action that is a ground for discipline;
• Failing to ensure that protection guards and armed guards use body cameras; or
• Failing to make a required report.

The director may adopt rules establishing fines that the director may impose on a licensee for violating the Act or rules under the Act, with a minimum fine of not less than $50 and a maximum fine of not more than $5,000 per violation.

In accordance with the sunset law, the Act will repeal on September 1, 2031. Before the repeal, the Act is scheduled for review by the department of regulatory agencies.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under existing law, certain residential landlords must give 10 days' notice to tenants prior to starting eviction proceedings for failure to pay rent or for a first or subsequent violation of any other condition or covenant other than a substantial violation. The bill requires landlords to give 14 days' notice in those situations.

Under existing law, the clerk of the court or the attorney for the plaintiff may issue a summons to a defendant in an eviction action. The bill requires that the clerk of the court issue the summons in a residential eviction action. The bill extends the period for which the summons must be issued from 7 days before the court appearance to 14 days before the court appearance.

Under existing law, in certain circumstances, a person may serve a notice to quit or summons to the tenant by posting a copy of the notice or summons and the complaint in a conspicuous place upon the premises and a person may serve a notice to quit by leaving it with a member of the tenant's family who is at least 15 years old. The bill removes those provisions for service in residential tenancy actions and requires that the notice to quit or summons be served in the same manner as any other civil action.

Under existing law, if a landlord wins judgment in an eviction action, the court cannot issue a writ of restitution, which directs the county sheriff to assist the landlord in removing the tenant, until 48 hours after judgment. The bill extends the period for residential evictions to 14 days after judgment.

The bill prohibits residential landlords from increasing rent more than one time in a 12-month period of tenancy.

The bill extends the notice period for nonpayment of rent for a home owner in a mobile home park from 10 days to 14 days.

Under existing law, for a tenancy of one month or longer but less than 6 months in which there is no written agreement between the landlord and tenant, a landlord must give 21 days' written notice to the tenant prior to increasing the rent. For a residential tenancy, the bill extends the notice period to 60 days and makes it apply to a tenancy of any duration without a written agreement. The bill prohibits a landlord from terminating a residential tenancy in which there is no written agreement with the primary purpose of increasing a tenant's rent without providing 60 days' notice.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill suspends the administration of state assessments, contingent on a change to federal law or a waiver of federal law from the federal department of education, for the following instructional areas for the 2020-21 school year:

• Science administered to students enrolled in grades 5, 8, and 11;
• Math administered to students enrolled in grades 3 through 8;
• English language arts administered to students enrolled in grades 3 through 8; and
• Social studies administered to students enrolled in grades 4 and 7.

The bill prohibits a school district from using student academic growth measures or student performance measures when evaluating teachers and principals for the 2020-21 school year.

The bill requires a school or a school district to implement the school plan type that was assigned in the preceding school year. The bill requires the department of education, in determining the number of school years that a school or school district is on performance watch, to exclude the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, and count the 2021-22 school year as if it were consecutive to the 2018-19 school year.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Statutory Revision Committee. House Bill 00-1351, enacted in 2000, removed the provision permitting a child care contribution income tax credit for an in-kind contribution. Accordingly, the bill removes all references in the statute to an in-kind contribution. The bill also repeals an obsolete provision that is only applicable to the income tax year that commenced on or after January 1, 1999, but prior to January 1, 2000.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

A crime victim is entitled to compensation under the "Colorado Crime Victim Compensation Act" if, in part, the victim cooperates with law enforcement officials. The bill clarifies that a victim of strangulation satisfies the cooperation requirement by undergoing a medical forensic examination.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill directs the state department of health care policy and financing (department) to obtain a vendor to provide a comprehensive care coordination and treatment training model (model) for persons who work with persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring behavioral health needs. The selected vendor must be able to provide the model using teleconferencing formats to better reach rural areas of the state. Case management agencies, mental health centers, and program-approved service agencies shall nominate up to 20 providers to receive the training. The department may select an additional 10 providers from underserved areas of the state to receive the training.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill creates the Colorado bipartisan election commission (commission) in the department of state, a 5-member panel whose main function is to make recommendations to the secretary of state (secretary) and the general assembly concerning the manner in which a comprehensive audit of the state's election processes is to be conducted.

The bill specifies requirements relating to the qualifications of persons appointed to the commission and the operation of the commission. The commission is to determine such matters as the scope of the audit, the matters to be audited, and the procedures that will guide the audit.

The bill also requires the commission to consider whether an audit should consider additional issues specified in the bill.

The commission is required to prepare a report summarizing its findings and conclusions by December 1, 2021. The report must include the commission's recommendation on the manner in which a comprehensive audit of the state's election processes must be conducted. The commission may also include in its report any recommendations for changes in the Colorado Revised Statutes or the election rules of the secretary of state that will facilitate the administration of secure and fair elections in the state. The commission is required to submit its report to the secretary, the legislative audit committee, and the general assembly.

The commission is repealed September 1, 2022.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws. The bill enacts the "Uniform Recognition and Enforcement of Canadian Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act" as recommended by the national conference of commissioners on uniform state laws. The bill allows a peace officer to enforce a Canadian domestic violence protection order. The bill allows a court to enter an order enforcing or refusing to enforce a Canadian domestic violence protection order. The bill provides immunity for a person who enforces a Canadian domestic violence protection order.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires health-care providers that perform induced terminations of pregnancies to report specified information concerning the women who obtain the procedure to the state registrar of vital statistics in the department of public health and environment. The reported information must not include information that could identify the women who obtained induced terminations of pregnancies.

The bill requires the state registrar to annually create a summary report of the information reported by health-care providers and to make the report available to the public. The bill places limitations on how and to whom the state registrar may release the information reported to the state registrar. A physician or physician assistant who falsifies or fails to submit the required information engages in unprofessional conduct pursuant to the "Colorado Medical Practice Act". An advanced practice registered nurse who falsifies or fails to submit the required information is subject to discipline pursuant to the "Nurse and Nurse Aide Practice Act".

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under federal law, money deposited in a qualified tuition program under section 529 of the internal revenue code (529 plan) grows tax deferred and is withdrawn tax free when used for eligible expenses. In addition to the federal tax benefit, the state provides an incentive for the deposit of money into a 529 plan by offering a state income tax deduction for contributions to such 529 plans.

In 2019, the federal government included paying principle or interest on any qualified education loan, up to $10,000 per year, as an eligible expense.

Current law requires the state income tax deduction to be recaptured from the taxpayer if a distribution is not used for listed purposes. The bill specifies that using a 529 plan for paying principle or interest on any qualified education loan, not to exceed $10,000, is also an eligible distribution for purposes of the state income tax deduction for contributions to such 529 plans.

The bill also requires collegeinvest to provide the department of revenue with a secure electronic report containing information for the 529 plan owners and third-party contributors necessary for the administration of the income tax deduction.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill creates the immigration legal defense fund (fund). The department of human services as the administrator awards grants from the fund to qualifying nonprofit organizations (organizations) that provide legal advice, counseling, and representation for, and on behalf of, indigent clients who are subject to an immigration proceeding. The bill lists permissible uses of grant money awarded from the fund.

Organizations that receive a grant from the fund are required to report to the administrator certain information about persons served and services provided by the organization.

The bill makes an appropriation.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Commencing with the 2022 general election, and subject to an elector's choice to receive and cast all ballots by mail, the bill requires that all registered electors cast their ballot in person for each general election at a polling location within the county of the elector's residence. The number and siting of polling locations within a county must be designated by the county clerk and recorder.

Under the bill, voting in person is limited to a 7-day period commencing 6 days before and culminating the day of the election. During this one-week period, polling locations must remain open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day during the week. A registered elector may cast a ballot in person at any time during which polling locations are open during the one-week period.

Each county clerk and recorder shall institute procedures by which a registered elector may choose to vote by mail ballot by affirmatively requesting that the elector would like to receive and cast a ballot by mail for all forthcoming general elections.

The bill requires all ballots to be counted not later than the day of the election. A ballot is not counted if it is received by a county clerk and recorder after the polls have closed on election day. No preliminary results of any race contested in the election may be disclosed by the county clerk and recorder prior to the dissemination of the final results of a race on or after election day.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates the reproductive health care program that provides contraceptive methods and counseling services to participants.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Under current law, if an eligible elector is unable to sign a mail ballot issued to the elector, the elector may provide the self-affirmation required to cast the ballot by making a mark on the self-affirmation, with or without assistance, witnessed by another registered elector (witness). The bill requires the envelope used for the ballot's return to show a place for the witness to list the witness's voter identification number, and the witness is required to write the witness's voter identification number on the return envelope. The county clerk is required to verify the witness's signature. A witness must be registered in the same county in which the elector completing the self-affirmation is registered. A returned ballot for which an elector's self-affirmation has been witnessed in a manner that does not satisfy the requirements of the bill will be treated as a provisional ballot.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill authorizes a pharmacist to prescribe an opiate antagonist.

The bill requires a pharmacist who dispenses an opioid to an individual to inform the individual of the potential dangers of a high dose of opioid and offer to prescribe the individual an opiate antagonist if:

• In the pharmacist's professional judgment, the individual would benefit from the information;
• The individual has a history of prior opioid overdose or substance use disorder;
• The individual is, at the same time, prescribed a benzodiazepine, a sedative hypnotic drug, carisoprodol, tramadol, or gabapentin; or
• The opioid prescription being dispensed is at or in excess of 90 morphine milligram equivalent.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill allows the state department of human services (state department), along with the child care allocation workgroup, to consider a utilization factor. This utilization factor would enable the state department to consider the volume of the eligible population and the service delivery cost to each county department of human or social services (county department) when allocating and distributing money for the Colorado child care assistance program (CCCAP). The bill further allows a county department to set its own eligibility levels for CCCAP, expressed as a percentage of the federal poverty level.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill codifies a number of preventive health care services currently required to be covered by health insurance carriers pursuant to the federal "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and adds them to the current list of services required to be covered by Colorado health insurance carriers, which services are not subject to policy deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. The bill expands certain preventive health care services to include osteoporosis screening; urinary incontinence screening; and counseling, prevention, screening, and treatment of a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Current law requires a health care provider or facility to perform a diagnostic exam for an STI and subsequently treat the STI at the request of a minor patient. The bill allows a health care provider to administer, dispense, or prescribe preventive measures or medications where applicable. The consent of a parent is not a prerequisite for a minor to receive preventive care, but a health care provider shall counsel the minor on the importance of bringing the minor's parent or legal guardian into the minor's confidence regarding the services.

Current law requires the executive director of the department of health care policy and financing to authorize reimbursement for medical or diagnostic services provided by a certified family planning clinic. The bill removes the requirement that services be provided by a certified family planning clinic and authorizes reimbursement for family planning services and family-planning-related services provided by any licensed health care provider.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires that, prior to initiating a review or audit of a medicaid provider, a reviewer or auditor shall confirm receipt of the written request to perform the audit or review.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing to seek federal authorization through an amendment to the state medical assistance plan to provide family planning services to individuals who are not pregnant and whose income does not exceed 250% of the federal poverty level.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires the department of public health and environment to select one or more nonprofit organizations to administer diaper distribution centers that provide diapering essentials to eligible individuals. Diapering essentials must be made available to all Colorado residents.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill prohibits a state, county, or local government agency, or any person acting on behalf of the state, county, or local government agency, from ordering persons participating in a protest or demonstration (protest) to disperse, or from deeming the protest unlawful, unless the persons participating in the protest are acting in concert to pose an imminent threat to use force or violence to cause personal injury or significant property damage.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill phases out subminimum wage employment for employers that hold a special certificate from the United States department of labor that authorizes the employers to pay less than the minimum wage to employees whose earning capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental disability, or injury. The bill requires each employer that holds a special certificate to submit a transition plan to the Colorado department of labor and employment detailing how the employer plans to phase out subminimum wage employment.

The bill requires the employment first advisory partnership in the Colorado department of labor and employment (partnership) to:

• Develop actionable recommendations to address structural and fiscal barriers to phasing out subminimum wage employment and successfully implementing competitive integrated employment; and
• Report the recommendations to the general assembly.

The bill continues operation of the partnership, which is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2021, indefinitely.

The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing to add employment-related services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill makes several changes and clarifications to current juvenile diversion programs (diversion), including:

• Establishing another category of diversion that is pre-arrest, and therefore allowing funding at the school and law enforcement levels;
• Clarifying the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety's (division) authority over all programs funded with diversion money;
• Clarifying that diversion funding may be allocated to entities other than district attorneys' offices;
• Requiring eligibility criteria for diversion be made public;
• Establishing that a juvenile is eligible to divert if the juvenile meets the eligibility criteria;
• Clarifying that an approved validated assessment tool may be used for decisions on the length of supervision and necessary services;
• Clarifying that a risk screening tool is only to be used to inform the level and intensity of supervision;
• Establishing a clear process for data collection so the division can properly evaluate its diversion programs;
• Creating a clearer process and role for the division in the allocation process; and
• Creating a mandatory set-aside of 20% for a competitive grant process managed by the division for community-based diversion programs that include restorative justice practices.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits the imposition of secured monetary or property conditions on a bond for juveniles charged with or accused of committing a delinquent act.

The bill reduces the juvenile detention bed cap from 327 beds to 188 beds beginning in fiscal year 2021-22.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Under existing law, the statute of limitations to bring a civil claim based on sexual assault or a sexual offense against a child is 6 years, but the statute is tolled when the victim is a person under disability or is in a special relationship with the perpetrator of the assault. The bill defines sexual misconduct and removes the limitation on bringing a civil claim based on sexual misconduct, including derivative claims and claims brought against a person or entity that is not the perpetrator of the sexual misconduct. The statutory period to commence a civil action described in the bill applies to a cause of action that accrues on or after January 1, 2022, or a cause of action accruing prior to January 1, 2022, so long as the applicable statute of limitations has not yet run as of January 1, 2022.

The bill removes the provision that a plaintiff who is a victim of a series of sexual assaults does not need to establish which act in the series caused the plaintiff's injuries.

Under existing law, the filing of a claim alleging sexual misconduct by a person under disability is deemed a limited waiver of the doctor- or psychologist-patient privilege. The bill eliminates the limited waiver.

Under existing law, a plaintiff who brings a civil action alleging sexual misconduct 15 years or more after the plaintiff turns 18 is limited to recovering only certain damages. The bill eliminates this restriction.

Under existing law, a victim who is a person under disability or is in a special relationship with the perpetrator of the assault may not bring an action against a defendant who is deceased or incapacitated. The bill eliminates this restriction.

Under existing law, a claim for negligence in the practice of medicine that is based on a sexual assault is exempt from the statute of limitations for claims involving sexual assault and instead is subject to the same limitation as any other claim for negligence in the practice of medicine. The bill removes this exemption.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a process to automatically expunge petty offenses a year after completion of the sentence, nonviolent misdemeanors 3 years after the completion of the sentence, and nonviolent felonies 5 years after the completion of the sentence. The bill creates a list of convictions for which automatic expungement is not permitted. The bill requires the state court administrator (administrator) to compile a list of convictions that are eligible for expungement. After the administrator compiles the list, the administrator sends the list to the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) for review, and the bureau removes from the list any convictions in which the identity of the defendant is unverifiable or in which the defendant had another conviction during the waiting period. The bureau sends its amended list to each district attorney in the state, and the district attorney removes any convictions in which the defendant has a pending criminal charge. Each district attorney sends its amended list to the administrator. The administrator compiles all of the lists into one final list and sorts the convictions by judicial district.

If the chief judge of a judicial district authorizes the administrator to issue expungement orders, the administrator shall issue expungement orders based on the final list. If the chief judge of a judicial district does not authorize the administrator to issue expungement orders, the administrator shall send the final list to the chief judge of the judicial district, and the courts of that judicial district shall enter expungement orders based on the final list received.

The administrator shall develop a website that allows a defendant to confidentially determine whether the defendant's conviction has been expunged and provides information about how to receive a copy of the expungement order.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill eliminates the requirement that the department of education and each division, board, or agency of the department of regulatory agencies verify the lawful presence of each applicant before issuing or renewing a license.

The bill also specifies that lawful presence is not required of any applicant for any license, certificate, or registration. The bill affirmatively states that the bill is a state law within the meaning of the federal law that gives states authority to provide for eligibility for state and local public benefits to persons who are unlawfully residing in the United States.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill requires an individual who owns a firearm to report the loss or theft of that firearm to a law enforcement agency within 5 days after discovering that the firearm was lost or stolen. A first offense for failure to make such a report is a petty offense punishable by a $25 fine, and a second or subsequent offense is a class 3 misdemeanor. The 5-day reporting requirement does not apply to a licensed gun dealer.

The bill requires a law enforcement agency that receives a report of a lost or stolen firearm to enter information about the lost or stolen firearm into the national crime information center database and report the information to the Colorado bureau of investigation.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

The bill creates a statutory cause of action for a victim of sexual misconduct when the victim was a minor against the actor who committed the sexual misconduct and against an organization that operates or manages a youth program if the sexual misconduct occurred while the victim was participating in a youth program.

The victim may bring the claim against the organization if the organization knew or should have known of a risk of sexual misconduct against minors participating in the program and the organization did not take action to address the risks or warn participants of the risk. The victim may bring a claim against a public employee or public entity that operates a youth program, including an educational entity operating an educational program or a district preschool program.

The cause of action applies retroactively and is available to a victim of sexual misconduct that occurred before, on, or after January 1, 2022. A person may not waive the right to bring a civil action, and any purported waiver is void as against public policy.

A court or jury shall not allocate any damages awarded in the civil action in any proportion against the victim of the sexual misconduct. A victim may be awarded treble damages under certain circumstances.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Fiscal Note

Current law appropriates $5 million annually from the tobacco tax cash fund to the department of public health and environment (department) for breast and cervical cancer screenings. The bill expands the use of the funds for additional cancer screenings. The bill changes the name of the breast cancer screening fund to the cancer screening fund and authorizes the money in the fund to be used for breast and cervical cancer screenings, colorectal cancer screenings, and screenings for additional screenable cancers.

The bill changes the makeup of the existing advisory board from persons interested in health care and the promotion of breast cancer screenings to include persons who are interested in health care and the promotion of services for other screenable cancers. When making recommendations to the executive director of the department concerning cancer screening services, the bill requires the advisory board to allocate, at a minimum, $2.5 million annually for breast and cervical cancer screenings, $1 million annually for colorectal cancer screenings, and, if feasible, money for screenings for additional screenable cancers.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, public funds cannot be used to pay for an abortion, except in cases of life endangerment and in cases of rape or incest for medicaid-eligible women. If every reasonable effort is made to preserve the life of the pregnant woman and unborn child, then public funds may be used for medically necessary services. The medically necessary services must be performed only in certain health care facilities and only by a physician. The bill removes the requirement that the necessary services must be performed only in certain health care facilities and allows a licensed provider to perform the services.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

On October 17, 2020, congress passed the "National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020" designating 988 as the 3-digit number for the national suicide prevention lifeline to aid rapid access to suicide prevention and mental health support services. The bill implements 988 as the 3-digit number for crisis response services in Colorado.

On or before July 1, 2022, the department of human services (department) shall contract with a nonprofit organization to create the 988 crisis hotline center to provide intervention services and crisis care coordination to individuals calling the 988 crisis hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Beginning January 1, 2022, a 988 surcharge (surcharge) is imposed on service users in an amount to be established by the public utilities commission (commission) on an annual basis. The bill requires each service supplier to collect the surcharge from its service users and remit the collected surcharges to the commission on a monthly basis. The state treasurer shall credit the surcharge collections to the 988 surcharge cash fund (fund).

The bill imposes a prepaid wireless 988 charge on each retail transaction in an amount to be established by the commission on an annual basis. The bill requires each seller to collect the prepaid wireless 988 charge from the consumer on each retail transaction occurring in the state and remit the collected charges to the department of revenue. The state treasurer shall credit the prepaid wireless 988 charge to the fund.

The office of behavioral health in the department may expend money from the fund for the administration and operation of the 988 crisis hotline center.

Beginning January 1, 2023, and each January 1 thereafter, the department shall submit information about the usage of the 988 crisis hotline center to the federal substance abuse and mental health services administration, and information about the expenditures of the fund to the federal communications commission.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill modifies the Colorado health service corps program administered by the primary care office (office) in the department of public health and environment, which program includes a loan repayment program, as follows:

• Allows geriatric advanced practice providers, which include advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants with geriatric training or experience, to participate in the loan repayment program on the condition of committing to provide geriatric care to older adults in health professional shortage areas for a specified period; and
• Requires the general assembly to annually and continuously appropriate money from the general fund to the office for the 2021-22 through the 2025-26 fiscal years to help repay loans for geriatric advanced practice providers.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, any person may ask the executive director of the department of regulatory agencies or the executive director's designee (executive director) to require a rule-making agency to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of a draft rule or draft amendment to a rule (proposed rule) for which the agency has filed a notice of proposed rule-making (notice). The bill extends the time period for which such request may be made from up to 5 days after the notice has been filed to up to 15 days before the scheduled rule-making hearing or, if the rule-making hearing is scheduled only 20 days after the notice was filed, up to 10 days after the notice was filed. The agency is required to complete the cost-benefit analysis at least 5 days before the scheduled rule-making hearing.

The bill also specifies the following regarding a cost-benefit analysis:

• If the executive director determines that the proposed rule would likely have materially disparate effects on different regions of the state, the agency must include in the cost-benefit analysis a determination of the anticipated benefits, costs, and adverse effects of the proposed rule on different regions of the state;
• If the executive director determines that the proposed rule would have a negative economic or noneconomic impact, the executive director shall inform the public by either making a public presentation about the negative impact and any counterbalancing positive impact at the rule-making hearing or publishing a written report summarizing the impacts;
• The executive director, upon request of any party to the rule-making or member of the general assembly or upon the executive director's own motion, may require an agency to update a cost-benefit analysis to reflect material changes made to the proposed or adopted rule either before, during, or after the rule-making hearing;
• A member of the general assembly, no earlier than one year after a rule has been adopted, may request that the adopting agency conduct a cost-benefit analysis regarding the rule's implementation; and
• The public utilities commission, the department of natural resources, or the department of public health and environment, with regard to any cost-benefit analysis conducted by that agency, shall present the cost-benefit analysis at the rule-making hearing and allow public testimony at the hearing regarding the cost-benefit analysis.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

An insurer is prohibited from:

• Considering an individual's race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender status in any insurance practice; or
• Directly or indirectly using any external consumer data and information source, algorithm, or predictive model (external data source) that unfairly discriminates against an individual based on an individual's race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or transgender status.

On and after January 1, 2022, an insurer that uses one or more external data sources in any insurance practice shall submit certain disclosures to the division of insurance. The commissioner of insurance (commissioner) may examine and investigate an insurer's use of an external data source. If the commissioner determines that use of an external data source bears no direct causal relationship to insurance losses or to the condition of a property or applicant to be potentially insured and that the use of the external data source unfairly discriminates on the basis of an individual's membership in a protected class, the commissioner may promulgate rules restricting or prohibiting the use of the external data source.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)