The act requires a district attorney's office, or the office's designee, to consider the use of a juvenile diversion program (program) to prevent a juvenile who demonstrates behaviors or symptoms consistent with an intellectual and developmental disability, a mental or behavioral health issue, or a lack of mental capacity from further involvement in formal delinquency proceedings. Current law allows programs to use the results of an approved and validated assessment tool to identify the appropriate diversion services a juvenile may need and the professionals who may provide the services. The act adds behavioral health services and services for juveniles with developmental disabilities to the types of services a juvenile may need and adds behavioral health treatment providers and providers who offer services to juveniles with developmental disabilities to the list of professionals who may provide the appropriate diversion services. If an adult defendant's competency is raised or a defendant is found incompetent to proceed, the act allows the defendant to enter into a diversion agreement with the consent of the district attorney and the court if the court finds that the defendant has the ability to participate and is advised of the potential consequences of failure to comply. The defendant's entrance into the diversion agreement does not waive the issue of competency to stand trial if there is a violation of the diversion agreement and proceedings on the charges resume. The diversion agreement alone is not evidence of competency. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 22, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates $73,587,761 to the legislative department for the payment of expenses in the 2024-25 state fiscal year. Of this amount, $71,784,409 is from the general fund, $90,000 is from cash funds, and $1,713,352 is from reappropriated funds. Additionally, the act: Appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the youth advisory council cash fund; and Further appropriates to the legislative department, for use by the legislative council in the 2024-25 state fiscal year for new legislator orientation and official functions, $29,000 from the general fund appropriation to the legislative department for the 2023-24 state fiscal year that was not expended in that fiscal year. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 22, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a peer support team member or recipient of group peer support services from being examined as a witness without the consent of the person to whom the examination relates. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the following statutory requirements for state departments' and agencies' reports. In the division of insurance, the following reports and associated reporting requirements for insurance carriers are eliminated: The annual list of insurance carrier average reimbursement rates that is posted on the division's website; and The annual report on out-of-network use and payment arbitrations. In the department of human services: The annual report, under the supervision of district and county attorneys, on the nature and result of actions taken to recover the cost of the care and maintenance of a child committed to a state institution from the child's parents is to be delivered to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and of the senate rather than to the governor; and The due date for the annual report on abandoned children surrendered to emergency personnel is changed from January 1 to March 1. In the department of public safety, the annual report on domestic violence-related assaults and deaths is eliminated. In the department of higher education: The annual report on concurrent enrollment, prepared in collaboration with the department of education, is eliminated; The annual report on tuition and fees is due annually rather than every year by January 15; The annual report on the statewide postsecondary education master plan goals and state-supported institutions' progress toward meeting those goals is due annually rather than every year by December 1; The annual reports on the success of high school graduates in postsecondary education are to be submitted annually rather than by specific dates; The annual report on supplemental academic instruction and developmental education courses is eliminated; The annual report on the resident and nonresident makeup of state-supported institutions of higher education is due every 3 years rather than annually; and The due date for the annual report on the implementation and development of open educational resources is changed from October 1 to December 1. In the department of law, the annual report on the insurance fraud unit in the attorney general's office is eliminated. In the department of local affairs, the following reports are to be posted annually on the department's website rather than included in the department's annual SMART Act report and presentation: The report on the effectiveness of the gray and black market marijuana enforcement grant program; The report on the effectiveness of the defense counsel on first appearance grant program; and The report on the activities of the peace officers behavioral health support and community partnerships grant program. In the office of economic development and international trade, the due date of the annual report on the implementation of the venture capital program is changed from February 1 to May 1. In the office of information technology, the annual requirement that counties report to the chief information officer on county budget, revenue, and expenditures is eliminated. In the department of health care policy and financing: The annual report on the accountable care collaborative is combined with the annual report submitted by the department to the joint budget committee and the health and human services committees of the house and senate; The reference to "The ASAM Criteria" that is incorporated into utilization management processes used to determine medical necessity for residential and inpatient substance use disorder treatment is updated to reflect the version of "The ASAM Criteria" used by the department; The quarterly report on residential and inpatient substance use disorder utilization management statistics is eliminated and replaced with a requirement to display the same statistics on the department's website; The due date of the annual report on managed care entity denials for residential and inpatient substance use disorder treatment is changed from December 1 to January 31; and The annual report on community transition services and supports is eliminated. In the department of early childhood: The due date of the report on the evaluation of the child abuse prevention trust fund is changed from November 1, 2026, to November 1, 2029; The due date of the report on the child care services and substance use disorder treatment pilot program is changed from June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2028, and an annual requirement, in effect for four years, to report on the pilot program in the intervening years to the health and human services committees of the house of representatives and of the senate is added; The annual report on early intervention services is eliminated; The due date of the report on the evaluation of the early childhood mental health consultation program is changed from January 2027 to January 2028; The statewide report on the quality improvement of early childhood education programs is eliminated; and The annual report on the infant and toddler quality and availability grant program is eliminated. In the department of natural resources and division of parks and wildlife: The annual report on activities concerning species conservation is eliminated; The annual report on acquisitions of real property or interests in water is modified to include information on acquisitions that are pending or that occurred within the previous 5 years; The annual report on the wildlife for future generations trust fund is eliminated; The report on the progress of the 5-year strategic plan is eliminated; The annual report on the administration of the division of parks and wildlife is eliminated; The annual report on specific noise abatement measures is eliminated; and The annual report on the parks for future generations trust fund is eliminated. In the department of revenue, the following one-time reports are repealed: The 2021 report on medical marijuana delivery; and The 2005 report on the lottery expenditure evaluation. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 22, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, the peace officer standards and training board may grant a person a provisional certification as a peace officer if the person satisfies the requirements for a provisional certificate. One of the requirements is that the person must have been a peace officer in another state or federal jurisdiction, excluding the armed forces, within the preceding 3 years. The act removes the exception for the armed forces, so that being a peace officer in the armed forces satisfies that requirement for a provisional certificate. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On or before September 1, 2025, the board of veterinary medicine (board) is required to promulgate rules establishing certain tasks that a licensed veterinarian may delegate to veterinary technicians and veterinary technician specialists and the recommended level of supervision for the tasks. A licensed veterinarian may delegate tasks pursuant to the board's rules after first establishing a veterinarian-client-patient relationship with an animal or group of animals and the owner of the animal or animals. The licensed veterinarian is required to provide an appropriate level of supervision of the veterinary technician or veterinary technician specialist in accordance with applicable rules of the board. If there are not applicable rules related to the specific task that is being delegated, the veterinarian may delegate the task based on the assessment of the veterinary medical care being provided, the experience, education, and training of the person providing the care, and in compliance with all state and federal laws. Beginning on January 1, 2026, the act authorizes a veterinary technician to apply to the board to receive a veterinary technician specialist designation as part of the veterinary technician's registration, grants title protection for veterinary technician specialists, and prohibits the unauthorized practice as a veterinary technician specialist by a person who does not have a veterinary technician specialist designation. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act corrects a cross reference to the annual Colorado talent report by deleting a reference to a subsection that does not exist within the article regarding intrastate air service within the state of Colorado. Section 2 removes unnecessary language to clarify that a qualifying organization that receives a grant from the immigration legal defense fund shall only use the grant for services that include providing indigent clients with representation before the board of immigration appeals within the United States department of justice, but not representation before a United States district court, a United States circuit court of appeals, or the United States supreme court. Section 3 clarifies that the "approval" granted by a state apprenticeship agency refers to the approval of an apprenticeship program. Sections 4 and 5 correct inconsistencies in the membership of 2 committees regarding apprenticeships. Current law establishing the committee for apprenticeship in the building and construction trades (CABCT) states that the CABCT consists of 16 members, but the statute outlines the appointment of 17 members. The act changes the total membership of the CABCT to 17 members. Current law also dictates that the governor appoints 7 members to serve concurrently on both the CABCT and the committee for apprenticeship in new and emerging industries (CANEI). This conflicts with current law establishing the CANEI, which states that the governor appoints 6 members to the CANEI, only 5 of whom serve concurrently on the CABCT. There are presently 7 members appointed by the governor on the CANEI who serve concurrently on the CABCT. The act resolves this conflict by clarifying that the governor appoints 7 members to the CANEI, all of whom are concurrently appointed to the CABCT. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires insurance premium taxes, surplus lines taxes, and other associated state-specific insurance tax filings to be filed through a secure web-based application identified by the division of insurance. The act also authorizes the commissioner of the division of insurance (commissioner) to contract with a third party to provide a secure web-based application system that allows premium taxes, surplus lines taxes, and other state-specific filings to be filed for multiple states on a single web-based application system. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules to implement, operate, and enforce the requirements of the act. The act applies to tax filings submitted on or after January 1, 2025. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 22, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the division of veterans affairs (division) in the department of military and veterans affairs has a duty to supervise county veterans service offices (county offices). The act changes the division's duty to instead monitor county offices. The act changes procedures for the division's payment to counties for the performance of certain veterans services, and requires the division to convene a working group that includes county commissioners to develop a method for distributing state-funded payments. Under current law, the board of county commissioners (board) appoints all veterans service officers and staff for county offices. The board is required to appoint a county veterans service officer, and may authorize the appointed county veterans service officer to hire additional county veterans service officers and staff as the board finds necessary. Under current law, a county veterans service officer is required to have certain military qualifications. The act requires only an appointed county veterans service officer to have these military qualifications. The act adds state certification and United States department of veterans affairs accreditation requirements in order to be a county veterans service officer and for a county veterans service officer to be eligible to serve as a claimant's representative and to assist a veteran claimant with the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim for a United States department of veterans affairs benefit. APPROVED by Governor March 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
On and after January 1, 2026, the act prohibits local governments from allowing the installation, planting, or placement of nonfunctional turf, artificial turf, or invasive plant species on commercial, institutional, or industrial property, common interest community property, or a street right-of-way, parking lot, median, or transportation corridor. The act also prohibits the department of personnel from allowing the installation, planting, or placement of nonfunctional turf, artificial turf, or invasive plant species as part of a project for the construction or renovation of a state facility, which project design commences on or after January 1, 2025. Artificial turf on athletic fields of play is exempted from the prohibitions. APPROVED by Governor March 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In current law, the "Colorado Recreational Use Statute" (CRUS) protects landowners (owners) from liability resulting from the use of their lands by other individuals for recreational purposes. However, the CRUS does not limit an owner's liability for injuries or death resulting from the owner's willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a known dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity likely to cause harm (willful or malicious failure). The act states that under such circumstances, an owner does not commit a willful or malicious failure if: Prior to the injury or death, the owner posts a warning sign at the primary access point where the individual entered the land, which sign satisfies certain criteria; The owner maintains photographic or other evidence of each such sign; and The dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity that caused the injury or death is described by the sign. The act requires an individual who accesses land for recreational purposes to stay on the designated recreational trail, route, area, or roadway unless the owner expressly allows otherwise, or be deemed a trespasser. Currently, the CRUS states that "owner" includes the possessor of any interest in land. The act clarifies that "owner" includes a possessor or holder of a conservation easement. The act states that the CRUS may not be construed to limit an owner's ability to restrict or prohibit the use of the owner's land for any recreational purposes. The act also updates certain archaic language within the CRUS. APPROVED by Governor March 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines "emergency communications specialist" as a first responder whose duties involve emergency and nonemergency dispatch services. The act also clarifies that the currently authorized use of the emergency telephone charge, the 911 surcharge, and the prepaid wireless 911 charge, for training for public safety answering point (PSAP) personnel includes training for emergency communications specialists, technical support PSAP personnel, and other personnel essential for the provision of emergency telephone services, emergency notification services, and emergency medical dispatch. APPROVED by Governor March 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
