Interim Study Committee on Communication Between the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and Medicaid Clients. The bill clarifies that a medicaid recipient (recipient) who files an appeal does not need to make an affirmative request to continue medicaid benefits during the appeal. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (department) to send the recipient written confirmation of continuing benefits. For a recipient who chooses not to continue receiving benefits during the appeal process, the form and electronic filing process for appeals must include a check box or other method to opt out of continuing benefits. The bill requires the form and electronic filing process for appeals to include a check box or other method to request an accommodation to file the appeal or to participate in the hearing and to request the county or service delivery agency dispute resolution process. Additionally, the electronic appeals filing website must allow the applicant or recipient to attach the number of documents sufficient to support the appeal along with the appeal form. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill authorizes the executive director of the department of local affairs (department) or the executive director's designee to coordinate the provision of nonmonetary resources to assist with job retention or creation in a rural community experiencing a significant economic event, such as a plant closure or layoffs, including industry-wide layoffs, that has a significant, quantifiable impact on jobs within that community. The bill also authorizes the executive director of the department or the executive director's designee to award money to qualifying rural communities experiencing a significant economic event and creates the rural economic advancement of Colorado towns fund (fund), to be administered by the executive director of the department for grant-making purposes over the next 3 years. For the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 state fiscal years, $500,000 is transferred each year from the general fund to the fund and the money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, an income tax refund voluntary contribution program, commonly referred to as a 'tax checkoff program' (program), appears on the state individual income tax return form (form) until the program is repealed pursuant to the sunset clause in its organic statute or until the program fails to receive a minimum amount of contributions in any year after the 2-year 'ramp-up period' immediately following the program's creation. The number of programs that appear on the form each year is capped at 20 and preference for placement on the form is given to returning programs. If more programs exist than the form can accommodate, the excess programs are placed in a queue until a slot on the form becomes available. Section 2 of the bill revises the tax checkoff process so that a program is allowed to appear on the form for 5 consecutive years and then take a minimum 5-year hiatus, at which point the program is again eligible to be added (via the general assembly acting by bill) to the form for another 5-year period and then removed for another 5-year hiatus, etc. This cycle may repeat indefinitely. Because they are currently exempt from the mandatory sunset process for checkoffs, the bill exempts the homeless prevention activities program fund voluntary contribution and the western slope military veterans' cemetery voluntary contribution from the hiatus requirement. Because every program will spend a dedicated amount of time on the form, the bill removes the requirement that every program receive a minimum amount of contributions to retain its place on the form. The bill retains the 20-program limit for the form and the queuing process. Section 2 also specifies that the amount that any taxpayer is permitted to donate annually through the program is capped at the amount of the taxpayer's refund for that year. For the nongame and endangered wildlife cash fund voluntary contribution program, which is currently scheduled to sunset in January 2018, sections 3 and 4 extend its placement on the form for 2 years before the program cycles off for 5 years pursuant to the above-described process. Pursuant to the new rotation schedule, sections 5 through 29 specify the 5-year periods in which programs currently on the form will appear on the form and the years in which any renewed fund is eligible to return to the form following the mandatory hiatus. Section 31 removes various laws pertaining to the following tax checkoff funds, which laws are obsolete as these funds do not currently appear on the form: Adult stem cells cure fund voluntary contribution; Colorado 2-1-1 first call for help fund voluntary contribution; Goodwill Industries fund voluntary contribution; and Families in Action for Mental Health fund voluntary contribution. Section 30 makes a conforming amendment to account for the repeal of the adult stem cells cure fund tax checkoff provisions. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill expands the information that private occupational schools (schools) must provide to prospective students before the student enrolls in a program. The additional information that must be provided is set forth in the bill and includes, in part, program completion rates, post-graduation employment rates, average and median student loan debt, loan repayment rates, and legal barriers to entry into an occupation for which the school provides a training program. The division of private occupational schools in the department of higher education (department) shall collect the data schools are required to provide to prospective students and any other data requested by the department to populate a postsecondary education and training comparative tool (comparative tool) created in the bill. The private occupational school board (board) shall prescribe policies and procedures for the collection of information from the schools. The board may determine a time frame for schools to provide information that is temporarily unavailable and may exempt a school or schools from certain information that is unreasonably burdensome for the school or schools to provide. The bill directs the department to use the information collected from schools to populate the comparative tool. The comparative tool is a free, public, online resource that allows prospective students and interested persons to access information regarding schools to assist in making informed decisions about postsecondary education and training program options in the state. The comparative tool includes, in part, information on career selection and jobs in demand in the future and information relating to schools and programs including program completion rates, employment rates and earnings, and the aggregate amount of student debt. The department shall report to the general assembly concerning implementation of the comparative tool. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Cities, counties, special districts, and other local governments (local government) are currently prohibited, with certain limited exceptions, from providing cable television, telecommunications service, or high-speed internet access without first seeking voter approval. A local government that does provide any of these services is further required to comply with all state and federal laws and regulations governing the service and prohibited from granting certain preferences or discriminating in connection with providing the service. The bill repeals these restrictions on the provision of cable television, telecommunications service, or high-speed internet access by a local government. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under existing law, each local education provider must administer the state assessments in math and English language arts to students enrolled in ninth grade and must administer the state-selected assessment to students enrolled in tenth grade. Each local education provider must also administer a state social studies assessment to students in one elementary-school grade, one middle-school grade, and one high-school grade on a 3-year schedule. Under the bill, each local education provider may choose whether to administer the state social studies assessments, the ninth-grade math and English language arts state assessments, and the tenth-grade assessment. The bill repeals the requirement that the department of education apply for a waiver to administer the ninth-grade math and English language arts state assessments to satisfy federal requirements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill identifies a school district that is accredited with priority improvement plan or accredited with turnaround plan for 5 consecutive school years as a chronically low-performing school district. A chronically low-performing school district must establish a parent choice program under which it creates a parent choice account for the parent of each student who resides within and is enrolled in the school district. The school district must deposit into each account the per-pupil amount of the state share of total program and the per-pupil share of categorical program funding, as applicable to the student, that the school district receives for the school year and may deposit the per-pupil amount of the local share of total program that the school district collects for the school year. If the school district does not deposit the per-pupil amount of the local share, it is not authorized to collect property tax for that school year, but the state share is calculated as if the school district collected the property tax. A parent may withdraw money from his or her account only to purchase educational services for the parent's child. Educational services include enrolling the child in certain public schools, including online schools, of a school district other than the chronically low-performing school district or in certain institute charter schools. A parent may also choose to enroll his or her student in a public school of the chronically low-performing school district, in which case the school district is not required to deposit money in the parent's account while the student is enrolled in the public school. The parent may change educational services or public schools at any time during the school year. The school district must adopt procedures by which a parent may withdraw money from his or her account and by which he or she must report to the school district how the money is used. If a parent misuses money from the account, the parent must reimburse the money to the school district. If a parent misuses money 2 times in a school year, the school district will stop depositing money into the account and notify the parent that he or she may enroll the student in a school of the school district. A parent who disputes the accounting may appeal to the school district board of education and, if dissatisfied with the board's decision, to the state board of education. The school district must operate the parent choice program until the school district achieves the status of accredited or higher. While operating the program, the school district continues to be subject to school district accountability requirements, including ensuring that the students enrolled in the school district participate in state assessments, and is held accountable for the academic performance of students who are enrolled in the school district, regardless of whether the students are enrolled in schools of the school district. Each chronically low-performing school district is deemed to be a school district of innovation. It must submit an innovation plan to the state board of education and may exercise the powers that are provided to school districts of innovation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, the department of education administers state assessments in English language arts and mathematics to students in grades 3 through 9 and administers state assessments in social studies to students once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. The bill repeals administration of the ninth-grade English language arts and mathematics state assessments and the state social studies assessments to align with changes to federal requirements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Currently, each county clerk and recorder collects a surcharge of one dollar for each document received for recording or filing in his or her office. The surcharge is in addition to any other fees permitted by statute. Section 2 of the bill raises the amount of the surcharge to $5 for documents received for recording or filing on or after January 1, 2018. Out of each $5 collected, the bill requires the clerk to retain one dollar to be used to defray the costs of an electronic or core filing system in accordance with existing law. The bill requires the clerk to transmit the other $4 collected to the state treasurer, who is to credit the same to the statewide attainable housing investment fund (fund). Section 3 creates the fund in the Colorado housing and finance authority (authority). The bill specifies the source of moneys to be deposited into the fund and that the authority is to administer the fund. The bill directs that, of the moneys transmitted to the fund by the state treasurer, on an annual basis, not less than 25% of such amount must be expended for the purpose of supporting new or existing programs that provide financial assistance to persons in households with an income of up to 80% of the area median income for the purpose of allowing such persons to finance, purchase, or rehabilitate single family residential homes as well as to provide financial assistance to any nonprofit entity and political subdivision that makes loans to persons in such households to enable such persons to finance, purchase, or rehabilitate single family residential homes. Section 3 also requires the authority to submit a report, no later than June 1 of each year, specifying the use of the fund during the prior calendar year to the governor and to the senate and house finance committees. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the department of personnel to develop and annually distribute informational materials to state employees concerning federal student loan repayment programs and loan forgiveness programs for which state employees may be eligible. The department of personnel may use existing federal informational materials, if available. The informational materials may be distributed by e-mail or through a regular mailing or communication to state employees. The department of personnel shall update the materials at least annually and distribute any updated materials. In addition, the department of personnel must distribute the informational materials to: The department of education, for distribution to school district, charter school, institute charter school, and boards of cooperative services employees; The department of higher education, for distribution to employees at state institutions of higher education; The secretary of state, for distribution to nonprofit public service organizations, as defined in the bill, with encouragement for these organizations to distribute the informational materials to their employees; and The division of local government in the department of local affairs, for distribution to cities, counties, cities and counties, special districts, and other local government entities, with encouragement for those entities to distribute the informational materials to their employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires each school district that has obtained voter approval to retain and spend revenues in excess of the property tax revenue limitation imposed on the school district by section 20 of article X of the state constitution to restore the number of mills it levies for purposes of total program funding under the 'Public School Finance Act of 1994' to the number of mills levied in the property tax year immediately preceding the year in which the school district received the voter approval. The mill levies are restored in equal increments over 5 years. A school district is not allowed to levy a number of mills that would exceed the school district's total program as calculated before application of the negative factor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Notice of sale of a mobile home park. Where the home owners within a mobile home park (park) have formed either a homeowners' association or a cooperative, section 2 of the bill specifies that, not less than 30 days nor more than one year prior to, an owner of a park either entering into a written listing agreement for the sale of the park or making an offer to sell the park to any party must provide written notice to the president, secretary, and treasurer of any homeowners' association or cooperative of the owner's intention to sell the park. The bill specifies certain circumstances in which the park owner is not required to satisfy these notice requirements. During the notice period required by the bill, the owner or management of the park may consider any offer to purchase the park that has been made by a homeowners' association or cooperative of such home owners as long as the association or cooperative is open to all home owners. The owner of the park may consider any reasonable offer made by an association or cooperative representing the home owners and negotiate in good faith with them. If an agreement to purchase the community is reached during the notice period specified in the bill, the association or cooperative has a reasonable time beyond the expiration of such period, if necessary, to obtain financing for the purchase. The bill explicitly specifies that these provisions do not give any home owner or group of home owners within a park any right of first refusal. Terms of written rental agreement. Section 3 permits a written rental agreement for a tenancy in a park to contain a clause that encourages the use of mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution to resolve any controversy by or among owners, management, and home owners within parks. Alternative dispute resolution. In any controversy between management and a home owner of a park arising out of the bill, except for the nonpayment of rent or in cases in which the health or safety of other home owners is in imminent danger, section 4 permits the parties to submit the dispute to another form of alternative dispute resolution in addition to mediation prior to the filing of a forcible entry and detainer lawsuit. The choice of alternative dispute resolution methods is dependent upon agreement of the parties. Under section 4, the general assembly also encourages the owners and management of parks and home owners within such parks to make use of the state office of dispute resolution to resolve any controversy by or among them in addition to local government agencies and community-based nonprofit organizations that are created and empowered to mediate disputes between or among the owners and management of parks and home owners within such parks. Subtraction of gain from sale of park from calculation of federal taxable income for state income tax purposes. For income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, section 5 subtracts from federal taxable income the following amount of the gain recognized from the sale or exchange of a park where the party purchasing the park is a county, municipality, local housing authority, nonprofit corporation, homeowners' association, or a cooperative: 100% of the recognized gain for a mobile home park with 50 or fewer lots; and 50% of the recognized gain for a mobile home park with more than 50 lots. Encouragement of the preservation and development of mobile and manufactured home parks through county and municipal master plans. Recognizing the importance of manufactured housing as an option for many households, under sections 6 and 7 , counties and municipalities, as applicable, are required to encourage through either their master plans or other land use or planning documents adopted by the particular governmental body the preservation of existing parks and the development of new manufactured home parks within their territorial boundaries, including increasing opportunities for parks that are owned by the owners of homes within the park. Whenever an existing park is located in a hazardous area, the county or municipality, as applicable, is required to make every reasonable effort to reduce or eliminate the hazard, when feasible, or to help mitigate the loss of housing through the relocation of affected households. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
