The act requires the state auditor to engage, by October 1, 2024, a third party to conduct an evaluation of the department of corrections' (department) budget practices. The third party is required to provide an update to the joint budget committee and the legislative audit committee by March 1, 2025 and to release a final report to the department, joint budget committee, and legislative audit committee by June 30, 2025. The evaluation must review the department's personnel-related costs, contract staff spending, operational costs driven by caseload, user fees levied, and the cash funds associated with the department. For state fiscal year 2024-25, the act appropriates $400,000 from the general fund to the legislative department for use by the office of the state auditor to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes a bill of rights for a K-12 student who is involved in any capacity with the juvenile or criminal justice system (justice-engaged student). School districts, boards of cooperative services, charter schools, and institute charter schools (local education providers) must follow the bill of rights for justice-engaged students. The bill of rights includes, but is not limited to: Providing the justice-engaged student with alternative solutions to a general education, when appropriate; Prompt enrollment or re-enrollment no later than 10 business days after the first request to the local education provider, so long as the student is eligible for enrollment, as determined by the local education provider; Appropriate credit for coursework completed while justice-engaged, and for that coursework to be applied toward graduation or school continuation; Providing the justice-engaged student with a graduation plan, developed in consultation with the justice-engaged student, the student's family, caregiver or advocate; Privacy, including privacy when related to diversion, probation, or questioning about a crime; Protection by the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Act", section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973", applicable foster care regulations, and the federal "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act"; Creating evidence of and being evaluated for giftedness; and Allowing the justice-engaged student to participate in school activities or career readiness pathways in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of education (board). Each local education provider shall publish on its website an explanation of the services and resources available for justice-engaged students, including the name, phone number, and email address of a designated, trained point-of-contact person (contact person) at the local education provider. For small and rural school districts that are not members of a BOCES, a designated support person within the department of education (department) may act as a contact person. The contact person shall read and understand the guidance developed by the department and be knowledgeable about alternative education options and wraparound services. Upon notification or request, a local education provider will work with the team of professionals, including the multi-tiered systems of supports, and appropriate intervention teams, families, and justice-engaged students to ensure a pathway to graduation, including workforce development opportunities, access to alternative educational programming, and mental health and other supports as and if appropriate and available. On or before July 1, 2024, the department shall convene an interagency working group to review and make recommendations to the department and joint education committees of the house of representatives and the senate no later than December 1, 2024 regarding justice-engaged students. The board shall promulgate rules to establish a process and framework for interpreting and transferring credits and schoolwork completed by a justice-engaged student while in custody. Local education providers retain the right to suspend or expel a justice-engaged student pursuant to applicable laws. The department shall provide guidance to local education providers on how to allow a justice-engaged student to receive an accommodation to participate in school activities, including, but not limited to, graduation ceremonies, sporting events, after-school activities, and college or career readiness pathways. On or before September 1, 2026, the act requires the department to select and contract with an entity to establish and maintain a statewide hotline for justice-engaged students, families and caregivers, justice system personnel, and education personnel. Each justice-engaged student shall be provided information about the hotline by law enforcement after ticketing or arrest, by the division of youth services after release from the division, and by local education providers after notification that a student has become justice-engaged. The act requires the entity operating the hotline to submit a written report to the department and board on or before June 30, 2025, and each June 30 thereafter. The report must categorize and summarize the number of calls received, the type of person calling, types of supports or referrals provided, and the geography of calls received so that service gaps can be identified. Beginning July 1, 2025, the department shall assist students from small and rural school districts who have been denied re-entry into school by a local education provider. Under current law, if a child or youth is within a court's jurisdiction, a preliminary investigation is made to determine whether further actions be taken to protect the interests of the child or youth or the community. The court or judge or magistrate is encouraged to take into consideration a juvenile's educational progress and ability to achieve credits toward graduation when considering release options. If the court commits a justice-engaged student to the department of human services who does not include a physical threat or bodily injury to another person, the court is encouraged to order that the commitment take place in a manner that allows the justice-engaged student to continue to attend school prior to commitment to avoid disruption of the justice-engaged student's academic progress and ability to achieve credits for a semester. The act appropriates $82,883 from the general fund for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to the department of education for use by student pathways. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes technical changes to the procurement code (code), including: Correcting a cross-reference to the definition of information technology; Updating the definition of solicitation to refer to "an electronic procurement system" instead of "an electronic bidding system" to remain consistent with other provisions of the code; Updating the statute authorizing delegation of the executive director of the department of personnel's purchasing authority to use the term "governmental body", as defined in the code; Clarifying the method of compiling and soliciting from lists of potential contractors; Updating references to the United States department of veterans affairs to align with current federal and state practices; and Changing "public procurement unit" to "local public procurement unit" in a list in the cooperative purchasing statute that already includes a "public procurement unit". APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, in the following government buildings, including their adjacent parking areas: State legislative buildings, including buildings at which the offices of elected members are located; A building of a local government's governing body, including buildings at which the offices of elected members or the chief executive officer of a local government are located (local government buildings); and A courthouse or other building used for court proceedings. Unlawful carrying of a firearm in a government building is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act includes exceptions for law enforcement officers, members of the United States armed forces or Colorado National Guard, security personnel, persons carrying as part of the lawful and common practices of a legal proceeding, and persons who hold a permit to carry a concealed handgun (concealed carry permit) who are carrying a concealed handgun in an adjacent parking area. The act permits a local government to enact a law permitting carrying at a local government building included in the act. Members of the general assembly are exempt from the prohibition on carrying in a state legislative building until January 5, 2025. The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, on the property of a child care center, other than a family child care home, that is licensed by the department of early childhood or is exempt from licensing pursuant to state law, and that operates with stated educational purposes (licensed child care center); public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high, or vocational school; or any public or private college, university, or seminary (higher education institution), with exceptions. A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act maintains exceptions in existing law for carrying a firearm on the property of a public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school and adds exceptions for concealed carry permit holders carrying in the parking area of a licensed child care center or higher education institution; security personnel at a licensed child care center or higher education institution; and for a licensed child care center that is on the same property as another building or improvement, carrying a firearm in an area that is not designated as a licensed child care center. Existing law prohibits openly carrying a firearm within any polling location or central count facility, or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box or any building in which a polling location or central count facility is located, while an election or any related ongoing election administration activity is in progress. The act prohibits carrying a firearm in any manner at those locations. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act gives the Colorado state patrol authority to provide law enforcement services for the Ralph L. Carr Colorado judicial center and its grounds, subject to available appropriations, and to provide protection for Colorado judges and justices when they are present in the state capitol buildings group. The act gives additional administrators of judicial security temporary peace officer status pending application and review by the P.O.S.T. board. Following review by the P.O.S.T. board and upon a favorable recommendation for peace officer status from the P.O.S.T. board to the general assembly, temporary peace officer status for the additional administrators is permanent. If the P.O.S.T. board does not recommend peace officer status for the additional personnel, the temporary peace officer status expires on June 30, 2025, unless the general assembly provides otherwise. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the human trafficking council for 7 years. Under current law, members of the human trafficking council serve without compensation. The act requires appointed survivor council members receive an hourly rate for time attending council meetings not to exceed 8 hours per meeting at the expert witness rate. The existing address confidentiality program allows victims of domestic violence, sex offenses, and stalking and persons involved in the provision of reproductive health care to use a substitute address for purposes of public records and confidential mail forwarding. The act adds victims of human trafficking as persons who can use the address confidentiality program. The act allows an individual convicted of a crime that is not subject to the "Victim Rights Act" to motion the court to vacate the conviction if the crime was committed as a result of the individual being a victim of human trafficking. A court uses a clear and convincing evidentiary standard to determine whether to order the conviction vacated. For the state fiscal year 2024-25, the act appropriates $266,826 from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) to conduct a study concerning the market for property and casualty insurance policies issued by insurers to: Unit owners' associations (associations) of common interest communities; and Owners of hotels and lodging facilities (owners). To the extent practicable, the study must include consideration of: Current market conditions, including certain data; Recommendations regarding potential measures and programs to ensure the long-term sustainability and availability of property and casualty insurance policies issued to associations and owners; Whether any captive insurance companies have been formed by an association or an owner; and Whether the formation of a captive insurance company by an association or an owner could impact current market conditions. The commissioner may contract with a third party to conduct the study. The commissioner and any third party must engage with and seek input from insurers, consumer groups, and other interested parties. As part of the study, the commissioner may collect specific data from insurers. Information submitted by an insurer is subject to public inspection only to the extent allowed under the "Colorado Open Records Act". The division of insurance and any third-party contractor may not disclose trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information. The commissioner must prepare a report summarizing the results of the study and, on or before January 1, 2026, submit the report to the joint budget committee, to the business affairs and labor committee of the house of representatives, and to the business, labor, and technology committee of the senate. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $329,863 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance. Of this amount, any amount up to $300,000 not expended prior to July 1, 2025, is further appropriated to the division for the 2025-26 state fiscal year for the same purpose. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, employers pay an annual support surcharge to fund unemployment administration and to support the solvency of the unemployment insurance trust fund. This surcharge is deposited into several different funds. The act adjusts the deposits as follows: 35% (decreased from 59.46%) to the employment support fund; 19% (increased from 18.92%) to the benefit recovery fund; 32% (increased from 21.62%) to the employment and training technology fund; and 14% to the workforce development fund in the workforce development enterprise (enterprise), which is created in the act. Each of these funds has a limit on the maximum amount of money that can be held in the fund. The act requires the maximum amount to be adjusted for inflation based on the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood consumer price index. The act adjusts these initial caps as follows: Decreases the cap for the employment support fund from $32,000,000 to $7,000,000; Decreases the cap for the employment and training technology fund from $31,000,000 to $13,200,000; and Establishes the cap for the workforce development fund at $6,800,000. The $15,000,000 cap for the benefit recovery fund remains the same. The enterprise is created within the division of employment and training in the department of labor and employment (division) for the business purpose of ensuring Coloradans' access to workforce development services and to Colorado's workforce development centers. The act appropriates $14,003,304 to the department of labor and employment from the workforce development fund for use by the division for workforce center program costs related to the enterprise. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 15, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires an applicant for an overweight motor vehicle permit to provide third-party documentation establishing the gross weight of the load if the permit application is for a vehicle and load combination that weighs at least 200,000 pounds and less than 500,000 pounds. The carrier is required to carry the documentation in the vehicle during the permitted move and produce the documentation for any state agency or law enforcement personnel. In addition to any other penalty, a driver who violates this provision is subject to a penalty of one dollar per pound in excess of the gross weight authorized by the permit. The act authorizes the department of transportation to issue a single-use overweight or oversize state permit or local permit on an expedited basis to help in an emergency. If the permit is a local permit, the applicant and the executive director of the department of transportation, or the executive director's designee, are required to make a reasonable attempt to contact and obtain the approval of the local authorities. If the department of transportation is unable to contact or obtain the approval of the local authority within a reasonable amount of time, the department of transportation may issue the local permit. If the permitted vehicle needs a law enforcement escort, the department of transportation must obtain the approval of the state patrol. The local permit fees must be collected and remitted to the local authorities. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds transgender identity to the classes identified in bias-motivated crimes and harassment. The act redefines sexual orientation for purposes of bias-motivated crimes as a person's orientation toward sexual or emotional attraction and the behavior or social affiliation that may result from the attraction. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals and reenacts the statutory article creating the office of administrative services for independent agencies (office) to restructure the office and make administrative changes to ensure enhanced office efficiency and success. The act requires the office to enter into a memorandum or understanding with the judicial department establishing requirements related to establishing fiscal rules and ongoing access to, or use of, judicial department systems, contracts, or resources for the included agencies. The act requires the memorandum of understanding to include information regarding any additional costs that may be incurred by the judicial department in providing services to the included agencies and requires the office to pay for any additional costs. The act requires the office to submit a single, consolidated budget request on behalf of the included agencies that includes any necessary budget request amendments provided by the included agencies. The act requires the office to be governed by an advisory board that is responsible for hiring and removing the office director and securing a biannual review of the functions and performance of the office and the office director. For fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26, the act requires the office director to establish a workload capacity and staff resource plan for the office and prepare necessary budget requests to fund the workload capacity and staff resource plan. The act requires the office director to work in partnership with the judicial department to guide and support the transition of services provided to the included agencies by the judicial department until the transition to the office is completed. On or before June 30, 2025, the act requires the office director to enter into memorandums of understanding with each included agency to establish a timeline for the provision of services and expectations for discrete support services. The act requires the office director to notify the revisor of statutes in the office of legislative legal services in writing once the transition of services is complete. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a health-care facility to screen each uninsured patient for eligibility for public health insurance programs, discounted care through the Colorado indigent care program (CICP), and discounted care otherwise not reimbursed through the CICP. A patient qualifies for discounted care if the individual's household income is not more than 250% of the federal poverty level and the individual received a health-care service at a health-care facility (facility). The act limits the health-care services to those received in an inpatient or outpatient hospital setting and adds the requirement that a patient attest to residing in Colorado. The licensed health-care professional who provides services to a patient is responsible for billing the patient for those services, unless the services are billed on a comprehensive bill issued by a health-care facility. Current law prohibits a health-care facility and licensed health-care professional (professional) from collecting amounts charged that are more than 4% of the patient's monthly household income on a bill from a facility and that are more than 2% of the patient's monthly household income on a bill from each professional. The act adds the requirement that a facility or professional cannot collect amounts charged that are more than 6% of the patient's household income on a comprehensive bill containing both facility and professional charges. The act authorizes a health-care facility to deny discounted care to a patient if, during the initial screening, the patient is determined to be presumptively eligible for medicaid. The act excludes primary care provided in a clinic that is located in a designated rural or frontier county and offers a sliding-fee scale from receiving discounted care. Current law requires each facility to report to the department of health care policy and financing (department) data that the department determines is necessary to evaluate compliance across race, ethnicity, age, and primary-language-spoken patient groups with the facility's screening, discounted care, payment plan, and collections practices. The act requires professionals, in addition to facilities, to submit the data. The act authorizes a licensed or certified hospital to determine presumptive eligibility for medicaid. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $154,598 from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to the department of health care policy and financing to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
