The act directs the office of future of work (office) in the department of labor and employment (department) to create a two-year apprenticeship navigator pilot program (program) with 2 full-time apprenticeship navigators, with each apprenticeship navigator assigned to a different school district selected by the office. The purpose of the program is to increase awareness of registered apprenticeship programs among graduating high school students in the selected school districts. Upon completion of the program, the act requires that the department issue a report detailing the direct and indirect costs of the operation and administration of the program to specified legislative committees of reference. The act directs the office to promote apprenticeship programs to high school students by creating and maintaining a web-based job board of apprenticeships and incorporating apprenticeships in the state's career planning tools. The department may promulgate rules for the administration of the program. The program is repealed, effective January 1, 2027. The act appropriates $342,638 from the general fund to the department for use by the department's executive director's office for the 2023-24 state fiscal year. The act also appropriates $44,000 to the department of education from the general fund for the 2023-24 state fiscal year. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the veterans mental health services program (program) in the division of veterans affairs (division) to facilitate access to mental health services for veterans who live in a veterans community living center. The act requires a veteran to attest that the veteran has exhausted the annual number of sessions with a mental health-care provider covered by the veteran's federal veterans administration benefits before using the program. The program reimburses mental health-care providers for 26 mental health-care sessions per year with an eligible veteran. The act requires the behavioral health administration to post on its website a list of providers who participate in the program. The bill appropriates $642,645 from the general fund to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division for the program. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the office of future of work (office) to contract with a third party to study workforce transitions in Colorado's economy. The office will request proposals from private or public entities to bid on performing the study. The workforce transitions study (study) must: Evaluate the skill transferability of workers in the oil and gas industry and in occupations in Colorado that are facing the most disruption due to automation; Explore training availability, skills needed, and transition strategies; and Provide recommendations for programs and policies to prepare the workforce for these transitions. On or before December 1, 2024, the office is required to submit a report of the study's research and findings to the governor and to specified legislative committees of reference. The office is also required to issue an update on the key findings of the study to the governor and specified legislative committees of reference by August 1, 2024. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act requires the general assembly to appropriate $317,318 from the general fund to the department of labor and employment for use by the executive director's office. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the state board of community colleges and occupational education (board) to administer the in-demand short-term credentials program (program) to support the expansion of the number of available and qualified professionals who are able to meet Colorado's in-demand workforce needs. Under the program, the board is required to allocate funds to community and technical colleges, area technical colleges, local district colleges, and Colorado Mesa university to provide assistance to students for eligible expenses that support their enrollment in eligible programs. If unexpended resources exist, the funds must be used to pay for a student's housing, transportation, child or dependent care, or food expenses. The act requires the Colorado commission on higher education to submit a report regarding the program to the house of representatives and senate education committees during its annual "SMART Act" hearing. The act requires the office of future work (office) to provide grants to registered apprenticeship programs that provide training in the building and construction trade at no cost to apprentices (grant program). The act requires the office to submit a report regarding the grant program to the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee and senate business, labor, and technology committee during its annual "SMART Act" hearing. In the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriated $10 million to the department of public health and environment (department) for the purpose of recruitment and re-engagement efforts with health-care professionals with licenses and staffing. The act extends the authority for the department to use the appropriation through December 30, 2024. In the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriated $3 million to the department for the school nurse grant program, which provides grants for hiring school nurses for public schools. The act extends the authority for the department to use the appropriation through December 30, 2024. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $43,600,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education, of which: $38,600,000 for the program; and $5,000,000 to establish 2 new short-term degree nursing programs at community or technical colleges. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $1,400,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of labor and employment for the grant program. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act transfers certain administrative responsibilities from: The behavioral health administration (BHA) to the department of human services (department); The office of behavioral health (OBH) to the department; OBH to the BHA; and The department to the BHA. The act repeals OBH as an office in the department. The act requires the chief information officer of the office of information technology to invite the commissioner of the BHA to select a member to represent the BHA on the government data advisory board. The act adds the commissioner of the BHA to the health equity commission. The act states that the BHA is a health oversight agency charged with overseeing the behavioral health-care system in Colorado and discharging the BHA's duties. The act authorizes the BHA to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations for the purpose of administering any behavioral health program and service. The act requires a behavioral health safety net provider to include services that address the necessary language and cultural barriers to serve communities of color and other underserved populations. Current law requires the department of public health and environment to continue issuing and renewing behavioral health entity licenses until June 30, 2023. The act extends the date to December 31, 2023. The act requires the statewide behavioral health safety net system to include services for adults who have a serious mental illness and children and youth who have a serious emotional disturbance. The act authorizes the BHA to revoke or refuse to renew a behavioral health entity's license if the owner, manager, or administrator of the entity has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving conduct that the BHA determines could pose a risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the entity's consumers. The act requires the BHA to include in the contract for designated behavioral health administrative services organizations (BHASO) a requirement that the BHASO perform appropriate fiscal management and quality oversight of providers in its network. Current law requires the BHA to create one regional subcommittee of the advisory council for each behavioral health administrative services organization region. The act requires the BHA to create a regional subcommittee structure as part of the BHASO to promote local community input pertaining to behavioral health service needs. The act adds certain members to the regional subcommittee. The act requires the BHA to serve as the central organizing structure and responsible entity for jail-based behavioral health services. Current law requires the commissioner to select and contract with regionally based behavioral health organizations to establish, administer, and maintain adequate networks of behavioral health safety net services and care coordination no later than July 1, 2024. The act extends the date to July 1, 2025. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the BHA to safeguard partnerships between community-based behavioral health providers and rural hospitals by allocating money to community-based behavioral health providers. To implement the care navigation program, the act requires the BHA to provide, directly or through contract, care navigation services and align the care navigation services with the care coordination infrastructure. The act continuously appropriates money to the 988 crisis hotline cash fund. Current law specifies the rights of a person detained by a certified peace officer or emergency medical services provider and transported to an outpatient mental health facility or facility designated by the commissioner of the BHA. The act expands the rights to any person detained whether or not the person is transported to an outpatient mental health facility or facility designated by the commissioner of the BHA. If a person detained is transported to an emergency medical services facility, the transportation hold expires upon the facility receiving the person for screening by an intervening professional. Current law states the BHA is responsible for licensing mental health residential facilities on and after July 1, 2023. The act extends the date to October 1, 2023. The act extends the date that behavioral health entities can legally operate without a license from July 1, 2024, to January 1, 2024. The act decreases the general fund appropriation for use by the BHA and increases the general fund appropriation for use by the OBH for jail-based behavioral health services by $2,250,400. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act addresses issues related to a determination of juvenile competency to proceed (competency) and restoration of competency (restoration). The act allows: The district attorney, defense attorney, guardian ad litem, department of human services, a competency evaluator, a restoration treatment provider, and the court, without written consent of the juvenile or further order of the court, to access competency evaluations and restoration evaluations, including all second evaluations; information and documents related to competency evaluations; the competency evaluator, for the purpose of discussing the competency evaluation; and the providers of court-ordered restoration services for the purpose of discussing such services; Parties to exchange names, addresses, reports, and statements of physicians or psychologists who examined or treated the juvenile for competency; The court or any party to raise, at any time, the issue of a need for a restoration evaluation of the juvenile's competency; and A juvenile to be examined by a competency evaluator of the juvenile's own choice and to request a second evaluation in response to a court-ordered competency evaluation or a court-ordered restoration evaluation. If the court determines that the juvenile is incompetent to proceed and unlikely to be restored to competency in the reasonably foreseeable future, a time frame is set forth for the dismissal of charges based on the severity and type of charge. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $120,000 is appropriated to the judicial department from the general fund. The judicial department may use this appropriation for mandated costs for the office of the state public offender and the office of the alternate defense counsel. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the Colorado department of public health and environment (department) to distribute stop the bleed training materials and bleed control kits to K-12 schools that opt into receiving them. The act also requires the department, in collaboration with the American college of surgeons' committee on trauma, to report the number of schools that opt in, the number of people who have been trained in stop the bleed procedures in schools, the total number of stop the bleed control kits sent to schools, and the total cost of distributing stop the bleed control kits, for each school year from 2024 through 2026. The act appropriates $155,541 for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the general fund to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division. Any money not used for the 2023-24 school year is further appropriated to the department for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years for the same purpose. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 15, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the required annual appropriation to the department of education from the state education fund or the general fund by an additional $40,203,671 for children who have one or more disabilities and who receive special education services from a school district, board of cooperative services, a charter school network, a charter school collaborative, or the state charter school institute that is providing educational services to exceptional children. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 15, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the family and community intervener program (program) to support children who are deafblind and their families. The program provides deafblind children the services of an intervener who is specifically trained in deafblindness, building language and communication skills, and intervention strategies with children who are deafblind and their community, families, and environment. The Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind shall contract with an intervener program manager (manager) who has oversight over the program, the intervener activities, and the outcomes for children who are deafblind. The manager and intervener shall collaborate with other state agencies as appropriate that provide direct or indirect services to children who are deafblind and their families to identify potential additional services or opportunities for children who are deafblind. The program is funded through the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $130,092 is appropriated to the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind cash fund from the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund. This amount is reappropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of adults, aging, and disability services for the implementation of this act. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bridge and tunnel enterprise (BTE) in the department of transportation (department) completes tunnel projects and finances, repairs, reconstructs, replaces, and maintains designated bridges in the state. A designated bridge is a bridge that is part of the state highway system and that the department has identified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and has rated as poor. The act expands the scope of the BTE to include the completion of preventative maintenance bridge projects, which are projects that involve a treatment or strategy to extend the service life of a fair-rated or good-rated bridge by preventing, delaying, or reducing deterioration. The act authorizes the BTE to repair, reconstruct, replace, and maintain a bridge that the department has rated as fair if the fair-rated bridge is included as part of a project to repair, reconstruct, replace, or maintain a designated bridge. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the Colorado state forest service to make certain upgrades and improvements to its seedling tree nursery in order to expand its capacity and its ability to contribute to reforestation efforts in the state. The act extends the applicable repeal date to January 1, 2026. House Bill 22-1323, concerning updates to the Colorado state forest service seedling tree nursery, appropriated $5,000,000 for the 2022-23 state fiscal year to the department of higher education for use by the board of governors of the Colorado state university system, and the act further appropriates the unexpended amount through the 2024-25 state fiscal year. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $5,382,500 from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by the board of governors of the Colorado state university system for the Colorado state forest service seedling tree nursery. The act requires that any unexpended money appropriated pursuant to the act remain available for expenditure through the 2024-25 state fiscal year. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the transportation legislation review committee (committee) to analyze the issue of an owner of a motor vehicle that was nonconsensually towed because the vehicle was stolen or because the owner was the victim of a certain serious crime. The committee may take testimony and is required to make legislative recommendations to the general assembly on the issue. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
