As a condition of receiving federal money under the federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act", the state was required to maintain the enrollment of nearly all individuals receiving medicaid until April 1, 2023, at which point the state was given 14 months to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations. Additionally, due to the declared public health emergency in Colorado in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to effectuate the federal continuous enrollment requirement, the governor suspended certain statutory requirements related to enrollment and cost sharing in medical assistance programs. The act suspends these requirements statutorily for the 14 months after April 1, 2023. The act suspends certain other statutory enrollment and cost-sharing requirements until May 31, 2023,or June 1, 2024, and other statutory enrollment requirements until 12 months past the declaration of the end of the federal public health emergency. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the office of the statewide behavioral health court liaison (office) as an independent agency within the judicial department to administer the statewide behavioral health court liaison program, which is known as the bridges program (program). The head of the office is the director. The office provides program services. The act establishes the bridges program commission (commission) to support the office. The commission appoints the director of the office, provides guidance to the office, provides fiscal oversight of the office's general operating budget, participates in program services funding decisions, and assists with the office's duties concerning program training and public outreach. The act clarifies the scope, requirements, and duties of the program, including requiring the program to inform county attorneys of available behavioral health services and connect participants to, and support engagement with, relevant services. The act clarifies the duties of the program's court liaisons, including: Addressing system gaps and barriers and promoting positive outcomes for program participants; Keeping judges, district attorneys, county attorneys, and defense attorneys informed about available community-based behavioral health services; and Providing consultation and training to criminal and juvenile justice personnel regarding behavioral health and community treatment options and program best practices. The office is required to annually report to the joint budget committee about the office's work and administration of the program. The act appropriates $5,181,020 from the general fund to the judicial department for use by the office and $100,453 from the general fund to the judicial department for legal services, which is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services to the judicial department. The act reduces the appropriation in the 2023 long bill to the judicial department for the program by $2,802,491. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 NOTE: Certain sections of the act are contingent on whether or not Senate Bill 23-228 becomes law. Senate Bill 23-228 was signed by the governor April 20, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the office of school safety (office) within the office of the executive director in the department of public safety. The office oversees the school safety resource center (center), which assists schools in preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and crisis situations by offering training and other supportive services. Among other duties, the center is responsible for providing information and resources related to school safety, school emergency response planning and training, and interoperable communications to the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety for distribution to school districts and schools. The act clarifies that this responsibility does not permit the provision of firearms to schools districts or schools. The director of the office is required to appoint the director of the center and appoint a grants manager to assist schools in obtaining funding related to school safety. The act also creates the crisis response unit within the office to assist schools in responding to a crisis or emergency and creates a youth violence prevention grant program within the office. Currently, the school access for emergency response grant program (SAFER) is administered by the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety. The act moves the administration of SAFER to the office. The act specifies that eligible entities may use money received from the school security disbursement program to implement school resource officer programs and co-responder programs. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $25,798,091 is appropriated to the department of public safety for use by the office. This appropriation consists of $20,401,600 from the general fund, $5,000,000 from the school access for emergency response grant program cash fund, $250,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund, and $146,491 from the school safety resource center cash fund. To implement the act, the office may use this appropriation as follows: $5,524,916, which consists of $274,916 from the general fund, $5,000,000 from the school access for emergency response grant program cash fund, and $250,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund, for administrative services, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 1.8 FTE; $1,825,744, which consists of $1,679,253 from the general fund and $146,491 from the school safety resource center cash fund for the center, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 11.2 FTE; $1,144,023 from the general fund for the crisis response unit, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 3.7 FTE; $303,408 from the general fund for threat assessment, which amount is based on an assumption that the office will require an additional 0.5 FTE; $16,000,000 from the general fund for the school security disbursement program; and $1,000,000 from the general fund for the youth violence prevention program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $313,951 is appropriated to the department of public safety for use by the office of the executive director of the department of public safety. This appropriation is from the general fund. To implement the act, the office of the executive director may use this appropriation as follows: $108,422 for personal services, which amount is based on an assumption that the office of the executive director will require an additional 0.9 FTE; $80,761 for health, life, and dental; $1,141 for short-term disability; $35,571 for amortization equalization disbursement; $35,571 for supplemental amortization equalization disbursement; $9,135 for operating expenses; $10,800 for vehicle lease payments; and $32,550 for leased space. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the secondary school student substance use committee (committee) in the department of education (department) to develop a practice, or identify or modify an existing practice, for secondary schools to implement that identifies students who need substance use treatment, offers a brief intervention, and refers the students to substance use treatment resources. The department is required to publicly publish a report of the committee's findings and submit the report to the superintendent of every school district and chief administrator of every institute charter school that is a secondary school. For the 2023-24 budget year, $49,950 is appropriated from the general fund to the department to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor April 26, 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 creates several opportunities for youth, defined as the age of eligibility for membership in the Colorado youth advisory council, to be involved in the review of the state's education standards. Youth representatives are appointed as follows: The commissioner of education (commissioner) shall appoint youth representatives from nominations submitted by schools throughout the state to participate in the standards development process, which includes community engagement; The commissioner shall appoint 2 youth representatives to any regional educator meetings; and Each local education provider shall appoint 2 youth representatives to any review committees for local education providers. In each instance, the appointing authority shall select the youth representatives from nominations submitted by schools throughout the state, and, when possible, one must be from an urban area and one must be from a rural area. Youth representatives may be reappointed pursuant to each committee's process. The department of education (department) may compensate youth representatives for actual expenses incurred with participation, and, if appropriate, provide a stipend in an amount determined by the department. The department shall promote the opportunities for youth involvement and request schools nominate youth to participate. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $7,650 to the department of education from the general fund. The department may use this appropriation for content specialists. APPROVED by Governor April 26, 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 modifies the relationship between a physician assistant and a physician or podiatrist by removing the requirement that a physician assistant be supervised by a physician or podiatrist except in certain circumstances. Instead, a physician assistant must enter into a collaborative agreement with a physician or podiatrist or physician group. The physician or podiatrist must be licensed in good standing in Colorado and be actively practicing with a regular and reliable physical presence in the state. The collaborative agreement must include: The physician assistant's name, license number, and primary location of practice; The signature of the physician assistant and the physician or physician group with whom the physician assistant has entered into the collaborative agreement; A description of the physician assistant's process for collaboration; A description of the performance evaluation process, which may be completed by the physician assistant's employer in accordance with a performance evaluation and review process established by the employer; and Any additional requirements specific to the physician assistant's practice required by the physician or physician group entering into the collaborative agreement, including additional levels of oversight, limitations on autonomous judgment, and the designation of a primary contact for collaboration. For a physician assistant with fewer than 5,000 practice hours, or a physician assistant changing practice areas with fewer than 3,000 practice hours in the new practice area, the collaborative agreement is a supervisory agreement that must include required elements and must also: Require that collaboration during the first 160 practice hours be completed in person or through technology, as permitted by the physician or physician group with whom the physician assistant is collaborating; Incorporate elements defining the expected nature of collaboration; and Require a performance evaluation and discussion of the performance evaluation with the physician assistant. For a physician assistant entering into a collaborative agreement with a physician or physician group in the emergency department of a hospital with a level I or level II trauma center, the collaborative agreement remains a supervisory agreement and continues indefinitely. For a physician assistant changing practice areas to practice in an emergency department of a hospital that is not a level I or level II trauma center, the supervising physician or physician group may increase the number of hours for which the collaborative agreement is a supervisory agreement. The act also eliminates the 3-year time limit for physician assistants to satisfy certain financial responsibility requirements from which such physician assistants are exempt under current law. APPROVED by Governor April 26, 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 extends the duration of internships under the agricultural workforce development program from up to 6 months to up to one year. The act also extends the repeal date of the program by 5 years, to July 1, 2029. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Usually, an owner of agricultural equipment must seek diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services of the equipment from the agricultural equipment manufacturer (manufacturer). Starting January 1, 2024, the act requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information (resources), to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's agricultural equipment to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services on the owner's agricultural equipment. A manufacturer's failure to comply with the requirement to provide resources is a deceptive trade practice. The act folds agricultural equipment into the existing consumer right-to-repair statutes and adds data to the list of resources that a manufacturer must provide to independent repair providers or owners. An independent repair provider or owner is not authorized to make any modifications to agricultural equipment that deactivates a safety notification system or brings the equipment out of compliance with safety or emissions laws or to engage in any conduct that would evade emissions, copyright, trademark, or patent laws. If an agricultural equipment manufacturer enters into a nationwide memorandum of understanding regarding right-to-repair agricultural equipment, the manufacturer is still obligated to meet the requirements of this act. If Congress enacts federal legislation regarding the right to repair agricultural equipment, this act will be repealed. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows money from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund to be used to match money provided by the federal government through the federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" for certain clean water projects. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the timeline from 12 months to 18 months before a charter school is set to open for a prospective charter school to submit to the local board of education an application to become a charter school. The act allows a local board of education to apply to the state board of education for modifications to the timeline set forth in this act. The act creates an optional charter school application timeline for a rural or small rural school district that allows charter school applications outside of the 18-month timeline upon notice to the department of education and public notice on the school district's website. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 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 terminates the state's prepayment of insurance premiums for state employee coverage under the paid family and medical leave insurance program based on the state's advance payment of $57 million to the family and medical leave insurance fund from the revenue loss restoration cash fund in May 2022. The act terminates such prepayment at the end of fiscal year 2023-24 and requires the state treasurer to transfer $35 million back to the revenue loss restoration cash fund on or as soon as possible after the date on which the balance of the family and medical leave insurance fund reaches $100 million. The act further requires that, on or as soon as possible after the date the state controller publishes the comprehensive annual financial report of the state for fiscal year 2023-24, the state treasurer shall transfer any actual additional unexpended amount of the state's $57 million advance payment from the family and medical leave insurance fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund. The act makes a conforming amendment to the statute in which the revenue loss restoration cash fund is created. APPROVED by Governor April 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law designates that a student in an out-of-home placement is a resident of the school district where the placement is located, even if that student continues to attend a school in another school district. The act designates students in out-of-home placements as residents of the school district of their school of origin as long as the student attends the school of origin, other than an approved facility school, or a state-licensed day treatment facility. The act requires the state department of human services (department) to organize a working group to identify and address issues related to foster youth education, transportation, and stability and requires the department to provide written recommendations to the general assembly before the 2025 regular legislative session. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
