For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the department of health care policy and financing (department) distributed money appropriated for a supplemental state payment to the Denver health and hospital authority (Denver health). The act authorizes the department to continually distribute any money appropriated by the general assembly for payment to Denver health. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $5 million to the department for payments to Denver health. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the established set of definitions to be used when analyzing available evidence regarding a program or practice in relation to a budget request, request for a supplemental appropriation, or budget request amendment (collectively, budget request). The act also modifies accordingly the process for incorporating evidence-based decision-making into budgetary decisions. If a state agency or the office of state planning and budgeting (office) includes information regarding the best available evidence on the effectiveness of a program or practice in a budget request, the state agency or office is required to give the program or practice an evidence designation and to provide a summary of the best available research evidence about the program or practice, information concerning how the best available research evidence is connected to the budget request, and any plans to evaluate the program or practice to build evidence regarding its effectiveness (collectively, the evidence designation justification). The state agency or the office may also include with its budget request that an evidence designation is not applicable or that the budget request is ineligible for an evidence designation. Joint budget committee staff is required to review the evidence designation justification and to include an evidence designation, or to state that an evidence designation is not applicable or that the budget request is ineligible for an evidence designation, as part of any recommendation it makes regarding a budget request. The joint budget committee is required to consider, as one of many factors, the evidence designation when determining the appropriate level of funding for a program or practice. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $1,496,000 from the college opportunity fund to the general fund on June 30, 2024. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The state auditor, in cooperation with the public employees' retirement association (PERA), is required to contract with a nationally recognized and enrolled actuarial firm with experience in public pension plans to conduct the following analyses of PERA: A comprehensive study (comprehensive study) comparing the cost and effectiveness of the current hybrid defined benefit plan design currently administered by PERA to alternative plan designs in both the public and private sector; and As part of the comprehensive study, an analysis regarding specified aspects of the defined benefit plan and the defined contribution plan currently administered by PERA. PERA and the state auditor are required to confer with the office of state planning and budgeting regarding the scope of the comprehensive study and are required to provide a report detailing the findings of the comprehensive study to the governor, the joint budget committee, the legislative audit committee, and the finance committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees. PERA is required to provide access to anonymized member information and data under a confidentiality agreement with the retained firm for the comprehensive study. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $380,750 is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative department for use by the office of the state auditor. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $500,000 from the general fund to the creative industries cash fund on July 1, 2024. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the amounts of certain fees, with subsequent adjustments for inflation or deflation, for filing forms and annual reports relating to exemptions of real and personal property from taxation as follows: The fee for claiming an initial exemption of real and personal property is increased from $175 to $200; The fee for filing an annual report containing information relating to property that has been granted exemption from taxation in previous years is increased from $75 to $110; The fee for filing a late annual report containing information relating to property that has been granted exemption from taxation in previous years that is filed later than April 15, but prior to July 1, is increased from $250 to $300; and The fee for filing a delinquent annual report containing information relating to property that has been granted exemption from taxation in previous years that is filed within a 12-month period commencing on July 1 of the year in which the annual report was due is increased from $250 to $300. The act requires the property tax administrator to adjust the filing fees for inflation or deflation annually and to round the adjusted amount upward or downward to the nearest $5. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The broadband infrastructure cash fund (fund) is created in the state treasury, and the state treasurer is required to transfer $4,570,741 from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2024. For the 2024-25 through 2026-27 state fiscal years, the money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation to the department of corrections (department) for the installation of broadband infrastructure to allow broadband access within specified correctional facilities. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $4,570,741 from the fund to the department to be used for the implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the school-based mental health support program (program) in the behavioral health administration (BHA) to provide high-quality training, resources, and implementation and sustainment support for the existing public school educator workforce to provide evidence-based mental health services to students through a contract with an external provider. The program emphasizes supporting schools in rural areas and schools with students who do not have equitable access to mental health care. No later than January 1, 2025, the act requires the BHA to contract with an external provider to implement the program no later than the start of the 2025-26 school year. The act requires the BHA to collaborate with the external provider to determine the cost of implementing the program in at least 400 public schools by the start of the 2027-28 school year. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $2,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the BHA to administer the program. The BHA may use up to $100,000 of the funds to select the external provider. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, the department of corrections (department) shall submit a request related to changes in caseload to the joint budget committee by January 15. The act changes the deadline so that the department shall submit the request on or before January 10. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $24 million from the state education fund to the department of education (department) to distribute one-time funding to school districts and institute charter schools that enrolled new arrival students after the 2023-24 pupil enrollment count day. The act provides to each school district and each institute charter school that requests funding pursuant to the act: An amount determined by a tiered schedule that is based on the total number of new arrival students who enrolled in the school district or institute charter schools after the 2023-24 pupil enrollment count day; and $4,500 for each student who is in the school district's or institute charter school's total net student population or total new arrival student population, whichever is lesser; except that, if the amount appropriated is insufficient to meet the demand, the department is required to proportionately reduce the $4,500 amount. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment (ASCENT) program is available to all qualified students who are designated to participate by their local education provider. The act: Starting in the 2025-26 state fiscal year, caps the number of qualified students who participate in the ASCENT program at the number of qualified students who participated in the ASCENT program in the 2024-25 state fiscal year; and Creates additional eligibility requirements to participate in the ASCENT program. The act requires the department of education to submit a report to the education committees of the house and the senate and the joint budget committee regarding the ASCENT program. Under current law, the district's total program formula includes funding for a district's extended high school pupil enrollment, determined by the district's number of pupils who are concurrently enrolled in a postsecondary course multiplied by a dollar amount that annually increases. Starting in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act amends the district's extended high school funding formula to cap the dollar amount that is multiplied by the district's ASCENT program students within the district's extended high school funding formula. For purposes of the act, the cash funds appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2024-25 state fiscal year is reduced by $1,081,762, and for the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $45,600 to the department of education. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases the percentage of the master settlement money (money) received by the state that is credited to the tobacco litigation settlement cash fund and is subsequently transferred to the nurse home visitor program fund (fund) from 26.7% to 28.7%. The 2% increase is attributable to the percentage of money from the tobacco litigation settlement cash fund that was previously transferred to the Colorado autism treatment fund, which was repealed in 2023 when several services that had been provided under the home- and community-based services waiver program were moved to a new community first choice option under the state medicaid program that is funded through the general fund. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,734,924 from the fund to the department of early childhood to be used by the division of community and family support for home visiting. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
