The act establishes the rural provider access and affordability stimulus grant program (grant program) in the Colorado department of health care policy and financing (state department). As part of the grant program, the state department may award grants for projects that modernize the affordability solutions and the information technology of health-care providers in rural communities (rural providers) and projects that expand access to health care in rural communities. The types of rural providers eligible for grants under the grant program are rural hospitals that have a lower net patient revenue or fund balance than other rural hospitals in the state, as determined by the medical services board (state board) by rule. On or before December 31, 2022: The state department must adopt guidelines for the grant program (guidelines); and The state board must adopt rules as necessary for the administration of the grant program (rules). The act creates the rural provider access and affordability advisory committee (advisory committee) in the state department. The advisory committee is required to advise the state department on the administration of the grant program, the adoption of the guidelines, and the selection of grant recipients. The advisory committee is also required to advise on the rules. The act also creates the rural provider access and affordability fund (fund) in the state treasury. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $10,000,000 from the economic recovery and relief cash fund to the fund for awarding grants under the grant program and the administration of the grant program. The state department is directed to include a report on the progress of the grant program during its presentation to joint legislative committees pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act". The grant program is repealed on July 1, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the office of cardiac arrest management (office) in the department of public health and environment, the purpose of which is to promote the use of public access defibrillators and the use of registries so the public know where defibrillators can be found and used. The office is required to: Coordinate the collection of sudden cardiac arrest data, including outcome data from hospitals; Implement an outreach campaign to raise public awareness regarding sudden cardiac arrest; Maintain a list of training and education programs offered in this state to teach life-saving skills; Employ a statewide cardiac arrest data coordinator and other personnel as necessary; and Coordinate the submission of data to an automated external defibrillator registry. $200,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public health and environment for use in the 2022-23 state fiscal year by the health facilities and emergency medical services division to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act appropriates $6 million from the species conservation trust fund for programs submitted by the executive director of the department of natural resources that are designed to conserve native species that state or federal law list as threatened or endangered or that are candidate species or are likely to become candidate species as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service, allocated as follows: $770,000 for native terrestrial wildlife conservation; $2,230,000 for native aquatic wildlife conservation; $1,900,000 for a Platte river recovery implementation program; $800,000 for an upper Colorado river endangered fish recovery program and San Juan river basin recovery implementation program; $250,000 for a 15-mile reach of Ruedi reservoir releases; and $50,000 for selenium management, research, monitoring, evaluation, and control.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act transfers the duties, powers, and functions of the department of local affairs (DOLA) related to backcountry search and rescue, the backcountry search and rescue card (card) and the backcountry search and rescue fund (fund) to the division of parks and wildlife (division), effective January 1, 2023. On and after January 1, 2023: All positions of employment and appropriations for personal services in DOLA related to backcountry search and rescue and the administration of the card and fund are transferred to the division; The division is required to administer the card program and to process requests for reimbursement for search and rescue efforts from the fund and assumes all rights and obligations previously vested in DOLA; The parks and wildlife commission is required to promulgate rules establishing the price and vendor fee for the card and the amount of the surcharges imposed on certain hunting and fishing licenses and on boats, snowmobile, and off-highway vehicle registrations that are credited to the fund; and The fund is continuously appropriated to the division to reimburse local governments for backcountry search and rescue efforts and to support search and rescue efforts throughout the state. The act amends current laws providing immunity from civil liability in certain circumstances to volunteer firefighters and incident management teams responding to emergencies and to volunteers providing services to nonprofit organizations to include persons, including associated legal entities, engaged in backcountry search and rescue efforts. A dependent of a person who died or was permanently disabled while engaged in backcountry search and rescue efforts is eligible for educational benefits that are currently extended to the dependents of individuals who die or are permanently disabled while on active duty as a Colorado National Guardsman or while working as a police officer, sheriff, or other law enforcement officer or firefighter. One million dollars is transferred from the general fund to the wildlife cash fund for use by the division to support backcountry search and rescue efforts. If there is any unobligated and unexpended money remaining from that transfer on January 2, 2023, the remainder is transferred to the backcountry search and rescue fund. The one million dollars transferred to the wildlife cash fund is appropriated to the department of natural resources for use by the division for backcountry search and rescue efforts. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, ambulance services are regulated at the local level. On and after July 1, 2024, the act requires an ambulance service to obtain a state license from the department of public health and environment (department). In licensing ambulance services, the department is authorized to conduct inspections, investigate and hold hearings regarding alleged violations, and, for any violations found, take action against an ambulance service's license or application for an initial or renewed license, impose civil penalties in an amount of up to $500 per violation or up to $500 per day for a continuing violation, or both. On or before January 1, 2024, the state board of health (board) is required to adopt rules regarding minimum standards for ambulance services, including equipment, staffing, medical oversight, and general and vehicle liability insurance standards and, if the board deems it necessary, rules imposing application and licensing fees. On and after July 1, 2024, a county or city and county is authorized to grant an ambulance service authorization to operate within the county's or city and county's jurisdiction and to enter into service agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other contracts with ambulance services operating in the county's or city and county's jurisdiction. The act also creates a statewide task force to make statutory, rule, and policy recommendations for how to preserve, promote, and expand consumer access to emergency medical services in the state, including recommendations: Regarding the regulation of ambulance service; To address inequities and disparities in access to emergency medical services; To address workforce recruiting and retention issues; To promote the financial sustainability of emergency medical services; and Regarding the long-term sustainability of emergency medical services. For state fiscal year 2022-23, the act appropriates from the general fund: $254,622 to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency management services division for administration and operations; and $1,882 to the legislative department for use by the legislative council.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the requirements that property must be owned for strictly charitable purposes and not for private gain or corporate profit and that the property must be irrevocably dedicated to a charitable purpose in order for the property to qualify for the property tax exemption for property used as an integral part of a child care center. These changes allow property that is used by a tenant or subtenant to operate a child care center to be eligible for the exemption, and the act specifies that in such case, only the operator's use is to be considered for purposes of determining whether the property is eligible for the exemption. An operator of an eligible facility, or the operator's authorized agent, is required to sign the exemption application form and to provide the property tax administrator with any requested information related to the exemption. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The voluntary contribution to the Colorado nongame conservation and wildlife restoration cash fund that was authorized to appear on the state income tax return from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2022, was scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2023. The act extends the voluntary contribution indefinitely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado wildlife safe passages fund (fund) within the state treasury and transfers $5,000,000 from the general fund to the fund. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department of transportation (department) to provide funding for projects that provide safe road crossings for connectivity of wildlife and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, for the full range of wildlife crossing project needs, and for matching requirements for federal grant programs relating to wildlife crossing projects. The department must consult with the division of parks and wildlife and the Colorado wildlife and transportation alliance regarding the disbursement of money from the fund and must annually report on the disbursement of such money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2017, but prior to January 1, 2023, the credit for health-care preceptors working in health professional shortage areas offers an income tax credit in the amount of $1,000 to health-care professionals in rural and frontier areas who provide a preceptorship, an uncompensated mentoring experience for eligible health professional students that includes a specified minimum amount of personalized instruction, training, and supervision, during the applicable income tax year. The act modifies the tax credit by: Extending the period for which the tax credit may be claimed to tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2033; Allowing up to 300, rather than 200, preceptors to claim the credit in any tax year; Expanding who may offer a preceptorship to include, in addition to a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic medicine, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, doctor of dental surgery, or doctor of dental medicine as provided by existing law, a registered nurse, registered dental hygienist, pharmacist, licensed clinical or counseling psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, psychiatric nurse specialist, licensed addiction counselor, or certified addiction counselor working in an outpatient clinical setting who has been licensed in his or her primary health-care field in the state by the applicable licensing authority; Expanding who may participate in a preceptorship to include individuals matriculating at any accredited Colorado institution of higher education seeking a degree or certification in a primary health-care field; Allowing nonconsecutive days to be counted when determining the eligibility of a preceptorship for the credit; Modifying the definitions of "rural areas", "preceptorship", and "primary health-care" for purposes of the tax credit; Modifying the certification requirements for taxpayers who claim the tax credit; and Providing a tax preference performance statement for the tax credit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, the act prohibits a school district or board of cooperative services from using measures of student academic growth derived from the Colorado growth model or from considering the performance plan type implemented by the school district or board of cooperative services or by a school in determining evaluation ratings for licensed personnel. For the 2022-23 budget year, the act appropriates $21,265 from the general fund to the department of education to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the "Donor-conceived Persons and Families of Donor-conceived Persons Protection Act" (act). The act defines the following terms, among others: "Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse; "Donor" means an individual who produces eggs or sperm collected by a gamete agency, gamete bank, or fertility clinic (ART agency) for use in assisted reproduction; "Donor-conceived person" (DCP) means an individual of any age who was born as a result of assisted reproduction; "Fertility clinic" means an entity or organization that performs assisted reproduction medical procedures and receives donor gametes for a recipient in, or who is a resident of, Colorado, and the recipient and gamete donor are unknown to each other at the time of donation; "Gamete" means unfertilized oocytes or sperm; "Gamete agency" means an oocyte or sperm donor matching agency that is located within or outside of Colorado and matches gamete donors with recipients in, or who are residents of, Colorado, and are unknown to each other at the time of donation; "Gamete bank" means an entity or organization that collects gametes from a donor or receives embryos and provides gametes or embryos to a recipient parent or the parent's medical provider and the recipient and donor are unknown to each other at the time of donation and the parent lives in, or is a resident of, Colorado at the time of donation; "Identifying information" means the donor's full name; the donor's date of birth; and the donor's permanent and, if different, current address or other contact information at the time of the donation, or, if different, the donor's current address or other contact information or both as retained by the ART agency; "Medical history" means information regarding any present physical illness of the donor; past illness of the donor; and social, genetic, and family medical history pertaining to the donor's health; and "Recipient" or "recipient parent" means an individual who receives donor gametes or embryos as an intended parent from an ART agency for use in assisted reproduction for the purpose of conceiving a child. The act requires: An ART agency that, on or after January 1, 2025, collects gametes from a donor or matches a donor with a recipient, or receives gametes from a different ART agency, to collect the donor's identifying information and medical history and make a good-faith effort to maintain current contact information and updates on the donor's medical history by requesting updates from the donor at least once every 3 years; Upon request of a DCP who is 18 years of age or older, or less than 18 years of age but legally emancipated, release of identifying and medical information to the DCP or the DCP's legal parent or guardian. An ART agency shall not match or provide gametes from a donor who does not agree to the identity disclosure when a DCP reaches 18 years of age; An ART agency to collect and securely maintain any records of the donor's identifying information and medical history. The ART agency shall also regularly request at least once every 3 years that a donor provide updates to the donor's contact information and medical history. An ART agency that matches or collects gametes from a donor on or after January 1, 2025, who is unknown to the recipient parent at the time of the donation to provide the donor with information about disclosure of information and obtain a declaration from the donor agreeing to identity disclosure when a DCP reaches 18 years of age; An ART agency to make and submit a proposed plan to the department of public health and environment (department) to permanently maintain records of donor identifying information and medical history, the number of families established with each donor's gametes, and genetic screening and testing in the event of dissolution, insolvency, or bankruptcy. In the case of such event, the gamete bank shall inform by mail and email, sent to the last known address, all gamete donors whose gametes were collected, matched, or received, as well as recipient parents who received gametes or embryos from the gamete bank. That, once an ART agency has record of or should reasonably know that 25 families have been established using a single donor's gametes in or outside of Colorado, with no limit on the number of children conceived by each of the families, the gamete bank shall not match or provide gametes from a donor to additional families. On or before January 1, 2025, the department to develop written materials for intended parents and separate materials for donors. An ART agency is required to ensure that, prior to tissue donation or sale of tissue, each tissue donor and intended recipient receives these written materials. The written materials are not meant to be in lieu of any mental health evaluations. That donors be at least 21 years of age at the time of the donation; On or after January 1, 2025, an ART agency operating in Colorado or providing donor gametes for use in assisted reproduction in Colorado to obtain a license that is conditioned on compliance with the act and its implementing rules; The state board of health (board) to establish a schedule of fees for licensure, with the department collecting the appropriate fee at the time of application for licensure; and The department to revoke licensure and issue fines for violations of the license, act, and implementing rules. The department is allowed to assess a civil penalty for violations of the act. The board is granted rule-making authority for the implementation of the act, with rules to be promulgated on or before July 1, 2024. The donor gamete agency, gamete bank, and fertility clinic fund is created. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $192,293 is appropriated to the department from the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a consumer reporting agency to exclude sealed and expunged records from a consumer report, unless the user of the report demonstrates that the user is otherwise required to consider the information pursuant to law. Currently, there is a process that allows for automatic sealing of criminal justice records for certain drug offenses. The act extends automatic sealing to all offenses, including civil infractions, that allow a defendant to petition the court for sealing criminal justice records that are not subject to the victims rights act. The act streamlines the automatic record sealing process. The act allows a district attorney to object to the automatic sealing of a felony offense that is not a drug felony and, if the defendant requests a hearing in that case, the court shall schedule a hearing to determine whether to seal the records. The act requires the state court administrator to produce an annual report regarding automatic record sealing. During the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, the judicial department shall report on the progress of its implementation of the automatic sealing created by the act, including as part of the department's SMART act hearing. The act requires district attorneys, in the completion of diversion prior to charges being filed, to seal diversion records without a court order. The act provides that a defendant's and a district attorney's access to sealed records do not require a court order. The act provides the conditions that must be met for a researcher to access sealed records without a court order. The act allows a record to be sealed if a defendant owes fines, court fees, late fees, or other court-ordered fees. The act requires the Colorado bureau of investigation to produce an annual report regarding record sealing. The act makes clarifying and organizational changes to the record sealing statutes. The act appropriates $725,145 from the general fund to the judicial department to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
