The act establishes requirements for the creation and assignment of a health-care provider lien for a person injured in an accident. A health-care provider lien is a lien related to charges for health care provided to a person injured by the negligence or wrongful act of another person, which is asserted against money the injured person may receive from a personal injury claim or uninsured motorist claim.A health-care provider or the health-care provider's assignee creating a lien must advise the injured person of their options for payment, including the use of benefits from an insurance plan. In addition, the provider or assignee must provide additional disclosures about the lien, including how the health-care provider's assignee is compensated and of any common ownership interests among the lien holder and the injured person's health-care providers or legal counsel. The injured person must also be advised that, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation:If the injured person does not receive a judgment, settlement, or payment on the injured person's claim, the injured person is not liable for any amount of the lien; If the injured person receives a net judgment, settlement, or payment that is less than the amount of the lien, the injured person is not liable for any amount over the amount of the net judgment, settlement, or payment; and The lien holder cannot assign the lien to a collection agency. The act requires that a health-care provider lien cannot include additional finance charges or interest and must be limited to the total of the usual and customary charges billed by health-care providers. In the absence of fraud or misrepresentation:If the injured person does not receive a judgment, settlement, or payment on the injured person's claim, the injured person is not liable for any amount of the lien; If the injured person receives a net judgment, settlement, or payment that is less than the amount of the lien, the injured person is not liable for any amount over the amount of the net judgment, settlement, or payment; and The lien holder cannot assign the lien to a collection agency. A health-care provider or its assignee must comply with the provisions of the act to have a valid health-care provider lien. If a court determines that a health-care provider or its assignee knowingly failed to comply, the injured person may seek a ruling from the court concerning which portions of the lien, if any, the health-care provider or assignee cannot recover.Except in an action under the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code", when a lien is assigned, the amount paid for the assignment, the fact of the assignment, and the terms of the assignment are not admissible as evidence in the underlying personal injury action.The holder of a health-care provider lien may file a record of the lien in accordance with the "Colorado Statutory Lien Registration Act". If more than one health-care provider lien has been asserted against an injured person's net judgment, settlement, or payment for the same accident or incident, a lien for which a record has been filed has priority for payment out of the injured person's net judgment, settlement, or payment over a lien for which no record is filed. If records are filed for more than one health-care provider lien for the same accident or incident, priority is determined by the date on which the record was filed, with the lien with the earliest date of filing having first priority. Filing a record is optional and does not waive any other provisions of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows an owner of special mobile machinery who regularly rents or leases the special mobile machinery and who pays specific ownership tax on a monthly basis in an amount equal to 2% of the rental or lease payments for the special mobile machinery to apply to the department of revenue for a registration exempt certificate. The department shall issue the certificate if:The department verifies that the owner regularly has 1,000 or more items of such special mobile machinery in the state; Each item of such special mobile machinery is clearly marked or painted in a manner that identifies it as being owned by the owner; Each item of such special mobile machinery bears a visible and readily identifiable unique identification number assigned by the owner; and Each item of such special mobile machinery bears a visible toll-free telephone number for the owner that can be used for verification of ownership. The owner of any item of special mobile machinery that is covered by a registration exempt certificate is required to pay, at the time during each calendar year in which specific ownership tax is first paid for the item, all fees and surcharges that would otherwise be paid at the time of registration; except that the owner is not required to pay any fee imposed for the purpose of covering the direct costs of license plates, decals, or validating tabs or the direct costs incurred by an authorized agent of the department of revenue in registering or issuing license plates, decals, or validating tabs for the item.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act moves the broadband deployment board (board) from the department of regulatory agencies (department) to the office of information technology (office) and, on September 1, 2021, reduces the membership of the board from 16 to 11 members.The board is required to develop a request for proposal process through which the board will solicit bids for proposed projects that serve critically unserved areas of the state identified by the office. The board is required to reserve up to 60% of the money from the high cost support mechanism that is allocated for broadband deployment to award grants to proposed projects solicited through the request for proposal process. "Critically unserved" is defined in the act to mean a household or area that lacks access to at least one provider of nonsatellite broadband service delivered at measurable speeds of at least 10 megabits per second downstream and one megabit per second upstream or at measurable speeds of at least one-half of the minimum measurable speeds that qualify as broadband under the federal communications commission's definition, rounded up, whichever is faster.The act also:Requires an applicant or appellant to submit either written certification from a local entity indicating that the area to be served by the applicant's project is an unserved area or a statistically representative number of speed tests performed on an incumbent provider's network and conducted in accordance with industry-standard speed-test protocols; Gives additional consideration to proposed projects that would give discounted service for low-income households; Contractually requires an applicant receiving a grant award to: Report annually on the number of homes and businesses served by the grant-supported broadband network, the number of homes and businesses expected to be served in the following year, and the speeds, rates, and services offered to customers through the grant-supported broadband network; and Provide third-party performance-testing certification, after the grant money has been fully expended, that the project meets the original design of, and provides the measurable speeds, rates, and services set forth in, the application. Requires an applicant or appellant to submit to the office, in a form and manner determined by the office, certain granular mapping data, which data is not a public record under the "Colorado Open Records Act"; and Uses the request for proposal process, or a substantially similar process, for the disbursement of any federal money the board receives for broadband deployment projects and programs so long as using the request for proposal process complies with federal requirements for use of the money. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act transfers $202,504 of the appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act from the department of regulator agencies to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The division of gaming within the department of revenue currently publishes on its website monthly and annual public reports of revenues, expenses, and other information from limited gaming activity in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek. The act requires similar reporting for revenue associated with sports betting. To protect the privacy of owners of sports betting venues, when the number of licensees in any of the cities is less than 3, the act requires aggregation of data from that city with data from another city.If the use of aggregated data results in a property valuation that the casino owner or other taxpayer believes is inaccurate, the act permits the taxpayer to submit additional information to the county assessor, subject to strict confidentiality requirements that continue throughout the property valuation process and any subsequent appeals or court proceedings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the Colorado health service corps program administered by the primary care office (office) in the department of public health and environment, which program includes a loan repayment program, to allow geriatric advanced practice providers, defined as advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants with geriatric training or experience, to participate in the loan repayment program on the condition of committing to provide geriatric care to older adults in health professional shortage areas for a specified period.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $400,000 from the general fund to the Colorado health service corps fund for use by the office to help repay loans for geriatric advanced practice providers.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, adults and juveniles can file motions for relief from collateral consequences. The act states that a motion can be filed related to convictions retroactively.The act allows the state public defender and the office of alternate defense counsel to apply for grants and accept gifts and donations for the purposes of representing defendants in record sealing proceedings. The state public defender and the office of the alternate defense counsel shall not accept a gift, grant, or donation if the gift, grant, or donation is conditioned on its use for sealing records for a specific identified individual or individuals. The state public defender and the office of the alternate defense counsel shall report on the receipt and expenditure of gifts, grants, and donations at its SMART act hearing.The act creates an automatic sealing process for arrest records when no criminal charges are filed. For arrest records on or after January 1, 2022, the Colorado bureau of investigation (CBI) shall seal arrest records in its custody and control after a year has passed without the filing of criminal charges. For arrest records before January 1, 2022, CBI shall seal arrest records for:Felonies with a 3-year statute of limitations if 3 years have passed since the date of arrest without the filing of charges; and Misdemeanors, traffic misdemeanors, petty offenses, or municipal violations with an 18-month statute of limitations or less if 18 months have passed since the date of arrest without the filing of charges. Felony arrest records with a statute of limitations of longer than 3 years or with no statute of limitations are not eligible for automatic sealing. The department of education can still access and use records sealed under these provisions.The act creates a process for a person with multiple conviction records that are eligible for sealing due to an intervening conviction to petition the court in a civil proceeding to have the records sealed. The district attorney has an opportunity to object, and if the district attorney objects, the court sets the matter for hearing to determine whether to seal the records.The act allows a person who receives a full and unconditional pardon to have his or her conviction record sealed.The act creates a process to automatically seal drug convictions. The state court administrator (administrator) shall compile a list of drug convictions eligible for sealing under current law, and seal the record:If the drug conviction is for a petty offense or misdemeanor, and at least 7 years have passed since the disposition of the case; or If the drug conviction is for a felony, and at least 10 years have passed since the disposition of the case. After the administrator compiles the list, the administrator shall send the list to the CBI for review and the bureau shall remove any convictions in which the identity of the defendant is unverifiable or convictions in which the defendant had another conviction during the waiting period. The bureau shall send its list to each district attorney in the state. The district attorney shall remove any convictions in which a condition of a plea was that the defendant agreed to not have the case sealed and convictions in which the defendant has pending criminal charges. Each district attorney shall send its amended list to the administrator. The administrator shall compile each of the lists into one list and sort the convictions by judicial district.The district attorney shall send the list to the chief judge for the judicial district and the courts of that judicial district shall enter sealing orders based on the list received.The administrator shall develop a website that allows defendants to confidentially determine whether the defendant's conviction has been sealed and information about how to receive a copy of the sealing order.The act appropriates from the general fund $300,605 to the judicial department to implement the act. The act appropriates $39,815 from the general fund to the department of public safety for the biometric identification unit.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act removes the following administrative fees, costs, and surcharges in juvenile delinquency cases that a juvenile or a juvenile's parent or legal guardian must pay:Cost of care, other than costs required pursuant to the federal "Social Security Act", for a juvenile sentenced to a placement out of the home or granted probation as a result of an adjudication, deferral of adjudication, or direct filing in or transfer to district court; Costs of prosecution and the amount of the cost of care imposed upon a juvenile who is adjudicated a juvenile delinquent; Fees for applying for court-appointed counsel and costs of the representation when a juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian is determined not to be indigent; Costs and surcharges levied on criminal actions and traffic offenses paid into the court district's crime victim compensation fund and the victims and witnesses assistance and law enforcement fund; Surcharges paid into the sex offender surcharge fund by juveniles adjudicated, or who receive a deferred adjudication, for commission of a sex offense; Cost of the juvenile's medical care in the youthful offender system provided to the minor based on the minor's consent; Cost of collecting and testing biological samples from juveniles sentenced to the youthful offender system; Time payment and late penalty fees assessed when a juvenile does not pay fines, fees, costs, surcharges, or other monetary assessments in criminal cases; The restorative justice surcharge; Costs and surcharges related to impaired driving; and The fee assessed on persons required to perform community or useful public service. A court is prohibited from including fees related to participating in restorative justice practices in a court order.Any outstanding balance of the fees, costs, and surcharges repealed in the act are unenforceable and not collectable. Within 6 months after the effective date of the act, the court is required to vacate the portion of a court order that imposes the costs.The act makes transfers from the marijuana tax cash fund to the restorative justice surcharge fund, the crime victim compensation fund, and the victims assistance and law enforcement fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires that when a physician applies to be credentialed as a participating physician in a health insurance carrier's (carrier's) provider network, the carrier must conclude the process of credentialing the applicant within 60 calendar days after the carrier receives the applicant's completed application. A carrier must provide each applicant written or electronic notice of the outcome of the applicant's credentialing within 10 calendar days after the conclusion of the credentialing process.Within 7 calendar days after a carrier receives an application, the carrier must provide the applicant a receipt. If a carrier receives an application but fails to provide the applicant a receipt within 7 calendar days, the carrier shall consider the applicant a participating physician, effective no later than 53 calendar days following the carrier's receipt of the application.A carrier may not deny a claim for a medically necessary covered service provided to a covered person if the service:Is a covered benefit under the covered person's health coverage plan; and Is provided by a participating physician who is in the provider network for the carrier's health coverage plan and has concluded the carrier's credentialing process. A carrier may not require a participating physician to submit an application or participate in a contracting process in order to be recredentialed.With certain exceptions, a carrier must allow a participating physician to remain credentialed and include the participating physician in the carrier's provider network unless the carrier discovers information indicating that the participating physician no longer satisfies the carrier's guidelines for participation.The commissioner of insurance is required to enforce the new requirements. A carrier that fails to comply with the act or with any rules adopted pursuant to the act is subject to such civil penalties as the commissioner may order.To implement the act, for the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $52,505 to the department of regulatory agencies from the division of insurance cash fund. Of this amount, $21,268 is reappropriated to the department of law for legal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of health care policy and financing to seek federal authorization through an amendment to the state medical assistance plan to provide family planning services to individuals who are not pregnant and whose income does not exceed the state's current effective income level for pregnant women under the children's basic health plan.The act appropriates $272,956 to the department of health care policy and financing for use by the executive director's office and $565,614 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to implement this act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of health care policy and financing to administer a reproductive health care program (program) that provides contraceptive methods and counseling services to participants. The program must offer each participant at least a one-year supply of the requested contraceptive method or an alternative contraceptive method and not impose cost-sharing requirements.Beginning in fiscal year 2023-24, the department shall analyze and report the cost-effectiveness of the program to the public during its annual SMART act hearing.The act appropriates $4,125,347 from the general fund to the department of health care policy and financing to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes the eligibility criteria for inmates who are eligible for special needs parole. The act allows an inmate to request that the department of corrections (DOC) determine whether the inmate is eligible for special needs parole. The act requires the DOC, in consultation with the parole board, to develop policies and procedures related to special needs parole. The act allows the inmate to include a statement in the referral packet for special needs parole and an opportunity to provide any additional relevant information in the referral packet. The act requires the parole board to consider the age of the inmate and the DOC's ability to provide adequate medical and behavioral health treatment to the inmate in granting or denying special needs parole. The parole board cannot deny special needs parole based solely on the lack of a recommended parole plan.The act requires the DOC to:Develop a recommended parole plan for every inmate prior to release from prison; Develop policies and procedures related to prerelease planning; and Include in its monthly population report information related to delayed parole decisions. The act prohibits the parole board from denying parole based solely on the lack of a recommended parole plan.The act requires the office of the state public defender to provide liaisons to the DOC and the parole board to assist in criminal-related legal matters that would impact successful reentry. The act requires the DOC or a member of the parole board to suspend a parole hearing if they believe the offender is incompetent to proceed or has a mental health disorder and notify the public defender parole liaison of the situation. In the case of incompetency, the liaison shall file a motion to determine competency with the trial court that imposed the sentence. In the case of a mental health disorder, the liaison shall help the inmate obtain counsel if a civil commitment hearing is warranted.The act requires the DOC to ensure that any inmate who is 65 years of age or older and is being released from prison is enrolled in medicare or health insurance if the offender would not be covered by another health insurance policy prior to release or upon release, whichever will offer more immediate and comprehensive health-care coverage. The DOC shall pay any insurance premiums and penalties for up to 6 months from the start of coverage. The DOC may provide financial assistance for longer than 6 months if the person is still under the jurisdiction of the DOC and would otherwise be uninsured or underinsured without that financial assistance. The act requires the Colorado commission on the aging to study and make recommendations related to health care for inmates who are 65 years of age or older and being released from prison and provide the report prior to January 1, 2022.The act makes conforming changes to align with the new offense of unauthorized absence. The act requires the parole board to schedule a parole hearing for an inmate serving a sentence for escape or attempt to escape, the elements of which would now constitute the offense of unauthorized absence.The act requires all youthful offender system (YOS) staff to be trained in the first 45 days of employment. The act repeals the requirement that district attorneys keep records of all juveniles sentenced to the YOS.The act requires the DOC to conduct a study with external experts regarding the effectiveness of the YOS and the potential of expanding the system to serve offenders up to age 25 years old.The act allows the Colorado state penitentiary II to be used to house inmates to facilitate movement of prisoners during a declared disaster emergency that impacts state prison operations.For fiscal year 2021-22, the general assembly shall appropriate $1,167,297 to the community-based reentry services cash fund from the savings from this act. For fiscal year 2022-23, the general assembly shall appropriate $1,481,622 to the community-based reentry services cash fund from the savings from this act.The act adjusts the long act appropriations to the DOC by decreasing the general fund appropriation to the external capacity subprogram by $2,815,470 and by decreasing the general fund appropriation by $314,630 for external medical services. To implement the act, the act appropriates: $2,798,098 to the department of corrections; $30,307 to the department of law; $229,220 to the office of the governor; $157,760 to the judicial department; and $50,000 to the department of human services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law establishes a $100 cap on a person's 30-day supply of prescription insulin. The act clarifies that this cap is for the person's entire insulin supply, regardless of the number of prescriptions the person may have.Beginning January 1, 2022, the act also:Requires pharmacists to provide eligible individuals with access to one emergency prescription insulin supply within a 12-month period at a cost not to exceed $35 for a 30-day supply; and Creates the insulin affordability program through which pharmacists provide eligible individuals with prescription insulin for 12 months at a cost not to exceed $50 for a 30-day supply. A pharmacist that dispenses prescription insulin through the emergency supply or the insulin affordability program may seek reimbursement for the cost of the insulin from the insulin manufacturer.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
