The act prohibits a health-care provider, hospital, or other entity involved in making a decision regarding a person's eligibility to receive an anatomical gift, organ transplant, or any related treatment or services from discriminating against that person solely on the basis of a disability. The act authorizes an aggrieved person to commence a civil action for injunctive and equitable relief in the appropriate district court.The act also prohibits a health insurance carrier that provides coverage for an organ transplant from denying or limiting coverage to a covered person for an anatomical gift, organ transplant, or any related treatment or services due to a disability. The act clarifies that a health benefit plan is not required to include coverage for an organ transplant.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of corrections (department) to operate a program to assist offenders with acquiring state-issued identification cards and other identification documents necessary for offenders to obtain state-issued identification. The department can enter into agreements with the Colorado department of revenue and federal social security administration as necessary to operate the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, school districts must permit primary caregivers to possess and administer cannabis-based medicine on school grounds, and school principals are given the discretion to permit the storage, possession, and administration of cannabis-based medicine on school grounds by school personnel. The act removes the discretion from the school principals and requires school boards to implement policies allowing for the storage, possession, and administration of cannabis-based medicine by school personnel. The act allows school personnel to volunteer to possess, administer, or assist in administration of cannabis-based medicine and protects those who do from retaliation. But, school personnel are not required to administer medical marijuana and cannot be retaliated against for refusing. The volunteer or school personnel who administers the medical marijuana must do so pursuant to the instructions or plan for administration from one of the student's recommending physicians, including the dosing, timing, and delivery route instructions. The act imposes a duty on school principals to create a written treatment plan for the administration of cannabis-based medicine and on school boards to adopt policies regarding actual administration.The act provides disciplinary protection to nurses, anyone licensed pursuant to title 12, and school personnel who administer cannabis-based medicine to students at school. The act provides civil and criminal immunity to school personnel who act in good faith in administering cannabis-based medicine to students at school. The act requires schools to treat cannabis-based medicine recommendations like prescriptions. The act does not apply to a private or nonpublic school, and it does not apply a public school located on federal land if the federal government prohibits administration of medical marijuana at a school located on federal land.The act appropriates $15,419 to the department of education from the general fund to purchase legal services from the attorney general.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes several changes to the existing statute concerning open educational resources, including:Expanding the open educational resources grant program (grant program) to provide grants to develop, implement, and replicate entire zero-textbook-cost degree programs; Moving preparation of the annual grant program report from the open educational resources council (council) to the department of higher education (department); and Extending the repeal date for the council and the grant program for 5 years. The statutes existing before passage of the act require public institutions of higher education, beginning in the fall of 2021, to inform students before registration of which courses use open educational resources. The act directs the commission on higher education to adopt guidelines to require public institutions of higher education, beginning no later than the fall of 2025, to also inform students at the point of registration concerning those courses that use open educational resources.The act directs the department to review the open educational resources policies adopted across the state and identify and determine the efficacy of policies that expand the use and promote the sustainability of open educational resources. The department must include this information in the annual grant program report.For the 2021-22 fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,108,200 to the department to use for open educational resource initiatives and preparation of the annual grant program report.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing, to the extent available and permitted by the federal government and the Colorado constitution, to maximize federal funds for payments for primary care services by aligning payments with the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act".(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law requires the department of human services to contract annually for a market rate study of provider rates for the Colorado child care assistance program. The act adjusts the contractual and reporting requirement to every 3 years.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $100 million from the general fund to the state education fund on July 1, 2021.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows a department of revenue administrative hearing to be held at a location designated by the executive director in either Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, or Jefferson county, or, at the election of the taxpayer, by video conference. The act also specifies that if the taxpayer resides or has their principle place of business in Colorado and the disputed deficiency is either $200 or less, or involves sales and use taxes regardless of the amount, then the hearing may be held, at the election of the taxpayer, in the district office of the department nearest to the place where the taxpayer resides or has their principal place of business in Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a retired member of the judicial division may perform assigned judicial duties without pay for not less than 60 or 90 days each year. Such a member of the judicial division will receive a benefit increase equal to not less than 20% or more than 30% of the current monthly salary of judges serving in the same position held by the retiree at the time of retirement.The act changes the amount of time that a retired member of the judicial division may perform assigned judicial duties without pay and the amount of a benefit increase such a judge will receive. The act specifies that a retired member of the judicial division may perform assigned judicial duties without pay for 10, 20, 30, 60, or 90 days each year and will receive a benefit increase equal to 3.3%, 6.7%, 10%, 20%, or 30% respectively of the current monthly salary of judges serving in the same position held by the retiree at the time of retirement.Additionally, under current law, within 5 years after retirement, a retired member of the judicial division who did not enter into an agreement prior to retirement to perform assigned judicial duties without pay during retirement may enter into such a written agreement within 30 days prior to each anniversary date of retirement. The act removes this requirement.The act also states that the following retirees from the judicial division are not eligible to perform the assigned judicial duties described above:Retirees who received "a does not meet performance standards" or "do not retain" recommendation in their last judicial performance evaluation before retirement, either published or unpublished; Retirees who received a disciplinary disposition from the commission on judicial discipline or private admonishment, private reprimand, private censure, public reprimand, public censure, suspension, or removal; and Retirees who, during or after their term in office, received private or public discipline from the office of the presiding disciplinary judge.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Since July 1, 2011, money in the educator licensure cash fund (fund), which includes educator license fees, has been continuously appropriated to the state board of education and the department of education (department) for expenses incurred in the administration of the "Colorado Educator Licensing Act of 1991". While the money is continuously appropriated, the department is required to report to legislative committees about its expenditures from the fund and about application processing time. Beginning with the next fiscal year, the general assembly is required to annually appropriate the money, and the reporting requirement is repealed.The act grants the department 3 more years of continuous appropriation authority, and it likewise extends the related reporting requirement.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act eliminates certain measures that reduce the adult dental benefit.The act requires the state treasurer to transfer money from the general fund to the unclaimed property trust fund to repay the unclaimed property trust fund for money transferred from it to the general fund in the 2020-21 fiscal year from savings from the reduction of the adult dental benefit in the medical assistance program.The act appropriates $1,522,875 to the department of health care policy and financing, of which $335,723 is from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund and $1,187,152 is from the adult dental fund. The department may use the appropriation for medical and long-term care services for medicaid-eligible individuals.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the PERA payment cash fund (fund) and appropriates $380 million from the general fund to the fund for the 2020-21 state fiscal year. The state treasurer is required to use the money in the fund for any portion of the $225 million direct distribution payment to PERA that would have otherwise been paid from the general fund on July 1, 2022, subsequent direct distributions that would have otherwise been paid from the general fund, and any of the state's employer contributions or disbursements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
