The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the licensing of audiologists by: Continuing the licensing of audiologists for 11 years, to 2031; Requiring licensees and insurance carriers to report any malpractice settlements or judgments to the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies within 30 days and specifying that failure of a licensee to comply with this requirement is grounds for discipline; Requiring final agency actions to be appealed directly to the court of appeals; Amending the language in the grounds for discipline referring to an alcohol or substance use disorder; and Adding deceptive trade practice provisions related to the dispensing of hearing aids by audiologists. The act also requires each audiologist to complete at least 10 hours of continuing education each license renewal period. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
In 2019, the general assembly created the Colorado secure savings board (board) in the office of the state treasurer to study the costs to the state of insufficient retirement savings and 3 approaches to increasing retirement savings in Colorado. The board found that a state-facilitated automatic enrollment individual retirement account program is the best option for Colorado and recommended the establishment of such a program, coupled with the greater use of financial education tools in the state. In furtherance of the board's recommendation, the act directs the board to create and implement the Colorado secure savings program (program). The act specifies the powers and duties of the board in connection with the creation and administration of the program and updates the criteria to which the board is required to adhere in developing the program. The board is required to adopt rules regarding enrollment in the program, contributions to and withdrawals from program accounts, the process for employer exemptions from offering the program, and required disclosures. The act creates the Colorado secure savings program fund in the state treasury to consist of money appropriated by the general assembly, money transferred to the fund by the federal government, money from fees and penalties in connection with the program, any gifts, grants, or donations made to the fund, and any gifts, grants, donations, or investments made to the state treasurer. The state treasurer may solicit gifts, grants, donations, or investments not required to be repaid, from public or private sources to cover the costs associated with the administration of the program. All individual account information for accounts under the program is confidential and may not be disclosed except under specified circumstances. For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the general fund appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology for applications administration is decreased by $1,197,552. The same amount is appropriated from the general fund to the department of the treasury for the implementation of the act. Any money appropriated that is not expended prior to July 1, 2021, is further appropriated to the department for the 2021-22 state fiscal year for the same purpose. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning in calendar year 2021 and each year thereafter, the act increases the amount of wages paid to an individual employee during a calendar year on which the employer of that employee is required to pay premiums to the unemployment compensation fund (fund). The act exempts payment for services to an election judge, up to the maximum amount permissible by federal law, for the purposes of calculating total unemployment compensation benefits. Current law requires the weekly total and partial unemployment benefit amounts to be reduced by the amount of an individual's wages that exceeds 25% of the weekly benefit amount. For the next 2 calendar years only, the act changes the deduction amount to the amount of an individual's wages that exceeds 50% of the weekly benefit amount. When determining whether an individual qualifies for unemployment insurance, the act directs the division of unemployment insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment (department) to consider whether the individual has separated from employment or has refused to accept new employment because: The employer requires the individual to work in an environment that is not in compliance with: Federal centers for disease control and prevention guidelines applicable to the employer's business and workplace at the time of the determination; state and federal laws, rules, and regulations concerning disease mitigation and workplace safety; or an executive order issued by the governor, or a public health order issued by the department of public health and environment or a local government, requiring the employer to close the business or modify the operation of the business; The individual is the primary caretaker of a child enrolled in a school that is closed due to a public health emergency or of a family member or household member who is quarantined due to an illness during a public health emergency; or The employee is immunocompromised and more susceptible to illness during a public health emergency. The act changes the time period that an interested party has to respond to a notice of claim received by the division concerning unemployment benefits from 12 calendar days to 7 calendar days. Current law authorizes the division to approve a work share plan submitted by an employer if the employee's normal weekly work hours have been reduced by at least 10% but not more than 40%. The act changes the amount that hours may be reduced to an amount consistent with rules adopted by the division and federal law. The act removes the cap on the amount of money that can be paid into and remain in the employment support fund. The act prohibits the division from assessing a solvency surcharge for the fund on employers for the calendar years 2021 and 2022. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer any unexpended federal funds received by the state from the federal "CARES Act" to the fund prior to the close of business on December 30, 2022. The act requires the office of future of work in the department to study unemployment assistance as part of a study on the modernization of worker benefits and protections and report its findings to the governor and the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the purpose of establishing a worker's eligibility for unemployment benefits,"immediate family" includes: A sibling of the worker who is under 18 years of age and for whom the worker stands in loco parentis; and A sibling of the worker who is incapable of self-care due to a mental or physical disability or a long-term illness. A worker who separates from a job because the worker reasonably believes that continuing employment would jeopardize the safety of the worker or any member of the worker's immediate family as a result of domestic violence no longer must provide certain documentation to establish the worker's eligibility for unemployment benefits. The term "severance allowance" is substituted for "remuneration" in a provision that concerns remuneration received by an individual who has been separated from employment. Subject to the approval of the executive director of the department of labor and employment, the director of the division of unemployment insurance may enter into an interagency agreement with the department of law for assistance in enforcing certain provisions concerning the misclassification of employees by an employer. Fines imposed pursuant to the enforcement of laws concerning employment security must be transferred to the department of labor and employment and credited to the unemployment revenue fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Requires a carrier that provides coverage for opiate antagonists to reimburse a hospital if the hospital provides a covered person with an opiate antagonist upon discharge; Requires a pharmacist who dispenses a prescription for an opioid to notify the individual to whom the opioid is being dispensed about the availability of an opiate antagonist; Allows a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to sell a nonprescription syringe or needle to any person and exempts pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who sell nonprescription syringes or needles from the drug paraphernalia criminal statutes; Extends civil and criminal immunity for a person who acts in good faith to furnish or administer an opiate antagonist to an individual the person believes to be suffering an opiate-related drug overdose when the opiate antagonist was expired; and Allows a nonprofit organization to operate a clean syringe exchange program without local board of health approval and requires the nonprofit organization to annually report specified information to the department of public health and environment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the issuance of vehicle titles and for the registration of recreational off-highway vehicles, a surplus military vehicle is not an "off-highway vehicle" if it is owned or leased by a municipality, county, or fire protection district for the purpose of assisting with firefighting efforts, including mitigating the risk of wildfires. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act aligns the requirements for a minor to obtain a new birth certificate from the state registrar and a new driver's license or identification card from the department of revenue with the requirements for an adult. A minor must also obtain a statement from a medical or mental health professional confirming that the minor's sex designation does not align with the minor's gender identity. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report of the motorcycle operator safety training (MOST) program by: Extending the repeal date of the MOST program until September 1, 2025 ; and Removing the requirement that an applicant for a MOST instructor certificate have a license to drive a motorcycle that was issued in Colorado. The act also changes the membership of the motorcycle operator safety advisory board by replacing a representative of unaffiliated motorcycle training providers with a representative of instructor training specialists. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the act allow the department of corrections, local jails, multijurisdictional jails, municipal jails, and state department of human services facilities (institutions) to make opioid agonists and opioid antagonists available to a person in custody with an opioid use disorder. The institutions are strongly encouraged to maintain the treatment of the person throughout the duration of the person's incarceration or commitment. Qualified medication administration personnel may administer opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. The facilities may contract with community-based health providers for the administration of opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. Section 5 of the act allows a person to dispose of any controlled substances at a safe station, if safe station personnel are available, and request assistance in gaining access to treatment for a substance use disorder. A "safe station" is defined as any municipal police station; county sheriff's office; or municipal, county, or fire protection district fire station. Safe station personnel shall provide the person with information about the behavioral health crisis response system. Sections 6 and 7 of the act require the department of corrections and jails to ensure that continuity of care is provided to inmates prior to release, which includes post-release resources and a list of available substance use providers. County jails are required to provide medicaid reenrollment paperwork to a person when the person enters the county jail and file the paperwork with the county department of health and human services upon releasing the person from the county jail's custody. Section 8 of the act requires the executive director of the department of corrections, in consultation with the offices of behavioral health and economic security in the department of human services, the department of health care policy and financing, the department of local affairs, and local service providers to develop resources for inmates post-release that provide information to help prepare inmates for release and reintegration into their communities. Section 9 of the act requires a court, when reviewing a petition to seal criminal records, to consider favorably, when applicable, the fact that the petitioner has entered into or successfully completed a licensed substance use disorder treatment program, in determining whether to issue the order. Sections 10, 11, and 12 of the act allow the office of behavioral health (OBH) in the department of human services (CDHS) to contract with cities and counties for the creation, maintenance, or expansion of criminal justice diversion programs. OBH may require diversion programs to participate as a mobile crisis service. CDHS shall include an update regarding the current status of funding and implementation of the criminal justice diversion programs in its annual SMART Act presentation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
A service retiree of any division of the public employees' retirement association (PERA) is allowed to work for a PERA employer for limited periods and to receive a salary without reduction in benefits under certain circumstances. Boards of cooperative services (BOCES) provide special education services to the school districts they serve. Almost all of these school districts are in rural parts of the state and it is difficult for BOCES to find qualified people to serve as special service providers in these areas. BOCES could address this issue by hiring service retirees, but PERA's employment-after-retirement provisions, including the limitation on the number of days in a calendar year that a service retiree may work for a PERA employer without a reduction in benefits, make it difficult to do so. The act modifies the PERA employment-after-retirement provisions for certain retirees hired by a BOCES if: The BOCES hires the service retiree to provide services in 2 or more rural school districts as determined by the department of education based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area; The BOCES hires the service retiree for the purpose of providing special services to students enrolled by the districts served by the BOCES; and The BOCES determines that there is a critical shortage of special service providers and that the service retiree has specific experience, skills, or qualifications that would benefit the districts that the BOCES serves. A service retiree who is a special service provider and who is hired by a BOCES may receive salary without a reduction in benefits for any length of employment in a calendar year if the service retiree has not worked for any PERA employer during the month of the effective date of retirement. The act requires a BOCES that hires the service retiree to provide full payment of all PERA employer contributions, disbursements, and working retiree contributions. In addition, the BOCES is required to pay an additional amount equal to 2% of the retiree's salary to PERA. A service retiree may not receive salary without reduction in benefits and without limitation in a calendar year for more than 5 consecutive years, and all BOCES combined are prohibited from hiring more than a total of 40 people over 5 years pursuant to the extension in PERA's employment-after-retirement limitations. PERA is required to submit a report to the general assembly regarding specified aspects of the extension of PERA's employment-after-retirement limitations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act states that, generally, evidence relating to the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or if the defendant and victim are or have been involved in an intimate relationship, is irrelevant in a criminal case and does not constitute sudden heat of passion in a criminal case. The act creates a protective hearing if a party claims that such evidence is relevant and wants to use it in a criminal case. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Currently, the state or a local licensing authority may suspend or revoke a licensee's license or permit for the licensee's violation of a law related to the regulation of alcohol beverages. The licensee may choose to pay a fine instead of the revocation or suspension. The act: Authorizes the state and local licensing authorities to fine the licensee initially; Increases the potential fine for violations related to alcohol beverages from between $200 and $5,000 to between $500 and $100,000; and Requires the manner in which licensees pay fines to the state licensing authority to be determined by the state licensing authority.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
