The act temporarily modifies the manner in which limited gaming tax revenues are allocated between the limited gaming fund and the extended limited gaming fund ( i.e. , the portion of limited gaming tax revenues derived from increased hours of operation, enlarged wagering limit, and the addition of craps and roulette, as authorized by Colorado voters with the passage of Amendment 50 in 2008) in order to more equitably address recovery in the years immediately following the global pandemic and economic recession of 2020. The modification ends in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which total limited gaming tax revenues again equal or exceed the total limited gaming tax revenues collected in state fiscal year 2018-19.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act continues the nurse-physician advisory task force for Colorado health care (NPATCH) for 7 years, until September 1, 2027. Additionally, the act specifies that 3 of the NPATCH members must be licensed physicians recommended by and representing a statewide physicians' organization that represents multi-specialty physicians and whose membership includes at least one-third of the doctors of medicine and osteopathy licensed in the state. $15,554 is appropriated from the division of professions and occupations cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of professions and occupations for personal services needed to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The general assembly is required to annually appropriate $350,000 to the department of law for allocation to the Colorado district attorneys' council for prosecution training. The act reduces the annual amount to $200,000 for fiscal year 2020-21. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Currently, members of the general assembly who reside in the Denver metropolitan area are entitled to receive up to $45 per legislative day for expenses incurred during the sessions of the general assembly. In lieu of this amount, members who do not reside in the Denver metropolitan area are entitled to an amount equal to 85% of the federal per diem rate for the city and county of Denver, which is $219 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The act freezes the amount to be paid to members who do not reside in the Denver metropolitan area to this current amount for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act eliminates the requirement that the department of public health and environment (department) assist and staff the stroke advisory board and the Colorado coroners standards and training board. Each board is authorized to accept and expend gifts, grants, and donations to cover the board's direct expenses. The general fund appropriation to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division is decreased by $44,007. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes changes to the assistance programs that are designed to increase the number of educators within the state, especially in rural school districts, by: Expanding the educator loan forgiveness program by making it available to individuals who graduate from any preparation program that leads to educator licensure and removing the limitation of no more than 100 new participants per year; Clarifying that a stipend provided to teacher candidates in rural areas does not constitute student financial assistance; Clarifying that a teaching fellow may choose to have a teaching fellowship program stipend awarded as student financial assistance or wages for employment; Authorizing stipends for teachers employed by a rural school, rural school district, or rural board of cooperative services who seek additional license endorsements or a master's degree to meet a faculty need; and Specifying percentages for allocating funding among various programs that provide stipends for teacher candidates, teachers completing alternative licensing programs, and teachers in rural school districts. The act amends the program requirements that the department of higher education and the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) must review when approving educator preparation programs (programs). With the passage of the act, after reviewing a program, the commission, in addition to approving the program, placing the program on probation status, or terminating the program, may grant the program conditional approval. The commission must adopt policies regarding how long a program may remain on conditional approval or probation and how a program is moved from one approval level to another. A program that receives conditional approval may continue accepting new students, but a program on probationary status cannot accept new students. After reviewing the content of a program to ensure the content prepares teachers to meet the teacher quality standards and qualify for licensure, the state board of education (state board) may now recommend that the program be placed on conditional approval or probation. The commission must work with the state board in determining the status of educator preparation programs. The act requires the department of higher education, by October 1, 2020, to post information on the department's website describing the various programs and pathways in Colorado that lead to teacher licensure. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, following the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years, service agencies serving persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are required to report to the department of health care policy and financing how they used a funding increase intended to increase compensation for direct support professionals. The act repeals this reporting requirement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a legislative declaration stating the intended purpose of a new tax expenditure or the intended purpose for extending an expiring tax expenditure. The act expands that law by: Requiring a statutory legislative declaration, not nonstatutory; Requiring any bill that creates a new tax expenditure to include a repeal of the expenditure after a specified period of tax years and any bill that extends an expiring tax expenditure to extend the expenditure for a specified period of tax years; and Requiring the statement of the intended purpose to be a part of a tax preference performance statement, which includes: The classification of the type of the tax expenditure; and Detailed information regarding the legislative purpose of the tax expenditure, which, at minimum, includes clear, relevant, and ascertainable metrics and data requirements that allow the tax expenditure to be measured for effectiveness in achieving the intended purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act gives home owners in a mobile home park the opportunity to make an offer to buy the park if the landlord anticipates selling it or changing the use of the land. A landlord must give notice of a pending sale to the home owners, the applicable municipality or county, the division of housing in department of local affairs, and each home owners' association, residents' association, or similar body that represents the residents of the park. A landlord must give notice of a pending change of use of the land to all home owners of the park at least 12 months before the change of use occurs. After receiving notice of a pending sale or change of use, home owners have 90 days to make an offer to purchase and arrange financing if necessary. A purchase may be made by an association representing at least 51% of the home owners. The landlord may request that information relating to any pending offer be kept confidential and, if the landlord so requests, the association is required to do so. If a sale of a mobile home park occurs and the home owners are not the buyers, the landlord must send the municipality or county and the division of housing an affidavit of compliance with the requirements of the act. The notice and purchase-option provisions do not apply if the proposed sale is to a family member of the landlord, another closely affiliated person or entity, or someone who is already a cotenant of the property or if a transfer occurs due to inheritance or eminent domain.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The "Immigrant Tenant Protection Act" (Act) is created, which prohibits a landlord from engaging in certain housing practices or related activities based on the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant. A tenant who is aggrieved by a landlord's violation of the Act may bring a civil action and seek certain remedies. In a civil action brought under the Act, a tenant's immigration or citizenship status is not relevant, and inquiry into the tenant's status is not permitted unless: The claims raised by the tenant place the tenant's immigration or citizenship status in contention; or The person seeking to make the inquiry demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the inquiry is necessary in order to comply with federal law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2020-21 state fiscal year (FY 2020-21), the act: Authorizes the use of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue for state medical assistance program expenditures; Requires $161 million to be appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to offset general fund expenditures for the state medical assistance program; Reduces the FY 2020-21 general fund appropriation to the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) for medical services premiums by $161 million; and Appropriates $161 million from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to HCPF for medical services premiums. The act also clarifies that if the amount of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue collected exceeds a federal limit, hospitals that received such excess federal matching money are responsible for repaying the excess federal money and any associated federal penalties to the federal government. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the act amends, repeals, and reconstructs various statutory provisions of law that are obsolete, imperfect, or inoperative. The specific reasons for each amendment or repeal are set forth in the appendix to the act. The amendments made by the act are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
