Parents encouraging parents conference - appropriation. The act creates parents encouraging parents conferences for parents of children with disabilities. The department of education shall provide for the conferences and related lodging and food for attendees. The act requires a specified conference curriculum. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $68,000 from the general fund to the department of education. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
School nurse grant program - appropriation. The act creates the school nurse grant program (grant program) in the department of public health and environment (department). The grant program awards grants to local education providers, as defined in the act, to hire school nurses to serve in public schools. Grants are awarded on a 5-year grant cycle, with an initial one-year grant, renewable for an additional 4 years, as long as there is a school nurse in the grant-funded position and the grant money is being used for authorized purposes. Subject to annual appropriations from the general assembly, the department shall recommend grant recipients, and the state board of health shall annually award up to $3 million during the 5-year grant cycle. Once the 5-year grant cycle is complete, the department shall administer a new grant cycle. The department may expend a portion of the grant money for reasonable and necessary administrative expenses. In each year in which school nurse grants are awarded, the department shall report to certain committees of the general assembly concerning the grant program. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,944,809 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the prevention services division for the school nurse grant program. The act also appropriates $55,121 and 0.8 FTE from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of public health and environment for the prevention services division for the primary care office. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Smoking restrictions - application to vape and e-cigarette use - exemptions - age restrictions in permitted smoking areas - signage - penalties. The act amends the "Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act" by: Adding a definition of "electronic smoking device" (ESD) to include e-cigarettes and similar devices within the scope of the act; Citing the results of recent research on ESD emissions and their effects on human health as part of the legislative declaration; Eliminating the existing exceptions for certain places of business in which smoking may be permitted, such as airport smoking concessions, businesses with 3 or fewer employees, designated smoking rooms in hotels, and designated smoking areas in assisted living facilities; Repealing the ability of property owners and managers to designate smoking areas through the posting of signs; Exempting FDA-approved nebulizers, inhalers, and vaporizers, as well as humidifiers that emit only water vapor, from the definition of an ESD; Amending signage requirements for tobacco businesses and vape shops that must notify customers of prohibitions on entry by persons under the age of 18; Increasing the radius of an "entryway", the area around the doorway to a building where smoking is not permitted, from a minimum of 15 feet to a minimum of 25 feet except where existing local regulations permitted a smaller radius when construction or renovation of a business commenced, on or before July 1, 2019; and Creates a grace period, affirmative defenses, and graduated penalties for enforcement of the amended signage requirements and age restrictions for tobacco businesses and vape shops. The act takes effect July 1, 2019, except for the provisions requiring exclusion of minors and the posting of appropriate signage relating to the exclusion, which provisions take effect October 1, 2019. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Medical marijuana program - physician relationship - primary caregiver relationship - dentist or advanced practice practitioner make recommendations - card validity length - health effects panel conflict disclosures - sunset - appropriation. In a bona fide physician-patient relationship for purposes of a medical marijuana recommendation, the act clarifies that if the patient is a child, as part of the relationship the physician must consult with the patient's parents. The act clarifies that a parent can be a primary caregiver for a child with a disabling medical condition. The act clarifies that a primary caregiver for a person with a debilitating or disabling medical condition receives the same confidentiality protections as other primary caregivers. The act clarifies that if a person with a medical marijuana card is convicted of a drug crime, the card is subject to revocation. The act allows a dentist or advanced practice practitioner with prescriptive authority acting within the scope of his or her practice to make medical marijuana recommendations for a disabling medical condition. The act gives the state health agency the authority to promulgate rules regarding the length of time that a medical marijuana card for a disabling medical condition is valid. Under current law there is a health care panel (panel) that monitors the health effects of marijuana and provides a report every two years. The act requires the panel to include individuals with expertise in neuroscience, epidemiology, toxicology, cannabis physiology, and cannabis quality control. The act requires the panelists to disclose all financial interests related to the health care industry and the regulated marijuana industry and report those disclosures in the panel's report. The act gives the department of public health and environment the authority to collect Colorado-specific data that involves health outcomes associated with cannabis from all-payer claims data, hospital discharge data, and available peer-reviewed research studies. The act extends the medical marijuana program until September 1, 2028, and requires a sunset review prior to the repeal. The act makes other technical changes and repeals obsolete provisions. The act appropriates $114,007 to the department of public health and environment from the medical marijuana program cash fund, of which $100,000 is for operating expenses for the registry and $14,007 is for personal services. The act appropriates $560,143 to the department of regulatory agencies from the division of professions and occupations cash fund of which $535,456 is for legal services and $24,687 is for personal services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Voter registration - transfer of records from department of revenue - transfer of records from department of health care policy and financing - voter registration agency reports - verification of signatures - appropriation. Beginning July 1, 2020, the department of revenue is required to transfer to the secretary of state (secretary) the electronic record of each unregistered elector or person eligible to preregister who applies for the issuance, renewal, or correction of a Colorado driver's license or identification card and who provides documentation of citizenship. The elector's county clerk reviews the record for completeness and sends the elector a notice advising that the elector has been registered to vote. The elector can return the notice to either decline to be registered or affiliate with a party. If the elector does not decline to be registered within 20 days after the notice is mailed and the form is not returned as undeliverable, the elector is registered to vote. The department of health care policy and financing is also required to begin transferring to the secretary the electronic records of electors who apply for medicaid, subject to compliance with all federal laws and regulations. The elector's county clerk reviews the record for completeness and sends the elector a notice advising that the elector has been registered to vote. The elector can return the notice to decline to be registered, affiliate with a party, or provide a signature if necessary for their record. If the elector does not decline to be registered within 20 days after the notice is mailed and the form is not returned as undeliverable, the elector is registered to vote. Agencies that oversee offices designated as voter registration agencies are required to begin reporting information to the secretary related to the number of people who apply for benefits or programs, the number of voter registration choice forms the offices collect, and the number of people who receive voter registration forms. The office of information technology is required to assess and report to the secretary which voter registration agencies collect sufficient information for voter registration purposes. When the office of information technology and the secretary determine that an agency collects sufficient information, the agency is required to begin transferring records to the secretary for voter registration purposes. Unless a person who knows they are ineligible to vote intentionally takes voluntary action to become registered, the transfer of the person's record by a voter registration agency does not constitute completion of a voter registration form by that person. Beginning July 1, 2020, the act creates a process for electors who are registered through a voter registration agency to provide a signature for verification if they return a ballot in an election but a copy of their signature is not found in the statewide voter registration system. For the implementation of the act, $67,840 is appropriated to the department of state, $136,240 is appropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology, $18,000 is appropriated to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles, and $90,287 is appropriated to the department of human services. It is anticipated that the department of human services will receive an additional $45,413 in federal funds for the office of information technology services to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Regulated marijuana - delivery - rule-making authority - surcharge - limitations - local authorization - appropriation. The act creates marijuana delivery permits for licensed medical marijuana centers and transporters and licensed retail marijuana stores and transporters that allow the centers, stores, and transporters to deliver medical marijuana, medical marijuana-infused products, retail marijuana, and retail marijuana products to customers. The act gives the state licensing authority rule-making authority over the permit and delivery system. The act specifies that a permit is valid for one year and may be renewed with the associated license. A one-dollar surcharge is assessed on each delivery, and that money is remitted to the municipality where the center or store is located, or to the county if the center or store is in an unincorporated area, for local law enforcement costs related to marijuana enforcement. Deliveries are limited to one per day, limited to private residences, and may not be made to college campuses. The act provides protection against criminal prosecution for those making the deliveries. Delivery is only allowed in a jurisdiction if that jurisdiction has voted to allow delivery either by referendum or by the governing board of the jurisdiction. Medical marijuana delivery permitting for medical marijuana centers begins on January 2, 2020, and medical marijuana delivery permitting for medical marijuana transporters, and all retail marijuana delivery permitting, begins on January 2, 2021. The act requires responsible vendor training programs to include marijuana delivery training. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $390,152 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Notice and preparation for elections - accessibility for voters with disabilities - independent and private marking of ballot - electronic voting device - appropriation. The secretary of state is required to establish procedures to enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot or use an electronic voting device that produces a paper record using nonvisual access, low vision access, or other assistive technology in order for the voter to vote in a mail ballot election. The secretary of state is required to include in the procedures a method by which a voter with a disability may request such a ballot. A voter with a disability who requests that a ballot and balloting materials be sent by electronic transmission may choose electronic mail delivery or, if offered by the voter's jurisdiction, other electronic means. The designated election official in each jurisdiction charged with distributing a ballot and balloting materials is required to transmit the ballot and balloting materials to the voter using the means of transmission chosen by the voter. A voter with a disability who receives a ballot via electronic means must print the ballot and such ballot must be received by the election official in the applicable jurisdiction before the close of polls on the day of the election. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $50,000 is appropriated from the department of state cash fund to the department of state for use by the information technology division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Regulated marijuana - reorganization - sunset - appropriation. The act makes changes to the retail and medical marijuana codes and continues those codes until 2028 with a sunset review prior to 2028. The act defines the terms, "advertising", "branding", and "consumer education materials". The act requires industrial hemp that is used in medical marijuana-infused products or retail marijuana products to be tested prior to manufacturing the product. The act allows retail marijuana stores to sell industrial hemp consumables. The act creates limits on the amount of medical marijuana flower, medical marijuana concentrate, and medical marijuana products that a medical marijuana store can sell to an individual in one day. For flower, the limit is 2 ounces; for concentrate, the limit is 20 grams; and for products, the limit is 20,000 milligrams. The act allows a physician to provide an exemption to the limits. Under current law, there is an exception to the "Colorado Food and Drug Act" for medical marijuana but not one for retail marijuana. The act repeals the exception for medical marijuana. The act streamlines the statutes related to license renewal by: Eliminating statutory timelines for local licensing and allowing local ordinance to determine the application timelines; Allowing a licensee that has submitted a timely renewal application to operate until the application is acted upon; and Repealing statutes related to the order in which state and local licenses must be processed. Under current law, there are 2 separate licenses related to research: A research and development license and the research and development cultivation license. The act merges the 2 licenses into one. The act gives the state licensing authorities the ability to seek injunctive relief and investigatory subpoenas from district courts related to nonlicensed entities. Under current law, there is a broad grant of confidentiality to records and information related to licensees. The act provides similar protections to applicants, patients, and customers. The act also makes the following information that was confidential available to the public: Final agency actions, testing records on an aggregated and de-identified basis, applicant and licensee demographic information on an aggregated and de-identified basis, and enforcement forms and compliance checklists. In both the medical marijuana code and the retail marijuana code, there are unlawful acts sections that create criminal violations, but the provisions in the 2 codes are not the same. The act makes the unlawful acts consistent. The act makes it an unlawful act to engage in a regulated marijuana business without the proper license and to adulterate or alter samples of marijuana or marijuana products to circumvent testing requirements. Under current law, a person is prohibited from being licensed if the person discharged a sentence for a felony within 5 years of applying for licensure or discharged a drug felony conviction within 10 years of applying for licensure. The act changes the law so a person is prohibited from licensure if the person was convicted of a felony within 3 years of applying for licensure or is currently serving a sentence for a felony or a deferred judgment or sentence. The act creates the following new categories of ownership: Controlling beneficial owner, passive beneficial owner, and indirect financial interest holder. Under current law, a patient who has submitted an application to be on the registry but has not received a patient card must present a copy of the application and a certified mail return receipt when purchasing medical marijuana at a center. The act repeals the requirement for a certified mail return receipt and requires proof of application. The act directs the state licensing authorities to track information on license disqualifications based on criminal history. Under current law, all medical marijuana sold at a medical marijuana center must be labeled with a list of chemical additives. Under current law, a medical marijuana-infused products manufacturer may only use medical marijuana from 5 different sources to produce a medical marijuana product. The act repeals these requirements. The act requires the state licensing authority to adopt rules that prevent redundant testing of medical marijuana concentrate for residual solvent when all of the inputs of the concentrate have passed the residual solvent testing. The act creates 2 new retail marijuana license types: Accelerator cultivators and accelerator manufacturers. The accelerator licenses allow a cultivator and manufacturer to operate respectively on the premises of a licensed retail marijuana cultivation facility or retail marijuana products manufacturer. The accelerator licensee can receive technical, compliance, and capital assistance from the host-licensed retail marijuana business. A licensed business that hosts an accelerator licensee may be eligible for reduced licensing fees. Applications for the licenses may be filed beginning on July 1, 2020. The act clarifies that a marijuana business licensee may hold a gaming license. The act requires that each medical marijuana and retail marijuana store post a warning sign related to the use of marijuana while pregnant or breastfeeding. The act allows a medical marijuana or retail marijuana cultivation facility that has approval to change locations from the state licensing authority to operate one license at 2 different locations while transitioning from the old location to the new location. The act allows marijuana licensees to transfer electronic marijuana waste to a person for the purposes of recycling or reuse. The act allows retail marijuana stores, retail cultivation facilities, and retail marijuana products manufacturers to provide performance-based incentives to employees including sales-based, performance-based incentives to employees. The act prohibits the open and public consumption of marijuana and allows local jurisdictions to make exceptions to the prohibition if the locations are not accessible to the public or a substantial number of the public without restriction. The prohibition does not apply to a licensed business that permits consumption on its premises if the business is operating with the conditions of its license. The act states that marijuana business employees are not agricultural workers unless they are farm laborers. The act also states that, if it is determined that marijuana business are not covered by the national "Labor Relations Act", then employees of marijuana businesses are covered by the Colorado "Labor Peace Act". The act allows regulated marijuana businesses to recycle marijuana consumer waste. The state licensing authority must treat a metered-dose inhaler the same as a vaporized delivery device for purposes of regulation and testing. Under federal law, there may be negative immigration consequences for a person legally in the United States who works in the regulated marijuana industry. Prior to accepting an application for a license, registration, or permit, the state licensing authority shall inform the applicant that having a medical marijuana or retail marijuana license and working in the medical marijuana or retail marijuana industry may have adverse federal immigration consequences. The act allows a medical marijuana or retail marijuana cultivation facility to obtain medical marijuana seeds or immature plants from its own medical marijuana, commonly owned from the retail marijuana of an identical direct beneficial owner, or marijuana that is properly transferred from another medical marijuana business pursuant to the inventory tracking requirements imposed by rule. Regulated marijuana employees can be compensated by performance-based incentives, including sales-based, performance-based incentives. The act makes technical changes and repeals obsolete provisions. The act combines the laws for regulated medical marijuana and retail marijuana, which are currently separate articles in title 44, into one article in title 44. The act incorporates the provisions of HB 19-1090, publicly traded regulated marijuana businesses, and HB 19-1234, regulated marijuana delivery, into the new consolidated article. The act takes effect on January 1, 2020. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $396,604 is appropriated from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Educator loan forgiveness program - appropriation. The act makes changes to the teacher loan forgiveness program, renaming it the educator loan forgiveness program (program) and revising the eligibility criteria for the program. The program: Repays up to $5,000 of qualified educational loans for up to 5 years for teachers and other educators employed in qualified positions under the program; and Targets teachers and other educators employed in hard-to-fill positions due to geography or content area. The department of education (department) is required to annually identify the content shortage areas that qualify for the program. Subject to available appropriations, the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) shall approve up to 100 new participants in the program each year, and the act specifies the criteria the commission shall use to prioritize applicants, if necessary. The program includes the educator loan forgiveness fund, and the commission shall adopt policies that ensure that loan repayment is made only on qualified loans for educators in qualified positions. The commission shall prepare an annual report for the general assembly that includes information concerning the content shortage areas identified by the department and information concerning the program participants. The act extends the repeal date of the program to 2033. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $623,969 to the department of higher education for use by the Colorado commission on higher education. Of that amount, $123,969 is for administrative expenses, requiring 1.4 FTE, and $500,000 is for student loan repayments. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Submission of statewide ballot issue for approval of transportation revenue anticipation notes - delay from 2019 to 2020. Before the enactment of the act, state law, enacted by Senate Bill 18-001, required that a ballot issue seeking approval for the issuance of transportation revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) be submitted to the voters of the state at the November 2019 statewide election. Upon approval of the ballot issue, the requirement, enacted by Senate Bill 17-267, that the state execute 3 separate tranches of up to $500 million each of lease-purchase agreements in state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 for the purpose of funding transportation would have been repealed. The act: Delays the requirement that the ballot issue be submitted for one year by requiring it to be submitted at the November 2020 general election rather than the November 2019 statewide election; Amends the ballot issue to reduce the amount of TRANs authorized to be issued by $500 million to offset the additional $500 million of lease-purchase agreement transportation funding that becomes available because the approval of the ballot issue at the November 2020 general election will repeal only the 2 state fiscal year 2020-21 and 2021-22 tranches of lease-purchase agreements, rather than the 3 state fiscal year 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 tranches of lease-purchase agreements; and Extends from 20 to 21 years the period for which, as enacted in Senate Bill 18-001, annual $50 million transfers from the general fund to the state highway fund are required.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Gambling - betting on sports events - legalization - creation of division of sports betting - rule-making authority - taxation - submission of ballot issue under Taxpayers' Bill of Rights - allocation of tax revenues - appropriation. In 2018, the United States supreme court held in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association , 138 S. Ct. 1461, that a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting violated the tenth amendment of the United States constitution. States may now authorize sports betting. The act decriminalizes sports betting in Colorado, effective May 1, 2020, under the following conditions: The collection of a tax on the net proceeds of sports betting must be approved by the registered electors of Colorado at the November 2019 general election; Sports betting will be regulated by the department of revenue, subject to supervision by the existing limited gaming control commission; A limited number of licenses will be issued. Persons or entities currently licensed to conduct limited gaming (i.e., the owners of casinos in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek) are the only persons or entities eligible to hold a "master license" to conduct sports betting upon paying a license fee and submitting to background checks. A master license entitles the licensee to contract with a licensed "sports betting operator" or a licensed "internet sports betting operator", or both, for the operation of sports betting. The conduct of sports betting in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek is further conditioned on approval by the voters of the respective city in a local election to be held concurrently with the statewide election in November 2019; and The state will collect a tax of 10% on the net proceeds of sports betting activity to fund implementation of the state water plan and other public purposes. Of the total amount of tax collected, after first repaying the general fund appropriation for startup and initial operating costs, 6% is set aside annually to compensate the beneficiaries of revenues generated by limited gaming and other wagering activities for any losses attributable to competition from sports betting. $1,739,015 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue for startup and initial operating costs in the 2019-20 state fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Department of labor and employment - Colorado call center jobs - workforce data. The department of labor and employment is required to include, as part of its annual presentation to its legislative committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act", data that it currently collects regarding the call center work force, including tracking call center jobs and wage analysis of customer service employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
