Hiring practices - limitations on criminal history inquiries - exceptions - enforcement - appropriation. Effective September 1, 2019, for employers with 11 or more employees, and effective September 1, 2021, for all employers, employers are prohibited from: Advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; Placing a statement in an employment application that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; or Inquiring about an applicant's criminal history on an initial application. An employer may obtain a job applicant's publicly available criminal background report at any time. An employer is exempt from the restrictions on advertising and initial employment applications when: The law prohibits a person who has a particular criminal history from being employed in a particular job; The employer is participating in a program to encourage employment of people with criminal histories; or The employer is required by law to conduct a criminal history record check for the particular position. The department of labor and employment (department) is charged with enforcing the requirements of the act and may issue warnings and orders of compliance for violations and, for second or subsequent violations, impose civil penalties. A violation of the restrictions does not create a private cause of action, and the act does not create a protected class under employment anti-discrimination laws. The department is directed to adopt rules regarding procedures for handling complaints against employers. The department is appropriated $38,113 from the employment support fund and 0.6 FTE to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Licensing of home care agencies and registration of home care placement agencies - continuation under sunset law. The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the licensing of home care agencies and the registration of home care placement agencies by the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) by: Continuing these functions until September 1, 2028; Requiring that money assessed and collected by CDPHE as civil fines against agencies is credited to the general fund rather than to the home care agency cash fund; and Requiring the home care advisory committee to include representatives of home care placement agencies.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Child custody - Indian child - Align requirements with federal Indian Child Welfare Act. In 2016, the bureau of Indian affairs in the United States department of the interior published updated guidelines for implementing the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act". The act updates the current statute to align the compliance requirements with federal law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Electric scooters - regulation - authorizing use on roadways. Electric scooters, which are lightweight, motorized transportation devices, with handlebars, that obtain a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour when powered by motor, are currently regulated as toy vehicles. Toy vehicles are authorized for use on sidewalks, but not for use on roadways. The act excludes electric scooters from the definition of "toy vehicle" and includes electric scooters in the definition of "vehicle", thus authorizing the use of electric scooters on roadways. The act affords riders of electric scooters the same rights and duties that riders of electrical assisted bicycles have under Colorado law. Section 5 of the act authorizes a local government to regulate the operation of an electric scooter in a manner that is no more restrictive than the manner in which the local government may regulate an electrical assisted bicycle. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Medical marijuana - disabling medical conditions - conditions for which a physician could prescribe an opioid. The act adds a condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid to the list of disabling medical conditions that authorize a person to use medical marijuana for his or her condition. Under current law, a child under 18 years of age who wants to be added to the medical marijuana registry for a disabling medical condition must be diagnosed as having a disabling medical condition by 2 physicians, one of whom must be a board-certified pediatrician, a board-certified family physician, or a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist who attests that he or she is part of the patient's primary care provider team. The act removes the additional requirements on specific physicians to align with the constitutional provisions for a debilitating medical condition. The act states if the recommending physician is not the patient's primary care physician, the recommending physician shall review the records of a diagnosing physician or a licensed mental health provider acting within its scope of practice. The act limits a patient with a disabling medical condition who is under eighteen years of age to using medical marijuana only in a nonsmokeable form when using medical marijuana upon the grounds of the preschool or primary or secondary school in which the student is enrolled, or upon a school bus or at a school-sponsored event.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Sales and use tax - wholesale sales - agricultural commodities - fertilizer and spray adjuvants. Wholesale sales are not subject to sales and use taxes. The act includes sales of fertilizer and spray adjuvants used in the production of agricultural commodities in the definition of "wholesale sales" for sales and use tax purposes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Title IV-E waiver demonstration project - extension - administrative costs in foster care proceedings - allocation of child welfare money to counties - appropriation. The act authorizes the state department of human services (department) to pursue federal reimbursement for Title IV-E administrative costs associated with independent legal representation in foster care proceedings. The act creates a fund for fees collected for reimbursement of these administrative costs. The act extends the repeal date of the Title IV-E waiver demonstration project by one year to June 30, 2020. The act clarifies provisions relating to the annual close-out process for small- and medium-sized counties and for all counties, including provisions relating to the allocation of unspent appropriations. The act creates 2 accounts within the child welfare prevention and intervention services cash fund (fund) and relocates general provisions relating to the fund within the statute. The act clarifies that all money in the fund must be used for the delivery of child welfare prevention and intervention services that have been approved by the department. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act adjusts the appropriation made to the department of human services in the annual general appropriation act for child welfare services by $9,700,000 to reflect federal child welfare funding allocations, and appropriates $9,700,000 to the child welfare prevention and intervention services cash fund for use for child welfare prevention and intervention services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Census outreach grant program - department of local affairs - division of local government - appropriation. The 2020 census outreach grant program (grant program) is created in the division of local government (division) in the department of local affairs (department) to provide grants to local governments, intergovernmental agencies, councils of government, housing authorities, school districts, nonprofit organizations, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (eligible recipients) to support the accurate counting of the population of the state for the 2020 census. The department, in coordination with the grant program committee (committee), which is also created in the division, is required to implement and administer the grant program and to develop policies and procedures necessary for such implementation and administration. The committee consists of 5 members, one of whom is appointed by the secretary of state and 4 of whom are appointed, one each, by the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority leaders of the house of representatives and the senate, although such appointees may not be members of the general assembly. Eligible recipients may use grant money to conduct 2020 census outreach, promotion, and education to focus on hard-to-count communities in the state and to increase the self-response rate and accuracy of the 2020 census. Eligible recipients may also use grant money to further award grants to other local governments, intergovernmental agencies, councils of government, housing authorities, school districts, or nonprofit organizations. To receive a grant, an eligible recipient must submit an application to the department in accordance with the policies and procedures developed by the department. The committee is required to review the applications received and to make recommendations to the department regarding which grant applications to approve. In developing its recommendations, the committee is required to consider whether the eligible recipient will be conducting outreach in hard-to-count communities and the size and geographic and demographic diversity of the hard-to-count communities in which outreach, education, and promotion of the 2020 census will occur as provided by all eligible recipients that receive grant money. The department is required to award grants for the purposes of the grant program on or before November 1, 2019, and to distribute the grant money to eligible recipients that were awarded grants within 30 days after the grants are awarded. In addition to money appropriated by the general assembly, the department may solicit, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of the grant program. Each eligible recipient that received a grant through the grant program is required to submit 2 reports to the department including information to be determined by the department. The department is required to submit 2 reports to the local government committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, and to the governor regarding the census outreach conducted through the grant program. On or before May 1, 2026, and on or before May 1 every 10 years thereafter, the department and the office of the governor are required to develop a strategic action plan, including a discussion of necessary funding for the plan, for outreach and promotion for a successful count of the population in Colorado during the upcoming decennial census. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $6 million from the general fund is appropriated to the department for use by the division for the direct and indirect costs of administering the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Office of information technology - major information technology projects - change management plans - policy for use of external venders - communications and stakeholder management plan - working groups - appropriation. The office of information technology (office) is required to take actions as recommended by an evaluation of the state's information technology (IT) resources. Specifically, the office is required to: Include in the project plan for every major IT project a change management plan developed in collaboration with the state agency that undertakes the major IT project; Develop a policy for the office's use of external vendors, including the statewide internet portal authority, in delivering electronic information, products, and services; Develop and implement a communications and stakeholder management plan for interacting with any governmental unit of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government that is billed for the use of the services provided by the office and to solicit feedback to determine if the communications and stakeholder management plan is increasing satisfaction with the services provided by the office; Convene a working group of state agencies to develop and implement a strategic plan for how state agencies use technology to provide services, data, and information to citizens and businesses; and Convene a working group of state agencies to determine the cost and feasibility of transferring ownership of IT infrastructure from state agencies to the office. The office is required to submit a report to the joint budget committee and the joint technology committee regarding the necessary statutory and rule changes and funding to implement the transfer of ownership of IT infrastructure if the working group finds that it would be in the state's best interest to implement such a transfer. The office is required to enlist vendor services in the development of the communications and stakeholder management plan, the plan for how state agencies use technology to interface with citizens and businesses, and the plan to transfer ownership of IT infrastructure. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $775,000 is appropriated to the office of the governor from the general fund for use by the office of information technology for central administration and project management. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Legislative services - director of research of the legislative council - state tax system working group - report - appropriation. The director of research of the legislative council, in coordination with the other nonpartisan legislative staff agencies, the department of revenue, the department of personnel, and the governor's office of information technology, is required to convene a state tax system working group (working group) to meet during the interim following the first regular session of the seventy-second general assembly and to conduct an analysis of the state tax system used by the department of revenue. The working group is authorized to solicit input from any additional interested parties, as deemed necessary and appropriate by the working group. The working group is required to provide a progress report regarding its work to the joint technology committee and the joint budget committee and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations in connection with the state tax system to the joint technology committee, the joint budget committee, and the finance committees of the house of representatives and the senate. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $44,552 is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative department and $30,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue for the purposes of the working group. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Certificates of title - vehicle identification number - certified inspection - fee. The act raises the fee for performing a certified vehicle identification number inspection from $20 to $50 and provides for the fee to be adjusted annually to account for inflation. A peace officer's certification to perform these inspections expires 3 years after issuance unless renewed.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Fire suppression - registration of contractors - inspection and maintenance of fire suppression systems - continuation under sunset law. The act continues the fire suppression programs of the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety for 7 years, until 2026.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
