The bill provides local college districts with the authority to sell or lease district property. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Current law requires a person, before conducting an excavation, to contact a nonprofit notification association (comprised of all owners and operators of underground facilities) by dialing '811' to learn the location of underground facilities in the excavation project area. The owners and operators must then accurately mark the location of their facilities. Violations of the excavation damage prevention law are enforced exclusively through civil actions initiated by damaged parties to collect specified civil penalties and damages. In 2016, the United States department of transportation's pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration (PHMSA) conducted an adequacy evaluation of Colorado's enforcement of its excavation damage prevention law and determined that the enforcement is inadequate, which may eventually result in the withholding of federal funds from Colorado. The bill creates the underground damage prevention safety commission (commission) as an independent agency within the department of labor and employment. The commission has rule-making and enforcement authority regarding specified portions of the excavation damage prevention law and is required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the notification association to facilitate implementation and administration of the law. The notification association is required to provide administrative support to the commission in performing its duties. A review committee of the commission initially determines whether a violation of the law has occurred and, if appropriate, recommends remedial action, potentially including a fine. Fines range from $250 for a single minor violation within the previous 12 months to $75,000 for a fourth major violation within the previous 12 months. The full commission is bound by the review committee's determination of facts but determines the final agency action regarding alleged violations. Fines are credited to the damage prevention fund, which the commission will use to develop educational programming, including by making grants, that is designed to improve worker and public safety relating to excavation and underground facilities. Current law allows only an excavator to submit a location request to the notification association. The bill authorizes a licensed professional engineer designing excavation to submit a location request. The engineer is required to ensure that the engineering plans meet certain standards established by the American Society of Civil Engineers for defining the accuracy of an underground facility location. Current law creates 2 tiers of membership in the notification association. Tier 2 members are limited members with limited benefits and include certain special districts, local governments, cable television providers, and small telecommunications providers; tier 1 members are full members with full benefits, and tier 1 consists of all other owners and operators. If, after receiving a location request, the notification association determines that a tier 1 member owns or operates the underground facilities, the notification association contacts the tier 1 member to arrange for the marking of the underground facilities. If a tier 2 member owns or operates the underground facilities, the excavator must contact the tier 2 member to arrange for the marking of the underground facilities. Effective January 1, 2021, all underground facility owners and operators are full members of the notification association with full benefits, and excavators will no longer need to contact the owners or operators to arrange for the marking. All new underground facilities installed on or after January 1, 2020, must be electronically locatable when installed. Home rule local governments and power authorities are not subject to the commission's enforcement authority, but the governing body of a home rule local government or power authority is required to either adopt a similar enforceable damage prevention safety program or waive its exemption and delegate its damage prevention enforcement authority to the commission. Information regarding the location of underground facilities is exempt from the 'Colorado Open Records Act', pursuant to the existing exemption for specialized details of critical infrastructure. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill creates the enhance school safety incident response grant program in the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety (grant program) to provide funding for research, program development, and training to improve school safety incident response. The funding can be used by recipients to provide training, develop best practices and protocols, conduct research and development, and upgrade technology and infrastructure used for training related to school safety incident response. Applications for the grants must be made by October 1 and grants must be awarded by December 1 for each year of the grant program. Applicants must be nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations and must have experience providing school safety incident response training and working with law enforcement, first responders, school districts, and school personnel on issues related to school safety incident response. The bill makes an appropriation from the school safety resource center cash fund and makes a conforming amendment to the statute creating that fund. The grant program and conforming amendment are repealed effective June 30, 2021. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill directs the Colorado children's trust fund board to develop and administer a training program to prevent child sexual abuse (program) for early childhood providers and others who interact with young children. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
With limited exceptions, current law prohibits a licensing authority from receiving or acting upon a license application under the 'Colorado Liquor Code' for the retail sale of alcohol beverages if the building in which the alcohol beverages will be sold is located within 500 feet of a public or parochial school or a college, university, or seminary. A local government may eliminate or reduce the distance restrictions. The bill applies the same distance restrictions, with the same limited exceptions and authority of a local government to reduce or eliminate the restrictions, to any fermented malt beverage retailer licensed on or after the effective date of the bill under the 'Colorado Beer Code' to sell fermented malt beverages at retail or any fermented malt beverage retailer that applies on or after the effective date of the bill to relocate its licensed premises. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill requires the department of higher education (department) to prepare an annual return on investment report of undergraduate degree programs and certificate programs offered at each institution of higher education, as defined in the bill. The bill specifies the information and analysis that must be included in the return on investment report, which includes, in part, the average student loan debt for students in the undergraduate degree program or certificate program, and the average time to completion for students in the degree program or certificate program. The department shall submit the annual return on investment report to the education committees of the general assembly and shall post the report on the department's website. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Under current law, the department of labor and employment (department) administers the skilled worker, outreach, recruitment, and key training (WORK) grant program, which provides matching grants to eligible public or private entities or organizations that provide skilled worker training programs in partnership with industry. The general assembly is directed to appropriate $10 million for the WORK grant program for the 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 fiscal years. The bill: Extends the program for 3 fiscal years; Specifies deadlines for the department to award and issue matching grants to recipients; Requires the department to develop an expedited application process for eligible applicants; Specifies that the state work force development council (council), rather than the governor, is to appoint members to the WORK grant review committee; Authorizes the executive committee of the council to make grant award determinations; Requires the WORK grant review committee to submit its annual report to the general assembly by December 31 instead of by May 1 and to include the report as part of the Colorado talent pipeline report; Requires the general assembly to appropriate an additional $7.6 million for the WORK grant program for the 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 fiscal years, with not more than $3.3 million in any fiscal year; specifies how the money available for matching grants must be allocated, to the extent possible; and allows the department to expend in the next fiscal year, without further appropriation, money that was not expended or encumbered in the fiscal year for which it was appropriated. $1,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the WORK fund and is further appropriated to the department for the WORK grant program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Statutory Revision Committee. The bill removes statutory references to section 39-28.8-604, Colorado Revised Statutes, the former proposition AA refund account that was repealed on July 1, 2017.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Section 1 of the bill establishes an office of the ombudsman for behavioral health access to care as an independent office within the office of the executive director of the department of human services to assist Coloradans in accessing behavioral health care. Section 3 requires the commissioner of insurance to report on issues related to mental health parity requirements. $85,695 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of human services to use for the office of the ombudsman for behavioral health access to care, and $8,355 is appropriated from the division of insurance cash fund to the division of insurance to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill permits a student in an educator preparation program who is seeking field experiences in a school (student) to submit his or her fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) for the purpose of performing a fingerprint-based criminal history record check for the student. Upon completion of the fingerprint-based criminal history record check, the bureau must forward the results to the department of education (department). If the fingerprint-based criminal history record check of a student performed pursuant to this section reveals a record of arrest without a disposition, the department is required to perform a name-based criminal history record check of that student. The department must provide the results of the background checks to the educator preparation program in which the student is enrolled and make the results available to schools and school districts. When the department receives an update from the bureau, the department must provide that update to each education preparation program, school district, and charter school in which the student has been placed for field experiences. The department may charge a fee to cover the actual costs of administering a student's criminal history record check. School districts or charter schools that require a criminal history record check for students are required to accept the results of a criminal history record check performed by the bureau or department. If the student has continuously resided in Colorado, the fingerprints may be used by the student to satisfy the existing fingerprint submission requirements for teacher licensure. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Current law allows the department of higher education to provide up to 20 financial stipends annually, not to exceed $6,000 each, to teachers in rural schools or school districts (rural schools) who are seeking certification as a national board certified teacher, seeking certification as a concurrent enrollment teacher, or furthering their professional development plan through continuing education, and who commit to employment in a rural school for a minimum of 3 years. The bill increases the number of available stipends to 60 and expands it to include teachers completing an approved alternative licensure program leading to initial licensure and full-time employment in a rural school or school district that serves rural schools and individuals completing the required course work leading to certification and employment in a rural school or a rural school district that serves rural schools. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Capital Development Committee. The bill specifies that any real property acquired by a state agency or a state institution of higher education through a lease-purchase agreement is not eligible for state controlled maintenance funding. The bill specifies that any bill enacted by the general assembly on or after the effective date of the legislation authorizing a lease-purchase agreement for the acquisition of real property must include a requirement that the state agency or state institution of higher education entering into the lease-purchase agreement present a plan to the capital development committee, by a specified date, that details how the state agency or state institution of higher education is prepared to fund the controlled maintenance needs of the real property so that at least a specified amount is available for the controlled maintenance needs of the real property. The plan may include an additional lease-purchase agreement for such controlled maintenance needs or may include a request for partial or complete state funding of such controlled maintenance needs. The bill also requires the state treasurer to advise any state agency or state institution of higher education regarding the controlled maintenance reserve requirement.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
