The bill creates the retaining teachers grant program (grant program) to assist school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools (local education providers) in implementing initiatives to improve retention of teachers. The department of education (department) is directed to implement the grant program by reviewing applications and recommending grant recipients and grant amounts to the state board of education (state board), which awards the grants. The department is also directed to provide information to local education providers concerning the grant program and provide assistance in writing grant applications if requested. Each grant is awarded for 3 years, subject to annual review by the department and renewal by the state board. The grants are paid from the retaining teachers fund created in the bill. The department must submit annual reports to the state board and to the joint budget committee and the education committees of the general assembly concerning implementation of the grant program, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant program in reducing the teacher shortage in Colorado, any recommendations for changes to improve the effectiveness of the grant program, and a recommendation concerning continuation of the grant program. The grant program is repealed, effective July 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Statutory Revision Committee. There is a crime of failure to register as a sex offender. There are a number of different ways to commit the crime, including when a sex offender moves out of state and fails to file a cancellation form with the jurisdiction where he or she will no longer reside. The language in the crime referencing the requirement to file a cancellation form does not include a citation to the statutory requirement to file the cancellation form. The bill adds that cross reference.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Young and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee. The bill requires the commissioner of agriculture to create, by rule, the agricultural workforce development program to provide incentives to agricultural businesses to hire interns. Qualified agricultural businesses may be reimbursed an amount not to exceed 50% of the actual cost of hiring a qualified intern. The rules must include specified criteria for qualifying businesses and interns participating in the program. Qualified internships must include at least 130 hours of work experience and cannot exceed 6 months in duration. The program is repealed on July 1, 2024. The bill appropriates $43,157 from the general fund to the department of agriculture for use by the commissioner to implement the program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety is currently authorized to use money in the local firefighter safety and disease prevention fund to provide grants for equipment and training to increase firefighter safety and prevent occupation-related diseases. The bill transfers $250,000 from the general fund to be used for these purposes. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Sunset Process - House Judiciary Committee. The bill implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review of the Colorado civil rights division and the Colorado civil rights commission to continue the commission and the division and their respective functions for 9 years, through September 1, 2027. The bill appropriates $1,642,843 to the department of regulatory agencies for the 2018-19 fiscal year for use by the civil rights division for personal services, operating expenses, hearings, and commission meeting costs. The appropriation assumes that the division will require 27.2 FTE to implement the bill. The bill also acknowledges, for informational purposes, that the civil rights division will receive $496,489 in federal funds for the 2018-19 fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill creates the childhood cancer awareness license plate. A person becomes eligible to use the plate by providing a certificate confirming that the person has made a donation to an organization chosen by the department of revenue based on the organization's assistance to children with cancer. In addition to the standard motor vehicle fees, the plate requires 2 one-time fees of $25. One of the fees is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other to the licensing services cash fund. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Currently, a resident individual with a federal adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less is allowed a state income tax credit (state credit) for child care expenses that is a percentage of a similar federal income tax credit claimed (federal credit). The amount of the state credit depends on the individual's adjusted gross income (AGI). If the individual's AGI is: $25,000 or less, then the state credit is 50% of the federal credit; $25,001 to $35,000, then the state credit is 30% of the federal credit; and $35,001 to $60,000, then the state credit is 10% of the federal credit. The bill expands the state credit by allowing a resident individual with an AGI that is less than or equal to $150,000 to claim a credit that is equal to 80% of the individual's federal credit. For a taxpayer who is eligible for the credit due to the increased income threshold, the state credit is not refundable but may be carried forward up to 5 income tax years. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill changes the name of the existing low-income housing tax credit to the affordable housing tax credit. This change is reflected in sections 1 and 3 of the bill. Section 2 extends the period during which the Colorado housing and finance authority may allocate affordable housing tax credits from December 31, 2019, to December 31, 2024.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The state historical society is currently governed by a board of directors with 9 members appointed by the governor. The bill expands the number of directors to 13. The governor is prohibited from appointing more than 7 members from the same major or minor political party. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. The bill requires all individual and group health benefit plans to provide coverage without prior authorization for a five-day supply of at least one of the federal food and drug administration-approved drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence for a first request within a 12-month period. The bill prohibits carriers from taking adverse action against a provider or from providing financial incentives or disincentives to a provider based solely on a patient satisfaction survey relating to the patient's satisfaction with pain treatment. The bill clarifies that an 'urgent prior authorization request' to a carrier includes a request for authorization of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. The bill permits a pharmacy that has entered into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with one or more physicians to administer injectable antagonist medication for substance use disorders and receive an enhanced dispensing fee for the administration. The bill requires the Colorado medical assistance program to authorize reimbursement for at least one federal food and drug administration-approved ready-to-use opioid overdose reversal drug without prior authorization. The bill permits a pharmacy that has entered into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with one or more physicians to administer injectable opioid antagonist medication for substance use disorders and receive an enhanced dispensing fee under the Colorado medical assistance program for the administration. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing and the office of behavioral health in the department of human services to establish rules that standardize utilization management authority timelines for the nonpharmaceutical components of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. Section 1 of the bill establishes in statute the opioid and other substance use disorders study committee, consisting of 5 senators and 5 representatives from the general assembly, to: Study data and statistics on the scope of the substance use disorder problem in Colorado; Study current prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources available to Coloradans, as well as public and private insurance coverage and other sources of support for treatment and recovery resources; Review the availability of medication-assisted treatment and the ability of pharmacists to prescribe those medications; Examine measures that other states and countries use to address substance use disorders; Identify the gaps in prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources available to Coloradans and hurdles to accessing those resources; and Identify possible legislative options to address gaps and hurdles to accessing prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources. The committee is authorized to meet 6 times in a calendar year and may report up to 6 legislative measures to the legislative council, which bills are exempt from bill limitations and introduction deadlines. The committee is repealed on July 1, 2020. Section 2 requires the governor to direct the Colorado consortium for prescription drug abuse prevention to: Create a process to develop a plan that addresses the full continuum of recovery services; Develop a definition for recovery residences and recommend whether the residences should be licensed; and Report recommendations to the general assembly. Section 3 specifies school-based health care centers may apply for grants from the school-based health center grant program to expand behavioral health services to include treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders and requires the department of public health and environment to prioritize funding to the centers that serve communities with high-risk factors. Section 4 directs the department of health care policy and financing, starting July 1, 2018, to award grants to organizations to operate a substance abuse screening, brief intervention, and referral program. Section 5 creates the Charlie Hughes and Nathan Gauna opioid prevention pilot program in the Tony Grampsas youth services program for preventing opioid use among the youth population and supporting youth whose family members experience addiction. The Tony Grampsas youth services board shall oversee a grant process for the pilot program using specific criteria. The Tony Grampsas youth services program shall award the grants on or before October 1, 2018. The bill creates a fund for the direct and indirect costs associated with the program. The department of human services is required to work with the grant recipients and submit a report to the general assembly on or before January 1, 2021, regarding the progress of the grant recipients. Section 6 directs the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery to develop and implement continuing medical education activities to help prescribers of pain medication to safely and effectively manage patients with chronic pain, and when appropriate, prescribe opioids. Sections 3 through 6 also direct the general assembly to appropriate money to implement those sections. Section 7 appropriates: $675,00 to the department of health care policy and financing from the marijuana tax cash fund to implement the bill; $750,000 to the department of higher education from the marijuana tax cash fund for research purposes; $1,500,000 to the youth opioid and substance use prevention fund from the marijuana tax cash fund; $500,000 to the department of human services from reappropriated funds for use by the division of child welfare; $90,928 to the department of humans services from the marijuana tax cash fund for use by the division of child welfare; $39,249 to the legislative department from the general fund; and $775,00 to the department of public health and environment from the marijuana tax cash fund for use by the prevention services division.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. The bill modifies the Colorado health service corps program administered by the primary care office in the department of public health and environment as follows: For purposes of determining areas in the state in which there is a shortage of health care professionals and behavioral health care providers to meet the needs of the community, allows the primary care office, under guidance adopted by the state board of health, to develop and administer state health professional shortage areas using state-specific methodologies; Allows behavioral health care providers, which include licensed and certified addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed psychologists, licensed physician assistants with specific training in substance use disorders, advanced practice nurses, and physicians certified or trained in addiction medicine, pain management, or psychiatry, and candidates for licensure as an addiction counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist, to participate in the loan repayment program on the condition of committing to provide behavioral health care services in health professional shortage areas for a specified period; Directs the advisory council to prioritize loan repayment and scholarships for those behavioral health care providers, candidates for licensure, or addiction counselors who provide behavioral health care services in nonprofit or public employer settings but permits consideration of applicants practicing in a private setting that serves underserved populations; Establishes a scholarship program to help defray the education and training costs associated with obtaining certification as an addiction counselor or with progressing to a higher level of certification; Adds 2 members to the advisory council that reviews program applications, which members include a representative of an organization representing substance use disorder treatment providers and a licensed or certified addiction counselor who has experience in rural health, safety net clinics, or health equity; Modifies program reporting requirements and requires annual reporting that coincides with required SMART Act reporting by the department; and Requires the general assembly to annually appropriate $2.5 million from the marijuana tax cash fund to the primary care office to provide loan repayment for behavioral health care providers and candidates for licensure participating in the Colorado health service corps and to award scholarships to addiction counselors participating in the scholarship program. The bill appropriates $2.5 million from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the primary care office in the prevention services division to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
