Joint Budget Committee. Child find, part of the federal 'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act', requires states to identify and serve children with disabilities. Part C of child find concerns identifying children from birth through 2 years of age for early intervention services. Part C child find is administered by the department of education. Early intervention services for children through 2 years of age are administered by the state department of human services. The bill defines 'early intervention evaluations' as evaluations performed pursuant to part C child find. The bill requires the state department of human services and the department of education to enter into an interagency agreement (agreement) to study the administration of early intervention evaluations. The departments are required to enter into the agreement by October 1, 2018, and to report the results of the study performed pursuant to the agreement to the joint budget committee by June 30, 2019. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The statewide digital trunked radio system (DTRS) provides interoperable radio communications that allow personnel from multiple agencies in different levels of government to rapidly share information and coordinate efforts in emergency situations. While DTRS is considered one of the nation's most successful statewide public safety communications voice networks, there are areas of the state that do not have adequate coverage on the DTRS network. This means public safety officials are unable to communicate with others when working in geographies with little to no coverage. The general assembly established the public safety communications trust fund (trust fund) for the acquisition and maintenance of public safety communications systems, including the DTRS. Currently, through the 2024-25 fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $7.2 million each fiscal year from the general fund and other funds to the trust fund for purposes of the DTRS. The governor's office of information technology (office) is required to use the money for the replacement of legacy radio equipment and hardware at radio tower sites and for software upgrade assurance. Due to a one-time savings achieved through negotiations between the office and its DTRS software vendor, approximately $3 million of the money appropriated to the trust fund to date is unexpended. The bill authorizes the office to use any unencumbered and unexpended money appropriated for purposes of the DTRS on DTRS site supporting infrastructure and DTRS supporting software and hardware. In addition, in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 fiscal years, the bill requires the general assembly to appropriate an additional $2 million from the general fund to the trust fund. The bill requires the office to use the money to work in partnership with local and regional government entities to add additional radio tower sites in areas of the state that are experiencing critical coverage gaps for public safety radio communications. The office is required to submit a report to the joint budget committee detailing the use of the additional $2 million. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill establishes an exemption from the 'Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado' for an out-of-state employer whose employees are working in Colorado on a temporary basis as long as: The out-of-state employer furnishes coverage under the workers' compensation laws of the state in which the employee is regularly employed, which coverage applies to the employee while working temporarily in Colorado; and The out-of-state employer's home state is contiguous to Colorado, recognizes the exemption, and provides a reciprocal exemption for Colorado employees temporarily working in that state. The home state's workers' compensation laws are the sole remedy for an out-of-state worker who is injured while working temporarily in Colorado. The division of workers' compensation in the department of labor and employment is authorized to enter into an agreement with a contiguous state to carry out the extraterritorial application of the workers' compensation or similar law of the other state. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill directs the department of health care policy and financing (department) to provide community transition services and supports to persons who are in an institutional setting, who are eligible for medicaid, and who desire to transition to a home- or community-based setting (eligible persons). The services and supports must be available to eligible persons who transitioned from an institutional setting for up to one year. The bill requires the department to submit an annual report to specified committees of the general assembly on the effectiveness of providing the services and supports. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill exempts the Colorado firefighting air corps fund from the maximum reserve, which currently limits the year-end uncommitted reserves in the cash fund to 16.5% of the amount expended from the cash fund during the fiscal year.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires fingerprint-based criminal history record checks (record checks) for every applicant, contractor, employee, or other individual who has or may have access to federal tax information received from the federal government by a state agency in accordance with federal internal revenue service publication 1075. The state agency is authorized to collect the fingerprints of the individuals or to use the fingerprinting services of another agency or entity authorized by law to collect them and is required to pay the costs of the record checks to the Colorado bureau of investigation. A state agency that receives federal tax information from the federal government and shares that information with a county department or another state agency may authorize and require the county department or other state agency to conduct record checks for all of its applicants, employees, contractors, or other individuals who may have access to the shared information. The county or other state agency is required to pay the costs of the record checks to the Colorado bureau of investigation. The bill prohibits a state agency that receives federal tax information from the federal government from sharing that information with another agency that refuses or fails to comply with the requirement to conduct record checks. The bill appropriates funds to affected state agencies to implement its requirements. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill creates the Colorado open educational resources council (council) in the department of higher education (department). The council includes persons appointed by the executive director of the department from public institutions of higher education, including a student; the executive director of the department; the commissioner of education; and the state librarian. The council is directed to: Recommend to the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) statewide policies for promoting the adaptation, creation, and use of open educational resources at public institutions of higher education across the state; Facilitate professional development and the sharing of knowledge regarding open educational resources for public institutions of higher education, faculty, staff, and students; Implement the open educational resources grant program (grant program) created in the bill; and Submit to the commission, the joint budget committee, and the education committees of the general assembly an annual report concerning the use of open educational resources in public institutions of higher education across the state. The bill creates the grant program to provide grants to public institutions of higher education to develop the use of open educational resources at the institutions and grants to faculty and staff, individually or in groups, to create and adapt open educational resources. Each grant recipient must submit information to the council concerning its use of the grant and the effectiveness of the open educational resources initiative funded by the grant. The council must include a summary of the information received in the annual report. The council and the grant program are repealed, effective November 1, 2021. The bill directs the commission to adopt guidelines requiring public institutions of higher education, beginning in the fall of 2021, to inform students concerning those courses that use open educational resources. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill directs the department of health care policy and financing (department) to initiate a stakeholder process for purposes of preparing and submitting a redesigned children's habilitation residential program (program) waiver for federal approval that allows for home- and community-based services for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have complex behavioral support needs. The department may also request federal authorization to change the agency designated to administer and operate the program from the department of human services to the department. The bill includes language creating the redesigned program, relocates the program in statute, and makes conforming changes in statute to reflect the new location of the program. The new program will become effective once federal approval has been granted for the redesigned children's habilitation residential program waiver. The bill makes and reduces appropriations to the department and the department of human services to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer specified amounts from the general fund and the marijuana tax cash fund to a newly created office of state planning and budgeting youth pay for success initiatives account within the pay for success contracts fund for state fiscal years 2018-19 through 2021-22. Subject to annual appropriation, the office of state planning and budgeting may expend the money transferred to the account for its use only to fund 3 specified pay for success contracts for pilot programs designed to reduce juvenile involvement in the justice system, reduce out-of-home placements of juveniles, and improve on-time high school graduation rates, but the department of human services may expend any money appropriated to it from the account for expenses related to the administration of any pay for success contract. For the 2018-19 state fiscal year, $718,412 is appropriated from the account to the office of the governor for use by the office of state planning and budgeting, with $52,511 of that amount being reappropriated to the department of human services for use by the division of youth services for personal services and operating expenses related to the administration of any pay for success contract.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill extends the scheduled termination on July 1, 2024, of the state lottery division (division) in the department of revenue to July 1, 2049. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions, for and during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018, except as otherwise noted.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
The bill permits a medical marijuana optional premises cultivation licensee, a medical marijuana-infused products manufacturing licensee, a retail marijuana cultivation facility licensee, and a retail marijuana products manufacturing licensee to provide samples to managers for quality control and product development purposes. The bill specifies limits on the amount that can be provided as a sample per batch. The bill prohibits the licensee from: Allowing the manager to consume the sample on site; Allowing the manager to exceed his or her personal possession limits; Providing or reselling the sample to another licensed employee, individual, or customer; and Using the sample as a means of compensating the manager.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
