Beginning October 1, 2019, before entering into a professional services contract with personnel costs of $200,000 or more, school districts are required to: Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of contracting for the services rather than using district personnel to perform the services, to be completed prior to making a recommendation to contract for services; Hold at least one public hearing conducted by the school district prior to soliciting bids to provide professional services and before entering into a contract for professional services; Allow competitive bidding for the contract; Review of all bids in a regularly scheduled school board meeting, unless a special meeting is authorized; and Provide an opportunity for affected employees to counter the competitive bid. The bill defines the types of professional services to which the contract requirements apply and excludes educational services and professional services procured in the normal course of business for school construction. The contract requirements do not apply to a small rural school district, board of cooperative services, time-limited contract that the school district enters into because of an emergency, or the renewal of an existing contract entered into before October 1, 2019. The bill also requires a contractor for a contract in any dollar amount to provide proof of liability insurance equivalent in amount and scope with that provided by the school district for the contracting activity. Further, a school district shall not enter into a contract for professional services with a contractor that has committed unfair labor practices within the 5 years preceding the date that bids are solicited. In addition, the school district shall not enter into a contract that takes effect prior to the expiration of an existing collective bargaining agreement concerning the employees impacted by the new contract. The contractor may offer available employee positions to the existing employees. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Under current law, a landowner that grants access to another person, without charge, to use the landowner's land for recreational purposes, such as hunting, fishing, or camping, is not liable for any injuries the person sustains while using the land; except that a landowner is liable to the person for the landowner's willful and malicious failure to guard or warn against a known dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity on the land likely to cause harm. The bill removes the exception.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Child welfare caseworkers - prohibition on posting caseworkers' personal information on the internet if threat to caseworker - removing caseworkers' personal information in government records if threat to caseworker. The act defines caseworker (caseworker) to include a state or county employee and county attorney who is engaged in investigating or taking legal action regarding allegations of child abuse or neglect. The act makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly make available on the internet personal information of a caseworker or a caseworker's family if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the caseworker or the caseworker's family and the person disseminating the information knew or should have known of the imminent and serious threat. Violation of the provision is a class 1 misdemeanor. A state or local government official (official) shall remove the personal information of the caseworker or the caseworker's immediate family contained in records that the official makes available on the internet if the caseworker submits a request with an affidavit asserting under penalty of perjury that the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the caseworker or the caseworker's immediate family. The official is also required to deny a request for inspection under the "Colorado Open Records Act" for personal information contained in those same records. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
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Current law requires a county to bury an unclaimed dead body after following certain procedures. The bill authorizes the county to also cremate the body or use any lawful method of final disposition. The bill also harmonizes conflicts in existing law to the standards required by the final disposition statute. Current law gives a coroner or other governmental official who has control over an unclaimed dead body between 24 and 48 hours to find any relatives or friends of the deceased. The bill extends this deadline to 5 days. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
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The bill adds an option for people with disabilities to place a discreet disability identifier symbol on the face of a driver's license or identification card. A listed medical professional must verify the disability by signing a form created by the department of revenue. The symbol must represent all types of disabilities, such as cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities. No fee is charged for the symbol.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Electricians - local inspection fees - limitations. The act repeals the prohibition against local governments and state institutions of higher education charging more than 15% more than the state charges to perform an inspection of electrical work, and instead subjects the inspection fee to a $120 cap that is adjusted annually for inflation with a potential additional 8% tiered charge based on the size or valuation of the inspected improvement. Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
School employees - background checks - fingerprinting. Under current law, school employees are required to undergo a fingerprint-based background check. In most statutes, the fingerprints can be taken by a qualified law enforcement agency, an authorized employee of the school or school district, or a third party approved by the Colorado bureau of investigation, but a few statutes do not authorize fingerprints to be taken by an authorized school or school district employee. The act adds that authorization to those statutes. The act requires a law enforcement agency that has fingerprinting equipment that meets federal bureau of investigation image quality standards to take the fingerprints of an applicant if an approved third-party vendor is not operating within 20 miles of a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school in the agency's jurisdiction. The act states that a school or school district employee can use any fingerprinting equipment that meets the federal bureau of investigation image quality standards.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Public hospitals - boards of trustees - membership - acquisition of real and personal property by lease. Under current law, not more than 4 of the 7 trustees of a public hospital board of trustees (hospital board) may be residents of the city or town in which the associated hospital is located. The act removes this restriction. Current law states that a hospital board may acquire real and personal property by lease only with the approval of the board of county commissioners. The act clarifies this requirement and creates an exception to it; that is, a hospital board that has designated its public hospital as an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution is not required to obtain such approval. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Legislative appropriation - reappropriation from general assembly to legislative council. $51,308,908 is appropriated to the legislative department for the payment of expenses in the 2019-20 state fiscal year. Additionally, the act appropriates $25,000 to the youth advisory council cash fund within the legislative department. For the 2018-19 state fiscal year, the act reappropriates $125,780 from money appropriated for use by the general assembly to the legislative council and adds 0.5 FTE to the legislative council for purposes of printing legislative bills, memorials, resolutions, calendars, and journals of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Legislative council - executive committee - appointment of temporary replacements. An ex officio member of the legislative council may make a temporary appointment to replace himself or herself at a meeting of the council. A temporarily appointed member cannot replace the ex officio member at a meeting of the executive committee.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
