Current law states that it is a discriminatory and unfair labor practice for an employer to discharge, discipline, discriminate against, coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any employee or other person because the employee inquired about, disclosed, compared, or otherwise discussed the employee's wages, unless otherwise permitted by federal law. Federal law exempts certain limited classes of employers from labor laws. The bill strikes the reference to that exemption and extends the current law to those classes of employers, thereby providing wage transparency protections to all employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current statutory law provides the state board of education (board) with the discretion to exempt some positions in the department of education (department) from the state personnel system if the positions are determined by the board to be director, consultant, supervisor, or instructor positions. The bill authorizes the board to delegate the authority to make these determinations to the commissioner of education. The bill specifies that any employee holding a position determined by the board or by the commissioner of education, as the board's designee, to be a director, a consultant, a supervisor, or an instructor position on or before September 1, 2017, remains exempt from the state personnel system so long as the employee continues to hold that position. The board or the commissioner of education, as the board's designee, is required to determine which positions in the department meet the criteria to be exempt from the state personnel system; except that the board may not determine that a position is exempt while it is held by an employee in the state personnel system. On or before December 31 of each year, the commissioner of education is required to submit a report to the state personnel director listing all positions in the department that are exempt, pursuant to the board's statutory authority, from the state personnel system. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires the public utilities commission (commission) to open a nonadjudicatory proceeding to evaluate investor-owned gas or electric utilities' policies and procedures for load extension of service,including allocation of costs and identification of variables that affect construction and implementation time lines for extension of service. Gas-only investor-owned utilities are not subject to the commission's nonadjudicatory proceeding. Upon completion of its evaluation, the commission shall issue a decision containing recommendations for investor-owned utilities' implementation of service extension. Within 90 days after the conclusion of the commission's nonadjudicatory proceeding, the commission may promulgate rules consistent with its findings. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Beginning in the 2019-20 budget year, the bill requires school districts that collect revenue from mill levies in addition to the total program mill levy and that authorize an innovation school or a charter school to: adopt a plan for distributing the revenue to the schools of the school district for the benefit of the students enrolled in the school district; or distribute 95% of the per pupil amount of the revenue to the innovation schools and charter schools of the school district (per pupil distribution). The bill specifies the requirements for the plan and requirements that apply if the school district makes a per pupil distribution. In adopting a plan or making a per pupil distribution, the school district may distribute a portion of the revenue specifically for specified underserved populations. If a school district is distributing a portion of the mill levy revenue to the charter schools or innovation schools of the school district during the 2016-17 budget year, it must maintain the same distribution amount for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 budget years. By July 1, 2018, each school district that chooses to adopt a plan must post the plan on the school district's website. If the school district chooses to distribute 95% of the per pupil amount, the school district must post a notice of such intent by July 1, 2018, and, starting July 1, 2019, must post the amount received in revenue, the amount distributed for underserved populations, and the amount distributed to each charter school and each innovation school. Commencing July 1, 2018, the charter school institute and each school district, board of cooperative services, and charter school must post on its website a link to certain federal tax forms and schedules filed by the institute, school district, board of cooperative services, or charter school. Commencing July 1, 2017, each school district and each charter school must post a list of the waivers of state statute that it has received and, for each nonautomatic waiver, the plan for meeting the intent of the statute. The department of education, the state charter school institute, and a statewide association of charter schools must create a standardized description of each of the statutes for which the state board of education grants an automatic waiver and the rationale for granting the automatic waiver. Starting July 1, 2018, each charter school must post the description and rationale for each of the automatic waivers it is invoking. The bill creates the mill levy equalization fund, consisting of such money as the general assembly may appropriate to it, to provide additional funding for institute charter schools. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Committee on Cost-benefit Analysis of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado. The bill directs the department of education (department): By July 1, 2017, to create and maintain a resource bank, to be known as the 'Jack Splitt Memorial Resource Bank' (resource bank), for public schools to use without charge, that consists of materials and curricula pertaining to marijuana use; and Upon request of a public school, to provide technical assistance in designing age-appropriate curricula on marijuana use. The bill authorizes the department to contract for the maintenance of the resource bank and the development of the curricula and directs the department to solicit input from persons within and outside of the marijuana industry. After the resource bank and curricula are available, school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative services are encouraged to report to the department the effectiveness of them and recommendations for changes. The bill authorizes resource bank expenses to be paid from the marijuana tax cash fund. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill creates the reserve academy grant program to provide a one-time grant to a political subdivision of the state that is comprised of multiple participating jurisdictions and that is formed for the purpose of funding a reserve peace officer academy that will train and certify a shared reserve peace officer auxiliary group. The division of homeland security and emergency management (division) will administer the grant program. The division may accept gifts, grants, and donations to use towards the grant program. The division shall consider the following criteria in awarding the grant: Existing access to start-up capital; The capacity to serve communities statewide; and The ability to assist law enforcement agencies in times of need. The bill appropriates $814,834 to the department of public safety from the marijuana tax cash fund to implement the bill. $800,000 is for the grant award and $14,834 is for personal services to administer the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires that if certain licensed securities professionals (qualified individuals), while acting within the scope of their employment, reasonably suspect that an elderly or at-risk person is the subject of financial exploitation, the broker-dealer or investment adviser shall report the suspected financial exploitation to the commissioner of securities (commissioner). The commissioner is required to forward the report to local law enforcement and to the county department of human or social services. The commissioner has access to records to conduct an investigation, but the records are not subject to an open records request. The bill also authorizes the qualified individual to notify any third party designated by or associated with the elderly or at-risk person of any suspected financial exploitation. It also authorizes the broker-dealer or investment adviser to delay disbursement of a transaction that might result in financial exploitation. The bill provides immunity to qualified individuals, broker-dealers, and investment advisers making reports, disclosures, or delaying disbursements under the bill. For qualified individuals who are also required to report mistreatment of an elderly or at-risk person pursuant to the 'Colorado Criminal Code' (code), the bill clarifies that, if the individual makes a report pursuant to the code, the individual does not have to submit a report with the commissioner, and that filing a report with the commissioner does not satisfy the individual's obligation pursuant to the code. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law exempts 'agricultural and livestock products' from the levy and collection of property tax and defines 'agriculture', for purposes of applying the exemption, to include silviculture. Current law also exempts 'agricultural equipment which is used on the farm or ranch in the production of agricultural products' from the levy and collection of property tax. The bill repeals the current exemption and instead clarifies that agricultural equipment includes silviculture personal property that is designed, adapted, and used for the planting, growing, maintenance, or harvesting of trees in a raw or unprocessed state. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Interim Study Committee on Communication Between the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and Medicaid Clients. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (department) to engage in an ongoing process to improve medicaid client communications, including client letters and notices, that concern eligibility for or the denial, reduction, suspension, or termination of a benefit. Among other requirements included in the bill, the department shall ensure that client communications are accurate, readable, and understandable, clearly conveying the purpose of the letter or notice and the specific action or actions that the client must take in response to the letter or notice. The bill requires the department to include in certain notices a specific and plain language explanation of the basis for the denial, reduction, suspension, or termination of a benefit; and a description of necessary information or documents that the client has not provided. If sufficient state and federal appropriations are available, on and after July 1, 2018, the department shall make available electronically a client's information concerning household composition, assets, and income sources and amounts, if relevant to the determination for which the client correspondence was issued. The department may test new or significantly revised client communications against the requirements included in the bill with a representative sample of medicaid clients, advocacy organizations, and counties prior to implementing the client communications. The department shall also develop a process to consider feedback from stakeholders and counties prior to implementing significant changes to correspondence. The department shall also ensure that letters and notices affecting clients with disabilities, seniors, and other vulnerable populations are appropriately prioritized for improvement consistent with the requirements in the bill. The department shall receive feedback from the workgroup established to provide customer and community partner feedback regarding client communications as part of the department's involvement in state-level decision-making relating to computer system changes and training. The department shall provide information concerning medicaid client communications improvements as part of its annual presentation to its legislative committee of reference. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Sunset Process - Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill extends the domestic violence offender management board (board) until September 1, 2022. In addition, the bill: Changes the appointment authority for 5 members of the board from the executive director of the department of regulatory agencies (DORA) to the executive director of the department of public safety (director); Changes the qualifications for 5 members of the board to require all to have experience in the field of domestic violence, at least 3 members to be licensed mental health professionals, and at least 3 to be on the list of approved providers published by the board; Requires the director to consult with a statewide organization of criminal defense attorneys prior to appointing the private defense attorney to the board; Repeals language concerning staggered terms for members of the initial board; Authorizes the board to elect a presiding officer rather than having the director appoint the presiding officer; Changes the responsibility for the review of providers' applications and review of mandatory continuing education course requirements from DORA to the board; and Makes the board solely responsible for publishing the list of approved providers and relieves DORA from this responsibility.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill appropriates $1.5 million from the species conservation trust fund for programs submitted by the executive director of the department of natural resources that are designed to conserve native species that state or federal law list as threatened or endangered or that are candidate species or are likely to become candidate species as determined by the United States fish and wildlife service as follows: Native terrestrial wildlife conservation, $375,000; Native aquatic wildlife conservation, $375,000; Platte river recovery implementation program, $600,000; and Nonnative fish control, $150,000.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Current law requires an opportunity for public notice and a hearing for proposed transactions that would result in the acquisition of control of a domestic insurer, which is one that is incorporated or formed pursuant to Colorado law. Section 1 of the bill expands the public notice for acquisition of a domestic insurer that offers health plans by requiring the commissioner of insurance to make certain information available for public inspection if the application presents prima facie evidence of a violation of the competitive standards established by law. Section 2 appropriates $9,505 from the division of insurance cash fund, which is reappropriated to the department of law for implementation of the act along with 0.1 FTE.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
