The act requires an employer or the employer's insurer to use the division of workers' compensation's (division) utilization standards when responding to a request for authorization from a treating physician, and, if they do not, the director of the division may deem the services as authorized, reasonable, and necessary and require payment for the services by the employer or the employer's insurer. The act provides injured workers control over the selection of their primary treating physician in workers' compensation cases, allowing them to choose from any level I or level II accredited physician through the division subject to geographic limitations. The act creates the mechanism by which an injured worker may select the treating physician and requires the employer or insurer to choose the physician when an injured worker is unable or unwilling to select the treating physician. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The department of public health and environment (department) is required to conduct a study of capital needs for rural and frontier hospitals throughout the state (study). The rural and frontier hospital capital needs study task force (task force) is created and is required to oversee the study. The study must measure the number of studied facilities that are not compliant with current and relevant design and building code standards for health-care facilities, identify the age of core facilities and any additions to those facilities, and estimate the costs for renovating or replacing facilities identified as having capital needs. No later than 18 months after the first meeting of the task force, the department is required to complete the study and compile the results of the study into a report. The department is required to present the report to the respective health and human services committees of the senate and house of representatives. The task force is made up of the following 7 members who must be appointed no later than 2 months after sufficient funding has been secured for the implementation of the act: 3 members who work in rural or frontier hospitals; One member who is an architect professional; One member who is a construction contractor professional; One member who represents hospitals; and One member of the general public who lives in a rural area or frontier area. In addition to overseeing the study, the task force is responsible for developing and approving the parameters of the study and overseeing the department's report. The task force may also facilitate contracting with a private sector consulting company to assist with data compilation, research, and outreach to rural and frontier hospitals. The task force is required to hold its first meeting within 2 months of all appointments being made to the task force and meet at least quarterly after the first meeting until the study and the report are complete. The requirements imposed on the department, the task force, and any third party in connection with the study are contingent upon money being available through gifts, grants, or donations for the purpose of conducting the study. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act temporarily reduces by $3.70 the road safety surcharge for each vehicle class for any registration period that begins on or after September 1, 2025, but before September 1, 2027. Revenue from the road safety surcharge, along with other fee and surcharge revenue, is credited to the highway users tax fund and allocated to the state highway fund, counties, and municipalities. The act adjusts the allocation of revenue from the road safety surcharge, a daily vehicle rental fee, a supplemental oversize and overweight vehicle surcharge, a supplemental unregistered vehicle fine, and late registration fees, for any registration period that begins on or after July 1, 2025, but before July 1, 2027, by reducing the state share and increasing the county and municipal shares as follows: 56% to the state highway fund (reduced from 60%); 24% to counties (increased from 22%); and 20% to municipalities (increased from 18%).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Cell Phone Connectivity Interim Study Committee. The bill requires that an application by a telecommunications provider for the siting and construction of a new wireless telecommunications service facility for telecommunications or for the substantial change of an existing wireless telecommunications service facility for telecommunications (application) submitted to a local government is deemed approved by the local government if: The local government has not approved or rejected the application within 60 90 days after the application is submitted to the local government or conducted a pre-application meeting or other documented communication regarding the application, whichever is earlier (60-day time period) the applicant complies with the first procedural step required by the local government as part of its applicable regulatory review process or after the applicant submits a collocation application if the local government's applicable regulatory process does not specify that first procedural step; except that the period for approval or rejection of a siting application that is not for a collocation or a small cell facility is 120 days (applicable consideration period); The telecommunications provider has provided all public notices required under applicable law; and The telecommunications provider has provided notice to the local government that the 60-day time applicable consideration period has lapsed and that the application is deemed approved. A local government may toll the 60-day time applicable consideration period to allow the local government to make timely requests for information to complete an application. The 60-day time applicable consideration period may also be extended by mutual agreement of the telecommunications provider and the local government. If a local government determines that a collocation or siting application is incomplete, the local government is required to provide written notification to the applicant within 30 days after the submission of the application of the missing documents or information that the applicant must submit to render the application complete and identify the specific regulation that requires the applicant to provide the missing documents or information, and the applicable consideration period is tolled from the date of notification until the applicant provides the missing documents or information. A local government may seek judicial review of the deemed approval of a collocation application or siting application within 30 days after it receives notice of the deemed approval. If a local government requires an applicant to obtain a traffic control plan or other permit related to obstruction of, or safety in, a public right-of-way before a collocation or siting application is approved, the applicant shall not commence the construction or substantial change of a wireless service facility for telecommunications pursuant to an collocation or siting application deemed approved pursuant to the bill until the traffic control plan or other permit is obtained. A local government is prohibited from unreasonably withholding, conditioning, or delaying approval of the issuance of a traffic control plan or other permit to delay the approval of a collocation application or siting application or prohibiting or unreasonably discriminating in favor of, or against, any technology in taking action on a collocation or siting application. The bill also prohibits a A local government is prohibited from requiring a telecommunications provider that removes, discontinues, or replaces telecommunications equipment at an existing wireless telecommunications facility to file a new application or obtain additional permits if: The telecommunications provider notifies the local government of the necessary removal, discontinuance, or replacement of the telecommunications equipment; and The removal, discontinuance, or replacement of the telecommunications equipment is not a substantial change to the facility. The bill takes effect on January 1, 2026. The bill clarifies that its requirements do not supersede, nullify, or otherwise alter generally applicable and nondiscriminatory building, electrical, fire, or other safety requirements. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Existing law permits an individual to request a self-pay estimate of the total cost of an anticipated health-care service (self-pay estimate) from the designated billing or patient services personnel representing the health-care provider or health-care facility providing the service. Unless the patient suffers a medical emergency or other unforeseen circumstance that affects the services provided, statute states that the final cost of the health-care service must be no more than 15% higher than the self-pay estimate or $400, whichever is less. The act corrects the mistake in the statutory language by clarifying that the $400 qualifier relates to the permissible dollar amount above the cost estimated in the self-pay estimate rather than the qualifier itself reflecting the maximum allowable cost of the health-care service, regardless of the service provided. Further, when referencing the exception in statute that, due to an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, the total cost of services may exceed the self-pay estimate by more than 15% or $400, the act removes the erroneous qualifier, "whichever is less", as that language is inapplicable when the exception applies. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows the director of the division of oil and public safety (division), on and after August 15, 2025, to impose a civil penalty of not more that $5,000 per day for the retail distribution of reformulated gasoline that violates the applicable fuel quality specification when the federal environmental protection agency (EPA) requires the sale of reformulated gasoline in a nonattainment area in the state. "Nonattainment area" is defined as an area of the state that the EPA has designated as being in nonattainment with a national ambient air quality standard. On or before August 15, 2025, the division is required to notify, through the division's email system, any owner of a gas station that is located in a nonattainment area of the penalty amount established by the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates an exception to the requirement that a member of the Colorado state patrol be bonded by a surety company or insured with third-party crime insurance if the Colorado state patrol is self-insured with the Colorado state office of risk management and is eligible to be compensated from the state self-insured property fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the community schoolyards grant program (grant program) in the division of local government (division) within the department of local affairs (department). The grant program is a 2-part grant program that includes: The planning and design grant program (planning program), which awards up to $150,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the planning and design of a community schoolyard; and The capital construction and improvement grant program (construction program), which awards up to $850,000 to each grant recipient selected by the division for the capital construction of a community schoolyard. The purpose of the grant program is to address inequities in underserved and underfunded schools and communities, specifically communities socially or economically affected by the development, processing, or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels subject to taxation, by: Making community schoolyards accessible to the broader community outside of school hours; Improving physical activity and mental health opportunities for students and community members; and Incorporating natural landscapes, natural playgrounds, and recreational spaces that promote adaptation; sustainability; resilience; and hands-on learning across subject matters, including science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. On or before January 15, 2026, the division shall implement a timeline for the planning program and the construction program (programs), which must include, at a minimum: Announcing each of the programs; Accepting applications from eligible applicants for each of the programs; Selecting the grant recipients for each of the programs; Distributing grant money to the grant recipients for each of the programs; and Establishing reporting timelines and requirements for each of the programs. On or before January 15, 2028, the division shall compile a report summarizing the grant recipient reports from the programs. The division shall submit the report to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate; the house of representatives transportation, housing, and local government committee; and the senate local government and housing committee, or their successor committees. For the 2025-26 and 2026-27 state fiscal years, the department shall use $4 million from the local government mineral impact fund or the local government severance tax fund for the grant program. The division may use up to 5% of the funds it receives for the grant program to pay for the direct and indirect costs of administering the grant program. The division may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of the grant program. The grant program is repealed, effective January 1, 2030. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $50,000 is appropriated to the department for use by the division from the reappropriated funds from the local government mineral impact fund and the local government severance tax fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes the time period for which a licensee's or applicant's prior conviction of or plea of no contest to specific crimes requires the motor vehicle dealer board (board) to revoke or deny a license to the licensee or applicant from a 10-year period to a 3-year period beginning on the date of conviction or the end of incarceration, whichever date is later, if the applicant or licensee has not been convicted of any other criminal offense during the 3-year period. After the 3-year period, the board may only consider the individual's application or license; except that the board may consider a conviction for a crime that is directly related to the auto industry at any time. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires an online marketplace to alert a law enforcement agency if the online marketplace knows or should have known that a third-party seller is selling or attempting to sell stolen goods to a consumer in Colorado, unless the online marketplace has received a notice from the law enforcement agency that the same third-party seller is suspected of selling or attempting to sell the same stolen goods on the online marketplace to a consumer in Colorado. An online marketplace is required to establish: A mechanism that allows the online marketplace to timely and confidentially communicate with a law enforcement agency; and Internal policies, systems, and staff to monitor product listings to detect and prevent organized retail crime.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits the department of human services (department) from requiring an applicant for the low-income home energy assistance program (program) to provide their citizenship or immigration status on an application for assistance under the program, unless that information is required as a condition of eligibility for the program. The department is also prohibited from sharing the citizenship or immigration status of an applicant for or recipient of assistance under the program with any federal law enforcement agency, unless disclosure is required by law or court order. If an individual applies for assistance under the program and the individual's application is denied due to insufficient or incomplete documentation, the department must provide notice to the applicant that their application has been denied and provide the applicant at least 60 days to correct or complete the application. The investor-owned public utility of which the applicant is a customer must place a disconnection hold on the applicant's utility service for no more than 60 days while the customer's application is pending review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of public health and environment (department) to establish a page on the department's public website with credible, evidence-based information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves. The act prohibits a retailer from selling, attempting to sell, or offering to sell, in a store, a new gas-fueled stove to a consumer in the state unless a yellow adhesive label on the display model for the gas-fueled stove bears the phrase "Understand the air quality implications of having an indoor gas stove." Following this phrase, the adhesive label must include a website link or a quick response (QR) code or other machine-readable code that a potential consumer may use to access the web page established by the department with information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves. Before transacting an online sale of a new gas-fueled stove to an address in the state, a retailer is required to post the content of the adhesive label on the internet website where the online sale occurs. The act specifies that a retailer that violates the requirements of the act commits a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
