The bill requires the department to create and maintain an online resource bank of materials and resources pertaining to media literacy. At a minimum, the resource bank must include the materials and resources recommended in the media literacy advisory committee's report. The bill requires the department, upon the request of a school district and subject to available resources, to provide technical assistance to a school district with implementing policies and procedures, best practices, and recommendations related to media literacy. The bill requires the state board to review and adopt revisions that implement media literacy within reading, writing, and civics standards on or before June 30, 2021. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
A recent Colorado supreme court case held that in a civil action when an employer admits liability for the tortious actions of its employee, the plaintiff cannot assert additional claims against the employer arising out of the same incident. The bill allows a plaintiff to bring such claims against an employer. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the parent or legal guardian (parent) of a student who has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder, including epilepsy, (student) to submit a signed seizure action plan (plan) to the school if the student may need assistance with seizure-related care in a school setting. The parent is required to provide updated information to the plan when necessary. K-12 public schools are required to, and private schools are encouraged to, provide annual seizure-related training to school personnel who have direct contact with or supervise students who have a seizure disorder. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill directs the state auditor to contract with a public or private entity to conduct a performance audit of the statewide public education accountability and accreditation systems. The bill specifies the issues that the performance audit must address. By October 1, 2021, and following release by the legislative audit committee, the final report of the performance audit must be submitted to the commissioner of education, the state board of education, and the education committees of the general assembly. The bill specifies the authority of the state auditor to access records and information held by public schools, school districts, and the state charter school institute. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
In 2019, the general assembly authorized the division of youth services to expand a pilot program to implement therapeutic group treatment by adding an additional pilot program. Rather than expanding to 2 separate programs, the bill extends the term of the existing program and requires a final evaluation of the pilot program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, the state licensing authority is required to treat a metered-dose inhaler the same as a vaporized delivery device for purposes of regulation and testing. The bill repeals this provision. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law allows contributions to a qualified state tuition program, also known as a 529 account, so long as the distributions are used for qualified higher education expenses, with some exceptions, but not for elementary and secondary tuition expenses. The federal "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act", which became law in December 2017, qualified distributions for elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school tuition expenses. On the federal level, this allowed income tax-free distributions for certain elementary and secondary education expenses in addition to already authorized income tax-free distributions for higher education expenses. The bill makes similar changes to Colorado law to allow a deduction for contributions to qualified state tuition programs for elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school tuition expenses. Designating such expenses as qualified distributions ensures that a taxpayer does not encounter tax recapture of any claimed deductions when such contributions are distributed for elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school tuition expenses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires a staffing agency that places temporary and part-time employees with work-site employers to provide the employees specific information concerning the terms and conditions of employment. The information must be provided in writing before the end of the first pay period. The bill requires the staffing agency to post a notice in its workplace that includes the name and telephone number of the division of labor standards and statistics (division) in the department of labor and employment and a description of employees' rights to the receipt of the required terms and conditions of employment. A staffing agency and a work-site employer are prohibited from charging an employee: A fee for certain work-related expenses or deducting expenses from the employee's wages without authorization from the employee; The cost of required specific transportation services; or More than the actual cost of optional transportation. The bill prohibits a staffing agency from knowingly issuing, distributing, circulating, or providing false, fraudulent, or misleading information to an employee or applicant for employment and from refusing to refund fees or costs owed to the employee. The bill requires each staffing agency to annually register and pay a fee to the division. Each staffing agency is required to submit information to the division in a form and manner required by the division. The division is required to maintain a list of the registration status of each staffing agency on its website. Employers who use staffing agencies are required to verify whether the staffing agency is registered with the division. The division may assess a fine for a violation and may revoke or suspend the registration of a staffing agency for any violation. The division is authorized to promulgate rules, including rules that state the information that a staffing agency is required to submit to the division and that establish circumstances where a staffing agency's registration may be revoked or suspended. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the hospice and palliative care license plate for vehicles. A person is qualified to be issued the plate if the person makes a donation to a designated nonprofit organization. Portions of the fees for the issuance of the plate or a personalized version of the plate are credited to the highway users tax fund and the licensing services cash fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires a court to sentence an adult or a juvenile who is convicted as an adult who commits the felony offenses of possession of a weapon by a previous offender or unlawfully carrying a weapon on school grounds to the department of corrections for a term of incarceration. The bill clarifies that a sentence for a second or subsequent offense for possession of a weapon by a previous offender, when the weapon involved is a dangerous weapon or when the prior conviction or adjudication was for burglary, arson, or any felony involving the use of force or the use of a deadly weapon, runs consecutively with any prior sentences being served by the offender.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Upon the issuance of a protection order, the court shall: Require the person to state in court or complete an affidavit in court stating the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control and the location of all firearms in the person's immediate possession or control; Require the person to complete a firearm information form that states the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control or subject to the person's immediate possession or control, the type of each firearm, and the location of each firearm; and Transmit a copy of the protection order and the firearm information form to the sheriff of the county of the person's residence. The bill prohibits any full and truthful statements made to the court regarding the number of firearms in the person's immediate possession or control or subject to the person's immediate possession or control and the location of the firearms from being used against the person in any other civil or criminal proceedings. The bill excludes legal holidays and weekends from the current time frame a person has to relinquish a firearm. The bill allows a court to grant a person an additional 24 hours to relinquish a firearm if the person is unable to comply with the required time frame of relinquishment. Current law requires a person to either sell or transfer possession of the firearm, arrange for the storage of the firearm by a law enforcement agency, or sell or transfer the firearm to a private party who may legally possess the firearm. The bill requires a private party to complete a firearms acknowledgment form that informs the private party of the relevant state and federal laws, lists the consequences of noncompliance, and asks if the private party is able to legally possess a firearm. The bill prohibits the person from transferring the firearm to a private party living in the same residence as the person at the time of transfer. The bill requires the court to conduct a hearing to ensure the person has complied with the relinquishment requirements. Failure to appear at the hearing constitutes a violation of the protection order, and the court may issue a warrant for the person's arrest or a search warrant of the person's residence. The bill requires a person who does not possess a firearm at the time the order is issued to complete a declaration of nonpossession form in court. If the person possessed a firearm at the time of the qualifying incident giving rise to the duty to relinquish the firearm but sold or transferred the firearm to a private party prior to the issuance of the protection order, the person shall disclose the sale or transfer in court. The bill requires a federally licensed firearms dealer, law enforcement agency, or private party to issue a signed affidavit memorializing the sale or transfer of the firearm. The bill allows a law enforcement agency to enter into an agreement with any other law enforcement agency to assume the duties of the sheriff. If a law enforcement agency elects to store a firearm, the bill allows the law enforcement agency to seek a matching incentive fee from the department of public safety on an annual basis in an amount equal to the total amount charged by the agency for providing storage of a firearm. The matching fee must be used to maintain or increase firearm storage capacity. The bill requires a sheriff who elects to store a firearm to obtain a search warrant prior to testing or examining the firearm to facilitate any criminal investigation or prosecution. The bill prohibits a private party from returning a firearm to the person until the private party receives a written statement of the results of the background check conducted by the bureau authorizing the return of the firearm to the person. Current law requires a copy of the written receipt and the written statement of the background check to be filed with the court as proof of relinquishment. The bill requires the signed affidavit to be filed with the court instead of the receipt. Both the signed affidavit and written statement are only available for inspection by the court and the parties to the proceeding. A federally licensed firearms dealer, law enforcement agency, or private party that elects to store a firearm is not civilly liable for any resulting damages to the firearm, as long as such damage did not result from the willful and wrongful act or gross negligence of the person or agency storing the firearm. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill modifies the "Regional Transportation District Act" (Act) as follows: Provides factors for the regional transportation district (district) to consider in making decisions about services, route planning, and rates; Prohibits the district from discriminating against people with disabilities in the provision of transportation services and prohibits discrimination against an individual on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the provision of transportation services. A person who is the subject of a violation of the prohibition can bring a civil suit in state district court. Authorizes the transportation legislation review committee to review the district's compliance with the Act, requires the district to comply with requests for information, and requires the committee to hear public testimony concerning the district's compliance with the prohibitions on discrimination; Adds 2 additional voting board members to be appointed by the governor for 3-year terms, one to represent constituents with disabilities and one with experience in equitable transportation planning; Adds the state treasurer and the executive director of the department of transportation as nonvoting ex-officio members of the board; Establishes contribution limits in the "Fair Campaign Practices Act" for candidates for the board of directors of the district; Requires the board to meet monthly instead of quarterly and to live broadcast its meetings whenever practicable, requires members to be physically present to vote except in the case of a documented medical condition, allows the board to adopt procedures related to the removal of an elected or appointed member, and requires the board to adopt procedures to reduce the compensation of a member who is absent from the member's official duties; Allows the district to provide commercial and retail services at its facilities; Requires the state auditor to conduct audits of the district's pension plans and unfunded pension liability, the district's organization structure and compensation, and the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of the district's competitive vehicular services policies; Provides whistle-blower protections to employees of the district and of entities contracting with the district, includes the district within the scope of the state auditor's fraud hotline, makes the district's directors and certain employees subject to ethics requirements of the state constitution, and clarifies that the district is subject to existing codes of conduct for public employees; and Amends other provisions related to the administration of the district.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
