The act continues the early childhood leadership commission (commission) housed in the department of early childhood for 5 years, repealing on September 1, 2030. Before its repeal, the commission is subject to a sunset review. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state board of health (board) to allow the Colorado youth advisory council (council) to present to the board twice a year on issues regarding the youth opioid epidemic and other health issues. The act also allows the council to consult the prevention services division within the department of public health and environment during the stakeholding process for rule-making regarding opioid antagonists. Under current law, a school district, the state charter school institute, or a governing board of a nonpublic school may adopt and implement a policy that allows: A school to acquire and maintain a stock supply of opioid antagonists on school grounds or on a school bus; A school employee or agent who has received relevant training to administer an opioid antagonist to a person who is at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose; and A school employee or agent to furnish an opioid antagonist to any individual, including a student, if the student has received relevant training. The act: Permits a school to maintain an opioid antagonist in an automated external defibrillator or defibrillator cabinet in the school or on a school bus; Repeals the requirement that a school employee or agent must receive training prior to administering an opioid antagonist; and Creates an exception that a school employee or agent may furnish an opioid antagonist to a student who has not received relevant training if the employee or agent believes that the student is in a position to assist an individual who is suffering from an opioid-related drug overdose event or who is at risk of experiencing an opioid-related drug overdose event. Current law provides a specific list of eligible entities that a prescriber may prescribe or dispense an opioid antagonist to. The act eliminates the specific list and instead requires the state board of health to establish a list of eligible entities that a prescriber may prescribe or dispense an opioid antagonist to. The act permits a standing order allowing all eligible entities to distribute opioid antagonists. The act requires the department of public health and environment to furnish a report detailing youth overdose prevention during "SMART Act" hearings. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes changes to the "Dental Practice Act" (act) by: Continuing the act for 9 years, until 2034; Updating and adding definitions; Changing the membership of the Colorado dental board (board); Adding to and updating the grounds for which the board may take disciplinary action against an applicant for licensure or a licensee; Allowing a licensee's submission to a mental or physical examination to satisfy the requirement to notify the board of a condition that may impair the licensee's ability to practice; Adding as exemptions to the act the volunteer practice of dental therapy and dental hygiene under specific conditions; Subjecting dentistry practiced by a professional service corporation to certain limits and requirements; Repealing exceptions that allow a dental therapist, dental hygienist, or dental assistant to perform certain dentistry practices and including additional tasks in the practice of dentistry; Clarifying that a dental assistant, dental hygienist, or dental therapist may perform tasks consistent with rules adopted by the board; Requiring a provider who performs itinerant surgery to develop and maintain protocols for emergency follow-up care; Clarifying the authority of a licensed dentist to prescribe orders electronically; Requiring a peer health assistance program selected as a designated provider for the dentist peer health assistance program to provide training to dentists who practice monitoring services; Authorizing a dentist to self-refer to participate in a peer health assistance program or be referred by the board; Removing a requirement that dental therapy education schools and programs must be accredited or approved by a specific entity; Requiring the board to adopt rules that allow for expedited, temporary licensure during a declared disaster emergency; Regulating anesthesia inspectors and requiring the board to design and implement expedited permitting of dentists with certain anesthesia or sedation training; Updating the business information a licensee must provide to the board and the circumstances under which providing the information is required; Repealing specific tasks that are currently authorized to be performed by a dental hygienist; Updating procedures for the construction of dental devices by an unlicensed technician; Updating the list of practices that are considered to be the practice of unsupervised dental hygiene; Repealing the specific dosages of certain drugs that a dental hygienist may prescribe; Authorizing the board to adopt rules that identify safe prescribing alternatives to silver diamine fluoride as a treatment for strengthening teeth and preventing tooth decay; Identifying tasks that constitute practicing supervised dental hygiene; Requiring a dental hygienist performing an interim therapeutic restoration to confirm a referral for follow-up care with a dentist; Limiting the number of dental hygienists or dental therapists that a dentist may supervise; and Authorizing a dental therapist to perform specific tasks.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act includes a performance metric related to workplace violence in determining quality incentive payments made to hospitals. No later than September 1, 2025, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) and the quality incentives payments subcommittee of the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise board (board) to consult with a group of named stakeholders to develop recommended workplace violence metrics, determine whether any federal or private funds are available to assist hospitals in lowering the number of incidents of workplace violence, and develop legislative recommendations. The act requires the state department to include a progress report on developing workplace violence metrics during its 2026 "SMART Act" hearing. The act requires the board to include legislative recommendations it develops as part of its January 2027 report to the general assembly, the governor, and the medical services board. Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July thereafter, the act requires the state department to assess whether each hospital has adopted a formal policy to address workplace violence and submitted the reporting requirements to the department of public health and environment for the next federal fiscal year. The act exempts hospitals with fewer than 100 beds from the reporting requirements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a person or entity that acquires an automated external defibrillator (AED) to develop written plans for the placement, use, and maintenance of the AED (written plans). The act eliminates the requirements that the written plans: Identify personnel authorized to use the AED; and Be reviewed and approved by a licensed physician. The act imposes requirements for cardiac emergency preparedness for public and nonpublic schools. Beginning on or before January 1, 2026, a local education provider shall require each public school that acquires or has acquired an AED to place and maintain the AED in accordance with nationally recognized, evidence-based standards for emergency cardiovascular care, and the governing authority of a nonpublic school shall require each nonpublic school that acquires or has acquired an AED to place and maintain the AED in accordance with the same standards. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-015 designates a specific portion of Colorado State Highway 58 as the "Officer Evan A. Dunn Memorial Highway." This action honors Officer Evan A. Dunn, a Golden Police Department officer who died in the line of duty. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations for the initial placement of memorial signs and to explore a cooperative agreement with the City of Golden for their maintenance.
The act requires, on or before July 1, 2026, the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind, and each institute charter school, district charter school, and a local board of education for its schools that are not district charter schools, to adopt, implement, and post on its website a policy concerning student communication device possession and use during the school day. At a minimum, the policy must describe the prohibitions and exceptions, if any, regarding student communication device possession and use during the school day. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act expands the veterans mental health services program to provide grants to local nonprofit organizations to establish and expand community behavioral health programs that provide behavioral health services to service members, veterans, and family members of service members and veterans. The act reduces the reappropriated funds appropriation made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health services by $5,000,000; except that the reduction is not made if: The amount of reappropriated funds made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health is less than $5,000,000; or The long bill does not include an appropriation to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes the tuition assistance program for eligible members of the Colorado National Guard (member) to a tuition waiver program (program). The act allows a member, upon being accepted for enrollment at a designated institution of higher education (institution), to pursue studies that lead to a postgraduate degree, a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, or a certificate of completion with all tuition waived. For a member, the tuition waiver must not exceed more than 65 credit hours at a designated 2-year institution of higher education and no more than 130 credit hours at a designated 4-year institution of higher education; except that the total credit hours for a member who attends both a 2-year institution and a 4-year institution must not exceed more than 145 credit hours. The department of military and veterans affairs (department) shall administer the program. In order to qualify for the program, a member must: Be accepted by an institution; Be in good standing with the Colorado National Guard; and Complete a Colorado application for state financial aid or a free application for federal student aid. Each institution shall determine if a member enrolled with the institution remains in satisfactory academic standing in accordance with the academic policies of the institution and is making progress toward the completion of the requirements of the education program in which the member is enrolled. If the institution finds that the member is not in satisfactory academic standing in accordance with the academic policies of the institution or is not making progress toward the completion of a degree, the member must reimburse the department for the amount of the tuition waived for that academic term. The act makes an appropriation of $562,787 to the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a parent who wants to relinquish their child must satisfy certain requirements. If the parent who wants to relinquish their child is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished, the act: Allows the relinquishment petitioner (petitioner) to provide the juvenile court with documentation concerning the sexual assault or conception, including a sworn affidavit; Exempts the petitioner from having to satisfy certain relinquishment requirements if the court finds that the petitioner is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished; and Exempts the petitioner of all legal obligations they may have with respect to the child if the court grants a final order of relinquishment. On or before January 1, 2026, the state court administrator shall develop a, or modify an existing, standardized form for a petitioner to file to terminate another person's parent-child legal relationship because the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
