The act prohibits a peer support team member from disclosing, without the consent of the recipient of peer support (recipient), the confidential communications made by the recipient during a peer support interaction, with specified exceptions. With respect to an exception for which disclosure is permissible, a peer support team member who discloses or does not disclose a communication with a recipient is not liable for damages in a civil action for disclosing or not disclosing the communication. The act expands an exception allowing specified mental health professionals to disclose confidential information when a recipient makes a threat against an individual or themself or makes a threat that, if carried out, would result in harm to an individual or themself. In addition, a peer support team member is exempted from the prohibition on disclosure established by the act if: The peer support team member was a witness or a party to the incident that prompted the delivery of peer support services; A recipient admits to committing a crime or provides information pertaining to the recipient or another individual that is indicative of criminal conduct; Criteria related to an individual's participation as a witness in a court proceeding are met; or A recipient makes a threat involving damage or destruction of private or public property.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal authorization to determine a member's eligibility for reenrollment without checking federally approved electronic data sources or requesting additional information if the member's income consists solely of social security income or another source of stable income or assets or if the member's income or assets have not changed since the initial verification during the application process. The act requires the department to modify the questions asked by medical professionals when verifying a member's need for long-term services and supports and allows a treating licensed medical professional who has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with a member to sign the documentation necessary to verify a member's need for long-term services and supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the legislative recommendations of the child support commission by: Updating the child support guidelines schedule; Updating the monthly incomes eligible for a reduced low-income adjustment; and Replacing the current parenting time credit with a formula that provides parents credit for all overnights spent with that parent. The act appropriates $137,250 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services to the department of human services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known or determined to be Indian children under state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act excludes from the statewide managed care program (program) services for medicaid members in a qualified residential treatment program or a psychiatric residential treatment facility and in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services until July 1, 2026. The act excludes from the program residential child health-care program services in counties that have a written agreement regarding services. No later than December 1, 2025, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF), in collaboration with the department of human services, the behavioral health administration, and relevant stakeholders, to develop policies to transition qualified residential treatment programs and psychiatric residential treatment facilities to the statewide managed care system for medicaid members who are in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services (policies). The act requires HCPF to implement the policies no later than July 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates 2 income tax subtractions for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2027, but before January 1, 2038. The first subtraction is for an amount equal to state capital gains that are realized by a taxpayer, who is the owner of a qualified business, during the taxable year for the conversion by an increment of at least 20% ownership to a qualified employee-owned business. The taxpayers that are eligible for this subtraction are the same taxpayers that would be eligible for the tax credit for conversion costs for employee business ownership. The total amount of capital gains that a taxpayer may subtract is set by and may be annually adjusted by the Colorado office of economic development (office), and is required to be posted on the office's website. The second subtraction is allowed to worker-owned cooperatives in an amount equal to the worker-owned cooperative's federal taxable income for the tax year not to exceed $1 million. The act also makes changes to the tax credit for conversion or expansion costs for employee business ownership (credit), which has been available through income tax year 2026. The act extends the credit through income tax years commencing in 2031. The act also specifies that the aggregate amount of credits that can be claimed for each income tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2026, but before January 1, 2032, is $3 million. The act also increases the percentage of conversion or expansion costs that are eligible to be claimed for the credit from 50% to 75% beginning in tax year 2026 while maintaining the existing dollar caps for the different methods of conversion. Additionally, the act revises several definitions to expand eligibility for the credit and allows for qualified support entities, which are businesses or nonprofit organizations that provide services to businesses that qualify under the credit so that those businesses can convert or expand to employee ownership, to be eligible to receive the credit for up to 75% of the costs incurred for providing such support, not to exceed $167,000, including for staff salaries and benefits, marketing and outreach, and consulting and technical assistance. Support costs exclude any costs that are considered conversion or expansion costs that can be claimed in the credit for employee business ownership. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
With regard to the family and medical leave insurance program (program), the act extends the duration of paid family and medical leave, up to an additional 12 weeks, for a parent who has a child receiving inpatient care in a neonatal intensive care unit. The act also changes the premiums financing the program benefits by extending the current premium amount, 0.9% of wages per employee, through 2025 and setting the premium amount for the 2026 calendar year at 0.88% of wages per employee. For each subsequent calendar year, the director of the division of family and medical leave insurance (director) is required set the premium on or before September 1 of the preceding year, in a manner such that: At the end of the year, the balance of the family and medical leave insurance fund (fund) is not less than 6 months' worth of projected expenditures from the fund required for performance of the functions and duties of the director; The volatility of the premium rate is minimized; and The premium amount does not exceed 1.2% of wages per employee.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law gives a trial court judge 91 days from the day a conviction enters in a criminal case to order restitution, which is the monetary loss a victim suffers due to a defendant's criminal conduct, in a criminal case. The act grants the prosecuting attorney 63 days to submit restitution information to the trial court judge following a conviction if the information is not available on the day a conviction enters, and then grants the trial court judge an additional 63 days following the submission of restitution information to order restitution after it receives the information from the prosecuting attorney. The act applies to defendants sentenced on or after the act's effective date. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds statutory protections for in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive health-care procedures. Current law requires gamete banks and fertility clinics (donor banks) to maintain donor identifying information and update it every 3 years. The act requires donor banks to encourage donors to inform the donor banks of significant updates to the donor's medical history after the donor made a donation. The donor bank is then required to document that significant medical history update. Current law prohibits donor banks from interfering with an adult donor-conceived person communicating about the gamete donor with the donor-conceived person's friends, family, or other third parties. The act encourages donor banks to provide information to donor-conceived persons regarding the physical and emotional risks associated with releasing a donor's private information to outside parties. The act repeals certain provisions relating to gamete donor record stewardship in the event of donor bank dissolution, bankruptcy, or insolvency and eliminates the requirement that donor banks inform a recipient parent about future implications about a gamete donor's medical history or other persons conceived using the same gamete donor. Current law requires the department of public health and environment (department) to draft written materials that must be provided to individuals prior to donating or receiving gametes. The act maintains that requirement, but does not require donor banks to use the department's written material. Donor banks are permitted to develop their own written materials to meet the statutory requirement of providing certain information to an individual prior to donating or receiving gametes. The act eliminates the department's ability to perform on-site inspections or perform in-person investigations on donor banks located outside the state. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act removes the term "homosexuality" from the definition of sexual conduct in the sexually explicit materials harmful to children part of the "Colorado Criminal Code". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)