Rep. Sheila Lieder

Maddy summaryHouse Joint Resolution 25-1024 authorizes the installation of a memorial on the State Capitol Grounds to honor the victims of the Sand Creek Massacre of November 29, 1864. The bill designates the former location of the "Union Soldier" statue on the west grounds of the capitol as the appropriate site for this memorial. Its purpose is to respect and memorialize the Cheyenne and Arapaho people and their ancestors, promote cross-cultural understanding, and educate the public about the massacre.

Maddy summaryHouse Joint Memorial 25-1001 serves to memorialize former Representative Rodney Bockenfeld, who passed away on February 13, 2025, at the age of 69. The resolution pays tribute to his years of dedicated public service as both an Arapahoe County Commissioner and a State Representative and extends sympathy to his family.

Maddy summaryHouse Joint Resolution 25-1022 designates May 2025 as "Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month" in Colorado. This resolution, affecting motorcycle riders and all motorists, aims to promote safety through education and training and encourages motorists to "share the road."

The act clarifies that requirements for out-of-state telehealth providers do not alter or limit the rights and protections afforded to a person concerning a legally protected health-care activity. Current law requires a prescription drug label to include the name of the prescribing practitioner. At the practitioner's request, the act authorizes a prescription label for mifepristone, misoprostol, and the generic alternatives to those prescriptions to include only the name of the prescribing health-care practice instead of the name of the practitioner, provided the practitioner includes the name of the health-care practice on the paper or electronic form of the prescription. The act requires any person requesting a subpoena to affirm under penalty of perjury that the subpoena: Is not related to, and any information obtained will not be used in, any investigation or proceeding that seeks to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions against a person or entity that engaged in or attempted or intended to engage in a legally protected health-care activity or that provided insurance coverage for gender-affirming health-care services or reproductive health care; or Is related to such an investigation or proceeding, but the investigation or proceeding is brought under tort law or contract law by the person who engaged in or attempted or intended to engage in a legally protected health-care activity, gender-affirming health-care services, or reproductive health care, and is actionable in an equivalent or similar manner under Colorado law. If a person or entity brings an out-of-state civil or criminal action, or attempts to enforce any order or judgment issued in connection with an action, against another person or entity for engaging in or attempting or intending to engage in a legally protected health-care activity or for providing insurance coverage for gender-affirming health-care services or reproductive health care, the person or entity subject to the out-of-state civil or criminal action has a private right of action against the person or entity and may institute a civil action in district court within 6 years after the date the out-of-state action is commenced or enforcement is attempted. Current law authorizes a private person to arrest a person without a warrant upon reasonable information that the person is charged in another state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The act creates an exception if the person is charged in another state for engaging in a legally protected health-care activity in Colorado. Current law prohibits a public agency from expending government resources or providing information or data in furtherance of any out-of-state investigation or proceeding seeking to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanction upon a person or entity for engaging in a legally protected health-care activity. The act expands the prohibition to include public entities, which include state and local governments, and a person or entity licensed or regulated by the state. The act grants the attorney general the authority to enforce the provisions of the act. The act prohibits the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) from collecting a patient's name, date of birth, address, employer, spouse's name, or parent's or legal guardian's name, or the city or town where the termination of pregnancy occurred, as part of any required reporting of induced terminations of pregnancy. Reports of induced terminations of pregnancy collected by CDPHE must only be used for compilation of statistical reports, must not be incorporated into the official records of the office of the state registrar of vital statistics, and are confidential. The state registrar is required to dispose of any reports of induced terminations of pregnancy when all statistical processing of the reports is complete. A person who releases or discloses confidential information related to reporting of induced terminations of pregnancy commits a data privacy breach. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

During the 2024 general election, Colorado voters approved Amendment 79, which: Repealed the state constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of public funds to pay for abortions; and Added a state constitutional amendment recognizing the right to an abortion and prohibiting Colorado state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, including prohibiting health insurance companies from excluding coverage for abortion. The act makes conforming changes to state law relating to abortion care as a result of Amendment 79. Current law requires the executive director of the department of health care policy and financing to authorize medicaid reimbursement for family-planning-related services. The act expands the definition of "family-planning-related services" to include abortion care. The act requires the medical services board to include abortion care in the schedule of health-care services available for pregnant persons enrolled in the children's basic health plan. $2,928,800 is appropriated to the department of health care policy and financing from the general fund for other medical services, including abortion care. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

On July 1, 2025, and on July 1 of each year thereafter through July 1, 2034, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer $15 million from the local government severance tax fund to the public safety communications trust fund (trust fund). The money in the trust fund must be used to support the digital trunked radio system, including site-supporting infrastructure and supporting software and hardware. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires a facility that uses animals for health-related research (health-related research facility) to offer a dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue for the purpose of adoption before euthanizing the animal. If the health-related research facility has an internal adoption program, the facility may first offer the dog or cat for adoption through the internal adoption program before offering the dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue. A health-related research facility that acts in good faith to transfer or adopt out a dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue is immune from civil liability for acts or circumstances related to or resulting from the transfer or internal adoption of the dog or cat. A health-related research facility must submit an annual report to the department of agriculture that includes the following information for the previous year: The total number of dogs and cats that the health-related research facility transferred to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue for the purpose of adoption; The total number of dogs and cats that the health-related research facility adopted out through an internal adoption program; and The name and address of each animal shelter or pet animal rescue to which the health-related research facility transferred a dog or cat for the purpose of adoption.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Prohibits a person from offering, displaying, or advertising pricing information for a good, service, or property unless the person clearly and conspicuously discloses the maximum total (total price) of all amounts that a person may pay for the good, service, or property, not including a government charge or shipping charge unless voluntarily included (total price disclosure requirement); Prohibits a person from misrepresenting the nature and purpose of pricing information for a good, service, or property; Requires a person to clearly and conspicuously disclose the nature and purpose of pricing information for a good, service, or property that is not part of the total price; and Prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay certain fees, charges, or amounts or including in a written rental agreement a provision that requires the tenant to pay a fee, charge, or amount that is prohibited by the act. A person complies with the disclosure requirements if the person does not use deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable acts or practices related to the pricing of goods, services, or property and if the person: Is a food and beverage service establishment that includes a disclosure in the total price for a good or service the amount of any mandatory service charge and how the mandatory service charge is distributed; Can demonstrate that the total price of services the person offers is indeterminate at the time of the offer and clearly and conspicuously discloses the factors that determine the total price, any mandatory fees associated with the transaction, and that the total price may vary; Can demonstrate that the person is governed by and compliant with applicable federal law, rule, or regulation regarding pricing transparency for the particular transaction at issue; Can demonstrate that any fees, costs, or amounts in addition to the total price are associated with real estate settlement services and are not broker commissions or fees; Can demonstrate that the person is providing broadband internet access service or is a cable operator or broadcast satellite provider and is compliant with specified federal law; or Is a delivery network company that clearly and conspicuously discloses that an additional flat fee, variable fee, or percentage fee is charged, any mandatory fees associated with the transaction, and that the total price for the services may vary and complies with other requirements related to disclosure of the additional fee. A landlord or landlord's agent is not required to include, in the required disclosure, the actual amount charged for utility services provided to a tenant's dwelling unit. Additionally, a person is exempt from the act if the person is governed by federal law that preempts state law. A violation of the act constitutes a deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable act or practice and is subject to penalties under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act". In addition to any other remedies available by law or in equity, in a dispute regarding property, a person aggrieved by a violation may send a written demand to the alleged violator: For reimbursement of any fee, charge, or amount unlawfully imposed and for any actual damages suffered; or To notify the alleged violator of their refusal to pay a prohibited fee, charge, or amount unlawfully imposed. If an alleged violator declines to make full legal tender of all fees, charges, amounts, or damages demanded or refuses to cease charging the aggrieved person within 14 days after receiving the written demand, the person is liable for actual damages plus 18% interest, compounded annually. The attorney general may adopt rules to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a "preneed contract" is a contract, agreement, or mutual understanding, or any security or other instrument that is convertible into a contract, agreement, or mutual understanding, whereby, upon the death of the preneed contract beneficiary, a final resting place, merchandise, or services are provided or performed in connection with the final disposition of the beneficiary's body. The act states that a preneed contract does not include a transportation protection agreement, which is an agreement that primarily provides for the coordination and arrangement, by a third party that is not a general provider, of services related to: The preparation of human remains for the purpose of transportation; or The transportation of human remains. The act also makes it a deceptive trade practice under the "Colorado Consumer Protection Act" as well as an unlawful act under the "Mortuary Science Code" for a funeral director to commit theft of money that a client or prospective client paid for funeral services. The act also changes the date by which an applicant for a provisional funeral director, mortuary science practitioner, embalmer, cremationist, or natural reductionist license must demonstrate at least 4,000 hours of work experience from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires each institution of higher education (institution) in Colorado to create and adopt a policy and a process to support the ability of an admitted or enrolled student with a disability (student) to voluntarily self-disclose the student's disability and to engage in an interactive process with the institution to receive an academic adjustment. The adopted policy must, at a minimum, include information that: Describes the institution's process to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Outlines documentation that the institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Provides information on the available disability resources and academic adjustments provided to students with disabilities; and Describes an appeals process for academic adjustment decisions that focuses on documentary review. Each institution shall publish the policy on the institution's website in an accessible format. The act describes the type of documentation that an institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)