Rep. Shannon Bird

Under existing law, the department of corrections (department) shall submit a request related to changes in caseload to the joint budget committee by January 15. The act changes the deadline so that the department shall submit the request on or before January 10. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment (ASCENT) program is available to all qualified students who are designated to participate by their local education provider. The act: Starting in the 2025-26 state fiscal year, caps the number of qualified students who participate in the ASCENT program at the number of qualified students who participated in the ASCENT program in the 2024-25 state fiscal year; and Creates additional eligibility requirements to participate in the ASCENT program. The act requires the department of education to submit a report to the education committees of the house and the senate and the joint budget committee regarding the ASCENT program. Under current law, the district's total program formula includes funding for a district's extended high school pupil enrollment, determined by the district's number of pupils who are concurrently enrolled in a postsecondary course multiplied by a dollar amount that annually increases. Starting in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act amends the district's extended high school funding formula to cap the dollar amount that is multiplied by the district's ASCENT program students within the district's extended high school funding formula. For purposes of the act, the cash funds appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2024-25 state fiscal year is reduced by $1,081,762, and for the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $45,600 to the department of education. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law suspends certain provisions related to medicaid eligibility until June 1, 2024. The act extends the suspension of those provisions until January 1, 2025. The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to seek federal authorization to not require additional verification during a medicaid member's (member) eligibility reenrollment process if information about the member's income or assets is not verified through a federally approved electronic data source. For a member's income verification, the act authorizes the state department to use the information on file or the information that was originally collected during the application process to determine whether the member is eligible for reenrollment. The state department shall require additional income verification if information about a member's income is not verified through a federally approved electronic data source for 2 or more consecutive years or as specified through federal authorization. For a member's asset verification, the state department may complete the member's eligibility reenrollment process without any additional asset verification if there has been no change in the member's assets since the initial verification during the application process or as specified through federal authorization. The act authorizes the state department to seek federal authorization to delay a member's procedural termination during the reenrollment process to allow the member to continue receiving necessary services during the reenrollment process. The act authorizes the state department to apply this delay in procedural termination to a specific population or as specified through federal authorization. The act authorizes the state department to seek federal authorization to allow an applicant's or member's eligibility for reenrollment to be based on financial findings from the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the temporary assistance for needy families program, and other means-tested benefit programs administered through the Colorado benefits management system. The state department may apply financial eligibility for medicaid to individuals whose gross income program and assets for applicable means-tested benefit programs are below applicable medicaid limits, regardless of differences in household composition and income-counting rules between programs or as specified through federal authorization. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the period for which annual general fund transfers of $220,000 are made to the procurement technical assistance cash fund by 10 years so that the last transfer is made on July 1, 2034, rather than July 1, 2024. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the office of information technology (office) in the office of the governor to evaluate, or contract with a third party to evaluate, the information technology functions and services of the department of higher education (department) for the purpose of assessing possibilities for consolidating existing information technology functions and services with those information technology functions and services managed by the office, and if the evaluation shows that consolidation would be beneficial, create a proposed plan and accompanying budget for consolidating the department's information technology functions and services with those information technology functions and services managed by the office. The act appropriates $280,000 for the 2024-25 state fiscal year from the general fund to the governor's office for allocation to the office of the governor to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that the adjutant general, subject to appropriation by the general assembly, may disburse state money in order to: Promulgate regulations as may be ordered for the operation, care, and preservation of existing facilities and installations on all state military campgrounds and reservations; Keep in repair all state buildings and other improvements on campgrounds and military reservations of the state; or Rent, hire, purchase, take the conveyance of, and hold in trust for the use of the state such buildings, lands, tenements, and appurtenances thereof as may be from time to time deemed necessary for use by the National Guard. The act also clarifies that the purchase of buildings or other real property or any capital construction performed on real property purchased or held by the state for the use of the National Guard is subject to current law concerning legislative oversight of capital development. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $120,000 from the unused state-owned real property fund to the general fund on July 1, 2024.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill prohibits a court, without the consent of the district attorney, from releasing a person on any unsecured personal recognizance bond if the person is accused of committing a crime of violence and the court finds probable cause to believe that the person has committed the offense, and: The person has a record of conviction for a crime of violence within the prior 2 years; or There are at least 2 pending criminal charges against the person that allege that the person committed a crime of violence and the court finds probable cause to believe that the person has committed the prior alleged offenses (repeat violent offender). Existing law requires any monetary condition of pretrial release to be reasonable. The bill states that a reasonable monetary condition for a repeat violent offender is at least $7,500. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

In current law, the "Colorado Recreational Use Statute" (CRUS) protects landowners (owners) from liability resulting from the use of their lands by other individuals for recreational purposes. However, the CRUS does not limit an owner's liability for injuries or death resulting from the owner's willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a known dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity likely to cause harm (willful or malicious failure). The act states that under such circumstances, an owner does not commit a willful or malicious failure if: Prior to the injury or death, the owner posts a warning sign at the primary access point where the individual entered the land, which sign satisfies certain criteria; The owner maintains photographic or other evidence of each such sign; and The dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity that caused the injury or death is described by the sign. The act requires an individual who accesses land for recreational purposes to stay on the designated recreational trail, route, area, or roadway unless the owner expressly allows otherwise, or be deemed a trespasser. Currently, the CRUS states that "owner" includes the possessor of any interest in land. The act clarifies that "owner" includes a possessor or holder of a conservation easement. The act states that the CRUS may not be construed to limit an owner's ability to restrict or prohibit the use of the owner's land for any recreational purposes. The act also updates certain archaic language within the CRUS. APPROVED by Governor March 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The general assembly recognizes that the actual funded pupil count and the at-risk pupil count for the 2023-24 budget year are higher than expected when the appropriation amount for the state share of total program funding was established during the 2023 legislative session, resulting in an increase in total program funding for the 2023-24 budget year. In addition, local property tax revenue and specific ownership tax revenue are higher than anticipated, resulting in an increase in the local share of total program funding for the 2023-24 budget year. The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain the budget stabilization factor at the amount of the original appropriation for the 2023-24 budget year. The act decreases the appropriation for the state share of total program funding by $23,964,790 in cash funds from the state education fund and adjusts the 2023-24 state fiscal year long bill accordingly. APPROVED by Governor March 8, 2024 EFFECTIVE March 8, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)