The act allows the forest service to issue forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grants for projects on federal lands, so long as the project maintains continuity across a landscape including federal lands and the area of federal lands does not exceed the combined area of the nonfederal lands involved in the project.The act increases the amount that the forest service may use for the direct and indirect costs in administering the forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grant program from 3% to 7% of any amounts appropriated in any fiscal year.The act allows for the technical advisory panel that evaluates the proposals for forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grants to scale up and down in size.The act expands the allowable uses of the forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grant program by allowing the grant program to fund capacity-building efforts to provide local governments, community groups, and collaborative forestry groups with the resources and staffing necessary to plan and implement forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation projects, including community and partner outreach and engagement, identifying priority project areas, prescription planning, and acquiring community equipment for use by landowners.The act allows for the forest service to hire nontemporary additional field capacity to support the implementation and monitoring of fuels mitigation grant awards and wildfire risk mitigation program grant awards and to hire full-time, nontemporary staff for developing, revising, and implementing community wildfire protection plans and collaborative landscape level prioritization plans; developing and implementing risk mitigation and watershed restoration plans; strengthening the responsible use of prescribed fire; and supporting economically beneficial uses of woody biomass.The act also creates 2 funds. First, the act creates the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund. Money from the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund is continuously appropriated to the department of natural resources to support a number of wildfire related areas administered by the department. Second, the act creates the hazard mitigation fund to assist local jurisdictions in obtaining the matching funds required for certain federal hazard mitigation grants.Finally, the act requires the following immediate transfers:$5 million from the general fund to the healthy forests and vibrant communities fund; $2.5 million from the general fund to the wildfire risk mitigation revolving fund for loans issued by the wildfire risk mitigation loan program; $17.5 million from the general fund to the wildfire mitigation capacity development fund; $3 million from the wildfire preparedness fund to the hazard mitigation fund; and $600,000 from the wildfire preparedness fund and $1.2 million from the Colorado firefighting air corps fund to the wildfire emergency response fund for both the 2020-2021 fiscal year and the 2021-2022 fiscal year.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act transfers $5 million from the general fund to the local government severance tax fund for the purpose of funding grants to local governments for renewable and clean energy infrastructure implementation projects. The grants must be made by August 15, 2021, or as soon as possible thereafter, and the department of local affairs, which makes the grants, is required to report to the general assembly regarding the grants during its 2022 annual "SMART Act" presentation to legislative committees of reference. $5 million is appropriated from the local government severance tax fund to the division of local government of the department of local affairs for state fiscal year 2020-21 so that the division can make the grants, and any of the money not expended before July 1, 2021, is further appropriated to the division for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 state fiscal years for the same purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act enacts the recommendations of the Colorado child support commission concerning the establishment, calculation, and enforcement of child support, including:Technical amendments to clarify changes made to the child support guidelines pursuant to House Bill 19-1215 relating to a missing component of the schedule of basic child support obligations and clarifications relating to calculation of support; Defines the terms "child" and "parent" for purposes of commencing actions concerning the allocation of parental responsibilities and clarifies that the court shall determine legal parentage and join all necessary parties to the action; Reduces the interest rate on unpaid child support; Eliminates outdated provisions of the income assignment statute and brings the statute in compliance with federal law; Clarifies notice requirements for income assignments and requires an employer to report and withhold from lump sum payments; Clarifies that both the dependency and neglect court and the paternity and child support court have concurrent jurisdiction to address issues of parentage; Removes a limitation on the amount of the increase for orders increasing support filed by the child support enforcement agency against an obligor for whom income information is not available; Requires life insurance settlements to be reported to the child support enforcement agency commencing January 1, 2022; and Adds contract employee to the state directory of new hires for child support enforcement purposes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the medical professional collecting medical evidence for a rape kit to inform the rape victim of the contact information for the nearest sexual assault victim's advocate or confidential victim's advocate, the length of time that medical evidence must be preserved, and the victim's right to be notified of the destruction of the medical evidence.The act creates the following rights, upon request, for a victim of a sex crime:The right to be notified that evidence has been submitted for testing; The right to be notified when the law enforcement agency has received the results of the analysis; The right to be informed of whether a DNA sample was obtained from the analysis and whether or not there are matches to DNA profiles in state or federal databases; The right to be informed at least 60 days prior to the destruction of forensic medical evidence collected in connection with the alleged sex offense; The right to file, prior to the expiration of the 60-day period, an objection to the destruction of the forensic medical evidence; The right to be informed of any change in status of the case, including if the case has been closed or reopened; and The right to receive a physical document identifying the victim's rights under law after the exam has been completed. The act directs a law enforcement agency to maintain the medical evidence until the statute of limitation has run on the crime and for an additional 10 years if the victim objects to its destruction.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act continues the "Athletic Trainer Practice Act" (practice act) and the licensing of athletic trainers by the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies for 10 years, until 2031. The act also makes the following substantive changes to the practice act:Allows athletic trainers to practice only under the supervision of a licensed physician or physician assistant; Broadens the range of available disciplinary measures to include letters of admonition, confidential letters of concern, and probationary periods; Imposes a 2-year waiting period before an athletic trainer whose license has been revoked or who has surrendered a license in lieu of disciplinary proceedings may reapply for a license; and Updates the grounds for discipline based on alcohol or drug use to conform to current standards and terminology.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the "Traveling Animal Protection Act" (Act), which prohibits a person from causing the performance of specified animals, such as whales, dolphins, wild cats, marsupials, nonhuman primates, rhinoceroses, seals, elephants, large birds, penguins, and bears, in a traveling animal act. The Act exempts the use of livestock and alternative livestock.The Act also exempts the use of the specified animals by or at:Wildlife sanctuaries; Nonmobile, permanent institutions, facilities, zoos, and aquariums; Environmental education programs; Universities, colleges, laboratories, and other research facilities conducting research; Film and television productions; Rodeos; and County fairs. A person who violates the act commits a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine ranging from $250 to $1,000 per violation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the department of education (department) to identify educational products, strategies, and services that have demonstrated effectiveness in identifying and reversing student learning loss that has been caused by the suspension of in-person learning. The department must create and maintain a resource bank of examples of educational products, explanations of and instructions for implementing strategies and educational services, and models of professional development programs related to using the products and implementing the strategies and services. School districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools (local education providers) may submit information to the department concerning products, strategies, and services that they have used with success, and the department must include them in the resource bank. The department must also provide information concerning public or private nonprofit entities that local education providers may work with in providing student support. The act also directs the department, to the extent possible within existing resources, to provide technical assistance to local education providers upon request.The act recognizes the amount of federal COVID-relief money that the department is expected to receive and encourages the department to use as much as possible of the amount received to fund learning recovery initiatives. The act requires the department to prepare a report concerning the department's use of the federal money received and submit the report to the education committees of the general assembly and post the report on the department's website.The act directs the board of cooperative services that administers the statewide supplemental online and blended learning program (administering BOCES) to partner with local education providers for delivery of supplemental online learning recovery courses for students in elementary and secondary schools. The administering BOCES and local education providers are also directed to partner with nonprofit entities and community-based organizations to expand the availability of, and students' access to, supplemental online learning recovery courses. The administering BOCES and the local education providers must provide information concerning the availability of the learning recovery courses and other supplemental online courses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the "Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act" (act). The act:Establishes eligibility requirements for entering into surrogacy agreements (agreements) and required elements of agreements; Contains provisions governing the termination of agreements and the effect of a death or a change in marital status of any of the parties to such agreements; Authorizes court orders recognizing and enforcing agreements; Specifies the duties of persons under agreements; Authorizes court orders determining parentage; and Creates new definitions for agreements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a provider of services related to child and youth out-of-home placement (service provider) to provide fair and equal access to all available programs, benefits, and services offered by the service provider. Services related to out-of-home placement must be provided in a manner that is culturally responsive to the complex social identity of the child or youth receiving such services.A service provider is prohibited from denying any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent, or delaying or denying the placement of a child or youth for adoption or into foster care, on the basis of the real or perceived disability, race, creed, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, or any communicable disease, including HIV, of the prospective adoptive or foster parent or the child unless the delay or denial of the placement is not detrimental to the health or welfare of the child or youth.The act requires that foster parent training include instruction on the right of a foster child or youth to have fair and equal access to all available services and other health and educational services available to foster children and foster youth, including siblings in foster care.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law allows specific entities to purchase opiate antagonists through the opiate antagonist bulk purchase fund (fund) and also allows specific entities to receive opiate antagonists pursuant to standing orders and protocols. The act aligns these sections of law so that:A unit of local government may purchase opiate antagonists through the fund pursuant to a standing order and protocol; and A harm reduction organization, law enforcement agency, or first responder to which opiate antagonists have been prescribed or dispensed through a standing order and protocol may purchase the opiate antagonists through the fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)