Effective January 1, 2028, the act repeals a requirement that requires motor-vehicle license plates to be retired and reissued in certain circumstances and authorizes the owner to transfer the plates to a new motor vehicle. The act requires the department of revenue (department) to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive contingency plan to ensure continuity of operations and the protection of critical services in the event of a disruption in vehicle licensing operations. Standards are set for the contingency plan. The governor's office of information technology must provide the appropriate network and equipment support to the department. To implement this act, $18,170 is appropriated to the department from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act creates the Colorado behavior analyst licensing board (board) under the direction and supervision of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies. On and after July 1, 2028, an individual is prohibited from engaging in or offering the practice of applied behavior analysis unless the individual is licensed by the board. The board is authorized to license behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts if they meet the requirements specified by the act and the rules adopted by the board pursuant to the act. An individual who seeks to practice as a behavior analyst or assistant behavior analyst must meet the following requirements:File an application for a license;Have a valid certification in good standing with a certifying entity;Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history record check;Carry professional liability insurance in an amount determined by the board by rule unless working as a public employee covered under governmental immunity; andIf the individual seeks to practice as an assistant behavior analyst, be supervised by a licensed behavior analyst and practice within the scope of practice established by rules of the board. The board may deny or refuse to renew a license, suspend or revoke a license, impose probationary conditions on a license, or issue a cease-and-desist letter or seek injunctive relief against a licensee or an applicant for licensure who has engaged in specified grounds for discipline or unprofessional conduct. The board may also send a licensee a letter of admonition or a confidential letter of concern under certain circumstances. The act exempts specified individuals from the licensing requirements established by the act. An individual who practices or offers or attempts to practice as a behavior analyst or assistant behavior analyst without being licensed pursuant to the act and who is not exempted from licensure commits a class 2 misdemeanor. The board may adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. The regulation of behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts is scheduled for repeal on September 1, 2031. Before the repeal, the functions of the board in regulating applied behavior analysis are scheduled for review in accordance with the sunset law. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to reimburse an applied behavior analysis provider for applied behavior analysis services provided by a behavior technician certified by a certifying entity to a medicaid member with autism spectrum disorder or other conditions for which coverage may be available under state department policies. Subject to federal approval, the state department shall reimburse the applicable applied behavior analysis provider for applied behavior analysis services provided by a behavior technician who is required by the state department to be certified by a certifying entity, but is not certified at the time of services, for services provided during one temporary period of not less than 45 days while the behavior technician is pursuing the certification if specified conditions are met. The department of human services (department) is required to prescribe and publish standards for the licensing and regulation of applied behavior analysis clinics (clinics). The department is authorized to adopt rules concerning specific subjects related to standards for clinics. Clinics are required to comply with specified requirements regarding local government zoning regulations, licensing fees, and qualifications for employees of the clinics. The act changes the definition of 'day treatment center' to 'day treatment facility' and requires that facilities that were not subject to the definition before the effective date of the act but that meet the amended definition submit an application for licensure by the department on or before August 1, 2026 , and become licensed before August 1, 2027.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements changes to the practices of the state work force development council (council), including by:Streamlining requirements for the council's talent pipeline report based on industry changes over the last several years;Creating greater flexibility to allow the council to develop certain criteria for the creation of career pathways based on data and feedback collected by the council;Updating the duties of the council to better reflect the council's current education, training, and workforce preparation practices; andAmending the directives for and duties of the position of the postsecondary and workforce readiness statewide coordinator, who works under the direction of the council, to better align with the updated working structure of that position as related to several other entities. The act decreases the 2026-27 state fiscal year general fund appropriation to the department of labor and employment for use by the division of employment and training, as reflected in the annual general appropriations act, by $46,605, unless the amount of general fund money appropriated for use for the council is less than the adjustment or no general fund money is appropriated for use for the council.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires school districts and charter schools to adopt, implement, and post on their websites an achieving community commitment to equitable school success (ACCESS) policy, on or before July 1, 2027, that directs resources and supports toward at-risk students. The act describes what the required policy may include, such as partnerships with community organizations, wraparound services, after-school programs, and tutoring. School districts and charter schools that are participating in a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan that directs resources and supports to at-risk students satisfies the ACCESS policy requirements and shall post the plan on the school or school district's website.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes and clarifies financial protections for mobile home park residents. The act requires a landlord of a mobile home park to notify residents when the landlord is temporarily prohibited from increasing rent. Under current law, a landlord is required to send notice to residents when the landlord intends to sell the mobile home park. The act adds to the information that must be included in the notice that the landlord sends to residents of the park to include a statement that the landlord must provide additional information and documentation to a home owner upon request by the home owner, including:The basis of the purchase price, such as aggregate rental data, rent projections, and recent appraisals of the property;Disclosure of the age of major infrastructure in the mobile home park;Documentation of any infrastructure inspections, maintenance, and repair services from the previous 3 years;The most up-to-date rent roll and any documentation related to rents, charges, outstanding balances, and the vacancy rate; andThe operating expenses and income for the park from the previous 3 years. The act requires that, for a potential sale of a mobile home park that is a portfolio sale including real property or structures located outside of the mobile home park, the price, terms, or conditions of the proposed sale, including for the real property or structures located outside of the park, must be made available to the home owners of the park, even if the home owners submit an offer to purchase only the park. The act requires the landlord and any potential buyer to conduct the sale of the mobile home park at arms-length and in good faith. The act establishes certain parameters related to the registration fee that must be paid by a landlord of a mobile home park and limits the amount that the landlord may charge each resident to cover the registration fee at $17.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act provides that, if the action is undertaken in accordance with applicable federal and state law:A licensed person may compound a drug or device in the state;A state-licensed pharmacy or a distribution facility registered with the federal food and drug administration (licensed 503B outsourcing facility) may supply a compounded drug or device to a licensed health-care provider, pharmacy, facility, or organization; andA licensed health-care provider, pharmacy, facility, or organization may obtain, dispense, or administer a compounded drug or device supplied by a state-licensed pharmacy or a licensed 503B outsourcing facility. In addition, the act prohibits the state board of pharmacy from adopting rules that are more restrictive than federal or state law regarding the compounding of drugs or devices by licensed 503B outsourcing facilities. Current law exempts drugs that are intended solely for investigational use by experts qualified by scientific training and experience and that are plainly labeled for investigational use only from the sales and delivery prohibition for new drugs. The act also exempts from the prohibition:Drugs that are reviewed by an institutional review board and plainly labeled for investigational use only; andCompounded drugs and devices if the compounding of the drug or device is undertaken in accordance with applicable federal and state law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of local affairs, as part of its SMART Act hearing in January of 2027, to submit and present a proposal for the development of a statewide strategy on homelessness prevention and resolution. The proposal must include a plan that sets forth a timeline, an estimated budget, and a process for developing and implementing a statewide strategy on homelessness prevention and resolution. The proposal must set forth the following components that must be included in the statewide strategy on homelessness prevention and resolution:Identification of gaps and barriers that impede access to operational services for individuals experiencing homelessness;Identification of state agency-provided housing resources, including utilization rates;Recommendations for collaboration between state and local partners to facilitate homelessness response;Recommendations for funding and policies that could be implemented at the state level to support homelessness prevention and resolution;Recommendations proposed in coordination with continuum of care organizations to improve the implementation of the homeless management information system, data reporting, and coordinated entry systems; and Updates on regional navigation campuses. When developing the proposal, the department shall seek and incorporate feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders. The act creates a new type of special district, a multijurisdictional homelessness response authority (authority), which may be created when any combination of local governments enter into an intergovernmental agreement with one another to establish an authority. An authority must:Be used by the contracting local governments to reduce and prevent homelessness; andHave boundaries that contain the entirety of all the contracting local governments, but nothing more. An authority has several discretionary powers that relate to its ability to coordinate and plan with departments and organizations to reduce and prevent homelessness, including the power to provide for the levy of sales or sales and use taxes by the contracting local governments. If the intergovernmental agreement that creates an authority provides for the levy of a sales or sales and use tax by the contracting local governments within the boundaries of the authority:Each contracting local government shall submit to its registered electors a ballot question that relates to the tax and that requires any new tax revenue approved through the ballot question to be used solely for the planning, coordination, and implementation of regional strategies to reduce and prevent homelessness;The intergovernmental agreement must provide for a case in which the electors in some but not all of the contracting local governments approve the collection of the sales or sales and use tax at the general election; andThe intergovernmental agreement must provide that all or part of the taxes levied are distributed to the authority. An authority may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of planning, coordinating, and implementing regional strategies to reduce and prevent homelessness, may issue revenue or general obligation bonds, and may pledge its revenue and revenue-raising powers for the payment of such bonds. The act allows a county to designate a portion of documentary filing fees, which are collected for filing documents associated with the grant or conveyance of real property, to be transferred to the county government or a housing authority for the purpose of developing, preserving, or acquiring affordable housing that:Is within the jurisdiction of the county government or housing authority;Is aligned with demonstrated community needs; andWill be available to individuals experiencing homelessness.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes the communication services for people with disabilities enterprise board (board), in consultation with the division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (division), to enter into a contract with a third-party researcher on or before July 1, 2027, to study sign language interpretation services for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind community in the state. If the board enters into a contract with a third-party researcher, the act establishes certain interview, data-collection, and comparative research requirements for the study and requires the third-party researcher to report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the board and the division on or before July 1, 2028.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases participation, representation, and support for individuals 55 years old or older in the Colorado workforce and in organizations related to employment and the workforce by:Beginning in 2027, requiring the state work force development council (council), the Colorado commission on the aging, and other entities to meet twice a year, collect data, and work collaboratively on issues related to individuals in the workforce who are 55 years old or older;Beginning in 2028, and each year thereafter, requiring the department of labor and employment and the department of human services to jointly submit a report compiling the data collected by the council, the Colorado commission on the aging, and other entities to the general assembly and requiring the department of labor and employment, during the department's annual 'SMART Act' hearings, to summarize the report to certain legislative committees; andRequiring that the council, the commission on higher education, and the advisory committee to the commission on higher education, or their successor entities, each have at least one member serving on their governing entity that is at least 55 years old and either is actively involved in or has interest, knowledge, or experience in advocating for the interests of individuals who are 55 years old or older as related to the functions of each entity.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines 'first responder' to include:A peace officer;A firefighter;A volunteer firefighter;An emergency medical service provider; orA mental health professional who responds in a professional capacity to a justifiable medical emergency. Existing law requires the emergency medical and trauma services advisory council (council) to review and approve new rules and modifications to rules prior to the adoption of such rules or modifications by the state board of health. The act requires the council to make recommendations for, instead of approve, rules and modifications to rules concerning emergency medical and trauma services prior to the adoption of such rules or modifications by the state board of health. Beginning January 1, 2027, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to reimburse the following entities under the 'Colorado Medical Assistance Act':An ambulance service for ground transportation by an ambulance or other vehicle to a hospital or other destination as deemed appropriate by the ambulance service's medical director;An ambulance service for treatment on the scene of a medical emergency, which treatment does not result in ground transportation; andA qualified provider, an ambulance service, or an agency for evaluation by telemedicine of a person being treated by an ambulance service or an agency for the purpose of preventing the need to transport the person to a hospital.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)