Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet

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Motor vehicle registration - license plates - women veterans - appropriation. The act creates a license plate to honor women veterans of the United States armed forces. To be issued the plate, an applicant must pay 2 one-time $25 fees. To implement the act, $14,771 is appropriated to the department of revenue from the license plate cash fund and the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Colorado medical assistance act - breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment program - repeal date extended - appropriation. The act extends the repeal date of the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment program 10 years to July 1, 2029. $857,783 is appropriated to the department of health care policy and financing from the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Health insurance - required coverage - breast cancer screening with noninvasive imaging. The act requires health care coverage for breast cancer screening studies and subsequent breast imaging using the noninvasive imaging modality appropriate for each individual, as determined by the individual's health care provider, and within the appropriate use guidelines as determined by the American College of Radiology or the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The act applies to policies and contracts issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2021. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Psychotherapy services - treatment of a minor without parental consent - mental health education resource bank - appropriation. The act allows a minor 12 years of age or older to seek and obtain psychotherapy services with or without the consent of the minor's parent or guardian if the mental health professional determines the minor is knowingly and voluntarily seeking the psychotherapy services and the psychotherapy services are clinically necessary. A mental health professional providing psychotherapy services to a minor may, with the consent of the minor, advise the minor's parent or legal guardian of the psychotherapy services provided, unless notifying the parent or legal guardian would be inappropriate or detrimental to the minor's care and treatment. However, the mental health professional is permitted to notify the minor's parent or legal guardian without the minor's consent if, in the opinion of the mental health professional, the minor is unable to manage his or her care or treatment. The mental health professional is required to engage the minor in a discussion about the importance of involving and notifying the minor's parent or legal guardian and document any attempt to contact the minor's parent or legal guardian. If a minor communicates a clear and imminent threat to commit suicide, the mental health professional is required to notify the minor's parent or legal guardian of the minor's suicidal ideation. The act requires the department of education, in consultation with the office of suicide prevention, the youth advisory council, and the suicide prevention commission, to create and maintain a mental health education literacy resource bank. The resource bank is available to the public free of charge. The act also requires the state board of education to adopt standards related to mental health, including suicide prevention. The act appropriates $116,550 from the general fund to the department of education for the mental health education resource bank and technical assistance. Specifies that certain provisions take effect only if House Bill 19-1172 becomes law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Health care coverage - prior authorization for health care services - publication of requirements and restrictions - deadline for making determination - required criteria - exceptions for compliant providers - duration of prior authorization - rules. With regard to the prior authorization process used by carriers or private utilization review organizations (organizations) acting on behalf of carriers to review and determine whether a particular health care service prescribed by a health care provider is approved as a covered benefit under the patient's health benefit plan, the act requires carriers and organizations to: Publish and update their prior authorization requirements and restrictions; Comply with specified deadlines for making a determination on a prior authorization request; Use current, clinically based prior authorization criteria that are aligned with other quality initiatives of the carrier or organization and with other carriers' and organizations' prior authorization criteria for the same health care service; and Consider limiting the use of prior authorization to providers whose prescribing or ordering patterns differ significantly from the patterns of their peers after adjusting for patient mix and other relevant factors. The act authorizes a carrier or organization to offer providers with a history of adherence to the carrier's or organization's prior authorization requirements an alternative to prior authorization, including an exemption from prior authorization for providers with an 80% approval rate of prior authorization requests over the previous 12 months. Carriers and organizations are to annually reevaluate a provider's eligibility for exemption from or other alternative to prior authorization requirements. If a carrier or organization fails to make a determination within the time required, the request is deemed approved. An approved prior authorization request is valid for at least 180 days, with some exceptions, and continues for the duration of the authorized course of treatment. The commissioner of insurance is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

School lunch - free and reduced price school lunch - appropriation. The act clarifies that all students in sixth through eighth grade participating in the federal reduced price school lunch program are eligible for the existing child nutrition school lunch protection program (program), and extends the grades of eligibility for the program to students through the twelfth grade. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $463,729 is appropriated to the department of education from the general fund for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Colorado K-5 social and emotional heath act - pilot program - appropriation. The act creates the "Colorado K-5 Social and Emotional Health Act" (health act). Subject to available appropriations, the health act requires the department of education (department) to select up to 10 pilot schools (pilot school) to participate in a pilot program that ensures that a school mental health professional, as defined in the health act, is dedicated to each of grades kindergarten through fifth grade, with a ratio of mental health professionals to students of approximately one per 250 students. To the extent possible, the school mental health professional shall follow the same students through each grade. The general assembly shall appropriate the resources necessary for the pilot school to hire or contract with the additional school mental health professionals. The department shall select pilot schools that meet the characteristics outlined in the health act, including high poverty, ethnic diversity, and a large concentration of students in the foster care system. Among other responsibilities consistent with the mental health professional's license, the school mental health professional shall provide needed services to students and their families in the pilot school, including providing services and supports to students with learning disabilities, identifying food insecurities, providing resources to develop and improve the social and emotional health of students, and helping eligible students and their families access public benefits. Services must be provided at school and during school hours, as appropriate. The health act requires the department to employ or contract with a pilot program coordinator to oversee the implementation of the pilot program across the pilot schools. The pilot program begins operation during the 2020-21 school year and repeals in July 2023. The department shall contract with a professional program evaluator (evaluator) to conduct a preliminary evaluation in 2022 and a final evaluation before the repeal of the pilot program. The evaluator shall establish the method for the collection and monitoring of the pilot schools' data throughout the pilot program. The evaluator shall evaluate the effectiveness of services provided by the pilot program on the academic, mental, and physical health and well-being of the student cohorts within the scope of the pilot program. The health act authorizes the use of marijuana tax cash fund money and gifts, grants, or donations to fund the pilot program. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $43,114 and 0.4 FTE from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of education to implement the health act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

School districts - organization. The act creates an alternate process for the dissolution and annexation of a school district. Pursuant to the act, if a school district meets specified criteria, the board of education of the school district (local school board) may seek dissolution and annexation of the school district by convening an organization planning committee (committee) that consists of representation from the local school board of the dissolving school district and the local school boards of the contiguous school districts. The local school board of the dissolving school district must notify the commissioner of education (commissioner) when a committee is formed. The committee must create a proposed plan of organization (plan) that dissolves the convening school district and annexes the territory of the dissolved school district to one or more of the contiguous school districts. The act specifies the issues that the committee must consider in creating the plan. After adopting the proposed plan, the committee must submit the proposed plan to the commissioner and the local school boards of the affected school districts and provide notice of public hearings on the proposed plan. After holding public hearings, the committee must work with the commissioner to develop and adopt a final plan of organization. Within a set time after the final plan is adopted, the local school board of each affected school district must adopt the final plan by written resolution. If a local school board does not adopt the plan and there are only 2 affected school districts, or if the plan is not approved by at least 2 of the affected school districts, the committee is dissolved. If fewer than all but at least 2 of the affected school districts approve the plan, the committee may continue and prepare a new plan that involves only the school districts of the local school boards that approved the final approved plan. Following approval of a final plan by the local school boards of all of the affected school districts, the county clerk and recorder for each affected county must file a map and legal description of the annexing school districts with the commissioner. The final plan takes effect on the date specified in the plan, and the final plan must be available for public review upon request. If the dissolved district has a certain level of indebtedness that is not bonded indebtedness, an annexing school district, after the effective date of the annexation and subject to voter approval, may levy a temporary tax of a specified amount on the annexed property to retire the indebtedness. The act clarifies that, if the dissolving school district has bonded indebtedness existing as of the date of the dissolution and annexation and the annexing school district or school districts do not vote to assume the amount of the bonded indebtedness, the bonded indebtedness continues to be paid by the existing levy against the property of the dissolved school district, collected by the annexing school district or school districts. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

The bill adds an option for people with disabilities to place a discreet disability identifier symbol on the face of a driver's license or identification card. A listed medical professional must verify the disability by signing a form created by the department of revenue. The symbol must represent all types of disabilities, such as cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities. No fee is charged for the symbol.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More