Rep. Lorena García

The act changes the term "HIV infection prevention drug", as used in the Colorado Revised Statutes, to "HIV prevention drug". The act specifies that, for health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, if counseling, prevention, and screening for a sexually transmitted infection (STI) are covered services, the health benefit plan must provide coverage without cost sharing, regardless of the covered person's gender, and the coverage must include HIV prevention drugs and the services necessary for initiation and continued use of an HIV prevention drug consistent with federal guidelines. The act prohibits, before July 1, 2027, a health insurance carrier from requiring a covered person to undergo step therapy or to receive prior authorization before a health-care provider may prescribe or dispense a medication for the treatment of HIV that is included on the insurance carrier's prescription drug formulary as of March 1, 2023. The act requires the division of insurance to contract for a study, which includes consultation with the HIV community, to consider the predicted costs and health impacts of removing step therapy and prior authorization before a health-care provider may prescribe or dispense HIV treatment drugs and to provide the study to the general assembly by October 1, 2026. The act specifies the requirements and time frames for health insurance carriers for certain prior authorization requests related to HIV prescription drug coverage. Regarding the state medical assistance program, the act prohibits the department of health care policy and financing (state department), before July 1, 2027, from using prior authorization or step therapy requirements for prescription drugs prescribed for the treatment or prevention of HIV, except for utilization review that is necessary for patient safety or for ensuring the prescribed use is for a medically accepted indication. For health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, if sterilization services are a covered service, a health benefit plan must provide the coverage regardless of the covered person's sex or gender and without deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, annual or lifetime maximum benefits, or other cost sharing; except that this provision does not apply to a high deductible health benefit plan until the deductible has been met, unless allowed pursuant to federal law. The act requires mandatory preventive health-care services coverage for health benefit plans to include, in addition to the A and B recommendations of the United States preventive services task force, the recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices to the centers for disease control and prevention in the federal department of health and human services (HHS) and the women's, infants', children's, and adolescents' preventive services guidelines of the health resources and services administration in the HHS. The act requires large employer health benefit plans issued or renewed on and after January 1, 2025, to provide coverage for the total cost of abortion care without policy deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance. Individual and small group health benefit plans must provide this coverage if the HHS confirms the state's determination that the coverage is not subject to state defrayal pursuant to federal law. The provisions relating to abortion care do not apply to a high deductible health benefit plan until the deductible has been met, unless allowed pursuant to federal law. Employers are exempted from providing coverage if providing coverage conflicts with the employer's sincerely held religious beliefs or the employer is a public entity prohibited by section 50 of article V of the state constitution from using public funds to pay for induced abortions. With the minor's consent, a health-care provider acting within the scope of the health-care provider's license, certificate, or registration, may furnish contraceptive procedures, supplies, or information to a minor without notification to or the consent of the minor's parent or parents, legal guardian, or any other person having custody of or decision-making responsibility for the minor. The act expands the reproductive health-care program administered by the state department to include additional family planning services and family-planning-related services. The act requires the department of public health and environment (department) to convene a family planning access collaborative, on or before September 1, 2023, to advise the department in identifying access gaps that contribute to Coloradans lacking family planning access. The department shall publish its recommendations on or before December 15, 2023. To implement the act, for the 2023-24 state fiscal year the act appropriates: $200,000 to the department of public health and environment from the general fund for the family planning access collaborative and corresponding report; $67,627 and 0.5 FTE to the department of regulatory agencies from the division of insurance cash fund; and $23,263 and .1 FTE to the department of law from reappropriated funds received from the department of regulatory agencies for legal services. APPROVED by Governor April 14, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 14, 2023(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law authorizes the general assembly to prescribe the conditions and manner under which a witness may be summoned to attend, to produce documents, or both, before a committee, or to either the house of representatives or senate. Joint rule 33 of the Colorado legislative joint rules of the senate and house outlines the current mechanism by which the general assembly exercises its investigatory authority and issues subpoenas. The bill authorizes the executive committee of the legislative council (executive committee) to create ad hoc investigatory committees and grants the executive committee the power to subpoena a witness, to take testimony under oath, and to assemble records, documents, and other evidence by subpoena duces tecum. The bill also requires the executive committee, if it decides not to issue a subpoena under its own discretion, to issue a subpoena if 30% or more of the voting members of an ad hoc investigatory committee, created by the executive committee, vote to require the executive committee to do so. The bill requires a subpoena issued by the executive committee to include: The name of the issuing body; The authority under which the subpoena is issued; The subject of the inquiry and a command to the person to whom it is issued to attend and give testimony at a time and place specified in the subpoena; or A command to the person to whom the subpoena is directed to produce books, records, documents, or other tangible evidence as the executive committee may require. The bill requires service of process to be made by a sheriff, the sheriff's deputy, or any other person who is at least 18 years of age and not interested in the proceeding. Service must be made by delivering a copy of the subpoena to the person named in the subpoena not later than 48 hours before the time specified for appearance in the subpoena unless, for good cause shown, a majority of the executive committee authorizes service within the 48-hour period. The bill allows any person subpoenaed by the executive committee to seek relief by providing the executive committee with a written statement indicating how such disclosure would be illegal or unduly oppressive or burdensome. The executive committee may consider any relief request but is not obligated to do so if it determines that the potential impact of the subpoena outweighs the burden imposed on the person subject to the subpoena. Any person who is issued a subpoena and is denied a request for relief by the executive committee may request that a district court in the county where the subpoena was served, the county of the residence of the witness or custodian served, or the city and county of Denver quash or limit the scope of the subpoena. The bill also permits any person who is subpoenaed by the executive committee to be represented by legal counsel. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act eliminates the requirement for a person who is lawfully residing in the state, a legal immigrant who is a resident of the state, or a documented individual to refrain from executing an affidavit of support for the purpose of sponsoring a documented individual while the person is receiving public services or medical assistance. County departments responsible for administering benefits programs under the department of health care policy and financing and the department of human services shall identify and review all current county guidance materials that reference a prohibition on sponsorship as a condition of eligibility for benefits and shall remove all such references from verbal and digital communications and from all physical materials currently provided to applicants or beneficiaries. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill permits a parent or guardian of a minor child who is in a home- or community-based program to serve as the child's authorized representative while also serving as the child's attendant. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Section 1 of the bill establishes the crime of unlawful equine slaughter. A person engages in unlawful equine slaughter if the person: Slaughters an equine when the person knows or reasonably should know that any part of the equine will be used for human consumption; Possesses, imports into the state, exports from the state, buys, sells, gives away, or accepts an equine with the intent of killing, or having another person kill, the equine if the person knows or reasonably should know that any part of the equine will be used for human consumption; or Possesses, imports into the state, exports from the state, buys, sells, gives away, or accepts equine meat if the person knows or reasonably should know that the meat will be used for human consumption. Section 1 provides a safe harbor to the offense for equine slaughtered for use by a facility in feeding predators housed at the facility. Each equine that is unlawfully slaughtered and each 100 pounds of equine meat derived from unlawful slaughter is a separate offense. A first violation is a class 1 misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, and a second or subsequent violation within a 10-year period is a class 5 felony with a mandatory minimum fine of $5,000. If a person obtains the equine by fraud and commits unlawful equine slaughter, it is a class 4 felony with a mandatory minimum fine of $10,000. In addition, a person that commits unlawful equine slaughter is forever prohibited from owning, possessing, or caring for an equine and from participating in a public livestock market for 3 to 5 years. Sections 2 and 3 require notice of the crime of unlawful equine slaughter to be given at livestock auctions and on bills of sale.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law requires that a child with a disability be provided with an individualized education program (IEP), developed by a multidisciplinary team that includes the child's parents or guardians. The bill requires the department of education to use the existing special education data and information system to track the provision of language translation services related to IEPs and include such data as part of its annual "SMART Act" hearing.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law does not expressly provide a school district or the state charter school institute (institute) with legal standing to bring lawsuits against rules, regulations, or final orders of the state board of education (state board) issued pursuant to the Colorado "Education Accountability Act of 2009" (act). The bill allows a school district or the institute to seek judicial review or file a civil action for declaratory relief against rules, regulations, or final orders of the state board issued pursuant to the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)