The act creates the Colorado disability opportunity office (CDOO) within the department of labor and employment (department). The executive director of the department is required to appoint the director of the CDOO. The CDOO is required to: Serve as a resource for state agencies, private and nonprofit organizations, and the public concerning disability issues in Colorado; Convene and coordinate a disability technical advisory committee; Ensure that goals of full societal integration for individuals with disabilities are met by meeting with stakeholders from entities around the state related to disabilities and with state agencies to develop recommendations on the administration of grants, restructuring of disability-related entities, and collaboration on overlapping aging and disability issues and other cross-agency efforts; and Submit the recommendations to the governor and state agencies. The CDOO is also required to: Implement a statewide strategy to facilitate economic stability for individuals with disabilities; promote successful economic, social, and community integration; and identify and address issues related to integration; Work toward enhanced inclusion and equitable opportunities for individuals with disabilities, as well as address concerns raised by disability populations; Coordinate with other entities to identify and eliminate barriers to prosperity for individuals with disabilities; As funding allows, undertake other projects, including analyzing economic and demographic trends, gathering insight and formulating and presenting recommendations to the governor and state agencies related to issues of concern and importance to individuals with disabilities in Colorado; and Promote the implementation of disability support through community-based initiatives and nonprofit organizations, which promotion includes economic opportunities, increased access to resources, and state education and outreach. The act also transfers the Colorado disability funding committee (committee) from the department of personnel to the CDOO. The transfer includes a transfer of the committee's responsibilities, including: The program to assist persons to obtain disability benefits; The program to investigate, fund, and pilot projects or programs to benefit individuals with disabilities; and The buying and selling of select registration numbers for license plates to raise funds for the disability support fund. The act appropriates $5,538,925 from the disability support fund to the department for use by the executive director's office, which may use the appropriation for the CDOO. The act adjusts appropriations from the disability support fund and the disabled parking education and enforcement fund to the department of personnel. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under current law, it is unlawful for a person to discriminate against a renter in the rental of a dwelling because the renter has a disability. Discrimination includes a refusal to permit reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by an individual with a disability if the modifications are necessary to afford the individual with full enjoyment of the premises. The act removes the provision that allows a landlord to condition permission for a modification on the renter agreeing to restore the interior of the premises. The act also removes the provision that requires a modification to be at the expense of the individual with a disability. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires state agencies and public entities to comply with digital accessibility standards on or before July 1, 2024. The act provides a one-year extension to July 1, 2025, of immunity from liability for failure to comply with the digital accessibility standards for an agency that demonstrates good faith efforts toward compliance or toward resolution of any complaint of noncompliance. To be eligible for the extension, the act requires the agency to post quarterly reports on progress and create a process for redress for inaccessible digital products. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 24, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill imposes a set of duties on the Denver airport authority (authority) by established times for accessibility-related functions at Denver international airport. The authority is encouraged to monitor the completion and ongoing upkeep of the duties and functions. The division of aeronautics (division) is authorized to issue fines for noncompliance of the duties and functions to any entity in violation (entity). For a first offense, the entity has 30 days to remedy the noncompliance. If not remedied within 30 days, the division is authorized to fine the entity an amount not to exceed $3,500. For each subsequent offense, the division shall fine the entity an amount not to exceed $7,000 per offense. An individual alleging damages resulting from a violation by an entity may bring a civil suit and may seek a court order requiring compliance and any other remedy the court determines necessary. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
With certain exceptions, for health benefit plans that are issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, the bill requires a health-care insurance carrier (carrier) to include a primary care provider as a participating provider in all networks, including narrow networks and all tiers of tiered networks, of the carrier's health benefit plan if the primary care provider is: Licensed to practice in Colorado; Certified or accredited by a national association for the certification or accreditation of primary care providers; Enrolled in an alternative payment model; and Credentialed by federal law to receive reimbursement for the provision of care to patients receiving benefits from medicaid. On or before December 31, 2025, the commissioner of insurance must promulgate rules to implement the bill, including rules: Establishing criteria and a process for determining whether a primary care provider meets the criteria; and Establishing a schedule for contracted reimbursements issued to primary care providers who participate in a health benefit plan. The division of insurance must contract with an actuary to determine a minimum reimbursement schedule for alternative payment models. The schedule: Must ensure that primary care providers are reimbursed at rates that are at least equal to the reimbursement rates established in law for purposes of the Colorado standardized health benefit plan; Must include adjustments for regional cost of living variations; and May include incentives for integration of behavioral health-care services and comprehensive care coordination services. If a carrier and a primary care provider do not negotiate and agree to terms of reimbursement, the carrier must compensate the primary care provider in accordance with the schedule for contracted reimbursements established by rule. If a primary care provider employed by a medical group or hospital system leaves the medical group or hospital system to establish an independent practice, the primary care provider may communicate with patients about continuing to see them in the new practice. Under current law, any covenant not to compete provision of an employment, partnership, or corporate agreement between physicians that restricts the right of a physician to practice medicine upon termination of the agreement is void; except that all other provisions of the agreement, including provisions that require the payment of damages in an amount that is reasonably related to the injury suffered by reason of termination of the agreement, are enforceable. Provisions of a covenant not to compete that require the payment of damages upon termination of the agreement may include damages related to competition. The bill: Establishes exceptions to the general prohibition on covenant not to compete provisions; Broadens the scope of the prohibition to apply to any agreement rather than applying only to employment, partnership, and corporate agreements between physicians; Narrows the existing exception to the prohibition to apply only to provisions that require the payment of damages in an amount that is reasonably related to the injury suffered due to a breach, rather than a termination, of the agreement; and Prohibits including in an agreement any of several provisions that require payment of certain types of damages. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires the general assembly, the secretary of state, and each political party to ensure that the caucus process or any future alternative process by which candidates may access the ballot that is accessible to persons with disabilities remains an option in the state. The bill specifies that the petition process is not a means of ballot access that is accessible to persons with disabilities. In addition, the bill requires that, within 6 months of the effective date of the bill, any person, upon request, must be able to participate in a precinct caucus or a party assembly with the use of a video conferencing platform that is accessible to persons with disabilities unless the precinct caucus or party assembly is held in a geographic location that lacks broadband internet service. When a precinct caucus or party assembly occurs in a geographic location that lacks broadband internet service, participation must be allowed by an alternative means such as a telephone conference. Any alternative means used by a political party must be accessible to persons with disabilities. The failure of a political party to make a reasonable effort to comply with the requirements in the bill constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability in violation of current law. Action taken pursuant to the bill does not limit or preclude any other available legal remedy. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
For the 2023 property tax year, the bill increases the maximum amount of actual value of the owner-occupied residence of a qualifying senior, veteran with a disability, or surviving spouse of a veteran with a disability that is exempt from property taxation from $200,000 to $325,000. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law includes a Colorado veterans' service-to-career program (program), which authorizes nonprofit agencies to partner with work force centers selected by the department of labor and employment to provide veterans and other eligible participants with skills training, internships, work placements, mentorship opportunities, career and professional counseling, and support services. The program requires that if a program participant is eligible for federal funding that federal funding must be used first. The act repeals that requirement. The act requires work force center staff to vet potential program participants and leverage additional funding sources to deliver comprehensive services. Obsolete language related to the program is repealed. The act extends the repeal date for the program to July 1, 2024. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 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.)