Rep. Gretchen Rydin

The act continues the functions of the Colorado podiatry board (board) for 9 years until September 1, 2035, pursuant to provisions of the sunset law.     The act requires a licensed podiatrist (licensee) to develop a written plan to ensure the security of patient medical records, including the proper storage and disposal of records, the disposition of medical records in the event the licensee dies, retires, or otherwise ceases to practice, and the method by which a patient may access or obtain records if such events occur. A licensee shall attest to compliance with the requirement upon initial licensure and upon renewal of the license. A licensee who fails to comply with the requirements of the act is subject to discipline by the board.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

If certain conditions are met, the act requires health benefit plans that provide hospital, surgical, or medical expense insurance to provide reimbursement for health-care services provided by a pharmacist that are within the pharmacist's scope of practice without entering into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement. Similarly, under the medical assistance program (medicaid), the act authorizes reimbursement for services that are within a pharmacist's scope of practice and not duplicative of other pharmacist services or programs reimbursed by medicaid.     Further, solely on the basis of the type of license or certification, a health benefit plan or health insurance company (carrier) shall not discriminate against a pharmacist who is acting within the scope of the pharmacist's license or certification under state law, with respect to participation, referral, reimbursement of covered services, or indemnification, or prohibit a pharmacist from membership in a provider network; except that, in selecting pharmacist providers, the act does not:Prohibit a health benefit plan or carrier from including providers in its provider network only to the extent necessary to meet the needs of the plan or from limiting referrals or establishing quality control measures;Require a health benefit plan or carrier to contract with any provider willing to abide by the terms and conditions for participation established by the health benefit plan or carrier; orRequire coverage for any health-care service that is not otherwise covered.     The act makes changes to the definitions in the pharmacy practice statutes to include a definition for 'final product verification'. For drug, device, or product orders that are not for controlled substances, final product verification may be delegated by a supervising pharmacist to a certified pharmacy technician or pharmacy intern. A pharmacy or other outlet shall have a continuous quality assessment system in place to periodically verify the accuracy of the final drug, device, or product and must create a plan for final product verification, including how pharmacists' hours will be maintained to provide direct patient care. The state board of pharmacy is required to adopt rules relating to final product verification no later than December 31, 2026.     Under current law, a pharmacist may administer certain tests to patients who are 12 years old or older for certain conditions and prescribe drugs to treat the tested conditions. The act adds to the definition of the 'practice of pharmacy' independent prescriptive authority for drugs that are not controlled substances, drug categories, or devices that are prescribed to patients who are 5 years old or older but under 12 years old for conditions that do not require a new diagnosis, that are minor and self-limiting, or that have a test that guides diagnosis and are not medications that may only be prescribed pursuant to a certified education program and a limited distribution network. If a pharmacist tests or treats any patient who is under 18 years old, the act requires a pharmacist to notify the patient's primary care provider consistent with health-care privacy laws or, if the patient does not have or disclose a primary care provider, refer the patient to a primary care provider for further care.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act defines school zones as all roadways within at least 1,000 feet of a school property boundary, except state highways unless they are designated as part of a school zone with the written approval of the Colorado department of transportation, and including school zones established before August 12, 2026, that are 200 feet or more from a school property boundary. A school zone must have appropriate signs posted indicating it is a school zone and that the penalties and surcharges within the school zone will be doubled.     The act allows a local government that has jurisdiction over a school zone to reduce the size of a school zone after first holding a public hearing, but the act does not allow a school zone to be reduced to less than 200 feet from a school property boundary. Additionally, the act does not prohibit local governments from expanding school zones to beyond 1,000 feet from a school property boundary.     The act limits requirements the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality must complete regarding placing and using an automated vehicle identification system along a safe route to school.     The act allows a local government to designate a portion of a roadway immediately adjacent to a school property boundary as a school street and requires the local government to post signs indicating it is a school street if the local government has jurisdiction to do so. The local government may close a school street to traffic. If there is traffic on the school street, the maximum speed limit is 10 miles per hour and vehicles must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users. The local government may suspend additional traffic provisions on the school street that endanger pedestrians, bicyclists, or micromobility users.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the implementation dates for capping family copayments for child care at 7% of family income, for paying child care providers in advance of the provision of services, and for utilizing grants and contracts to improve access to child care for underserved populations to August 1, 2028.     The act modifies existing reporting requirements to include the total amount of child care assistance program (CCCAP) allocation that is spent by the department and each county on administrative expenses, county indirect expenses, program implementation costs, and direct service expenses.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act increases funding for county child abuse prevention services and programs by changing the source of reimbursement money transmitted to the Colorado child abuse prevention trust fund (trust fund) from money received for all prevention services and programs identified in the federal Title IV-E clearinghouse (prevention services clearinghouse) to money received by the Colorado department of early childhood and identified in the prevention services clearinghouse.     The act continues the trust fund and Colorado child abuse prevention board indefinitely.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the general assembly anticipates that the department of human services will receive $150,000 in federal funds to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the Colorado job growth incentive tax credit (credit) may only be allowed by the economic development commission (commission) through state income tax year 2026. The act amends the Colorado job growth incentive tax credit to authorize the commission to allow new credit awards through state income tax year 2034. The act also extends the commission's annual reporting requirement through September 1, 2042.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires each covered social media platform (covered platform) to impose a fee on each add-on transaction that occurs on the covered platform. The act creates the youth mental health services access enterprise in the behavioral health administration (BHA) to use the fee revenue to operate and fund programs that provide youth mental health services. The youth mental health services access enterprise constitutes an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution.     The act defines a 'covered platform' as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation, an association, or another legal entity, or an affiliate thereof, that:Conducts business in this state;Generates revenue directly from add-on transactions conducted in an online gaming service, product, or feature;Generates a majority of its annual revenue from online gaming services, products, or features;Publishes one or more online gaming services, products, or features that are reasonably likely to be accessed by a youth;Collects users' personal data or has users' personal data collected on its behalf; andDetermines the purposes and means of the processing of users' personal data.     The act defines an 'add-on transaction' as a transaction through which a player or participant in a video game accessed via an online gaming service, product, or feature acquires:An item or ability that provides the player or participant an advantage over other players or participants of the video game; orA feature that alters or enhances the video game as accessed by the online gaming service, product, or feature.     The act creates the youth mental health services access enterprise fund, consisting of money credited to the fund as fee revenue, any money received from the issuance of revenue bonds, and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the youth mental health services access enterprise fund. Money in the youth mental health services access enterprise fund is continuously appropriated to the youth mental health services access enterprise.     After deducting its administrative expenses, the youth mental health services access enterprise is required to allocate the remaining fee revenue credited to the fund as follows:40% to operate and fund the youth mental health peer navigator grant program, which program is created in the act;35% to operate and fund the crisis resolution team program, which program is created in the act; and25%, beginning January 1, 2028, to operate the existing youth mental health services program.     The initial amount of the fee is 5% of the amount of the add-on transaction. On and after October 1, 2027, the youth mental health services access enterprise may adjust the amount of the fee.     The act creates the youth mental health peer navigator grant program to award grants to entities that recruit and train young adults to provide prevention services, peer support, and system navigation to youth in schools or community-based settings.     The act creates the crisis resolution team program to provide community-based de-escalation and stabilization services to youth who are experiencing high-acuity behavioral health crises and to their caregivers.     Under current law, the BHA operates the youth mental health services program to facilitate access to mental health services, including substance use disorder services, for youth in response to mental health needs identified in an initial mental health screening through the program's web-based portal. The youth mental health services program reimburses providers for up to 3 mental health sessions with a youth. The act directs the youth mental health services access enterprise, rather than the BHA, to operate and fund the youth mental health services program beginning January 1, 2028. The act also allows the youth mental health services access enterprise to reimburse a provider for up to 6 mental health sessions with a youth.     The act creates the youth programming and protections enterprise to:Award grants through the existing out-of-school time program grant program; andSupport the department of education's enforcement of educational rights on behalf of children.     The youth programming and protections enterprise constitutes an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution.     The act creates the youth programming and protections enterprise fund. In each state fiscal year, after the state treasurer has credited $8 million to the youth mental health services access enterprise fund, the state treasurer must credit any other money received as fees to the youth programming and protections enterprise fund.     Under current law, the department of education administers the out-of-school time program grant program and the state board of education awards grants from the program, subject to available appropriations. The act directs the department of education to consult with the youth programming and protections enterprise in administering the out-of-school time program grant program, and the act directs the youth programming and protections enterprise to award grants from the program in consultation with the state board of education. The act also requires the out-of-school time program grant program to provide programming and services that support the mental health and well-being of children and youth.     The act requires a covered platform to ensure that the purchase price for an online gaming service, product, or feature that is reasonably likely to be accessed by a minor to be listed in United States dollars at the point of sale.     For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, the act appropriates:$294,984 to the department of revenue from the general fund;$26,500 to the department of law from reappropriated funds;$145,750 to the department of law from the youth mental services access enterprise fund created in the act; and$79,500 to the department of law from the youth programming and protections enterprise fund created in the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act exempts pilates and barre teacher training courses, programs, and schools from regulation under the 'Private Occupational Education Act of 1981'.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the postsecondary talent development system transition advisory committee (transition committee) to develop a transition plan that includes recommendations to integrate oversight of higher education and workforce development programs (transition plan). The transition committee shall begin meeting by July 1, 2026, and shall submit the transition plan by November 1, 2026, to the joint budget committee; the house of representatives business affairs and labor committee; the house of representatives education committee; the senate business, labor, and technology committee; and the senate education committee. The transition plan must include recommendations about the structure of the department of higher education (department), including a recommendation to rename the department; recommendations about transitioning various offices, agencies, programs, and functions to the department or other state agencies; and recommendations about how the department will coordinate with the department of education's postsecondary workforce readiness and student support activities.     Effective July 1, 2028, the executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education is renamed the executive director of the department (executive director). The governor appoints, with the consent of the senate, the executive director.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Maddy summaryThis bill brings Denver School of Science and Technology charter schools into the Denver Public Schools division of the Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA), allowing their employees to participate in the same retirement benefits as other Denver public school workers. The legislation also changes the PERA Board of Trustees by adding one voting member elected by Denver Public Schools employees and removing a non-voting ex officio member from that division. Additionally, the bill extends the deadline for charter school employees to purchase additional retirement service credit for years worked before affiliation, moving the cutoff date from November 1, 2006, to July 1, 2026. These changes affect Denver public school employees, retirees, and the governance structure of the state's public employee retirement system.