Rep. Kim Ransom

Under current law, when the general assembly passes a bill that causes a net increase in the period of imprisonment, the general assembly is required to appropriate money to cover the costs of that imprisonment for the next 5 years. The act suspends that requirement until July 1, 2025, and repeals all of the current statutory 5-year appropriations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an employee or an applicant for employment based on the employee's or applicant's COVID-19 immunization status. The bill allows an aggrieved employee or applicant for employment to file a civil action for injunctive, affirmative, and equitable relief and, if the employer acted with malice or wanton or willful misconduct or has repeatedly violated the law, the court may also award punitive damages and attorney fees and costs. Additionally, the bill specifies that the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory, that the state cannot require any individual to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine, and that government agencies and private businesses, including health insurers, cannot discriminate against clients, patrons, or customers based on their COVID-19 vaccination status. A person aggrieved by a violation of these prohibitions may file a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate relief and may be awarded punitive damages and attorney fees and costs for wanton, willful, or repeated violations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under current law, a child is neglected or dependent if the child's environment is injurious to the child's health or welfare. The act clarifies that a child is not neglected when allowed to participate in certain independent activities that a reasonable and prudent parent, guardian, or legal custodian would consider safe given the child's maturity, condition, and abilities. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a unit owner living in a common interest community (community) may grant another unit owner in the community a proxy to vote on behalf of the first unit owner at a unit owners' association (association) meeting. Also under current law, the proxy terminates after 11 months unless the proxy itself provides for an earlier or later termination date. The act limits the maximum duration of a proxy to 11 months. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For income tax years commencing on and after January 1, 2022, the bill reduces both the individual and the corporate state income tax rates from 4.55% to 4.4%. The bill also exempts the rate reductions from the existing statutory requirements that tax expenditure legislation include a tax preference performance statement in a statutory legislative declaration and a repeal after a specified period of tax years. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

On April 1, 2022, the act transfers: $4,113,216 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; and $950,690 from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The state treasurer is required to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the local firefighter safety and disease prevention fund (fund). The money is continuously appropriated to the department of public safety (department). The division of fire prevention and control (division) in the department is required to use the money transferred to directly pay for equipment and training for local and volunteer fire departments or to reimburse local and volunteer fire departments for the costs of equipment and training without requiring a grant application and review process. If the division determines it cannot use the full amount to directly pay for equipment and training, it may use the money for any purpose authorized prior to January 1, 2022, for money in the fund. The division is required to prioritize fire departments that it identifies as having the greatest need for assistance to ensure firefighter safety. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

When a child is taken into the custody of a county department of human or social services (county department) for allegations of neglect or for other reasons, the act requires the court to enter temporary visitation orders with the child's parent if such orders are in the child's best interests. The act sets forth the contents of those orders and requires contact to commence within 72 hours after a hearing unless the court delays the contact. Absent the issuance of an emergency order, a parent is entitled to a hearing prior to an ongoing reduction in, suspension of, or increase in the level of supervision, including a change from in-person visitation to virtual visitation. The act requires the court to enter visitation orders consistent with the act in various phases of the court proceedings.The act sets forth requirements for an open adoption in Colorado, including provisions for entering into post-adoption contact agreements between a child and the child's birth parent or parents, a birth relative, or an Indian tribe if the child is a member. A post-adoption contact agreement may include provisions for contact, visitation, or the exchange of information. If a child is 12 years of age or older, the court shall not order a post-adoption contact agreement unless the child consents to all terms of the contact agreement. The act includes provisions for the enforcement, modification, and termination of a post-adoption contact agreement.The act creates a task force on high-quality parenting time (task force) in the state department of human services to examine the current policies and statutes governing parenting time in dependency and neglect cases and to study best practices for the provision and determination of individualized plans for parenting time and to make recommendations to the general assembly for administrative or statutory changes to support high-quality parenting time. The task force includes a steering committee selected by executive branch agency directors, and members jointly appointed by the steering committee representing the judicial system and the child welfare system, as well as parents, social workers, and other members described in the act. The act includes specific areas of study by the task force. The task force shall submit a written report by October 1, 2022, to the governor, certain committees of the general assembly, the department of human services, and the child welfare training academy. The report must include the task force's findings concerning best practices to improve high-quality parenting services and practices in dependency and neglect cases and recommendations for changes to implement those best practices.The act appropriates $13,879 from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the office of information technology services for Colorado TRAILS.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires county departments of human or social services to apply for the children's habilitation residential program (CHRP) waiver for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are referred for placement in the program and show proof of enrollment or denial of eligibility to the department of human services when they apply for placement in CHRP. The act does not guarantee a placement if the child is enrolled in CHRP.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,162,912 to the department of human services for use by the division of child welfare. This appropriation is from the general fund and is based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 0.5 FTE. To implement this act, the division may use this appropriation for residential placements for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Any money appropriated in this section not expended prior to July 1, 2022, is further appropriated to the division for the 2022-23 state fiscal year for the same purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)