The bill enacts the 'Regulatory Relief Act of 2017'. The bill includes a legislative declaration about the importance of small businesses to the Colorado economy and acknowledges the difficulty these types of businesses have in complying with state rules that are not known or understood by these businesses. The bill requires a state agency (agency) to give a small business (which is defined in the 'State Administrative Procedure Act' as a business with fewer than 500 employees) a period of time to cure a first-time minor violation of a rule instead of enforcing the rule by imposing a fine. When an agency determines that a small business has committed a minor violation of a rule, instead of imposing a fine, the agency is required to notify the small business in writing of the violation, including the steps to cure the violation, and give the small business 30 business days to cure the violation. Upon a showing of good cause, the business owner may request additional time to cure the violation. If the small business owner fails to cure the minor violation within the stated time period, the agency may impose the fine on the small business. This does not apply in cases where an agency is required by statute to assess a fine for noncompliance. The bill defines 'minor violation' as a violation that includes operational or administrative matters, such as record keeping, retention of data, or filing of reports, and that is enforced by a fine; except that 'minor violation' does not include any matter that places the safety of the public, employees, or others at risk. The bill provides exceptions from the definition of 'minor violation' for certain types of rules or violations and includes an exception for rules adopted by the secretary of state relating to the regulation of lobbyists. Under current law, agencies are required to convene stakeholder groups to give input about proposed rules. The bill amends the stakeholder provision to direct agencies to make diligent attempts to notify and solicit input from representatives of small businesses about proposed rule-making, if the agency's proposed rule-making has a potential negative impact on small businesses. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
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The bill allows qualified, per school district policy, employees to dispense over-the-counter medications to a student if the student's parent or legal guardian provided the school district with written general authorization to dispense such over-the-counter medications during a specified academic year. The bill grants criminal and civil immunity to such school employees if they acted with written authorization from the student's parent or legal guardian. The same authority and immunity is granted to child care providers, including employees or relatives in nonlicensed facilities, provided the person dispensing the over-the-counter medication has written general authority for a specific time period from the child's parent or legal guardian. The bill allows a parent or legal guardian to opt out of the collection and storage by a local education provider of any type of data related to his or her child. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires all abortion clinics to file an annual registration with the attorney general. The attorney general shall create and make available the registration form. While keeping identifying information of any women who sought an abortion private, the registration form must include the following information: The number of abortions performed at the clinic during the previous year, including the trimester in which the abortion was performed, based on appropriately maintained records kept by the clinic; A specific report for each abortion performed at or after 20 weeks' gestation; A description of the method or methods of abortion performed at the clinic; The name of each physician performing abortions at the clinic, along with the state of each physician's licensure, any board certifications or specialties maintained by the physician, and any disciplinary action taken against the physician in the last 5 years; The number of babies born alive at the clinic during the year, whether the babies were born prior to, during, or after the attempted completion of an abortion, whether or not these babies survived, whether or not they were viable, and whether or not they were transported to a hospital; and The number of patients, including women and born-alive infants, who were transported to a hospital from the clinic following a partially or fully completed abortion in the previous year. The attorney general has 30 days to reject an inaccurate or incomplete registration form and 30 days from the date of discovery to reject a form that contains false or fraudulent information. Failure to file a registration form or operating without a registration form subjects an abortion clinic to a fine, a suspension, or closure. All registration forms and inspection or investigation forms are public records. The attorney general has a duty to inspect, without notice, each registered abortion clinic at least annually. At a minimum, each inspection must determine whether the abortion clinic is performing abortions at or after 20 weeks' gestation and whether it is operating with: Medically modern ultrasound equipment; Equipment to preserve the life of and to resuscitate born-alive infants; Legally approved methods of medical and hazardous waste disposal; Medically safe standards for sterilization of instruments and procedure areas and storage, medically safe policies for expired and opened medicines, and emergency exits sufficient to accommodate a stretcher or gurney; and Proper 'Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996' policies. If the attorney general finds an inspection violation, he or she may impose a fine up to $5,000 or impose a suspension or closure of the abortion clinic. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
With certain exceptions, current law limits the authority of a person who holds a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun by prohibiting permit holders from carrying a concealed handgun on public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school grounds. The bill removes this limitation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)