Maddy summaryHouse Joint Memorial 25-1001 serves to memorialize former Representative Rodney Bockenfeld, who passed away on February 13, 2025, at the age of 69. The resolution pays tribute to his years of dedicated public service as both an Arapahoe County Commissioner and a State Representative and extends sympathy to his family.
The act clarifies that requirements for out-of-state telehealth providers do not alter or limit the rights and protections afforded to a person concerning a legally protected health-care activity. Current law requires a prescription drug label to include the name of the prescribing practitioner. At the practitioner's request, the act authorizes a prescription label for mifepristone, misoprostol, and the generic alternatives to those prescriptions to include only the name of the prescribing health-care practice instead of the name of the practitioner, provided the practitioner includes the name of the health-care practice on the paper or electronic form of the prescription. The act requires any person requesting a subpoena to affirm under penalty of perjury that the subpoena: Is not related to, and any information obtained will not be used in, any investigation or proceeding that seeks to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanctions against a person or entity that engaged in or attempted or intended to engage in a legally protected health-care activity or that provided insurance coverage for gender-affirming health-care services or reproductive health care; or Is related to such an investigation or proceeding, but the investigation or proceeding is brought under tort law or contract law by the person who engaged in or attempted or intended to engage in a legally protected health-care activity, gender-affirming health-care services, or reproductive health care, and is actionable in an equivalent or similar manner under Colorado law. If a person or entity brings an out-of-state civil or criminal action, or attempts to enforce any order or judgment issued in connection with an action, against another person or entity for engaging in or attempting or intending to engage in a legally protected health-care activity or for providing insurance coverage for gender-affirming health-care services or reproductive health care, the person or entity subject to the out-of-state civil or criminal action has a private right of action against the person or entity and may institute a civil action in district court within 6 years after the date the out-of-state action is commenced or enforcement is attempted. Current law authorizes a private person to arrest a person without a warrant upon reasonable information that the person is charged in another state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The act creates an exception if the person is charged in another state for engaging in a legally protected health-care activity in Colorado. Current law prohibits a public agency from expending government resources or providing information or data in furtherance of any out-of-state investigation or proceeding seeking to impose civil or criminal liability or professional sanction upon a person or entity for engaging in a legally protected health-care activity. The act expands the prohibition to include public entities, which include state and local governments, and a person or entity licensed or regulated by the state. The act grants the attorney general the authority to enforce the provisions of the act. The act prohibits the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) from collecting a patient's name, date of birth, address, employer, spouse's name, or parent's or legal guardian's name, or the city or town where the termination of pregnancy occurred, as part of any required reporting of induced terminations of pregnancy. Reports of induced terminations of pregnancy collected by CDPHE must only be used for compilation of statistical reports, must not be incorporated into the official records of the office of the state registrar of vital statistics, and are confidential. The state registrar is required to dispose of any reports of induced terminations of pregnancy when all statistical processing of the reports is complete. A person who releases or discloses confidential information related to reporting of induced terminations of pregnancy commits a data privacy breach. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
During the 2024 general election, Colorado voters approved Amendment 79, which: Repealed the state constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of public funds to pay for abortions; and Added a state constitutional amendment recognizing the right to an abortion and prohibiting Colorado state and local governments from denying, impeding, or discriminating against the exercise of that right, including prohibiting health insurance companies from excluding coverage for abortion. The act makes conforming changes to state law relating to abortion care as a result of Amendment 79. Current law requires the executive director of the department of health care policy and financing to authorize medicaid reimbursement for family-planning-related services. The act expands the definition of "family-planning-related services" to include abortion care. The act requires the medical services board to include abortion care in the schedule of health-care services available for pregnant persons enrolled in the children's basic health plan. $2,928,800 is appropriated to the department of health care policy and financing from the general fund for other medical services, including abortion care. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires a facility that uses animals for health-related research (health-related research facility) to offer a dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue for the purpose of adoption before euthanizing the animal. If the health-related research facility has an internal adoption program, the facility may first offer the dog or cat for adoption through the internal adoption program before offering the dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue. A health-related research facility that acts in good faith to transfer or adopt out a dog or cat to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue is immune from civil liability for acts or circumstances related to or resulting from the transfer or internal adoption of the dog or cat. A health-related research facility must submit an annual report to the department of agriculture that includes the following information for the previous year: The total number of dogs and cats that the health-related research facility transferred to an animal shelter or a pet animal rescue for the purpose of adoption; The total number of dogs and cats that the health-related research facility adopted out through an internal adoption program; and The name and address of each animal shelter or pet animal rescue to which the health-related research facility transferred a dog or cat for the purpose of adoption.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of public health and environment (department), to the extent that funding is available as part of the department's green business network, to: Provide annual training that includes food waste prevention and reduction strategies; Develop a food waste reduction guidance document (document); Place the document on the department's public website; and Update the document at least annually. The act suggests means by which retail food establishments may donate or resell safe food. The act states that, on and after January 1, 2026, grocery stores are encouraged to: Clearly display the ingredients of items of prepared food; and Use "best if used or frozen by" dates rather than "sell by" dates upon prepared items of food. Current law provides civil and criminal immunity to a farmer, retail food establishment, correctional facility, school district, hospital, or processor, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of food that donates items of food to a nonprofit organization for use or distribution in providing assistance to individuals in need. The act extends this immunity to apply to: Faith-based organizations that donate food; and Food donations to faith-based organizations and individuals. The act also clarifies that the immunity from liability applies regardless of whether the donated food is alleged to have caused illness or death. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act encourages each local education provider to adopt a policy to reduce food waste in school cafeterias and food preparation facilities (policy). The policy may address food waste diversion and aversion initiatives, including composting, donation of excess food to local nonprofits, or share table programs that permit students to return whole food or beverage items for redistribution to other students. A local education provider that implements a policy shall comply with all applicable sanitation and health requirements, including protocols to prevent student exposure to allergens, and shall require school personnel to complete related safety training. Current law establishes the Colorado circular communities enterprise (enterprise) to award grants and other funding and to provide technical assistance to certain entities throughout the state that pursue a circular economy for waste management, including waste diversion and aversion. The act requires the enterprise to consider reducing food waste by incentivizing public schools to develop and implement effective composting, excess food donation, or share table programs. The act extends limited immunity from civil and criminal liability to school personnel and local education providers that supervise food and beverage redistribution in accordance with policies that include share tables. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires an individual who completes a certificate of death to record the decedent's sex to reflect the decedent's gender. If an individual who completes a certificate of death is presented with a document memorializing the decedent's gender (gender document), the individual must record the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document. If a gender document is not presented and an individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains objects to the sex recorded by the individual who completes the certificate of death, the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains may state their objection to the individual who completes a certificate of death before the certificate of death is filed, and the individual who completes the certificate of death must record the sex as the gender reported by the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains. If a gender document is presented to the office of state registrar of vital statistics in the department of public health and environment (state registrar) for a decedent that died in the state, the state registrar must issue an amended certificate of death for the decedent that changes the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document. The state registrar must also amend the certificate of death to reflect a legal name change if the appropriate legal name change documentation is submitted to the state registrar. An individual with the right to control the disposition of a decedent's remains may file a claim seeking an order of the court to amend the information recorded on the decedent's certificate of death. The act requires the department of public health and environment to add a gender field to the certificate of death form and the electronic death registration system. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning on January 1, 2026, any political subdivision of the state, public entity, or nonprofit corporation that provides paratransit services in the state (paratransit provider) is required to establish, in coordination with local public entities providing emergency services, a plan to communicate information and provide paratransit services during emergencies. The communication plan must include information on the number of riders who use paratransit services and the resource capacity of the paratransit provider, including the number of drivers and the number of vehicles used to provide paratransit services. Paratransit providers and public entities providing emergency services are also required to submit a report to the transportation legislation review committee on or before September 1, 2026, about the implementation of the communication and emergency services plan. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-016 is a commemorative resolution from the Colorado General Assembly expressing strong support for strengthening the sister-state relationship between Colorado and Taiwan. It reaffirms the 42-year relationship and advocates for enhanced trade relations and academic exchanges between the two entities. The resolution also calls for the signing of a U.S.-Taiwan agreement on avoiding double taxation to promote bilateral investment. Additionally, it supports Taiwan's meaningful inclusion in various international organizations.
The act permits Emily Griffith technical college (college) to offer an associate of applied science degree program (degree program) with approval from the state board for community colleges and occupational education (board). The degree program must include a registered apprenticeship program and certain transferable general education courses. In considering the college's request to offer a degree program, the board shall consider student and workforce demand, alignment with registered apprenticeship programs, cost-effectiveness for students and the state, and accreditation and licensing requirements. An approved degree program is eligible to receive federal "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act" funds. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
