Rep. Mary Young

The act implements the recommendations in the department of regulatory agencies' 2023 sunset review and report on the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind (commission) by: Continuing the commission for 7 years, until 2031; Establishing a permanent state auxiliary services program; and Changing the name of the deafblind citizens council to the Colorado deafblind advisory council. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies (department), as contained in the department's 2023 sunset review and report concerning the rule-making authority of the executive director of the department of early childhood (executive director). The act continues the executive director's rule-making authority for 7 years, until September 1, 2031. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

No later than August 2024, and each August every 3 years thereafter, the act requires the department of human services (department), the office of state planning and budgeting, and representatives from area agencies on aging to review the adequacy of the appropriation for senior services for the prior 3 fiscal years to address the needs of senior citizens who request services pursuant to the "Older Coloradans' Act". The department is required to report the findings of the adequacy review during its "SMART Act" hearing. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 24, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that court-appointed special advocate volunteers can be attached, stay attached, or be reattached to cases for foster youth in transition. With the consent of the youth, a CASA volunteer may be appointed in a foster youth in transition program case and may support the youth in planning for the youth's future and accessing necessary services, supports, and assistance consistent with the youth's expressed interests and the program's goals. A CASA volunteer appointed to a youth in a foster youth in transition program case shall not make best interests recommendations to the court or others and must not have access to or share confidential information about the youth without the youth's express consent to access or share such information. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act removes the requirement that a mental health professional provide each client with an explanation of the levels of regulation and the differences between licensure, registration, and certification of mental health professionals. The act removes the requirement for an individual to take and pass the board of social work examiners' masters examination in order to obtain a licensed social worker license. In order for an individual to obtain a registration as a psychologist candidate (PSYC), a clinical social worker candidate (SWC), a marriage and family therapist candidate (MFTC), a licensed professional counselor candidate (LPCC), or an addiction counselor candidate (ADDC), the act requires the individual to pass the Colorado jurisprudence examination. The act authorizes PSYCs, SWCs, MFTCs, LPCCs, and ADDCs to renew their candidate registrations if they are unable to complete all the post-degree licensure requirements within the 3-year time frame that a registration is valid and allows candidates whose registrations have expired to reapply for the registration. The act requires certain mental health professionals, prior to a renewal of a license or registration, to complete continuing professional development and educational hours. On or before December 31, 2024,the state board of psychologist examiners, the state board of social work examiners, the state board of marriage and family therapist examiners, the state board of licensed professional counselor examiners, and the state board of addiction counselor examiners are required to begin the rule-making process to align their respective rules with their respective practice acts. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires the director of the division of employment and training (director) in the department of labor and employment to annually collect, analyze, and make recommendations to the general assembly based on data from workforce centers; the state, in relation to data it has collected concerning workers in specific age categories, beginning at age 50; and individuals with disabilities. The bill also requires the director, every 3 years, to conduct, or contract with an another entity to conduct, a survey to better understand the experiences and needed tools and resources of individuals in Colorado who are 55 years of age or older and are considering entering or reentering the workforce, are unemployed, underemployed, or are looking for a career change. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, the act creates a new subclass of residential real property called qualified-senior primary residence real property, which includes residential real property that as of the assessment date is used as the primary residence of an owner-occupier, as defined in the act, if: The owner-occupier applies to the county assessor for the classification in the manner required by the act; The owner-occupier previously qualified for the property tax exemption for qualifying seniors (exemption) for a different property for a property tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2020, and does not qualify for the exemption for the current property tax year; and The circumstances that qualify the property for the classification have not changed since the filing of the application. The act also: Classifies property that might otherwise be classified as multi-family residential real property that contains a unit that qualifies as qualified-senior primary residence real property as multi-family qualified-senior primary residence real property and treats such property as qualified-senior primary residence real property; For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2027, sets the valuation for assessment for qualified-senior primary residence real property at 7.15% of the amount equal to the actual value of the property minus the lesser of 50% of the first $200,000 of that actual value or the amount that causes the valuation for assessment of the property to be $1,000; Establishes the processes by which an owner-occupier of residential real property may apply to have the owner-occupier's primary residence classified as qualified-senior primary residence real property and by which such an application is approved or denied; For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2027, requires the state to reimburse local governmental entities that levy property taxes for total property tax revenue lost due solely to the reduced valuation for assessment of qualified-senior primary residence real property as compared to the valuation for assessment of other residential real property and specifies the process by which the proper amount of reimbursement is calculated and reimbursement is made; and For state fiscal years in which excess state revenues are required to be refunded pursuant to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, establishes the reimbursement to local governmental entities as a means of refunding such excess state revenues. APPROVED by Governor May 14, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws. The bill repeals the "Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act" and enacts the "Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act", drafted by the uniform law commission. The bill provides guidance for guardians and conservators and clarifies how appointees must make decisions on behalf of a person under guardianship or conservatorship. The bill encourages the use of protective arrangements and less restrictive alternatives instead of conservatorship or guardianship if a person's needs can be met with support services and technology. The bill expands the procedural rights for respondents to ensure that guardianships and conservatorships are only imposed when necessary. The bill provides for expanded monitoring of guardians and conservators to ensure compliance with fiduciary duties and prevent exploitation. The bill provides for visitation and communication rights for individuals subject to guardianship or conservatorship. This includes a limitation on a guardian's ability to prevent communication, visitation, or interactions between a person subject to guardianship and a third party. The bill provides for protections to prevent exploitation of vulnerable individuals by allowing the court to restrict access to the respondent or the respondent's property by a specified person without imposing a guardianship or conservatorship. The bill prohibits courts from establishing full guardianship or conservatorship if a limited guardianship or conservatorship would meet the respondent's needs, requires a petitioner seeking full guardianship or conservatorship to provide support to justify full guardianship or conservatorship, and requires courts to provide findings to support the imposition of full guardianship or conservatorship. The bill updates provisions concerning minors subject to guardianship and provides for involvement of a minor in decisions that involve the minor. The bill provides guidance for property management for individuals subject to guardianship. The bill contains model forms for petitioners and respondents to use when filing petitions and notice with the court. (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 act requires the state treasurer, on behalf of the state, to execute, no later than December 31, 2024, financed purchase of an asset or certificate of participation agreements (financing agreements) to finance capital costs related to the construction of facilities for 4 state institutions of higher education. The financing agreements are to be issued in an aggregate principal amount of up to $246,936,092 plus reasonable and necessary administrative, monitoring, and closing costs and interest, including capitalized interest. The anticipated annual state-funded payments for the principal and interest components due under the financing agreements must not exceed $17,500,000 with principal amortization not occurring before July 1, 2027. The proceeds from the financing agreements will be used for the following 4 capital projects: Construction of facilities for the university of northern Colorado's college of osteopathic medicine; Construction of a health institute tower for metropolitan state university of Denver; Construction of a veterinary health education complex for Colorado state university; and Renovation of Trinidad state college's valley campus main building to move nursing and allied health programs into the building, address deferred maintenance issues, and create an assembly space that will serve both the college and the community and a one-stop student services center to support career and technical education and allied health students. The act also requires a general fund transfer of $41,250,000 to the university of northern Colorado for deposit into an escrow account to be held in escrow in accordance with the requirements of the accrediting body of the college of osteopathic medicine. If the money in escrow, including interest, is released to the university of northern Colorado upon graduation of the first cohort from the college of osteopathic medicine, then the university shall provide notice of the release of escrow to the joint budget committee of the general assembly, to the state treasurer, and to the office of state planning and budgeting. Additionally, for the state fiscal year in which the escrow money is released, the amount that is to be paid to the university pursuant to its fee-for-service contract for that state fiscal year is reduced by the lesser of an amount equal to the amount of the escrow money or an amount equal to the amount of a portion of the escrow money that reduces the amount to be paid pursuant to the fee-for-service contract to zero. If the amount of the escrow money exceeds the amount due under such fee-for-service contract, then the amount the university of northern Colorado would otherwise receive from the college opportunity fund is reduced by an amount equal to the excess. If, after both reductions, there remains excess escrow money, then in the next state fiscal year the amount that is to be paid to the university of northern Colorado pursuant to its fee-for-service contract for that state fiscal year is reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the remaining escrow money. The university of northern Colorado must use the escrow money, or a portion of it, as applicable, for each applicable reduction as an offset for the reduction. If the escrow money is released for failure of the college of osteopathic medicine to complete accreditation, then the university of northern Colorado shall provide a report of this to the joint budget committee of the general assembly, to the state treasurer, and to the office of state planning and budgeting. For the period that the escrow money is held in escrow, the amount of unrestricted general fund year-end balances that must be retained as a reserve is reduced by $41,250,000. The appropriation to implement the act anticipates that the department of higher education will receive $246,936,092 in cash funds from the proceeds of the financing agreements and is anticipated to use the amount as follows: $127,542,028 for construction of the college of osteopathic medicine at the university of northern Colorado; $50,000,000 for construction of the health institute tower at metropolitan state university of Denver; $50,000,000 for construction of the veterinary health education complex at Colorado state university; and $19,394,064 for renovation of the valley campus main building at Trinidad state college. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act enacts the "School Psychologists Licensure Interstate Compact" (compact). The purpose of the compact is to facilitate the interstate practice of school psychology in educational or school settings, thereby improving the availability of school psychological services (services) to the public. The compact establishes a pathway to allow school psychologists to obtain equivalent licenses to provide services in any state that is a member of the compact (member state). The compact outlines the requirements for a school psychologist to obtain and maintain an equivalent license in another member state. Provisions for active military members and their spouses are made. The compact takes effect on the date it is enacted into law in the seventh compact state. The executive director of the department of education shall notify the revisor of statutes in writing when the seventh compact state has enacted the compact into law by e-mailing notice to the revisor of statutes. APPROVED by Governor April 29, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 29, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)