Rep. Mary Young

The act extends for an additional 5 years the income tax credit for expenses incurred by an individual with a family income at or below $150,00, adjusted for inflation, (qualified individual) in retrofitting the individual's residence to increase its accessibility for persons with disabilities. The act also extends the credit carry-forward period from 5 to 8 years. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act permits the multidisciplinary team that creates an individualized education program (IEP) for a child, who may be eligible for special education services, to translate or contract with a translation services provider to translate the IEP draft documents into the dominant language spoken in the home of the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian (parent). Upon request of the child's parent, the multidisciplinary team is required to translate or contract with a translation services provider to translate the final IEP document into the dominant language spoken in the home of the child's parent. The IEP team shall verbally inform the child's parent of the right to request translation services. APPROVED by Governor May 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act transfers certain administrative responsibilities from: The behavioral health administration (BHA) to the department of human services (department); The office of behavioral health (OBH) to the department; OBH to the BHA; and The department to the BHA. The act repeals OBH as an office in the department. The act requires the chief information officer of the office of information technology to invite the commissioner of the BHA to select a member to represent the BHA on the government data advisory board. The act adds the commissioner of the BHA to the health equity commission. The act states that the BHA is a health oversight agency charged with overseeing the behavioral health-care system in Colorado and discharging the BHA's duties. The act authorizes the BHA to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations for the purpose of administering any behavioral health program and service. The act requires a behavioral health safety net provider to include services that address the necessary language and cultural barriers to serve communities of color and other underserved populations. Current law requires the department of public health and environment to continue issuing and renewing behavioral health entity licenses until June 30, 2023. The act extends the date to December 31, 2023. The act requires the statewide behavioral health safety net system to include services for adults who have a serious mental illness and children and youth who have a serious emotional disturbance. The act authorizes the BHA to revoke or refuse to renew a behavioral health entity's license if the owner, manager, or administrator of the entity has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving conduct that the BHA determines could pose a risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the entity's consumers. The act requires the BHA to include in the contract for designated behavioral health administrative services organizations (BHASO) a requirement that the BHASO perform appropriate fiscal management and quality oversight of providers in its network. Current law requires the BHA to create one regional subcommittee of the advisory council for each behavioral health administrative services organization region. The act requires the BHA to create a regional subcommittee structure as part of the BHASO to promote local community input pertaining to behavioral health service needs. The act adds certain members to the regional subcommittee. The act requires the BHA to serve as the central organizing structure and responsible entity for jail-based behavioral health services. Current law requires the commissioner to select and contract with regionally based behavioral health organizations to establish, administer, and maintain adequate networks of behavioral health safety net services and care coordination no later than July 1, 2024. The act extends the date to July 1, 2025. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the BHA to safeguard partnerships between community-based behavioral health providers and rural hospitals by allocating money to community-based behavioral health providers. To implement the care navigation program, the act requires the BHA to provide, directly or through contract, care navigation services and align the care navigation services with the care coordination infrastructure. The act continuously appropriates money to the 988 crisis hotline cash fund. Current law specifies the rights of a person detained by a certified peace officer or emergency medical services provider and transported to an outpatient mental health facility or facility designated by the commissioner of the BHA. The act expands the rights to any person detained whether or not the person is transported to an outpatient mental health facility or facility designated by the commissioner of the BHA. If a person detained is transported to an emergency medical services facility, the transportation hold expires upon the facility receiving the person for screening by an intervening professional. Current law states the BHA is responsible for licensing mental health residential facilities on and after July 1, 2023. The act extends the date to October 1, 2023. The act extends the date that behavioral health entities can legally operate without a license from July 1, 2024, to January 1, 2024. The act decreases the general fund appropriation for use by the BHA and increases the general fund appropriation for use by the OBH for jail-based behavioral health services by $2,250,400. APPROVED by Governor May 16, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 16, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the Colorado department of public health and environment (department) to distribute stop the bleed training materials and bleed control kits to K-12 schools that opt into receiving them. The act also requires the department, in collaboration with the American college of surgeons' committee on trauma, to report the number of schools that opt in, the number of people who have been trained in stop the bleed procedures in schools, the total number of stop the bleed control kits sent to schools, and the total cost of distributing stop the bleed control kits, for each school year from 2024 through 2026. The act appropriates $155,541 for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the general fund to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division. Any money not used for the 2023-24 school year is further appropriated to the department for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years for the same purpose. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 15, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the family and community intervener program (program) to support children who are deafblind and their families. The program provides deafblind children the services of an intervener who is specifically trained in deafblindness, building language and communication skills, and intervention strategies with children who are deafblind and their community, families, and environment. The Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind shall contract with an intervener program manager (manager) who has oversight over the program, the intervener activities, and the outcomes for children who are deafblind. The manager and intervener shall collaborate with other state agencies as appropriate that provide direct or indirect services to children who are deafblind and their families to identify potential additional services or opportunities for children who are deafblind. The program is funded through the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $130,092 is appropriated to the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind cash fund from the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund. This amount is reappropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of adults, aging, and disability services for the implementation of this act. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a mental health professional must be licensed by the department of education (department) in order to work in a school. The act authorizes a school or school district, the state charter school institute, a board of cooperative services that operates a school, or the division of youth services to employ school-based therapists who are not licensed by the department but hold a Colorado license for their profession to work in coordination with licensed special service providers to coordinate mental health supports for students. Before being employed, the school-based therapists must satisfy certain requirements for nonlicensed school employees, including a fingerprint-based criminal background check. Any school-based therapists may be supervised by a mentor special services provider or a licensed administrator. If an eligible school-based therapist provides services to a student related to the student's individualized education program, the eligible school-based therapist must have qualifications consistent with the student's individualized education program. APPROVED by Governor May 4, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 4, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a health-care provider to prescribe, dispense, or administer a schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substance (drug) to a patient in the course of treatment for a diagnosed condition that causes chronic pain. The act also clarifies that the prescribing health-care provider is not subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate regulator for prescribing a dosage of a drug that is equal to or more than a morphine milligram equivalent dosage recommendation or threshold specified in state or federal opioid prescribing guidelines or policies. The act prevents a health-care provider from being required to taper a patient's medication dosage solely to meet a predetermined dosage recommendation or threshold if the patient is stable, compliant with treatment, and not experiencing serious harm. The act also prohibits a pharmacy, health insurance carrier, or pharmacy benefit manager from having a policy in place that requires a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription for an opiate issued by a health-care provider solely because the prescription is for an opiate or because the prescription order exceeds a predetermined morphine milligram equivalent dosage recommendation or threshold. The act also prohibits a health-care practice or clinic from having a policy in place that requires a health-care provider to refuse to prescribe, administer, or dispense a prescription for an opiate solely because the prescription order exceeds a predetermined morphine milligram equivalent dosage recommendation or threshold. APPROVED by Governor May 4, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 4, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as contained in the department's 2022 sunset review of the "Custom Processing of Meat Animals Act", by: Continuing the act for 9 years, to September 2032; Repealing obsolete provisions that concern the use of a stakeholder process to develop poultry labeling requirements; Consolidating statutory provisions imposing civil penalties for a violation into one provision; Standardizing criminal penalties by reducing the penalty for a violation of the act or a rule promulgated under the act from a class 2 misdemeanor with a fine of $750 and up to 364 days imprisonment to a petty offense, which is up to a $300 fine or 10 days in jail; and Directing that civil penalties be credited to the general fund. APPROVED by Governor April 28, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning on or before August 1, 2024, the act requires the department of law to annually convene a training for school resource officers and school officials to discuss best practices in responding to safe2tell reports, including defining roles, communication about a report, outcome reporting, and training resources to improve school resource officers' support of students and school staff. Safe2tell may conduct a survey to collect data and discussions regarding its operations. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law designates that a student in an out-of-home placement is a resident of the school district where the placement is located, even if that student continues to attend a school in another school district. The act designates students in out-of-home placements as residents of the school district of their school of origin as long as the student attends the school of origin, other than an approved facility school, or a state-licensed day treatment facility. The act requires the state department of human services (department) to organize a working group to identify and address issues related to foster youth education, transportation, and stability and requires the department to provide written recommendations to the general assembly before the 2025 regular legislative session. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)