For ground ambulance services (ambulance services), the act: Allows a political subdivision or an ambulance service providing ambulance services on behalf of the political subdivision to submit to the division of insurance (division) the established rates for the ambulance services, if the rates meet specified conditions; Requires the division to publish reimbursement rates on the division's public-facing website; Establishes reimbursement rates for ambulance services that are out of network; and Prohibits an out-of-network ambulance service from billing an individual covered under a health insurance coverage plan (covered person) any outstanding balance for a covered service not paid for by an insurance carrier, except for any coinsurance, deductible, or copayment amount required to be paid by the covered person. If a covered person makes a payment for an out-of-network ambulance service, the payment must be applied to the covered person's in-network deductibles and in-network out-of-pocket maximum amounts. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $38,149 is appropriated from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division to implement the act. VETOED by Governor 5/29/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Section 1 of the act creates the prescribed fire claims cash fund (fund) in the state treasury and requires the state treasurer to transfer $250,000 from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2025. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the division of fire prevention and control (division) shall expend money from the fund to pay claims for damages related to prescribed burns that are certified by the division in accordance with new guidelines as specified in the act and as adopted by the director of the division. The division shall authorize a payment in the amount certified in a claim; except that the maximum payment that the division may authorize for a singular burn is equal to the greater of $20,000 or 10% of the amount of money in the fund at the time the claim is filed. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly of money for the division to administer the fund, the division shall certify a claim that meets the following guidelines: The claim demonstrates, in sufficient detail, the costs or damages that resulted from the prescribed burn; The prescribed burn that resulted in the costs or damages was conducted in full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements for prescribed burning; Before conducting the prescribed burn, the certified prescribed burn manager registered the written prescription plan for the prescribed burn with the division and paid an administrative fee; and No more than 60 days have passed between the completion of the prescribed burn and the date upon which costs and damages were incurred. The act authorizes the director of the division to adopt rules and guidelines for the implementation and administration of the program and permits the division to contract with a third party to administer, certify, and pay the claims. The act also requires a claimant who accepts a payment that covers the full amount certified in the claim to waive all future claims related to the prescribed burn against the certified prescribed burn manager that conducted the burn; any organization, entity, or individual with whom the certified prescribed burn manager worked to conduct the burn; any individual or entity that provided funding for the burn; and any landowner on whose behalf the burn was conducted. Sections 2 and 3 expand the definition of a "certified burner" in the state to include an individual who has not completed the Colorado division's training and certification program but who meets reciprocity requirements and possesses a valid Colorado certification number. An individual seeking certification through reciprocity may receive a certification number from the division by: Applying for certification to the division, according to the rules and standards of the division, including the payment of any associated fee; and Submitting evidence to the division, according to the rules and standards of the division, that the individual holds a valid certification from a state government or other entity. The required rules and standards adopted by the director of the division, in consultation with the Colorado state forest service, pertaining to the qualification for and the terms and durations of certification, are required to include certification through reciprocity. Section 4 adds pretax costs associated with the implementation of an approved program or project to mitigate the effects of extreme weather, wildfires, climate change, or other hazards to the definition of Colorado energy impact costs. For the 2025-26 fiscal year: $250,000 is appropriated from the fund to the department of public safety for use by the division for prescribed fire claims; and $153,025 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for implementation of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law states that an employer shall not interfere with an agricultural worker's reasonable access to key service providers (KSP) at any location when the worker is not performing compensable work and with respect to health-care providers at any time. The act exempts an employer's property from this provision; except that the act prohibits an employer from interfering with a worker's access to KSP through remote channels on the employer's property. The act also removes language referring to health-care providers. Current law states that the division of labor standards and statistics (division) may adopt rules regarding additional times that an employer may not interfere with a worker's reasonable access to KSP. The act clarifies that such rules must apply only to locations other than the employer's property. Lastly, the act states the division shall not adopt rules that: Infringe upon an employer's private property rights; or Conflict with the common law rights of an individual to access private property in a time of emergency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current Colorado laws do not always expressly provide whether the laws apply to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe or the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Tribes). The act creates a rule of construction that a law does not apply to the Tribes unless the law clearly and expressly states that the law applies to the Tribes. The act further clarifies that if the general assembly enacts a new law or materially amends an existing law that is silent as to its application to the Tribes or to tribally controlled entities; purports to apply statewide; or grants a governmental agency or entity civil, criminal, or regulatory authority, it is presumed that the law does not apply within the exterior boundaries of the reservations to the Tribes, including the Tribes' officials and employees acting in their official capacities, to a tribally controlled entity, or to Tribal lands. The act reinforces that these rules of construction do not: Preclude or limit the authority of the Tribes' governing bodies from requesting inclusion in legislation pending before the general assembly; Abrogate the sovereign immunity of the state or the Tribes; or Affect the rights of the state, the Tribes, or other persons to pursue legal remedies that may be available to contest the application of laws passed by the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the American Indian affairs interim committee (committee). The purpose of the committee is to examine issues and challenges that impact American Indian Tribal Nations. The committee consists of 6 voting members of the general assembly who serve for the duration of the committee unless they resign, are removed, or are no longer in office and 2 nonvoting members, one from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and one from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The act allows the committee to meet up to 6 times and recommend up to 5 bills during each interim, but the committee does not meet or recommend legislation during the 2025 interim. On or before January 15, 2031, the act requires the committee to submit a report to the executive committee of the legislative council summarizing the work of the committee during the preceding 5 years. The committee is repealed, effective June 30, 2031. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning on or before July 1, 2027, the act requires a county department of human or social services (county department) to determine whether a child or youth who is in foster care and who has a deceased parent (child or youth) may be eligible to receive survivor benefits administered by the United States railroad retirement board, social security administration, or veterans benefits administration (federal survivor benefits). The county department must make an initial eligibility determination within 90 days after assuming legal custody of or authority over the child or youth. Under current law, certain federal agencies appoint a representative payee or fiduciary (representative payee) to receive and manage federal benefits on behalf of a child or youth in foster care. If a child or youth may be eligible for federal survivor benefits and the county department is the most appropriate representative payee, the act requires the county department to apply for federal survivor benefits on behalf of the child or youth. If the county department determines that the child or youth may be eligible for federal survivor benefits but that the county department is not the most appropriate representative payee, the county department shall provide information to the prospective representative payee that the county department has identified about how to apply for federal survivor benefits on behalf of the child or youth and how to become the child's or youth's representative payee. Under current law, a county department serving as a representative payee may use federal benefits to offset the cost of providing basic care and services to a child or youth in foster care. The act prohibits this offset practice with respect to federal survivor benefits. Instead, the act directs a county department serving as a representative payee to establish an account for the federal survivor benefits (account). A county department serving as a representative payee must save money in the account for the needs of the individual child or youth. Once the child or youth leaves foster care, the county department is required to release funds in the account to the child or youth. The act sets forth various accounting and notice requirements related to federal survivor benefits and requires the department of human services (department), in consultation with interested stakeholders, to adopt rules providing guidance for county departments. The guidance extends to procedures for identifying a representative payee, county department responsibilities when federal survivor benefits are denied or when a child or youth leaves foster care, and policies governing the establishment and maintenance of an account for federal survivor benefit funds. The department must provide technical assistance to a county department about how to conserve federal survivor benefit funds in the best interests of an individual child or youth. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Embodied carbon is the carbon associated with greenhouse gas emissions arising from the production, construction, use, and end-of-life of products or systems used in the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. Section 1 of the act adds embodied carbon improvements to the list of new energy improvements that are eligible for property-assessed clean energy financing provided by the Colorado new energy improvement district. An embodied carbon improvement is one or more installations or modifications to real property using eligible materials that result in the reduction of the installation's or modification's embodied carbon emissions. Section 2 modifies the industrial clean energy tax credit so that embodied carbon investments are greenhouse gas emissions reduction improvements that, if certified, are eligible for the credit for a portion of the capital costs incurred in placing them in service. An embodied carbon investment is one that results in a 15% or greater reduction in cradle-to-gate embodied emissions of eligible materials when compared to the eligible materials' cradle-to-gate baseline. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act exempts an assisted living residence that has not undergone new construction or major renovations from complying with the facility guideline institute guidelines. The department of health care policy and financing (state department) must establish a process for reviewing and updating the general billing manual on an annual basis and ensure that the general billing manual includes all necessary CPT codes or links to the state department's list of CPT codes. The act allows the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise to receive public funds. Beginning January 1, 2026, for claims that must be reprocessed as a result of updating the provider rates, the act requires a managed care organization to issue payment to a contracted provider within one year after the provider rate is updated. The state department must notify the managed care organizations of changes to the provider rates within 60 days of changing the provider rates. The act requires the state department to include in each new contract with, or renewal of a contract with, a managed care entity (MCE) a provision requiring the MCE to submit to the state department, on an annual basis, the amount the MCE is paid and the MCE's medical loss ratio. The state department is required to publish this information, as well as historical medical loss ratio data for each MCE, and publish on an annual basis audit findings regarding an MCE's most recently completed medical loss ratio audit on the state department's website. The act prohibits the state department from imposing signature requirements on a physician or practitioner certifying a medicaid member's (member) plan of care that involves physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy. The act requires that for members receiving home- and community-based services, if a service the member receives is discontinued or no longer a covered service, the state department must confirm the timeline for the continuity of treatment with the federal centers for medicare and medicaid during the transition period of the benefit or service being discontinued and must communicate that timeline to the member impacted by the benefit or service being discontinued. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prevents a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) from prohibiting a rural independent pharmacy from using a private courier or a delivery service to deliver a prescription drug to a patient. A PBM is required to reimburse a rural independent pharmacy for a prescription drug in an amount not less than the national average drug acquisition cost for the dispensed prescription drug ingredients, plus pay a dispensing fee. When a PBM conducts an audit of a rural independent pharmacy and the audit results in a recoupment of more than $1,000 or a penalty of more than $1,000, the PBM must: Electronically notify the rural independent pharmacy of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds; If the rural independent pharmacy does not respond to the electronic notification within 30 days after the electronic notification, again electronically notify the rural independent pharmacy of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds; and If the rural independent pharmacy does not respond to the second electronic notification within 30 days after the second electronic notification, serve process on the rural independent pharmacy notifying of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds. The act allows a rural independent pharmacy to operate without being under the direct charge of a pharmacist if the initial interpretation and final evaluation of the prescription is done by a state-licensed pharmacist in person or remotely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the deadline for the office of information technology's first annual report on the statewide longitudinal data system from April 15, 2026, to September 15, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)