Rep. Matt Soper

The act enacts the softbound volumes of the Colorado Revised Statutes 2022 and the subsequent changes approved by the voters at the general election on November 8, 2022, as the positive and statutory law of the state of Colorado and establishes the effective date of said publication. APPROVED by Governor February 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE February 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law allows a physician to submit documentation to the department of public health and environment (department) stating that a patient has a debilitating medical condition or disabling medical condition and may benefit from the use of medical marijuana. The bill clarifies that the physician is submitting a recommendation to the department rather than a certification or authorization. The bill removes the following requirements for a physician's recommendation to the department: The physician's federal drug enforcement agency number; The maximum THC potency level of the medical marijuana product; The recommended medical marijuana product; The patient's daily authorized quantity of the medical marijuana product; and Directions for use of the medical marijuana product. The bill allows a physician to establish a bonafide physician-patient relationship remotely via video or telephone conference if the patient is: 21 years of age or older; Under 18 years of age; or 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age and the patient received a medical marijuana recommendation prior to 18 years of age. The bill clarifies that a patient must only present a uniform certification form completed by a recommending physician to a medical marijuana store if the patient seeks to purchase more than the statutorily allowed limit of medical marijuana products. Current law limits the amount of medical marijuana concentrate that a patient may purchase in a single day to 8 grams. The bill increases that limitation to 40 grams, but limits the total amount that a patient can purchase in a 30-day period to the equivalent of 8 grams per day. Current law limits the combined amount of medical marijuana products that a patient may purchase in a single day to 20,000 milligrams. The bill adds an exception to that limitation for nonedible, nonpsychoactive medical marijuana products. Current law limits the amount of medical marijuana concentrate that a patient 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age may purchase in a single day to 2 grams. The bill allows a patient that is 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age and had a registry identification card issued by the department prior to 18 years of age to purchase in a single day up to 8 grams of medical marijuana concentrate. The bill clarifies that when a physician issues a uniform certification form to a patient 18 years of age or older, the physician may consider whether the patient had a registry identification card issued by the department prior to 18 years of age as a factor in recommending that the patient be allowed to purchase more than the statutorily allowed quantities of medical marijuana products. The bill allows a retail marijuana store to sell retail marijuana products to patients at the statutorily allowed limit for medical marijuana products and registered primary caregivers 21 years of age or older who present a registry identification card issued by the department. The bill also allows a registered primary caregiver to purchase retail marijuana products for a patient who is under 21 years of age at the applicable statutorily allowed limit for medical marijuana products for patients under 21 years of age. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill specifies that actions brought for violations of minimum wage laws must be commenced within 2 years after the cause of action accrues or, for a willful violation, within 3 years after the cause of action accrues. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

For 5 income tax years beginning in 2023, the bill creates a refundable state income tax credit for a Colorado teacher or classroom paraprofessional (eligible educator) for their classroom expenses. An eligible educator cannot claim the credit for an expense that the educator claims as a federal educator expense deduction for purposes of the educator's federal income tax, and the maximum amount of the credit per income tax year is $500.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act creates the displaced Aurarian scholarship (scholarship) to fully fund scholarships to attend Metropolitan state university of Denver, the university of Colorado at Denver, or the community college of Denver for descendants of people displaced by the development of the Auraria higher education center. The act requires Metropolitan state university of Denver, the university of Colorado at Denver, and the community college of Denver, in collaboration, to establish criteria for scholarship recipients. The act appropriates $2 million from the general fund to the department of higher education to be distributed equally to Metropolitan state university of Denver, the university of Colorado at Denver, and the community college of Denver for the scholarships. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

No later than June 30, 2023, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department), in conjunction with the department of public health and environment, to develop a regulatory plan to establish formal oversight requirements for the program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE). No later than March 1, 2024, the act requires the state department to establish, administer, and enforce minimum regulatory standards and rules for the PACE program. The act requires the state department to continually analyze the reimbursement methodology for PACE entities and provide an update to specified committees of the general assembly of any methodology requirements that incorporate encounter data and any associated costs to the state department in overseeing PACE entities. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department), as specified in the department's sunset review of the state board of optometry (board), with modifications, by: Continuing the board and the regulation of optometry for 11 years, until September 1, 2033; Adding certain treatments and procedures to the scope of the practice of optometry; Removing the exemption for optometrists from the requirement to notify the board in the event that the optometrist is unable to treat patients with reasonable skill and safety; Removing references to the "National Board of Examiners in Optometry" and clarifying that the board may designate any national standardized examination that tests the applicant's ability to practice optometry as a requirement for licensure; and Requiring an optometrist licensed by the board to complete certain education, examination, and reporting requirements to perform laser procedures or treat ocular adnexa.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Clarifies that every prescriber must query the prescription drug monitoring program (program) prior to filling a prescription for an opioid or benzodiazepine; Requires each prescriber and pharmacist to attest that they have registered and are maintaining a user account with the program and that they are aware of the penalties for noncompliance; Allows a practitioner or pharmacist who is registered with the program to authorize an unlimited number of designees to access the program on the practitioner's or pharmacist's behalf if the designees meet the eligibility criteria and to register those designees in a group designee user account. The practitioner or pharmacist is required to approve, maintain, and track the identifying information of each authorized designee in the group designee user account. Requires the division of professions and occupations (division) to solicit applications from public and private integration organizations and, on or before January 1, 2023, approve qualified integration organizations that practitioners and pharmacists may use to integrate the program with patient electronic medical records; and Subject to available funding, requires the division to implement a process whereby practitioners and pharmacists may apply for and receive reimbursement from the division for all or a portion of the costs of integrating the program with electronic medical records. $2,016,475 is appropriated from the prescription drug monitoring fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of professions and occupations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the act amends, repeals, and reconstructs various statutory provisions of law that are obsolete, imperfect, or inoperative. The specific reasons for each amendment or repeal are set forth in the appendix to the act. The amendments made by the act are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires supplemental health-care staffing agencies (staffing agencies) to complete initial and annual certification with the division of unemployment insurance in the department of labor and employment (department) prior to operating the staffing agency. A staffing agency that fails to comply with the certification requirements commits a civil infraction and may be assessed fines by the department. On or before September 1 of each year, the department of public health and environment and the department of health care policy and financing shall provide the department with a list of all known names of and the contact information for staffing agencies operating in the state. No later than October 1, 2022, each staffing agency shall begin maintaining detailed data necessary for required reporting to the department that includes, in part: A detailed listing of the average amount charged during each quarter of the reporting period to a health-care facility for each category of health-care worker providing services to the health-care facility; and A detailed listing of the average amount paid during each quarter of the reporting period to health-care workers for their services for each category of health-care worker providing services. Commencing April 30, 2023, each staffing agency shall submit biannual reports to the department with the required data. The act includes fines for staffing agencies that submit late or noncompliant biannual reports. The department shall provide copies of the staffing agencies' biannual reports to the department of public health and environment and to the department of health care policy and financing for purposes of analyzing the information provided by the staffing agencies and determining the need for regulation of staffing agencies. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year: $427,591 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of labor and employment for use by the division of labor standards and statistics to implement the act. The appropriation is based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 2.0 FTE; $39,358 is appropriated to the department of public health and environment for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division for administration and operations and to purchase information technology services. The appropriation is based on an assumption that the division will require an additional 0.3 FTE. $15,545 is appropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology to provide information technology services to the department of public health and environment. This appropriation is from reappropriated funds received from the department of public health and environment.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)