Rep. Katie Stewart

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.)

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-017 designates the North Academy Bridge spanning Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs as the "Naval Aviation Pilot and Aviation Machinist Mate Petty Officer First Class Daniel T. Griffin Bridge." This resolution honors Daniel T. Griffin, recognized as the first Coloradan killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It also allows the Colorado Department of Transportation to explore a cooperative agreement with the Colorado Springs City Council for the maintenance of the bridge's signs.

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 each institution of higher education (institution) in Colorado to create and adopt a policy and a process to support the ability of an admitted or enrolled student with a disability (student) to voluntarily self-disclose the student's disability and to engage in an interactive process with the institution to receive an academic adjustment. The adopted policy must, at a minimum, include information that: Describes the institution's process to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Outlines documentation that the institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment; Provides information on the available disability resources and academic adjustments provided to students with disabilities; and Describes an appeals process for academic adjustment decisions that focuses on documentary review. Each institution shall publish the policy on the institution's website in an accessible format. The act describes the type of documentation that an institution may request to determine whether a student is eligible for an academic adjustment. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits food processing plants from selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product. The act also requires food processing plants to clearly label cell-cultivated meat as cell-cultivated meat. The department of public health and environment (department) is required to inspect food at a food processing plant if the department has reasonable cause to believe that: Cell-cultivated meat sold or offered for sale by the plant is misbranded as a meat product; or The plant is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required. If, after an inspection, the department has reasonable cause to believe that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue a stop order. Upon being issued the stop order, the food processing plant shall not sell the product or offer it for sale until the department determines whether it is misbranded or unlabeled in violation of the act. If the department determines that a food processing plant is selling or offering for sale cell-cultivated meat that is misbranded as a meat product, or is failing to label cell-cultivated meat as required, the department may issue an embargo order requiring the food processing plant to dispose of the cell-cultivated meat by means other than by sale to purchasers in Colorado. The department, the attorney general, or the district attorney in the district where cell-cultivated meat is being offered for sale or sold may petition the district court to enforce a stop order or an embargo order. The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act specifies that the fair access to insurance requirements plan association (association) is not: A department, unit, agency, political subdivision, or instrumentality of the state; or An insurance company or a person engaged in the business of insurance. The act also grants a member insurer, the association and its agents or employees, the board of directors of the association, and the commissioner of insurance or the commissioner's representatives immunity for any action taken by them in the performance of their powers and duties for the association. The act specifies that the only causes of action and remedies available to a policyholder of a fair access to insurance requirements plan policy against the association is for breach of contract or breach of the common law covenant of good faith and fair dealing. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a board of county commissioners to appoint an individual who is already an elected or appointed state, county, or city official to a public hospital board of trustees (hospital board). Before passage of the act, a hospital board was required organize and operate on the second Tuesday of each January. The act changes that requirement to mandate that a hospital board organize and operate on an annual basis. The act eliminates a requirement that one of the trustees of a hospital board must visit and examine the hospital at least twice each month. The act also changes the deadline by which a hospital board must certify to a board of county commissioners the amount necessary to maintain and improve the hospital for the ensuing year from October 1 to December 1. (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 clarifies that the child of an inbound active duty military member (member) who has an existing individualized education program (IEP) or existing section 504 plan is eligible for open enrollment, remote enrollment, and guaranteed matriculation. The act requires the school district, district charter school, or an institute charter school (local education provider) where the child enrolls to ensure the student receives the appropriate services and accommodations, consistent with the child's existing IEP or section 504 plan, without unreasonable delay upon enrollment. The act requires each local education provider to take reasonable steps to notify members and their families of their rights, including providing information on special education services to prevent inadvertent exclusion and to ensure members and their families are fully informed of available supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)