Rep. Eliza Hamrick

The act amends statutory provisions relating to unused medication in facilities, including correctional facilities, nursing care facilities, assisted living residences, hospice, and other facilities, to change the defined term "medication" to "medicine" and specifies the types of unused medicines that may be redispensed to patients or donated to another entity that has legal authority to possess the medicine. The act creates the Colorado drug donation program (donation program). The donation program allows a person legally authorized to possess medicine, including an individual donor who is a member of the public and other donors, including a pharmacy, a long-term care facility, a surgical center, a prescriber or other health-care professional or facility, a wholesaler, a distributor, a third-party logistics provider, and others (donor), to donate certain unused medicine (donated medicine), as specified in the act. The act prohibits the donation of prescription drugs that are subject to risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS), unless all of the required guidelines are followed, or REMS drugs that were initially dispensed by a pharmacy pursuant to a restricted distribution channel. A donor or an individual donor may donate unused medicine to a donation recipient that is authorized to possess medicine and that has a credential in good standing in the state in which the donation recipient is located. A donation recipient includes a hospital, pharmacy, clinic, health-care provider, or prescriber office, and may include a wholesaler, distributor, third-party logistics provider, reverse distributor, or repackager if the entity is a nonprofit entity or is directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or could be controlled by a nonprofit entity. The act requires the donation recipient to keep a record of the donated medicine, separate the donated medicine from regular stock, and have donated medicine inspected by a licensed pharmacist. The donation recipient may transfer the donated medicine to another donation recipient or entity, repackage the donated medicine, or, if the donation recipient is a prescription drug outlet or other outlet, replace medicine of the same drug name and strength. The act requires donated medicine to first be dispensed to an eligible patient who is an individual who is indigent, uninsured, or underinsured. Donated medicine must not be resold; except that a donation recipient may charge a handling or dispensing fee for the donated medicine. When acting in good faith, the participants in the donation program are not subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action. The act also shields drug manufacturers from liability for donated medicine that is subject to REMS under federal law. (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 authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to seek and accept gifts from private or public sources for the primary care fund. The act authorizes a federally qualified health center (FQHC) to establish a separate subsidiary company for the purpose of providing fee-for-service services outside of the FQHC's standard cost report if the subsidiary is providing fee-for-service services that have historically been provided and reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis and if HCPF determines that the subsidiary's reimbursements would be budget neutral. Upon receiving any necessary federal authorization, HCPF is required to reimburse a subsidiary of an FQHC on a fee-for-service basis for services that are eligible for fee-for-service reimbursement. A subsidiary that receives reimbursement is authorized to pass through money received from the reimbursement directly to the FQHC operating as the subsidiary's parent corporation. Services reimbursed to an FQHC's subsidiary are excluded from the FQHC's cost report. The act requires HCPF to exclude all costs associated with a subsidiary company from the calculation of a FQHC's reimbursement rates and requires a FQHC that establishes a separate subsidiary company to include the costs associated with the subsidiary in its cost report that is necessary to calculate reimbursement rates. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The Tony Grampsas youth services grant program (grant program) provides grants to community-based programs to reduce incidents of youth crime and violence. The youth mentoring program, the student dropout prevention and intervention program, and the student before-and-after school project (collectively, the "programs") were created within the grant program. The act repeals the individual programs and instead lists the programs as allowable uses for grant money under the grant program. The act transfers certain responsibilities from the Tony Grampsas youth services board (board) to the department of human services (department). The act repeals local public-to-private funding match requirements. The act requires each entity that receives a grant to annually report certain information to the department; except that an entity that has an operating budget of less than $1.5 million, or that receives a grant in the amount of not more than $25,000, is not required to report on the outcomes achieved by the services provided and the methods used to track the outcomes. The act decreases the appropriation from the marijuana tax cash fund to the youth mentoring services cash fund by $500,000 and reappropriates the money to the grant program by $500,000. The act decreases the appropriation from the youth mentoring services cash fund to the grant program by $504,120. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the "Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act" contains parameters concerning exceptions for the use of restraint and seclusion for various agencies, including for public schools. The act removes public schools from the "Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act" and creates the "Protection of Students from Restraint and Seclusion Act" that is specific to local education providers. The act: Prohibits any form of restraint, as defined in the act, (restraint) and seclusion, except as provided; Establishes guidelines for acceptable use of restraint and seclusion; Requires a local education provider that uses restraint or seclusion to train its employees and agents; Requires a local education provider to document instances of restraint or seclusion and notify the student's family of certain instances of restraint or seclusion; No later than July 1, 2025, requires each local education provider to establish an annual review process for their use of restraint and seclusion; and Annually, beginning June 30, 2026, requires each local education provider to submit a report to the department of education summarizing their use of restraint and seclusion. The state board of education shall adopt rules for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies in its 2024 sunset review and report on the rural alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment program by continuing the program until September 1, 2030. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act permits the state, a county, a city and county, a school district, or a municipality to, with approval from a school district's board of education, install and utilize automated vehicle identification systems (system) on the school district's school buses to detect a driver of a vehicle that overtakes a stopped school bus with actuated visual signal lights in violation of current law. A school district that installs and utilizes a system for this purpose must enter into a memorandum of understanding with one or more law enforcement agencies. If a system detects a violation, the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality may impose a civil penalty of up to $300. The act creates a rebuttable presumption that when an image produced by a system includes an electronic indicator signifying that a school bus's visual signal lights are actuated, the visual signal lights are presumed to be actuated and operational and the school bus is presumed to be stopped to receive or discharge school children. The act mandates that the fines collected through the use of the system must not be used as the basis for the compensation to the system manufacturer or vendor and that the compensation must not be based exclusively upon the number of citations issued or revenue generated by the system.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Health benefit insurance plans (health benefit plans) include coverage for gender-affirming health care as part of individual and group health benefit plans. "Gender-affirming health care" is defined in the act as supplies, care, and services of a medical, behavioral health, mental health, psychiatric, habilitative, surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic, preventive, rehabilitative, or supportive nature relating to the treatment of gender dysphoria (gender-affirming health care). The act codifies gender-affirming health care treatments in statute and prohibits a health benefit plan from denying or limiting medically necessary gender-affirming health care, as determined and prescribed by a physical or behavioral health-care provider. The act authorizes the health insurance affordability board to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations and to use those gifts, grants, or donations to cover abortion costs and to ensure access to legally protected health-care activity. The act exempts prescriptions for testosterone from the tracking requirements of the prescription drug use monitoring program and blocks archived records concerning testosterone use from view. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a postsecondary and workforce readiness funding model that includes 3 types of funding: Start-up funding, innovation grant funding, and sustain funding. The state board of education (state board) is authorized to adopt rules concerning these funding sources. For the 2025-26 budget year through the 2027-28 budget year, the department of education (department) shall use a formula to determine each local education provider's start-up funding, which is used for eligible expenses that are associated with developing and implementing a postsecondary and workforce readiness program. Start-up funding gradually phases out and repeals after the 2027-28 budget year. Beginning in the 2028-29 budget year, innovation grant funding through the John W. Buckner postsecondary and workforce readiness innovation grant program, created in the department, is available to certain local education providers for eligible expenses that are associated with developing and implementing a postsecondary and workforce readiness program that aligns with the state's workforce demands or priorities. Local education providers that are required to adopt a priority improvement plan or a turnaround plan, or that authorize schools that are required to adopt a priority improvement plan or turnaround plan, for the current or prior budget year, or local education providers that demonstrate, or authorize a school that demonstrates, a low level of attainment on the postsecondary workforce readiness indicator for the prior school year are eligible for innovation grant funding. Beginning in the 2026-27 budget year, sustain funding is used to reimburse local education providers' expenses for students who, in the preceding budget year, successfully satisfied postsecondary credit, industry-recognized credential, or work-based learning requirements. For the 2026-27 budget year, of total sustain funding, a certain percentage is available for reimbursing postsecondary credit attainment, reimbursing industry-recognized credentials, and reimbursing work-based learning. For the 2027-28 budget year, and budget years thereafter, the state board may adjust the percentages for these categories. Beginning in January 2028, the department is required to annually report, as a part of its "SMART Act" presentation, findings regarding the effectiveness of consolidating the postsecondary and workforce readiness programs and funding streams. By November 1, 2029, the department is required to report to the joint budget committee findings regarding the effectiveness of consolidating the postsecondary and workforce readiness programs and funding streams. The act repeals the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment program and career development success program after the 2025-26 budget year. Upon passage, the act repeals the: Concurrent enrollment expansion and innovation grant program; and John W. Buckner automatic enrollment in advanced courses grant program. The act requires the department to convene a working group that includes educators to report its findings and recommendations to the joint budget committee concerning the effectiveness of the teacher retention and preparation program (TREP) and the pathways in technology (p-tech) early college high schools. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act: Adjusts appropriations made in the 2025-26 long bill; Appropriates $5,018,715 from the general fund and state education fund to the department for use by student pathways to implement the act; and Appropriates $160,073 from the general fund to the department for use by school quality and support to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a person who does not have lawful immigration status must submit an affidavit stating that they have either applied for lawful presence or will apply for lawful presence as soon as they are eligible when the person is applying for: In-state student tuition classification; or An identification document pursuant to the "Colorado Road and Community Safety Act". The act repeals these affidavit requirements. Under current law, a jail custodian is generally required to release a defendant within 6 hours after the defendant has been granted a personal recognizance bond or is prepared to post bond. The act prohibits the jail custodian from delaying a defendant's release for the purpose of an immigration enforcement operation. Under current law, a criminal defendant may petition a court to vacate a guilty plea to a class 1 or class 2 misdemeanor or a municipal offense if the criminal defendant alleges that: They were not adequately advised by defense counsel of adverse immigration consequences of a guilty plea; They did not knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily waive the right to counsel because they were not advised that the right to counsel includes the right to be advised regarding immigration consequences of a guilty plea; or The guilty plea was constitutionally infirm. The act extends the ability to petition a court to vacate a guilty plea to class 3 misdemeanors as classified at the time of the plea, traffic misdemeanors, and petty offenses. Under current law, state agencies and state agencies' employees are: Required to comply with provisions that limit the disclosure, collection, and access to a person's personal identifying information; Required to annually report certain information concerning requests made for a person's personal identifying information; and Subject to a civil penalty for an intentional violation of the requirements. The act extends these requirements concerning a person's personal identifying information to political subdivisions and their employees, and repeals the annual reporting requirements concerning requests made for a person's personal identifying information. The act creates minimum requirements for a public child care center, public school, local education provider, public institution of higher education, public health-care facility, or publicly supported library concerning information collection and access to its information, facilities, or property, and creates a civil penalty for an intentional violation of certain requirements. Under current law, a peace officer who is employed by the Colorado state patrol, a municipal police department, a town marshal's office, or a county sheriff's office is prohibited from arresting or detaining an individual on the basis of a civil immigration detainer request. The act extends the prohibition to a peace officer designated by the state as a peace officer. Under current law, a probation officer or probation department employee is prohibited from providing personal information about an individual to federal immigration authorities. The act extends this prohibition to a pretrial officer or pretrial services office employee. The act prohibits a military force from another state from entering the state without the governor's permission, unless the military force from another state is acting on federal orders and acting as a part of the United States armed forces. The act adds and amends definitions concerning "precise geolocation data" within the "Colorado Privacy Act". The act prohibits a controller from selling a consumer's sensitive data without obtaining consent. Under current law, a person is not subject to civil arrest while the person is present at a courthouse or on its environs, or while going to, attending, or coming from a court proceeding. The act extends this to while a person is receiving treatment in a related facility, which is a facility where programs and services are provided in relation to a court proceeding. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act decreases an appropriation made in the long bill of: $54,900 from the general fund to the department of labor and employment; and $3,393 from the general fund to the department of personnel.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)