Rep. Julie McCluskie

Passenger tramway safety board - continuation under sunset law. The act implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the passenger tramway safety board (board) by: Continuing the functions of the board for 11 years, until 2030; Removing the requirement that letters of admonition be sent by certified mail; and Replacing statutory references to the program administrator with references to the program director. Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

County, municipality, and other political subdivisions - retirement benefits plan or system for elected or appointed officers and employees - contribution rates. For any county, municipality, or other political subdivision (local government) or group of local governments that has established and maintains a plan or system (plan) of retirement benefits for its elected or appointed officers and its employees, the minimum contribution rate of participants in the plan is changed to 3% of the participant's basic salary or wage. In addition, the contribution rate of the local government and the contribution rate of the participant do not have to be the same, as was previously required, as long as the contribution rate for each is at least 3% of the participant's salary or wage.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Reinsurance program - creation - payments for high-cost insurance claims - program contingent on federal waiver or funding approval - special fees - premium tax revenues - other funding sources - cash fund created - appropriation - repeal. The act authorizes the commissioner of insurance to apply to the secretary of the United States department of health and human services for a state innovation waiver, federal funding, or both, to allow the state to implement and operate a two-year reinsurance program to assist health insurers in paying high-cost insurance claims. The state cannot implement the program absent waiver or funding approval from the secretary. The program is established as an enterprise for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution so long as the program satisfies enterprise status requirements. The commissioner is to establish payment parameters at levels to effectuate targeted insurance premium reductions. The payment parameters include: The attachment point, above which claims costs are eligible for reinsurance payments; The coinsurance rate at which the program will reimburse carriers for claims above the attachment point; and The reinsurance cap, above which claims costs are no longer eligible for reinsurance payments from the program. The commissioner is authorized to assess special fees against hospitals and, under specified circumstances, against health insurers to provide funding for the program. Additionally, the program is to receive money from the following sources to operate the program: Federal pass-through funding or other federal funds made available for the program; For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years, an amount of premium tax revenues collected under current law that exceeds the amount collected in calendar year 2019; $15 million in 2020 and $40 million in 2021 from the general fund, contingent on the passage of House Bill 19-1245; and Any money the general assembly appropriates to the program fund. The act creates the reinsurance program cash fund and continuously appropriates the money in the fund to the division of insurance to operate the program. The commissioner is also authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources. The program repeals on September 1, 2023, unless the federal government denies the waiver or funding request, in which case the program repeals upon that denial. $785,904 is appropriated to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Health care cooperatives - consumer protections - consumers negotiating rates. The act modernizes laws authorizing health care cooperatives in the state to incorporate consumer protections such as coverage for preexisting conditions and to encourage consumers to help control health care costs by negotiating rates on a collective basis directly with providers. The act authorizes the commissioner of insurance to apply for a federal waiver as necessary to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

River outfitter advisory committee - continuation under sunset law. The act implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the river outfitter advisory committee by continuing the committee indefinitely.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

High schools - accelerated college opportunity exam fee grant program. The act renames the advanced placement exam fee grant program as the accelerated college opportunity exam fee grant program (grant program) and expands the grant program to make funds available to high schools to reduce or eliminate the international baccalaureate exam fee for low-income students. The department of education is not required to award all grants from the program in the same amount, but a grant awarded for a lesser amount must cover the entire cost of the exam fee for which the lesser grant is awarded.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Excess state revenues - retain and spend - voter-approved revenue change - November 2019 election - public schools, higher education, and roads, bridges, and transit - annual audit. Contingent on voters' approval at the statewide election held on November 5, 2019, the act authorizes the state to annually retain and spend all state revenues in excess of the constitutional limitation on state fiscal year spending that it would otherwise be required to refund. An amount of money equal to the state revenues so retained is designated as part of the general fund exempt account and the general assembly is required to appropriate or the state treasurer is required to transfer this money to provide funding for: Public schools; Higher education; and Roads, bridges, and transit. The state auditor is required to contract with a private entity to annually conduct a financial audit regarding the use of the money that the state retains and spends under this measure. Adopted by the General Assembly: April 29, 2019 NOTE: On November 5, 2019, the secretary of state shall submit this act by its ballot title to the registered electors of the state for their approval or rejection. Except as otherwise provided in section 1-40-123, Colorado Revised Statutes, if a majority of the electors voting on the ballot title vote "Yes/For", then the act will become part of the Colorado Revised Statutes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

READ act - programming - teacher training - evaluation - distribution of money - appropriations. The act makes several changes concerning implementation of the "Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act" (READ act) by school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative services that operate schools (local education providers) as follows: Requiring that instructional programming and services for teaching reading be focused on the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency including oral skills, and reading comprehension; Directing each local education provider to include in its performance plan specified information concerning the reading assessments, curriculum, instructional programs, and intervention instruction and services used and, for certain local education providers, the plan for providing professional development for teachers; Specifying that students with significant reading deficiencies and students who read below grade level must receive educational services in a daily literacy block for the length of time indicated by research; Requiring each local education provider that receives money through the READ act to provide evidence-based training in teaching reading to kindergarten and first- through third-grade teachers; and Encouraging local education providers to partner with adjacent public libraries to enhance instruction in literacy. The act directs the department of education (department) to develop and implement a public information campaign to emphasize the importance of learning to read by third grade and to highlight the local education providers that achieve high percentages of third-grade students who are reading at grade level. The act directs the department to contract with an independent evaluator to evaluate the implementation of the READ act in the state and evaluate whether a local education provider's use of per-pupil intervention money or early literacy grant program money results in students making progress toward reading competency. The act changes the distribution of money appropriated from the early literacy fund for the 2019-20 budget year by reducing the amount distributed as per-pupil intervention money, increasing the amount distributed through the early literacy grant fund, and adding distributions to pay for the public information campaign, the independent evaluator, and teacher training. For the 2020-21 budget year and budget years thereafter, the act specifies the purposes for which the money in the early literacy fund may be appropriated in amounts specified in the annual general appropriations bill. The act changes the procedure for distributing the per-pupil intervention money by: Requiring a local education provider to provide information and meet certain requirements in order to receive the money; Authorizing the department to monitor and, if necessary, audit the use of the money throughout the budget year; Expanding the allowable uses of the per-pupil intervention money to include purchasing core reading instructional programs and purchasing technology, including software, to assist in assessing and monitoring student progress; and Capping the amount of per-pupil intervention money that a local education provider may retain from year to year. The act amends the early literacy grant program to allow a school district to apply for a district-level grant or a school-level grant and to prohibit the state board of education (state board) from restricting an applicant's use of any of the approved reading assessments. The act also provides that if the department, at the completion of a grant, determines that the program implemented with the grant money was successful in moving students toward reading competency, the state board must automatically renew the grant and increase the grant amount, if necessary, to enable the grant recipient to expand the program. The act requires a local education provider to report the scores attained by students on the interim reading assessments if the local education provider uses per-pupil intervention money to purchase instructional programming in reading. The act expands reporting requirements to include information regarding student academic growth to standard in reading. Each local education provider must submit, in accordance with privacy laws, information requested to complete the independent evaluation of the implementation of the READ act, and the department, the independent evaluator, and the local education provider must collaborate to minimize the impact on instructional time caused by increased reporting. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the act appropriates money from the marijuana tax cash fund and the early literacy fund to the department as follows: $7,500,000 for the early literacy competitive grant program; $2,702,557 for teacher training; $1,664,570 for early literacy program administration, technical assistance, and monitoring; $750,000 for the independent evaluation; $500,000 for the public information campaign; and $26,261,551 for early literacy program per-pupil intervention money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Current law allows a school district to include in its pupil enrollment students who were enrolled in a school that was designated as an early college before June 6, 2018, and who, after completing 4 years of high school, enroll for the 2018-19 or 2019-20 budget year in postsecondary courses. The bill extends this authority for one year to include students who enroll in postsecondary courses for the 2020-21 budget year. Under current law, the department of education (department) designates as ASCENT program participants qualified students who meet specified criteria. Beginning in the 2021-22 budget year, the bill directs the department to first designate from among the qualified students who meet the existing criteria each qualified student who meets additional criteria that indicate the student is likely to complete a high-demand postsecondary certificate or degree during the ASCENT program year. The concurrent enrollment advisory board must consult with several departments, the governing boards of state higher education institutions, and local education providers to develop guidelines for implementing the prioritization requirement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More

Under existing law, upon request of the attorney general, a district attorney represents the department of revenue (department) in driver's license and identification card appeals. The bill requires the attorney general to represent the department in such appeals. The bill permits the attorney general to appear for an appeals hearing by telephone, video teleconference, or any other court authorized means of electronic participation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More