Rep. Leslie Herod

Charitable organizations - tax exempt sales. Under current law, up to $25,000 of the funds raised by a charitable organization through occasional sales are exempt from state sales tax. The act increases that amount to $45,000; removes the requirement that these sales by charitable organizations take place for no more than 12 days, whether consecutive or not, during any calendar year; and allows these sales to cover the sale of tangible personal property, commodities, or services otherwise subject to tax under the state sales and use tax.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Substance use disorders - school districts, nonpublic schools, and specified public persons may obtain and administer opiate antagonists - definition of drug paraphernalia - hospitals as clean syringe exchange sites - opiate antagonist bulk purchase fund - household medication take-back program - identity verification for individuals initiating into treatment - appropriation. The act: Allows school districts and nonpublic schools to develop policies by which schools are authorized to obtain a supply of opiate antagonists and school employees are trained to administer opiate antagonists to individuals at risk of experiencing a drug overdose; Allows a prescriber to prescribe or dispense and a pharmacist to dispense an opiate antagonist to law enforcement agencies, schools, or specified public persons; Removes from the definition of "drug paraphernalia" equipment, products, and materials used in testing or analyzing a controlled substance; Specifies that a licensed or certified hospital may be used as a clean syringe exchange site; Creates the opiate antagonist bulk purchase fund to facilitate bulk purchasing of opiate antagonists at a discounted price; Expands the household medication take-back program in the department of public health and environment (department) for the purpose of allowing the safe collection and disposal of needles, syringes, and other devices used to inject medication; Authorizes a public person or entity that makes an automated external defibrilator available to the public to also make an opiate antagonist available to the public; and Requires the department of health care policy and financing to establish a policy on how a substance use disorder treatment program must verify the identity of individuals initiating into detoxification, withdrawal, or maintenance treatment for a substance use disorder. $659,472 is appropriated to the department to implement the act. 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

Internet service providers - state-funded broadband deployment - state procurement preferences - open internet requirements to receive state funds or contracts - complaints to federal trade commission. Section 1 of the act disqualifies an internet service provider (ISP) from receiving money through a grant from the broadband deployment board (board) or through any state fund established to help finance broadband deployment if the ISP engages in any of the following practices: Blocking lawful internet content, applications, services, or devices unless such blocking is conducted in a manner consistent with reasonable network management practices; Engaging in paid prioritization of internet content; Regulating network traffic by throttling bandwidth or otherwise impairing or degrading lawful internet traffic on the basis of internet content, application, service, or use of a nonharmful device unless the impairment or degradation is conducted in a manner consistent with reasonable network management practices; or Not providing reasonable transparency regarding its network management practices. Section 1 also requires that, if an ISP is found to have engaged in any of the practices listed above, the ISP must refund any money that it received in the prior 24 months through a grant from the board or from any other state funding source established to help finance broadband deployment. Section 2 requires the broadband deployment board to periodically review the federal trade commission's and federal communications commission's websites to identify any actions the federal agencies have taken against an ISP that seeks or has received broadband deployment grant money from the board. If the board determines from a review of the federal agency action that the ISP engaged in one of the practices listed above, the board shall deny the application or inform the public utilities commission of the action. Section 3 requires the attorney general or the attorney general's designee, in collaboration with the board, to develop guidance for consumers on how to file a complaint with the federal trade commission to allege that an ISP has engaged in any of the practices that violate federal law regarding interference with the open internet. The department of law shall post the guidance on its website. Section 4 requires a governmental body, when contracting for broadband internet access service, to give preference to an ISP that certifies to the governmental body that it will not engage in any of the practices listed in section 1. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Continuation of 2018 rules of executive agencies - exceptions listed. Based on the findings and recommendations of the committee on legal services, the act extends all state agency rules that were adopted or amended on or after November 1, 2017, and before November 1, 2018, with the exception of the rules specifically listed in the act. Those specified rules will expire as scheduled in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" on May 15, 2019, on the grounds that the rules either conflict with statute or lack or exceed statutory authority.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

The bill creates the college kickstarter account program (kickstarter program) to provide initial funding (kickstarter funding) for a collegeinvest (authority) college savings account (account) for each child born or adopted in Colorado on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2040, (eligible child), encourage the parent or parents of each eligible child to claim the kickstarter funding by establishing an account, and, if sufficient funding from gifts, grants, and donations is received, provide a free financial literacy education program for eligible children and their parent or parents and other family members. The authority is required to implement and administer the kickstarter program; except that the state treasurer is required to develop and administer the program component of free financial literacy education. The authority may adopt rules that it deems necessary for the implementation and administration of the kickstarter program. The authority is required to establish and fund a kickstarter program master account (master account) and to provide sufficient annual funding for the master account from money that is otherwise available for its scholarship and matching grant programs to be able to transfer a specified amount of kickstarter funding in the master account to the account of each eligible child. The authority must engage in a robust outreach and marketing program to encourage the parent or parents of each eligible child to claim the eligible child's kickstarter funding by opening an account for the eligible child within 5 years of the eligible child's birth or adoption and must transfer all kickstarter funding claimed from the master account to the eligible child's account. Kickstarter funding is not counted as income or resources of the eligible child or the parent or parents of the eligible child for purposes of determining eligibility or benefit amounts for any state-funded program. The authority must conduct an ongoing summative evaluation to collect summative data to evaluate the kickstarter program's effectiveness over time and must prepare, present to its legislative oversight committees, and conspicuously post on its website an annual written report on the results of the ongoing summative evaluation. The college kickstarter account program fund is created to hold any gifts, grants, and donations obtained, and the authority and the state treasurer may spend money from the fund for the purposes of the kickstarter program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Under current law, if a defendant is arrested for certain crimes and the court determines that the public would be in significant peril if the accused is released, the defendant is not bailable. The bill removes from the list of crimes that are not bailable the crime of possession of a weapon by a previous offender and sex assault crimes. The bill requires each judicial district to develop: A pretrial screening process; and A chief judge administrative order specifying written criteria for the immediate release of certain defendants without any monetary conditions. The office of the state court administrator shall develop statewide standards and guidelines for the pretrial screening process and written criteria for immediate release of certain defendants without any monetary conditions. The bill creates a presumption that a defendant should be released with the least restrictive conditions possible and without monetary conditions unless the court finds one or more of the following: The person poses a substantial risk of danger to the safety of any person or the community; or There is a substantial risk that the person will attempt to flee prosecution; or There is a substantial risk that the person will attempt to obstruct or otherwise wilfully avoid the criminal process; and There are no reasonable nonmonetary conditions of release that reasonably assure: The safety of any person or the community; That the person will not attempt to flee prosecution; or That the person will not attempt to obstruct or otherwise wilfully avoid the criminal justice process. The bill requires the court to consider the results of empirically developed and validated risk assessment instruction when making determinations about the type of bond and conditions of release, but the assessment cannot be the sole basis for the decision. The bill outlines the other factors to consider in selecting the type of bond and conditions of release. The bill delineates the types of bond that a court can set: An unsecured personal recognizance bond, which may include an amount specified by the court; An unsecured personal recognizance bond with additional nonmonetary conditions of release designed specifically to reasonably ensure the appearance of the person in court and the safety of any person or persons or the community; A bond with secured monetary conditions; and A bond with secured real estate conditions when the court determined that release on an unsecured personal recognizance bond without monetary conditions will not reasonably ensure the appearance of the person in court or the safety of any person or persons or the community. The bill requires all counties and cities and counties to develop a pretrial services program by July 1, 2020. A community advisory board is established in each county or city and county to develop the plan for the pretrial services program. The chief judge shall approve the plan developed by the community advisory board prior to implementing and starting the pretrial services program. The bill prohibits for-profit entities from operating a pretrial services program and requires any entity operating a pretrial services program to be conflict free. The bill creates a funding program to allow judicial districts to develop and sustain pretrial programs. If a county is unable to operate a pretrial services program, the county shall file a statement of inability to comply with the state court administrator, which must outline, in detail, the reasons why the county is unable to provide a pretrial services program. The office of the state court administrator shall develop minimum standards for pretrial services programs, and the bill specifies other criteria for pretrial services programs. The bill requires the state court administrator to review and approve an empirically developed and validated risk assessment instrument to be used by pretrial services programs. The bill specifies how a defendant, prosecuting attorney, or bonding and release commissioner can ask for a review and modification of bond. The bill appropriates $440,493 from the general fund to the judicial department, of which, $330,253 goes to general court administration and $110, 240 goes to information technology services. The bill appropriates $39,813 to division of criminal justice in the department of public safety for administrative services. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

Defendant pretrial release - no monetary bond for low level offenses. Under current law, the court is required to release a person charged with a class 3 misdemeanor, petty offense, or unclassified offense on a personal recognizance bond unless certain conditions exist. The act removes petty offenses from that requirement. The act prohibits a court from imposing a monetary condition of release for a defendant charged with a traffic offense, petty offense, or comparable municipal offense, except for a traffic offense involving death or bodily injury, eluding a police officer, circumventing an interlock device, or a municipal offense with substantially similar elements to a state misdemeanor offense. The act does not prohibit a defendant's release based on a pretrial policy that includes monetary conditions if the defendant is informed that he or she would be released without monetary conditions if he or she waits for a bond hearing. The act does not prohibit issuance of a warrant with monetary conditions of bond for a defendant who fails to appear in court as required or who violates a condition of release.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Facilities - menstrual hygiene products. The act requires the following facilities to provide whichever menstrual hygiene products are requested by a person in custody to the person in custody at no expense to the person in custody: Local jails, multijurisdictional jails, and municipal jails; Correctional facilities and private contract prisons; and Department of human services facilities. The act prohibits any facility required to provide menstrual hygiene products pursuant to the act from imposing any condition or restriction on a person's access to menstrual hygiene products. The act requires cities and counties that are seeking reimbursement from the state for maintaining people in a local jail after their sentence to the department of corrections' custody to annually report costs of menstrual hygiene products to the joint budget committee. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Community colleges and occupational education - state student advisory council - membership requirement. A state student advisory council (council) exists for community colleges and occupational education. The act eliminates the requirement that a student member of the council must be classified as an in-state student for tuition purposes prior to the election to the council. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More

Criminal sentencing - misdemeanors and municipal violations - change maximum penalty from one year to 364 days. Under current law, the maximum sentence for a class 2 misdemeanor, level 2 drug misdemeanor, a misdemeanor without a fixed statutory penalty, and a municipal ordinance violation is one year. The act changes the maximum sentence to 364 days.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More