Rep. Emily Sirota

The act clarifies statutory language to ensure the provision of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. The act requires the office of information technology to promulgate rules regarding accessibility standards for an individual with a disability for information technology systems employed by state agencies. The act clarifies language regarding sanctions for failing to comply with accessibility standards. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $8 million from the digital inclusion grant program fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund on June 1, 2023. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law allows approved facility schools (approved schools) to include day treatment centers, residential child care facilities, facilities licensed by the department of human services, or hospitals licensed by the department of public health and environment. The act creates the specialized day school as a type of approved school. The facility schools board (board) shall promulgate rules for a facility to become authorized to operate as a specialized day school. Current law requires the board to adopt accountability measures. The act requires the board to adopt accountability and accreditation measures for approved schools. Beginning December 1, 2026, the state board of education shall begin accrediting approved schools based on recommendations of the board. The act requires the board to create an accreditation outcome report for each approved school. The office of facility schools (office) must publish the reports annually. The act requires the department of education (department), department of human services, the department of health care policy and financing, and the department of public health and environment to collaborate and create an interagency resource guide to provide assistance to facilities that are pursuing licensing or authorization to operate as an approved school. The act requires the state agencies to identify and recommend legislation and changes to each department's respective rules and administrative processes to facilitate licensing, authorization, and approval processes for facilities seeking to operate as approved schools. The act creates the shared operational services grant program (grant program) to award grants to eligible applicants to contract for 2 years with an organization that coordinates shared operational services. An approved school in conjunction with one or more schools may apply to the grant program for a grant to procure shared operational services that support schools, such as food services, janitorial services, shared office spaces, billing, technical assistance on medicaid services, technology, security, transportation, or purchasing. An organization that provides or coordinates services for approved schools or an agency that oversees approved schools may also apply to the grant program. The act creates the technical assistance center (center) in the office to provide technical assistance support to school districts and related administrative units, with a priority to serve rural and remote school districts and related administrative units. Beginning in the 2023-24 budget year, the center is required to assess the needs of school districts and related administrative units. Beginning in the 2024-25 budget year, the center shall provide technical assistance support to school districts and related administrative units and prioritize service to rural and remote school districts. The act creates additional responsibilities for the facility school work group (work group). The work group shall monitor the implementation of changes to the facility school system and educational services for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs. The act expands work group participation to include parents, guardians, and legal custodians of students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs and therapeutic facilities for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs that are not approved schools. The act requires the office to contract with a qualified third-party evaluator (evaluator) to evaluate and report whether the work group recommendations resulted in more effective services and better access to those services for students with exceptionally severe and specialized needs. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing to recommend a plan to provide guidance to approved schools on the eligibility standards required to request and receive medicaid reimbursement funding for therapeutic services to the maximum extent feasible. The act creates a new baseline funding model for approved schools. The act requires reporting on the new baseline funding model for approved schools. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $18,780,654 is appropriated to the department from the state education fund to implement this act. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires the general assembly to transfer money to the preschool programs cash fund from the general fund or the state education fund in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 state fiscal years. Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the amount transferred is required to increase by the rate of inflation. The act repeals those requirements and instead requires the general assembly to appropriate money to the department of early childhood (department) for the 2023-24 state fiscal year for purposes of the Colorado universal preschool program. Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, and each year thereafter, the amount appropriated must increase annually by the rate of inflation. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

At the November 2022 general election, Colorado voters approved proposition FF. Proposition FF created the healthy school meals for all programs (program) and increased taxes to pay for the program. The act creates the healthy school meals for all program general fund exempt account (account). The department of revenue will deposit the revenue resulting from the tax increase in proposition FF into the account. The department of education (department) will use the tax revenue in the account to implement the program. To the extent that there is not enough money in the account for the department to implement the program, the department may expend money from the general fund for amounts appropriated for the program. The act also allows for expenditures in excess of appropriations from the fund for limited purposes and clarifies how the appropriations made for the program will be shown in the annual general appropriations act. Appropriations from the account are excluded from the amount that is used to calculate the statutory general fund reserve, and the unrestricted balance in the account at the end of a fiscal year is excluded from the state general fund surplus. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $115,339,107 from the account to the department of education and $14,786 from the account to the department of law. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the state treasurer to make 2 transfers to the state emergency reserve cash fund (fund) on June 30, 2023. First, the state treasurer is required to transfer $20 million from the general fund to the fund. Second, the state treasurer is required to transfer $10 million from the revenue loss restoration cash fund that originates from the general fund to the fund. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act extends the time period to offer eligible individuals the opportunity to work in transitional jobs for 5 additional years. The act extends the repeal date of the transitional jobs program from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2030. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, an institution of higher education (institution) receives funding through a fee-for-service contract for specialty education services provided by the institution. Colorado state university and the university of Colorado school of medicine created a partnership that created a 4-year branch campus for university of Colorado medical school students in Fort Collins (partnership). The act allows the use of specialty education services funding for the partnership. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act directs the state court administrator's office to reimburse counties located in the eighteenth judicial district for expenses related to establishing a district attorney's office in the new twenty-third judicial district. The act appropriates $668,600 to the judicial department. APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 17, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a mechanism to set the hourly rate for attorney time for attorneys who contract with the office of alternate defense counsel, the office of the child's representative, or the office of the respondent parents' counsel. The rate for fiscal year 2023-24 is $100 per hour. The hourly rate must be increased annually by no more than $5 each year until it is at least 75% of the rate set in the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986" for indigent representation in federal court. The hourly rate may be adjusted in subsequent fiscal years to maintain the hourly rate at or above 75% of the rate set in the federal "Criminal Justice Act Revision of 1986". APPROVED by Governor April 17, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)