Sen. Bob Gardner

The bill amends the "Life and Health Insurance Protection Association Act" as follows: Adds health maintenance organizations (HMOs) as members of the association and subjects HMOs to assessments from the association; and Allocates responsibility for long-term care insurance assessments between health insurance and life insurance association members.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act enacts the "Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act", which declares that an electronic will is a will for all purposes of Colorado law. The act specifies the requirements for:Executing and revoking an electronic will; Simultaneously executing, attesting, and making an electronic will; and Certifying a paper copy of an electronic will.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires that a state agency, in issuing an emergency public health order, comply with the procedural requirements set forth in the "State Administrative Procedure Act" (APA) that apply to emergency rules. To extend an emergency public health order beyond the 120-day limit that applies to emergency rules, the agency must comply with the rule-making procedures regarding notice and a hearing, as set forth in the APA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act creates the Colorado interagency working group on school safety. The working group consists of 14 voting members. The mission of the working group is to enhance school safety through the cost-effective use of public resources. The working group shall: Study and implement recommendations of the state auditor's report regarding school safety released in September 2019; Consider program organization and recommend reorganization if necessary; Identify shared metrics to examine program effectiveness; Facilitate interagency coordination and communication; Increase transparency and accessibility of state grants and resources, particularly for school districts without a grant writer, which includes improving outreach and may include developing common grant applications; Facilitate and address data sharing, including allowable data sharing at the local level, when appropriate and allowable under state and federal law; and Address school safety program challenges in a coordinated way. The working group may contract with a consultant to optimize the alignment and effectiveness of the school safety efforts in Colorado and identify evidence-based best practices. The general assembly may appropriate money to the working group for a consultant, and the working group can accept gifts, grants, and donations. The working group only meets if the department of public safety identifies sufficient funding to cover the costs associated with the working group. The act repeals the working group on September 1, 2022, but the department of regulatory agencies shall review the working group prior to its repeal. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act clarifies that an offender sentenced pursuant to the "Colorado Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act of 1998" may be released to a community corrections program only if the offender meets certain requirements for an offender being released on parole including that: The offender has successfully progressed in sex offender treatment as determined by the department of corrections and would not pose a threat to the community if released to community corrections; There is a strong and reasonable probability that the offender would not thereafter commit a new criminal offense; and After considering criteria established by the sex offender management board and other relevant factors, the executive director of the department of corrections finds that release to community corrections is appropriate.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates a new civil cause of action and crime if a health care provider, in the course of performing or assisting with an assisted reproduction procedure, knowingly uses gametes from a donor without the express consent of the patient to use the donor's gametes. The act authorizes specified compensatory damages or liquidated damages of $50,000 in the civil action and specifies that the crime is a class 6 felony. Conviction of an offense under the new crime is unprofessional conduct as defined in the licensing statutes for health care providers. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following modifications to the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act" (CGIA): Unless otherwise excepted under the CGIA, the act excludes from the definition of "public employee" under the CGIA any health care practitioner or any health care professional who is employed by the university of Colorado hospital authority (authority) unless the practitioner or professional is providing services within the course and scope of the person's responsibilities as an employee or volunteer of the authority in a facility that is either located on the Anschutz medical campus (AMC) or that is operating under the hospital license issued to the university hospital, including off-campus locations. The act specifies that the "Health Care Availability Act" (HCAA) is applicable to health care practitioners and health care professionals employed by the authority that are not immune from liability because of the definition of "public employee". The act also specifies that the basic immunity from liability granted to public entities by the CGIA does not apply to the authority except for any hospital, clinic, surgery center, department, or other facility it owns or operates that is located on the AMC or that is a facility operating under the hospital license issued to the university hospital, including off-campus locations. The HCAA is applicable to health care institutions that are not immune from liability under the CGIA.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the act amends, repeals, and reconstructs various statutory provisions of law that are obsolete, imperfect, or inoperative. The specific reasons for each amendment or repeal are set forth in the appendix to the act. The amendments made by the act are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The office of economic development (office) currently contracts with a nonprofit entity that was designated by the federal defense logistics agency to provide procurement technical assistance statewide (nonprofit entity). The nonprofit entity helps small businesses in the state obtain and perform government contracts at the local, state, and federal level. This includes small businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans. The current 6-year contract between the office and the nonprofit entity will expire in September 2020. The act authorizes the office to renew the contract for up to 5 years. As part of the state's investment in the procurement technical assistance program (state's investment), current law specifies that the general assembly shall not contribute more than $200,000 from the general fund or any other source annually. The act specifies that for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 state fiscal years, the general assembly shall not provide more than $175,000 from the general fund for the state's investment, and that for the 2020-21 state fiscal year only, the office shall provide, within existing resources, the remaining $25,000 toward the state's investment. In addition, the act allows the general assembly to increase its contribution to the state's investment in any contract year so long as the nonprofit entity contributes a 100% match to the increased amount in the same contract year by soliciting gifts, grants, and donations. In addition, the nonprofit entity is required to obtain $200,000 in gifts, grants, or donations annually for part of the state's investment. In the 3rd through 6th contract year of the original contract, current law requires that at least 25% of the $200,000 be in the form of cash. The act extends this requirement for each year of the renewed contract. Current law also requires the state treasurer to annually transfer $220,000 from the general fund to the procurement technical assistance cash fund through the 2019-20 state fiscal year. The act extends the annual transfer through the 2024-25 fiscal year; except that for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 state fiscal years, the amount of the transfer is $175,000. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)