Sen. Bob Gardner

The act establishes the office of the judicial discipline ombudsman (office) as an independent office in the judicial department that is operated pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the office and the judicial department. The judicial discipline ombudsman (ombudsman) is the director of the office. The act establishes the judicial discipline ombudsman selection board (board) to be made up of 5 board members who must be appointed not later than January 1, 2024. The duties and responsibilities of the board include: Overseeing personnel decisions of the ombudsman, which include appointing a person to serve as the ombudsman, filling a vacancy in the ombudsman position, evaluating the ombudsman's performance, and developing a complaint process concerning the ombudsman's performance; Overseeing and advising the ombudsman on the strategic direction of the office and its mission; Working cooperatively with the ombudsman to provide fiscal oversight of the general operating budget of the office; Ensuring compliance with the provisions of the act, the memorandum of understanding, and state and federal laws; Promoting the mission of the office; and Providing assistance to the ombudsman when requested. The powers and duties of the ombudsman include: Creating and maintaining an anonymous reporting system for complainants to submit complaints; Helping complainants understand their rights and options in reporting and filing a complaint with the commission on judicial discipline (commission) and other appropriate authorities; Providing complainants with necessary referrals for additional support services and care if needed or requested; Reporting appropriate cases to the commission, the office of attorney regulation counsel, law enforcement, and the judicial department; Serving in an advisory capacity to the commission and the judicial department on rule-making; Ensuring accountability and consistency in the operating policies and procedures of the office; and Serving as a liaison for communications between a complainant and the commission or the judicial department. The act requires that, to be appointed, the ombudsman must have prior experience serving as an ombudsman; have a deep understanding of and expertise in organizational culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion; have professional experience working with human resources; and possess the ability to act in a nonpartisan manner. The act requires all communications and information disclosed to the ombudsman by a complainant to be kept confidential unless the complainant gives the ombudsman permission to disclose the information. Disclosed information and records are not discoverable if the information and records are received during and within the scope of the ombudsman's duties and responsibilities. The act requires the ombudsman to disclose a complaint that alleges judicial misconduct and to keep the identity of the complainant confidential unless the complainant gives permission to disclose the complainant's identity. The records related to complaints received by the office are not subject to the "Colorado Open Records Act". The ombudsman is exempt from mandatory reporting rules, statutes, and policies, and may only report an incident made known to the ombudsman by a complainant if the complainant consents to the disclosure. The act authorizes the office to promulgate rules necessary to implement the requirements of the act and to ensure confidentiality of disclosures made to the office by complainants. The act appropriates $100,543 from the general fund to the judicial department to purchase legal services from the department of law. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 7, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires all courts in Colorado to provide remote access for the public to observe any criminal court proceeding conducted in open court, unless: The court does not have the technology available to do so; The court has ordered that the public is excluded from the proceeding; Technology, staffing, or internet issues limit or prevent remote observation; or After a request or on the court's own motion, the court makes findings that: The remote observation of live proceedings risks compromising the safety of any person, the defendant's right to a fair trial, or the victim's rights; and There is no less restrictive alternative that preserves the public interest in remote observation. The act also requires the court to post links on its website for the remote observation. The also act requires the court to: Take reasonable steps to ensure that no audio or visual transmission of privileged, confidential communications occurs; and If a proceeding is subject to a sequestration order, take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the sequestration order. If a court does not have sufficient existing staff or technology to allow remote observation to the public but later obtains such staff or technology, the act requires the court to comply with the act within 90 days after obtaining the necessary staff or technology. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2023 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the Colorado adult high school program (program) in the office responsible for adult education within the department of education (department). The purpose of the program is to create a pathway for Coloradans who are 21 years of age or older and do not have a high school diploma to attend high school and earn a diploma at no cost. Students may also earn industry-recognized certificates, career and technical education certificates, or college credits at no cost through the program. The act requires the department to award a grant to a Colorado community-based nonprofit organization (organization) to operate the program as an education provider. The education provider is required to: Secure and maintain a building for the program; Contribute funding annually for operating and facility costs; Hire educators and school personnel, including life coaches who help students navigate academic and personal challenges; Propose an academic accountability system with the approval of the department; Establish minimum graduation requirements; Award Colorado high school diplomas to students who successfully complete the graduation requirements; Use an evidence-based educational model that a third-party evaluator has proven effective; Develop courses that may be offered to student in person; Develop online courses for students who take classes in person and demonstrate academic readiness for remote course work; Consult with a nonprofit organization that has successfully implemented an evidence-based educational model for adults in another state; Serve all students, regardless of immigration status; Enroll no more than 400 students at one time; Comply with state and federal laws concerning students with disabilities, including students with accommodations pursuant to section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973"; Create individualized education programs for students with disabilities; Collaborate with local district colleges, community colleges, area technical colleges, or local career and technical education programs to ensure access to courses that can lead students to graduate with industry-recognized certificates; Fund industry-recognized and career and technical certificate programs at no cost to students; Create a plan in collaboration with institutions of higher education to authorize teachers to teach courses for students to obtain college credit and to align teacher qualification requirements with the state concurrent enrollment program; Operate a licensed, on-site child care center for students with children; and Offer transportation assistance to students who enroll in the program. The department is required to establish a fair and transparent application process in order to select an organization to operate the program. The application process must include input from the office within the department responsible for adult education. On or before July 31, 2025, July 31, 2026, and March 30, 2027 the education provider is required to report to the department on the status of the program. On or before November 30, 2025, November 30, 2026, and June 30, 2027, the department is required to report the status of the program to the house of representatives education committee and the senate education committee, or their successor committees, including but not limited to: Student demographic data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender, and disability; Accountability measure outcomes; and The number of industry-recognized certificates, college credits, and overall average credit attainment that students earn each term. The program repeals July 1, 2027. The act appropriates $5 million from the general fund to the department for the program and for legal services. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a state elected official or local elected official to restrict or bar an individual from using the private social media of the elected official. Private social media is social media that is not supported by government resources and is not required by law to be created or maintained by an elected official. An elected official may restrict or bar an individual from using the private social media of the elected official for any reason, including for bullying, harassment, or intimidation, in the elected official's discretion. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the supreme court to select members of the commission on judicial discipline (commission) who are district and county judges from nominee pools created by the state court administrator. Upon a vacancy of a district judge or county judge member, the state court administrator shall create a nominee pool of 10 district or county judges, as appropriate. When making its selection, the supreme court shall ensure that the commission does not include more than one district judge from any one judicial district and not more than one county judge from any one county. The office of judicial performance evaluation, the judicial nominating commissions, the office of the presiding disciplinary judge, and the office of attorney regulation counsel (judicial oversight entities) are required to provide requested material to the commission within 14 calendar days after the request, and a judicial oversight entity may not withhold requested material through a claim of privilege or confidentiality. A provision in a contract entered into after the effective date of the act that prohibits a judicial oversight entity from disclosing information to the commission is void as against public policy and is unenforceable. The rule-making committee that is established in the constitution to propose rules for the judicial discipline process shall provide the commission and judicial discipline adjudicative board (board) with reasonable notice before proposing any new rule or amendment and requires the committee to post notice of each rule change and allow for public comment concerning proposed changes. Current law requires the commission to maintain annual data and statistics related to its work and judicial misconduct allegations. The act requires the commission to maintain additional information and requires the commission to include the data and information in its annual report and make the data and information available online in a searchable format. The act permits a person to submit a request for evaluation of judicial misconduct by mail or online and to submit a confidential or anonymous request for evaluation. The office of judicial discipline (office) is required to develop an online request for evaluation form that is accessible from the commission's public website. The office shall provide complainants with information about the judicial discipline process, the status of the complainant's request, and any subsequent investigation and disciplinary or adjudicative process. The act requires a judge member of a board panel hearing a judicial discipline proceeding to provide administrative staff support for the panel. The act repeals the statute establishing the legislative interim committee on judicial discipline and statutory provisions concerning the confidentiality of judicial discipline investigation records, including repealing the penalty for disclosing confidential information. The portions of the act concerning the selection of judge members of the commission, the board, and judicial discipline rule-making take effect only if House Concurrent Resolution 23-1001 is approved by the people at the general election to be held November 2024. The act appropriates $126,986 to the judicial department for use by the commission for the office. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die; except that portions of the act shall take effect only if House Concurrent Resolution 23-1001 is approved by the people at the general election to be held November 2024 and will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote on said Concurrent Resolution 23-1001 by the governor; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to this act, then the act or section will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2024 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of health care policy and financing to analyze how directed payment authority can be used as part of a comprehensive plan to facilitate an adequate network of services for children and youth by requiring each managed care entity to pay no less than state department-established fee schedule rates for services needed to promote clinical stabilization. The act creates the high-acuity treatment and services cash fund (cash fund). The act authorizes the department of human services (CDHS) to retain any unspent money appropriated in fiscal year 2022-23 and 2023-24 from the general fund for counties during the initial allocations for the administration of child welfare services, core services, or child welfare staffing. On June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer any money retained to the cash fund. The act requires CDHS to expend money from the cash fund to provide additional resources to licensed providers to help remove barriers that providers face in serving children and youth whose behavioral or mental health needs require services and treatment that exceed capacity of the established daily rates. The cash fund repeals July 1, 2025. No later than July 1, 2023, the act requires CDHS to form a working group to make recommendations about developing an incentive funding pool pilot program to incentivize residential treatment providers to accept and treat children and youth who have high-acuity behavioral health needs to appropriate treatment and placement. The act requires the behavioral health administration (BHA) to consult with a working group to help develop the performance monitoring system framework that addresses the minimum performance standards for treatment of children and youth, which must include measures of accountability for children and youth who are boarding or in extended stay . Beginning September 1, 2023, and each quarter thereafter until October 1, 2024, the act requires each hospital to report information to the BHA on the total number of children and youth patients who were boarding or had extended stay in the previous quarter; if known, how many children and youth who were boarding or had extended stay and were in county custody at the time; and, for patients who were discharged during the quarter, where the patients were discharged to. Beginning September 1, 2023, and each quarter thereafter until October 1, 2024, the act requires CDHS to report information to the BHA on the total number of children and youth in the custody of, or who had involvement with, a county department of human or social services who spent time at least overnight in a hotel or a county department office as a stopgap setting. No later than September 1, 2023, and each quarter thereafter until October 1, 2024, the act requires the BHA to report aggregated and de-identified information submitted to the BHA to the working group. The act requires CDHS to develop a capacity plan for whenever a residential treatment facility for children and youth closes or has a substantial change in operation. The act appropriates $5,900,000 from the cash fund to CDHS for use by the division of child welfare for high-acuity treatment services. Any money remaining from the appropriation prior to July 1, 2024, is further appropriated to CDHS for fiscal year 2024-25. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For income tax years commencing before January 1, 2024, the law allowed individuals younger than 55 years of age to subtract from federal taxable income for the purpose of determining state taxable income certain amounts received from military retirement benefits. The act extends the subtraction to income tax years commencing before January 1, 2029. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 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.)

The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the sex offender management board (board) by: Continuing the board for 5 years, until September 1, 2028; Clarifying that supervising officers are required to follow guidelines and standards and directing agencies that employ supervising officers to collaborate with the board to hold accountable those who fail to do so; Repealing the limitation on the number of treatment providers (providers) given to offenders when choosing a provider, and requiring that the supervising agency of each adult sex offender and juvenile who has committed a sexual offense (offender) shall provide the offender with a complete list of approved providers who have the expertise to work with the specific risks and needs of that particular offender. If the offender is a person with an intellectual and developmental disability, the supervising agency shall make a recommendation to a provider approved by the board to work with that population. Requiring standards compliance reviews on at least 10% of providers every 2 years; Updating language concerning fingerprints to reflect current practice; and Relieving the department of regulatory agencies of its responsibility to publish a list, together with the board, of approved providers. In addition to the recommendations made by the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report, the act: Updates and clarifies the definitions for "adult sex offender", "juvenile who has committed a sexual offense", and "sex offender"; Requires each presentence report prepared regarding an offender contain the results of an evaluation for treatment and risk, procedures for monitoring behavior for the protection of victims and potential victims, and an identification developed pursuant to statute; Ensures that, to the extent possible, treatment options for an offender are responsive to the age and developmental status of the offender at the time of treatment, as well as the linguistic, cultural, religious, and racial characteristics; sexual orientation; gender identity; and gender expression of the offender being treated; Requires the board, in collaboration with the state board of parole, to revise the specific sex offender release guideline instrument, on or before December 1, 2023, for those inmates classified as sex offenders with determinate sentences. The revised release guideline instrument must incorporate the concepts of risk-need-responsivity or another evidence-based correction model and be as flexible as possible to ensure that the offender has timely access to necessary programs. Requires the department of corrections (department) to identify all inmates who are classified to undergo treatment, eligible to receive treatment, and have not been provided with the opportunity to receive such treatment while incarcerated. For each such inmate, the department is required to report specified individual data to the board on or before July 31, 2023. Further requires the department to report to the board aggregate data on the identified offender population on or before July 31, 2023; Creates a subcommittee of the board with representative stakeholders to: Study and develop solutions to address treatment resources for offenders who are incarcerated or in the custody of the department; Analyze data and identify barriers faced by the department in providing timely access to treatment to offenders; Make recommendations for eliminating those barriers; Review and consider revisions to the department's policies and regulations to prevent unnecessary backlog in making treatment accessible to inmates who require treatment to meet parole eligibility requirements; Review parole guidelines for offenders with determinate sentences and make revisions to prevent unnecessary backlog in treatment to meet parole eligibility requirements; and Determine how to increase the number and availability of approved providers and other resources for offenders. Clarifies that placements and treatment options for juvenile offenders must reflect the complex needs of the juveniles served and that the division of youth services is responsible for working with juvenile offenders; Allows the department to employ or contract with an individual or entity to provide sex-offender-specific evaluation, treatment, or polygraph services if the director of the program is a board-approved provider and conforms with the guidelines and standards established by the board; and Specifies the qualifications that providers must have and when the department may terminate a contract with a provider. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $163,946 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for sex offender supervision. An additional $43,122 is appropriated from the general fund to the judicial department for general courts administration. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act permits a hospital that has fewer than 50 beds and is a county public hospital, a hospital formed by a health service district, or a hospital affiliated with either such hospital (hospital) to enter into collaborative agreements with one or more hospitals. The act declares the general assembly's intent to exempt from state antitrust laws, and to provide state action immunity from federal antitrust laws for, certain activities that might be characterized as anticompetitive or that might result in displacement of competition in the provision of hospital, physician, or other health-care-related services or administrative or general business services. Further, the general assembly declares its intention to provide a system of review of collaborative agreements by the department of health care policy and financing (department), the division of insurance in the department of regulator agencies (division), if applicable, and the attorney general to ensure that any potential benefits of the collaborative agreements are not outweighed by the harm to competition in rural and frontier communities. Collaborative agreements may include agreements to engage in the following activities: Ancillary clinical services, acquisition of equipment, clinic management, or health-care provider recruitment; Joint purchasing or leasing arrangements, including medical and general supplies, medical and general equipment, pharmaceuticals, or temporary staffing through staffing agencies; Consulting services with a focus on public health in rural and frontier communities and non-hospital-specific innovations in health-care delivery in those communities; Joint purchasing of insurance; Shared back-office services; Shared data services; and Negotiating with health insurance or government payers as described in the act. The act does not grant immunity or other protections to hospitals entering into collaborative agreements that have the effect of setting reimbursement rates or other compensation from any commercial self-insured or commercial health insurance or government payer, dividing or allocating specific markets for the delivery of any general acute care or specialty lines of health-care services, or negotiating compensation for hospital employees that results in a reduction of wages for hospital staff. Prior to engaging in a collaborative agreement, the hospitals shall jointly submit the proposed collaborative agreement for approval to the department and to the division, if applicable. If approved, the proposed agreement must be submitted to the attorney general's office to determine that the benefits of the collaborative activity are not outweighed by any anticompetitive harm that may arise from the collaborative activity. The act includes time frames for the review of collaborative agreements and allows for a request for reconsideration if the collaborative agreement is denied. The department, the division, if applicable, or the attorney general may review a collaborative agreement annually to ensure the outcomes related to the collaborative agreement are consistent with the act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $30,260 is appropriated to the department from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to implement the act. The department anticipates receiving $30,259 in federal funds to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 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.)