Barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, nail technicians, and hairstylists - examination for license - foreign work experience substitute - rules. The act allows an applicant for a barber, cosmetologist, esthetician, nail technician, or hairstylist examination to substitute foreign work experience for the required contact hours. The act authorizes the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies to promulgate rules to determine the manner in which an applicant must submit proof of foreign work experience and when an attestation of work experience may replace employment records as proof of experience. 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
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Access to behavioral health treatment - capacity tracking system - care navigation program - building substance use disorder treatment capacity in underserved communities grant program - appropriation. The act: Directs the department of human services to implement a centralized, web-based behavioral health capacity tracking system to track available treatment capacity at behavioral health facilities and at programs for medication-assisted treatment and withdrawal management for substance use disorders, as well as other types of treatment; Directs the department of human services to implement a care navigation program to assist individuals in obtaining access to treatment for substance use disorders, including medical detoxification and residential and inpatient treatment; and Creates the building substance use disorder treatment capacity in underserved communities grant program to provide services in rural and frontier communities, prioritizing areas of the state that are unserved or underserved. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates: $31,961 and 0.8 FTE to the department of health care policy and financing, executive director's office for personal services and operating expenses, with the expectation that the department will receive additional federal funding; $5,589,344 and 2.5 FTE from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of human services, office of behavioral health, for community behavioral health administration, the behavioral health capacity tracking system, the care navigation program, and the building substance use disorder treatment capacity in underserved communities grant program; and $160,206 and 1.4 FTE from reappropriated funds received from the department of human services to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology.(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
Income tax - tax credit - eligible early childhood educators. The act provides a refundable income tax credit to an eligible early childhood educator with a federal adjusted gross income less than or equal to $75,000 for an individual filing a single return, or less than or equal to $85,000 for an individual filing a joint return, who, for at least 6 months of the taxable year for which the credit is claimed, holds an early childhood professional credential and is either the licensee of an eligible program or employed by an eligible program. The act specifies that an eligible program means either an early childhood education program or a licensed family child care home and the eligible program must have held at least a level 2 quality rating under the Colorado shines quality rating and improvement system for the income tax year for which the credit is claimed and, for the income tax year for which the credit is claimed, either have fiscal agreements with the Colorado child care assistance program or be a program that meets the federal early head start or head start standards. The amount of the credit is dependent on the eligible early childhood educator's credentialing level and is annually adjusted for inflation. The department of human services is required to provide to the department of revenue an annual report of each individual who held an early childhood professional credential during the previous calendar year for which the income tax credit is allowed. The act takes effect only if, at the November 2019 statewide election, a majority of voters do not approve a referred measure that allows the state to increase the cigarette tax, increase the tobacco products tax, and to create a new tax on nicotine products and use a significant portion of the tax revenue for preschool programs and expanded learning opportunities. If the voters at the November 2019 statewide election do not approve such a measure, then the act takes effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Employees - sharing gratuities - notice requirements. The act repeals a provision that requires employers with employees who share gratuities to post a specific sign in a conspicuous place and substitutes a requirement to notify each patron in writing, such as on the menu, table, or receipt.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
The bill allows a state-funded, community-based preschool program, school district, or charter school (enrolling entity) to impose an out-of-school suspension or expel a student enrolled in preschool, kindergarten, or first or second grade only under specified circumstances. If the enrolling entity imposes an out-of-school suspension, the length of the suspension is limited to 3 school days unless the executive officer or chief administrative officer of the enrolling entity determines that a longer period is necessary to resolve the safety threat or recommends that the student be expelled. The state board of education (state board) cannot waive the provisions concerning suspension and expulsion of young students for school districts or charter schools. Each school district and charter school must ensure that its school discipline code reflects the requirements specified in the bill. The state board must annually review the data concerning suspensions and expulsions of students in preschool, kindergarten, and first and second grade. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
School lunch - free and reduced price school lunch - appropriation. The act clarifies that all students in sixth through eighth grade participating in the federal reduced price school lunch program are eligible for the existing child nutrition school lunch protection program (program), and extends the grades of eligibility for the program to students through the twelfth grade. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $463,729 is appropriated to the department of education from the general fund for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
In 2013, the general assembly created a child tax credit against state income taxes for a resident individual. But the credit, which is a percentage of the federal child tax credit based on the taxpayer's income, is only allowed after the United States congress enacts a version of the "Marketplace Fairness Act". The bill repeals the contingent start of the tax credit and instead allows the credit to be claimed for any income tax year beginning with the 2019 income tax year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
The bill requires the department of public health and environment (department) to: Develop a standardized form and submission process to claim a medical exemption to an immunization; and Develop a standardized form and submission process to claim a religious or personal belief exemption to an immunization. The department is: Required to develop educational materials regarding immunizations to distribute to health care providers and facilities; Required to present immunization exemption information during its annual SMART Act hearing; and Required to use the existing immunization tracking system. The state board of health is: Required to promulgate rules adopting the medical exemption recommendations from the advisory committee on immunization practices of the centers for disease control and prevention in the federal department of health and human services, or any successor entity (ACIP); Required to promulgate rules adopting the the hepatitis A, rotavirus, and meningococcal immunizations; and Allowed to promulgate rules establishing the timing by which schools, parents, legal guardians, and students must demonstrate compliance with immunization requirements. Concerning the immunization tracking system, the bill: Requires a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse to inform a parent or legal guardian who is claiming a medical exemption that he or she may choose to exclude the student's immunization information from the immunization tracking system before the student's immunization data is sent to the immunization tracking system; Requires the department or local or county, district, or municipal public health agency to inform a parent, legal guardian, or student who is claiming a religious or personal belief exemption that he or she may choose to exclude the student's immunization information from the immunization tracking system before the student's immunization data is sent to the immunization tracking system; and Requires a practitioner who is a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse to submit immunization and medical exemption data to the immunization tracking system. However, the practitioner is not subject to a regulatory sanction for noncompliance.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Section 1 of the bill authorizes payments from an existing fund for administrative expenses of the public utilities commission (PUC) to defray the costs incurred by the department of public health and environment and any other state agencies in reviewing clean energy plans submitted under section 3 of the bill. Section 2 repeals laws that allow an electric utility to own, as rate-based property, new eligible energy resources without competitive bidding if certain conditions are satisfied. Section 3 supplements the existing renewable energy standards statute by establishing targets for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by utilities serving more than 500,000 customers, with the opportunity for other utilities to opt in. The targets are: By 2030, an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emission levels compared to 2005 levels; and For 2050 and thereafter, a goal of a 100% reduction in carbon dioxide emission levels. Section 3 also directs qualifying retail utilities to submit plans to the PUC as part of their ongoing resource acquisition planning process to address the clean energy targets. A clean energy plan must detail the actions and investments the utility intends to undertake, including specifying the new resources and infrastructure proposed to be used; the anticipated effects of the plan on the safety, reliability, and resilience of the overall electric system; the methods proposed for measuring carbon dioxide reductions; and the costs of implementation, which must be reasonable. The approval process also includes participation by the division of administration within the department of public health and environment regarding the measurement of carbon dioxide emission reductions and predictions as to whether the clean energy plan will achieve the desired reductions. A utility implementing a clean energy plan may recover its costs of implementation through rates, as approved by the PUC, and own any generating resources and infrastructure necessary to effectuate the plan. The utility is required to use a competitive bidding process to fill the cumulative resource need identified in its next electric resource plan that includes a clean energy plan filed after January 1, 2020. Each utility that receives approval of a clean energy plan is required to report to the governor, the general assembly, the PUC, and the air quality control commission on a list of matters, including its progress in implementing the plan and in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. To address Colorado's relative lack of seamless integration into the national energy grid, the PUC is directed to open an investigatory proceeding to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with regional transmission organizations, energy imbalance markets, joint tariffs, and power pools. Section 4 strengthens an existing provision requiring electric resource acquisition decisions to be made with consideration of "best value" employment metrics and the use of Colorado labor by requiring a utility to obtain and provide to the PUC relevant documentation on these topics, including the availability of apprenticeship programs registered with the United States department of labor. Section 5 establishes a qualified right for a retail electric utility customer to generate, consume, store, and export to the grid any electricity produced from customer-sited renewable sources, also known as distributed generation. Section 6 adopts the "Colorado Energy Impact Bond Act" under which electric utilities may finance the retirement of fossil-fuel-powered generation facilities and the transition to renewable energy sources by issuing low-cost corporate securities. These securities, known as Colorado energy impact bonds or "CO-EI bonds," are subject to PUC approval and required to have a rating of at least AA or AA2, must have a scheduled maturity date of 32 years or less, and are repayable through rates as part of the costs of implementing a clean energy plan.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More