Prescribing health care practitioners - electronic prescribing of controlled substances - exceptions. The act requires health care practitioners with prescribing authority to prescribe schedule II, III, or IV controlled substances only via a prescription that is electronically transmitted to a pharmacy unless a specified exception applies. The requirement to electronically prescribe starts on July 1, 2021, for podiatrists, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and optometrists, and on July 1, 2023, for dentists and practitioners serving rural communities or in a solo practice. Prescribing practitioners are required to indicate on license renewal questionnaires whether they have complied with the electronic prescribing requirement. Pharmacists need not verify the applicability of an exception to electronic prescribing when they receive an order for a controlled substance in writing, orally, or via facsimile transmission and may fill the order if otherwise valid under the law. Specifies that certain sections take effect only if HB 19-1172 becomes law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Sponsored bills
Sunset Process - Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee. The bill implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies to sunset the standing efficiency accountability committee.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Regulation of cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products - local government regulation - state cigarette tax revenue apportionment to local governments - local governments' special sales taxes. Sections 1, 2, and 4 of the act authorize a county to enact a resolution or ordinance that prohibits a minor from possessing or purchasing cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products. Sections 1 and 2 also authorize a county to impose regulations on cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products that are more stringent than statewide regulations, including prohibiting sales to a person under 21 years of age, and section 4 expressly authorizes a county to enact a resolution or ordinance regulating the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products to minors. Section 3 expressly authorizes a statutory or home rule city or town to enact an ordinance regulating the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products to minors. From state income tax money, the state currently apportions an amount equal to 27% of state cigarette tax revenues to cities, towns, and counties in proportion to the amount of state sales tax revenues collected within their boundaries. In order to receive their allocation of this money, cities, towns, and counties are prohibited from imposing their own fees, licenses, or taxes on cigarette sales or from attempting to impose a tax on cigarettes. Section 5 removes this prohibition with respect to fees or licenses that a city, town, or county imposes or with respect to a tax that a city, town, or county attempts to impose, thus allowing cities, towns, and counties to impose fees or licenses or to attempt to impose taxes on cigarette sales without losing their apportioned state cigarette tax revenues. A city, town, or county that successfully imposes a tax on cigarette sales loses its apportioned state cigarette tax revenues. Section 6 authorizes a statutory or home rule city or town, city and county, or county, if approved by a vote of the people within the statutory or home rule city or town, city and county, or county, to impose a special sales tax on the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products. Section 6 also provides a mechanism by which a county's special sales tax applies to a municipality within the boundary of the county unless the municipality, if approved by a vote of the people within the municipality, enacts its own such special sales tax; however, the county and municipality may then enter into an intergovernmental agreement authorizing the county to continue to levy, collect, and enforce its special sales tax within the corporate limits of the municipality.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Teacher cadet program - early childhood education. The act clarifies that high school students who are interested in early childhood education may participate in the teacher cadet program in high schools.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Water conservation - use of xeriscape and other drought-tolerant landscaping - common interest communities - special districts. Section 1 of the act augments an existing law that establishes the right of unit owners in common interest communities to use water-efficient landscaping, subject to reasonable aesthetic standards, by specifically extending the same policy to limited common elements, which are owned by the community and available for use by some but not all of the unit owners. Sections 2 and 3 extend existing water conservation requirements, currently applicable only to certain public entities that supply water at retail and their customers, to property management districts and other special districts that manage areas of parkland and open space. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
The bill prohibits a restaurant, food vendor, or other food service establishment from providing a single-use plastic beverage straw to a customer unless the customer requests a straw. The bill does not apply to the following: The use of a self-serve straw dispenser; A customer's order of food from a food service establishment through a drive-through window, for off-premises delivery through a third-party delivery service, or for delivery through the use of a digital or mobile application or website; or Prepackaged food that was filled, sealed, or packaged before the food service establishment received the prepackaged food at its retail premises. A local government shall not regulate the use of single-use plastic beverage straws. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Section 2 of the bill establishes leave savings accounts. A leave savings account is an account with a financial institution for which the individual uses money to pay for any expense while he or she is on eligible leave, which includes: The birth of a child of the individual and in order to care for the child; The placement of a child with the individual for adoption or foster care; Caring for a spouse, child, or parent of the individual if the spouse, child, or parent has a serious health condition; A serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform the functions of the position of the individual; or Any qualifying exigency, as determined by the United States secretary of labor, arising out of the fact that a spouse, child, or parent of the individual is on covered active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty, in the United States armed forces. An individual may annually contribute up to $5,000 of state pretax wages to a leave savings account. Employers may also make a matching contribution to an employee's leave savings account. The department of revenue is required to establish a form about a leave savings account, and the individual must annually file this form to be eligible for the tax benefit. Sections 3 and 4 allow an employee and an employer to claim a state income tax deduction for amounts they contribute to the employee's leave savings account. Section 3 also allows a taxpayer to deduct any interest or other income earned on the investment during the taxable year from their leave savings account. Regardless of how the money is deposited in the leave savings account, if an individual uses money in the account for an unauthorized purpose, then the money is subject to recapture in the year it is withdrawn and to a penalty equal to 10% of the amount recaptured. Section 5 creates an income tax credit for an employer that pays an employee for leave that is between 6 and 12 weeks long for one of the following reasons: The birth of a child of the employee and in order to care for the child; Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care; Caring for a spouse, child, or parent of the employee if the spouse, child, or parent has a serious health condition; A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of the employee; or Any qualifying exigency, as determined by the United States secretary of labor, arising out of the fact that a spouse, child, or parent of the employee is on covered active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty, in the United States armed forces. For employers with fewer than 50 employees, the credit is equal to 50% of the amount paid, and for employers with 50 or more employees it is equal to 25% of the amount paid. The credit is not refundable, but it may be carried forward up to 5 years. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Purchases of machinery or machine tools to be used in Colorado directly and predominantly in manufacturing tangible personal property are currently exempt from state sales and use tax. Manufacturing is currently defined to include the processing of recovered materials. The bill expands the definition of recovered materials to include materials that have been derived from scrap metal or end-of-life-cycle metals for remanufacturing, reuse, or recycling into new metal stock that meets applicable standards for metal commodities sales. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill clarifies that a licensed and qualified pharmacist may serve as a practitioner and prescribe over-the-counter medication under the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act" and a statewide drug therapy protocol pursuant to a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. The bill adds residential and inpatient substance use disorder services and medical detoxification services to the Colorado medical assistance program. The benefit is limited to persons who meet nationally recognized, evidence-based level of care criteria for residential and inpatient substance use disorder treatment. The benefit will not be effective until the department of health care policy and financing (department) seeks and receives any federal authorization necessary to secure federal financial participation in the program. Prior to seeking federal approval, the department shall seek input from stakeholders regarding decisions relating to the benefit. The department shall prepare and submit a performance review report to committees of the general assembly concerning services provided under the benefit and the effectiveness of those services. After considering the performance review report, the general assembly may enact legislation modifying or repealing the benefit. If an enhanced residential and inpatient substance use disorder treatment and medical detoxification services benefit becomes available, managed care organizations shall reprioritize the use of money allocated from the marijuana tax cash fund to assist in providing treatment, including residential treatment, to persons who are not otherwise covered by public or private insurance. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More