The bill creates a strategic planning legislative steering committee (steering committee) to lead the statewide effort to establish a vision for education in the state (vision) and create a strategic statewide education plan (strategic plan) to achieve the vision. The bill creates an executive advisory board consisting of representatives from the departments of education and higher education, a co-chair of the early childhood leadership commission, and a representative from the governor's office. The chair and vice-chair of the steering committee will appoint a statewide advisory board consisting of representatives of the pertinent education stakeholder groups from around the state. The steering committee must contract with a nonprofit, nonadvocacy organization to act as facilitator for the steering committee and the advisory boards. The bill describes the duties of the steering committee to be completed, with assistance from the advisory boards and the facilitator, in 4 phases. The duties include: Reviewing and synthesizing input already collected by the departments of education and higher education concerning the state education system; Reviewing research to identify the critical elements of the existing state education system and benchmarking the elements as implemented in Colorado against the elements as implemented in high-performing states and countries; Creating a structure and process for soliciting and synthesizing input from around the state to create the vision and the strategic plan; and After creating the vision and the strategic plan, overseeing the ongoing implementation of the strategic plan, including measuring the state's progress toward achieving the vision, periodically reviewing the vision and strategic plan, and, if necessary, revising the vision and strategic plan. The steering committee must establish the timeline for creating the vision and the strategic plan and for beginning to implement the strategic plan. Beginning November 15, 2017, the steering committee must submit an annual report to the state board of education, the Colorado commission on higher education, the governor, and the education committees of the general assembly summarizing the work it completes each year and recommending legislative and regulatory changes, if necessary. The steering committee and the advisory boards are not subject to sunset review. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
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Current law allows a third party, 'on behalf of' the insured, to claim double damages and attorney fees from a property and casualty insurer for an unreasonable delay or denial of benefits. The bill eliminates the 'on behalf of' language so that only the named insured may claim double damages and attorney fees from a property and casualty insurer. The bill also requires an insured to provide notice to the property and casualty insurer of the insured's intent to file for double damages and attorney fees under the law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
In an existing provision that authorizes resellers of electricity and natural gas to provide motor vehicle charging or fueling stations as unregulated services, the bill authorizes public utilities to provide these services as regulated or unregulated services and allows cost recovery. The bill allows a utility to apply to build facilities to support alternative fuel vehicles. Standards are set for approval. When a facility is built, the rate and charges for the services: May allow a return on any investment made by an electric public utility at the weighted average cost of capital at the electric public utility's most recent rate of return on equity approved by the public utilities commission (commission); May allow a return on any investment made by a natural gas public utility at the utility's weighted average cost of capital at the public utility's most recent rate of return on equity approved by the commission; and Must be recovered from all customers of an electric or natural gas public utility in a manner that is similar to the recovery of distribution system investments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
With regard to students enrolled in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade, the bill prohibits a school district, board of cooperative services, charter school, or public preschool program (enrolling entity) from expelling a student, except as specifically required by federal law, and allows the enrolling entity to impose an out-of-school suspension on the student only under specified circumstances for 3 school days. Under additional specified circumstances, the enrolling entity may extend the out-of-school suspension to a total of 5 school days. Each school district and charter school must ensure that its school discipline code reflects the requirements specified in the bill. The state board of education cannot waive the provisions concerning expulsion and suspension of young students for school districts or charter schools. The bill specifies that school districts are required to adopt prevention and early intervention strategies to reduce the need for early childhood and early elementary grade suspensions and expulsions. The bill expands the expelled and at-risk student services grant program to include services for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary grade students and their families. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill requires the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies to promulgate rules for applicants for cosmetologist or barber licensure to furnish proof of training, not to exceed 50 credits or 1,500 contact hours. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the 'Rewarding Excellence With Annual Redirected Dollars Act' or 'REWARD Act' (program) to award excellence funding to school districts that achieve a level of success in student performance above that of their peer districts. The bill defines 'school district' to include school districts and the state charter school institute (institute). The bill directs the department of education (department) to annually identify peer school districts by categorizing all school districts as either non-rural or rural, as defined in the bill, and then group the school districts within those categories based on demographically similar student populations. Once peer school districts are identified, the department shall compare those school districts to determine which school districts outperform their peer school districts using objective measures of student performance. The bill includes eligibility criteria for participation in the program. The department shall annually award excellence funding to the top 6 highest-performing non-rural school districts and to the top 6 highest-performing rural school districts, for a total of 12 districts. The program is funded by redirecting 1% of statewide total program funding, after application of the negative factor, for the applicable budget year. The department shall reduce the state's share of total program funding for the applicable budget year by the amount of excellence funding, proportionately reducing each school district's state share of total program funding. The department shall distribute 15% of the excellence funding to the top 12 highest-performing school districts in equal shares, and the remaining 85% of excellence funding to those school districts on a per-pupil basis. School districts, including the institute, shall transfer to a district charter school or an institute charter school 100% of the charter school's per-pupil allocation of the total amount of excellence funding received by the school district or the institute. The program is implemented beginning in the 2018-19 budget year, and excellence funding is based on the school districts' student performance in the budget year immediately preceding the applicable budget year. The department shall reduce the amount of excellence funding by the department's reasonable and necessary direct costs incurred in implementing the program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
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. The bill extends the exemption to machinery or machine tools purchased by a business for construction materials mining operations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, a person must have performed at least 8,000 hours of practical work experience on fire suppression systems over the previous 5 years to register as a sprinkler fitter. This minimum experience requirement is nearly equivalent to the practical experience required to become licensed as a master plumber, which requires at least 8,500 hours of practical experience. The bill aligns the practical experience required to become registered as a sprinkler fitter with the practical experience required to become licensed as a journeyman plumber, which requires 6,800 hours of practical experience. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Under existing law, the department of education may accept gifts, grants, and donations to use in making monetary awards to certain high-performing public schools and in purchasing tangible items of recognition for the schools. The bill specifies that the department may expend any amount received as a gift, grant, or donation for this purpose without further appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill authorizes the division of youth corrections in the department of human services (division) to establish, at its discretion, a youth corrections monetary incentives award program (program). The purpose of the program is to provide monetary awards and incentives for academic, social, and psychological achievement to juveniles who were formerly committed to the division to assist and encourage them in moving forward in positive directions in life. If the division does establish a program, it shall devise, in collaboration with a selected nonprofit organization (nonprofit), appropriate participation criteria and criteria for awarding individual scholarships to deserving juveniles. The criteria may include that a juvenile in the program maintains the highest grades possible during each academic term and makes continual progress in therapeutic or other programs, if applicable, during each academic term. The criteria may also require that scholarship money awarded to a juvenile may only be used for educational or other expenses approved as necessary and valid to the juvenile's continued improvement by the division and the nonprofit. If the division establishes a program it shall use a request for proposals process to contract with a nonprofit. The division and the nonprofit are authorized to accept and expend monetary and in-kind gifts, grants, and donations on behalf of the program. Such money must be used to provide scholarships and other incentive awards to the juveniles in the program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)