Sen. Katie Wallace

Current law allows a person who is committed, imprisoned, or arrested (person in custody) the right to communicate with an attorney or family member by making a reasonable number of telephone calls or through any other reasonable manner. The act adds the attorney's authorized representative to those whom a person in custody can communicate with. Current law allows a person in custody the right to consult with an attorney. The act requires a peace officer or person employed at a place of confinement to provide an attorney or the attorney's authorized representative the ability to initiate communication with a person in custody through telephone calls, interactive audiovisual conferencing, or any other reasonable method of electronic communication, as determined by the jail or correctional facility administration. The communication must be private, unrecorded, and without cost to the confined person and attorney or the attorney's representative, subject to all reasonable administrative and operational procedures. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits a peer support team member from disclosing, without the consent of the recipient of peer support (recipient), the confidential communications made by the recipient during a peer support interaction, with specified exceptions. With respect to an exception for which disclosure is permissible, a peer support team member who discloses or does not disclose a communication with a recipient is not liable for damages in a civil action for disclosing or not disclosing the communication. The act expands an exception allowing specified mental health professionals to disclose confidential information when a recipient makes a threat against an individual or themself or makes a threat that, if carried out, would result in harm to an individual or themself. In addition, a peer support team member is exempted from the prohibition on disclosure established by the act if: The peer support team member was a witness or a party to the incident that prompted the delivery of peer support services; A recipient admits to committing a crime or provides information pertaining to the recipient or another individual that is indicative of criminal conduct; Criteria related to an individual's participation as a witness in a court proceeding are met; or A recipient makes a threat involving damage or destruction of private or public property.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The "Identity Theft and Financial Deterrence Act" was set to repeal September 1, 2025. The act implements the department of regulatory agencies' recommendations to: Continue the "Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Deterrence Act" until September 1, 2036; Repeal the identity theft and financial fraud board; and Repeal the current cash fund funding structure; allow appropriation of money from the general fund to the department of public safety (department); and allow the department to accept gifts, grants, and donations to staff the Colorado investigators unit. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $653,345 from the identity theft and financial fraud fund to the department for use by the Colorado bureau of investigation and decreases appropriations made to the department for use by the Colorado bureau of investigation from the identity theft and financial fraud fund by $653,345. Money appropriated to the department to staff the Colorado investigators unit is subject to available appropriations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund that is designated to hold money received from the firearm and ammunition excise tax (Proposition KK) for certain behavioral health-related purposes. Current law requires $8 million that is received from Proposition KK to be transferred to the behavioral and mental health cash fund. The act requires this money to instead be transferred to the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer the Proposition KK money in the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the behavioral and mental health excise tax cash fund. Current law repeals the behavioral and mental health cash fund on July 1, 2032. The act changes the repeal date to July 1, 2027. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal authorization to determine a member's eligibility for reenrollment without checking federally approved electronic data sources or requesting additional information if the member's income consists solely of social security income or another source of stable income or assets or if the member's income or assets have not changed since the initial verification during the application process. The act requires the department to modify the questions asked by medical professionals when verifying a member's need for long-term services and supports and allows a treating licensed medical professional who has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with a member to sign the documentation necessary to verify a member's need for long-term services and supports. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act codifies the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" into state law as the "Colorado Indian Child Welfare Act" (CO-ICWA) and provides additional protections for Indian children and children known or determined to be Indian children under state law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act excludes from the statewide managed care program (program) services for medicaid members in a qualified residential treatment program or a psychiatric residential treatment facility and in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services until July 1, 2026. The act excludes from the program residential child health-care program services in counties that have a written agreement regarding services. No later than December 1, 2025, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF), in collaboration with the department of human services, the behavioral health administration, and relevant stakeholders, to develop policies to transition qualified residential treatment programs and psychiatric residential treatment facilities to the statewide managed care system for medicaid members who are in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services (policies). The act requires HCPF to implement the policies no later than July 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of personnel (department), in partnership with the office of new Americans, to conduct or contract to conduct a statewide language access assessment of the readiness of principal departments to meet the language access standards outlined in the language access universal policy (assessment). The assessment covers all principal departments except the department of state, the department of the treasury, and the department of law (principal departments). The assessment must identify: The needs of principal departments to meet the language access standards outlined in the language access universal policy, including requests for guidance, training, and technical assistance; Relevant language access materials from principal departments, including language access plans, position descriptions related to language access, procedures related to language access, and technical assistance or training materials; Information on current language services contracts, expenditures, and funding sources related to language access; The public-facing responsibilities of principal departments, including designating which principal departments and their subcontractors do and do not have frequent contact with linguistically diverse individuals; and Other covered entities that may be subject to the standards outlined in the language access universal policy. The department may enter into an agreement with a third-party entity to conduct all or part of the assessment. The third-party entity must have demonstrated expertise in working with state governments on language access initiatives, such as developing language access policies or plans. At the conclusion of the assessment and not later than December 31, 2026, the department, the office of new Americans, or the third-party entity is required to create a report that summarizes the findings of the assessment and makes recommendations concerning: Improving efficiency, increasing quality of service, reducing cost, avoiding duplicative work, building on existing best practices, and minimizing administrative burden with respect to the provision of linguistically accessible government services and programs to linguistically diverse individuals; Addressing gaps and improving meaningful service through changes to language access services, practices, and procedures; Evaluating potential technological options for increasing language access, such as artificial intelligence; and Determining what infrastructure is needed to ensure full and sustainable implementation of the standards outlined in the language access universal policy. The department must also maintain a community of practice to focus on implementing the language access universal policy with ongoing observation of best practices in the principal departments. The department must include a summary of the report and assessment in its January 2027 presentation to legislative oversight committees required by the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act". For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by the Colorado equity office for personal services. Any money not expended by July 1, 2026, is further appropriated to the Colorado equity office through December 31, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the legislative council to approve agreements between the director of research of the legislative council and nonpartisan organizations to place nonpartisan legislative policy fellows (fellows) in the legislative council staff. The act also specifies the types of work that fellows may do, requires the director of research to retain supervisory authority over fellows, including over the terms and conditions of the fellowship, and requires any work product produced by a fellow during the fellowship to remain the property of the general assembly during and after the conclusion of the fellowship. The legislative council is prohibited from approving any agreement between the director of research of the legislative council and a nonpartisan organization that is registered as a lobbyist with the secretary of state to place a fellow in the legislative council staff. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law limits to 10 years the time a school district can lease district property not needed for its purposes. The act allows a school district to lease district property for any term of years for purposes of a solar field, energy storage system, or affordable housing. If a board of education of a school district leases or rents property for the purposes of an affordable housing project, the board of education shall develop a policy that defines affordable housing for the project. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)