Sen. Katie Wallace

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-015 designates a specific portion of Colorado State Highway 58 as the "Officer Evan A. Dunn Memorial Highway." This action honors Officer Evan A. Dunn, a Golden Police Department officer who died in the line of duty. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations for the initial placement of memorial signs and to explore a cooperative agreement with the City of Golden for their maintenance.

The act expands the veterans mental health services program to provide grants to local nonprofit organizations to establish and expand community behavioral health programs that provide behavioral health services to service members, veterans, and family members of service members and veterans. The act reduces the reappropriated funds appropriation made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health services by $5,000,000; except that the reduction is not made if: The amount of reappropriated funds made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health is less than $5,000,000; or The long bill does not include an appropriation to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a parent who wants to relinquish their child must satisfy certain requirements. If the parent who wants to relinquish their child is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished, the act: Allows the relinquishment petitioner (petitioner) to provide the juvenile court with documentation concerning the sexual assault or conception, including a sworn affidavit; Exempts the petitioner from having to satisfy certain relinquishment requirements if the court finds that the petitioner is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished; and Exempts the petitioner of all legal obligations they may have with respect to the child if the court grants a final order of relinquishment. On or before January 1, 2026, the state court administrator shall develop a, or modify an existing, standardized form for a petitioner to file to terminate another person's parent-child legal relationship because the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of corrections (department) to search all information available to the department to determine whether an offender held at a correctional facility is subject to an outstanding warrant or if the offender has a pending case in a Colorado court. The department is required to conduct the search when the department conducts the initial comprehensive evaluation of the offender's sentence and 3 to 8 months prior to the offender's community correction eligibility date. The act requires the department to establish guidelines and policies that address requests for additional searches as may be needed by the public defender liaison to the department. If the department determines that an offender is subject to a warrant or has a pending case in a Colorado court, the department shall notify the offender, the public defender liaison to the department, and the court that issued the warrant or in which the case is pending, as applicable. The general assembly encourages a court to ensure the offender appears before the court, is assigned counsel if the defendant is eligible for court-appointed counsel, allows the offender to resolve the warrant in a timely manner, and facilitates virtual appearance for the offender. The act does not prohibit the department from searching for outstanding warrants at any other time. The act requires the office of state public defender to designate an email address for the public defender liaisons to the department of corrections to receive notifications from the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under existing law, a person charged with a criminal offense is subject to a criminal protection order, which remains in effect until final disposition of the criminal action. The act: Prescribes what must be included in the standardized form for a criminal protection order; Limits a criminal protection order to orders for the protection of a witness to, or victim of, the acts charged and prohibits a court from including in a criminal protection order an order to enforce a mandated condition of bond or a condition of bond that assists in obtaining the appearance of the defendant in court or ensuring community safety; Requires a court to inform a defendant that a violation of a criminal protection order may constitute a misdemeanor offense of violation of a protection order and that conduct that violates the criminal protection order may constitute a felony offense of intimidating a witness or victim or retaliation against a witness or victim; Only allows a criminal protection order to prohibit possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances without a valid prescription when available information supports a sufficient nexus between that restriction and the safety of the alleged victim or witness; except that, in a case involving domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act", the court may enter an order prohibiting possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances without a valid prescription if the court deems it appropriate for the safety of an alleged victim or witness; and Requires a court to review a criminal protection order at the time of sentencing or other resolution of the criminal case. Under existing law, a sentence for violating a protection order runs consecutively with any sentence imposed for the crime that gave rise to the protection order. The act limits this consecutive sentence provision to crimes involving domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act". The act grants a peace officer discretion to arrest, seek a warrant to arrest, or issue a summons to a restrained person for violating, or attempting to violate, a protection order by possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances; violating a term included in the protection order to protect the protected person from imminent danger to life or health in cases that do not involve domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act"; or failing to timely file a signed affidavit or written statement with the court as required by law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2021, Senate Bill 21-108 "Concerning gas pipeline safety" was enacted, requiring the public utilities commission (commission) to adopt rules related to gas pipeline safety and repair, including rules related to advanced leak detection technology. The act requires the commission to adopt the rules regarding advanced leak detection technology on or before November 1, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals the existing nursing facility provider fee and intermediate care facility service fee, effective May 1, 2025, and provides that, beginning on May 1, 2025, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise (CHASE) within the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) will charge and collect a new healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee and a new healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee that function similarly to the repealed fees. The act creates a facility provider fee enterprise support board within CHASE for the purpose of supporting the existing enterprise with the implementation of the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee and the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee. In exchange for payment of the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee, CHASE will provide certain business services to nursing facility providers to sustain or increase reimbursement rates and make supplemental medicaid payments to nursing facility providers. In exchange for payment of the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee, CHASE will provide certain business services to intermediate care facility providers for individuals with intellectual disabilities for the purposes of maintaining the quality and continuity of services provided by intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Because CHASE is an enterprise for purposes of the Taxpayer's Act of Rights, its revenue does not count against the state fiscal year spending limit. The act also makes conforming amendments and, for clarity, renames the existing healthcare affordability and sustainability fee and healthcare affordability and sustainability fund to be the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee and the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $62,986,221 is appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee cash fund to HCPF and $2,150,281 is appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee cash fund to HCPF. The act also decreases in corresponding amounts appropriations to HCPF from other cash funds and modifies appropriations to HCPF for the 2024-25 state fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Beginning July 1, 2025 No later than January 1, 2026 , the bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to seek federal authorization to reimburse acute care hospitals and ambulatory surgery facilities that provide vagus nerve stimulation therapy to members diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy at a rate that is equal to 75% 60% of the cost for acquiring the vagus nerve stimulator device, which reimbursement is in addition to and does not supplant the reimbursement for any necessary surgical procedure associated with implanting the device. Beginning January 1, 2029, the bill requires HCPF to increase the reimbursement to a rate that is equal to 75% of the cost for acquiring the vagus nerve simulator device. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-022 is a commemorative resolution concerning the remembrance of the Holocaust. It declares the General Assembly's commitment to remembering the Holocaust and encourages school districts and universities to promote antibias, bullying prevention, and Holocaust and genocide education programs to prevent antisemitic incidents, particularly those targeting Jewish students.

Maddy summaryHouse Joint Resolution 25-1025 is a commemorative resolution by the Colorado General Assembly. It officially recognizes the week of April 6-12, 2025, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week in Colorado. The resolution aims to honor crime victims and those who serve them, and encourages Colorado citizens to seek justice and show compassion for victims.