The act: Exempts veterinarians from complying with specific aspects of the prescription drug use monitoring program (program) that are specific to prescriptions for human patients; Allows the medical director of a medical practice or hospital, including a nurse medical director, to appoint designees to query the program on behalf of a practitioner in the medical practice or hospital setting; Allows the department of health care policy and financing (department) to access the program, consistent with federal data privacy requirements, for purposes of care coordination, utilization review, and federally required reporting relating to recipients of certain benefits; and Updates current language in the laws relating to the program by using more modern terminology. A county or district public health agency may establish a multidisciplinary and multiagency overdose fatality review team (local team). The act prescribes membership requirements, purposes, and duties for local teams, including a duty to report annually to the county or district public health agency served by the local team. The act requires certain entities, upon receiving a written request of the chair of a local team, to provide the local team with information and records regarding a person whose death or near death is being reviewed by the local team. Unless the chair of the local team grants an extension of time, the entity must provide the local team the requested information and records within 10 business days after receipt of the request. A person or entity that receives a records request from a local team may charge the local team a reasonable fee for the service of duplicating any records requested. A person or entity, including a local or state agency, that provides information or records to a local team is not subject to civil or criminal liability or any professional disciplinary action pursuant to state law as a result of providing the information or record. Upon request of a local team, a person who is not a member of a local team may attend and participate in a meeting at which a local team reviews confidential information and considers a plan, an intervention, or other course of conduct based on that review. The act requires each person at a local team meeting to sign a confidentiality form before reviewing information and records received by the local team. Local team meetings in which confidential information is discussed are exempt from the open meetings provisions of the "Colorado Sunshine Act of 1972". A local team shall maintain the confidentiality of information provided to the local team as required by state and federal law, and information and records acquired or created by a local team are not subject to inspection pursuant to the "Colorado Open Records Act". Local team members and a person who presents or provides information to a local team may not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding or disciplinary action regarding the information presented or provided. Law enforcement may not use information from any overdose fatality review for any law enforcement purpose. The department is required to publish guidance for providers concerning reimbursement for all variations of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment interventions. The act requires the existing substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment grant program in the department to require implementation of: A statewide adolescent substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral practice that includes training and technical assistance for appropriate professionals in Colorado schools, with the purpose of identifying students who would benefit from screening, brief intervention, and potential referral to resources, including treatment; and A statewide substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral practice that includes training and technical assistance for pediatricians and professionals in pediatric settings, with the purpose of identifying adolescent patients who would benefit from screening, brief intervention, and potential referral to resources, including treatment. Current law authorizes the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies (center) to conduct a statewide perinatal substance use data linkage project (data linkage project) that uses ongoing collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health actions to improve outcomes for families impacted by substance use during pregnancy. The act: Requires the center to conduct the data linkage project; Requires the data linkage project to utilize data from additional state and federal programs; and Expands the data linkage project to examine the education of pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates: $75,000 from the general fund to the executive director of the department for general professional services and special projects; this appropriation is based on the assumption that the department will receive $75,000 in federal funds for these services; and $250,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by the Colorado commission on higher education and higher education special purpose programs. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act prohibits a debt collector or collection agency that is not a creditor or debt buyer from being the named plaintiff in a legal action or taking any legal action on a debt against a consumer unless the debt collector or collection agency: Ensures that the name of the original creditor or assignor and the name of the debt collector or collection agency are included in the case of the caption of the complaint, in that order; and Has a complete and effective assignment, including complete settlement authority and authority to resolve the litigation. The act requires credit services organizations to file notification with and pay an annual notification fee to the administrator of the uniform consumer credit code (administrator) within 30 days after commencing business in Colorado and, thereafter, on or before July 1 of each year. The state treasurer shall credit the annual notification fee to the consumer credit unit cash fund. The administrator may order a person to cease and desist from engaging in violations of the "Colorado Credit Services Organization Act" (CCSOA). An order issued by the administrator may require the person to pay to a buyer a refund of any unlawful charges that have been charged to the buyer and to pay an administrative penalty of up to $1,500 per violation. A person aggrieved by an order of the administrator may seek judicial review of the order in the Colorado court of appeals. The act clarifies that a plan that a debt management services provider prepares for an individual that requires the individual to make regular, periodic payments must meet the definition of "plan" in the "Uniform Debt-Management Services Act". The act also clarifies that if a debt management services provider utilizes the internet or other electronic means to meet specific compliance requirements, including disclosures, reporting requirements, and record-keeping requirements, the provider must obtain a consumer's consent at the time of satisfying the requirements. The act repeals provisions outlining the fees a debt management services provider may charge and requires the administrator to adopt rules specifying the nature and amount of permitted fees. The rules must not unduly limit consumer access to debt management services programs based on available state and national data. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE March 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires health insurance carriers (carriers) to comply with federal price transparency laws and to make available an internet-based self-service tool that provides real-time responses to a covered person's questions concerning carrier prices that are based on cost-sharing information. The act also requires carriers to submit information required by federal pharmacy benefit and drug cost reporting laws to the commissioner of insurance and to make certain information regarding price transparency publicly available. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes a continuing medical education requirement (CME) for physicians licensed in this state. To meet the CME requirement, a physician must complete 30 credit hours of CME (CME credit hours) in the 24 months preceding the renewal, reinstatement, or reactivation of the physician's medical license in topics selected by the physician and also in topics specified in the act. The act specifies the type and sponsors of programs or activities that qualify for CME credit hours. The board, at its discretion, may initiate a stakeholder process to consider requiring CME credit hours in a certain topic and shall initiate a stakeholder process for the board to consider requiring specific credit hours relating to health disparities and outcomes data, reproductive, sexual, and gender-based health care, and explicit and implicit bias. To verify compliance with the CME requirement, the physician shall affirm on the license renewal form submitted to the board that the physician has complied with the CME requirement. The board is also authorized to audit up to 5% of physician renewals annually, chosen at random with an oversampling of nonboard-certified physicians, and to require that the physician submit proof of the CME programs completed and the CME credit hours awarded. A physician's failure to comply with the CME requirement or to submit proof to the board during a board audit, without reasonable cause, constitutes unprofessional conduct. If the physician fails to comply with the CME requirement, the physician's license is inactive until reinstated by the board. The board may adopt rules to implement the CME requirement. The director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies shall increase existing fees on physician licensure renewals to cover any additional costs associated with implementing the CME requirement. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, in the following government buildings, including their adjacent parking areas: State legislative buildings, including buildings at which the offices of elected members are located; A building of a local government's governing body, including buildings at which the offices of elected members or the chief executive officer of a local government are located (local government buildings); and A courthouse or other building used for court proceedings. Unlawful carrying of a firearm in a government building is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act includes exceptions for law enforcement officers, members of the United States armed forces or Colorado National Guard, security personnel, persons carrying as part of the lawful and common practices of a legal proceeding, and persons who hold a permit to carry a concealed handgun (concealed carry permit) who are carrying a concealed handgun in an adjacent parking area. The act permits a local government to enact a law permitting carrying at a local government building included in the act. Members of the general assembly are exempt from the prohibition on carrying in a state legislative building until January 5, 2025. The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, on the property of a child care center, other than a family child care home, that is licensed by the department of early childhood or is exempt from licensing pursuant to state law, and that operates with stated educational purposes (licensed child care center); public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high, or vocational school; or any public or private college, university, or seminary (higher education institution), with exceptions. A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor. The act maintains exceptions in existing law for carrying a firearm on the property of a public elementary, middle, junior high, or high school and adds exceptions for concealed carry permit holders carrying in the parking area of a licensed child care center or higher education institution; security personnel at a licensed child care center or higher education institution; and for a licensed child care center that is on the same property as another building or improvement, carrying a firearm in an area that is not designated as a licensed child care center. Existing law prohibits openly carrying a firearm within any polling location or central count facility, or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box or any building in which a polling location or central count facility is located, while an election or any related ongoing election administration activity is in progress. The act prohibits carrying a firearm in any manner at those locations. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act suspends the statutory process for the distraint sale of a mobile home to collect delinquent property tax and creates a task force to make recommendations for statutory changes in order to bring state law into compliance with the United States supreme court's recent decision affirming a property owner's constitutional right to the value of their property in excess of their tax debt. The task force on mobile home ownership and taxation (task force), created in the division of housing of the department of local affairs (division), consists of the following 17 members: 4 members from the general assembly; A current or former county treasurer; A current or former county assessor; Either a current or former county clerk or an individual who has expertise related to mobile home policy; 3 individual mobile home owners; A county commissioner from an urban county; A county commissioner from a rural county; A representative from a trade association that represents the mobile home industry; A representative of an advocacy group for affordable housing including mobile homes; A representative of the division; A representative of the department of revenue; and A representative of the banking industry. In addition to recommending changes to the statute governing the distraint sale of mobile homes to ensure that any sale proceeds in excess of the owner's tax debt are paid to the owner, the task force is also charged with studying and making recommendations related to the valuation for assessment, titling, and taxation of mobile homes. The division shall consult with the task force regarding its collaborative effort with the office of information technology to develop the initial scope of work for a system for titling and registering mobile homes, including tiny homes. The task force is required to: Convene by June 15, 2024; Meet at least once a month during the 2024 legislative interim, or more often as directed by the chairperson; and Submit a report with its findings and recommendations for legislation concerning mobile home ownership and taxation to the legislative oversight committee concerning tax policy on or before October 1, 2024. The task force is repealed, effective January 1, 2025. The act appropriates $53,995 from the general fund to the department of local affairs for use by the division in implementing the act. APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 31, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a right of first refusal and a right of first offer for local governments to make an offer to purchase certain types of multifamily rental properties. Both the right of first refusal and the right of first offer terminate on December 31, 2029, and a local government is not entitled to exercise either right after that date unless the local government exercised the right before December 31, 2029 and the process has not concluded. For multifamily rental properties that are existing affordable housing consisting of not less than five units, a local government has a right of first refusal to make a matched offer for the purchase of such property, subject to the local government's commitment to using the property as long-term affordable housing. Existing affordable housing is housing that is subject to one or more restricted use covenants or similar recorded agreements to ensure affordability consistent with affordable housing financial assistance requirements. The act requires the seller of such property to give notice to the local government and to the Colorado housing and finance authority at least 2 years before the final expiration of the last remaining affordability restriction on the property of the date of such expiration, a second notice not less than 6 months before the final expiration of the last remaining affordability restriction, and additional notice when the seller takes certain actions as a precursor to selling the property. Sharing information provided by the seller in certain notices is subject to execution of a nondisclosure agreement. Upon receiving the third notice indicating an intent to sell the property or of a potential sale of the property, the local government has 14 calendar days to preserve its right of first refusal and an additional 30 calendar days to make an offer and must agree to close on the property within 60 calendar days of the acceptance of the local government's offer; except that, if the seller has received an entirely cash offer from a third-party buyer, then the local government must agree to close within the same time period as is set forth in the third-party buyer's offer. If the price as listed in the seller's notice is reduced by 5% or more or if the required terms and conditions of an acceptable offer that has been communicated to the local government materially change, the seller must provide notice of the change within 7 days and the local government may exercise or re-exercise its right of first refusal. If the seller rejects an offer by the local government, the seller must provide a written explanation of the reasons, invite the local government to make one subsequent offer within 14 days, and must accept or reject the local government's subsequent offer within 14 days of the subsequent offer being made. For all other multifamily rental properties that are 30 years or older and have not more than 100 units and not less than 15 units, a local government has a right of first offer. A seller of such property must provide notice of intent to sell the property to the local government before the seller enters into an agreement with a licensed broker to solicit and procure purchasers or otherwise lists the property for sale on the multiple listing service. After receipt of the notice, the local government has 7 days to respond by either indicating the local government is interested in receiving due diligence information on the property to evaluate whether it wants to make an offer, which response must include a nondisclosure agreement in a form acceptable to the seller, or waiving any right to purchase the property. If the local government does not respond within this time period, it is deemed to have waived its right of first offer with respect to the property. The local government's right of first offer is subject to the property being used or converted for the purpose of providing long-term affordable housing or mixed-income development. If the local government has requested due diligence information, the seller has 5 days to provide the information to the local government and the local government then has 14 days to make an offer or waive its right of first offer. If a response is not provided in this period, the right of first offer is deemed waived. The seller has 14 days to accept or reject the local government's offer, and, if the seller does not provide notice, the offer is deemed rejected. If the seller accepts the offer, the parties have 30 days to negotiate and execute a contract for the purchase of the property and then 60 days to close on the transaction, unless both parties agree to other terms. In exercising its right of first refusal or first offer, the local government may partner with certain other entities for the financing of the transaction and may also assign either right with respect to all applicable properties in the local government's jurisdiction or with respect to a single property to certain other entities that are then subject to all the rights and requirements of the local government in exercising either right. The act allows certain sales of property to be exempt from the right of first offer or from both the right of first refusal and the right of first offer. Upon completion of the requirements of the seller for the right of first refusal and for the right of first offer, the local government, or its assignee if it has assigned either right, is required to execute and record a certificate of compliance stating that the seller has complied with all applicable provisions for the right of first refusal or right of first offer. The act also requires the attorney general's office to enforce the provisions of the act and grants the attorney general's office, the local government, or a local government's assignee standing to bring a civil action for violations of the right of first refusal or first offer established by the act. If a court finds that a seller has materially violated the law with respect to the right of first refusal or first offer, respectively, the court must award a statutory penalty of not less than $10,000 for a first offense and not less than $30,000 for any subsequent offenses but the court cannot award a statutory penalty that is more than $100,000. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes permitting procedures for electric vehicle (EV) charging systems for counties with a population of 20,000 or more (covered county) and municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more (covered municipality). On or before December 31, 2025, a board of county commissioners of a covered county or the governing body of a covered municipality must do one of the following: Adopt an ordinance or resolution that incorporates the same standards and permitting process or less restrictive standards and permitting process as the standards and permitting process described in the Colorado energy office's EV charger permitting model code that the office is required to publish on or before March 31, 2025; Adopt an ordinance or resolution that establishes the covered county's or covered municipality's own objective standards and administrative review process to be used by the covered county or covered municipality permitting agency in the agency's review of EV charger permits, which ordinance or resolution must comply with certain requirements; or Adopt an ordinance or resolution that establishes that the covered county or covered municipality does not intend to adopt the EV charger model code or adopt the standards and administrative review process required by the act, but instead will continue to utilize the covered county's or covered municipality's existing permitting review process for EV charging systems. If a covered county or covered municipality establishes its own objective standards and administrative review process, the covered county or covered municipal permitting agency must provide a checklist to prospective applicants of all requirements that must be included in an application for an EV charger permit. The covered county or covered municipality may deny an application if the application does not comply with the objective standards for EV charging systems set forth by the covered county or covered municipality or for health or safety reasons. A covered county or covered municipality must also notify an EV charger permit applicant of the covered county permitting agency's or covered municipal permitting agency's decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny an applicant within 3 business days after the date the agency makes such determination. The Colorado energy office, in addition to developing the model code regarding the approval of EV charger permits, is required to provide covered counties and covered municipalities technical assistance in developing and administering the expedited EV charger permitting process. If a board of county commissioners of a covered county or governing body of a covered municipality adopts the model code, it is not subject to the other requirements specified in the act. APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits knowingly leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the handgun is stored in a locked hard-sided container that is placed out of plain view and the container is in a locked vehicle, the locked trunk of the locked vehicle, or a locked recreational vehicle. The act prohibits knowingly leaving a firearm that is not a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the firearm is stored in a locked hard-sided or soft-sided container that is placed out of plain view and the container is in a locked vehicle, the locked trunk of the locked vehicle, or a locked recreational vehicle. A firearm that is not a handgun that is stored in a soft-sided container must have a locking device installed on the firearm while stored in the soft-sided container. A person who is considered to have a disability who stores a firearm in a locked soft-sided container does not violate the requirement to store a firearm in a hard-sided container. The act includes exceptions from the storage requirement for storing antique firearms, storing a firearm that is a not a handgun in a vehicle being used for farm or ranch operations, a person who lives in a vehicle or in a recreational vehicle, peace officers and active members of the armed forces, and certain activities related to lawful hunting. Unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle is a civil infraction. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Wildfire Matters Review Committee. The bill assists local governments with disaster-related programs in 2 ways. First, section 1 of the bill establishes by establishing the slash removal pilot program (pilot program) under the wildfire mitigation incentives for local governments grant program, which is administered by the forest service. The pilot program supports county efforts to efficiently and effectively remove slash through methods other than burning . The forest service must establish the policies and procedures by which it will select counties for the pilot program and implement the pilot program. Second, section 2 requires the division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety to provide guidance to local governments on the following issues concerning debris removal: Negotiating debris removal program terms with the federal emergency management agency to provide predictability for homeowners and ensure that there are not duplicate payments for debris removal; Developing standard right of entry forms that include opt-in and opt-out provisions and clear insurance assignment of benefit language; Establishing right-of-way cleanup procedures, including the removal of private vehicles, for public roadways; Considering the removal of hazardous materials and other safety and environmental concerns; and Ensuring that local debris removal programs are limited to residential debris removal and do not include commercial debris removal. (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.)