Current law allows a physician to submit documentation to the department of public health and environment (department) stating that a patient has a debilitating medical condition or disabling medical condition and may benefit from the use of medical marijuana. The bill clarifies that the physician is submitting a recommendation to the department rather than a certification or authorization. The bill removes the following requirements for a physician's recommendation to the department: The physician's federal drug enforcement agency number; The maximum THC potency level of the medical marijuana product; The recommended medical marijuana product; The patient's daily authorized quantity of the medical marijuana product; and Directions for use of the medical marijuana product. The bill allows a physician to establish a bonafide physician-patient relationship remotely via video or telephone conference if the patient is: 21 years of age or older; Under 18 years of age; or 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age and the patient received a medical marijuana recommendation prior to 18 years of age. The bill clarifies that a patient must only present a uniform certification form completed by a recommending physician to a medical marijuana store if the patient seeks to purchase more than the statutorily allowed limit of medical marijuana products. Current law limits the amount of medical marijuana concentrate that a patient may purchase in a single day to 8 grams. The bill increases that limitation to 40 grams, but limits the total amount that a patient can purchase in a 30-day period to the equivalent of 8 grams per day. Current law limits the combined amount of medical marijuana products that a patient may purchase in a single day to 20,000 milligrams. The bill adds an exception to that limitation for nonedible, nonpsychoactive medical marijuana products. Current law limits the amount of medical marijuana concentrate that a patient 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age may purchase in a single day to 2 grams. The bill allows a patient that is 18 years of age or older but under 21 years of age and had a registry identification card issued by the department prior to 18 years of age to purchase in a single day up to 8 grams of medical marijuana concentrate. The bill clarifies that when a physician issues a uniform certification form to a patient 18 years of age or older, the physician may consider whether the patient had a registry identification card issued by the department prior to 18 years of age as a factor in recommending that the patient be allowed to purchase more than the statutorily allowed quantities of medical marijuana products. The bill allows a retail marijuana store to sell retail marijuana products to patients at the statutorily allowed limit for medical marijuana products and registered primary caregivers 21 years of age or older who present a registry identification card issued by the department. The bill also allows a registered primary caregiver to purchase retail marijuana products for a patient who is under 21 years of age at the applicable statutorily allowed limit for medical marijuana products for patients under 21 years of age. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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The act requires: No later than February 1, 2025, the state auditor to select a random sample of operators (random sample) and provide the list of operators in the random sample to the oil and gas conservation commission (commission), the executive director of the department of revenue (executive director), and the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division); No later than April 15, 2025, the commission, executive director, and division to submit certain reporting information for the operators in the random sample for calendar year 2023 and other information to the state auditor; No later than May 1, 2025, the state auditor to commence conducting or cause to be conducted a performance audit based on the information submitted by the commission, the executive director, and the division; and No later than March 1, 2026, the state auditor to prepare a report and recommendations based on the performance audit, which the state auditor will present to the legislative audit committee.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
To engage in industrial hemp cultivation in the state, a person is required to apply to the department of agriculture for a registration. In applying for a registration, the person must include the names and addresses of all key participants in the registered activity. The act amends the definition of "key participant" to include faculty at an institution of higher education to align with federal law requirements that all individuals authorized to grow hemp under a registration undergo a criminal history record check. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, with limited exceptions, a public trustee must release a deed of trust upon the satisfaction of certain preconditions, one of which is the production of the original canceled evidence of debt such as a note or bond as evidence that the indebtedness secured by the deed of trust has been paid. To this requirement, the act adds another exception. That is, a holder of the original evidence of debt may request the release of a deed of trust without producing or exhibiting the original evidence of debt if the holder: Agrees to indemnify and defend the public trustee against any claim for damages resulting from the action of the public trustee taken in accordance with the request; Provides the public trustee a current address for the original grantor, assuming party, or current owner when requesting the release of the deed of trust; and Files the request for the release of the deed of trust electronically via the county's electronic recording system. The act also removes language requiring a title insurance company to be "qualified" as well as licensed in Colorado for certain purposes relating to the release of a deed of trust. Further, the act makes necessary changes to the statutory form that is used to request a deed of trust without producing the evidence of debt. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Clarifies that every prescriber must query the prescription drug monitoring program (program) prior to filling a prescription for an opioid or benzodiazepine; Requires each prescriber and pharmacist to attest that they have registered and are maintaining a user account with the program and that they are aware of the penalties for noncompliance; Allows a practitioner or pharmacist who is registered with the program to authorize an unlimited number of designees to access the program on the practitioner's or pharmacist's behalf if the designees meet the eligibility criteria and to register those designees in a group designee user account. The practitioner or pharmacist is required to approve, maintain, and track the identifying information of each authorized designee in the group designee user account. Requires the division of professions and occupations (division) to solicit applications from public and private integration organizations and, on or before January 1, 2023, approve qualified integration organizations that practitioners and pharmacists may use to integrate the program with patient electronic medical records; and Subject to available funding, requires the division to implement a process whereby practitioners and pharmacists may apply for and receive reimbursement from the division for all or a portion of the costs of integrating the program with electronic medical records. $2,016,475 is appropriated from the prescription drug monitoring fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of professions and occupations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act updates and modifies laws pertaining to the payment of wages and employee misclassification, and the enforcement procedures and remedies for violations of those laws, as follows: Changes the penalties for failure to provide requested information to the division of labor standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment (DLSS) or for hindering or obstructing the director of the DLSS or other person authorized by the director in accessing an employer's premises from a misdemeanor criminal offense to a daily penalty of not less than $50 (sections 1 and 2 of the act); Directs the DLSS to transmit penalties it imposes to the wage theft enforcement fund (sections 1 through 5 and 10); Requires an employer to: Provide notice to an employee, within 10 days after the employment terminates, before deducting from wages or compensation any amount of money or property the employee failed to return or repay upon termination of employment and pay the employee the deducted amount within 14 days after the employee returns or repays the money or property if the employee did so within 14 days after notice is provided (section 6); Imposes automatic penalties of the greater of 2 times the amount of the unpaid wages or $1,000 on an employer that fails to pay all past-due wages within 14 days after a written demand or civil or administrative action for the past-due wages is sent to or served on the employer. If an employee shows that the employer's failure or refusal to pay wages was willful, the employer is subject to penalties equal to the greater of 3 times the amount of unpaid wages or $3,000. The act further states that an employer's second or subsequent failure or refusal to pay wages of the same or similar type within the 5 years preceding a claim is considered per se willful (section 7). If an employer makes a full legal tender of all amounts demanded in good faith within 14 days after a written demand is sent or an administrative claim or civil action is sent or served, the employee is required to dismiss the action (section 7); Eliminates the authority of a court to award an employer reasonable attorney fees and costs in an action in which the employee claimed wages in excess of the greater of $7,500 or the jurisdictional limit for small claims court and the employee does not recover an amount greater than the amount the employer tendered and instead permits a court to award an employer reasonable attorney fees and costs if, within 14 days after a written demand is sent or a civil action is served, the employer makes full legal tender of all amounts demanded in good faith for all employees and the employees ultimately fail to recover a total sum that is greater than the amount tendered (section 8); Allows the DLSS to award an employee reasonable costs incurred in an administrative claim when the employee recovers a sum that is greater than the amount the employer tendered, and, if the employee recovers more than $5,000 in unpaid wages, allows the DLSS to also award the employee attorney fees (section 8); Allows the director of the DLSS to use existing authority under labor laws to gather information pertinent to wage claims from employers, employees, and other persons or entities (section 9); Allows recovery of attorney fees, an additional fine of 50% of the amount of past-due wages, and a penalty of the greater of 50% of past-due wages or $3,000 from an employer that fails to pay an employee past-due wages within 60 days after the determination in favor of the employee (section 9); For a citation, notice of assessment, or order issued against an employer on or after January 1, 2023, requires the DLSS, upon request of an employee, to file a certified copy of the citation, notice, or order with the appropriate clerk of court, after which the clerk is required to enter the citation, notice, or order as a judgment of the court, and the judgment is sufficient to support the issuance of writs of garnishment if the judgment is wholly or partially unsatisfied (section 10); On or after January 1, 2023, authorizes the DLSS, either on its own initiative or within 60 days after receiving a written request from an employee, to issue a notice of administrative lien and levy, similar to a child support enforcement lien, when an employer fails to pay past-due wages, fines, or penalties, which lien attaches to the employer's real or personal property that is in the possession, custody, or control of another person (section 10); Allows an employee who alleges that the employee's employer discriminated or retaliated against the employee for filing or participating in a wage claim to file a civil action to seek relief, including back pay, reinstatement or front pay, payment of unlawfully withheld wages, interest on past-due wages, penalties, liquidated damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees and costs. The DLSS, after an investigation of a discrimination or retaliation claim, may also order similar relief to an employee, other than attorney fees and costs (section 11). Establishes the worker and employee protection unit (unit) in the department of law to investigate and enforce wage theft and unemployment insurance and misclassification of employees claims under specified circumstances and requires the director of the DLSS to share with the unit any orders the director issued in the previous 12 months finding that an employer has misclassified employees (sections 12 through 15). Section 16 appropriates $345,069 to the department of labor and employment for the 2022-23 state fiscal year to implement the act as follows: $314,019 for use by the DLSS for program costs, including an additional 3.4 FTE; and $31,050 to purchase legal services, which amount is reappropriated to the department of law to provide legal services to the department of labor and employment. Section 16 also appropriates $95,200 to the department of law for the 2022-23 state fiscal year for use by consumer protection to implement the act, which amount assumes the department will require an additional 0.8 FTE. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates a state sales and use tax exemption commencing January 1, 2023, for all sales, storage, use, and consumption of incontinence products and diapers and period products. The act further provides that counties and municipalities may choose to adopt either or both exemptions by express inclusion in their sales and use tax ordinance or resolution. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Subject to federal authorization and federal financial participation, on or after July 1, 2024, medicaid reimbursement is available for therapy using equine movement when provided by a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, or a speech-language pathologist. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of public health and environment (department), as part of its duty to disseminate public health information, to: Collect public health information from data sources and data provided to the department, including information concerning race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, to the extent permissible under applicable federal and state data privacy laws, rules, and regulations and federal contracts; and Provide direction and technical assistance relating to public health information. The act clarifies that no person is required to provide demographic information concerning race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The act requires the state board of health to promulgate rules, which rules apply to all state and county, district, and municipal public health agencies, public health directors, and other persons required to collect and report data, concerning the requirements for collecting data, and the manner and time frame for reporting and disaggregating data in compliance with applicable federal and state privacy laws, rules, and regulations and federal contracts to protect sensitive medical information and personally identifying information. For required health equity commission (commission) reports that do not include complete demographic information, the act requires state agencies that are represented on the commission to publish a supplemental report to address the social determinants of health and the strategies used to address health disparities and inequities based on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. To assist with the department's assessment of health disparities and inequities, the act requires the commission to convene a data advisory working group (working group) to advise the commission concerning collecting and aggregating nonidentifying demographic data and information from Colorado residents about race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity as part of public health programs and from information acquired by or submitted to the department. The act includes the selection of members for the working group. The act removes the requirement that a birth certificate include the person's gender as male or female at birth, but requires a report of birth filed with the state registrar to be completed in compliance with federal law. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $360,000 from the general fund to the department to implement the act, including: $40,000 for use by administration and support for operating expenses related to health statistics and vital records; and $320,000 for use by disease control and public health response for immunization operating expenses related to general disease control and surveillance.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act enacts the "Colorado 340B Prescription Drug Program Anti-discrimination Act" (act), which prohibits health insurers, PBMs, and other third-party payers (third-party payers) from discriminating against entities participating in the federal 340B drug pricing program (340B covered entity), including a pharmacy that contracts with a 340B covered entity to provide dispensing services to the 340B entity (contract pharmacy). Specifically, the act prohibits a third-party payer from: Refusing to reimburse a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy for dispensing 340B drugs, imposing additional requirements or restrictions on 340B covered entities or contract pharmacies, or reimbursing a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy for a 340B drug at a rate lower than the amount paid for the same drug to pharmacies that are not 340B covered entities or contract pharmacies; Assessing a fee, charge back, or other adjustment against a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy, or restricting a 340B covered entity's or contract pharmacy's access to the third-party payer's pharmacy network, because the 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy participates in the 340B drug pricing program; Requiring a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy to contract with a specific pharmacy or health coverage plan in order to access the third-party payer's pharmacy network; Imposing a restriction or an additional charge on a patient who obtains a prescription drug from a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy; Restricting the methods by which a 340B covered entity or contract pharmacy may dispense or deliver 340B drugs; or Requiring a claim for a 340B drug to include a modifier or other method of identifying the claim for a 340B drug. A violation of the act is an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance. The act authorizes the commissioner of insurance to adopt rules to implement the act. The act appropriates $17,109 from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)