Section 2 of the act creates the disaster resilience rebuilding program in the division of local government (division) in the department of local affairs. The disaster resilience rebuilding program's purpose is to provide loans and grants to homeowners, owners of residential rental property, businesses, governmental entities, and other organizations working to rebuild after a disaster emergency. The division may contract with a governmental entity, bank, community development financial institution, or other entity to administer the disaster resilience rebuilding program. The division or an administrator is required to establish policies for administering the disaster resilience rebuilding program, including application requirements, eligibility requirements for applicants, maximum assistance levels, loan terms, equitable outreach, and any specific criteria for the allowable uses of the loans and grants. The division is required to prioritize applicants who demonstrate that their needs cannot be met by other sources of assistance. Loans and grants may be used to: Subsidize costs to repair or rebuild a homeowner's primary residence that are insufficiently covered by the homeowner's insurance or by federal assistance programs, including costs of rebuilding to advanced fire resistance standards and to replant climate ready trees and vegetation; Repair or reconstruct housing stock in areas that are experiencing a shortage of available housing by housing authorities and nonprofit organizations working to repair or reconstruct housing stock, or by owners of rental housing who agree to requirements to provide affordable rent or temporary rental assistance to displaced renters; Rebuild neighborhoods in a manner intended to resist the impacts of natural disasters; Provide operating capital to a business experiencing a loss or interruption of business or to pay to repair or replace damaged business property and inventory; Reimburse governmental entities for costs associated with a declared disaster that are not covered by available federal assistance, including infrastructure repairs and replacement of lost revenue; or Assist eligible applicants in addressing other related unmet needs as allowed by division policies. Section 2 also creates the disaster resilience rebuilding program fund. The state treasurer is required to transfer $15 million from the general fund to the fund after the effective date of the act. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division for the rebuilding program. Section 3 creates the sustainable rebuilding program in the Colorado energy office. The office is required to consult with the department of local affairs in creating the sustainable rebuilding program. The sustainable rebuilding program's purpose is to provide loans and grants to homeowners, owners of residential rental property, and businesses that are rebuilding after a wildfire or other natural disaster to cover costs associated with building high performing, energy efficient, and resilient homes and structures. The office may contract with a governmental entity, Colorado-based nonprofit green bank with history and expertise in providing loans and grants for energy efficiency projects and services, business nonprofit organization, bank, or community development financial institution to administer the sustainable rebuilding program. The Colorado energy office or an administrator is required to establish policies for administering the sustainable rebuilding program, including application requirements, eligibility requirements for homeowners and businesses, maximum assistance levels, loan terms, equitable outreach, and any specific criteria for the allowable uses of the loans and grants. The loans and grants may be used to: Install high-efficiency heat pumps for heating space or water; Achieve advanced energy certifications, including from Energy Star, the Passive House Institute U.S., the United States department of energy zero energy ready homes, or other similar programs; Achieve net zero energy or net zero carbon buildings with the addition of renewable energy generation; Assist with the costs of installing battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations; Cover the incremental costs of building to the most recent energy standard adopted by a local jurisdiction compared to the earlier version of the jurisdiction's energy code; and Support other similar uses identified by the office. The act creates the sustainable rebuilding program fund. The state treasurer is required to transfer $20 million to the fund after the effective date of the act. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the sustainable rebuilding program and for development of the disaster survivor portal that may be created as authorized by section 6. Section 4 creates the office of climate preparedness in the governor's office. The office is required to coordinate disaster recovery efforts for the governor's office and to develop, publish, and implement the statewide climate preparedness roadmap (roadmap). The office of climate preparedness may establish interagency and intergovernmental task forces and community advisory groups to inform and support the work of the office. The office may promote community engagement and information sharing and further efforts to implement the recommendations of the roadmap. The office of climate preparedness is required to coordinate the implementation of the roadmap and may establish criteria for evaluating existing programs in all other state agencies to ensure implementation of the roadmap and its governing principles. No later than December 1, 2023, the office of climate preparedness is required to prepare and publish and, every 3 years thereafter, update the roadmap. The roadmap must integrate and include information from all existing and future state plans that address climate mitigation, adaptation, resiliency, and recovery. The roadmap must build upon this previous body of work, seek to align existing plans, and identify any gaps in policy, planning, or resources. The roadmap must identify strategies for how the state will grow in population and continue to develop in a manner that meets certain goals specified in the act. Section 5 requires the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) to conduct a study and prepare a report on methods to address the stability, availability, and affordability of homeowner's insurance in Colorado with a focus on stabilizing the market. The commissioner may contract with a third party and is required to consult with stakeholders in completing the study. Section 6 removes the existing cap on the size of grants that the governor may provide to individuals to meet disaster-related expenses that cannot be met from other means of assistance. Section 6 also requires the office of emergency management to coordinate with the governor's office, federal agencies, and other state and local agencies to ensure that individual disaster assistance is delivered in a coordinated effort. The office of emergency management is authorized to create a disaster survivor portal in collaboration with the department of local affairs and the Colorado energy office. The portal may provide a coordinated method to access individual disaster assistance benefits, including from the disaster resilience rebuilding program and the sustainable rebuilding program. Section 7 requires the division of fire prevention and control (DFPC) in the department of public safety to establish and maintain a statewide fire dispatch center for rapid responses to wildfires and all-hazard incidents. Section 8 authorizes the center of excellence within the DFPC to develop and implement a Colorado team awareness kit. Section 8 also requires the transfer of $15,500,000 from the disaster emergency fund to the Colorado firefighting air corps fund for use by the DFPC to implement the statewide fire dispatch center and the team awareness kit and for the leasing of appropriate aviation resources for wildfire suppression. Section 9 requires the transfer of $2,700,000 from the disaster emergency fund to the capital construction fund for use by the DFPC for capital construction related to aviation resources for wildfire suppression. The $2,700,000 transferred in section 9 is appropriated to the department of public safety in section 12 for capital construction related to aviation resources for wildfire suppression. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill changes the standard for an emergency 72-hour mental health commitment for treatment and evaluation to include when a person appears to have a mental health disorder or be gravely disabled and, as a result of such mental health disorder or being gravely disabled, appears to present an imminent or substantial risk of harm to self or others. "Substantial risk" is defined.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act prohibits a prepaid inpatient health plan from: Requiring prior authorization for outpatient psychotherapy services; Retroactively recovering provider payments if a recipient was initially determined to be eligible for medical benefits or the prepaid inpatient health plan makes an error processing the claim but the claim is otherwise accurately submitted by the provider; and Retroactively recovering provider payments after 12 months from the date a claim was paid, except in certain circumstances. If a prepaid inpatient health plan retroactively recovers a provider payment that is equal to or greater than $1,000, the act requires the prepaid inpatient health plan to work with the provider to develop a payment plan if the provider requests a payment plan. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act expands the existing pretrial diversion program to include diversion programs that are intended to identify eligible individuals with behavioral health disorders and divert such individuals out of the criminal justice system and into community treatment programs. This expansion replaces the alternative pilot programs to divert individuals with mental health conditions that are set to repeal July 1, 2022. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill establishes and expands programs within the division of housing in the department of local affairs (division) to build the capacity of communities across the state to provide supportive housing services to individuals with behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system, including: Expanding statewide training and technical assistance to help communities develop and implement supportive housing programs for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The program must be targeted to communities that currently face barriers to accessing existing state and federal funding for supportive housing programs. Establishing a predevelopment grant program that provides funding to entities working to develop supportive housing interventions for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The grant money can be used to add new or additional staff capacity to allow the development and implementation of such programs. The division is required to prioritize applicants that will serve rural or frontier communities and to provide hands-on technical assistance to grant recipients. The division is required to consult with the office of behavioral health in the department of human services in implementing the grant. Establishing a supportive housing services and homelessness prevention grant program. Grant money can be used to cover the costs of providing supportive housing services that are currently not eligible for reimbursement through the state's medical assistance program. It can also be used to fund homelessness prevention projects for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The division is required to prioritize applicants that will serve rural or frontier communities and provide hands-on technical assistance to grant recipients. The division is required to consult with the office of behavioral health in implementing the grant. Developing a plan to increase participation in regional homeless data systems, support accurate data reporting, and assess housing-related needs. The division must work with regional continuums of care to evaluate how to increase participation in data systems in communities across the state, identify technical needs and associated costs for doing so, and work with the office of behavioral health and other stakeholders to integrate or develop an integrated user interface for various data systems related to housing and supportive services. It must also enhance information about best practices and training materials available to communities across the state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act requires the state revenue and expenditure web-based system (web-based system), which is a free, searchable, web-based system that provides public access to information about state and county revenue and expenditures, to include, without redaction, the name of the vendor paid in connection with each expenditure included in the system; except that the web-based system is not required to include the legal name of the vendor if the state agency has determined that the public interest is best served by excluding the legal name of the vendor or that including the legal name of the vendor is otherwise prohibited by law. In addition, the act changes the responsibility for managing the web-based system from the chief information officer in the office of information technology to the department of personnel. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill requires future contracts for the seed-to-sale tracking system to be awarded pursuant to a transparent, online, and dynamically competitive process. The bill requires the state licensing authority to produce an annual report regarding its enforcement activities. The report must include: The number of underage compliance checks performed in the previous calendar year; The number of underage sale violations in the previous calendar year, including the name of the license violator, how many violations were the result of underage compliance checks or tips, and the sanction or sanctions imposed for each violation; and A description of the black or gray market enforcement activities that the state licensing authority engaged in, including the dates of the activities, any violations found, and the result of those violations if known. The bill requires the state licensing authority to produce an annual report regarding licensing violations. The report must be organized by month, include the name of the violator and the violation location, and identify the violation and the sanction or sanctions imposed and if the sanction is a license revocation or voluntary surrender of a license and the reason for the revocation or voluntary surrender. The state licensing authority shall maintain a free searchable database on its website related to compliance check records and minor in possession of marijuana records and an online method for submitting an anonymous tip related to licensing violations. The bill requires the state licensing authority to conduct at least 2 compliance checks a year at each medical and retail marijuana center. The bill requires regulatory penalties related to underage sales to be based on the number of violations and any injury or death that occurred as a result of the violation. The bill requires the state licensing authority to promulgate rules regarding: Product recalls, including a requirement for the issuance of a health and safety advisory when a product is recalled that includes the name of the product, the timing of when the consumer would receive the advisory, the places where the product was sold, the time period when the product was for sale, the requested actions that the state licensing authority may direct to a seller, cultivator, or manufacturer, and any other additional information that would assist the public; and Timelines and deadlines for notifying a licensee of an alleged violation; a licensee's response to an alleged violation; and a licensee's compliance with any sanction imposed, which must require, in the case of an uncontested violation, that the licensee has 90 days to comply with the sanction. The bill directs that when the state licensing authority convenes a work group, task force, or other group to assist in developing rules or policies that involve public health and consumer safety, the state licensing authority shall make every reasonable attempt to have broad representation from non-marijuana industry parties on the work group, task force, or other group. The bill requires the state licensing authority to provide any written materials received from a member of the group or task force to all members of the group or task force within 7 days after receipt of the material; except that any proprietary information must be redacted from the material. The bill requires that when the state licensing authority reports a voluntary surrender of a license that is the result of a settlement or agreement with the licensing authority, the report shall designate the action as "voluntary surrender - licensing violation settlement". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
With the exception of an authorized emergency vehicle or an authorized service vehicle, or in the case of an emergency, the act prohibits drivers of motor vehicles from driving on the Interstate 70 peak period shoulder lanes (PPSL) while the lanes are closed and prohibits drivers of motor vehicles with more than 2 axles or that are 25 feet long or longer from driving on the PPSL at any time. The high-performance transportation enterprise is authorized to assess civil penalties and enforce violations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The division of gaming within the department of revenue currently publishes on its website monthly and annual public reports of revenues, expenses, and other information from limited gaming activity in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek. The act requires similar reporting for revenue associated with sports betting. To protect the privacy of owners of sports betting venues, when the number of licensees in any of the cities is less than 3, the act requires aggregation of data from that city with data from another city.If the use of aggregated data results in a property valuation that the casino owner or other taxpayer believes is inaccurate, the act permits the taxpayer to submit additional information to the county assessor, subject to strict confidentiality requirements that continue throughout the property valuation process and any subsequent appeals or court proceedings.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Special Olympics Colorado license plate for motor vehicles. A person qualifies for issuance of the plate if the person makes a donation to a designated nonprofit organization. The designated nonprofit organization must:Be headquartered in Colorado; Have existed for at least 40 years; Provide year-round sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities; Collaborate with schools throughout Colorado to bring students together through shared activities that include sports, leadership opportunities, and health education and fitness; and Ensure that the donation is spent in Colorado to support athletes with intellectual disabilities. In addition to the normal fees for a license plate, a person must pay 2 additional one-time fees for the issuance of the plate. One of these fees is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other fee is credited to the licensing services cash fund.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $13,460 for use by the division of motor vehicles to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)