During the 2021 legislative session, the general assembly transferred $10 million from the general fund to the public school capital construction assistance fund (fund) and appropriated this money for air quality improvement grants for schools. Of the money transferred and appropriated for air quality improvement grants, $4,705,220 remains in the fund and has not been distributed. The appropriation for fiscal year 2021-22 has expired. The act specifies that the unspent money transferred and appropriated for air quality improvement grants must not be used for air quality improvement grants and instead must be used for financial assistance as provided in the "Building Excellent Schools Today Act". During the 2022 legislative session, the general assembly scheduled a transfer of $30 million from the marijuana tax cash fund to the fund for June 1, 2023. The act repeals this scheduled transfer before it occurs. For state fiscal year 2023-24, the act requires the public school capital construction assistance board (board) to allocate $49,705,220 from public school capital construction assistance board cash grants to be used for supplemental grants at schools experiencing capital construction project cost overruns as a result of COVID-19 inflationary pressure. The act changes the financial capacity factors for evaluating the match requirement for public school capital construction projects for school districts and boards of cooperative services. The new factors apply to grants awarded on or after September 1, 2023, and funded on or after July 1, 2024. The act transfers $15 million from the state education fund to the fund on June 1, 2023. $10 million in royalties and other payments for depletion or extraction of natural resources on state lands is credited to the fund for the 2022-23 state fiscal year. The act provides for a reduction of $294,780 in cash funds appropriated from the fund to the department of education for board cash grants in the 2023 long bill. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions. The grand total for the operating budget is set at $40,533,777,133. The general funds portion of the appropriation is set at $11,207,009,905; the general fund exempt portion is set at $3,489,095,143; the cash funds portion is set at $10,504,822,476; the reappropriated funds portion is set at $2,603,239,303; and federal funds portion is set at $12,729,610,306. The grand total for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, for capital construction projects is set at $471,149,105. The capital construction fund portion is set at $256,358,189; the cash funds portion is set at $212,411,819; and the federal funds portion is set at $2,379,097. The grand total for the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, for information technology projects is set at $124,261,834. The capital construction fund portion is set at $64,890,922; the cash funds portion is set at $8,184,071; the reappropriated funds portion is set at $996,386; and the federal funds portion is set at $50,190,455. The 2022 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the judicial department and the departments of corrections, early childhood, education, health care policy and financing, higher education, human services, judicial department, nd public health and environment. Appropriations were made in several bills during the 2022 legislative session as further amended to extend the appropriation for unexpended amounts to the 2023-24 fiscal year. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For purposes of complying with requirements of the "Federal Unemployment Tax Act", the act reduces employer premium rates by 10% across all rates in the standard premium rate schedule. Additionally, the act creates a schedule for the support surcharge rate (schedule), which is used to establish contributions to the employment support fund, the employment and training technology fund, and the benefit recovery fund. The new schedule uses the same methodology as is used in calculating an employer's percent of excess, which is the percentage resulting from the calculation of an employer's excess of premiums paid over benefits charged, divided by the average chargeable payroll. The act changes the cap on the amount of money in the employment support fund at the end of any state fiscal year from an amount calculated based on a portion of the employer premium plus $17 million to a total of $32.5 million for the next state fiscal year, which amount is adjusted annually based on changes in average weekly earnings. The act expands the authorized use of money in the Title XII repayment fund to allow the division of unemployment insurance (division) in the department of labor and employment to use the money for costs associated with bonds or notes issued by the division, including interest on the bonds or notes, to the extent permitted by federal law. The act eliminates the requirement for employers to submit premium reports to the division and instead requires employers to submit wage reports. APPROVED by Governor May 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
As a condition of receiving federal money under the federal "Families First Coronavirus Response Act", the state was required to maintain the enrollment of nearly all individuals receiving medicaid until April 1, 2023, at which point the state was given 14 months to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations. Additionally, due to the declared public health emergency in Colorado in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to effectuate the federal continuous enrollment requirement, the governor suspended certain statutory requirements related to enrollment and cost sharing in medical assistance programs. The act suspends these requirements statutorily for the 14 months after April 1, 2023. The act suspends certain other statutory enrollment and cost-sharing requirements until May 31, 2023,or June 1, 2024, and other statutory enrollment requirements until 12 months past the declaration of the end of the federal public health emergency. APPROVED by Governor April 27, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 27, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows money from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund to be used to match money provided by the federal government through the federal "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" for certain clean water projects. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law designates that a student in an out-of-home placement is a resident of the school district where the placement is located, even if that student continues to attend a school in another school district. The act designates students in out-of-home placements as residents of the school district of their school of origin as long as the student attends the school of origin, other than an approved facility school, or a state-licensed day treatment facility. The act requires the state department of human services (department) to organize a working group to identify and address issues related to foster youth education, transportation, and stability and requires the department to provide written recommendations to the general assembly before the 2025 regular legislative session. APPROVED by Governor April 25, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 25, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law authorizes the department of human services to establish and collect a fee for background checks for child abuse or neglect (background checks). That fee then is required to cover the direct and indirect costs of the background check and the direct and indirect costs of administering the appeals process and release of information for a person who is found to be responsible in a confirmed report of child abuse or neglect (appeals processes). The act eliminates the requirement that the fee for background checks cover the direct and indirect costs associated with the appeals processes. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act clarifies statutory language to ensure the provision of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. The act requires the office of information technology to promulgate rules regarding accessibility standards for an individual with a disability for information technology systems employed by state agencies. The act clarifies language regarding sanctions for failing to comply with accessibility standards. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $8 million from the digital inclusion grant program fund to the revenue loss restoration cash fund on June 1, 2023. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law allows approved facility schools (approved schools) to include day treatment centers, residential child care facilities, facilities licensed by the department of human services, or hospitals licensed by the department of public health and environment. The act creates the specialized day school as a type of approved school. The facility schools board (board) shall promulgate rules for a facility to become authorized to operate as a specialized day school. Current law requires the board to adopt accountability measures. The act requires the board to adopt accountability and accreditation measures for approved schools. Beginning December 1, 2026, the state board of education shall begin accrediting approved schools based on recommendations of the board. The act requires the board to create an accreditation outcome report for each approved school. The office of facility schools (office) must publish the reports annually. The act requires the department of education (department), department of human services, the department of health care policy and financing, and the department of public health and environment to collaborate and create an interagency resource guide to provide assistance to facilities that are pursuing licensing or authorization to operate as an approved school. The act requires the state agencies to identify and recommend legislation and changes to each department's respective rules and administrative processes to facilitate licensing, authorization, and approval processes for facilities seeking to operate as approved schools. The act creates the shared operational services grant program (grant program) to award grants to eligible applicants to contract for 2 years with an organization that coordinates shared operational services. An approved school in conjunction with one or more schools may apply to the grant program for a grant to procure shared operational services that support schools, such as food services, janitorial services, shared office spaces, billing, technical assistance on medicaid services, technology, security, transportation, or purchasing. An organization that provides or coordinates services for approved schools or an agency that oversees approved schools may also apply to the grant program. The act creates the technical assistance center (center) in the office to provide technical assistance support to school districts and related administrative units, with a priority to serve rural and remote school districts and related administrative units. Beginning in the 2023-24 budget year, the center is required to assess the needs of school districts and related administrative units. Beginning in the 2024-25 budget year, the center shall provide technical assistance support to school districts and related administrative units and prioritize service to rural and remote school districts. The act creates additional responsibilities for the facility school work group (work group). The work group shall monitor the implementation of changes to the facility school system and educational services for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs. The act expands work group participation to include parents, guardians, and legal custodians of students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs and therapeutic facilities for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs that are not approved schools. The act requires the office to contract with a qualified third-party evaluator (evaluator) to evaluate and report whether the work group recommendations resulted in more effective services and better access to those services for students with exceptionally severe and specialized needs. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing to recommend a plan to provide guidance to approved schools on the eligibility standards required to request and receive medicaid reimbursement funding for therapeutic services to the maximum extent feasible. The act creates a new baseline funding model for approved schools. The act requires reporting on the new baseline funding model for approved schools. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $18,780,654 is appropriated to the department from the state education fund to implement this act. APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 20, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)