Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet

Regarding the regulation of natural medicine, the act: Authorizes the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies to approve facilitator education and training programs; Exempts facilitator education and training programs from regulation as private educational schools; Updates rule-making by the department of public health and environment and the state licensing authority related to laboratory testing and certification of natural medicine products; Prohibits individuals, rather than all persons, from having a financial interest in more than 5 natural medicine business licenses; Authorizes the state licensing authority to promulgate rules regarding requirements for the destruction of natural medicine or natural medicine products; Clarifies that a person may operate a natural medicine testing facility at the same location as a regulated marijuana testing facility; and Specifies which transfers and distributions of regulated natural medicine and regulated natural medicine products are authorized between persons licensed as healing centers, facilitators, natural medicine cultivation facilities, and natural medicine manufacturers. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law commonly known as the "lemon law" requires a manufacturer, a manufacturer's agent, or a manufacturer's authorized dealer (dealer) to replace or buy back a motor vehicle if the consumer notified the dealer within the earlier of the warranty period or one year after original delivery of the motor vehicle (notification time) of the motor vehicle's nonconformity with the motor vehicle's warranty (nonconformity) and the motor vehicle underwent a reasonable number of attempts to repair. The number of repairs are considered reasonable if: The motor vehicle was out of service for repairs for a cumulative total of 30 or more business days; or The dealer tried unsuccessfully to repair the motor vehicle 4 or more times. The act: Expands the lemon law to cover motor vehicles affected by safety-based nonconformities; Expands the notification time to include the earlier of the motor vehicle's first 24,000 miles or 2 years after original delivery of the motor vehicle; Lowers the number of out-of-service business days from 30 to 24; and Lowers the number of required attempts to repair from 4 to 3 generally and to 2 for a safety-based nonconformity. Current law requires a manufacturer to be notified of a defect and be given an opportunity to cure the defect in order to be subject to the reasonable repairs presumption. The act adds a 10-business-day limit on the opportunity to cure the defect. Current law allows a dealer, when buying back a motor vehicle, to deduct a reasonable allowance for use. The act sets a formula for determining the reasonable allowance for use. Current law exempts from the lemon law motor vehicles that have a problem that does not affect the market value of the motor vehicle. The act provides that the problem must not affect the safety of the motor vehicle to qualify for the exemption. The act changes the statute of limitations from the earlier of 6 months after the expiration of a warranty or within one year after the original delivery of the motor vehicle to 30 months after the original delivery. The act requires a dealer to allow an agent of a purchaser to inspect a motor vehicle or provide a 7-day free-look period, during which the purchaser may return the motor vehicle and receive a refund of all money paid to purchase the motor vehicle. The dealer must notify purchasers of this inspection right. To make the inspection, an agent may have reasonable access to conduct the inspection, but the agent must be qualified to use or operate any equipment used to inspect the vehicle and must not interfere with normal business operations of the dealer. A dealer is required to give certain notices that a motor vehicle was returned, including notifying the department of revenue (department). The department must put a brand on the title to notify subsequent purchasers. Failing to comply with the act is grounds for discipline for a manufacturer or distributor of motor vehicles. To implement the act, $19,605 is appropriated for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to the department from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Effective January 1, 2025, the act repeals the existing statutory requirement to test a person who is pregnant for syphilis at the person's first professional visit with a health-care provider or during the first trimester of pregnancy. The act requires each health-care provider to take a blood sample from each pregnant person under their care and submit the sample to a laboratory for HIV testing and, if a pregnant person declines to be tested, to document in the person's medical record the refusal to be tested. The act requires the state board of health (board), on or before January 1, 2025, to promulgate rules concerning prenatal testing standards for syphilis, including the frequency of testing. At least once every 3 years, the department of public health and environment (department) is required to review the board's rules for alignment with national prenatal testing recommendations for sexually transmitted infections and the department's infection control duties. For statistical purposes, the department is required to make de-identified case rate data for syphilis available to county and district public health agencies, which data must remain confidential. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the behavioral health first aid training program (training program) in the office of suicide prevention (office) in the department of public health and environment (department). The purpose of the training program is to: Improve overall community climate and promote adult, teen, and youth behavioral health, mental health, and mental well-being; Train educators and school staff; employees of community-based, youth-based, or nonprofit organizations; employees of organizations that serve underserved populations; faith-based community members; law enforcement officers; first responders; and active duty or retired military personnel (candidates) to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of mental illness and substance use among adults, teens, and youth; Train candidates on how to respond to an adult, teen, or youth who is experiencing mental health or substance use challenges; Train candidates on crisis intervention strategies and best practices; Prepare candidates to teach adults and teens how to recognize warning signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges; Prepare candidates to teach teens how to find a responsible and trusted adult for assistance when a peer is struggling with mental health or substance use challenges or crisis; and Prepare candidates to teach adults how to respond to a teen or youth struggling with a mental health or substance use challenge or crisis. The office is required to contract with a Colorado-based nonprofit organization (third-party entity) to offer and administer the training program to organizations that apply to participate and are accepted in the training program that include, but are not limited to, school districts, district charter schools, institute charter schools, boards of cooperative services, the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind, local public health agencies, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, organizations that serve underserved communities, law enforcement agencies, first responder organizations, military forces, and faith-based organizations (organizations). The act requires the office to promulgate rules to establish criteria for an application process. The third-party entity shall create an application process based on the rules promulgated by the office. In selecting organizations to participate in the training program, the third-party entity shall prioritize the organization's geographic diversity, existing resources and infrastructure, and plan to implement the training program and associated curriculum. Subject to available appropriations, the training program is available at no cost to the organizations selected to participate. The office shall use pre- and post-course surveys developed by a national mental and behavioral health organization to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program. The third-party entity shall administer the pre- and post-course surveys to collect evaluation data from the organizations that participate in the training program. The third-party entity shall submit a report to the office summarizing the evaluation data collected. The office is required to include a summary of the evaluation data collected and recommendations, if necessary, concerning the training program in the office's annual report submitted to the general assembly each November 1. The training program is scheduled for a sunset review and repeal, effective September 1, 2033. The act appropriates $250,000 to the department for purposes of the training program. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 state fiscal years, the act transfers $500,000 from the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund to the breast cancer screening fund. The act also removes a requirement that the state treasurer transfer interest and income earned on money in the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund to the disability support fund. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes in statute a bill of rights for youth who are the responsibility of the department of human services (department), whether the youth is detained or committed to the care and physical custody of a juvenile facility operated by the department. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Requires the Colorado civil rights commission to establish certain parameters when receiving reports for maternity care; Adds a midwife to the environmental justice advisory board and the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee and adds midwifery as a preferred area of expertise for members of the health equity commission; and Requires a health facility that provides maternal health-care services to notify certain individuals at least 90 days before eliminating the services. The act also allows the department of public health and environment (department) to contract with a third-party evaluator to complete the following tasks and make appropriate recommendations: Study closures, consolidations, and acquisitions related to perinatal health-care practices and facilities and perinatal state-designated health professional shortage areas and assets and deficits related to perinatal health and health-care services across the state, not limited to obstetric providers; Identify major outcome categories that the department should track over time and identify risks and opportunities; Explore the effects of practice and facility closures (closures) on maternal and infant health outcomes and experiences; Identify recommendations and best practice guidelines during closures and resultant transfers of care; and Create a health professional shortage area and perinatal health services assets and deficits map. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 4, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act overhauls the Colorado child care assistance program (CCCAP). The act simplifies the application process by: Limiting the application requirements to only what is necessary to determine eligibility; Prohibiting counties from adding eligibility requirements; and Requiring recipients to provide only information that has changed when applying for redetermination. Income qualifications are changed to correspond with universal preschool program requirements. A county may exclude state and federal assistance program income eligibility guidelines in eligibility determinations. An employee of a child care provider may apply to the CCCAP and be granted full benefits for children from 6 weeks of age to 13 years of age, regardless of the employee's income. The act directs that child care providers be paid based on enrollment and not on attendance and be paid a weekly rate in advance. Employers are permitted to cover copayments, and copayments are limited to 7% of a family's income. The act authorizes grants and contracts for underserved populations. Starting July 1, 2025, the department shall create a pilot program for unlicensed providers to seek license-exempt status and establishment as an eligible CCCAP provider separate and distinct from the parent-initiated process. A CCCAP recipient is required to engage in an eligible activity to receive benefits. The act includes substance use disorder treatment programs, job training, and education activities as eligible activities. The department of early childhood education, in consultation with the department of public health and environment, shall conduct or contract for a study to determine the feasibility of de-linking eligibility for the federal child and adult care food program from the CCCAP. The act appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the department of early childhood for the child and adult care food program study. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 4, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The temporary youth mental health services program (program), commonly known as "I Matter", is scheduled to repeal on June 30, 2024. The act continues the program until June 30, 2034. Under existing law, the selection of a vendor to create or use an existing online portal to facilitate the program (program vendor) is exempt from the requirements of the state's procurement code. The act repeals the exemption. Existing law requires the state department of human services to report to the general assembly about the program twice each year. The act requires one annual report, due June 30 of each year. The act requires the program vendor to annually deliver to the BHA information and data about the program and requires the BHA to conduct surveys of providers who participate in the program. The act appropriates $5 million from the general fund to the BHA for the program. APPROVED by Governor June 4, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 4, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a court may appoint a child and family investigator (investigator) to investigate and report to the court relevant factors for determining the best interest of a child or youth in a proceeding involving parental responsibilities allocation. Similarly, under current law, a court may appoint a parental responsibilities evaluator (evaluator) to evaluate and report to the court concerning disputed issues relating to the parental responsibilities allocation. The act: Requires investigators and evaluators to include all information obtained concerning domestic violence and child abuse in a written report; Requires additional training requirements for investigators and evaluators; Requires investigators and evaluators to provide certain written disclosures to each party before performing duties; and Allows the court to implement caps on charges for duties performed by evaluators. The act defines "coercive control" to include a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, including assaults or other abuse, that is used to harm, punish, or frighten an individual. If the court orders unsupervised parenting time for a parent, and there is any information, including an accusation, that the parent has committed domestic violence, child abuse, child emotional abuse, or coercive control, the court is required to make a statement in writing or orally on the proceeding record regarding why unsupervised parenting time was determined to be in the best interests of the child. The act states that the court may interview the child in the judge's chambers regarding the child's wishes for parental responsibilities allocation upon a motion. The court is required to make findings why it grants or denies the request to interview the child in chambers and give paramount consideration in cases involving an allegation by a child regarding domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or child sexual abuse. The act requires that if allegations of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or child sexual abuse have been made, the court is required to give strong consideration to the child's or youth's preference concerning allocation of parental responsibilities, if the preference is consistent with protecting the child's safety and needs. The act clarifies that, pursuant to a chief justice directive, the office of the state court administrator is responsible for accepting complaints regarding investigators and evaluators, and is authorized to administer appropriate sanctions. Furthermore, the act requires the judicial department to include information during its annual "SMART Act" hearing and publish information on its website concerning investigator and evaluators. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)