Sen. Dominick Moreno

The 2020 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and state planning and budgeting. The general fund and reappropriated funds portions of the appropriation are increased and the cash funds portion is decreased.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2020 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of personnel. The general fund portion of the appropriation is increased and the cash funds and reapproprated funds portions are decreased.The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated to the department of personnel. The general fund portion of the appropriation is increased.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The actual funded pupil count and the actual at-risk pupil count for the 2020-21 budget year were lower than anticipated when the appropriation amount was established during the 2020 legislative session, resulting in a decrease in total program funding for the 2020-21 budget year. In addition, local property tax revenue and specific ownership tax revenue were less than anticipated, resulting in a decrease in the local share of total program funding.The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain total program funding at the dollar amount of the original appropriation made during the 2020 legislative session, thereby reducing the budget stabilization factor.The act appropriates additional funding for the 2020-21 budget year for districts that experienced a percentage decrease in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session that was greater than the district's percentage decrease in funded pupil count from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session. In addition, the act includes additional funding for districts that have an overall reduction in total program funding that is more than 2% below the districts' estimated total program funding during the 2020 legislative session.Charter schools in districts that qualify for additional funding receive a per-pupil share of the additional funding. If an institute charter school experiences a reduction in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session and is in an accounting district that receives additional funding, the institute charter school receives a per-pupil amount of additional funding.Additionally, the act includes an appropriation for rural school funding pursuant to section 22-54-142.For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates to the department of education:$14,710,777 and $4,578,464 from the general fund for additional state funding for school districts and district charter schools; $569,849 from the general fund for additional state funding for institute charter school; and $25,000,000 from the rural schools cash fund for rural school funding.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The 2020 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated for capital construction projects. The capital construction fund and cash funds portions of the appropriation are increased.The 2019 general appropriation act is amended to reflect the correct the name of the capitol annex repair and renovation project, under the department of personnel.The 2016 general appropriation act is amended to balance and make adjustments to the total amount appropriated for capital construction projects under the department of higher education. The cash funds portion of the appropriation is decreased.The 2011 general appropriation act is amended to extend the total amount appropriated for superfund sites cleanup under the department of public health and environment to June 30, 2021.The capital construction appropriation in House Bill 18-1006, concerning modifications to the newborn screening program administered by the department of public health and environment is amended to increase the amount appropriated for use by the laboratory services division.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Sections 1 and 3 of the act restore, over time, certain business deductions to federal taxable income that were disallowed in Colorado by operation of a department of revenue rule and by House Bill 20-1420. The specific deductions are related to net operating losses, the application of the federal excess business loss rules, interest expenses, and qualified improvement property.The earned income tax credit is equal to a percentage of the federal earned income tax credit. Section 2 allows taxpayers filing with an individual taxpayer identification number to claim the earned income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2020.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The controlled maintenance trust fund is designated as part of the state emergency reserve under TABOR, and the governor has twice ordered money from the trust fund to be transferred to the disaster emergency fund to be used for response activities related to COVID-19. The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $100 million from the general fund to the controlled maintenance trust fund. For this fiscal year, this money will be available to the governor to transfer to the disaster emergency fund for public health and emergency response expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act establishes triannual meetings, which take place in March, August, and December, whereby members of the executive committee of the legislative council and the joint budget committee (committees) are able to receive information from the executive branch related to a disaster if the governor has declared a disaster emergency since the 1st day of the month for the last required meeting. During the meeting, the governor or his or her designee must appear before the committees to provide information of a comprehensive nature and respond to questions from the committees with respect to the disaster emergency. The governor and any state agency is also required to promptly give notice to the general assembly of the promulgation of any executive order or other order by the governor or the agency, as applicable, issued in connection with the disaster emergency. The office of state planning and budgeting is required to provide quarterly reports to the joint budget committee about the expenditures from the disaster emergency fund (fund) and to post the reports on the office's website. The office is also required to prepare quarterly reports of federal funds that the state receives and spends. The state auditor is required to conduct or cause to be conducted a performance audit of the fund that is completed on December 1, 2022. Thereafter, the state auditor is required to conduct a biennial financial audit of the fund for the 2 most recently completed fiscal years. The act extends the repeal date for the authority to transfer spending authority between line items in specified circumstances from September 1, 2020, to September 1, 2025, and similarly extends the repeal date for the provision permitting overexpenditures in excess of the amount authorized by an item of appropriation in limited circumstances, including for medicaid programs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act aligns the requirements for a minor to obtain a new birth certificate from the state registrar and a new driver's license or identification card from the department of revenue with the requirements for an adult. A minor must also obtain a statement from a medical or mental health professional confirming that the minor's sex designation does not align with the minor's gender identity. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act states that, generally, evidence relating to the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or if the defendant and victim are or have been involved in an intimate relationship, is irrelevant in a criminal case and does not constitute sudden heat of passion in a criminal case. The act creates a protective hearing if a party claims that such evidence is relevant and wants to use it in a criminal case. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

With regard to coverage under a health benefit plan for HIV infection prevention medications, the act: Prevents a health insurance carrier from requiring a covered person to undergo step therapy or to receive prior authorization before receiving HIV infection prevention drugs prescribed and dispensed by a pharmacist; and Requires carriers to reimburse a pharmacist employed at an in-network pharmacy for prescribing HIV infection prevention drugs to a covered person and to provide an adequate consultative fee to those pharmacists. Additionally, the act: Allows a pharmacist to prescribe and dispense HIV infection prevention drugs pursuant to a standing order or a statewide protocol if the pharmacist fulfills specific requirements; Directs the department of public health and environment to develop and implement a standing order for pharmacists to prescribe post-exposure HIV infection prevention drugs; Directs the state board of pharmacy, the Colorado medical board, and the state board of nursing, in collaboration with the department of public health and environment, to develop statewide drug therapy protocols for pharmacists to prescribe and dispense HIV infection prevention drugs and the state board of pharmacy to promulgate rules to implement the protocols; and Expands the definition of "practice of pharmacy" to include the prescribing and dispensing of HIV infection prevention drugs and the ordering of laboratory tests in conjunction with prescribing or dispensing the drugs. $13,347 is appropriated 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.)