Sen. Dominick Moreno

Under current law, following the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years, service agencies serving persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are required to report to the department of health care policy and financing how they used a funding increase intended to increase compensation for direct support professionals. The act repeals this reporting requirement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act gives home owners in a mobile home park the opportunity to make an offer to buy the park if the landlord anticipates selling it or changing the use of the land. A landlord must give notice of a pending sale to the home owners, the applicable municipality or county, the division of housing in department of local affairs, and each home owners' association, residents' association, or similar body that represents the residents of the park. A landlord must give notice of a pending change of use of the land to all home owners of the park at least 12 months before the change of use occurs. After receiving notice of a pending sale or change of use, home owners have 90 days to make an offer to purchase and arrange financing if necessary. A purchase may be made by an association representing at least 51% of the home owners. The landlord may request that information relating to any pending offer be kept confidential and, if the landlord so requests, the association is required to do so. If a sale of a mobile home park occurs and the home owners are not the buyers, the landlord must send the municipality or county and the division of housing an affidavit of compliance with the requirements of the act. The notice and purchase-option provisions do not apply if the proposed sale is to a family member of the landlord, another closely affiliated person or entity, or someone who is already a cotenant of the property or if a transfer occurs due to inheritance or eminent domain.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For the 2020-21 state fiscal year (FY 2020-21), the act: Authorizes the use of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue for state medical assistance program expenditures; Requires $161 million to be appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to offset general fund expenditures for the state medical assistance program; Reduces the FY 2020-21 general fund appropriation to the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) for medical services premiums by $161 million; and Appropriates $161 million from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund to HCPF for medical services premiums. The act also clarifies that if the amount of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee revenue collected exceeds a federal limit, hospitals that received such excess federal matching money are responsible for repaying the excess federal money and any associated federal penalties to the federal government. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals the technology advancement and emergency fund and the reversion of unspent general fund appropriations to the fund. Prior to the repeal, the state treasurer is required to transfer the unspent and unencumbered balance of the fund to the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes the health insurance affordability enterprise, for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution, that is authorized to assess a health insurance affordability fee (insurer fee) on certain health insurers and a special assessment (hospital assessment) on hospitals in order to: Provide business services to carriers that pay the insurer fee, including services to increase enrollment in health benefit plans offered by carriers across the state; increase the number of individuals who are able to purchase health benefit plans in the individual market by providing financial support for certain qualifying individuals; fund the reinsurance program that offsets the costs carriers would otherwise pay for covering consumers with high medical costs; improve the stability of the market throughout the state by providing consistent private health care coverage and reducing the movement of individuals from insured to uninsured status; reduce provider cost shifting from the individual market and the uninsured to the group market; and create a healthier risk pool for all carriers by establishing a path for consistent coverage for individuals; and Provide business services to hospitals, including by reducing the amount of uncompensated care provided by hospitals; reducing the need of providers to shift costs of providing uncompensated care to other payers; and expanding access to high-quality, affordable health care for low-income and uninsured residents. The enterprise is to start assessing and collecting the insurer fee in 2021, which fee is based on a percentage of premiums collected by health insurers in the previous calendar year on health benefit plans issued in the state. The hospital assessment is a specified amount assessed and collected in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years. Money collected from the insurer fee and hospital assessment is to be deposited in the health insurance affordability cash fund (fund), which the act creates. The act also transfers an amount of premium taxes collected by the state in 2020 or later years that exceeds the amount collected in 2019, but not more than 10% of the enterprise's revenues, to the fund. The enterprise is required to use the insurer fee, the hospital assessment, and any premium tax revenues or other money available in the fund, in accordance with the allocation specified in the act, for the following purposes: To provide funding for the Colorado reinsurance program; To provide payments to carriers to increase the affordability of health insurance on the individual market for Coloradans who receive the premium tax credit available under federal law; To provide subsidies for state-subsidized individual health coverage plans purchased by qualified low-income individuals who are not eligible for the premium tax credit or public assistance health care programs; To pay the actual administrative costs of the enterprise and the division of insurance for implementing and administering the act, limited to 3% of the enterprise's revenues; and To pay the costs for consumer enrollment, outreach, and education activities regarding health care coverage. The enterprise is governed by an 11-member board composed of the executive director of the Colorado health benefit exchange and the commissioner of insurance or their designees and 9 members appointed by the governor and representing various aspect of the health care industry and health care consumers. With regard to the Colorado reinsurance program and enterprise, the act: Incorporates the reinsurance program enterprise within the health insurance affordability enterprise; Eliminates funding for the reinsurance program from special assessments on hospitals and health insurers, excess premium tax revenues, and specified transfers from the state general fund and instead allocates a portion of the health insurance affordability enterprise revenues to the reinsurance program annually; and Extends the reinsurance program, subject to federal approval of a new or extended state innovation waiver to enable the state to operate the reinsurance program and access federal funding for the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act suspends, for 2 years, the operation of statutory provisions allocating specific amounts of revenue derived from the tax on limited gaming activity to the following cash funds: The Colorado travel and tourism promotion fund, administered by the board of directors of the Colorado tourism office; The advanced industries acceleration cash fund, administered by the Colorado office of economic development; The local government limited gaming impact fund, including the limited gaming impact account and the gambling addiction account, administered by the departments of local affairs and human services and local governmental entities; The innovative higher education research fund, administered by the higher education competitive research authority; The creative industries cash fund, administered by the council on creative industries; and The Colorado office of film, television, and media operational account cash fund, administered by the Colorado office of film, television, and media. The act also changes allocations within the local government limited gaming impact fund by: Eliminating a temporary earmarking of funds in the gambling addiction account for: A study, by the department of local affairs, to define the documented expenses, costs, and other impacts incurred directly as a result of limited gaming; and The development, by the department of human services, of a statewide program to address gambling addiction; and Making money available from the limited gaming impact account, in addition to the gambling addiction account, to award grants for the provision of gambling addiction counseling to Colorado residents. Finally, the act adjusts current long bill appropriations to fund the programs listed above for the 2020-21 state fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law requires appropriations of $750,000 for state fiscal years 2019-20 through 2023-24 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies to implement a program to increase public awareness concerning the safe use, storage, and disposal of opioids and the availability of naloxone and other drugs used to block the effects of an opioid overdose. The act reduces the appropriation to $250,000 for state fiscal years 2020-21 through 2023-24. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act removes the requirement that the state department of human services (department) implement a behavioral health capacity tracking system and make available to the public appropriate information from the capacity tracking system, unless money is appropriated for the system. The act removes the requirement that the department implement a care navigation program to assist engaged clients in obtaining access to treatment for substance use disorders, unless money is appropriated for the program. The act requires the department to report to the general assembly if the care navigation program is implemented. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the act reduces the appropriation from the marijuana tax cash fund, created in section 39-28.8-501, to the department of human services by $546,013. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals the current provision that directs the state treasurer to transfer the unexpended money from the appropriation to pay counties for the amount of money lost due to exemptions from property taxes to the senior services account (account) of the older Coloradans cash fund (fund) and to the veterans assistance grant program cash fund. The act directs the state treasurer to transfer any money remaining in the account to the fund and repeals the account. The act directs the state treasurer to deduct $13 million from the fund and transfer it to the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For the purpose of augmenting the amount of revenues in the state general fund, the act requires the state treasurer to make specific transfers to the general fund. On June 30, 2020, the state treasurer is required to transfer $4 million from the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund to the petroleum storage tank fund, which total amount will then be transferred to the general fund with 8 transfers of $500,000, beginning on October 15, 2020. On June 30, 2020, the state treasurer is required to transfer the following amounts to the general fund: $2 million from the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund; $1 million from the workers' compensation cash fund; $2 million from the unemployment revenue fund; $500,000 from the conveyance safety fund; $1 million from the school safety resource center cash fund; $771,204 from the waste tire market development fund, as it existed prior to its repeal in 2018; $5.6 million from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund; $180,000 from the vital statistics records cash fund; $433,728 from the construction sector fund; $500,000 from the public and private utilities sector fund; $483,535 from the water quality improvement fund; $422,411 from the hazardous waste service fund; $363,243 from the solid waste management fund; $5,372,415 from the waste tire administration, enforcement, market development, and cleanup fund; $1.4 million from the end users fund; $5 million from the off-highway vehicle recreation fund; $2.3 million from the local government permanent fund; and $1.6 million from the marijuana cash fund. On July 1, 2020, the state treasurer is required to transfer the following amounts to the general fund: $1,224,100 from the division of insurance cash fund; $370,795 from the division of banking cash fund; $267,521 from the prescription drug monitoring fund; $130,000 from the state archives and records cash fund; $4,908,395 from an account with the proceeds of sales of real estate that was acquired for military purposes; and $1,007,176 from the highway-rail crossing signalization fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)