The act requires the statewide care coordination infrastructure to include a cloud-based platform to allow providers that do not utilize an electronic health record to actively participate in the care coordination infrastructure. The act requires the behavioral health administration (BHA) to: Ensure navigators are available through the statewide care coordination infrastructure website and mobile application, as well as in specific regional locations; and Utilize behavioral health administrative service organizations to help individuals and families initiate care and ensure timely access to services. To implement the care coordination infrastructure, the act requires the BHA to train new and existing navigators on behavioral health safety net system services, behavioral health service delivery procedures, and social determinants of health resources; ensure that the care coordination infrastructure can direct individuals where to seek in-person or virtual navigation support; ensure that the administrative burden associated with provider enrollment and credentialing for navigators and care coordination providers is minimal; include a summary of outcomes for individuals who access the infrastructure in the BHA's annual report; and ensure the 988 crisis hotline responds to anyone experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, documents referrals and transfers of care of persons with one or more community-based service providers, and includes connections to available behavioral health systems and services. Beginning January 2025, and each January thereafter, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing to assess the care coordination services provided by managed care entities and provide a report as part of its State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act hearing. The act appropriates $12.2 million from the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the department of human services for use by the behavioral health administration for the care coordination infrastructure. The act only takes effect if House Bill 22-1278, which creates the behavioral health administration, becomes law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act is a referred measure that will, if approved by the voters of the state at the 2022 general election, require the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly to include a table in the fiscal summary for any initiated measure that would either increase or decrease the individual income tax rate. The table must have 4 columns as follows: A column identifying 8 income categories; A column identifying the current average income tax owed by taxpayers in each income category; A column identifying the average income tax owed by taxpayers in each income category if the initiated measure were to pass; and A column identifying the difference between the average income tax owed by taxpayers in each income category if the initiated measure were to pass and if the initiated measure were not to pass. The ballot title for a measure that either increases or decreases the individual income tax rate must also include the table created by the director of research of the legislative council of the general assembly for the measure's fiscal summary. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $8,435,000 from the general fund to the department of state cash fund on July 1, 2022, for use by the department of state to offset the costs of reducing certain of the secretary of state's business-related fees during state fiscal year 2022-23. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Senate Bill 21-260, concerning the sustainability of the transportation system in Colorado: Created phased-in road usage fees on gasoline and diesel that increase from 2 cents per gallon for state fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, when they are first imposed, to 8 cents per gallon for FYs 2028-29 through 2031-32, and thereafter continue to increase to account for inflation; and Temporarily reduced the amount of the road safety surcharge, which is imposed annually when a motor vehicle is registered by $11.10 for registration periods beginning in 2022 and $5.55 for registration periods beginning in 2023. The act delays the initial imposition of the road usage fees from July 1, 2022, to April 1, 2023, and increases the amount of the reduction in the road safety surcharge for registration periods beginning in 2023 from $5.55 to $11.10. The act also requires transfers to be made on July 1, 2022, to hold the department of transportation, counties, and municipalities harmless from the reductions in road usage fee and road safety surcharge revenue as follows: $47.1 million from the general fund to the state highway fund; and $31.4 million from the general fund to the highway users tax fund. For implementation of the act, $5,850 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, the division of veterans affairs (division) within the department of military and veterans affairs operates a veterans resource information clearinghouse (clearinghouse) to provide information concerning support, services, and other assistance available to veterans and their families. The bill requires the division to create and maintain an online portal to assist veterans with accessing information provided through the clearinghouse, allow users to maintain a personalized health record in the portal, and offer secure care coordination and personalized care tools that help veterans be more engaged in their health. The division is permitted to enter into an agreement with a third party to create and maintain the online portal or, if the third party maintains an existing, similar portal, to expand and maintain that existing portal.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the Colorado multidisciplinary geriatric provider pipeline program (program) in the university of Colorado Anschutz medical campus. The program coordinates and expands geriatric training opportunities for clinical graduate students enrolled in participating institutions of higher education who study in the health-care fields of medicine, medicine with a focus on training to be a physician assistant, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, psychology, and social work. The bill creates the geriatric training executive advisory committee (committee) to ensure that the training for the program is consistent and collaborative across the health-care fields of study. The committee is required to: Set the program's standards for training and delivery of medical care to the most frail and medically complex, costly, and compromised older Coloradans; Collaborate with participating institutions of higher education across Colorado to select clinical graduate students who have an interest in geriatric care to participate in the program; Analyze data collected by the program; Build relationships, collaborate, and create a multidisciplinary team that provides opportunities for clinicians to work together in teams to better understand the roles of each discipline and better place clinical graduate students for experiential training opportunities; and Coordinate with graduates of the program for opportunities to become trainers to future clinical graduate students once practicing in the graduate's field of study.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the healthy school meals for all program (program) in the department of education (department) to reimburse school food authorities for free meals provided to students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal school meals programs. The program begins operating in the 2023-24 budget year, subject to the state being selected to participate in the federal demonstration project to use medicaid eligibility to identify students who are eligible for the federal school meals programs (demonstration project). A school food authority that chooses to participate in the program (participating school food authority) must: Provide free meals to all students enrolled in the public schools that the participating school food authority serves; Provide to the department annual notice of participation; and Maximize the amount of federal reimbursement by participating in the federal community eligibility provision to identify students who are eligible for the federal school meals programs. The amount of reimbursement distributed pursuant to the program is equal to the federal free reimbursement rate multiplied by the total number of meals served, minus any other federal or state reimbursement the school food authority receives for providing meals. The bill requires the department to: Participate in the federal community eligibility provision for the state as a whole, if that option is available; and Apply to participate in the demonstration project. Under the bill, a participating school food authority that creates a parent and student committee to advise on food purchasing (advisory committee) is eligible to receive a local food purchasing grant (grant) to purchase Colorado grown, raised, or processed products for school meals. Each eligible participating school food authority must comply with reporting requirements. The bill establishes the amount of the grants, limits on how the grant money may be spent, and the required membership of the advisory committee. The department must annually review a sample of the invoices for purchases made using grant money to ensure compliance with purchasing requirements. Under the bill, a participating school food authority may receive an additional amount to increase the wages for individuals employed to prepare and serve food. The bill creates the local school food purchasing technical assistance and education grant program (grant program), under which a statewide nonprofit organization distributes grants to promote the purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products by participating school food authorities and to assist participating school food authorities in preparing meals using basic ingredients rather than processed products. The nonprofit organization must report annually to the department concerning implementation of the grant program. The department must submit to committees of the general assembly a biennial report concerning implementation of the program. The department must contract with an independent auditor to conduct a biennial financial and performance audit of the program. The report and the audit must include implementation of the program, implementation of the local food purchasing grants, use of the additional amount for increasing wages, and implementation of the grant program. The bill directs the general assembly to appropriate annually, by line item in the annual appropriation bill, the amount necessary to implement the program, including a specified amount for the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Current law authorizes a regulator of a profession or occupation to approve an application for licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment by endorsement, reciprocity, or transfer through the occupational credential portability program (program). The act amends the program by: Adding licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment in good standing through the federal government to the types of occupational credentials that qualify a person for a credential through the program; Adding a military occupational specialty to the types of occupational credentials that qualify a person for a credential through the program; If submitting proof of a credential from another jurisdiction as the basis for application under the program, requiring the applicant to have held the license, certification, registration, or enrollment, for at least one year, under a jurisdiction with a scope of practice that is substantially similar to the scope of practice of the profession or occupation required by Colorado law; Removing the prohibition on approving licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment if such approval would violate an existing compact or reciprocity agreement; Adding a requirement that an applicant for licensure, certification, registration, or enrollment have substantially equivalent education as required by Colorado law; and Exempting engineers, surveyors, and architects from the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes a postsecondary institution to refuse to provide a transcript or diploma to a current or former student on the grounds that the student owes a debt for tuition, room and board fees, or financial aid funds, unless the student owes a debt other than a debt for tuition, room and board fees, or financial aid funds, or if the student can demonstrate that the transcript or diploma is needed for certain purposes. If a postsecondary institution provides a transcript or diploma to a current or former student, the act prohibits the postsecondary institution from: Conditioning the provision of a transcript or diploma on the payment of a debt, other than a fee charged to provide the transcript or diploma; Charging a higher fee to obtain a transcript or diploma or providing less favorable treatment in response to a transcript or diploma request because a current or former student owes a debt; or Using transcript or diploma issuance as a tool for debt collection. The act requires each postsecondary institution to adopt a policy that outlines the process by which a student may obtain a transcript or diploma and the circumstances under which a transcript or diploma may be withheld from a current or former student. Beginning July 1, 2024, the act requires each postsecondary institution to annually report certain information to the department of higher education concerning transcript, diploma, and registration holds. The act authorizes the student loan ombudsperson (ombudsperson) to provide information to the public regarding the limits on withholding a transcript or diploma and authorizes the ombudsperson and the administrator of the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code" (administrator) to receive complaints from a current or former student who has had a transcript or diploma withheld. Beginning January 2025, the act requires the attorney general's office to compile data on the complaints received by the ombudsperson and the administrator concerning transcript and diploma holds and report the data through the annual SMART act hearing. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the equity diversity and inclusion task force (task force) established through a partnership agreement entered into pursuant to the "Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act" (partnership agreement) to contract for a pay equity study to assess pay inequities specific to gender, race, and other protected classes; to provide recommendations to alleviate pay inequities; and to comply with any other specifications set by the state personnel director, the task force, or the partnership agreement. A final report including findings and recommendations from the study must be provided by the contractor performing the study to the members of the general assembly, the governor, and the executive director of Colorado workers for innovative and new solutions, a certified employee organization pursuant to the "Colorado Partnership for Quality Jobs and Services Act". $500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the division of human resources in the department of personnel for expenses in connection with the pay equity study. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)