Electric scooters - regulation - authorizing use on roadways. Electric scooters, which are lightweight, motorized transportation devices, with handlebars, that obtain a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour when powered by motor, are currently regulated as toy vehicles. Toy vehicles are authorized for use on sidewalks, but not for use on roadways. The act excludes electric scooters from the definition of "toy vehicle" and includes electric scooters in the definition of "vehicle", thus authorizing the use of electric scooters on roadways. The act affords riders of electric scooters the same rights and duties that riders of electrical assisted bicycles have under Colorado law. Section 5 of the act authorizes a local government to regulate the operation of an electric scooter in a manner that is no more restrictive than the manner in which the local government may regulate an electrical assisted bicycle. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
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Certificates of title - vehicle identification number - certified inspection - fee. The act raises the fee for performing a certified vehicle identification number inspection from $20 to $50 and provides for the fee to be adjusted annually to account for inflation. A peace officer's certification to perform these inspections expires 3 years after issuance unless renewed.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Substance use disorders - alternatives to arrest and criminal charges for persons in need of substance use treatment - treatment in prisons and jails - record sealing - harm reduction program - appropriation. The act enacts policies related to the involvement of persons with substance use disorders in the criminal justice system. The Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice is required to study and make recommendations concerning: Alternatives to filing criminal charges against individuals with substance use disorders who have been arrested for drug-related offenses; Best practices for investigating unlawful opioid distribution in Colorado; and A process for automatically sealing criminal records for drug offense convictions. Jails that receive funding through the jail-based behavioral health services program must have a policy in place on or before January 1, 2020, that describes how medication-assisted treatment will be provided, when necessary, to individuals in the jail. The jail may enter into agreements with community agencies and organizations to assist in the development and administration of medication-assisted treatment. The department of corrections (DOC) is required to allow medication-assisted treatment to be provided to persons who were receiving treatment in a local jail prior to being transferred to the custody of the DOC. The DOC may enter into agreements with community agencies and organizations to assist in the development and administration of medication-assisted treatment. The act adds to an existing legislative declaration that the substance abuse trend and response task force should formulate a response to current and emerging substance abuse problems from the criminal justice, prevention, and treatment sectors that includes the use of drop-off treatment services, mobile and walk-in crisis centers, and withdrawal management programs as an alternative to entry into the criminal justice system for offenders of low-level drug offenses. The act creates a simplified process for sealing convictions for level 4 drug felonies, all drug misdemeanors, and any offense committed prior to October 1, 2013, that would have been a level 4 drug felony or drug misdemeanor if committed on or after October 1, 2013. A defendant may file a motion to seal records 3 years or more after final disposition of the criminal proceedings. Conviction records may be sealed only after a hearing and upon court order. This provision of the act is contingent upon House Bill 19-1275 being enacted and becoming law. The harm reduction grant program is established to reduce health risks associated with drug use and improve coordination between law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, and community-based organizations. Grants may be awarded to nonprofit organizations, public health agencies, and law enforcement agencies. The department of regulatory agencies shall review the grant program prior to its scheduled repeal in 2024. The following appropriations are made for the 2019-20 state fiscal year: $1,963,832 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the office of behavioral health; $492,750 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of corrections; $1,800,000 is appropriated from the marijuana tax cash fund to the harm reduction grant program, which the department of public health and environment is responsible for the accounting related to such appropriation; and $40,300 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for administrative services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Licensing of controlled substances act - continuation under sunset law. The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the "Colorado Licensing of Controlled Substances Act" (controlled substances licensing act) by: Continuing the controlled substances licensing act for 7 years and subjecting it to sunset review prior to its repeal on September 1, 2026; Repealing references to research as a regulated activity in the controlled substances licensing act; Requiring the department of human services (department) to develop and implement a formal, simple, accurate, and objective system to track and categorize complaints made against a licensee and disciplinary actions taken pursuant to the controlled substances licensing act; and Directing the department to develop a secure online central registry for licensed opioid treatment programs to submit information to the department. The department is required to develop a policy that separates the administration of the controlled substances licensing act from the performance of its duties relating to approved treatment facilities that receive public funds. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Recovery from substance use disorders - housing vouchers - recovery residence standards and requirements - recovery residence certification grant program - creation of the opioid crisis recovery funds advisory committee - appropriation. The act: Expands the housing voucher program currently within the department of local affairs to include individuals with a substance use disorder; Establishes standards for recovery residences for purposes of referrals and title protection and prohibits a facility from using the terms "recovery residence", "sober living facility", or "sober home" unless the facility meets specified conditions; Creates the recovery residence certification grant program; and Creates the opioid crisis recovery funds advisory committee to advise and collaborate with the department of law on uses of any custodial funds the state receives as settlement or damage awards resulting from opioid-related litigation. To implement the act: $1,000,000 is appropriated to the department of local affairs; $2,620 is appropriated to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology; and $50,000 is appropriated to the department of human services for use by the office of behavioral health.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Substance use disorders - school districts, nonpublic schools, and specified public persons may obtain and administer opiate antagonists - definition of drug paraphernalia - hospitals as clean syringe exchange sites - opiate antagonist bulk purchase fund - household medication take-back program - identity verification for individuals initiating into treatment - appropriation. The act: Allows school districts and nonpublic schools to develop policies by which schools are authorized to obtain a supply of opiate antagonists and school employees are trained to administer opiate antagonists to individuals at risk of experiencing a drug overdose; Allows a prescriber to prescribe or dispense and a pharmacist to dispense an opiate antagonist to law enforcement agencies, schools, or specified public persons; Removes from the definition of "drug paraphernalia" equipment, products, and materials used in testing or analyzing a controlled substance; Specifies that a licensed or certified hospital may be used as a clean syringe exchange site; Creates the opiate antagonist bulk purchase fund to facilitate bulk purchasing of opiate antagonists at a discounted price; Expands the household medication take-back program in the department of public health and environment (department) for the purpose of allowing the safe collection and disposal of needles, syringes, and other devices used to inject medication; Authorizes a public person or entity that makes an automated external defibrilator available to the public to also make an opiate antagonist available to the public; and Requires the department of health care policy and financing to establish a policy on how a substance use disorder treatment program must verify the identity of individuals initiating into detoxification, withdrawal, or maintenance treatment for a substance use disorder. $659,472 is appropriated to the department to implement the act. Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Wage discrimination based on sex - complaints - civil action - exceptions to prohibitions against wage differentials - prohibited acts of employer - employment announcements required - enforcement - rules. The act removes the authority of the director of the division of labor standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment (director) to enforce wage discrimination complaints based on an employee's sex and instead authorizes the director to create and administer a process to accept and mediate complaints of, and provide legal resources concerning, alleged violations and to promulgate rules for this purpose. An aggrieved person may bring a civil action in district court to pursue remedies specified in the act. The act allows exceptions to the prohibition against a wage differential based on sex if the employer demonstrates that a wage differential is not based on wage rate history and is based upon one or more of the following factors, so long as the employer applies the factors reasonably and they account for the entire wage rate differential: A seniority system; A merit system; A system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; The geographic location where the work is performed; Education, training, or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question; or Travel, if the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the work performed. The act prohibits an employer from: Seeking the wage rate history of a prospective employee or requiring disclosure of wage rate as a condition of employment; Relying on a prior wage rate to determine a wage rate; Discriminating or retaliating against a prospective employee for failing to disclose the employee's wage rate history; Discharging or retaliating against an employee for actions by an employee asserting the rights established by the act against an employer; or Discharging, disciplining, discriminating against, or otherwise interfering with an employee for inquiring about, disclosing, or discussing the employee's wage rate. The act requires an employer to announce to all employees employment advancement opportunities and job openings and the pay range for the openings. The director is authorized to enforce actions against an employer concerning transparency in pay and employment opportunities, including fines of between $500 and $10,000 per violation. Employers are also required to maintain records of job descriptions and wage rate history for each employee while employed and for 2 years after the employment ends. Failure to maintain these records creates a rebuttable presumption, in a lawsuit alleging wage discrimination based on sex, that the records not maintained contained information favorable to the employee's claim. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Colorado secure savings plan - board - studies and analyses - report - appropriation. The Colorado secure savings plan board (board) is established to study the feasibility of creating the Colorado secure savings plan and other appropriate approaches to increase the amount of retirement savings by Colorado's private sector workers. The board consists of the state treasurer or the treasurer's designee and 8 additional trustees with certain experience who are appointed by the governor. The board is required to conduct the following 4 analyses or assessments by a specified date: A detailed market and financial analysis to determine the financial feasibility and effectiveness of creating a retirement savings plan in the form of an automatic enrollment payroll deduction IRA, to be known as the Colorado secure savings plan; A detailed market and financial analysis to determine the financial feasibility and effectiveness of a small business marketplace plan to increase the number of Colorado businesses that offer retirement savings plans for their employees; An analysis of the effects that greater financial education among Colorado residents would have on increasing their retirement savings; and An analysis of the effects that not increasing Coloradans' retirement savings would have on current and future state and local government expenditures. The board may accept any gifts, grants, and donations, or any money from public or private entities to pay for the costs of the analyses. The board may delay implementation of one or more of the analyses if it does not obtain adequate money to conduct the analyses. If after conducting the analyses, the board finds that there are approaches to increasing retirement savings for private sector employees in a convenient, low-cost, and portable manner that are financially feasible and self-sustaining, the board is required to recommend a plan to implement its findings to the governor and the general assembly. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $800,000 from the general fund is appropriated to the department of the treasury for the purpose of conducting the analyses or assessments, including operating expenses. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Health insurance - out-of-network health care services - disclosures - claims - reimbursement rates - deceptive trade practice - rules - appropriation. The act: Requires health insurance carriers, health care providers, and health care facilities to provide patients covered by health benefit plans with information concerning the provision of services by out-of-network providers and in-network and out-of-network facilities; Outlines the disclosure requirements and the claims and payment process for the provision of out-of-network services; Requires the commissioner of insurance, the state board of health, and the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department of regulatory agencies to promulgate rules that specify the requirements for disclosures to consumers, including the timing, the format, and the contents and language in the disclosures; Establishes the reimbursement amount for out-of-network providers that provide health care services to covered persons at an in-network facility and for out-of-network providers or facilities that provide emergency services to covered persons; and Creates a penalty for failure to comply with the payment requirements for out-of-network health care services. The act appropriates $33,884 from the general fund to the department of public health and environment and $63,924 from the division of insurance cash fund to the division of insurance to implement the act. Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Child care expenses - income tax credit - individuals with low income - extension. For income tax years prior to January 1, 2021, a resident individual who has a federal adjusted gross income of $25,000 or less may claim a refundable state income tax credit for child care expenses for the care of a dependent who is less than 13 years old. The act extends the tax credit for 8 years.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More