The act creates the school-based mental health support program (program) in the behavioral health administration (BHA) to provide high-quality training, resources, and implementation and sustainment support for the existing public school educator workforce to provide evidence-based mental health services to students through a contract with an external provider. The program emphasizes supporting schools in rural areas and schools with students who do not have equitable access to mental health care. No later than January 1, 2025, the act requires the BHA to contract with an external provider to implement the program no later than the start of the 2025-26 school year. The act requires the BHA to collaborate with the external provider to determine the cost of implementing the program in at least 400 public schools by the start of the 2027-28 school year. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $2,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the BHA to administer the program. The BHA may use up to $100,000 of the funds to select the external provider. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Under existing law, the department of corrections (department) shall submit a request related to changes in caseload to the joint budget committee by January 15. The act changes the deadline so that the department shall submit the request on or before January 10. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $24 million from the state education fund to the department of education (department) to distribute one-time funding to school districts and institute charter schools that enrolled new arrival students after the 2023-24 pupil enrollment count day. The act provides to each school district and each institute charter school that requests funding pursuant to the act: An amount determined by a tiered schedule that is based on the total number of new arrival students who enrolled in the school district or institute charter schools after the 2023-24 pupil enrollment count day; and $4,500 for each student who is in the school district's or institute charter school's total net student population or total new arrival student population, whichever is lesser; except that, if the amount appropriated is insufficient to meet the demand, the department is required to proportionately reduce the $4,500 amount. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the accelerating students through concurrent enrollment (ASCENT) program is available to all qualified students who are designated to participate by their local education provider. The act: Starting in the 2025-26 state fiscal year, caps the number of qualified students who participate in the ASCENT program at the number of qualified students who participated in the ASCENT program in the 2024-25 state fiscal year; and Creates additional eligibility requirements to participate in the ASCENT program. The act requires the department of education to submit a report to the education committees of the house and the senate and the joint budget committee regarding the ASCENT program. Under current law, the district's total program formula includes funding for a district's extended high school pupil enrollment, determined by the district's number of pupils who are concurrently enrolled in a postsecondary course multiplied by a dollar amount that annually increases. Starting in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act amends the district's extended high school funding formula to cap the dollar amount that is multiplied by the district's ASCENT program students within the district's extended high school funding formula. For purposes of the act, the cash funds appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2024-25 state fiscal year is reduced by $1,081,762, and for the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $45,600 to the department of education. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act repeals the "Colorado Indigent Care Program" on July 1, 2025. For purposes of comprehensive primary care services, current law defines an "uninsured or medically indigent patient" as a patient whose yearly family income is below 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL). The act requires the patient's annual household income to be at or below 200% of the FPL. Beginning February 1, 2026, and each February 1 thereafter, the act requires the executive director of the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to prepare and submit an annual report to the general assembly, the joint budget committee, the governor, and the medical services board concerning the status of the primary care fund. The act creates the hospital discounted care advisory committee in the state department to advise the state department on the operations and policies of health-care billing for indigent patients. The act repeals the advisory committee on September 1, 2029. No later than July 1, 2025, the act requires the medical services board, in consultation with the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise, to promulgate rules concerning the policy for qualification for disproportionate share hospital payments. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law suspends certain provisions related to medicaid eligibility until June 1, 2024. The act extends the suspension of those provisions until January 1, 2025. The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to seek federal authorization to not require additional verification during a medicaid member's (member) eligibility reenrollment process if information about the member's income or assets is not verified through a federally approved electronic data source. For a member's income verification, the act authorizes the state department to use the information on file or the information that was originally collected during the application process to determine whether the member is eligible for reenrollment. The state department shall require additional income verification if information about a member's income is not verified through a federally approved electronic data source for 2 or more consecutive years or as specified through federal authorization. For a member's asset verification, the state department may complete the member's eligibility reenrollment process without any additional asset verification if there has been no change in the member's assets since the initial verification during the application process or as specified through federal authorization. The act authorizes the state department to seek federal authorization to delay a member's procedural termination during the reenrollment process to allow the member to continue receiving necessary services during the reenrollment process. The act authorizes the state department to apply this delay in procedural termination to a specific population or as specified through federal authorization. The act authorizes the state department to seek federal authorization to allow an applicant's or member's eligibility for reenrollment to be based on financial findings from the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the temporary assistance for needy families program, and other means-tested benefit programs administered through the Colorado benefits management system. The state department may apply financial eligibility for medicaid to individuals whose gross income program and assets for applicable means-tested benefit programs are below applicable medicaid limits, regardless of differences in household composition and income-counting rules between programs or as specified through federal authorization. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the period for which annual general fund transfers of $220,000 are made to the procurement technical assistance cash fund by 10 years so that the last transfer is made on July 1, 2034, rather than July 1, 2024. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act directs the state treasurer to transfer the money in the hazardous substance site response fund to the hazardous substance response fund through 2 transfers. The act requires the state treasurer to: Transfer $4 million to the hazardous substance response fund from the hazardous substance site response fund on May 1, 2024; and Transfer to the hazardous substance response fund the unexpended and unencumbered money in the hazardous substance site response fund on May 1, 2025. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE April 18, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act clarifies that the adjutant general, subject to appropriation by the general assembly, may disburse state money in order to: Promulgate regulations as may be ordered for the operation, care, and preservation of existing facilities and installations on all state military campgrounds and reservations; Keep in repair all state buildings and other improvements on campgrounds and military reservations of the state; or Rent, hire, purchase, take the conveyance of, and hold in trust for the use of the state such buildings, lands, tenements, and appurtenances thereof as may be from time to time deemed necessary for use by the National Guard. The act also clarifies that the purchase of buildings or other real property or any capital construction performed on real property purchased or held by the state for the use of the National Guard is subject to current law concerning legislative oversight of capital development. APPROVED by Governor April 18, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill states that the Colorado prescription drug affordability review board has no authority to perform an affordability review of, or to establish an upper payment limit for, any prescription drug that is designated as a drug for a rare disease or condition by the federal food and drug administration. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)