The act establishes the Colorado fostering success voucher program (program) in the department of human services (DHS). The purpose of the program is to provide housing vouchers and case management services to eligible youth. Case management service agencies are eligible to participate in the program if they are currently participating in a certain type of foster youth program. Eligibility criteria for youth include: Being at least 18 years of age but less than 26 years of age; Having had prior experience in one of several ways with the foster care or kinship care system; Experiencing homelessness or being at imminent risk of homelessness and agreeing to receive case management services; Being a Colorado resident; and Having an income level below that determined by the state department of local affairs (DOLA). DHS and DOLA shall develop a joint administration and implementation plan for the program. Availability, standards, and services for the program are listed in the act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $2,674,677 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of human services for use by the division of child welfare. The division may use this appropriation for preventing youth homelessness and implementation of this act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the general assembly anticipates that the department of human services will receive $22,096 in federal funds for use by the division of child welfare to implement this act. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
Current law requires adult education providers (providers) that participate in the department of education's (department) adult education and literacy grant program (program) to offer eligible adults basic education in literacy and numeracy that leads to additional skills acquisition, postsecondary credential attainment, and employment. The act adds "digital literacy" to the basic education offered to eligible adults and adds that an eligible adult may earn a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. The act describes services that providers may offer to eligible adults, which include in-person or online instruction, the development of learning plans, coaching, and mentorship. The act amends the reporting requirements for providers of the program, including that administrative costs not exceed 10% of the awarded funds. The act permits the office within the department that is responsible for adult education to use data matching with relevant state agencies to determine post-program participation outcomes. The act allows community colleges, area technical colleges, and local district colleges (colleges) to develop and implement minimum graduation requirements for a high school diploma based on the high school graduation requirements of a school district within the geographic area of the colleges. Colleges are required to award a high school diploma to a student who successfully completes the high school graduation requirements implemented by the colleges. The act appropriates $2 million from the general fund to the department for the program. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits the state, counties, cities and counties, municipalities, school districts, and any of their departments, institutions, or agencies (public employers) from making it a condition of employment that an applicant for employment or current or past employee (employee) executes a contract or other form of agreement that prohibits, prevents, or otherwise restricts the employee from disclosing factual circumstances concerning the employee's employment with the public employer (nondisclosure agreement) unless the nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of: The employee's identity, facts that might lead to the discovery of the employee's identity, or factual circumstances relating to the employment that reasonably implicate legitimate privacy interests held by the employee who is a party to the agreement if the employee elects to restrict such disclosure; Data, information, including personal identifying information, or matters that are required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations, the state constitution, state law, state regulations, state rules, or a court of law or as attorney-client privileged communications, privileged work product, communications related to a threatened or pending legal or administrative action, or materials related to personnel or regulatory investigations by the employer; Information bearing on the specialized details of security arrangements or investigations, including security arrangements for or investigations into elected officials or other individuals, physical infrastructure, or cybersecurity; Information derived from communications of the employer related to threatened or pending legal or administrative action; Discussions that occur in an executive session authorized by the "Colorado Open Meetings Law"; Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a current or prospective contractor, vendor, or grantee or as part of a public-private partnership or entity working with the state as part of an economic development activity; Trade secrets or information derived from trade secrets or proprietary information of the employer; Information and records not subject to disclosure under the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA); or Trade secrets owned by the employer. For a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Nonpublic and confidential labor relations positions and strategies; Attorney work product; Vendor lists and vendor preferences; State business-related information received from a third party that the third party has designated confidential; or Information and matters related to state active duty orders of national guard soldiers and airmen and personnel disputes subject to the jurisdiction of the United States department of defense; For a public employer that is a county, a city and county, a municipality, or a department, institution, or agency of a county, a city and county, or a municipality, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by an employer's current or prospective customer, contractor, lessee, lessor, business partner, or affiliate; or Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a purchaser or seller of property that is engaged in negotiations or under contract with the employer. The act specifies that any provision in any contract or agreement that amounts to a nondisclosure agreement is deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable against an employee of a public employer who is a party to the contract or agreement unless the provision is intended to prevent disclosure of any information or matters for which an exception to the general prohibition against nondisclosure agreements for the public employer applies. The act prohibits a public employer from taking any materially adverse employment-related action, including withdrawal of an offer of employment, discharge, suspension, demotion, or discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, against an employee on the grounds that the employee does not enter into a contract or agreement deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act. The act also states that the taking of a materially adverse employment-related action after an employee has refused to enter into such a contract or agreement is prima facie evidence of retaliation and that any public employer that enforces or attempts to enforce a contract or agreement provision deemed by a court to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act is liable for the employee's reasonable attorney fees and costs in defending against the action. The act requires an action to enforce a provision of the act to be brought in the district court for the district in which the employee is primarily employed. A settlement agreement between an employer that is subject to the act and an employee of the employer must be signed by both the employer and the employee. A nondisclosure agreement must not prohibit the release of information required to be released under CORA. In addition, a nondisclosure agreement executed by a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state and an employee must state that state employees are protected from retaliation for disclosure of information about state agencies that are working outside the public interest. A public employer may require an employee to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with a third party in the employee's official capacity and on behalf of the employer. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The justice reinvestment crime prevention initiative (initiative) is administered by the division of local government (division) in the department of local affairs (department) to expand small business lending and provide grants aimed at reducing crime and promoting community development. The initiative consists of the targeted crime reduction grant program, which provides funding to eligible entities for programs, projects, or direct services aimed at reducing crime and promoting community development in certain target communities, and a statewide business and entrepreneurship training and grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The targeted crime reduction grant program cash fund (fund) was continuously appropriated to the department for the purposes of these 2 grant programs. The act specifies that for state fiscal year 2023-24 and subsequent fiscal years, the department may expend money from the fund subject to annual appropriation and that the department may use any remaining appropriated money during the year following the year for which the general assembly appropriated the money. The act specifies that the statewide business and entrepreneurship training and grant program for justice-system-involved persons will be repealed on September 1, 2024. The department may expend money from the justice reinvestment initiative expansion account (account) in the fund for the purposes of expanding the targeted crime reduction grant program to Grand Junction and Trinidad and to implement the grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The law required the state treasurer to transfer any money remaining in the account to the general fund on July 1, 2023 and specified that the account will repeal on September 1, 2023. The act changes the repeal date of the account to September 1, 2024, and requires the state treasurer to transfer any money remaining in the account to the fund on July 1, 2024. The act specifies that the department may expend the transferred money for the targeted crime reduction grant program and the grant program for justice-system-involved persons. The act clarifies that the initiative is repealed, effective September 1, 2027, and that the department of regulatory agencies will review the initiative for repeal, continuation, or reestablishment before the initiative is repealed. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $3,000,000 is appropriated from reappropriated funds in the fund to the department of local affairs to fund crime prevention initiative grants. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act changes the date upon which the department of public health and environment must begin providing reimbursements to eligible schools that serve students in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade for costs associated with the testing of drinking water from March 15, 2024, to June 1, 2023. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to study the feasibility of extending continuous medical coverage for additional children and adults. The state department is required to submit a report detailing its findings and recommendations from the feasibility study to the joint budget committee of the senate and house of representatives, the governor, and to the house of representatives public and behavioral health and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee, or any successor committees, by January 1, 2026, and also make the report publicly available. No later than April 1, 2024, the state department must seek federal authorization to extend continuous eligibility coverage for children under 3 years of age, including children who would be eligible for medical assistance coverage but are not because of their immigration status, and to extend eligibility coverage for 12 months for adults who have been released from a Colorado department of corrections facility, regardless of any change in income during that time. Upon approval of the federal authorization, the state department shall implement continuous eligibility coverage by January 1, 2026. The act appropriates $337,765 from the general fund to the state department for use by the executive director's office (office). From this appropriation the office may use $192,915 for personal services, $20,050 for operating expenses, and $124,800 for general professional services and special projects. The act anticipates that the state department will receive $337,765 in federal funds to implement this act. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act eliminates the requirement that a local government that offers police or fire protection services (employer) must contribute to the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' continuation of benefits fund (fund) to be eligible to have the continuation of medical and dental benefits for dependents of an employee who died in a work-related death paid for from the fund for one year. Instead, the act makes any employer eligible to have the continuation of benefits paid for from the fund for one year when an employee dies in a work-related death. To provide for the costs of ongoing claims, the state treasurer is directed to transfer $150,000 from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2023, and on July 1 each year thereafter through July 1, 2025. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $150,000 from the fund to the department of the treasury to be used for the implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of health care policy and financing (department) to: At least quarterly, publish on its website an audit activity report detailing current and recently completed recovery audits and summaries of the findings of recovery audits; When the department enters into a new contract for recovery audits, post on its website a copy of the contract, scope of work, and information regarding supervision of contractor deliverables for such audits; At least quarterly, conduct trainings for providers and hold stakeholder meetings; and Create a provider advisory group to advise the department on issues that providers have concerning the recovery audits. The act requires the office of the state auditor to: During the 2023-24 state fiscal year, contract for an independent review of the department's recovery audit contractor program for compliance with requirements of the federal recovery audit contractor's program, coding practice standards, and state law; and Contract with an entity to assess federal flexibilities to improve the recovery audit contractors program and assist the department in pursuing those flexibilities. The act appropriates from the general fund $39,287 to the department and $850,000 to the legislative department for use by the office of the state auditor. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 1, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the accountability, accreditation, student performance, and resource inequity task force (task force) to study academic opportunities, inequities, promising practices in schools, and improvements to the accountability and accreditation system. The act requires the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives, the president and minority leader of the senate, the governor, and the department of education (department) to appoint members to the task force no later than July 1, 2023. The task force consists of 26 members, including members who represent statewide education organizations, the department, the state board of education (state board), school district board of education members, charter schools, superintendents, principals, and teachers. The act requires the department to enter into a contract with a facilitator to guide the work of the task force no later than August 15, 2023. The act requires the department to enter into a contract with a third party to draft an interim report and final report. The task force is required to submit an interim report by March 1, 2024, and a final report by November 15, 2024, reflecting its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate, the governor, the state board, the commissioner of education, and the department. The act appropriates $300,709 from the general fund to the department to implement the task force. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 24, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)