Sen. Kyle Mullica

Beginning July 1, 2023, the act classifies a wildlife officer and a parks and recreation officer employed by the division of parks and wildlife (division) in the department of natural resources (department) and hired on or after January 1, 2011, as a state trooper for the purpose of determining the officer's public employees' retirement association service retirement eligibility and benefit. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $236,364 is appropriated from the wildlife cash fund to the department for use by the division for wildlife operations and $168,070 is appropriated from the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund to the department for use by the division for state park operations. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the fuels impact enterprise (enterprise) in the department of transportation. The enterprise is required to impose a new fuels impact reduction fee on fuel product manufacturers in an amount of up to $.006125 per gallon of fuel products delivered during the previous calendar month for sale or use in Colorado to fund a new fuels impact reduction grant program (program) that the enterprise administers. The fee is collected and deposited in the fuels impact enterprise cash fund until the fund has an available balance of $15 million or more. Under the program, the enterprise provides grants to certain critically impacted communities, governments, and transportation corridors for the improvement of hazardous mitigation corridors and to support local and state government projects related to emergency responses, environmental mitigation, or projects related to the transportation of fuel within the state. The enterprise and the program are repealed, effective January 1, 2030. Beginning October 1, 2023, the act modifies the fee that is currently collected for distribution to the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund by extending the collection of the fee to 2031and by changing the distribution of the fee revenue. Under the new distribution, the state treasurer shall credit: An amount equal to the cost of administering the fee and an existing tax credit to the department of revenue; $2 million of the fee revenue to the department of public safety to support the regulation of hazardous materials on highways in the state, to make employer contributions to a multiple employer health trust in order to participate in the voluntary firefighter cancer benefits program, and to enforce commercial and hazardous materials critical corridors determined by the chief of the Colorado state patrol; 70% of the amount remaining to the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund; and 30% of the amount remaining to the department of transportation to support functions related to the transportation of hazardous materials and the safe and efficient movement of freight as well as to support infrastructure projects that enhance the safety of movement of freight and hazardous materials. The act also increases the amount of fee revenue that can be held annually in the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances cash fund from $8 million to $9 million. Additionally, the act: Extends authorization for the division of oil and public safety to use the petroleum storage tank fund for costs related to petroleum storage tank facility inspections and meter calibrations from September 1, 2023, to September 1, 2033; Delays the effective date of the $8 million cap on the petroleum storage tank fund from September 1, 2023, to September 1, 2033; Allows the director of the division of oil and public safety, in consultation with the petroleum storage tank committee, to establish rules that allow an operator of petroleum storage tanks pay less than 100% reimbursement for remediation expenses paid from the petroleum storage tank fund to the fund; Allows the director of the division of oil and public safety to annually transfer up to $500,000 from the petroleum storage tank fund to the petroleum cleanup and redevelopment fund; Makes hazardous materials troopers eligible for the voluntary firefighter cancer benefits program; and Allows the Colorado state patrol to conform hazardous materials routing regulations to transportation commission rules; $36,272 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of revenue for implementation of the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 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.)

For each transportation project identified in the 10-year transportation plan (plan) prepared by the department of transportation (department) under the direction of the transportation commission (commission), section 1 of the act requires the following information to be specified and regularly updated as circumstances change: The time frame for project completion; The total estimated amount of funding required to complete the project; and Accounting for the total estimated amount of funding for the project, and the amount of funding from each funding source that has been allocated for the project or is anticipated to be allocated for the project. The plan must always identify specific funding sources and amounts that taken together account for full funding for each project identified in the plan but may indicate, both with respect to the plan generally and with respect to any specific project, the extent to which and reasons why the source and amounts of funding listed are uncertain and subject to change. Section 1 also requires the department to provide to state and local government elected officials a designated and readily available department contact to receive and respond to their questions about the status and funding of specific transportation projects and to inform such elected officials of the existence of the designated contact and the means by which the designated contact may be reached. Section 2 requires the department to annually report to the transportation legislation review committee (TLRC) on the status of project delivery for the projects identified in the plan and requires the commission to include an update on the plan in its annual proposed budget allocation plan presented to the joint budget committee. As part of its reporting to the TLRC, the department is required to provide guidance to the TLRC as to how to access and understand the plan, and the TLRC may, if it determines that the plan does not include all the information required by section 1, instruct the department to ensure that any missing required information is promptly added to the plan. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 EFFECTIVE September 1, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

A person who is at least 65 years of age or who is a person called into military service may elect to defer the payment of real property taxes. Other residential real property owners may also defer the payment of a portion of real property taxes under certain circumstances. For all 3 categories of taxpayers who are eligible to defer the payment of real property taxes, the property for which the deferral is claimed cannot be income-producing. Beginning in the 2023 property tax year, the act specifies that the prohibition against the property being income-producing does not apply if the taxpayer claiming the deferral is at least 65 years of age, is a person called into military service, or is the surviving spouse of such a taxpayer. For a property owner called into military service or a property owner who is not called into military service and is not at least 65 years of age but is otherwise eligible to claim a property tax deferral, to be eligible for the property tax deferral the total value of all liens of mortgages and deeds of trust on the property must be less than or equal to 90% of the actual value of the property (90% requirement). For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2023, the act specifies that the 90% requirement does not apply if the owner of the property is a person called into military service and has a home loan guaranteed by the veterans administration of the United States. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 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.)

On and after July 1, 2024, the act prohibits a health-care provider (provider), which is an individual provider or a health facility, or a health system, which is a corporation or organization that owns, contains, or operates 3 or more hospitals, from charging, billing, or collecting a facility fee directly from a patient that is not covered by the patient's insurance for mandatory coverage for preventive health-care services that are provided in an outpatient setting. The act defines "facility fee" as any fee that a hospital or health system charges or bills for outpatient services that is intended to compensate the hospital or health system for its operational expenses and that is separate and distinct from a professional fee charged or billed by a provider for professional medical services. The limitation on charging, billing, or collecting a facility fee does not apply to a critical access hospital, a sole community hospital in a rural or frontier area, a community clinic affiliated with a sole community hospital in a rural or frontier area, or a hospital established by the Denver health and hospital authority. The act: Requires a provider that charges a facility fee to provide notice to a patient that the provider charges the fee and to use a standardized bill that includes itemized charges identifying the facility fee, as well as other information; Requires a health facility that is newly affiliated with or owned by a hospital or health system on or after July 1, 2024, to provide written notice to patients of the health facility during the previous 12 months concerning the change in ownership and that the health facility may now charge a facility fee, and prohibits the collection of a facility fee until at least 30 days after the notice is sent; and Makes it a deceptive trade practice to charge, bill, or collect a facility fee when doing so is prohibited. The act creates a steering committee (steering committee) in the department of health care policy and financing (department) to facilitate the development of a preliminary report by August 1, 2024, and a final report by October 1, 2024, detailing the impact of outpatient facility fees on the Colorado health-care system, including the impact on consumers, employers, and providers. The steering committee consists of 7 members appointed by the governor with relevant expertise in health-care billing and payment policy, including, among others, members representing consumers, payers, and providers. The act lists specific data and information to be collected, identified, evaluated, and analyzed, including: Data from: The all-payer health-claims database; Hospital and health systems; The department, the division of insurance, and commercial payers; and Independent health-care providers that are not affiliated with or owned by a hospital or health system evaluated in the report; The impact of facility fees and payer coverage policies on the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise, the medicaid expansion, uncompensated care, and undercompensated care; The impact of facility fees on access to care, integrated care systems, health equity, and the health-care workforce; and A description of the way in which providers may be paid or reimbursed by payers for outpatient health-care services. To the extent feasible, data must be sourced from 2014 through 2022, as determined by the steering committee and any third-party contractors, and disaggregated, as described in the act. The steering committee shall seek to exhaust existing data sources before making additional requests and shall minimize the number of data requests. To implement the act, for the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act: Increases general fund appropriations to the department in the 2023 long bill by $18,326 for personal services and $337 for operating expenses; Decreases anticipated federal funds received by the department by $18,663; and Appropriates $516,950 from the general fund to the department for general professional services and special projects. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the Colorado department of public health and environment (department) to distribute stop the bleed training materials and bleed control kits to K-12 schools that opt into receiving them. The act also requires the department, in collaboration with the American college of surgeons' committee on trauma, to report the number of schools that opt in, the number of people who have been trained in stop the bleed procedures in schools, the total number of stop the bleed control kits sent to schools, and the total cost of distributing stop the bleed control kits, for each school year from 2024 through 2026. The act appropriates $155,541 for the 2023-24 state fiscal year from the general fund to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division. Any money not used for the 2023-24 school year is further appropriated to the department for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal years for the same purpose. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 15, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill requires all individual and group health benefit plans to provide coverage for biomarker testing if the testing is supported by medical and scientific evidence. Biomarker testing is defined as an analysis of a patient's tissue, blood, or other biospecimen for the presence of an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a specific therapeutic intervention. The bill requires the commissioner of insurance to implement biomarker testing coverage for all individual and group health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. Biomarker testing is subject to the health benefit plan's annual deductibles, copayment, or coinsurance but is not subject to any annual or lifetime maximum benefit limit. If a carrier requires prior authorization for biomarker testing, the bill requires the carrier to use an expedited prior authorization process. Subject to federal authorization and federal financial participation, beginning July 1, 2024, the bill includes coverage for biomarker testing as part of the state medical assistance program if the testing is supported by medical and scientific evidence. Under the state medical assistance program, the bill requires an expedited utilization review and prior authorization process, as well as an appeal process if biomarker testing is denied. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires the Colorado water conservation board (CWCB) to perform a comprehensive literature review of existing research on the challenges and opportunities of desalination facilities in California or Mexico. The literature review must include a summary of the current status of research on desalination, including quantification of certain costs of and benefits that could be realized from the construction and perpetual operation of one or more water desalination facilities in California or Mexico, or both. On or before July 1, 2025, the CWCB must complete the study and submit a report of the CWCB's findings and recommendations to: The Colorado legislative committees of reference that consider water matters; The governor; and The bureau of reclamation in the federal department of the interior. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the bill appropriates $50,000 from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the department of natural resources for use by the CWCB to pay operating expenses. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The act allows a physician, a physician assistant, an advanced practice registered nurse, or any other person who is authorized by law to administer a vaccine (practitioner) to ask an individual who seeks to receive a publicly funded vaccine to present proof of health insurance or other form of identification, but a practitioner is prohibited from conditioning the receipt of the vaccine on the individual's presentation of the documentation or ability to pay an administration fee. The act requires practitioners to post a notice and provide to individuals seeking a publicly funded vaccine a disclosure statement indicating that the publicly funded vaccine will be provided regardless of the individual's presentation of the requested documentation or ability to pay an administration fee. The act allows an independent pharmacy to condition receipt of a publicly funded vaccine on an individual's ability to pay for the administration of the vaccine but limits the amount an independent pharmacy may charge. The act prohibits a practitioner from charging an individual for the cost of a vaccine that is paid for by the federal, the state, or a local government but permits a practitioner to charge and seek payment from an insurer or the vaccine recipient or, if applicable, from a federal or state source, for the cost of administering the vaccine. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 10, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For a contract between a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) or a health insurance carrier (carrier) and a certificate holder or policyholder, the act requires that the amount charged by the PBM or carrier to the certificate holder or policyholder for a prescription drug be equal to or less than the amount paid by the PBM or carrier to the contracted pharmacy for the drug. For group health benefit plans in effect during the 2025 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter, the act creates transparency requirements for PBMs and carriers regarding prescription drug benefits and grants audit authority to the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) for fully insured plans to ensure compliance with the requirements. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules to implement the act. A violation of the requirements of the act is a deceptive trade practice in the business of insurance, with regard to fully insured plans. For contracts between a PBM and the department of health care policy and financing (state department) or one of its affiliated managed care organizations offering a prescription benefit plan that is issued on or after January 1, 2025, the act requires the amount charged by the PBM to the state department or managed care organization for a prescription drug dispensed to an enrollee in the Colorado medical assistance program to be equal to or less than the amount paid by the PBM to a pharmacy for the prescription drug dispensed to the enrollee. The act directs the medical services board to adopt rules to implement and ensure compliance with this requirement. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 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.)