Under existing law, the state department of human services (department) reimburses local governments and nongovernmental agencies that operate domestic abuse programs for providing services to victims of domestic violence. The act renames "domestic abuse programs" as "domestic violence programs", repeals the authority to reimburse local governments, and requires the department to reimburse a nongovernmental agency or a federally recognized Indian tribe that operates a domestic violence, sexual assault, or culturally specific program (program) that provides services to victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault (program services). The act repeals the requirement that programs must request information from each client concerning the relationship of the client to the alleged perpetrator of the abuse. The act permits the department to enter into an agreement with a federally recognized state or tribal domestic violence or sexual assault coalition (coalition) for program services and other related services. A coalition that enters into a contract or agreement with the department shall provide training and technical assistance for programs and may participate in systems advocacy, develop and implement policies to improve the response to and prevention of domestic violence or sexual assault, and conduct statewide community outreach and public education related to domestic violence and sexual assault. A coalition may subcontract with a nongovernmental agency or federally recognized Indian tribe that operates a program. The act creates the state domestic violence and sexual assault services fund, transfers $6 million to the fund from the behavioral and mental health cash fund, and requires the department to publish information on its website about the use of program funds and organizations that receive funds. The act creates the Colorado crime victim services fund (victim services fund) and requires the state treasurer to transfer $32 million to the fund from the economic recovery and relief cash fund and $6 million to the fund from the general fund. The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety makes grants from the victim services fund to government agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide services for crime victims. The division is required to publish information on its website about the use of grant funds and organizations that receive grant awards. The act permits the division of criminal justice to grant money from the victims assistance and law enforcement fund for mass tragedy response. The act limits members of the crime victim services advisory board to serving 3 consecutive 3-year terms on the board. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $3 million to the victims and witnesses assistance and law enforcement fund from the economic recovery and relief cash fund. The state court administrator is required to distribute the money based on need. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $1 million to the community crime victims grant program cash fund from the general fund. For state fiscal year 2021-22, the general assembly appropriated $1.5 million to the department of public safety for the state victims assistance and law enforcement program and $4.75 million to the department of human services for the domestic abuse program. The act further appropriates any of that money that is not expended by July 1, 2022, to each department for use in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 state fiscal years. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act requires the department of human services (department) to renovate a building at the mental health institute at Fort Logan to create at least 16 additional inpatient beds for persons in need of residential behavioral health treatment. The act authorizes the new beds to be used for persons needing competency services until the backlog of such persons is eliminated, and at that point the beds may begin to serve civil patients. The act also directs the department and the department of health care policy and financing to create, develop, or contract to add at least 125 additional beds at mental health residential facilities (mental health facilities) throughout the state for adults in need of ongoing supportive services. For the new beds, the act requires the department, in collaboration with the behavioral health administration, the department of health care policy and financing, and relevant stakeholders, to establish criteria for admissions and discharge planning, quality assurance monitoring, appropriate length of stay, and compliance with applicable federal law. The act requires mental health facilities to be licensed by the department of public health and environment as an assisted living facility or by the department as a behavioral health entity during the 2022-23 state fiscal year. Starting in the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the mental health facilities must be licensed by the behavioral health administration. The act appropriates to the department from the behavioral and mental health cash fund: $728,296 for use by administration and finance; $39,854,179 for use by the office of behavioral health for contract beds and renovations in mental health residential facilities, costs associated with additional beds in department facilities, and oversight of the additional beds; $6,578,266 for costs associated with the operation of additional beds at the Colorado mental health institute at Fort Logan; $6,991,567 for capital construction at the mental health institute at Fort Logan; and $3,692,111 for capital construction at three existing department facilities to create mental health residential facilities. The act also appropriates $91,938 to the department of health care policy and financing. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning in 2023, the act requires each health insurance carrier (carrier) that offers an individual or small group health benefit plan in this state to offer at least 25% of its health benefit plans on the Colorado health benefit exchange (exchange) and at least 25% of its plans not on the exchange in each bronze, silver, gold, and platinum benefit level in each service area as copayment-only payment structures for all prescription drug cost tiers. Starting in 2024, a carrier or, if a carrier uses a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) for claims processing services or other prescription drug or device services under a health benefit plan offered by the carrier in the individual market, the PBM, or a representative of the carrier or the PBM, is prohibited from modifying or applying a modification to the current prescription drug formulary during the current plan year. The act repeals and reenacts the current requirements for step therapy and requires a carrier to use clinical review criteria to establish the step-therapy protocol. For each health benefit plan issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, the bill requires each carrier or PBM to demonstrate to the division of insurance that: 100% of the estimated rebates received or to be received in connection with dispensing or administering prescription drugs included in the carrier's prescription drug formulary are used to reduce costs; For small group and large employer health benefit plans, all rebates are used to reduce employer or individual employee costs; and For individual health benefit plans, all rebates are used to reduce consumers' premiums and out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and that health insurers will maximize the use of rebates to reduce consumer costs. The act requires the division of insurance to conduct and complete a study to evaluate how rebates my be applied in the individual market to reduce consumers' costs. The act requires health insurers to annually report: Data demonstrating that discounts and rebates received are used to reduce costs for policyholders; and An actuarial certification attesting that the health insurer and PBM are compliant with the law and that the data submitted to the division is accurate. The act requires the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) to promulgate rules to implement the rebate requirements in the act. Beginning in 2023, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing, in collaboration with the administrator of the all-payer claims database, to conduct an annual analysis of the prescription drug rebates received in the previous calendar year, by carrier and prescription drug tier, and make the analysis available to the public. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, $252,667 is appropriated from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the behavioral health-care continuum gap grant program in the behavioral health administration (BHA). The BHA administers the grant program. As part of the behavioral health-care continuum gap grant program, the BHA may award community investment grants to support services along the continuum of behavioral health-care and children, youth, and family services grants to expand youth-oriented and family-oriented behavioral health-care services. A community-based organization, local government, federally recognized Indian tribe, or nonprofit organization is eligible for a community investment grant. A community-based organization, local government, federally recognized Indian tribe, local collaborative management program, judicial district juvenile services planning committee, or nonprofit organization is eligible for a children, youth, and family services grant. The BHA must develop a behavioral health-care services assessment tool that behavioral health-care continuum gap grant program applicants can use to identify regional gaps in behavioral health and substance use disorder services, underserved populations, and unmet behavioral health needs. In awarding grants, the BHA shall give preference to applicants providing a service that addresses a gap in services identified with the BHA's assessment tool or a county, regional, or community assessment tool. In order to receive a community behavioral health-care continuum gap grant, an applicant must offer a monetary contribution or in-kind contributions that directly support the behavioral health-care services provided with the grant award. The BHA may waive the monetary or in-kind contribution requirement for applicants requesting a grant of less than $50,000. Each grant recipient must report to the BHA about its use of the grant award. The state department of human services must include information about the grant program in its annual "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" hearing. The act establishes the substance use workforce stability grant program in the BHA. A substance use disorder treatment provider, a recovery provider, and local governments are eligible for a grant. In order to receive a grant, a provider must prioritize providing services to voluntary and civil clients. The BHA shall prioritize awarding grants to providers that offer same-day or next-day appointments, serve low-income and marginalized populations, or intend to expand the number of individuals they serve. A grant recipient shall use a grant award to support direct care staff who spend 50% or more of their time working with clients. The act appropriates $75 million from the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the state department for the behavioral health-care continuum gap grant program and $15 million from the behavioral and mental health cash fund to the state department for the substance use workforce stability grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $57 million from the revenue loss restoration cash fund to the family and medical leave insurance fund for use by the division of family and medical leave insurance (division) created under the "Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act" (PFMLIA). The transferred money is an advance payment of premiums for state employee coverage that the state is required to pay under the family and medical leave insurance program established by the PFMLIA. The division is required to credit the transferred money to state employer accounts and to annually continue to credit money to the state employer accounts until such accounts have a zero dollar balance and begin owing quarterly premiums as set forth in the PFMLIA. The executive director of the department of labor and employment is required to submit specified reports. The act reduces the appropriations to state departments for employer premium payments for state fiscal year 2022-23. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a transportation network company or its drivers to secure primary liability insurance coverage for the drivers for incidents involving the drivers during prearranged rides and for periods when a driver is logged into a transportation network company's digital network but not engaged in a prearranged ride. Section 1 of the act requires a transportation network company or its drivers to also secure insurance protection for drivers and for their riders against damages caused by uninsured motorists in the amounts of at least $200,000 per person and $400,000 per occurrence. The insurance policy must provide coverage to drivers and riders at all times the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. Current law requires automobile liability and motor vehicle liability policies to provide coverage for damages caused by uninsured motorists; except that the named insured may reject such coverage in writing. Section 2 provides that, if the named insured is a transportation network company securing coverage for a transportation network company driver to protect against damages caused by uninsured motorists, the named insured may not reject the coverage for periods when the transportation network company driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates a new state income tax credit (new credit) for certain taxpayers who were denied state income tax credits for conservation easements donated between 2000 and 2013 (original credit) if the federal internal revenue service allowed a federal income tax deduction for the same donation. A donation is eligible for the new credit only if the land subject to the donated conservation easement for which the original credits were disallowed was owned by the landowner, a family member of the landowner, or a trust or other legal entity controlled by the landowner or one or more members of the family of the landowner for not less than 3 consecutive years prior to the date of the donation. The amount of the new credit is based upon the amount of the original credit that could have been claimed at the time of the original donation based upon the value of the donation accepted by the internal revenue service; except that the fair market value of the land used to calculate the value of the new credit cannot exceed 250% of the donor's cost basis in the land subject to the donated conservation easement. The amount of the new credit is reduced by any amount that was allowed to be claimed against Colorado income tax or otherwise reinstated to the claimant of the original credit. The new credit is not refundable but may be carried forward or transferred in the same manner as the original credit. The department of revenue is required to make information about the new credit available online. The bill establishes a process for applying to the division of conservation to claim the new credit. If the original credit that was denied was transferred to another taxpayer as transferee, the bill provides a process for all parties to the transaction to submit a mutual application to claim the new credit or, if there is objection, an ombudsman process to resolve disputes about the distribution of the credit. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill reduces the premium paid by employers for the state's paid family and medical leave program, starting January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, from nine-tenths of 1% of wages per employee to eighty-one hundredths of 1% of wages per employee. The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $57.5 million from the general fund to the family and medical leave insurance fund. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The act requires the domestic violence fatality review board (review board) to: Provide technical assistance and training to local governments to help establish and maintain a review team and provide technical assistance and training to existing review teams; Pursue and implement any recommendations pertaining to improving communication and information-sharing between public and private organizations and agencies as to domestic violence incidents and risk, reducing the incidence of domestic violence and domestic violence fatalities in the state, and improving responses to domestic violence incidents; Provide any necessary coordination between local governments and organizations to assist with domestic violence prevention and responses to fatalities; Make a recommendation in its 2022 annual written report whether and how diversity, equity, and inclusion training could be provided for individuals who provide initial call response functions and could be provided for local boards that may conduct a fatality review to create greater trust between local agencies and victims of domestic violence; Coordinate with stakeholders to develop best practices for collecting data on domestic violence-related fatalities; Coordinate to implement effective information-sharing related to identified domestic violence fatalities; Perform outreach to local governments and organizations to promote the development of local review teams; and Prioritize development and support of local review teams in underserved and rural communities. The review board is set to repeal on September 1, 2022. The act extends the repeal to September 1, 2027, and requires a sunset review prior to the repeal. The act also repeals the review board's associated cash fund. The act appropriates $43,350 to the department of law from the general fund to implement the act. The act decreases the cash fund appropriation from the Colorado domestic violence review board cash fund in the 2022 general appropriations act to the department of law for use by the office of community engagement by $2,500. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act changes the date on which Energy Outreach Colorado disburses to the department of human services (department) a portion of the energy assistance system benefit charges that investor-owned electric and gas utilities collect from January 1, 2022, to March 1, 2023. Section 2 requires the public utilities commission (commission) to adopt rules prohibiting electric and gas utilities from disconnecting a customer's service: On Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays; On state or federal holidays; To the greatest extent practicable, after 11:59 a.m. on a Monday through Thursday that is not a holiday; During an emergency or safety event or circumstance, which includes a manmade or natural emergency or a severe weather event that is likely to affect travel, staffing, or work conditions. Additionally, the commission's rules must require that, under certain circumstances in which a customer makes a request for reconnection of service on a Monday through Friday that is not a holiday, the utility is required to reconnect the customer's service that same day. Section 3 establishes 3 income standards for determining a household's eligibility for utility assistance as follows: A household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line; A household income at or below 80% of the area median income; or A household income that meets the income eligibility criteria that the department sets by rule. Section 3 also clarifies that the commission may approve a year-round utility preference or advantage given to income-eligible customers. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)