Beginning in 2023, the act allows a municipality to refer a municipal election using instant runoff voting to be conducted as part of a coordinated election. The secretary of state is required to promulgate rules establishing the minimum system requirements and specifications for a voting system to be used in an election using instant runoff voting by December 31, 2022. After December 31, 2022, a system that has been tested and satisfies the standards promulgated by the secretary of state may be submitted for certification for use in an election using instant runoff voting. If the secretary of state certifies a system, the secretary is required to negotiate and purchase, if possible, a single annual statewide license with the provider to allow each county that uses the voting system to conduct elections using instant runoff voting. Each county that uses a voting system to conduct an instant runoff voting election under a statewide license obtained by the secretary of state is required to pay its share of the cost of the license as a proportion of the total number of counties that used the system that year.On and after January 1, 2023, a statutory city or town or home rule municipality located in a single county that has taken formal action to conduct an election using instant runoff voting may refer the election to be conducted as part of a coordinated election by providing written notice to the county clerk and recorder. If the county uses a voting system that is certified for use in an election using instant runoff voting, the county clerk and recorder must conduct the election as part of the coordinated election. The municipality referring the election is responsible for any reasonable additional costs the county incurs as a result of conducting an instant runoff voting election, including any licensing costs paid by the county.On and after July 1, 2026, a municipality located in more than one county may refer an election using instant runoff voting to be conducted as part of a coordinated election by notifying the county clerk and recorder of each county. The counties are required to conduct the election using instant runoff voting only if each county receives timely notice, each county uses a voting system certified for such use, and the data from all the counties' voting systems can be tabulated together in accordance with rules promulgated by the secretary of state for conducting instant runoff elections across multiple counties. The counties and the municipality are required to enter into an agreement for the conduct of the election, which must specify the procedures for the county canvass boards to canvass the election. Each county canvass board is required to certify the abstract of votes cast and provide tabulation data to the designated election office for the municipality in accordance with rules adopted by the secretary of state.The secretary of state is required to promulgate rules related to instant runoff voting elections including the procedures for conducting logic and accuracy tests and risk limiting audits, and for the tabulation, reporting, and canvassing of results.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act continues the requirement that an opioid prescriber must adhere to the limitations on prescribing opioids.The act continues the funding for the medication-assisted treatment expansion pilot program for the 2020-21 fiscal year and each year thereafter.The act creates the regional health connector workforce program in the University of Colorado School of Medicine to educate health-care providers on evidence-based and evidence-informed therapies and techniques; provide support and assistance to primary care providers as a link between multiple services to improve community health; assist primary care practices and community agencies in connecting patients with mental health or substance use disorders to support and treatment options; educate health-care providers; and provide clear information to providers and community members about COVID-19.The act expands the Colorado State University AgrAbility project (project) by providing funding for the project's rural rehabilitation specialists to provide information, services, and research-based, stress-assistance information, education, suicide prevention training, and referrals to behavioral health-care services to farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their families to mitigate incidences of harmful responses to stress experienced by these individuals.The act continuously appropriates money to the harm reduction grant program.No later than July 1, 2023, the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) shall contract with one or more independent review organizations to conduct external reviews requested for review by a medicaid provider when there is a denial or reduction for residential or inpatient substance use disorder treatment and medicaid appeals have been exhausted.No later than October 1, 2021, HCPF shall consult with the office of behavioral health (OBH), residential treatment providers, and managed care entities (MCE) to develop standardized utilization management processes to determine medical necessity for residential and inpatient substance use disorder treatment, which processes must be incorporated into existing MCE contracts no later than January 1, 2022.No later than July 1, 2022, HCPF shall contract with an independent third-party vendor to audit 33% of all denials of authorization for inpatient and residential substance use disorder treatment for each MCE.The act requires the state medical assistance program (medicaid) to include screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders for the caregiver of each child enrolled in medicaid in accordance with the health resources and services administration guidelines. The screening must be made available to any caregiver, regardless of whether the caregiver is enrolled in medicaid, so long as the caregiver's child is enrolled in medicaid.No later than July 1, 2023, the Colorado department of human services (CDHS) shall develop a statewide data collection and information system to analyze implementation data and selected outcomes to identify areas for improvement, promote accountability, and provide insights to continually improve child and program outcomes.The act requires CDHS, in collaboration with the department of agriculture, to contract with a nonprofit organization primarily focused on serving agricultural and rural communities in Colorado to provide vouchers to individuals living in rural and frontier communities in need of behavioral health-care services.The act creates the county-based behavioral health grant program in OBH to provide matching grants to county departments of human or social services for the expansion or improvement of local or regional behavioral health disorder treatment programs. The grant program repeals July 1, 2023.The act creates the behavioral health-care workforce development program in OBH to increase the behavioral health-care workforce's ability to treat individuals, including youth, with severe behavioral health disorders.No later than August 1, 2021, CDHS shall develop a program to provide emergency resources to licensed providers to help remove barriers such providers face in serving children and youth whose behavioral or mental health needs require services and treatment in a residential child care facility.The act requires CDHS, in collaboration with HCPF, to develop a statewide care coordination infrastructure to drive accountability and more effective behavioral health navigation to care that builds upon and collaborates with existing care coordination services.The act requires the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies to engage in community engagement activities to address substance use prevention, harm reduction, criminal justice response, treatment, and recovery.The act continues the building substance use disorder treatment capacity in underserved communities grant program indefinitely.The act requires the perinatal substance use data linkage project to utilize data from multiple state-administered data sources when examining certain issues related to pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders and their infants.No later than January 1, 2022, OBH shall use a competitive selection process to select a recovery residence certifying body to certify recovery residences and educate and train recovery residence owners and staff on industry best practices.The act requires OBH to establish a program to provide temporary financial housing assistance to individuals with a substance use disorder who have no supportive housing options when the individual is transitioning out of a residential treatment setting and into recovery or receiving treatment for the individual's substance use disorder.The act creates the recovery support services grant program for the purpose of providing recovery-oriented services to individuals with a substance use disorder or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorder.The act removes the requirement that the office of ombudsman for behavioral health access to care (office) enter into a memorandum of understanding with CDHS and subjects the office to state personnel and fiscal rules.The act continues the appropriation to the maternal and child health pilot program indefinitely.The act continues the program to increase public awareness concerning the safe use, storage, and disposal of opioids and the availability of naloxone and other drugs used to block the effects of an opioid overdose.The act requires a correctional facility or private contract prison to offer a person in custody, upon release from the facility, at least 2 doses of an opioid reversal medication and education about the appropriate use of the medication.The act removes municipal, county, or fire program district fire stations from the definition of "safe station" as it relates to the disposal of controlled substances.The act requires the opioid and other substance use disorders study committee to meet in the 2022 interim rather than the 2021 interim.The act requires the university of Colorado school of medicine to provide practice consultation services and stipends to health-care providers who are eligible to provide medication for opioid use disorder.The act creates the behavioral and mental health cash fund which consists of $550 million the state received from the federal "American Rescue Plan Act". The act requires the executive committee of the legislative council to create a task force to meet during the 2021 interim and issue a report with recommendations to the general assembly and governor on policies to create transformational change in the area of behavioral health.The act appropriates additional one-time money to the Colorado health service corps fund from the money received from the federal "American Rescue Plan Act".The act adds services for families with behavioral health needs as an allowable use for the high-risk families cash fund.The act continues the harm reduction grant program and the maternal and child health pilot program indefinitely.The act appropriates state money and money received by the "American Rescue Plan Act" to various state departments for certain behavioral health-related programs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act states that, upon passage of the act, verification of lawful presence in the United States is not required for any purpose that lawful presence is not required by law, ordinance, or rule to receive benefits pursuant to a federal stimulus law or rule.Effective July 1, 2022, the act repeals current laws that require a person to demonstrate the person's lawful presence in the United States to be eligible for certain public benefits and states that lawful presence is not a requirement of eligibility for state or local public benefits, as defined by 8 U.S.C. sec. 1621.The act amends certain statutory provisions to clarify acceptable documents to demonstrate eligibility.Current law prohibits a state agency or political subdivision from entering into or renewing a public contract with a contractor who knowingly employs or contracts persons who are undocumented. The act repeals that requirement and associated statutory provisions.The act appropriates:$178,627 to the department of human services to implement the act. $47,768 is from the general fund and $130,859 is from the federal child care development funds; and $83,881 from the general fund to the department of revenue for use by the taxation business group to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the hospice and palliative care license plate for vehicles. A person is qualified to be issued the plate if the person makes a donation to a designated nonprofit organization. The person must also make an annual donation to the organization.In addition to the normal fees for a license plate, a person must pay 2 additional one-time fees for the issuance of the plate. One of these fees is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other fee is credited to the licensing services cash fund.To implement the act, $6,907 is appropriated to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review of and report on the state board of pharmacy (board) and its regulation of the practice of pharmacy and makes other modifications to the laws regulating the practice. Specifically:Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the board and its functions for 9 years, until 2030, and consolidate within the sunset review the board's functions regarding the regulation of therapeutic interchange and therapeutically equivalent selections and of collaborative pharmacy practice agreements; Sections 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, and 25 to 29 align the pharmacy practice act with the federal "Drug Quality and Security Act"; Section 3 also: Clarifies that an out-of-state pharmacy need not register with the board when distributing prescription drugs to in-state pharmacies under common ownership with the out-of-state pharmacy if the drugs remain in the original manufacturer's packaging and are not compounded and the transfer is necessary to address an inventory shortage; Includes in the definition of "other outlet" a community mental health clinic, a behavioral health entity, and an approved treatment facility, thereby allowing those facilities to register with the board and operate as a pharmacy outlet; Repeals the term "pharmaceutical care" and replaces it with "pharmacist care services" to reflect the services pharmacists provide in addition to compounding and dispensing drugs; Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacy technician, such as documenting medical history and replenishing automated dispensing devices; and Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacist, such as prescribing certain drugs for limited conditions, ordering and evaluating laboratory tests, and performing limited physical assessments; Section 4 specifies that, of the pharmacist members of the board, one must be practicing in a hospital setting, one must be practicing in a chain pharmacy, and one must be practicing in an independent pharmacy; Section 5 repeals the requirement that the board justify its reasons for deviating from a recommendation from the veterinary pharmaceutical advisory committee; Sections 5, 6, 21 to 25, and 35 make technical amendments to the pharmacy practice act, such as eliminating references to "diversion" in the peer health assistance program and correcting erroneous references to wholesalers as "licensed" rather than "registered"; Section 6 grants the board authority, after conducting a risk-based assessment, to inspect out-of-state pharmacies, out-of-state wholesalers, and nonresident 503B outsourcing facilities and requires the board to send quarterly electronic newsletters to pharmacists regarding updates in the law that affect the practice; Sections 7, 16, and 32 to 34 require pharmacists and pharmacies, as well as insurance companies that underwrite professional liability insurance for pharmacists and pharmacies, to report malpractice settlements and judgments to the board; Section 8 specifies tasks that a pharmacist may delegate to ancillary pharmacy personnel under the pharmacist's supervision; Section 10 increases the amount of medication that may be dispensed to an emergency room patient from a 24-hour supply to a 72-hour supply and allows a hospital to dispense a prescription drug to a hospitalized patient who leaves the hospital on a day pass; Sections 3, 12, and 31 authorize pharmacists to prescribe opiate antagonists; Sections 3 and 13 repeal the requirement that the label on an anabolic steroid prescription indicate the purpose for which the prescription was written; Section 14 authorizes a pharmacist, under specified circumstances, to substitute a drug in the same therapeutic class as the prescribed drug; Section 15 authorizes pharmacists to make specified types of minor adaptions to prescriptions; Section 16 specifies that a licensee, certificant, or registrant may be disciplined for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol, habit-forming drugs, or controlled substances, but not for having a substance use disorder; Section 17 eliminates the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail; Section 19 requires the board to allow electronic storage of pharmacy records; Section 20 requires a pharmacist, with certain exceptions, to provide patient counseling in new medication therapy and authorizes a pharmacist, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, to provide patient counseling for any other prescription; and Section 30 increases from 3 to 6 the number of pharmacy technicians or other pharmacy staff that a pharmacist may designate to access, on behalf of a pharmacist supervising the pharmacy technician or other pharmacy staff, the prescription drug monitoring program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act increases and clarifies domestic violence training requirements (training) for court personnel (personnel) who are regularly involved in cases related to domestic matters, including child and family investigators, parenting responsibility evaluators, and legal representatives of children.Training for all personnel must include both an initial training requirement as well as an ongoing annual continuing education requirement as follows:Six initial hours of training on domestic violence, including coercive control, and its traumatic effects on children, adults, and families; Six initial hours of training on child abuse and child sexual abuse and its traumatic effects; and Four subsequent hours of training every two years on domestic violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse and the traumatic effects on children, adults, and families. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $86,680 to the judicial department from the general fund for general courts administration and $6,200 for capital outlay.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The federal government enacted the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (federal act) to provide support to state, local, and tribal governments in responding to the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency and to assist them in their efforts to contain the effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency on their communities, residents, and businesses.As part of the federal act, the state will receive $3,828,761,790 from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund to be used for specific purposes identified in the federal act. This act allocates a total of $15 million to be appropriated for victim's services programs and purposes related to populations that have been disproportionately negatively affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency, including those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, and violence generally. The money will be appropriated from the economic recovery and relief cash fund using money from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund. All money appropriated through this act must conform with the eligible uses set forth in the federal act.This act appropriates money to the following entities:The forensic nurse examiner telehealth program; The state and local victims and witnesses assistance and law enforcement funds; The state crime victims compensation program; The address confidentiality program fund; and The Colorado domestic abuse program fund for the funding of domestic violence programs. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, the act appropriates from the economic recovery and relief cash fund and of money the state receives from the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund:$3,000,000 to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice. for the forensic nurse examiners telehealth program; $1,500,000 to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for the state victim compensation program; $3,000,000 to the victims and witnesses assistance and law enforcement fund. The judicial department is responsible for the accounting related to this appropriation; $1,500,000 to the victims assistance and law enforcement fund. The department of public safety is responsible for the accounting related to this appropriation. $500,000 to the address confidentiality program fund. The department of personnel is responsible for the accounting related to this appropriation. $4,750,000 to the Colorado domestic abuse program fund. The department of human services is responsible for the accounting related to this appropriation. $750,000 to the judicial department for use by courts administration for family violence justice grants. The act also appropriates, from reappropriated funds in the victims assistance and law enforcement fund, $1,500,000 to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for the state victims assistance and law enforcement program. The act also appropriates, from reappropriated funds in the Colorado domestic abuse program fund, $4,750,000 to the department of human services for use by the office of self sufficiency for the domestic abuse program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Senate Bill 20-222, enacted in 2020, created a grant program financed through the federal "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act" to support small businesses suffering from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and related public health restrictions.The act appropriates $15 million from the general fund to continue the grant program until the end of the 2021-22 state fiscal year, modifies the criteria pursuant to which grants are awarded, adds certain preferences for awarding grants, and establishes limits on the amount of a grant to an individual small business.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the Colorado soil health program in the department of agriculture (department), which includes programs to encourage widespread adoption of soil health practices. An entity's participation in the soil health program is voluntary. The department, commissioner of agriculture (commissioner), and state agricultural commission will administer the soil health program.The department shall, if financial resources are available, establish the following:A grant program; A system for monitoring the agricultural, environmental, or economic benefits of soil health practices; A state soil health inventory and platform; A soil health testing program; and Other programs the department deems appropriate or necessary. Before establishing a program, the department must provide public notice and afford the public an opportunity to submit written comments.The department may also:Seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public and private sources; Provide grants, loans, and other resources to eligible entities to perform soil health activities; and Cooperate and collaborate with other people. The act also creates a soil health advisory committee (advisory committee). The commissioner is required to appoint members who:To the greatest extent possible, represent the different geographic areas, political diversity, and demographic diversity of the state; and Include agricultural producers of diverse production systems, a representative of an Indian tribe, conservation district board members, and water users. The state conservation board appoints 2 members to the advisory committee.The advisory committee will make recommendations to the department and assist in the development of the soil health program. The advisory committee is also authorized to solicit input, review proposals and agreements, and evaluate the soil health program. The advisory committee approves grants.The department shall maintain the confidentiality of information related to private lands that identify landowners, land managers, agricultural producers, or lands.No later than January 31 of each year, the department shall prepare and make available to the public a report of its activities on its official website. The department shall annually report each gift, grant, or donation in its budget request for the state fiscal year to the joint budget committee and at the hearing required by the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act".For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $4,464 is appropriated to the department for use by the agricultural services division.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under Colorado law, an insurer who has declared a vehicle a total loss may obtain a salvage or nonrepairable title for the vehicle when the owner has failed to cooperate. The act authorizes an agent of an insurer to do the same.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)