Sen. Faith Winter

The bill creates in the department of public health and environment (department) the menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program (grant program) to provide awards to public schools or school districts in order to provide menstrual hygiene products at no expense to students. The state board of health is required to promulgate rules necessary for the implementation of the grant program. The department shall award grants subject to available appropriations, and may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits carriers from inducing, incentivizing, or otherwise requiring: A health care provider to collect any coinsurance, copayment, or deductible directly from a covered person or the covered person's responsible party; or A covered person to pay any coinsurance, copayment, or deductible directly to a health care provider. The carrier is required to collect any cost-sharing amounts owed by a covered person directly from the covered person in one consolidated bill. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill assesses an additional $30 fee on a person who commences a forcible entry and detainer action. The full amount of the fee is deposited into the eviction legal defense fund (fund). The bill makes the state court administrator's requirement to award grants from the fund subject to available appropriations. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Energy Legislation Review Interim Study Committee. The bill ensures that clean energy resources and energy storage systems used to store electricity are assessed for valuation for the purpose of property taxation in a similar manner to renewable energy facility property used to generate and deliver electricity.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Current law specifies that a person who commits criminal pollution of state waters that is committed: With criminal negligence or recklessly is subject to a maximum daily fine of $12,500; and Knowingly or intentionally is subject to a maximum daily fine of $25,000. Section 1 of the bill makes a: Criminally negligent or reckless violation a misdemeanor and increases the penalty to $25,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both; and Knowing or intentional violation a class 5 felony and increases the penalty to $50,000, imprisonment of up to 3 years, or both. Current law specifies that a person who knowingly makes any false representation in a required record or who knowingly renders inaccurate any required water quality monitoring device or method is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or both. Section 2 makes these violations a class 5 felony and specifies that if 2 separate offenses occur in 2 separate occurrences during a period of 2 years, the maximum fine and imprisonment for the second offense are double the default amounts.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill repeals an existing income tax credit available to taxpayers who make contributions to enterprise zone administrators to promote temporary, emergency, or transitional housing programs for the homeless and replaces that income tax credit with one that is available in the entire state that is modeled after the enterprise zone credit that is being repealed. Instead of having the enterprise zone administrators and the office of economic development manage the credit, the bill places that responsibility on the division of housing in the department of local affairs. The amount of the income tax credit remains the same for each contribution, except the new credit is capped at $750,000 in contributions to each project that the division approves and the new credit's availability is limited to 5 years.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Under the children's habilitation residential program, the bill authorizes the state board of medical services to adopt rules to implement changes proposed in a waiver amendment or renewal submitted to the federal department of health and human services so long as the rules are not effective until the effective date of the approval of the waiver amendment or renewal. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Each offender who is sentenced to the department of corrections is required to undergo a diagnostic examination and evaluation. The bill requires those diagnostic services to include screening for indicators of dyslexia. The bill requires the correctional education program to provide scientifically based or evidence-based reading instruction to offenders who may have dyslexia. The department of corrections is required to enter into an agreement with a literacy consultant to assist the implementation of the dyslexia screening and educational programs. The bill requires the department of human services to implement a dyslexia screening program for juveniles held in detention facilities and to administer scientifically based or evidence-based reading instruction to juveniles committed to the department who may have dyslexia. The department of human services is required to enter into an agreement with a literacy consultant to assist the implementation of the dyslexia screening and educational programs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill eliminates the ability for an exporter of fireworks licensee (exporter) to sell certain fireworks for transport in the purchaser's vehicle if the purchaser displays to the exporter a valid driver's license issued by a state other than Colorado and a valid vehicle registration showing the purchaser owns a vehicle in a state other than Colorado. The bill allows an exporter to sell certain fireworks for transport in the purchaser's vehicle if the purchaser displays to the exporter a valid driver's license issued by a jurisdiction other than Colorado and a valid wholesale or retail license number or resale license number regardless of the issuing state issued by a state or local authority located outside the state of Colorado. (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.)

Current law requires an individual or entity to notify the statewide notification association of all owners and operators of underground facilities of its intent to engage in excavation so that any underground facilities, such as water and sewer pipes, gas lines, and electric or cable lines, that the excavation might affect can be located and marked before excavation begins. Underground facilities are often located beneath county gravel and dirt roads, normally at a depth of at least 18 inches below the road surface. Counties maintain the profile and surface condition of such county roads and county road rights-of-way by engaging in routine and emergency maintenance activities that do not disturb more than 6 inches in depth. These maintenance activities currently trigger the excavation notification requirement, and the related requirement that the location of underground facilities be marked, even though they occur above the levels where underground facilities are located. To prevent such activities from triggering the excavation notification requirement, the bill specifies that "excavation" does not include routine or emergency maintenance of right-of-way on county-owned gravel or dirt roads performed by county employees that: Does not lower the existing grade or elevation of the road, shoulder, and ditches; and Does not disturb more than 6 inches in depth during maintenance operations.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)