The act creates the Colorado affordable health care coverage easy enrollment program (program) for the purpose of leveraging the tax filing process to connect uninsured Coloradans to free or subsidized health care coverage through a health care coverage affordability program, which includes medicaid, the children's basic health plan, or a subsidized health benefit plan, or other creditable coverage. The program will allow Coloradans to request on their state income tax returns that the Colorado health benefit exchange (exchange) assess whether uninsured household members are potentially eligible for free or subsidized health care coverage. If the tax filer requests that the eligibility of uninsured household members be assessed under the program, the tax filer will receive information about coverage options and assistance with enrollment. The act creates the affordable health care coverage easy enrollment advisory committee (advisory committee) to guide implementation of the program. The advisory committee is co-chaired by the executive director of the exchange and the executive director of the department of revenue (department), or their designees, and consists of the following 9 members, appointed by the board of directors of the exchange: A representative of the department of health care policy and financing; A representative of the division of insurance in the department of regulatory agencies; A representative of consumer advocacy groups; A representative of small employers; A representative of insurers; A health care consumer; A health coverage guide or other person with expertise in the process of applying for federal insurance or assistance; An insurance producer; and A tax preparer. If the exchange verifies that the uninsured individual is a United States citizen, the exchange, through procedures determined by the advisory committee, will assess whether uninsured individuals identified through the program are potentially eligible for a health care coverage affordability program or other creditable coverage, notify uninsured individuals about their potential eligibility, and enroll or assist with enrolling uninsured individuals in creditable coverage. The department is required to implement the tax forms and schedules created by the advisory committee and to share the tax information gathered, as authorized by individual tax filers, with the exchange. The executive director of the department is required to promulgate rules to implement the new tax forms and schedules and to implement the authorized sharing of the tax information provided on the state individual income tax return forms for the purpose of enrolling uninsured individuals in a health care coverage affordability program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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Subject to federal authorization and funding, the act authorizes working adults with disabilities who are 65 years of age or older to continue participating in the existing medicaid buy-in program (program). The act directs the department of health care policy and financing (department) to seek federal authorization to expand the program to include individuals in the work incentives eligibility group, which is defined, to match federal eligibility criteria, as individuals who are age 65 years or older with a disability who, except for assets or income, would be eligible for the supplemental security income program. The department shall submit necessary state plan amendments to implement the program and must implement the program by July 1, 2022. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the act appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the department, with $50,000 anticipated in federal funds. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the regulation of naturopathic doctors as follows: Continues the regulation of naturopathic doctors by the department of regulatory agencies for 9 years, until September 1, 2029; and Provides immunity from liability for the director of the division of professions and occupations (director), division staff, consultants, and complainants in any civil action brought against the individual for acts occurring while the individual is acting in the individual's capacity as director, board member, staff, consultant, or witness, respectively. The act also: Requires that of the 3 doctors of medicine or osteopathy who serve on the naturopathic medicine advisory committee (committee), one must be a pediatrician and one must be a member of a statewide multispecialty medical society; Requires the committee to meet at least once each year and tasks the committee with reviewing the naturopathic doctor formulary, making recommendations to the director on additions to the formulary, and discussing issues of importance to naturopathic doctors and their patients; Allows the director to make additions to the naturopathic formulary; and Prohibits a person who is not registered as a naturopathic doctor from using any title that implies the person is registered or licensed as a naturopathic doctor.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a legislative declaration stating the intended purpose of a new tax expenditure or the intended purpose for extending an expiring tax expenditure. The act expands that law by: Requiring a statutory legislative declaration, not nonstatutory; Requiring any bill that creates a new tax expenditure to include a repeal of the expenditure after a specified period of tax years and any bill that extends an expiring tax expenditure to extend the expenditure for a specified period of tax years; and Requiring the statement of the intended purpose to be a part of a tax preference performance statement, which includes: The classification of the type of the tax expenditure; and Detailed information regarding the legislative purpose of the tax expenditure, which, at minimum, includes clear, relevant, and ascertainable metrics and data requirements that allow the tax expenditure to be measured for effectiveness in achieving the intended purpose.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Continues the sales and use tax simplification task force for 6 years; Specifies that the task force will not meet during the 2020 interim; Includes a process for selecting a chair and vice-chair of the task force; Modifies the task force's duties; Requires the joint technology committee to seek regular updates from the office of information technology (OIT) and the department of revenue (DOR) regarding the development of the electronic sales and use tax simplification (SUTS) system, to monitor and encourage participation by businesses and home rule municipalities in the SUTS system, and to seek regular updates from OIT and DOR regarding the purchase and development of a geographic information system (GIS) database; and Removes the requirement that the task force undergo an evaluation by the department of regulatory agencies prior to the task force's repeal.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on home warranty service contracts by continuing the statutes governing the contracts for 6 years, until 2026, and clarifying that home warranty service contracts are not insurance. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act: Repeals obsolete provisions that allow an income tax credit for contributions to enterprise zone administrators to implement economic development plans; Moves certain cross references that are incorrectly placed in the section that allows for an investment tax credit in enterprise zones; and Fixes an incorrect cross reference in the section that allows a credit for new enterprise zone business employees.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Property tax in Colorado is generally equal to the actual value of property multiplied by an assessment rate, and the resulting assessed value is multiplied by each applicable local government's mill levy. The assessment rate for residential real property is established by the general assembly in accordance with a provision of the state constitution that is commonly known as the "Gallagher Amendment" and is limited by section 20 of article X of the state constitution (TABOR). Under the Gallagher Amendment, there are 2 relevant classes of property for the purposes of determining the residential assessment rate: residential property and nonresidential property. The assessment rate for most nonresidential property is fixed in the state constitution at 29%. The residential assessment rate was initially set at 21%, but the rate has been adjusted prior to each 2-year reassessment cycle to keep the percentage of aggregate statewide assessed value attributable to residential property the same as it was in the year immediately preceding the new reassessment cycle. Currently, the residential assessment rate is 7.15%. The concurrent resolution repeals the Gallagher Amendment so that the general assembly will no longer be required to establish the residential assessment rate based on the formula expressed in the Gallagher Amendment. The resolution also repeals the reference to the residential rate of 21%, which last applied in 1986 prior to the first adjustment required by the Gallagher Amendment. Finally, the resolution repeals the 29% assessment rate that applies for all nonresidential property, excluding producing mines and lands or leaseholds producing oil or gas. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as adopted.)
The bill requires the department of education in conjunction with school district boards of education to recommend to the state board of education (state board) policies and procedures for students to open enroll in schools of the school district or programs within the students' school districts and to open enroll in schools and programs of other school districts. The policies and procedures must include, in part, the length of and start and end dates for the application process, the dates by which school districts shall notify students of acceptance into a program or school, and the variability allowed in application format. Based on the recommendations, the state board shall promulgate rules relating to the open enrollment process that are applicable, if possible, to the open enrollment process for the 2021-22 school year. (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.)