The bill defines a "health-care cost-sharing arrangement" as a health care sharing ministry or medical cost-sharing community that collects money from its members on a regular basis, at levels established by the arrangement, for purposes of sharing, covering, or defraying the medical costs of its members. A health-care cost-sharing arrangement is required to: Report specified information to the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) regarding its operations, financial statements, membership, and medical bills submitted, paid, and denied in Colorado; Provide certain written disclosures to potential and renewing members, post the disclosures on its website, if the arrangement has a website, and include the disclosures in its marketing materials; Provide specified written statements about arrangement finances and guidelines about arrangement procedures to members; and Respond to requests for payment of medical expenses from members or health-care providers within a period specified by the commissioner by rule. An insurance broker that offers a health-care cost-sharing arrangement in this state is required to provide written or electronic disclosures about the product to prospective members before selling the arrangement to the person. The commissioner is authorized to: Adopt rules to implement the data reporting, disclosure, and response time requirements; Impose fines for failure to comply with the requirements and prohibitions specified in the bill; Issue an emergency, ex parte cease-and-desist order against a person the commissioner believes to be violating the bill if it appears to the commissioner that the alleged conduct is fraudulent, creates an immediate danger to public safety, or is causing or is reasonably expected to cause significant, imminent, and irreparable public injury; and Impose a civil penalty, order restitution, or both, against a person that violates an ex parte cease-and-desist order. A person is prohibited from making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued, or circulated any statement or publication that misrepresents the medical cost-sharing benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of any health-care cost-sharing arrangement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Sponsored bills
The act recreates, with amendments, the "Occupational Therapy Practice Act" (Act), which repealed September 1, 2020. Specifically, the act:Recreates and extends the Act for 9 years, until 2030; Modifies the legislative declaration and definitions related to the scope of practice of occupational therapy; Designates "occupational therapy consultant", "M.O.T.", "M.O.T./L.", "occupational therapy assistant", "O.T.A.", and "C.O.T.A." as protected titles and clarifies that individuals who legally practice temporarily as occupational therapists in Colorado may use protected titles; Reorders and amends certain provisions concerning examinations and applications for licensure by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants; and Adds certain prohibited behaviors as grounds for discipline.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer, on the effective date of the bill, $5 million from the general fund to the energy outreach Colorado low-income energy assistance fund (fund). The Colorado energy office administers the fund for use by Energy Outreach Colorado, which organization provides direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households. Energy Outreach Colorado must expend the money before June 30, 2021. On or before July 15, 2021, Energy Outreach Colorado is required to report to the Colorado energy office regarding the amount of the transferred money that was disbursed for direct bill payment assistance and the amount returned to the state. The Colorado energy office may audit Energy Outreach Colorado's financial transactions and accounts regarding the money received. (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 bill recreates, with amendments, the "Occupational Therapy Practice Act" (Act), which repealed September 1, 2020. Specifically, the bill: Recreates and extends the Act for 9 years, until 2030; Modifies the legislative declaration and definitions related to the scope of practice of occupational therapy; Designates "occupational therapy consultant", "M.O.T.", "M.O.T./L.", "occupational therapy assistant", "O.T.A.", and "C.O.T.A." as protected titles and clarifies that individuals who legally practice temporarily as occupational therapists in Colorado may use the protected titles; Reorders and amends certain provisions concerning examinations and applications for licensure by occupational therapists and OTAs; Adds certain prohibited behaviors as grounds for discipline; and Removes obsolete language.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act requires the state treasurer, on behalf of the state, to execute a lease-purchase agreement in an amount up to $65,500,000 plus reasonable and necessary costs to fund certain capital construction needs for state institutions of higher education that are continuations of previously funded projects as specified by the capital development committee. The capital development committee is required to post the list of specific projects and the cost of each project on its official website no later than August 15, 2020. The capital development committee is also required to specify in this list, in the event of any excess money as a result of the issuance, what any remainder money must be used for. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds discrimination based on source of income as a type of unfair housing practice. "Source of income" is defined to include any source of money paid directly, indirectly, or on behalf of a person, including income from any lawful profession or from any government or private assistance, grant, or loan program. A person is prohibited from refusing to rent, lease, show for rent or lease, or transmit an offer to rent or lease housing based on a person's source of income. In addition, a person cannot discriminate in the terms or conditions of a rental agreement against another person based on source of income, or based upon the person's participation in a 3rd-party contract required as a condition of receiving public housing assistance. A person cannot include in any advertisement for the rent or lease of housing any limitation or preference based on source of income, or to use representations related to a person's source of income to induce another person to rent or lease property. The restrictions do not apply to a landlord with 3 or fewer rental units. A landlord who owns 5 or fewer single family rental homes, and no more than 5 total rental units including any single family rental homes, is not required to accept federal housing choice vouchers for the single family homes. A landlord is not prohibited from checking the credit of prospective tenant. Checking the credit of a prospective tenant is not an unfair housing practice if the landlord checks the credit of every prospective tenant. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements, with amendments, the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) in its sunset review and report on the licensing of occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) by the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department. Specifically, the act: Continues the "Occupational Therapy Practice Act" for 10 years, until 2030; Modifies the legislative declaration and definitions related to the scope of practice of occupational therapy; Designates "occupational therapy consultant", "M.O.T.", "M.O.T./L.", "occupational therapy assistant", "O.T.A.", and "C.O.T.A." as protected titles and clarifies that individuals who legally practice temporarily as occupational therapists in Colorado may use protected titles; Reorders and amends certain provisions concerning examinations and applications for licensure by occupational therapists and OTAs; and Adds certain prohibited behaviors as grounds for discipline.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the department of public health and environment (department) is charged with making annual sanitary, sewerage, and health inspections of penal institutions. The act defines "penal institutions" and includes in that definition public and private facilities that house noncitizens for civil immigration proceedings. The act specifically authorizes unannounced follow-up inspections by the department. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the act directs the department to make the annual inspections of facilities that house noncitizens before January 1, 2021, and to submit a report to the governor and specified committees of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act refers a ballot issue to the voters at the November 2020 general election for the following tax changes: To increase the statutory per cigarette tax from 1 cent to 6.5 cents until July 1, 2024, then to 8 cents until July 1, 2027, and thereafter to 10 cents; To increase the statutory tobacco products tax from 20% of the manufacturer's list price (MLP) to 30% of MLP until July 1, 2024, then to 36% of MLP until July 1, 2027, and to 42% thereafter of MLP for tobacco products; To create a tax on nicotine products that is equal to 50% of MLP until July 1, 2024, then 56% of MLP until July 1, 2027, and thereafter 62% of MLP, which is the same tax as the total tax levied on most tobacco products, including the tax from Amendment 35, with the increase; To establish a tax rate for cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products that are modified risk tobacco products approved by the United States department of health and human services that is 50% of the statutory tax rate; To establish a minimum tax for tobacco products that are moist snuff; To expand the cigarette and tobacco products taxes to include delivery sales made by a seller outside of the state directly to a consumer; and To create an inventory tax on cigarettes that is imposed on all stamped cigarettes and unaffixed stamps in a wholesaler or wholesale subcontractor's possession or control at the time of a tax increase that takes place after January 1, 2022. If voters approve the ballot measure, then the state will have the authority to impose these taxes and the rest of the act will be effective. The act also establishes a minimum price for cigarettes that is equal to $7 for a pack and $70 for a carton until July 1, 2024, and $7.50 for a pack and $75 for a carton on and after July 1, 2024, and civil penalties imposed for any person who sells cigarettes for less than the minimum amount. A portion of the sales tax revenue that is estimated to be attributable to the minimum price requirement is transferred from the general fund to the newly created preschool programs cash fund, from which the general assembly may appropriate money to a designated department to be used for an array of preschool education purposes. The new nicotine products tax is modeled after the tobacco products tax. Nicotine products are products that contain nicotine and that are ingested into the body, which at this time is typically through vaping with an electronic cigarette. The excise tax is levied on the sale, use, consumption, handling, or distribution of all nicotine products in the state, and it is imposed on a distributor at the time the product is brought into the state, made here, or shipped or transported to retailers in the state, or the wholesaler or distributor makes a delivery sale. If a distributor fails to pay the tax, then any person or entity in possession of the nicotine products is liable for the tax. To be a distributor of nicotine products, a person must have a license. The license costs $10 per year and requires that the distributor must have a tax license and comply with all of the laws relating to the collection of the tax. Distributors are required to file electronic quarterly returns. Licensees are required to maintain certain records, and retailers are likewise required to maintain records about nicotine products they purchase from a licensed distributor. The department of revenue may share the names and addresses of persons who purchased nicotine products for resale with the department of public health and environment and county and district public health agencies. To account for the fully phased-in increased taxes per cigarette, the discount percentage on cigarette stamps that a cigarette wholesaler may retain for its collection costs is reduced from 4% to .4% and the similar discount for a tobacco products distributor is reduced from 3.33% to 1.6%. A nicotine products distributor will be permitted to retain 1.1% of the taxes collected. The revenue from the new nicotine products tax, the inventory tax, and the additional cigarette and tobacco products taxes is deposited in the old age pension fund and then credited to the general fund in accordance with the state constitution. The state treasurer is required to transfer an amount equal to the total new tax revenue from the general fund to the 2020 tax holding fund (holding fund). For fiscal years beginning prior to July 1, 2023, the bulk of the money in the holding fund will be transferred to the state education fund, and thereafter, to the preschool programs cash fund. In addition, the state treasurer is required to transfer varying amounts of money in different fiscal years from the holding fund to the following funds: The tobacco tax cash fund; The general fund; The housing development grant fund; The eviction legal defense fund; The newly created rural schools cash fund, which will in turn be distributed to small and large rural school districts based on funded pupil counts; and The tobacco education programs fund. The state auditor is required to annually conduct a financial audit of the use of the new tax revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)