The act permits the university of northern Colorado (UNC) to offer specialized degree programs in osteopathic medicine. The act creates an exception to the university of Colorado health sciences center campus' exclusive authority in medicine for UNC's osteopathic medicine degree program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the educator pay raise fund (fund), which consists of money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The creation of the fund is conditioned on passage of a ballot measure by November 2027 that increases state tax revenue and requires the revenue to be deposited into the fund. The department of education (department) must distribute any money appropriated from the fund to assist school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative services in increasing teacher salaries and the hourly wage paid to other employees.The act creates the educator pay raise fund task force (task force) to recommend a process by which the department will disburse money from the fund to school districts and charter schools. The act specifies considerations that the process must address, including requiring that a school district or charter school must at least maintain the level of funding it provides for educator salaries and wages from revenue other than money received from the fund. The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives must appoint the task force members who represent specific constituencies listed in the act. The task force must submit its recommendations to the education committees of the general assembly by January 15, 2022.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the health-care services reserve corps task force (task force) in the department of public health and environment. The purpose of the task force is to evaluate and make recommendations on the creation of a health-care services reserve corps program (program), in which medical professionals could cross-train to be able to serve the state in an emergency or disaster and receive a benefit for their service.The task force consists of at least 10 and no more than 11 members. The task force is required to consider and make findings and recommendations on issues including:The types of medical professionals who could participate in a health-care services reserve corps program, including how to ensure an appropriate cross section of providers; The types of emergencies and disasters for which the program could prepare and provide assistance, and whether the program could be deployed out of state; Any legal or regulatory obstacles to creating such a program; Liability protections for professionals and facilities participating in the program; Whether the program could be streamlined or integrated with existing programs or procedures; The types and hours of training that would be required; How to ensure the program and cross-training are accessible to rural medical professionals; The costs associated with the program; Issues related to insurance coverage and reimbursement; Consumer protections for patients being treated by the program; How the health-care services reserve corps would be deployed; and The type of benefit that could be offered and the amount, terms of, and funding for the benefit that participants would receive. The task force is required to consult with medical and nursing schools in making recommendations related to the cross-training elements of the program and with additional stakeholders as necessary to address additional questions, including disaster response experts, affected state agencies, and entities with experience in medical malpractice insurance. The task force is authorized to consult with additional stakeholders with expertise in identifying the physical and mental health needs of Coloradans or in coordinating emergency response at the local, state, or federal level to identify additional questions for future consideration by the program. The task force is authorized to contract with an outside consultant to assist the task force in completing its work.The task force is required to submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the house public health care and human services committee and the senate health and human services committee by December 1, 2023. The task force is required to meet at least once every 2 months. Task force members serve without compensation and are not eligible for reimbursement for expenses. The act is repealed effective September 1, 2024.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, local governments are prohibited from requiring or banning the use or sale of specific types of plastic materials or products. The act repeals the prohibition on July 1, 2024.The act prohibits stores and retail food establishments, on and after January 1, 2024, from providing single-use plastic carryout bags to customers; except that retail food establishments that are restaurants and small stores that operate solely in Colorado and have 3 or fewer locations may provide single-use plastic carryout bags. The prohibition does not apply to inventory purchased before January 1, 2024, and used on or before June 1, 2024, which may be supplied to a customer at the point of sale for a 10-cent or greater fee.Between January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, a store may furnish a recycled paper carryout bag or a single-use plastic carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale if the customer pays a fee of 10 cents per bag or a higher fee adopted by the municipality or county in which the store is located.On and after January 1, 2024, a store may furnish only a recycled paper carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale at a fee of 10 cents per bag or a higher fee imposed by the municipality or county in which the store is located.A store is required to remit, on a quarterly basis beginning April 1, 2024, 60% of the carryout bag fee revenues to the municipality or county within which the store is located and may retain the remaining 40% of the carryout bag fee revenues. A municipality or county may use its portion of the carryout bag fee revenues to pay for its administrative and enforcement costs and any recycling, composting, or other waste diversion programs or related outreach or education activities.The carryout bag fee does not apply to a customer that provides evidence to the store that the customer is a participant in a federal or state food assistance program.The act prohibits a retail food establishment, on and after January 1, 2024, from distributing an expanded polystyrene product for use as a container for ready-to-eat food in this state. Retail food establishments that purchase expanded polystyrene products before January 1, 2024, may continue to use the products until their supply is depleted.The act also authorizes a local government to enforce against a violation of the act and expressly authorizes a county to impose a civil penalty against a store or retail food establishment of up to $500 for a second violation or up to $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation; except that a local government cannot enforce a violation committed by a retail food establishment located within a school.On and after July 1, 2024, a local government may enact, implement, or enforce an ordinance, resolution, rule, or charter provision that is as stringent as or more stringent than the requirements set forth in the act.The act does not apply to materials used in the packaging of pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, or dietary supplements or any equipment or materials used to manufacture pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, or dietary supplements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the front range passenger rail district (district) for the purpose of planning, designing, developing, financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining an interconnected passenger rail system (system) along the front range. The district is specifically required to work collaboratively with the regional transportation district (RTD) to ensure interconnectivity with any passenger rail system operated by or for the RTD and with Amtrak on interconnectivity with Amtrak's Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, and Winter Park Express trains, including but not limited to rerouting of the Amtrak Southwest Chief passenger train. The district must also coordinate with the department of transportation (CDOT) to ensure that any system is well-integrated into the state's multimodal transportation system and does not impair the efficiency or safety of or otherwise adversely affect existing transportation infrastructure or operations. If deemed appropriate by the board of directors of the district and by the board of directors of RTD, the district may share with RTD capital costs associated with shared use of rail line infrastructure in the northwest rail line corridor for passenger train service.The area that comprises the district extends from Wyoming to New Mexico and includes:The entirety of the city and county of Broomfield and the city and county of Denver; All areas within Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Huerfano, Jefferson, Larimer, Las Animas, Pueblo, and Weld counties that are located within the territory of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO); All areas within Huerfano, Las Animas, and Pueblo counties that are not located within the territory of a MPO and are located within a county precinct that is located wholly or partly within 5 miles of the public right-of-way of interstate highway 25; and All areas within Larimer and Weld counties that are not located within the territory of a MPO and are located within a county precinct that is north of the city of Fort Collins and is located wholly or partly within 5 miles of the public right-of-way of interstate highway 25. The district is governed by a board of directors composed of:10 appointees of transportation planning organizations that have jurisdiction within the territory of the district as follows: 4 appointees appointed by each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) that represents more than 1,500,000 residents in the district; except that any city and county or municipality that has 55% or more of the MPO's territory shall appoint one of the 4 directors that would otherwise be appointed by the MPO; 2 appointees from each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) that represents more than 500,000 but fewer than 1,000,000 residents in the district; except that any city and county or municipality that has 55% or more of the MPO's territory shall appoint one of the 2 directors that would otherwise be appointed by the MPO; One appointee appointed by the Pueblo area council of governments; and One appointee appointed by the south central council of governments. 6 appointees appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the senate who must collectively have professional experience or expertise in specified areas; One appointee appointed by the executive director of CDOT; One nonvoting representative of RTD; One nonvoting representative appointed by the I-70 mountain corridor coalition, or any successor entity to the coalition; and If the respective governors and chief executive officers choose to make appointments, nonvoting representatives of the BNSF Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad, Amtrak, and communities in Wyoming and New Mexico. In addition to the professional experience or expertise requirements, at least one of the directors appointed by the governor must be a resident of a county, city and county, or municipality through which light or commuter rail was planned as part of RTD's voter-approved Fastracks program. Each director appointed by a transportation planning organization must be or have been a member of the board of directors of the appointing authority and must represent or have represented a member jurisdiction of the appointing authority that is wholly or partly included within the district. The board must be fully appointed by April 1, 2022, with an earlier appointment deadline for some appointees. The board must convene for its initial meeting not later than May 15, 2022. The existing southwest chief and front range passenger rail commission is terminated, effective July 1, 2022, and any remaining commission funds are transferred to the district no later than July 1, 2022.The district is authorized to exercise the powers necessary to plan, design, develop, finance, construct, operate, and maintain the system including but not limited to:The power, subject to the approval of the voters of the district and other specified limitations, to levy a sales and use tax, to exercise specified taxing authority common to special districts within the district, and to issue bonds. Before submitting a ballot question to establish any district tax, the district must publish a proposed services development plan, an operating plan, and a detailed financing plan, certify that it has made every reasonable effort to secure federal funding for the system, and approve the submission of the question by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all voting directors of the board. The power, subject to the approval of the owners of property within a 2-mile radius of any existing or proposed passenger rail station, to create a station area improvement district with the authority to levy additional sales and use tax, special assessments on real property, or both, to cover the costs of construction, operation, and maintenance of the station; The power to enter into public-private partnerships; and The power to employ its own personnel or contract with public or private entities, or both, for the operation and maintenance of the system. The district must publish and present a comprehensive annual report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over transportation and each transportation planning organization that appoints directors to the district board. If the district levies a tax, the state auditor must conduct a biennial district-funded audit of the district.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the fifth-day academic enrichment and support grant program (program) to award grants on a 3-year cycle to one or more eligible community-based nonprofit organizations (organizations) and to eligible rural school districts to provide supplemental enrichment programming to preschool through high school-aged children on the fifth day of the week for children in schools that have a 4-day school week.To be eligible for a grant, organizations must, in part, have experience providing before- and after-school programs, serve a majority of children from low-income families, and serve students who attend a school district that operates on a 4-day week. To be eligible for a grant, a rural school district must be rural, as determined by the department of education (department), have no eligible organization operating within the rural school district's boundaries, and serve a majority of children from low-income families.The state board of education (state board) awards program grants in a 3-year grant cycle, with an initial grant and automatic renewal of the grant for 2 years as set forth in the act. The amount of the initial and renewal grants is determined by the state board based on the number of children served in the program and other criteria specified in the act. The state board shall promulgate rules to establish the program, including the application process and deadlines.Grants must be used for one or more of the purposes specified in the act, including to provide supplemental educational programming to support students' academic, social, and emotional development on the fifth day of a 4-day school week, to provide meals and transportation for students attending the program, and to acquire educational materials and necessary technology to provide supplemental educational programming. Grantees are required to report annually to the department on the use of the grant money, with the department reporting to certain committees of the general assembly.The act creates the fifth-day academic enrichment and support grant program fund for program grants, consisting of money appropriated or transferred to the fund by the general assembly. The department shall not implement or administer the program unless the general assembly appropriates sufficient money to the fund for the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the agricultural events relief program in the department of agriculture to provide COVID-19 relief payments to agricultural events organizations, and appropriates $2 million from the general fund for the program. In addition, the act appropriates:$5 million for the Colorado state fair and industrial exhibition; $25 million for aiding the national western stock show event in constructing the national western stock show's campus; and $3.5 million for the national western stock show.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
