Sen. Leroy M. Garcia, Jr.

The division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety is currently authorized to use money in the local firefighter safety and disease prevention fund to provide grants for equipment and training to increase firefighter safety and prevent occupation-related diseases. The bill transfers $250,000 from the general fund to be used for these purposes. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill creates the school access for emergency response grant program (grant program) in the division of homeland security and emergency management (division) in the department of public safety (department). The purpose of the grant program is to provide funding for interoperable communication hardware, software, equipment maintenance, and training to allow for seamless communications between existing school communications systems and first responder communications systems. Grant recipients may use the money received through the grant program to deliver training programs to teach effective communications with first responders in an emergency, to implement an interoperable technology solution to provide or upgrade a system for effective communication with first responders in an emergency, to maintain, improve, or provide interoperable communications hardware or software, and for any necessary radio system capacity expansions where school loading has been determined to have a significant impact on public safety system loading. The division, in consultation with the grant selection committee created in the bill, is required to implement the grant program and, subject to available appropriations, award grants to be paid from the grant program fund. The director of the division is required to promulgate rules necessary to implement the grant program. The grant selection committee is created to work with the director of the division to determine whether a grant applicant satisfies the criteria to receive a grant. To be eligible to receive a grant, a school district, school, charter school of the district, institute charter school, or state charter school institute must have a memorandum of understanding with its regional public safety 911 answering point or the local law enforcement agency that serves the school for communications interoperability and must submit an application, including specified information, to the division. The grant selection committee is required to review the applications received and consider certain criteria in awarding the grants. Each grant recipient is required to submit a report to the division and the department is required to provide an annual update to the general assembly regarding the grant program. The bill creates the grant program cash fund in the state treasury, which consists of a specified amount of money that the state treasurer transfers to the fund for each of the next 6 fiscal years. The bill also makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

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The bill requires the division of criminal justice to provide human trafficking training to law enforcement agencies and entities that provide services to human trafficking victims. The training may include: Train-the-trainer programs; Direct trainings; and Online training programs. The training may be provided to law enforcement agencies, organizations that provide direct services to human trafficking victims, school personnel and parents or guardians of students, and any other organization, agency, or group that would benefit from such training. The training must be developed in consultation with the Colorado human trafficking council. When considering requests for training, the division should give priority to requests from areas of the state that have limited access to training resources. Beginning in 2019, the council's annual human trafficking report must include an update on the training provided. The bill requires the school safety resource center to include awareness and prevention of human trafficking in the materials and training that it provides. The bill appropriates $69,922 and 0.8 FTE to the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety from the general fund to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

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Section 2 of the bill prohibits a person from serving on the public utilities commission if, on or after July 1, 2018, he or she has or acquires any official relation to, or financial interest in, a regulated utility. Section 3 encourages the director of the commission to assign employees to temporary training and development sessions with other state agencies, particularly those with which the commission has frequent interaction, to improve the employees' substantive expertise and familiarity with the operations of those agencies. Section 3 also requires the director to keep written and audio records of the commission's proceedings and make them publicly available online. In addition, section 3 expressly authorizes the executive director of the department of regulatory agencies (of which the commission is a part) to request that the state auditor conduct performance audits of the commission and its staff and operations. Section 4 directs the commission to adopt rules concerning: Policies under which commissioners should recuse themselves from certain proceedings; Conflicts of interest; Activities and relationships that the commission deems incompatible with its policies concerning conflicts of interest; and Ex parte communications. Section 1 makes conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill extends the scheduled termination on July 1, 2024, of the state lottery division (division) in the department of revenue to July 1, 2049. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill creates a new article 7.4 in title 23, Colorado Revised Statutes, with the article heading "Military Members, Veterans, and Dependents", in order to locate physically within the same article, whenever practicable, higher education provisions relating to the military. Part 1 of article 7.4 includes general provisions, including cross references to provisions relating to the military in other articles of title 23. Part 2 of article 7.4 includes relocated provisions from article 7 of title 23 relating to in-state tuition classification relating to the military. Part 3 of article 7.4 includes a relocated provision relating to financial assistance for Colorado National Guardsmen and a cross reference to financial assistance programs in another article of title 23. The bill repeals the provisions that have been relocated to article 7.4 of title 23. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Current law allows licensed mental health care professionals and level III certified addiction counselors who have documented that they have undergone auricular acudetox training to perform auricular acudetox. The bill allows registered psychotherapists who have documented that they have undergone the same training requirements to also perform auricular acudetox. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More