Effective January 1, 2025, with respect to step-therapy protocols (protocols) for health insurance, section 1 of the act defines "serious mental illness" and prohibits the protocols from requiring a person to try more than one prescription drug prior to receiving coverage for the drug prescribed by the person's health-care provider. If certain conditions are met and attested to by the person's health-care provider, the carrier, private utilization review organization, or pharmacy benefit manager must cover the drug prescribed by the person's health-care provider without requiring compliance with protocols. Section 2 of the act defines "serious mental illness" for purposes of the "Colorado Medical Assistance Act" in the same manner as the term is defined for commercial health insurance. The act requires the medical services board to require a review for coverage of a new drug approved by the federal food and drug administration for a serious mental illness within 90 days after the drug is approved. The act appropriates $53,117 to the department of health care policy and financing (department) from the general fund for use by the executive director's office to implement the act, with the assumption that the department will receive an equal amount of federal funds to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
The act amends consumer protection law regarding ticket sales and resales for events, including adding and amending defined terms. The act allows an operator to restrict the resale of tickets to events that are initially offered as part of a charitable event for a charitable purpose. The act requires an operator, primary ticket seller, reseller, or ticket resale marketplace to refund a ticket to the purchaser in certain instances, such as when an event is cancelled. The act prohibits an operator, primary ticket seller, or rights holder from revoking tickets merely because those tickets have been resold through a reseller or ticket resale marketplace; however, an operator may still revoke or restrict tickets for a violation of venue policies, to protect the safety of patrons, or to address fraud or misconduct. The act specifies that a person engages in deceptive trade practices when, in the course of the person's business, vocation, or occupation, the person: Uses computer software or systems that run automated tasks to purchase tickets to events or to circumvent or disable ticket limitation and security measures; Displays trademarked, copyrighted, or substantially similar web designs, URLs, or other images and symbols without the consent of the trademark or copyright holder, operator, or rights holder; Sells a ticket to an event without disclosing the total cost of the ticket, including the cost of any service charge or other fees that must be paid, or displays service charges and fees less prominently than the total price of the ticket; Increases the price of a ticket once the ticket has been selected for purchase, with the exception of adding delivery fees; or Advertises, offers for sale, or contracts for the resale of a ticket unless the person has possession or constructive possession of the ticket and the person has an agreement with the rights holder. The act also specifies civil penalties that may be imposed for deceptive trade practices or violations of the consumer protection statute. VETOED by Governor June 6, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The "National Labor Relations Act" does not apply to federal, state, or local governments and the "Colorado Labor Peace Act" excludes governmental entities, with an exception for mass transportation systems, which means that these labor laws do not cover most public employees. The act grants certain public employees, including individuals employed by counties, municipalities, fire authorities, school districts, charter schools, public colleges and universities, library districts, special districts, public defender's offices, the university of Colorado hospital authority, the Denver health and hospital authority, the general assembly, and a board of cooperative services, the right to: Discuss or express views regarding public employee representation or workplace issues; Engage in protected, concerted activity for the purpose of mutual aid or protection; Fully participate in the political process while off duty and not in uniform, including speaking with members of the public employer's governing body on terms and conditions of employment and any matter of public concern and engaging in other political activities in the same manner as other citizens of Colorado without discrimination, intimidation, or retaliation; and Organize, form, join, or assist an employee organization or refrain from organizing, forming, joining, or assisting an employee organization. However, a public employer that has a nonpartisan role may limit the right of an employee to fully participate in the political process while off duty and not in uniform to the extent necessary to maintain the nonpartisan role of the employer. The act also prohibits certain public employers from discriminating against, coercing, intimidating, interfering with, or imposing reprisals against a public employee for engaging in any of the rights granted. The division of labor standards within the Colorado department of labor and employment (division) is charged with enforcing any alleged violation of these rights and is granted rule-making authority. A party may appeal the department's final decision to the Colorado court of appeals. The act requires the court of appeals to give deference to the final decision of the department. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $151,751 is appropriated to the department of labor and employment for use by the division and for the purchase of legal services as needed to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and portions of it take effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of corrections (department), by July 1, 2027, to implement policies and practices that conform to nationally recognized minimum standards concerning restraint and seclusion standards of inmates. The act requires the department to uniformly document restraint incidents. The act requires certain facilities to perform an evaluation of every individual at intake to assess the individual's risk of self-harm behaviors and whether the individual has previously been subjected to four-point restraints. The act prohibits the use of an involuntary medication on an individual, unless: The individual is determined to be dangerous to the individual's self or another person and the treatment is in the individual's medical interest; All less restrictive alternative interventions have been exhausted; and The involuntary medication is administered after exhaustion of procedural requirements, including majority approval by an involuntary medication committee comprised of medical professionals and the superintendent of the facility. The act requires the department to submit an annual report to the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives with data concerning the use of restraints and involuntary medication in the preceding calendar year, and present the findings at the department's annual "SMART Act" hearing. The act requires the department to include specific data concerning the placement of individuals in settings with heightened restrictions in its annual administrative segregation report. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $18,872 to the from the general fund, of which $12,000 is reappropriated to the office of information technology. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code" (code) by: Updating the renewal dates for entities required to be licensed under the code from January 31 of each year to July 1 of each year; Creating the consumer credit unit cash fund, into which all fees collected under the code on and after July 1, 2024, must be deposited; and Repealing the uniform consumer credit code cash fund and the collection agency cash fund and transferring the balances remaining in the funds to the consumer credit unit cash fund. The act amends language in the "Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" relating to the duty of the code administrator to maintain confidentiality to align with the code and the "Colorado Student Loan Equity Act". The act amends the "Colorado Student Loan Equity Act" by: Requiring licensed entities to include an annual report upon application for license renewal; Changing the term "private education loan" to "private education credit obligation" and updating corresponding terms accordingly; Defining the term "refinanced" and excluding student loans subject to refinancing from registration requirements; and Including a cosigner within the definition of "borrower". The act authorizes collection agencies, persons who provide debt-management services, and student loan servicers to allow their employees to work remotely. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits the state, counties, cities and counties, municipalities, school districts, and any of their departments, institutions, or agencies (public employers) from making it a condition of employment that an applicant for employment or current or past employee (employee) executes a contract or other form of agreement that prohibits, prevents, or otherwise restricts the employee from disclosing factual circumstances concerning the employee's employment with the public employer (nondisclosure agreement) unless the nondisclosure agreement is necessary to prevent disclosure of: The employee's identity, facts that might lead to the discovery of the employee's identity, or factual circumstances relating to the employment that reasonably implicate legitimate privacy interests held by the employee who is a party to the agreement if the employee elects to restrict such disclosure; Data, information, including personal identifying information, or matters that are required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations, the state constitution, state law, state regulations, state rules, or a court of law or as attorney-client privileged communications, privileged work product, communications related to a threatened or pending legal or administrative action, or materials related to personnel or regulatory investigations by the employer; Information bearing on the specialized details of security arrangements or investigations, including security arrangements for or investigations into elected officials or other individuals, physical infrastructure, or cybersecurity; Information derived from communications of the employer related to threatened or pending legal or administrative action; Discussions that occur in an executive session authorized by the "Colorado Open Meetings Law"; Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a current or prospective contractor, vendor, or grantee or as part of a public-private partnership or entity working with the state as part of an economic development activity; Trade secrets or information derived from trade secrets or proprietary information of the employer; Information and records not subject to disclosure under the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA); or Trade secrets owned by the employer. For a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Nonpublic and confidential labor relations positions and strategies; Attorney work product; Vendor lists and vendor preferences; State business-related information received from a third party that the third party has designated confidential; or Information and matters related to state active duty orders of national guard soldiers and airmen and personnel disputes subject to the jurisdiction of the United States department of defense; For a public employer that is a county, a city and county, a municipality, or a department, institution, or agency of a county, a city and county, or a municipality, a nondisclosure agreement is also allowed if it is necessary to prevent disclosure of: Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by an employer's current or prospective customer, contractor, lessee, lessor, business partner, or affiliate; or Trade secrets or other confidential or sensitive information provided to or made accessible to the employee by a purchaser or seller of property that is engaged in negotiations or under contract with the employer. The act specifies that any provision in any contract or agreement that amounts to a nondisclosure agreement is deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable against an employee of a public employer who is a party to the contract or agreement unless the provision is intended to prevent disclosure of any information or matters for which an exception to the general prohibition against nondisclosure agreements for the public employer applies. The act prohibits a public employer from taking any materially adverse employment-related action, including withdrawal of an offer of employment, discharge, suspension, demotion, or discrimination in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, against an employee on the grounds that the employee does not enter into a contract or agreement deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act. The act also states that the taking of a materially adverse employment-related action after an employee has refused to enter into such a contract or agreement is prima facie evidence of retaliation and that any public employer that enforces or attempts to enforce a contract or agreement provision deemed by a court to be against public policy and unenforceable under the act is liable for the employee's reasonable attorney fees and costs in defending against the action. The act requires an action to enforce a provision of the act to be brought in the district court for the district in which the employee is primarily employed. A settlement agreement between an employer that is subject to the act and an employee of the employer must be signed by both the employer and the employee. A nondisclosure agreement must not prohibit the release of information required to be released under CORA. In addition, a nondisclosure agreement executed by a public employer that is the state or a department, institution, or agency of the state and an employee must state that state employees are protected from retaliation for disclosure of information about state agencies that are working outside the public interest. A public employer may require an employee to enter into a nondisclosure agreement with a third party in the employee's official capacity and on behalf of the employer. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes the administrator of the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code" to adopt rules regarding deferral charges for certain consumer credit transactions that are secured by the consumer's potential proceeds from a settlement or judgment obtained in the consumer's associated legal claim. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law prohibits a licensed retail marijuana store from selling retail marijuana or retail marijuana products over the internet or through delivery. The act allows a licensed retail marijuana store to accept payment online for the sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products. An individual must be physically present on the retail marijuana store's licensed premises to take possession of the purchased retail marijuana or retail marijuana product. The retail marijuana store must verify that the individual who takes possession of the marijuana is at least 21 years of age and is the same individual who made the online payment and ensure that an individual purchasing retail marijuana or retail marijuana products online is provided with digital versions of all warnings or educational materials that the retail marijuana store is required to post and provide on its licensed premises. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
To improve the clarity and certainty of the statutes, the bill amends, repeals, and reconstructs various statutory provisions of law that are obsolete, imperfect, or inoperative. The specific reasons for each amendment or repeal are set forth in the appendix to the bill. The amendments made by the bill are not intended to change the meaning or intent of the statutes, as amended. APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. Section 97 takes effect only if House Bill 23-1225 becomes law and takes effect on the effective date of this act or House Bill 23-1225, whichever is later. House Bill 23-1225 took effect May 10, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the state department of human services (state department) to contract with an independent third party to conduct a feasibility study to determine the feasibility of creating a system to support individuals with serious mental illness through a collaboration between Colorado's behavioral health and judicial systems. The act requires the state department to work with the behavioral health administration, department of local affairs, department of public safety, department of health care policy and financing, judicial department, and other state agencies to determine the eligibility requirements and application process for selecting the independent third party. The act requires the state department to submit a report detailing the findings and recommendations from the feasibility study to the general assembly, the governor's office, and impacted state agencies by March 1, 2024. The act appropriates $300,000 to the state department in state fiscal year 2023-24 for purposes of conducting the feasibility study. The appropriation consists of $160,000 from the general fund and $140,000 from the behavioral and mental health cash fund. APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 30, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)