Sen. Angela Williams

The total tax on tobacco products is 40% of the manufacturer's list price, which is based on a manufacturer's or supplier's invoice price to a distributor. The bill permits a distributor to use the price that the tobacco product is sold to the first importer of record or first manufacturer of record as the manufacturer's list price, if the distributor is able to provide the department of revenue with evidence of this price. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires a health insurer (carrier) to develop and use standards for: Selecting participating health care providers (providers) for its network of providers; and Tiering providers within a tiered network if the carrier offers a tiered network. A carrier cannot establish selection and tiering criteria in a manner that would allow a carrier to discriminate against high-risk populations or exclude providers that treat high-risk populations. A carrier must make its standards for selecting and tiering available to the commissioner of insurance for review, communicate the standards to providers participating in one or more of the carrier's networks, and make the standards available, in plain language, to the public. Additionally, upon request but not more often than quarterly, a carrier is required to provide a provider who is participating in one or more of its networks with a complete list of all network plans and products the carrier offers to consumers. At least 60 days before implementing a decision to terminate or place a participating provider in a tiered network, a carrier must notify the affected provider in writing of the pending action, including an explanation of the reasons for the proposed action, and inform the provider of the right to request that the carrier reconsider its decision. The bill requires the carrier to develop procedures for providers to request reconsideration and sets forth minimum requirements for, components of, and deadlines for the procedures. When a carrier does not select a provider to participate in the carrier's provider network, the carrier shall provide written notice to the provider. If the commissioner determines that a carrier has failed to comply with a requirement of the bill, the commissioner shall require the carrier to follow a corrective plan and may use enforcement powers available under the insurance laws to obtain compliance. The bill appropriates $42,006 to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of insurance to implement the bill, with $36,828 allocated for personal services and $5,178 allocated for operating expenses and capital outlay costs. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

The bill requires that each mammography report provided to a patient include information that identifies the patient's breast tissue classification based on the breast imaging reporting and data system established by the American college of radiology. If the health care facility that performed the mammography determines that a patient has dense breast tissue, the facility is required to notify the patient of the determination using specific language. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires that, before the executive board of a unit owners' association (HOA) in a common interest community brings suit against a developer or builder on behalf of unit owners, the board must: Notify all unit owners; and Except when the HOA contracted with the developer or builder for the work complained of or the amount in controversy is less than $100,000, obtain the approval of a majority of the unit owners after giving them detailed disclosures about the lawsuit and its potential costs and benefits. The bill also limits the amount and type of contact that a developer or builder that is potentially subject to a lawsuit may have with individual unit owners while the HOA is seeking their approval for the lawsuit. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

In the 2016 legislative session, the general assembly enacted Senate Bill 16-197, which changed the system for licensing establishments that are authorized to sell alcohol beverages in sealed containers to customers for consumption off the licensed premises, referred to as the 'retail sale' or 'sale at retail' of alcohol beverages. Some of the changes made by the 2016 legislation include: Authorizing persons licensed to sell at retail on or before January 1, 2016, to obtain multiple retail licenses, subject to a tiered schedule, to restrictions based on proximity to another retail licensed premises, and to other requirements and limitations; Allowing retail liquor stores to sell a broad array of nonalcohol products, subject to a 20% limit on gross sales revenue from the sale of nonalcohol products; Requiring retail licensees to check the identification of consumers purchasing alcohol beverages to verify that they are at least 21 years of age; Prohibiting employees of certain alcohol beverage licensees who are under 21 years of age from selling malt, vinous, or spirituous liquors; and Changing the hours during which fermented malt beverages may be sold from between 5 a.m. and 12 midnight to between 8 a.m. and 12 midnight. The bill modifies portions of the 2016 legislation as follows: Modifies the definition of a liquor-licensed drugstore to specify that the licensee need not be a drugstore but must have a licensed drugstore within its premises ( section 1 ); Excludes revenues from the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, nicotine products, and lottery products from the calculation of the cap on a retail liquor store's gross revenues from the sale of nonalcohol products ( sections 1 and 3 ); Imposes the proximity restrictions on a retail liquor store that is seeking permission to relocate its premises to ensure the new location is not within 1,500 feet of another business licensed to sell at retail, or, if in a small town, within 3,000 feet of another business with a retail sales license ( section 2 ); Allows a liquor-licensed drugstore that applied for a new liquor-licensed drugstore license before October 1, 2016, to obtain multiple retail licenses, subject to the schedule established in the 2016 legislation ( section 4 ); Allows a corporation member of a controlled group of corporations that owns or has an interest in a liquor-licensed drugstore to obtain interests in additional liquor-licensed drugstores in the same manner as any other member of the controlled group, but the entire group is subject to the limits on the total number of multiple licenses allowed under current law; ( section 4 ) Restores the hours for permitted sales of fermented malt beverages to between 5 a.m. and 12 midnight ( section 5 ); Clarifies that employees of a licensed tavern or lodging and entertainment facility that regularly serves meals, which employees are under 21 years of age, are not prohibited from selling alcohol beverages ( section 5 ); Repeals the requirement that retail sales licensees check customers' identification to verify their age ( sections 4 and 5 ); and Exempts liquor-licensed drugstores from the prohibition against having an automated teller machine on the premises from which individuals enrolled in public assistance programs administered by the department of human services may obtain cash benefits through the electronic benefits transfer service ( section 6 ).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)