Sen. James Coleman

The act states that a public or private institution of higher education (institution) may identify, create, solicit, facilitate, and otherwise enable opportunities for a student athlete to earn compensation for the use of the student athlete's name, image, or likeness so long as the institution first acquires the consent of the student athlete. An institution that solicits such an opportunity for a student athlete must inform the student athlete of the solicitation within 72 hours after the solicitation. The act states that a charitable organization that is not an institution and that is exempt from taxation under federal law may compensate a student athlete for the use of the student athlete's name, image, or likeness. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 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 creates the youth mentorship assistance grant pilot program (program) in the Colorado opportunity scholarship initiative within the department of higher education (department). The program provides financial assistance for the cost of attendance at a public higher education institution to students who provide mentorship services to an approved youth mentorship organization. The act requires the Colorado opportunity scholarship initiative advisory board to select approved youth mentorship organizations to participate in the program and administer the program. The act requires each approved youth mentorship organization to submit an annual report to the department, and the department to submit an annual report to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, concerning the program. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by the Colorado opportunity scholarship initiative advisory board to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 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 allows a state elected official or local elected official to restrict or bar an individual from using the private social media of the elected official. Private social media is social media that is not supported by government resources and is not required by law to be created or maintained by an elected official. An elected official may restrict or bar an individual from using the private social media of the elected official for any reason, including for bullying, harassment, or intimidation, in the elected official's discretion. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The Colorado youth advisory council (advisory council) is set to repeal September 1, 2023. The act continues the advisory council until September 1, 2028. The act renames the Colorado youth advisory council review committee as the Representative Hugh McKean Colorado youth advisory council review committee. The act appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the Colorado youth advisory council cash fund. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of corrections (department) to contract with a third-party organization to assign an employee of the organization (program developer) to develop and study strategies for implementing a pre-release and reentry program (program) at the Sterling correctional facility (facility). The program must be designed in consultation with the facility's residents and provide program participants with resources to support their rehabilitation and to reduce recidivism. The act requires the department to allow the program developer to work in the facility with residents. The program must provide participants with training in skilled or professional trades and other employment-focused activities, education in skills beneficial to a participant following release from confinement, and mental and behavioral health counseling sessions. The program developer is required to report, on or before December 31, 2023, to the house of representatives judiciary committee, the senate judiciary committee, and the department, about the development of the program. The act requires the department to begin operating the program at the facility no later than September 1, 2024. The act appropriates $100,000 from the general fund to the department for contract services related to the program. APPROVED by Governor June 2, 2023 EFFECTIVE June 2, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires that the department of human services (department) add to its report information on the number of youth who at the time they received services from the county department of human or social services (county department) or were placed in out-of-home placement by a county department had an open delinquency case in a district court, were on juvenile probation, or had a juvenile deferred sentence. The act repeals the requirement to created performance measures for local collaborative management programs. The act requires a local collaborative management program to create one or more individualized service and support teams which may refer a child to services and establish a service and support plan for a child in need of services. The act requires the department to create an information form to be used by certain agencies and individuals to refer a child to a local collaborative management program for services. The act delineates who has access to the records created by an individualized service and support team. The act requires the department to include strategies for children who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services in its training for counties participating in a local collaborative management program. The act requires each interagency oversight group to add to its report to the executive director of each department and agency that is a party to a memorandum of understanding certain demographic, status, and referral information on children and families served and referred to services through a local collaborative management program. On July 1, 2023 and annually thereafter, the act requires the general assembly to appropriate money to the collaborative management cash fund (fund) to serve children who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services. Beginning July 1, 2024, the act requires the executive director of the department to provide an annual sum to each local collaborative management program to provide services to children who would benefit from integrated multi-agency services based on a funding formula that takes into account the amount of available funds, the need for a base of resources to direct a child and family members to appropriate services, and the number of children in the population to be served. On or before July 1, 2024, a local collaborative management program nd each July 1 thereafter, the act requires the district attorney of each judicial district to submit a report to the house of representatives judiciary committee and the senate judiciary committee that includes information on children who are offered an opportunity to participate in a diversion program. The act appropriates $2,257,411 from the general fund to the department for use by the division of child welfare. From this appropriation, $257,411 must be used for collaborative management program administration and evaluation and $2,000,000 must be used to assist interested counties that do not already operate a local collaborative management program with establishing a local collaborative management program or joining an existing local collaborative management program. The act further appropriates $1,165,039 from the general fund to the fund for use by the division of child welfare for distribution to existing local collaborative management programs. 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.)

The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies to continue to the offender reentry and education programs (programs) until September 1, 2028, subject to sunset review by the department of regulatory agencies. The act also requires the department of corrections to track the long-term recidivism rates of persons who were formerly incarcerated who participated in the programs. Finally, the act requires the department of corrections to report recidivism rates and data on all individuals who participate in reentry services and programs to the judiciary committees of the house and senate. APPROVED by Governor May 17, 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 formalizes and establishes details concerning the process for an incarcerated individual (applicant) to apply for a commutation of sentence. The process includes the creation of a new position of an executive clemency representative. The executive clemency representative is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the applicant's application, including gathering information from the district attorney who prosecuted the applicant's case. The district attorney is responsible for notifying the victim and victim's family of the application. A list of factors is set forth that executive clemency board may consider when evaluating the applicant's application. The governor retains the ultimate decision-making authority whether to commute a sentence. The act appropriates $28,221 to the office of the governor from the general fund to implement the act. VETOED by Governor May 16, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act changes the time frame required to file a certificate of death with the state registrar from 5 days after a death occurs to 72 hours after the funeral director assumes custody of a dead body, stillborn fetus, or dead fetus unless the individual responsible for completing the medical certification for the death certificate is unable to complete the medical certification for the death certificate within the required time frame, additional inquiry into the cause and manner of death is required by current law, or a coroner, a medical examiner, a forensic pathologist, or other qualified individual determines that additional time is required to determine the cause and manner of death, in which case the certificate of death must be completed and signed as soon as practicable. Any individual, other than a family member of the decedent or other individual acting in a non-professional capacity as the funeral director for the decedent, who is required to initiate, complete, respond to, or file a death certificate must use the electronic death registration system (EDRS) used by the department of public health and environment (department) and the state registrar; except that, a physician who is not yet registered to use the EDRS is not required to use it until March 1, 2024, or the date the physician is registered, whichever is earlier. The department is required to ensure that all physicians are registered to use the EDRS on or before March 1, 2024. The physician responsible for completing the medical certification for a death certificate must do so within 72 hours after receipt of an EDRS request unless current law requires additional inquiry into the cause and manner of death. If a death is or may be due to unnatural causes, a physician required to complete a medical certification for a death certificate shall notify the coroner or the medical examiner when current law requires an inquiry or an autopsy to be performed. The act requires the state registrar to provide a monthly report to the department of regulatory agencies (DORA) that identifies any death certificates for which a medical certification was not completed in a timely manner, and DORA is required to promptly provide the report to the Colorado medical board. DORA is also required to report annually to its legislative oversight committees regarding the number of complaints that DORA received and the number of disciplinary actions taken against a licensee. On and after March 1, 2024, the act defines as "unprofessional conduct" for purposes of the "Colorado Medical Practices Act" repeated or willful failure without reasonable cause to comply with the requirements of completing a medical certification for a death certificate in accordance with any applicable deadline. The act generally requires a decedent's established primary care physician to complete the medical certification for the decedent's death certificate if the death appears to be due to natural causes and is determined as such with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the decedent received medical care from the primary care physician within a year of the death, the death occurred when the decedent was not under the direct care of another physician charged with the decedent's care during the illness or condition that resulted in death, and an inquiry into the death is not required. However, if within a year of the death, the decedent had been treated by a physician other than the decedent's established primary care physician for a chronic condition or terminal illness related to the decedent's death, the death appears to be due to natural causes and is determined as such with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, and an inquiry into the death is not required, that physician is responsible for completing the medical certification for the death certificate. Any deadline in the act by which an individual is required to complete an action relating to a certificate of death or a medical certification for a certificate of death is extended by one day per day of closure if the business or facility at which the individual is employed is actually closed for an entire calendar day that is a weekend day or a legal holiday. APPROVED by Governor May 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.)