Sen. Julie Gonzales

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 25-015 designates a specific portion of Colorado State Highway 58 as the "Officer Evan A. Dunn Memorial Highway." This action honors Officer Evan A. Dunn, a Golden Police Department officer who died in the line of duty. The bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept donations for the initial placement of memorial signs and to explore a cooperative agreement with the City of Golden for their maintenance.

The act expands the veterans mental health services program to provide grants to local nonprofit organizations to establish and expand community behavioral health programs that provide behavioral health services to service members, veterans, and family members of service members and veterans. The act reduces the reappropriated funds appropriation made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health services by $5,000,000; except that the reduction is not made if: The amount of reappropriated funds made in the long bill to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health is less than $5,000,000; or The long bill does not include an appropriation to the department of military and veterans affairs for use by the division of veterans affairs for veterans mental health.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, a licensed manufacturer of spirituous liquor (manufacturer) may conduct tastings of the manufacturer's own spirituous liquors at the manufacturer's licensed premises or at one other approved sales room location. The bill authorizes the manufacturer to also conduct tastings: Of other alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler licensed in the state; and At up to 5 2 approved sales room locations. A manufacturer must apply for a permit from the state licensing authority to serve and sell alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler licensed in the state at the manufacturer's premises or a sales room location. A copy of the permit application must be posted for 30 days in a conspicuous place at the location that is the subject of the application and must be published in a local newspaper of general circulation. If the permit application is approved, the manufacturer must serve sandwiches and light snacks if selling and serving alcohol beverages acquired from a wholesaler licensed in the state and must not have the proceeds from the sale of alcohol beverages acquired from wholesalers account for more than 50% of the total proceeds for alcohol beverage sales. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

Under current law, a parent who wants to relinquish their child must satisfy certain requirements. If the parent who wants to relinquish their child is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished, the act: Allows the relinquishment petitioner (petitioner) to provide the juvenile court with documentation concerning the sexual assault or conception, including a sworn affidavit; Exempts the petitioner from having to satisfy certain relinquishment requirements if the court finds that the petitioner is a victim of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child to be relinquished; and Exempts the petitioner of all legal obligations they may have with respect to the child if the court grants a final order of relinquishment. On or before January 1, 2026, the state court administrator shall develop a, or modify an existing, standardized form for a petitioner to file to terminate another person's parent-child legal relationship because the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Each school district, board of cooperative services that operates a school, district charter school, and institute charter school (local education provider) is required to establish written policies for the acquisition, retention, display, and use of library resources and for the reconsideration of a library resource (policies). A local education provider is required to comply with specified standards in establishing the policies and is required to establish the policies by September 1, 2025. If a local education provider has already established policies that comply with the requirements of the act, the local education provider is not required to establish new policies. A public school library may remove a library resource from its permanent collection only if the library resource has been reviewed in accordance with an established policy for the reconsideration of library resources that complies with the standards established in the act. These requirements do not apply to routine collection maintenance and deaccession in accordance with a public school library's established collection development and maintenance policy. Before a local education provider reconsiders a library resource, the local education provider is required to make its policies available to the public. After reviewing a library resource that is the subject of a request for reconsideration and making a final determination regarding the library resource, the local education provider is required to make the determination available to the public. A written request for reconsideration of a library resource in a public school library is an open record under the "Colorado Open Records Act". A public school library staff member is not subject to termination, demotion, discipline, or retaliation for refusing to remove a library resource before it has been reviewed in accordance with the local education provider's policy for the reconsideration of library resources or for making decisions that the public school library staff member believes, in good faith, are in accordance with the policies of the local education provider. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The bill makes the penalty classification for criminal attempt to first degree murder under circumstances evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life generally: A class 3 felony if serious bodily injury results to any person; A class 4 felony if bodily injury results to any person; and A class 5 felony if no injury results to any person. Under existing law, a person commits the crime of assault in the first degree if, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, the person knowingly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes serious bodily injury to any person. The bill repeals this offense. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires the department of corrections (department) to search all information available to the department to determine whether an offender held at a correctional facility is subject to an outstanding warrant or if the offender has a pending case in a Colorado court. The department is required to conduct the search when the department conducts the initial comprehensive evaluation of the offender's sentence and 3 to 8 months prior to the offender's community correction eligibility date. The act requires the department to establish guidelines and policies that address requests for additional searches as may be needed by the public defender liaison to the department. If the department determines that an offender is subject to a warrant or has a pending case in a Colorado court, the department shall notify the offender, the public defender liaison to the department, and the court that issued the warrant or in which the case is pending, as applicable. The general assembly encourages a court to ensure the offender appears before the court, is assigned counsel if the defendant is eligible for court-appointed counsel, allows the offender to resolve the warrant in a timely manner, and facilitates virtual appearance for the offender. The act does not prohibit the department from searching for outstanding warrants at any other time. The act requires the office of state public defender to designate an email address for the public defender liaisons to the department of corrections to receive notifications from the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under existing law, a person charged with a criminal offense is subject to a criminal protection order, which remains in effect until final disposition of the criminal action. The act: Prescribes what must be included in the standardized form for a criminal protection order; Limits a criminal protection order to orders for the protection of a witness to, or victim of, the acts charged and prohibits a court from including in a criminal protection order an order to enforce a mandated condition of bond or a condition of bond that assists in obtaining the appearance of the defendant in court or ensuring community safety; Requires a court to inform a defendant that a violation of a criminal protection order may constitute a misdemeanor offense of violation of a protection order and that conduct that violates the criminal protection order may constitute a felony offense of intimidating a witness or victim or retaliation against a witness or victim; Only allows a criminal protection order to prohibit possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances without a valid prescription when available information supports a sufficient nexus between that restriction and the safety of the alleged victim or witness; except that, in a case involving domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act", the court may enter an order prohibiting possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances without a valid prescription if the court deems it appropriate for the safety of an alleged victim or witness; and Requires a court to review a criminal protection order at the time of sentencing or other resolution of the criminal case. Under existing law, a sentence for violating a protection order runs consecutively with any sentence imposed for the crime that gave rise to the protection order. The act limits this consecutive sentence provision to crimes involving domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act". The act grants a peace officer discretion to arrest, seek a warrant to arrest, or issue a summons to a restrained person for violating, or attempting to violate, a protection order by possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances; violating a term included in the protection order to protect the protected person from imminent danger to life or health in cases that do not involve domestic violence or crimes listed in the "Victim Rights Act"; or failing to timely file a signed affidavit or written statement with the court as required by law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

In 2021, Senate Bill 21-108 "Concerning gas pipeline safety" was enacted, requiring the public utilities commission (commission) to adopt rules related to gas pipeline safety and repair, including rules related to advanced leak detection technology. The act requires the commission to adopt the rules regarding advanced leak detection technology on or before November 1, 2025. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act repeals the existing nursing facility provider fee and intermediate care facility service fee, effective May 1, 2025, and provides that, beginning on May 1, 2025, and for each state fiscal year thereafter, the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise (CHASE) within the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) will charge and collect a new healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee and a new healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee that function similarly to the repealed fees. The act creates a facility provider fee enterprise support board within CHASE for the purpose of supporting the existing enterprise with the implementation of the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee and the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee. In exchange for payment of the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee, CHASE will provide certain business services to nursing facility providers to sustain or increase reimbursement rates and make supplemental medicaid payments to nursing facility providers. In exchange for payment of the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee, CHASE will provide certain business services to intermediate care facility providers for individuals with intellectual disabilities for the purposes of maintaining the quality and continuity of services provided by intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Because CHASE is an enterprise for purposes of the Taxpayer's Act of Rights, its revenue does not count against the state fiscal year spending limit. The act also makes conforming amendments and, for clarity, renames the existing healthcare affordability and sustainability fee and healthcare affordability and sustainability fund to be the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee and the healthcare affordability and sustainability hospital provider fee cash fund. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $62,986,221 is appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability nursing facility provider fee cash fund to HCPF and $2,150,281 is appropriated from the healthcare affordability and sustainability intermediate care facility fee cash fund to HCPF. The act also decreases in corresponding amounts appropriations to HCPF from other cash funds and modifies appropriations to HCPF for the 2024-25 state fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)