School Safety Committee. The bill instructs the school safety resource center (center) to convene a working group of necessary and interested stakeholders to assess the needs of school districts with respect to the adequacy and availability of residential mental health treatment for children and youth who have been identified by school personnel as having severe behavioral or mental health disorders and potential ways to resolve such needs. The working group is directed to gather information on the availability, need, and cost associated with residential treatment services for children and youth in Colorado. The center shall use the data to prepare a report and make any legislative recommendations to address the mental health needs of children and youth in Colorado. The center is required to present the report and any legislative recommendations as part of its presentation to its committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act" in January 2021. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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Under existing law, a county department of human or social services and a local law enforcement agency are authorized to conduct certain fingerprint-based criminal history record checks related to emergency child welfare placements and receive records related to those record checks. The bill includes a department or division of human or social services of an Indian tribe in the definition of county department and includes a law enforcement agency of an Indian tribe in the definition of local law enforcement agency for the purpose of conducting, and receiving records related to, fingerprint-based criminal history record checks related to emergency child welfare placements. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Living organ donors - discrimination prohibited - duty to make information available to the public. The act: Prohibits a person who offers life insurance, disability income insurance, health insurance, or long-term care insurance from discriminating against a person based solely on the person's status as a living organ donor; Requires the division of insurance (division) to provide information to the public on a living organ donor's access to insurance; and Requires the division and the department of public health and environment to make materials related to live organ donation available to the public if the materials are from a recognized organ donation organization.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Marijuana - hospitality establishments - retail hospitality spaces and sales establishments - marijuana hospitality establishment licensing - rules - appropriation. Subject to approval by both the state and local licensing authorities, the act authorizes marijuana hospitality spaces (hospitality spaces) in which medical and retail marijuana may be consumed on site and retail marijuana hospitality and sales establishments in which retail marijuana, retail marijuana concentrate, and retail marijuana products may be sold and consumed on site. Subject to local approval, the act authorizes a retail food establishment to apply for a marijuana hospitality establishment license for a specified portion of the retail food establishment but prohibits an entity from having both a marijuana hospitality establishment license and a liquor license for the same premises. The act establishes requirements and prohibitions for the new hospitality spaces and requires the state licensing authority to promulgate rules governing the new marijuana hospitality establishment licenses and hospitality spaces. The act makes smoking marijuana in the hospitality spaces an exception to the "Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act". For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $399,479 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Licensed marijuana ownership - allow publicly traded corporations - controlling beneficial owners, indirect financial interest holders, and passive beneficial owners - rule-making authority - suitability finding - notification, disclosure, notice requirements - appropriation. The act repeals the provision that prohibits publicly traded corporations from holding a marijuana license. The act creates new ownership concepts of controlling beneficial owners, indirect financial interest holders, and passive beneficial owners. The act repeals the concept of direct beneficial owner and the associated requirements. The act gives the state licensing authority rule-making authority related to the parameters of, qualifications of, disclosure of, requirements for, and suitability for the new ownership concepts. A "controlling beneficial owner" is limited to a person that satisfies one or more of the following criteria: A natural person, an entity as defined in section 7-90-102 (20) that is organized under the laws of and for which its principal place of business is located in one of the states or District of Columbia, a publicly traded corporation, or a qualified private fund that is not a qualified institutional investor: Acting alone or acting in concert, that owns or acquires beneficial ownership of ten percent or more of the owner's interest of a medical marijuana business; That is an affiliate that controls a medical marijuana business and includes, without limitation, any manager; or That is otherwise in a position to control the medical marijuana business except as authorized in section 44-11-407; or A qualified institutional investor acting alone or acting in concert that owns or acquires beneficial ownership of more than 30 percent of the owner's interest of a medical marijuana business. "Indirect financial interest holder" is a person that is not an affiliate, a controlling beneficial owner, or a passive beneficial owner of a medical marijuana business and that: Holds a commercially reasonable royalty interest in exchange for a medical marijuana business's use of the person's intellectual property; Holds a permitted economic interest that was issued prior to January 1, 2020, and that has not been converted into an ownership interest; Is a contract counterparty with a medical marijuana business, other than a customary employment agreement, that has a direct nexus to the cultivation, manufacture, or sale of medical marijuana, including, but not limited to, a lease of real property on which the medical marijuana business operates, a lease of equipment used in the cultivation of medical marijuana, a secured or unsecured financing agreement with the medical marijuana business, a security contract with the medical marijuana business, or a management agreement with the medical marijuana business, provided that no such contract compensates the contract counterparty with a percentage of revenue for profits of the medical marijuana business; or Is identified by rule by the state licensing authority as an indirect financial interest holder. "Passive beneficial owner" means any person acquiring any interest in a medical marijuana business that is not otherwise a controlling beneficial owner or in control. The act requires a person intending to apply to become a controlling beneficial owner or passive beneficial owner to receive a finding of suitability or an exemption from the state licensing authority prior to submitting a marijuana business application. The act also requires a marijuana business or controlling beneficial owner that is a publicly traded corporation to comply with various notification, disclosure, notice, and suitability requirements. The act limits the types of publicly traded corporations that can be marijuana businesses or controlling beneficial owners. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $2,783,561 was appropriated from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Medical marijuana program - physician relationship - primary caregiver relationship - dentist or advanced practice practitioner make recommendations - card validity length - health effects panel conflict disclosures - sunset - appropriation. In a bona fide physician-patient relationship for purposes of a medical marijuana recommendation, the act clarifies that if the patient is a child, as part of the relationship the physician must consult with the patient's parents. The act clarifies that a parent can be a primary caregiver for a child with a disabling medical condition. The act clarifies that a primary caregiver for a person with a debilitating or disabling medical condition receives the same confidentiality protections as other primary caregivers. The act clarifies that if a person with a medical marijuana card is convicted of a drug crime, the card is subject to revocation. The act allows a dentist or advanced practice practitioner with prescriptive authority acting within the scope of his or her practice to make medical marijuana recommendations for a disabling medical condition. The act gives the state health agency the authority to promulgate rules regarding the length of time that a medical marijuana card for a disabling medical condition is valid. Under current law there is a health care panel (panel) that monitors the health effects of marijuana and provides a report every two years. The act requires the panel to include individuals with expertise in neuroscience, epidemiology, toxicology, cannabis physiology, and cannabis quality control. The act requires the panelists to disclose all financial interests related to the health care industry and the regulated marijuana industry and report those disclosures in the panel's report. The act gives the department of public health and environment the authority to collect Colorado-specific data that involves health outcomes associated with cannabis from all-payer claims data, hospital discharge data, and available peer-reviewed research studies. The act extends the medical marijuana program until September 1, 2028, and requires a sunset review prior to the repeal. The act makes other technical changes and repeals obsolete provisions. The act appropriates $114,007 to the department of public health and environment from the medical marijuana program cash fund, of which $100,000 is for operating expenses for the registry and $14,007 is for personal services. The act appropriates $560,143 to the department of regulatory agencies from the division of professions and occupations cash fund of which $535,456 is for legal services and $24,687 is for personal services. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Regulated marijuana - delivery - rule-making authority - surcharge - limitations - local authorization - appropriation. The act creates marijuana delivery permits for licensed medical marijuana centers and transporters and licensed retail marijuana stores and transporters that allow the centers, stores, and transporters to deliver medical marijuana, medical marijuana-infused products, retail marijuana, and retail marijuana products to customers. The act gives the state licensing authority rule-making authority over the permit and delivery system. The act specifies that a permit is valid for one year and may be renewed with the associated license. A one-dollar surcharge is assessed on each delivery, and that money is remitted to the municipality where the center or store is located, or to the county if the center or store is in an unincorporated area, for local law enforcement costs related to marijuana enforcement. Deliveries are limited to one per day, limited to private residences, and may not be made to college campuses. The act provides protection against criminal prosecution for those making the deliveries. Delivery is only allowed in a jurisdiction if that jurisdiction has voted to allow delivery either by referendum or by the governing board of the jurisdiction. Medical marijuana delivery permitting for medical marijuana centers begins on January 2, 2020, and medical marijuana delivery permitting for medical marijuana transporters, and all retail marijuana delivery permitting, begins on January 2, 2021. The act requires responsible vendor training programs to include marijuana delivery training. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $390,152 from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Regulated marijuana - reorganization - sunset - appropriation. The act makes changes to the retail and medical marijuana codes and continues those codes until 2028 with a sunset review prior to 2028. The act defines the terms, "advertising", "branding", and "consumer education materials". The act requires industrial hemp that is used in medical marijuana-infused products or retail marijuana products to be tested prior to manufacturing the product. The act allows retail marijuana stores to sell industrial hemp consumables. The act creates limits on the amount of medical marijuana flower, medical marijuana concentrate, and medical marijuana products that a medical marijuana store can sell to an individual in one day. For flower, the limit is 2 ounces; for concentrate, the limit is 20 grams; and for products, the limit is 20,000 milligrams. The act allows a physician to provide an exemption to the limits. Under current law, there is an exception to the "Colorado Food and Drug Act" for medical marijuana but not one for retail marijuana. The act repeals the exception for medical marijuana. The act streamlines the statutes related to license renewal by: Eliminating statutory timelines for local licensing and allowing local ordinance to determine the application timelines; Allowing a licensee that has submitted a timely renewal application to operate until the application is acted upon; and Repealing statutes related to the order in which state and local licenses must be processed. Under current law, there are 2 separate licenses related to research: A research and development license and the research and development cultivation license. The act merges the 2 licenses into one. The act gives the state licensing authorities the ability to seek injunctive relief and investigatory subpoenas from district courts related to nonlicensed entities. Under current law, there is a broad grant of confidentiality to records and information related to licensees. The act provides similar protections to applicants, patients, and customers. The act also makes the following information that was confidential available to the public: Final agency actions, testing records on an aggregated and de-identified basis, applicant and licensee demographic information on an aggregated and de-identified basis, and enforcement forms and compliance checklists. In both the medical marijuana code and the retail marijuana code, there are unlawful acts sections that create criminal violations, but the provisions in the 2 codes are not the same. The act makes the unlawful acts consistent. The act makes it an unlawful act to engage in a regulated marijuana business without the proper license and to adulterate or alter samples of marijuana or marijuana products to circumvent testing requirements. Under current law, a person is prohibited from being licensed if the person discharged a sentence for a felony within 5 years of applying for licensure or discharged a drug felony conviction within 10 years of applying for licensure. The act changes the law so a person is prohibited from licensure if the person was convicted of a felony within 3 years of applying for licensure or is currently serving a sentence for a felony or a deferred judgment or sentence. The act creates the following new categories of ownership: Controlling beneficial owner, passive beneficial owner, and indirect financial interest holder. Under current law, a patient who has submitted an application to be on the registry but has not received a patient card must present a copy of the application and a certified mail return receipt when purchasing medical marijuana at a center. The act repeals the requirement for a certified mail return receipt and requires proof of application. The act directs the state licensing authorities to track information on license disqualifications based on criminal history. Under current law, all medical marijuana sold at a medical marijuana center must be labeled with a list of chemical additives. Under current law, a medical marijuana-infused products manufacturer may only use medical marijuana from 5 different sources to produce a medical marijuana product. The act repeals these requirements. The act requires the state licensing authority to adopt rules that prevent redundant testing of medical marijuana concentrate for residual solvent when all of the inputs of the concentrate have passed the residual solvent testing. The act creates 2 new retail marijuana license types: Accelerator cultivators and accelerator manufacturers. The accelerator licenses allow a cultivator and manufacturer to operate respectively on the premises of a licensed retail marijuana cultivation facility or retail marijuana products manufacturer. The accelerator licensee can receive technical, compliance, and capital assistance from the host-licensed retail marijuana business. A licensed business that hosts an accelerator licensee may be eligible for reduced licensing fees. Applications for the licenses may be filed beginning on July 1, 2020. The act clarifies that a marijuana business licensee may hold a gaming license. The act requires that each medical marijuana and retail marijuana store post a warning sign related to the use of marijuana while pregnant or breastfeeding. The act allows a medical marijuana or retail marijuana cultivation facility that has approval to change locations from the state licensing authority to operate one license at 2 different locations while transitioning from the old location to the new location. The act allows marijuana licensees to transfer electronic marijuana waste to a person for the purposes of recycling or reuse. The act allows retail marijuana stores, retail cultivation facilities, and retail marijuana products manufacturers to provide performance-based incentives to employees including sales-based, performance-based incentives to employees. The act prohibits the open and public consumption of marijuana and allows local jurisdictions to make exceptions to the prohibition if the locations are not accessible to the public or a substantial number of the public without restriction. The prohibition does not apply to a licensed business that permits consumption on its premises if the business is operating with the conditions of its license. The act states that marijuana business employees are not agricultural workers unless they are farm laborers. The act also states that, if it is determined that marijuana business are not covered by the national "Labor Relations Act", then employees of marijuana businesses are covered by the Colorado "Labor Peace Act". The act allows regulated marijuana businesses to recycle marijuana consumer waste. The state licensing authority must treat a metered-dose inhaler the same as a vaporized delivery device for purposes of regulation and testing. Under federal law, there may be negative immigration consequences for a person legally in the United States who works in the regulated marijuana industry. Prior to accepting an application for a license, registration, or permit, the state licensing authority shall inform the applicant that having a medical marijuana or retail marijuana license and working in the medical marijuana or retail marijuana industry may have adverse federal immigration consequences. The act allows a medical marijuana or retail marijuana cultivation facility to obtain medical marijuana seeds or immature plants from its own medical marijuana, commonly owned from the retail marijuana of an identical direct beneficial owner, or marijuana that is properly transferred from another medical marijuana business pursuant to the inventory tracking requirements imposed by rule. Regulated marijuana employees can be compensated by performance-based incentives, including sales-based, performance-based incentives. The act makes technical changes and repeals obsolete provisions. The act combines the laws for regulated medical marijuana and retail marijuana, which are currently separate articles in title 44, into one article in title 44. The act incorporates the provisions of HB 19-1090, publicly traded regulated marijuana businesses, and HB 19-1234, regulated marijuana delivery, into the new consolidated article. The act takes effect on January 1, 2020. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $396,604 is appropriated from the marijuana cash fund to the department of revenue. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
History and civil government - history, culture, social contributions, and civil government in education commission - appropriation. The act mandates funding instruction in public schools of history and civil government of the United States and Colorado, including but not limited to the history, culture, and social contributions of American Indians, Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals within these minority groups; the intersectionality of significant social and cultural features within these communities; and the contributions and persecution of religious minorities. Current law requires school districts to convene community forums to discuss the content standards in history and civil government at least once every 10 years. The act requires the forums to be held at least every 6 years. The history, culture, social contributions, and civil government in education commission is established to make recommendations to the state board of education when the state board performs its scheduled 6-year review of education standards so that those standards and programs accurately reflect the history, culture, social contributions, and civil government of the United States and Colorado, including the contributions and influence of American Indians, Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals within these minority groups; the intersectionality of significant social and cultural features within these communities; and the contributions and persecution of religious minorities. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act makes an appropriation of $37,495 from the state education fund to the department of education for content specialists. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Automotive sales - business disposal license - grounds for discipline - right of action for loss - appropriation. The act creates a business disposal license for a business to sell its used vehicles if the vehicle sales do not exceed 20% of the business's gross revenue. The vehicles must not be passenger vehicles. The act also authorizes the motor vehicle dealer board to deny, suspend, or revoke a business disposal license for the following: A material misstatement in an application; Violating several classes of laws dealing with motor vehicle sales and commerce; Having been convicted of certain crimes; Engaging in various types of fraudulent activities; Failing to perform a written agreement; Failing to make the required disclosures; Misleading or inaccurate advertising; Representing or selling as new a used motor vehicle; Selling a defective vehicle unless sold as a tow-away and not to be driven or selling, acquiring, or disposing of a stolen vehicle; Failing to notify a prospective buyer of the acceptance or rejection of a motor vehicle purchase order agreement within a reasonable period when on a finance sale or a consignment sale; Failing to maintain a place of business with a fixed address and full-time employees; and Failing to post a bond. A person has a right of action against a business disposer and the surety upon a disposer's bond if the disposer commits a fraudulent act or violates the laws governing motor vehicle dealers. To implement the act, $14,000 is appropriated from the auto dealers license fund to the department of revenue for use by the motor vehicle dealer licensing board. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More