The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $6 million from the general fund to the forest restoration and wildfire risk mitigation grant program cash fund.The state treasurer is also required to transfer $3 million from the general fund to the wildfire preparedness fund. The division of homeland security and emergency management in the department of public safety is required to use this money:As the state match for federal hazard mitigation assistance grants to local governments that are used to mitigate wildland fire hazards; and To provide local governments that are eligible to receive the federal grants with strategic planning assistance for wildland fire hazard mitigation. The state treasurer is also required to transfer $4 million from the general fund to the Colorado water conservation board construction fund. This money is appropriated to the board for the watershed restoration program to support post-fire recovery and mitigation efforts.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 state fiscal years only, the act allows the Auraria board to make payments on certain existing bonds for auxiliary facilities from other sources, including money contributed by constituent institutions and from money appropriated to the board by the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
At the 2020 general election, the voters approved proposition 114, which requires the reintroduction and management of gray wolves. The bill requires all costs for this program to be paid exclusively from the general fund, and this includes any losses of livestock caused by gray wolves. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
During the 2020 general election, the voters approved Proposition 114, which authorized the reintroduction of gray wolves on designated lands in Colorado west of the continental divide beginning no later than December 31, 2023. The bill excludes from the definition of "designated lands" the following: Lands within a county in which the majority of the votes cast in the 2020 general election did not approve Proposition 114 unless, prior to a proposed reintroduction of gray wolves in that county, an election is held in the county and a majority of the votes cast from that county in the election approve of the reintroduction of the gray wolf in designated lands in the county; and Lands within a county in which is located prey of the gray wolf that, as determined by the parks and wildlife commission, either: Is a candidate for listing or has been placed in the threatened or endangered species list pursuant to the federal "Endangered Species Act of 1973" or is listed as endangered or threatened pursuant to state law; or The state has spent money to reintroduce or restore.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act establishes triannual meetings, which take place in March, August, and December, whereby members of the executive committee of the legislative council and the joint budget committee (committees) are able to receive information from the executive branch related to a disaster if the governor has declared a disaster emergency since the 1st day of the month for the last required meeting. During the meeting, the governor or his or her designee must appear before the committees to provide information of a comprehensive nature and respond to questions from the committees with respect to the disaster emergency. The governor and any state agency is also required to promptly give notice to the general assembly of the promulgation of any executive order or other order by the governor or the agency, as applicable, issued in connection with the disaster emergency. The office of state planning and budgeting is required to provide quarterly reports to the joint budget committee about the expenditures from the disaster emergency fund (fund) and to post the reports on the office's website. The office is also required to prepare quarterly reports of federal funds that the state receives and spends. The state auditor is required to conduct or cause to be conducted a performance audit of the fund that is completed on December 1, 2022. Thereafter, the state auditor is required to conduct a biennial financial audit of the fund for the 2 most recently completed fiscal years. The act extends the repeal date for the authority to transfer spending authority between line items in specified circumstances from September 1, 2020, to September 1, 2025, and similarly extends the repeal date for the provision permitting overexpenditures in excess of the amount authorized by an item of appropriation in limited circumstances, including for medicaid programs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act delays the effective date of the "Colorado Electronic Preservation of Abandoned Estate Planning Documents Act" until January 1, 2023. Appropriations for fiscal year 2020-21 related to the "Colorado Electronic Preservation of Abandoned Estate Planning Documents Act" to the judicial department for: Information technology infrastructure is decreased by $125,230, and Trial court programs is decreased by $28,147.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Before passage of the act, the adult education and literacy grant program (grant program) was focused on workforce development partnerships to provide adult education that leads to increased levels of employment. The act recognizes that, in addition to increasing employment, adult education is necessary to ensure an adult population that is better prepared to support the educational attainment of the next generation and actively participate as citizens in a democratic society. The act expands the grant program to provide grants to adult education providers that enter into an education attainment partnership with elementary and secondary education providers or higher education providers to assist adults in attaining basic literacy and numeracy skills that lead to additional skill acquisition and may lead to postsecondary credentials and employment and that assist adults in providing academic support to their own children or to children for whom they provide care. The act allows the state board of education, in awarding grants, to give preference to adult education programs that serve populations that are underserved by federal funding. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a student's assessment score from being indicated on the student's high school transcript. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act updates Colorado's statutory provisions related to foster care prevention services and supports (prevention services) in the context of the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act", including: Updating the definition of "kin" to ensure that kin are eligible for prevention services; Updating the definition of "qualified individual" to clarify eligibility; Clarifying the elements of reviews of qualified residential treatment program placements (placements) to ensure that the placement of children, juveniles, and youth are reviewed initially by the court and not by the administrative review division; Updating language referring to children to include juveniles and youth to ensure that delinquent youth are also identified as a population that is eligible for prevention services and meet the requirements for placements; Adding information about prevention services and the authority of county departments of human or social services to provide prevention services; Requiring that when a youth is committed to the state department of human services, the court shall make additional findings to ensure the commitment is not the result of a lack of available appropriate placements; Adding requirements to a court to make specific findings when it deviates from the assessor's recommendation of a placement; Setting a new requirement that residential child care facilities must renew licenses annually; and Requiring the existing delivery of the child welfare services task force to make recommendations on the reduction of state reimbursements for certain out-of-home placements on or before December 15, 2020. The act makes the following appropriations for the 2020-21 state fiscal year: $936,412 is reduced from the general fund and increased from the reappropriated funds for the department of human services executive director's office for employment and regulatory affairs; $546,652 is appropriated to the department of human services executive director's office for legal services and the administrative review unit; $91,039 in anticipated federal funds is appropriated to the office of information technology services for Colorado trails and the division of child welfare for administration; $242,250 is appropriated to the office of the governor for department of human services information technology; $38,376 is appropriated to the department of law for department of human services legal services; $211,200 is appropriated to the judicial department for office of the child's representative personal services; and $178,560 is appropriated to the judicial department for respondent parents' counsel personal services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, the alternative pilot programs to divert individuals with mental health conditions may operate in up to 4 judicial districts. The act allows the programs to be expanded into 5 or more judicial districts to increase the number of participants. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)