The act allows the department of health care policy and financing (department) to, on behalf of the department, contract with a recovery audit contractor (RAC) vendor to conduct RAC audits of medicaid providers (providers). RAC audits may only review claims that are no more than 3 years past the expiration date of the timely filing period. The department may only review claims that fall outside of this 3-year time frame if required by a federal audit. The act limits the number of audits a provider may undergo each year and the number of medical records that can be requested for a given audit. If the RAC vendor identifies preliminary findings during the RAC audit, the RAC vendor must send the provider a report detailing the preliminary findings, the rationale for the preliminary findings, and the methodology for how any overpayments were calculated and determined. The act allows a provider that received preliminary findings following a complex audit to request an exit conference to discuss the preliminary findings with the RAC vendor and the department to resolve the concerns detailed in the preliminary findings prior to undergoing an informal reconsideration of the preliminary findings. A provider is required to participate in an informal reconsideration before filing a formal appeal regarding the department's findings during an RAC audit. The department is required to submit an annual report to the joint budget committee containing information about the RAC audits conducted and the department's involvement in those RAC audits. The act, in the department's budget for medical and long-term care services for medical-eligible individuals, decreases the cash funds appropriation from recoveries and recoupments by $20,900,588 and increases the cash funds appropriation from the recovery audit contractor recoveries cash fund by $20,900,588. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Sponsored bills
At the November 2024 statewide election, voters approved proposition 130, which requires the state to provide $350 million in additional funding to local law enforcement agencies to improve recruitment, training, and retention of local law enforcement officers and to provide a $1 million death benefit to the family of a first responder who is killed in the line of duty. The act modifies and implements proposition 130. The act creates the peace officer training and support fund (fund), and establishes a formula by which the department of public safety (department) disburses $350 million in additional funding to local law enforcement agencies from the fund for permissible purposes. Permissible purposes include initial and continuing education and training for peace officers and the compensation of peace officers. Beginning July 1, 2026, the formula requires the department to disburse an amount to each law enforcement agency equal to the total of $15,000 and an amount multiplied by the number of P.O.S.T-certified officers, noncertified deputy sheriffs, and detention officers budgeted by a local government for the law enforcement agency. Law enforcement agencies and local governments may not use these funds to supplant or supplement other spending. Local governments must include evidence of compliance with the no supplanting or supplementing requirement in their annual audit and provide a copy of this audit to the department. The department must review a subset of the audits provided by local governments for compliance with the requirements of the act. The act also establishes funding for the fund. First, the act directs the state treasurer to transfer $15 million from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2026. Second, the act directs the state treasurer to issue warrants from the general fund totaling $500 million to the public employees' retirement association (PERA) between July 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025. Beginning July 1, 2027, until the state treasurer has transferred a total of $350 million from the general fund to the fund: The amount of each annual direct distribution made by the state to PERA is reduced by the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million, up to a maximum of $35 million; and The state treasurer annually transfers an amount equal to the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million, up to a maximum of $35 million, from the general fund to the fund. However, beginning July 1, 2027, and each July 1 thereafter until the state treasurer has transferred a total of $350 million from the general fund to the fund, the state treasurer is required to transfer at least $15 million from the general fund to the fund regardless of the amount of PERA's earnings from the $500 million. The general assembly may annually appropriate to the department no more than 2.5% of the amount that the state treasurer annually transfers from the general fund to the fund for the department's direct and indirect costs of administering the distribution of money from the fund. The act clarifies that the $500 million in the warrants that the state treasurer issues to PERA are included in the general fund reserve. Accordingly, the act prohibits a future general assembly from lowering the general fund reserve to an amount less than $1 billion. If the general assembly does so reduce the reserve, the general assembly shall also make corresponding reductions to the direct distributions made by the state to PERA. The act also requires the governor to adjust general fund expenditures so that they do not result in the general fund reserve being reduced to an amount less than $1 billion. The act establishes a process by which the department distributes a $1 million death benefit to the family of a first responder who dies on or after November 5, 2024, as either the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained while performing official duties as a first responder or because of an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of the first responder's employment or service as a first responder. These payments are paid out of the death benefit fund, which is created in the act. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer $5 million from the general fund to the death benefit fund on both July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027, and to make annual transfers from the general fund thereafter as necessary to ensure that the fund maintains a balance of $10 million. The act also requires a survivor of an eligible first responder to deduct an amount equal to the amount of any death benefit received from their federal taxable income for the purpose of determining their state income tax liability unless the survivor qualifies for a corresponding federal income tax deduction. The act also requires the department to provide technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and local governments in complying with the requirements of the act and allows the executive director of the department to adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. For the 2025-26 fiscal year, $5,046,967 is appropriated from the death benefit fund to the department for implementation of the death benefit program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, there exists a working group formed by the department of human services and the state court administrator in the judicial department to perform various duties related to the allocation of juvenile detention beds. The act amends these duties. Under current law, 22 emergency detention beds are available statewide. The act expands this to 39 emergency detention beds available statewide. The act requires the department of human services to publish a monthly report concerning the status of all youth who are in detention and are awaiting services that would mitigate the substantial risk of harm to others that are presented by the juvenile or the juvenile's risk of flight from prosecution and the number of emergency beds used by each judicial district or facility. The act requires the division of youth services to: Publish a report by July 1, 2027, concerning available placements for juveniles who are awaiting mitigating services in the state; and Establish a pilot program for certain staff members to wear a body-worn camera while in a facility while interacting with youth. The act requires a court to dismiss a delinquency petition or charges against a juvenile if the court determines that the juvenile is incompetent to proceed and the highest charged act constitutes a class 2 misdemeanor, petty offense, drug misdemeanor, or traffic offense. The act amends and expands considerations for a juvenile's case management plan, if the court determines that a juvenile is incompetent to proceed. The act creates the deflection and community investment grant program in the division of criminal justice to provide grants to eligible applicants to implement a mixed-delivery system of trauma-informed health and development deflection programs for youth, including Native American youth. The grant program repeals on January 1, 2031. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act: Appropriates $6,854,420 from the general fund to the department of human services to implement the act; Reappropriates $122,279 of general funds to the department of education to the department of human services for use by the division of youth services to implement the act; Appropriates $437,264 from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice to implement the act; and Appropriates $2,708,316 from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for the deflection and community investment grant program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements some of the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) regarding the motorcycle operator training (MOST) program, as contained in the department's sunset review of the MOST program, as follows: Lowers the required minimum age to be a MOST instructor from 21 to 18 years of age; and To align with the placement of the MOST program within the Colorado state patrol rather than the department of transportation, clarifies that a MOST vendor must meet standards promulgated by the Colorado state patrol rather than by the department of transportation. The act also makes the following changes to the MOST program that were not included in the department's sunset review: Continues the MOST program in the office of the chief of the state patrol in the department of public safety (chief) for 5 years, until September 1, 2030; and Allows the chief to expend money from the MOST fund for a tuition benefit paid to MOST vendors to be passed on to eligible students in the form of reduced costs for eligible courses, as established by the chief by rule.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows regulators of the following professions and occupations to require an applicant for a license, certification, or registration to submit to a fingerprint-based criminal history record check (fingerprint-based record check): Audiologists; Certified midwives; Cremationists; Dental hygienists; Dentists; Embalmers; Funeral directors; Licensed professional counselors; Mortuary science practitioners; Natural reductionists; Occupational therapists; Occupational therapy assistants; Physician assistants; Social workers; and Speech-language pathologists. An applicant submitting to a fingerprint-based record check must pay the costs associated with the fingerprint-based record check. If an applicant's fingerprint-based record check reveals a record of arrest without a disposition, the applicant must submit to a name-based judicial record check. A local government entity is authorized to perform a fingerprint-based record check when an ordinance or resolution requires an individual to submit to a fingerprint-based record check. The act also clarifies who is eligible to submit to, who is eligible to receive records from, and the type of records an entity may receive from a fingerprint-based record check and aligns state law with federal bureau of investigation requirements. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law states that a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of an individual commits a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense. The act expands current law to include careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury and states that if a person commits careless driving and thereby causes the serious bodily injury or death of more than one individual, each individual injure or killed is a separate violation. The act also clarifies that careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death is an included crime for the purposes of the "Victim Rights Act". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act continues the just transition advisory committee (advisory committee) until September 1, 2030. Prior to its repeal, the department of regulatory agencies will conduct a sunset review of the advisory committee. The act requires the just transition office in the department of labor and employment (office) to consult with the advisory committee on issues related to the impact of facility closures and job layoffs in coal-related industries in a manner that best ensures continued economic stability and prosperity for impacted workers and communities during and after the transition away from coal as an economic driver. The office is also directed to develop and implement plans to maximize the economic stability and prosperity of coal workers and communities. When the general assembly created the advisory committee in 2019, the advisory committee was required to develop a draft just transition plan (plan) before July 1, 2020. The act repeals obsolete references to the development of the plan and requires the director of the office to update the plan as needed. The act increases the number of coal transition workers appointed to the advisory committee from 3 to 5 and requires that at least one advisory committee member works at a coal mine and at least one member works at an electric utility. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a peer support team member from disclosing, without the consent of the recipient of peer support (recipient), the confidential communications made by the recipient during a peer support interaction, with specified exceptions. With respect to an exception for which disclosure is permissible, a peer support team member who discloses or does not disclose a communication with a recipient is not liable for damages in a civil action for disclosing or not disclosing the communication. The act expands an exception allowing specified mental health professionals to disclose confidential information when a recipient makes a threat against an individual or themself or makes a threat that, if carried out, would result in harm to an individual or themself. In addition, a peer support team member is exempted from the prohibition on disclosure established by the act if: The peer support team member was a witness or a party to the incident that prompted the delivery of peer support services; A recipient admits to committing a crime or provides information pertaining to the recipient or another individual that is indicative of criminal conduct; Criteria related to an individual's participation as a witness in a court proceeding are met; or A recipient makes a threat involving damage or destruction of private or public property.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act clarifies that, under current law, the department of public health and environment may use up to 10% of appropriated money to administer and manage project grants concerning public water systems and wastewater treatment works in small communities. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act excludes from the statewide managed care program (program) services for medicaid members in a qualified residential treatment program or a psychiatric residential treatment facility and in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services until July 1, 2026. The act excludes from the program residential child health-care program services in counties that have a written agreement regarding services. No later than December 1, 2025, the act requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF), in collaboration with the department of human services, the behavioral health administration, and relevant stakeholders, to develop policies to transition qualified residential treatment programs and psychiatric residential treatment facilities to the statewide managed care system for medicaid members who are in the care and custody of a county department of human or social services (policies). The act requires HCPF to implement the policies no later than July 1, 2026. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)