Sen. Janice Rich

Maddy summaryHJR 25-1005 is a ceremonial resolution encouraging Colorado communities to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20, 2025 - the 41st anniversary of the state holiday. It does not create new laws or alter existing policies but urges cities, schools, counties, and local governments to hold commemorative events. The resolution honors Dr. King’s legacy, noting Colorado’s early adoption of the holiday in 1985 and its ongoing observance through events like the annual Marade. This is a non-binding call for community engagement, not a substantive legislative change.

The act requires a testing entity to grant an individual's request for a testing accommodation on a licensing exam without requiring the individual to undergo a diagnostic exam or psychological assessment if the individual has a recognized disability, provides proof of having received the testing accommodation on a past standardized exam or high-stakes test, provides a recommendation letter from the individual's treating medical professional supporting the requested accommodations, and requests the same testing accommodation that the individual previously received on a similar standardized exam or high-stakes test. The act allows an individual who is adversely affected or aggrieved by a testing entity's decision regarding the individual's request for a testing accommodation to bring a civil action against the testing entity. The act allows the attorney general to investigate violations of, and allows the attorney general to bring a civil action against, a testing entity for an alleged violation. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2024 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of early childhood (department) to provide education and information in plain language and in prevalent languages to help individuals complete the paperwork required to meet child care licensing compliance requirements. Prevalent languages is defined as the 2 most prevalent languages spoken in Colorado. The department is required to provide services in prevalent languages to individuals seeking to open or otherwise participate in the operation of an early childhood program or facility licensed by the department. The act creates the bilingual licensing unit in the department to help the department satisfy its duties to provide education, information, and services in prevalent languages and requires the general assembly to appropriate $235,000 from the general fund to the department for the 2024-25 state fiscal year and for each state fiscal year thereafter to pay the costs of the bilingual licensing unit's activities. The act also requires the general assembly to appropriate $45,000 from the general fund to the department for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to pay costs associated with updating the department's mobile licensing application. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 6, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Public trustees are entitled to set fee amounts for performing the functions and exercising the powers conferred upon them by statute. The act doubles each fee, except for the fee for conducting a public foreclosure sale by means of the internet. The act also creates a new fee in the amount of $300 for performing actions related to processing a foreclosure sale if the holder of a certificate of purchase is not the holder of an evidence of debt. Additionally, the act requires the director of research of the legislative council to adjust the amount of each fee to which public trustees are entitled for inflation every other year if the adjustment will result in an increase. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

For the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 state fiscal years, the act transfers $500,000 from the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund to the breast cancer screening fund. The act also removes a requirement that the state treasurer transfer interest and income earned on money in the breast and cervical cancer prevention and treatment fund to the disability support fund. APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 5, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies, as specified in the department's sunset review of the regulation of money transmitters, as follows: Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the regulation of money transmitters until 2030; Section 3 authorizes the banking board to suspend a money transmitter's license; Section 4 expands the requirement to furnish surety bond coverage to include all money transmission, rather than merely exchange; Section 5 increases the maximum penalty for failure to report from $250 to $750 per day and for failure to allow the state bank commissioner to make an examination from $100 to $1,000 per day; Section 6 authorizes the state bank commissioner to submit fingerprints directly to the federal bureau of investigation for a criminal history record check; Section 7 repeals the requirement that license holders annually report the name, address, and telephone number of each owner of at least 10% of the agent of the money transmitter; Section 8 authorizes the state bank commissioner to issue cease-and-desist orders and sets procedural requirements; Section 9 expands the licensing exemption for in-state banks to also cover out-of-state banks and repeals the licensing exemption for telegraph or cable companies; and Sections 10 through 12 replace gendered pronouns with gender-neutral terms. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act enacts the "Social Work Licensure Compact" (compact). The compact is designed to: Eliminate the necessity for social workers to obtain licenses from multiple states by providing for the mutual recognition of licenses from other states that have signed the compact (member states); Facilitate the exchange of licensure and disciplinary information among member states; Authorize member states to hold a regulated social worker accountable for abiding by a member state's laws, regulations, and applicable professional standards in the member state in which the client is located at the time care is rendered; and Allow for the use of telehealth to facilitate increased access to regulated social work services. The act authorizes the state board of social work examiners (board) to promulgate rules and to facilitate Colorado's participation in the compact, including notifying the social work licensure compact commission (commission) established by the compact of any adverse action taken by the board against a Colorado regulated social worker. The commission includes a delegate from each member state and has the powers and duties set forth in the act. The compact becomes effective on the date the compact is enacted in the seventh member state. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $78,750 from the division of professions and occupations cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division of professions and occupations to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates an income tax subtraction (deduction) for income tax years 2026 to 2033 for the amount of any Segal AmeriCorps Education Award received by a taxpayer for service in the AmeriCorps national service program, which is used by the taxpayer during the income tax year. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires all large group health benefit plans to provide coverage for biomarker testing to guide treatment decisions if the testing is supported by medical and scientific evidence. The act defines "biomarker testing" as an analysis of a patient's tissue, blood, or other biospecimen for the presence of an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a specific therapeutic intervention. The required testing under the act does not include biomarker testing for screening purposes or direct-to-consumer genetic tests. The act requires the commissioner of insurance to implement biomarker testing coverage for all large employer health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. To the extent biomarker testing is not in addition to the benefits provided pursuant to the benchmark plan, all individual and small group health benefit plans must provide coverage for biomarker testing. Within 120 days after the act takes effect, the division of insurance (division) shall submit to the federal department of health and human services (HHS) its determination of whether biomarker testing is in addition to essential health benefits and would require state defrayal of costs pursuant to federal law. The division shall implement the requirement for coverage for biomarker testing for individual and small group health benefit plans within 12 months after the earlier of the division receiving confirmation from HHS that biomarker coverage does not require defrayal or more than 365 days passing since the division submitted its determination that defrayal was not necessary. Biomarker testing is subject to the health benefit plan's annual deductibles, copayment, or coinsurance but is not subject to any annual or lifetime maximum benefit limit. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 EFFECTIVE June 3, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes technical changes to the procurement code (code), including: Correcting a cross-reference to the definition of information technology; Updating the definition of solicitation to refer to "an electronic procurement system" instead of "an electronic bidding system" to remain consistent with other provisions of the code; Updating the statute authorizing delegation of the executive director of the department of personnel's purchasing authority to use the term "governmental body", as defined in the code; Clarifying the method of compiling and soliciting from lists of potential contractors; Updating references to the United States department of veterans affairs to align with current federal and state practices; and Changing "public procurement unit" to "local public procurement unit" in a list in the cooperative purchasing statute that already includes a "public procurement unit". APPROVED by Governor May 31, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)