Sen. Dylan Roberts

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution officially recognizes the 125th anniversary of Western Colorado University and honors its contributions to higher education and workforce development in Colorado. The document commends the university's students, faculty, staff, and alumni for their dedication over the past century and a quarter. It serves as a symbolic acknowledgment rather than a law that changes policy or allocates funding.

Based on the findings and recommendations of the committee on legal services, the act extends all state agency rules that were adopted or amended on or after November 1, 2024, and before November 1, 2025.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following changes to transportation- and traffic-related statutes:Clarifies tire, chain, and alternate traction device requirements for use on a state highway by removing references to four-wheel and all-wheel drive; Prohibits an individual from stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle in the portion of a roadway designated as a bike lane, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or an official traffic control device;Clarifies that specified officers and authorized employees may move an attended or unattended motor vehicle, vehicle, cargo, or debris that is on a highway right-of-way and that obstructs or impedes traffic or highway maintenance or operations; andUpdates statutory references relating to vehicle or traffic collisions or collisions involving other transportation devices to use the term 'crash' or 'incident' in addition to or in place of the term 'accident' and defines 'crash' to include events involving motor vehicles, vulnerable road users, or other transportation devices.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes changes and clarifications in the provisions related to the department of early childhood (department). The act:Eliminates the scheduled repeal of licensing exemptions for certain in-home child care arrangements in which the children are related to the caregiver, are siblings, or number fewer than five;Updates provisions related to early care and education provider reimbursement for services performed before final eligibility determinations in the Colorado child care assistance program;Lowers the age limit for children served by the early childhood mental health consultation program from 8 years old to 6 years old and adjusts that program's reporting requirements;Clarifies the sources of money appropriated to the universal preschool program;Requires the department to keep confidential identifying records and facts regarding children and their relatives;Clarifies that child care facilities approved, certified, or licensed by tribal governments are exempt from the department's licensing rules; andAdjusts the membership requirements and duties of the early childhood leadership commission and subcommittee membership requirements for the rules advisory council.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Under current law, the maximum amount of liability of the petroleum storage tank fund for an individual occurrence of a leak, spill, or release of a petroleum product from an underground storage tank (occurrence) is $2,000,000. The act allows an owner or operator of an underground or aboveground storage tank (owner or operator) to exceed this amount of liability with the permission of the director of the division of oil and public safety (director) and the petroleum storage tank committee (committee). If the director and the committee grant such permission, the director and committee shall establish a new maximum amount of liability per occurrence for the owner or operator.     Under current law, all class I, II, and III liquid fuel products must comply with the most current applicable standards of ASTM International. The act allows the director to adopt a rule or issue policy guidance that provides exceptions to specific requirements established in an ASTM standard.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

When a peace officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime of domestic violence has occurred, the peace officer is required to search the national crime information center database to determine whether a military protection order has been issued against one of the parties. If a military protection order has been issued against a party, the peace officer shall notify the military law enforcement agency that entered the protection order into the database.     The act includes the existence of a military protection order as relevant evidence that the court shall consider when determining whether to issue a temporary civil protection order.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act declares emergency medical services as an essential service in the state and an integral part of the state's health-care infrastructure.      The act also declares that emergency medical service providers, whether responding on duty or as a volunteer and regardless of location, provide essential services when providing emergency ambulance services and nonemergency ambulance services.      The act also updates certain definitions related to emergency medical services, including the addition of a definition of 'out-of-hospital services', which term is defined to mean the furnishing of necessary health-care goods and services outside of a hospital setting but does not include prehospital setting transports.     The act clarifies that an off-duty emergency medical service provider is not obligated to respond to the scene of a medical emergency or provide emergency medical services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires coaches of youth athletic activities to complete a biennial mental health education course. The required mental health education course must address a coach's impact on the mental health of a youth athlete, a wellness framework for youth athletes, mental health disorders, trauma, substance abuse, and suicide prevention. The act requires a coach of a youth athlete, or other designated personnel, to advise the parent or guardian of the youth athlete to seek a medical evaluation from a licensed health-care provider for appropriate medical and behavioral health guidance if the youth athlete is removed from play for a suspected concussion.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires measures to improve equity in maternal health, including:Requiring the Colorado medical board to consider, as part of its stakeholder process for continuing medical education, a requirement that a physician complete continuing medical education on cultural competence and equity in maternal care;Requiring the state board of nursing rules relating to continuing education to include rules relating to health-care provider attention to cultural competence and equity in providing health-care services;Authorizing the department of public health and environment (CDPHE), subject to available appropriations, to provide a health survey to additional birthing parents, beyond those currently surveyed, and to compile the data if surveyed;Requiring a health facility that provides labor and childbirth services to make available to a birthing parent and a birthing parent's companion, electronically or in writing, a statement on respectful labor and childbirth regarding rights and components, including freedom from harm, privacy and confidentiality, informed consent, and allowing a birthing parent to have a birthing companion present at the birth, and to make available information, including telephone contact information, for the appropriate state or federal agency to receive a complaint alleging discrimination in labor and childbirth services;Subject to available federal grant funding for the maternal health task force (task force) established by CDPHE, ensuring that the maternal health task force includes at least one advocate representing populations with the worst maternal mortality outcomes in the state; andBeginning October 1, 2026, with respect to CDPHE's Colorado maternal mortality review committee, changing the reporting to the general assembly every 3 years concerning maternal health outcomes and equity from July to October and requiring the reporting of certain maternal health outcomes for populations known to have the worst maternal mortality outcomes in the state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act prohibits a person who possesses a record or report (record) of child abuse or neglect from releasing identifying data or information contained in the record to a person who is not authorized to receive the information or data.     The act clarifies what constitutes identifying data in a record. The act adds an assigned designee of a person named in a record who is acting on the person's behalf as a person who may have access to child abuse or neglect records if the assigned designee presents a valid release of information signed by an authorized person.     The act allows a person named in a record as an alleged abused or neglected child who is in possession of a record in which they are named or, with the person's consent, the person's attorney or guardian ad litem, to disclose and make use of the record, including for the purpose of litigation or to obtain treatment or services. Except as expressly authorized in law, a criminal defendant may only access a record after an in camera review by the court in which the court finds that access to the record is necessary for the resolution of an issue.     The act requires each county department of human or social services to establish and submit to the state department of human services a process current and former clients may use to obtain access to their case records.     The act repeals the penalties associated with a person who improperly releases or willfully permits or encourages the release of data or information contained in the records to a person not permitted to access the information and makes it a petty offense for the department of education or a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school to release data or information contained in a record to a person not permitted to access the information.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)