Sen. Dylan Roberts

The act expands the ways that intimidating a witness may be committed by stating that the threat or act that constitutes intimidation can be directed at a person the perpetrator believes may have information relevant to a criminal investigation or a person the perpetrator believes may be able to exert influence upon a witness or victim. The act also adds that the crime of intimidating a witness can be committed by intentionally attempting to influence, or actually influencing, a witness, victim, or any other person with knowledge of relevant information to withhold information from, or provide false information to, law enforcement, a defense attorney, or defense investigator. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires an online marketplace (marketplace) to require each high-volume third-party seller (seller) selling through its marketplace to disclose to the marketplace, and the marketplace to verify: The seller's bank account number; The seller's contact information; and The seller's business tax identification number or individual taxpayer identification number. A marketplace must suspend any future sales activity of a seller that does not provide the information. The marketplace also must require a seller with an aggregate total of $20,000 or more in annual gross revenues on the marketplace to disclose to the consumer the identity of the seller, including: The full name of the seller; The physical address of the seller; Whether the high-volume third-party seller used a different seller to supply the consumer product to the consumer upon purchase; and If requested by the purchaser, information relating to any seller that supplied the consumer product to the purchaser when the seller is different than the high-volume third-party seller listed on the product listing prior to purchase. The marketplace must disclose to consumers a reporting mechanism for consumers to report suspicious marketplace activity. A violation of the disclosure requirements is a deceptive trade practice. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Current law establishes a $100 cap on a person's 30-day supply of prescription insulin. The act clarifies that this cap is for the person's entire insulin supply, regardless of the number of prescriptions the person may have.Beginning January 1, 2022, the act also:Requires pharmacists to provide eligible individuals with access to one emergency prescription insulin supply within a 12-month period at a cost not to exceed $35 for a 30-day supply; and Creates the insulin affordability program through which pharmacists provide eligible individuals with prescription insulin for 12 months at a cost not to exceed $50 for a 30-day supply. A pharmacist that dispenses prescription insulin through the emergency supply or the insulin affordability program may seek reimbursement for the cost of the insulin from the insulin manufacturer.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act replaces the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) program, which was repealed in 2019, with a mechanism by which an investor-owned utility seeking to implement an innovative energy technology project may apply to the public utilities commission (PUC) to acquire resources that demonstrate the use of innovative, zero-emission technologies for energy generation and storage. To qualify for cost recovery, the utility's expenditures must be determined by the PUC to have been prudently incurred and the utility's return on investment may not exceed the return on a comparably sized photovoltaic or wind-electric generation facility.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act updates certain actions described as sexual exploitation of a child to reflect access and viewing due to evolving technology.The act makes sexual exploitation of a child an extraordinary risk crime, enhancing the presumptive sentencing range in certain circumstances.The act creates the sexual exploitation of children surcharge for any person who is convicted of or receives a deferred sentence for sexual exploitation of a child. Ninety-five percent of the surcharge goes to the sexual exploitation of children surcharge fund. The money in the fund will provide funding to the Colorado bureau of investigation (bureau) to develop and acquire, and allow the bureau to help other law enforcement agencies with developing and acquiring, necessary technological and expert resources to investigate and prosecute computer-facilitated crimes of sexual exploitation of a child.The act requires a post-enactment review of the implementation of the act three years after it becomes law.The act makes an appropriation of $1,894 to the judicial department from the general fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act reforms the sentencing provisions related to misdemeanors and petty offenses. Under current law, there are 3 classifications for misdemeanors and 2 classifications for petty offenses. The act reduces the misdemeanor classifications to 2 and reduces the petty offenses to one classification and adds a new classification of civil infraction. A class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 364 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,000 or both, and a class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by up to 120 days in jail or a fine of up to $750 or both. A petty offense is punishable by up to 10 days in jail or a fine of up to $300 or both. A civil infraction is punishable by a fine of up to $100.The act reclassifies various criminal offenses within the new classification system for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and civil infractions. The act changes the elements of some crimes to align with the new sentencing classifications. The act creates procedural rules for prosecution of the new civil infractions. The act updates the alternate sentencing options for misdemeanors and petty offenses. The act creates standard time credits for jail sentences.The act appropriates $95,340 to the department of revenue for use by the division of motor vehicles. $35,940 of the appropriation is from the general fund and $59,400 of the appropriation is from the licensing services cash fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes the following changes affecting claims for an income tax credit allowed for the donation of a perpetual conservation easement in gross (tax credit):Specifies that the division of conservation can be a holder of a conservation easement in gross; Authorizes the executive director to provide information regarding a taxpayer to another taxpayer or require information to be given to the division of conservation in certain circumstances; Modifies the definition of "taxpayer" to clarify the applicability of the tax credit to donations made by certain nonprofit and governmental entities; Modifies the process for filing conservation easement tax credit certificates with income tax returns; Eliminates the authority of the executive director of the department of revenue to require additional information regarding the amount and validity of tax credits and to resolve disputes regarding the credits; Establishes a process for the division of conservation to track the transfer of and certify the ownership of tax credits; Modifies the formula used to calculate the amount of the tax credit; Modifies the manner in which the amount of a tax credit is allocated among owners, partners, members, or shareholders of certain legal entities; Modifies certain provisions regarding the number of tax credits that may be claimed and the manner of claiming the credits; Eliminates the requirement that the donor of an easement is the tax matters representative for purposes of resolving issues and disputes relating to a transferred credit; Allows certain governmental entities that are not subject to income tax to be able to claim a transferrable expense amount for the donation of a perpetual conservation easement to be transferred to a transferee in lieu of claiming a tax credit; and Eliminates obsolete reporting requirements.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act allows a board of county commissioners or a city council of a city and county, upon approval of the county treasurer, to temporarily reduce, waive, or suspend delinquent interest payments for property tax payments for any period of time between June 16, 2021, and September 30, 2021.The act also requires a board of county commissioners or city council to notify local taxing jurisdictions of the intent to reduce, waive, or suspend delinquent property tax interest payments. If a local taxing jurisdiction would be unable to meet its bond payment obligations after the proposed reduction, waiver, or suspension, the local taxing jurisdiction shall notify the board of county commissioners or city council.If the local taxing jurisdiction submits a letter to the board of county commissioners of the county or city council of the city and county, the act requires a treasurer, or other officer responsible for the collection of property taxes for a county or city and county, to advance property tax payments to local taxing jurisdictions to assist the local taxing jurisdictions in the payment of bonded indebtedness payments and monthly operation costs.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires that the Colorado broadband office (office), on or before January 1, 2022, contract with a nonprofit organization to develop a program to reimburse certain income-eligible households and households in critically unserved areas of the state for their costs to access broadband service. An eligible household may receive reimbursement for up to one-half of its costs for broadband service, not to exceed $600 per year.The office and the nonprofit organization with which it contracts may use up to $5 million of the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" money transferred to the digital inclusion grant program fund pursuant to House Bill 21-1289, concerning broadband deployment, for the reimbursement program. All of the money for the reimbursement program must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and the act repeals on September 1, 2026. If the office does not find a nonprofit organization with which to contract, the reimbursement program will not be implemented and the office shall use the money allocated for implementation of the reimbursement program to award additional grants for telehealth services.On or before February 1, 2022, and on or before each February 1 thereafter, the office is required to submit a written report to the governor and the legislative joint budget and joint technology committees about the office's implementation of the reimbursement program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review of and report on the state board of pharmacy (board) and its regulation of the practice of pharmacy and makes other modifications to the laws regulating the practice. Specifically:Sections 1 and 2 of the act continue the board and its functions for 9 years, until 2030, and consolidate within the sunset review the board's functions regarding the regulation of therapeutic interchange and therapeutically equivalent selections and of collaborative pharmacy practice agreements; Sections 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, and 25 to 29 align the pharmacy practice act with the federal "Drug Quality and Security Act"; Section 3 also: Clarifies that an out-of-state pharmacy need not register with the board when distributing prescription drugs to in-state pharmacies under common ownership with the out-of-state pharmacy if the drugs remain in the original manufacturer's packaging and are not compounded and the transfer is necessary to address an inventory shortage; Includes in the definition of "other outlet" a community mental health clinic, a behavioral health entity, and an approved treatment facility, thereby allowing those facilities to register with the board and operate as a pharmacy outlet; Repeals the term "pharmaceutical care" and replaces it with "pharmacist care services" to reflect the services pharmacists provide in addition to compounding and dispensing drugs; Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacy technician, such as documenting medical history and replenishing automated dispensing devices; and Adds functions to the scope of practice of a pharmacist, such as prescribing certain drugs for limited conditions, ordering and evaluating laboratory tests, and performing limited physical assessments; Section 4 specifies that, of the pharmacist members of the board, one must be practicing in a hospital setting, one must be practicing in a chain pharmacy, and one must be practicing in an independent pharmacy; Section 5 repeals the requirement that the board justify its reasons for deviating from a recommendation from the veterinary pharmaceutical advisory committee; Sections 5, 6, 21 to 25, and 35 make technical amendments to the pharmacy practice act, such as eliminating references to "diversion" in the peer health assistance program and correcting erroneous references to wholesalers as "licensed" rather than "registered"; Section 6 grants the board authority, after conducting a risk-based assessment, to inspect out-of-state pharmacies, out-of-state wholesalers, and nonresident 503B outsourcing facilities and requires the board to send quarterly electronic newsletters to pharmacists regarding updates in the law that affect the practice; Sections 7, 16, and 32 to 34 require pharmacists and pharmacies, as well as insurance companies that underwrite professional liability insurance for pharmacists and pharmacies, to report malpractice settlements and judgments to the board; Section 8 specifies tasks that a pharmacist may delegate to ancillary pharmacy personnel under the pharmacist's supervision; Section 10 increases the amount of medication that may be dispensed to an emergency room patient from a 24-hour supply to a 72-hour supply and allows a hospital to dispense a prescription drug to a hospitalized patient who leaves the hospital on a day pass; Sections 3, 12, and 31 authorize pharmacists to prescribe opiate antagonists; Sections 3 and 13 repeal the requirement that the label on an anabolic steroid prescription indicate the purpose for which the prescription was written; Section 14 authorizes a pharmacist, under specified circumstances, to substitute a drug in the same therapeutic class as the prescribed drug; Section 15 authorizes pharmacists to make specified types of minor adaptions to prescriptions; Section 16 specifies that a licensee, certificant, or registrant may be disciplined for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol, habit-forming drugs, or controlled substances, but not for having a substance use disorder; Section 17 eliminates the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail; Section 19 requires the board to allow electronic storage of pharmacy records; Section 20 requires a pharmacist, with certain exceptions, to provide patient counseling in new medication therapy and authorizes a pharmacist, in the pharmacist's professional judgment, to provide patient counseling for any other prescription; and Section 30 increases from 3 to 6 the number of pharmacy technicians or other pharmacy staff that a pharmacist may designate to access, on behalf of a pharmacist supervising the pharmacy technician or other pharmacy staff, the prescription drug monitoring program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)