The bill directs the commissioner of insurance to study methods of providing health care coverage to high-risk individuals and reducing health insurance premiums in the individual market, which study is to explore the feasibility of high-risk pools, reinsurance programs, or other high-risk programs and consider requirements under applicable federal law, potential financial impacts on consumers and businesses, potential funding mechanisms to ensure financial sustainability of a high-risk or reinsurance program, and necessary procedural requirements for seeking any required federal waivers or other authorization to implement and fund such programs. The commissioner is to submit a report on the study to the joint budget committee and other specified legislative committees by October 1, 2017, and present the report to specified legislative committees during SMART Act hearings prior to the 2018 legislative session. The commissioner is authorized to seek, accept, and expend public and private gifts, grants, and donations or any federal funding to defray the study costs. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
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Provides for the payment of expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the state of Colorado, and of its agencies and institutions, for and during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017, except as otherwise noted.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
The bill repeals a performance-based funding plan for institutions of higher education (institutions) that was included in the master plan for Colorado postsecondary education. The performance-based funding plan was not implemented. The bill repeals the statutory provision requiring performance contracts between the department of higher education (department) and each institution, except for performance contracts with the Colorado school of mines and private institutions participating in the college opportunity fund program. Instead, the department and the public institutions shall affirm annually the institutions' contribution toward meeting master plan goals. The department shall report annually to legislative committees concerning the institutions' progress towards those goals using data collected for state and federal reporting and state funding purposes. The department shall post the information on its website. The bill makes conforming amendments relating to the repeal. The bill repeals a provision that allowed the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) to waive any provision of article 1 of title 23, Colorado Revised Statutes, for a governing board with a performance contract. The bill replaces this with provisions that modify statutory sections that are currently waived or modified for all the state higher education governing boards as part of their performance contracts. Specifically, the bill: Removes the requirement that an institution submit a proposal to obtain approval from the commission to create, modify, or discontinue an academic or vocational program, so long as the programs offered are consistent with the institution's statutory role and mission; Amends provisions relating to commission master plan approval and approval of capital construction projects. Under certain circumstances, and with the commission's approval, an institution is not required to seek facility master plan approval or approval of capital construction projects. Amends provisions related to student fees to enable the commission to waive fee policies. The bill makes other changes to commission responsibilities, including repealing an obsolete program for designating institutions' programs of excellence, allowing the commission to waive provisions relating to its oversight of graduate program duplication, requiring a report on student fees to continue indefinitely and to address student tuition, and modifying the commission's responsibilities related to the development of cooperative programs among state-supported institutions. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Joint Budget Committee. For the 2017-18 state fiscal year, if the amount of revenue collected from the hospital provider fee is insufficient to fully fund all of the statutory purposes for the fee, the bill requires any reduction to be taken from hospital reimbursements. The bill reduces the cash funds appropriation from the hospital provider fee in the 2017 annual general appropriation act by $264,100,000. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. For the 2017-18 fiscal year, the bill transfers: $68,840,446 from the general fund to the capital construction fund; $19,855,515 from the general fund to the information technology capital account of the capital construction fund; $500,000 from the general fund exempt account of the general fund to the capital construction fund; $20 million from the general fund to the controlled maintenance trust fund; and $1 million from the preservation grant program account of the state historical fund to the capital construction fund to restore the windows and granite exterior of the state capitol building.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. The bill requires the state treasurer to transfer $26.3 million from the state employee reserve fund to the general fund on July 1, 2017.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. The bill creates the technology advancement and emergency fund (fund) in the office of information technology (office). Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the office may expend money in the fund to cover one-time costs associated with emergency information technology expenditures, to address deferred maintenance of state agency information technology assets, and to provide additional services to address unforseen service demands. The bill specifies that if the office uses money in the fund to cover all or any portion of the cost of purchasing or refreshing an asset for a state agency, the asset becomes the property of the office. The office is required to submit an annual report to the joint budget committee and the joint technology committee, including specified information regarding expenditures from the fund. The bill directs the state treasurer to transfer $2 million to the fund on July 1, 2017, and on July 1, 2018. In addition, at the end of each fiscal year the state treasurer and the state controller shall transfer any unexpended or unencumbered appropriations that are the result of cost savings by the office to the newly created fund instead of the existing information technology revolving fund. The bill specifies that the fund is exempt from the limitation on uncommited reserves of a cash fund at the end of a fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. For the current state fiscal year and for the next 3 state fiscal years, the state treasurer is required to transfer money from the general fund to the capital construction fund and the highway users tax fund (Senate Bill 228 transfers). For the current fiscal year, the Senate Bill 228 transfers are fixed amounts and for the remaining years, they are a percentage of the total general fund revenues, that may be reduced or eliminated if the state has to refund excess state revenues in accordance with the taxpayer's bill of rights. The bill reduces the transfer to the highway users tax fund to be made for the current fiscal year on June 30, 2017, from $158 million to $79 million. The future conditional transfers to the highway users tax fund are replaced with the following fixed transfers: $79 million on June 30, 2018; $160 million on June 30, 2019; and $160 million on June 30, 2020. The future conditional transfers to the capital construction fund are replaced with the following fixed transfers: No transfer for the fiscal year 2017-18; $60 million on June 30, 2019; and $60 million on June 30, 2020. The bill also repeals provisions that relate to the conditional transfers. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. For the fiscal year 2016-17, the bill reduces the statutorily required general fund reserve from 6.5% to 6% of the amount appropriated for expenditure from the general fund.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)
Joint Budget Committee. On June 30, 2018, the state treasurer is required to transfer the following amounts to the general fund: $11.425 million from the severance tax perpetual base fund; $11.425 million from the severance tax operational fund; and $22.85 million from the local government severance tax fund.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)