Bill Tracker

If a tax filer, filer's spouse, and/or filer's dependents lack a Social Security number and uses an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), no one in the household can get the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which helps low-earning households, especially those with children. Colorado allowed ITIN filers to claim the state's EITC during tax year 2021; this bill allows that during 2020 and 2021. Because the EITC effectively reduces the income tax  rate for lower income filers, especially those with children, this expansion of the EITC makes Colorado's income tax a bit more progressive, in line witih the League's position supporting a progressive income tax.

Sections 1 and 3 of the bill restore, over time, certain business
deductions to federal taxable income that were disallowed in Colorado by
operation of a department of revenue rule and by House Bill 20-1420.
The specific deductions are related to net operating losses, the application
of the federal excess business loss rules, interest expenses, and qualified

improvement property.
The earned income tax credit is equal to a percentage of the federal
earned income tax credit. Section 2 allows taxpayers filing with an
individual taxpayer identification number to claim the earned income tax
credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2020.

The bill creates the fifth-day academic enrichment and support grant program to award grants on a 3-year cycle to one or more eligible community-based nonprofit organizations to provide supplemental educational programs to preschool through high school-aged children on the fifth day of the week for children in schools that have a 4-day school week. One hundred eleven of the one hundred seventy-eight school districts are on a four-day school week, representing more than 80,000 children – more than any other state. Most of these districts are rural districts.

To be eligible for a grant, organizations must, in part, have experience providing before- and after-school programs, serve a majority of children from low-income families, and have a relationship or partnership with a local school district that serves children in the program.
The state board of education awards program grants in a 3-year grant cycle, with an initial grant and automatic renewal of the grant for 2 years as set forth in the bill. The amount of the initial and renewal grants is determined by the state board based on the number of children served in the program and other criteria specified in the bill. Grants must be used for one or more of the purposes specified in the bill, including to provide supplemental educational programming to support students' academic development on the fifth day of a 4-day school week, to provide meals for students attending the program, and to acquire educational materials and necessary technology to provide supplemental educational programming.

The bill creates a fund from which to pay program grants, consisting of money appropriated or transferred to the fund by the general assembly. There is a fiscal note.

During testimony oppositions came from Boulder Valley SD and Steamboat Springs arguing that the moneys for this grant is money taken from Colorado public schools. A predominance of the testimony from many parts of the states was enthusiastically in support of the bill. Most people who testified were associated with Boys and Girls clubs in rural school districts.

The League’s positions are that citizens should have equal access to quality education, and it supports an array of local and state reforms to ensure consistency and equity across the state. Equalizing educational opportunity includes programs for students with specific needs.

This bill moved out of the Education Committee and is scheduled for the House Appropriations Committee for April 5.

The bill creates the fifth-day academic enrichment and support
grant program (program) to award grants on a 3-year cycle to one or more
eligible community-based nonprofit organizations (organizations) to
provide supplemental educational programs to full-day kindergarten
through high school-aged children on the fifth day of the week for
children in schools that have a 4-day school week.

To be eligible for a grant, organizations must, in part, have
experience providing before- and after-school programs, serve a majority
of children from low-income families, and have a relationship or
partnership with a local school district that serves children in the program.
The state board of education (state board) awards program grants
in a 3-year grant cycle, with an initial grant and automatic renewal of the
grant for 2 years as set forth in the bill. The amount of the initial and
renewal grants is determined by the state board based on the number of
children served in the program and other criteria specified in the bill.
Grants must be used for one or more of the purposes specified in
the bill, including to provide supplemental educational programming to
support students' academic development on the fifth day of a 4-day school
week, to provide meals for students attending the program, and to acquire
educational materials and necessary technology to provide supplemental
educational programming.
The state board shall promulgate rules to establish the program,
including the application process and deadlines.
Grantees are required to report annually to the department of
education (department) on the use of the grant money, with the
department reporting to certain committees of the general assembly.
The bill creates a fund from which to pay program grants,
consisting of money appropriated or transferred to the fund by the general
assembly.

HB21-1008 allows political subdivisions to create special or local improvement districts to tax property for forest health projects.

The bill provides additional options for financing forest health
projects by authorizing:
  • A separate legal entity created by a combination of local
governments as authorized by current law to establish
special improvement districts within the boundaries of the

combination and levy special assessments on property
specially benefited by improvements, functions, services or
facilities, including forest health projects, that the separate
legal entity is authorized to provide;
  • Counties, municipalities, special districts, water
conservancy districts, the Colorado river water
conservation district, and the southwestern water
conservation district to conduct or participate in and
finance forest health projects; and
  • Authorizing a forest improvement district to use its sales
tax revenue for forest health projects.
The bill also postpones the scheduled repeal of the statute that
authorizes the Colorado water resources power and development
authority to issue bonds to fund watershed protection projects and forest
health projects from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2033.

The current statutory functions of the division of housing
(division) within the department of local affairs include conducting
research into new approaches to housing throughout the state. The bill
expands the list of research subjects to include:
  • Transit-oriented development that includes increased
housing density near employment, education, and town
centers; and
  • Advanced energy performance standards that minimize the
total building operational costs during the affordability
period.
The bill also eliminates certain statutory functions of the division
that are now outdated.
The bill expands the list of existing functions of the division to
include collaborating with other state agencies to develop incentives that
support:
  • Local development near transit corridors;
  • Increased housing density development within
employment, education, and town centers; and
  • Energy performance standards that minimize total building
operational costs during the affordability period.
The bill also requires the division to collaborate with other state
agencies in connection with the disposition of state-owned assets to be
used for low- and moderate-income housing.
The bill requires the division to maintain the confidentiality of all
names, addresses, and personal identifying information of applicants,
recipients, and former recipients of housing assistance. The division is
permitted to publish or provide aggregate or de-identified data concerning
applicants, recipients, and former recipients of housing assistance to third
parties and other governmental entities, and to enter into data-sharing
agreements authorizing the transfer of such information subject to
restrictions specified in the bill.

The bill requires the secretary of state (secretary) and county clerk
and recorders (county clerk) of certain counties to provide multilingual
ballot access.
The secretary is required to establish a multilingual ballot hotline
(hotline) to provide access to qualified translators or interpreters in each
of the languages in which the most recent decennial census was offered

to assist electors in translating ballot language. The secretary is required
to establish the hotline for use during the general election held in
November 2022, and for every general election and statewide odd-year
election thereafter. The secretary is also required to:
  • Provide notice of the hotline to electors through election
day;
  • Ensure that the translators who provide translations for the
multilingual hotline are qualified translators or interpreters;
and
  • Promulgate rules as may be necessary to create and
administer the hotline.
The county clerk of any county that satisfies specified criteria is
required to create, in coordination with the secretary, a minority language
sample ballot (sample ballot) in any minority language spoken in the
county that satisfies the following:
  • The minority language is spoken by at least 2,000 citizens
in the county age 18 years or older, who speak English less
than very well, and who speak the minority language at
home; or
  • The minority language is spoken by at least 2.5% of
citizens in the county age 18 years or older, who speak
English less than very well, and who speak the minority
language at home.
The bill specifies that the sample ballot must include all of the
same content that is on the English language ballot and also specifies the
format of the sample ballot. In addition, the bill requires that the sample
ballots be available for the general election held in November 2022, and
for each general election and statewide odd-year election thereafter.
The county clerk of any county that satisfies specified criteria is
required to provide, upon the request of an elector, an in-person minority
language ballot (in-person ballot) in any minority language spoken in the
county that satisfies the same criteria specified for sample ballots. An
in-person ballot can be a ballot on demand, a ballot from a printed stock
of ballots, or a ballot via an electronic voting device.
The bill specifies that the in-person ballot must include all of the
same content that is on the English language ballot and specifies that
in-person ballots are required to be available for the general election held
in November 2022, and for each general election and statewide odd-year
election thereafter.
The secretary is required to determine, pursuant to specified
criteria, which counties in the state are required to provide multilingual
ballot access by creating a sample ballot and providing an in-person
ballot, and to notify the county clerk of any county that is required to
provide such multilingual ballot access.
The secretary is required to provide each county clerk that is
required to provide multilingual ballot access with a translation in the
applicable minority language or languages of all content that is certified
to the county clerks by the secretary of state for use by the county clerk
in creating the multilingual ballot access.

The bill prohibits terminating the life of an unborn child and
makes a violation a class 1 felony. The following are exceptions to the
prohibition:
  • A licensed physician performs a medical procedure
designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant
mother, if the physician makes reasonable medical efforts

under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the
mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner
consistent with conventional medical practice; and
  • A licensed physician provides medical treatment, including
chemotherapy or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, to the
mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury
to or death of the unborn child.
The pregnant mother upon whom termination of the life of an
unborn child is performed or attempted is not subject to a criminal
penalty. The sale and use of contraception is not prohibited by the bill. A
conviction related to the prohibition of the termination of the life of an
unborn child constitutes unprofessional conduct for purposes of physician
licensing.
The bill states that any act, law, treaty, order, or regulation of the
United States government that denies or prohibits protection of a human
person's inalienable right to life is null, void, and unenforceable in this
state and that the courts of the United States have no jurisdiction to
interfere with Colorado's interest in protecting human life at conception
when human life begins.

Currently, when a green energy facility (geothermal, biomass, wind, solar or small hydro) is built on a parcel, the assessor may not change the parcel’s classification. This bill allows reclassification if the green energy facility was built on agricultural land, meaning the parcel may be valued based on market value rather than agricultural production. Was posponed indifinetely by House Finance 3/17/21.

Currently, the location of a small or low impact hydroelectric
energy facility, a geothermal energy facility, a biomass energy facility, a
wind energy facility, or a solar energy facility on real property does not
affect the classification of that real property for purposes of determining
the actual value of that real property. As a result, a county assessor cannot
use the location of the facility as a basis for reclassifying the real

property. The bill creates an exception to this requirement for real
property that, immediately prior to the location of the facility, was
classified as agricultural. Therefore, an assessor will be able to consider
the location of the facility when determining whether the real property
should be reclassified.

Not later than October 1, 2021, and not later than October 1 of
each year thereafter, the bill requires the division of housing (division) in

the department of local affairs to prepare a public report that specifies the
total amount of money that:
  • The division or the state housing board (board) received
from any federal, state, other public, or any private source
during the prior fiscal year; and
  • The division or the board expended from state funding
during the prior fiscal year to make an award in the form of
a grant or loan to promote the provision of affordable
housing.
The bill identifies various items the report must address. The
report shall be posted on the division's website and shared with the board
and the general assembly.

HB21-1029 authorizes a local education provider (LEP) to use per-pupil
intervention money to purchase programs that are not on the advisory list
but that the local education provider determines meet the criteria for
placement on the list. After the local education provider has used the
programs for 2 school years, the department must review the programs
and the results achieved and determine whether the programs are effective
in improving students' reading competency.  If the programs are effective, the department must place the programs on the advisory list. If the programs are not effective, a local education provider may not subsequently use per-pupil interventionmoney to purchase the programs.

League Position:

The League believes in a Colorado Department of Education that would take a stronger leadership role to provide better service and which, using persuasion and incentives, would encourage educational improvement.

The League is opposing this bill, because it takes reading program approval from the CDE and gives it to the LEP for their interpretation of the criteria.

Under current law, a school district, charter school, or board of
cooperative services (local education provider) may use per-pupil
intervention money received pursuant to the Colorado READ Act to

purchase core reading instructional programs (programs) that are on an
advisory list of programs created by the department of education
(department).
The bill authorizes a local education provider to use per-pupil
intervention money to purchase programs that are not on the advisory list
but that the local education provider determines meet the criteria for
placement on the list. After the local education provider has used the
programs for 2 school years, the department must review the programs
and the results achieved and determine whether the programs are effective
in improving students' reading competency.
If the programs are effective, the department must place the
programs on the advisory list. If the programs are not effective, a local
education provider may not subsequently use per-pupil intervention
money to purchase the programs.

The bil invalidates state and local policies that limit the use of natural gas or propane system or appliances in homes or businesses except as safety purposes The use of fossil fuels in buildings is a major cause of air pollution. The burning of fossil fuels, natural gas and propone, for energy sources harms human health through the release of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, and other toxic gases that collect in the atmosphere.  Building heating and cooling run by gas and propane contribute to indoor and outdoor pollution. They are the main cause of the climate emergency. This bill is prohibitive and would lock us into using an outdated and dangerous form of energy. We must achieve a net zero buildings stock before 2050. Ending fossil fuel use in new buildings and upgrading old ones by retrofitting to electric use creates new jobs, and saves homeowners money by omitting gas lines and reduces emissions indoors and outdoors, a health benefit. Energy efficient building investment is rising globally. League believes that an interrelated approach to combat climate change through energy conservation, air pollution controls, building resiliency and promotion of renewable energy is necessary to protect public health and defend the integrity of the global ecosystem.

The bill invalidates any statute, rule, or local ordinance or
resolution that limits or prohibits, except as required for safety purposes,
the installation in a new or existing home or business any system or
appliance that uses natural gas or propane for cooking, hot water, space
heating, or electrical generation.

With certain exceptions, current law prohibits a concealed carry
permit holder from carrying a concealed handgun on public elementary,
middle, junior high, or high school grounds. The bill removes this
limitation.

The bill establishes the process used by county commissioner
redistricting commissions (commissions) to divide counties that have any
number of their county commissioners not elected by the voters of the
whole county into county commissioner districts. In these counties, the
bill:
  • Requires the commissions to hold multiple hearings

throughout the relevant counties that are broadcast and
stored online and comply with state statutes regarding open
meetings;
  • Requires the commission to provide the opportunity for
public involvement by providing the ability to propose and
comment on maps and to testify at commission hearings
both in person and electronically;
  • Prohibits improper communication between a member of
the commission and the staff of the commission;
  • Mandates that paid lobbying of the commissions be
disclosed to the secretary of state by the lobbyist;
  • Establishes prioritized factors for the commissions to use
in drawing districts, including federal requirements, the
preservation of communities of interest and political
subdivisions, and maximizing the number of competitive
districts;
  • Prohibits the commissions from approving a map if it has
been drawn for the purpose of protecting one or more
incumbent members, or one or more declared candidates,
of the board of county commissioners, or any political
party, and codifies current federal law and related existing
federal requirements prohibiting maps drawn for the
purpose of or that results in the denial or abridgement of a
person's right to vote or electoral influence on account of
a person's race, ethnic origin, or membership in a protected
language group;
  • Requires the commission to approve a redistricting map
and specifies the date by which a final map must be
approved;
  • Specifies that the staff of each commission will draft a
preliminary redistricting map and up to 3 additional maps,
and, in the event of deadlock by a commission, creates a
process by which staff submit a final map to a panel of
district court judges for review based on specified criteria;
and
  • Requires judicial review of a commission-approved or
staff-submitted redistricting map, and limits district court
judicial panel review to whether a commission or the staff
committed an abuse of discretion.
The bill recommends that counties establish independent county
commissioner redistricting commissions and provides criteria to consider
when creating these independent commissions.
The bill aligns the redistricting population data used to establish
county commissioner districts with the redistricting population data used
to establish congressional districts, state house of representative districts,
and state senate districts.
The bill also requires that, in a county where any number of county
commissioners are not elected by the voters of the whole county and the
board of county commissioners refers a measure to the voters of the
county to change the method of electing county commissioners, the
referred measure must provide at least 2 different methods of electing
county commissioners.
Finally, the bill repeals anachronistic county precinct size rules and
allows county clerk and recorders to redraw precincts less often.

In current law, Recycled energy is produced by converting the otherwise lost energy from the heat from exhaust stacks or pipes to electricity and that does not combust additional fossil fuel."Recycled energy" does not include energy produced by any system that uses energy, lost or otherwise, from a process whose primary purpose is the generation of electricity, including, without limitation, any process involving engine-driven generation or pumped hydroelectricity generation.

Current law at CRS 40-2-123 defines "Pumped hydroelectricity" as electricity that is generated during periods of high electrical demand from water that has been pumped during periods of low electrical demand from a lower-elevation reservoir to a higher-elevation reservoir.  According to the federal Energy Information Administration:   Because these plants require energy to pump water uphill, pumped storage hydro plants have net negative electricity generation balances, meaning that they consume more energy than they store. Most pumped storage systems require 15% to 30% more electricity to pump water uphill than what the water generates when it flows back downhill.

Further from the EIA, In Colorado 2020 Hydro power generation was 144K  MWh  Non-hydro renewables 1,392K  MWh.   Thus, passage of this bill to make pumped hydropower eligible as renewable energy would make only a very small addition to our current capacity of kinetic hydroelectricity.

Amendment in committee has clarified that the energy for pumped hydroelectricity would not include combustion of any fossil fuels.  With this amendment, the League has taken a position of Support for this bill.  

The bill removes the existing restriction on pumped hydroelectric
facilities as a source of recycled energy, which is included in the
definition of an eligible energy resource under the renewable energy

standard statute.

The bill adds a registered elector to the list of people who can
request a recount when one is not otherwise required. An interested party
or registered elector who requests a recount can also specify that the
requested recount be conducted as a manual recount of the voter-verified
paper records in the election, in which case, the election official is
required to conduct the recount in accordance with that request.
An interested party or registered elector can also request that a
recount that is required by law be conducted as a manual recount of the

voter-verified paper records. A person making this request must pay for
the additional costs, if any, of conducting the recount manually. If the
person makes the payment required, the election official must conduct the
recount manually.

The bill creates a public or assisted housing benefit exception to
the requirement that an applicant for federal, state, or local public benefits
verify lawful presence in the United States.

Tightens the requirements for when land next to residential land is also classified as residential. Fiscal note says parcels will be reclassified both ways, in and out of residential, but expects more parcels will reclass into nonresidential. Because nonresidential is assessed at 29% and residential assessed at only 7.15%, a net move into nonresidential will increase local jurisdictions’ revenue.

The bill modifies the definition of the term residential land for
the purpose of property tax classification. Currently, a parcel of land
without a residential improvement is classified as residential land if it is
contiguous with a parcel of land under common ownership upon which
a residential improvement is located and if it is used as a unit in
conjunction with the residential improvements located thereon. The bill

modifies classification for this type of parcel by:
  • Requiring the parcel to have the identical owner as the
adjacent parcel based on the record title;
  • Requiring the parcel to have a related improvement that is
essential to the use of a residential improvement located on
the identically owned contiguous residential land; and
  • Specifying that contiguity in this instance is not interrupted
by an intervening local service street, alley, or common
element in a common-interest community.
The bill also removes from the definition parcels of land in a
residential subdivision, the exclusive use of which land is established by
the ownership of such residential improvements.

The bill repeals statutory provisions:
  • Prohibiting the sale, transfer, or possession of certain
large-capacity ammunition magazines; and
  • Requiring each large-capacity ammunition magazine
manufactured in Colorado on or after July 1, 2013, to
include a permanent stamp or marking indicating that the

magazine was manufactured or assembled after July 1,
2013.

Beginning in 2023, the bill allows a municipality to refer a
municipal election using instant runoff voting to be conducted as part of
a coordinated election. The secretary of state is required to promulgate
rules establishing the minimum system requirements and specifications
for a voting system to be used in an election using instant runoff voting
by March 31, 2022. After March 31, 2022, a system that has been tested

and satisfies the standards promulgated by the secretary of state may be
submitted for certification for use in an election using instant runoff
voting. If the secretary of state certifies a system, the secretary is required
to negotiate and purchase, if possible, a single annual statewide license
with the provider to allow each county that uses the voting system to
conduct elections using instant runoff voting.
On and after January 1, 2023, a statutory city or town or home rule
municipality that has taken formal action to conduct an election using
instant runoff voting may refer the election to be conducted as part of a
coordinated election by providing written notice to the county clerk and
recorder. If the county uses a voting system that is certified for use in an
election using instant runoff voting, the county clerk and recorder must
conduct the election as part of the coordinated election. The municipality
referring the election is responsible for any reasonable additional costs the
county incurs as a result of conducting an instant runoff voting election.
If the referring municipality is located in more than one county, the
counties are required to conduct the election using instant runoff voting
only if each county receives timely notice, each county uses a voting
system certified for such use, and the data from all the counties' voting
systems can be tabulated together in accordance with rules promulgated
by the secretary of state for conducting instant runoff elections across
multiple counties. The counties and the municipality are required to enter
into an agreement for the conduct of the election, which must specify the
procedures for the county canvass boards to canvass the election.
For any instant runoff voting election conducted as part of a
coordinated election, the secretary of state is the designated election
official responsible for tabulating and reporting the results. The secretary
of state is required, by December 31, 2022, to promulgate rules related to
instant runoff voting elections including the procedures for conducting
logic and accuracy tests and risk limiting audits, and for the tabulation,
reporting, and canvassing of results.

This bill creates a legislative oversight committee and task force to study Colorado state and local tax policy, including state tax expenditures. The committee sets each year's agenda for the task force and may request bills each session.

The bill creates the legislative oversight committee concerning tax
policy (committee) and the associated task force (task force).
The committee is required to review the policy considerations
contained in the tax expenditure evaluations prepared by the state auditor
and is responsible for the oversight of the task force. The committee may
recommend legislative changes that are treated as bills recommended by

an interim legislative committee.
The task force is required to study tax policy and develop and
propose for committee consideration any modifications to the current
system of state and local taxation.
The task force is also authorized, upon request by a committee
member, to provide evidence-based feedback on the potential benefits or
consequences of a legislative or other policy proposal not directly
affiliated with or generated by the task force, including any bill or
resolution introduced by the general assembly that affects tax policy.

Federal law requires federally licensed firearms dealers to conduct

background checks of prospective transferees prior to transferring a
firearm by contacting the national instant criminal background check
system (NICS). A dealer is not required to conduct a NICS background
check of a prospective transferee if the transferee presents a state license
or permit that is recognized by the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco,
firearms, and explosives (ATF) as an alternative to a NICS background
check. In order to be eligible for recognition, a permit must have been
issued within 5 years before the transfer and the state must have
completed a NICS background check prior to issuing the permit.
The bill makes a Colorado-issued permit to carry a concealed
handgun eligible for recognition as an alternative to a NICS background
check by requiring a sheriff to receive the results of a background check
prior to issuing or renewing the permit. The Colorado attorney general is
required to contact the ATF to request that a Colorado-issued permit
qualifies as an alternative to the federal background check requirement.
Upon approval by the ATF, a concealed carry permit issued after the
effective date of the bill can be used to satisfy a background check
required by state or federal law. A permit issued in another state that is
otherwise recognized in Colorado is not valid as a substitute for a
background check.
A prospective transferee who presents a permit as an alternative to
a background check must attest, in writing, that the person has not, since
the issuance of the permit, been convicted of a crime of domestic violence
or been treated for a mental health condition, or is otherwise ineligible to
possess a firearm pursuant to state or federal law.

The bill provides that only an elector who has provided proof of
citizenship can vote in an election. Registered electors who have
presented a county clerk and recorder with proof of citizenship receive
regular mail ballots. All other registered electors receive provisional mail
ballots. Electors who receive provisional mail ballots must present those
ballots at the county clerk and recorder's office and must provide proof of

citizenship at the county clerk and recorder's office.
The bill also ensures that only voters who have provided proof of
citizenship can cast a regular in-person ballot.
Finally, the bill requires the computerized statewide voter
registration list maintained by the secretary of state to note whether an
elector has shown proof of citizenship.

The bill requires the state auditor to conduct an annual audit of the
statewide voter registration system. The audit must include at least 20%
of the active registered electors in each county, unduplicated over 5
consecutive years. The auditor is required to determine whether the data
in the statewide voter registration list can be validated against other
official records including death records, property records, and tax records.

The secretary of state must reimburse the state for the full cost of the
audit from the department of state cash fund.

The bill allows a person who is nominated as a candidate for
elected office who is also nominated as a candidate for lieutenant
governor to run for both offices. If the person wins the election for both
offices, the person must resign from one of them within 7 days of the
final certification of the results of both elections. The vacancy created by
the resignation is filled in accordance with existing law on vacancies for

that office.

This bill has two main purposes:
1) Allows foster youth who have left the program to voluntarily re-enter between the ages of 18-21. Many foster youth are eager to emancipate from the system only to discover they need help with housing, employment, education, mental health, etc. Studies show when they receive that help, positive statistics related to graduation rates, employment, not being homeless, improved mental health go way up. The bill contains a process for determining eligibility and allows for the youth to have direct counsel representation (as opposed to a guardian).
2) Creates a grant program and advisory board to provides services to youth 18-23 to help transition to adulthood. To be eligible, youth must be 18-23, formerly in foster care or adjudicated dependent and neglected, and participating voluntarily.
This bill is in line with legislation we have supported in the past related to our positions on Children’s Support Systems, and in fact is directly related to a 2018 bill we supported that created a task force or relevant stakeholders, called the Chafee Modernization Task Group. The work of that group resulted in this bill, HB21-1094. 

The bill creates the foster youth in transition program (transition
program) in the state department of human services (state department) to
be implemented in county departments of human or social services
(county departments) throughout the state. The purpose of the transition
program is to allow foster youth who meet eligibility criteria to
voluntarily continue to receive certain child welfare services (services) up

until the last day of the month of the youth's twenty-first birthday, or such
greater age of foster care eligibility as required by federal law. Services
provided through the transition program must be client-directed and
developmentally appropriate as set forth in and agreed to through a
voluntary services agreement (agreement) developed and entered into
between the youth and county department.
The bill sets forth the eligibility criteria a youth must meet in order
to voluntarily participate in the transition program. A youth who is no
longer under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and thinks he or she is
eligible for the transition program may make a written request to the
juvenile court (court) or county department where the youth resides. The
county department shall make a determination of eligibility. If the youth
is eligible, the county department shall explain the requirements and
benefits of the transition program to the youth and, with the youth,
develop an agreement that must be provided to the juvenile court together
with a petition to renew jurisdiction with the juvenile court.
The bill describes the services and supports that will be made
available to a youth through the transition program, including assistance
with enrolling in medicaid; assistance with securing appropriate housing;
and providing case management services, such as developing a roadmap
to success, obtaining employment, obtaining critical documents and
records, and accessing information about relatives and siblings, if
available and appropriate.
The bill sets forth the form and content required for a petition to
bring the youth under the juvenile court's jurisdiction. Upon receipt of
informed, written consent of the youth, a person may be named as a
special respondent in a case brought pursuant to the transition program.
A youth participating in the transition program must be appointed
counsel from a list of attorneys approved by the office of the child's
representative. If the youth is 18 years of age or older and, due to
diminished capacity, needs a guardian ad litem, one may also be
appointed.
Procedures for emancipation discharge and transition hearings
(hearing) are described in the bill, including a requirement to have a
personalized emancipation transition plan finalized for the youth no more
than 90 days prior to a hearing. The county department shall file a report
with the court at least 7 days prior to a transition hearing that includes
relevant details concerning a youth's status and plans to either emancipate
or enter the youth in transition program. With the youth's consent and in
certain circumstances, the court may continue a transition hearing for up
to 119 days.
The court shall hold periodic reviews of the youth's case at least
every 6 months to ensure that the transition program is providing the
youth with the necessary services to help the youth move toward
permanency and a successful transition to adulthood. The bill sets forth
procedures for the periodic reviews. The bill grants continuing
jurisdiction in a youth's case to the juvenile court under certain situations.
The bill creates the foster youth successful transition to adulthood
grant program (grant program) and associated advisory board (advisory
board). The purpose of the grant program is to support eligible youth to
successful transition into adulthood. Youth are eligible for services from
recipients of grants from the grant program if they are between the ages
of 18 and 23, were in foster care or adjudicated dependent and neglected,
and are participating voluntarily. The advisory board shall meet at least
2 times per year, and the bill outlines membership.
The state department is directed to promulgate rules for the
implementation of the transition program.
The bill makes conforming amendments.

The bill creates a civil cause of action for a person who suffers
injury or damages as a result of not being able to use a firearm to defend
himself, herself, or his or her family as a result of a temporary extreme

risk protection order or an ongoing extreme risk protection order. The
civil action may be brought against any person who drafted, proposed,
promoted, or provided support, financial or otherwise, to pass, implement,
or enforce House Bill 19-1177, extreme risk protection orders. A
successful plaintiff is entitled to attorney fees and compensatory damages
or liquidated damages.

The Media Literacy Implementation Bill will require media literacy instruction in schools. The bill directs Colorado Department of Education to maintain an online materials and resource bank as well as provide technical assistance to K-12 school districts, charter schools, institute charter schools, or boards of cooperative services in support of media literacy instruction. Additionally, the Department of Education will provide policies and procedures for implementation, best practices, and recommendations related to media literacy.

Background:  This effort began with HB19-1110 that created the Media Literacy Advisory Committee in Elementary and Secondary Education. The advisory committee compiled a report recommending materials and resources which now comprises the minimum of the Department of Education online repository. The materials and resources in the repository are optional for teachers and school district and do not make up a curriculum.

As currently written, this bill requires the state board of education to review and adopt revisions that implement media literacy within reading, writing, and civics standards.

The League supports this bill because it believes the Colorado Department of Education should take a strong leadership role to provide better service that encourages educational improvement.

The League also believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation at all levels of government. Gaining media literacy skills and strategies in school will contribute to a more informed citizenry for the future. 

HB21-1103 was passed in the House and is assigned to the Senate Education Committee.  

The bill requires the department of education (department) to
create and maintain an online resource bank of materials and resources
pertaining to media literacy. At a minimum, the resource bank must

include the materials and resources recommended in the media literacy
advisory committee's report.
The bill requires the department, upon the request of a school
district, charter school, institute charter school, or board of cooperative
services, and subject to available resources, to provide technical
assistance to a school district, charter school, institute charter school, or
board of cooperative services, with implementing policies and
procedures, best practices, and recommendations related to media
literacy.
The bill requires the state board of education to review and adopt
revisions that implement media literacy within reading, writing, and
civics standards.

We consider public utilities for heating, electricity, and water to be essential for health and safety of all Coloradans. There should be no equity gaps in accessing these utilities for low-income households.  The League supports assistance for low-income individuals affected by energy policies.   

The bill changes the way utility assistance is funded by requiring $1 charge on each Electric bill and each Natural Gas bill issued by investor-owned utilities instead of depending on money available from the severance tax fund, where this purpose has a low priority in a long list.  

The bill modifies Colorado law by including Water in the scope of utilities and provides for assistance on water bills to be funded by an opt-in program by water utilities. 

Utility assistance will be provided through Energy Outreach Colorado, a charitable non-profit that has been administering the programs on behalf of the Dept of Human Services and the Colorado Energy Office.  The CEO provides weatherization assistance to low-income households. 

Section 1 of the bill removes the low-income energy assistance
program administered by Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) from the
grant program reserve funded by tier 2 severance tax operational fund
money.
Section 2 clarifies that the definition of a low-income utility
customer, with regard to the public utilities commission's (PUC)

consideration of a preference or advantage that a gas or electric utility
grants a low-income utility customer, means a utility customer who meets
the Colorado department of human services' income eligibility criteria.
Sections 3 and 4 make modifications to the legislative commission
on low-income energy assistance, wherein section 3 expands the
commission's scope to include water utility assistance and section 4
reduces the composition of the commission from 11 members to 7
members. Section 4 also requires the commission to:
  • Advise the Colorado energy office (office) on grants
awarded from the federal department of energy regarding
the office's weatherization assistance program;
  • Advise water utilities that provide their customers with
utility assistance and efficiency programs; and
  • Review EOC's annual budget that it submits to the PUC
regarding the use of funding for utility bill payment
assistance.
Sections 5, 6, and 8 to 10 concern the creation of an energy
assistance system benefit charge, which is a mandatory monthly charge
that investor-owned electric and gas utilities are required to collect from
their customers. The initial amount of the charge per customer is $1 for
electric service provided and $1 for natural gas service provided, but the
PUC may adopt rules to modify the amount of the charge, so long as the
charge is at least $1 per service provided. Investor-owned utilities are
required to remit the charges collected to EOC to help finance the direct
utility bill payment assistance and energy retrofit programs that EOC
administers for low-income households.
Sections 7 and 11 concern voluntary, opt-in charges that a water
utility may offer its customers to help finance the water utility bill
payment assistance program that EOC administers. Alternatively, a water
utility may implement its own water utility bill payment assistance
program.
Section 12 requires EOC and the office, when installing energy
retrofits for low-income households, to prioritize customer savings,
emission reductions, and improving indoor air quality.
Section 13 governs reporting requirements for EOC regarding the
mandatory monthly energy assistance system benefit charge and
voluntary, opt-in monthly water utility bill payment assistance collections.
Sections 14 to 17 make conforming amendments.

The bill requires that firearms be responsibly and securely stored
when they are not in use to prevent access by unsupervised juveniles and
other unauthorized users. The bill creates the offense of unlawful storage
of a firearm if a person stores a firearm in a manner that the person
knows, or should know:
  • That a juvenile can gain access to the firearm without the

permission of the juvenile's parent or guardian; or
  • A resident of the premises is ineligible to possess a firearm
under state or federal law.
Unlawful storage of a firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor.
The bill requires licensed gun dealers to provide with each firearm,
at the time of a firearm sale or transfer, a locking device capable of
securing the firearm. Transferring a firearm without a locking device is
an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $500 fine.
The bill requires the state court administrator to annually report to
the general assembly about the number of charges related to unsafe
firearms storage and the disposition of those charges.
The bill requires the office of suicide prevention within the
department of public health and environment (department) to include on
its website, and in materials provided to firearms-related businesses and
health care providers, information about the offense of unlawful storage
of a firearm, penalties for providing a handgun to a juvenile or allowing
a juvenile to possess a firearm, and the requirement that gun dealers
provide a locking device with each firearm transferred. Subject to
available money, the department is required to develop and implement a
firearms safe storage education campaign to educate the public about the
safe storage of firearms and state requirements related to firearms safety
and storage.

The bill amends the definition of sexual orientation and adds
definitions of the terms gender expression and gender identity. The
bill also adds the terms gender expression and gender identity to
statutes prohibiting discrimination against members of a protected class,
including statutes prohibiting discriminatory practices in the following

areas:
  • Membership of the Colorado civil rights commission;
  • Employment practices;
  • Housing practices;
  • Places of public accommodation;
  • Publications that advertise places of public
accommodation;
  • Consumer credit transactions;
  • Selection of patients by direct primary health care
providers;
  • Sales of cemetery plots;
  • Membership in labor organizations;
  • Colorado labor for public works projects;
  • Issuance or renewal of automobile insurance policies;
  • The provision of funeral services and crematory services;
  • Eligibility for jury service;
  • Issuance of licenses to practice law;
  • The juvenile diversion program;
  • Access to services for youth in foster care;
  • Enrollment in a charter school, institute charter school,
public school, or pilot school;
  • Local school boards' written policies regarding
employment, promotion, and dismissal;
  • The assignment or transfer of a public school teacher;
  • Leasing portions of the grounds of or improvements on the
grounds of the Colorado state university - Pueblo and the
Colorado school of mines;
  • Enrollment or classification of students at private
occupational schools;
  • Training provided to peace officers concerning the
prohibition against profiling;
  • Criminal justice data collection;
  • Employment in the state personnel system;
  • The availability of services for the prevention and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections;
  • Membership of the health equity commission;
  • The availability of family planning services;
  • Requirements for managed care programs participating in
the state medicaid program and the children's basic health
plan;
  • The treatment of and access to services by individuals in
facilities providing substance use disorder treatment
programs;
  • Employment practices of county departments of human or
social services involving the selection, retention, and
promotion of employees;
  • Practices of the Colorado housing and finance authority in
making or committing to make a housing facility loan;
  • The imposition of occupancy requirements on charitable
property for which the owner is claiming an exemption
from property taxes based on the charitable use of the
property;
  • The determination of whether expenses paid at or to a club
that has a policy to restrict membership are tax deductible;
and
  • Practices of transportation network companies in providing
services to the public.

The bill clarifies that the existing authority of cities and counties
to plan for and regulate the use of land includes the authority to regulate
development or redevelopment in order to promote the construction of

new affordable housing units. The provisions of the state's rent control
statute do not apply to any land use regulation that restricts rents on newly
constructed or redeveloped housing units as long as the regulation
provides a choice of options to the property owner or land developer and
creates one or more alternatives to the construction of new affordable
housing units on the building site.

Under existing law, certain residential landlords must give 10 days'
notice to tenants prior to starting eviction proceedings for failure to pay
rent or for a first or subsequent violation of any other condition or
covenant other than a substantial violation. The bill requires landlords to
give 14 days' notice in those situations.
Under existing law, the clerk of the court or the attorney for the

plaintiff may issue a summons to a defendant in an eviction action. The
bill requires that the clerk of the court issue the summons in a residential
eviction action. The bill extends the period for which the summons must
be issued from 7 days before the court appearance to 14 days before the
court appearance.
Under existing law, in certain circumstances, a person may serve
a notice to quit or summons to the tenant by posting a copy of the notice
or summons and the complaint in a conspicuous place upon the premises
and a person may serve a notice to quit by leaving it with a member of the
tenant's family who is at least 15 years old. The bill removes those
provisions for service in residential tenancy actions and requires that the
notice to quit or summons be served in the same manner as any other civil
action.
Under existing law, if a landlord wins judgment in an eviction
action, the court cannot issue a writ of restitution, which directs the
county sheriff to assist the landlord in removing the tenant, until 48 hours
after judgment. The bill extends the period for residential evictions to 14
days after judgment.
The bill prohibits residential landlords from increasing rent more
than one time in a 12-month period of tenancy.
The bill extends the notice period for nonpayment of rent for a
home owner in a mobile home park from 10 days to 14 days.
Under existing law, for a tenancy of one month or longer but less
than 6 months in which there is no written agreement between the
landlord and tenant, a landlord must give 21 days' written notice to the
tenant prior to increasing the rent. For a residential tenancy, the bill
extends the notice period to 60 days and makes it apply to a tenancy of
any duration without a written agreement. The bill prohibits a landlord
from terminating a residential tenancy in which there is no written
agreement with the primary purpose of increasing a tenant's rent without
providing 60 days' notice.

The bill suspends the administration of state assessments,
contingent on a change to federal law or a waiver of federal law from the
federal department of education, for the following instructional areas for
the 2020-21 school year:
  • Science administered to students enrolled in grades 5, 8,
and 11;

  • Math administered to students enrolled in grades 3 through
8;
  • English language arts administered to students enrolled in
grades 3 through 8; and
  • Social studies administered to students enrolled in grades
4 and 7.
The bill prohibits a school district from using student academic
growth measures or student performance measures when evaluating
teachers and principals for the 2020-21 school year.
The bill requires a school or a school district to implement the
school plan type that was assigned in the preceding school year. The bill
requires the department of education, in determining the number of
school years that a school or school district is on performance watch, to
exclude the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, and count the 2021-22
school year as if it were consecutive to the 2018-19 school year.

The bill:
  • Makes current laws concerning governance and
transparency for cooperative electric associations
(associations) applicable to nonprofit generation and
transmission cooperative electric associations that provide
wholesale electric service directly to Colorado cooperative

electric associations that are its members;
  • Eliminates an exemption to those requirements for
associations with fewer than 25,000 members;
  • Allows an association to authorize, in its bylaws, its
members and directors to participate in meetings
electronically;
  • Allows an association to authorize, in its bylaws, members
to vote in an election through a secure and verifiable
electronic voting system;
  • Clarifies that members voting or participating in a meeting
electronically are considered present in person for the
purpose of establishing quorum;
  • Defines joint memberships and clarifies how joint
memberships can vote;
  • Amends the deadlines and requirements for notice of an
election;
  • Requires an association to adopt written policies
concerning the compensation of board members and
disclosures of conflicts of interest for board members;
  • Requires board members to fulfill their duty of loyalty to
the cooperative association at all times; except that, if a
director serves on the board of both a generation and
transmission association and a distribution association, the
director can not be required to prioritize the director's duty
to the generation and transmission association over the
director's duty to the distribution association; and
  • Requires associations to post on their websites information
about their rates and net metering requirements and to
make financial audits available to members on request.

The bill creates the tenants' rent payment information pilot
program (pilot program) and directs the Colorado housing and finance
authority (authority) to contract with a third party to administer the pilot
program in accordance with rules promulgated by the authority.
The administrator shall recruit no more than 10 landlords to

participate in the pilot program. A tenant may participate in the pilot
program only if the tenant elects to participate and completes a financial
education course.
On or before January 1, 2024, the authority, in consultation with
the administrator, shall submit to applicable legislative committees of
reference a report concerning the pilot program.
The pilot program is repealed, effective June 1, 2024.

Under current law, local governments are prohibited from
requiring or banning the use or sale of specific types of plastic materials
or products. Section 1 repeals the prohibition on July 1, 2023.
Section 2 prohibits stores and retail food establishments, on and
after September 1, 2022, from providing single-use plastic carryout bags
to customers. The prohibition does not apply to inventory purchased
before September 1, 2022, and used on or before March 31, 2023, which
may be supplied to a customer at the point of sale for a 10-cent fee.

Between September 1, 2021, and September 1, 2022, a store may
furnish a recycled paper carryout bag or a single-use plastic carryout bag
to a customer at the point of sale if the customer pays a fee of 10 cents per
bag or a higher fee adopted by the municipality or county in which the
store is located.
On and after September 1, 2022, a store may furnish only a
recycled paper carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale at a fee of
10 cents per bag or a higher fee imposed by the municipality or county in
which the store is located.
A store is required to remit, on a quarterly basis beginning January
1, 2022, 60% of the carryout bag fee revenues to the municipality or
county within which the store is located and may retain the remaining
40% of the carryout bag fee revenues. A municipality or county may use
its portion of the carryout bag fee revenues to pay for its administrative
and enforcement costs and any recycling, composting, or other waste
diversion programs or related outreach or education activities.
The carryout bag fee does not apply to a customer that provides
evidence to the store that the customer is a participant in a federal or state
food assistance program.
Section 2 also prohibits a retail food establishment, on and after
January 1, 2022, from distributing an expanded polystyrene product for
use as a container for ready-to-eat food in this state. The prohibition does
not apply to retail food establishments located within certain schools until
January 1, 2023; except that the prohibition does not apply to a high
school until January 1, 2024.
Retail food establishments that purchase expanded polystyrene
products before January 1, 2022, may continue to use the products until
their supply is depleted.
Section 2 also authorizes a local government to enforce against a
violation of section 2 and expressly authorizes a county to impose a civil
penalty against a store or retail food establishment of $500 for a second
violation or $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation.
On and after July 1, 2023, a local government may enact,
implement, or enforce an ordinance, resolution, rule, or charter provision
that is as stringent as or more stringent than the requirements set forth in
the bill.

The League of Women Voters' position on taxes calls for them to "be understandable to the taxpayer and encourage compliance" Colorado's current sales tax law requires prices to be stated without sales tax, and sales tax shown separately as it, plus the sales price, is paid by the buyer. This would allow retailers to advertise a price that effectively includes sales tax, though require retailers to disclose the sales tax amount and pay it to the Department of Revenue. This could create confusion where local governments collect their own sales tax, which would need to be disclosed and collected from the buyer as currently unless the local entities adopt conforming language. This could also also create apples to oranges pricing comparisons for buyers if some retailers advertise absorbing sales tax and some don't.

The bill allows a retailer to advertise, directly or indirectly, or
imply, that the retailer will absorb or pay any or all sales or use tax on
purchases of tangible personal property or services sold.

Voters in all but two of the 178 school districts approved their schools retaining revenue above TABOR limits. However, from 1994 - 2006, mil levies in some of those districts were erroneously reduced to comply with TABOR. Except for the two remaining TABORed school districts, HB20-1418 reset districts' mill levies for total program, but required them to tax credit back the additional mills so tax rates stayed at 2019. Under this bil,l the Department of Education would set a schedule for districts to increase the number of mills collected, up to the HB 20-1418 limits, rising by at most one mill per year.

For the 2020 property tax year, the existing statute corrects the
total program mill levies for school districts that are not subject to
constitutional property tax revenue restrictions but whose mill levies were

erroneously reduced. Each school district that levies a higher number of
mills as a result of the correction must grant a tax credit for the number
of mills by which the levy is increased.
The bill requires the department of education to adopt a correction
schedule to begin phasing out the tax credits in the 2021 property tax
year. The correction schedule must apply consistently to each affected
school district; must require each district's tax credit to phase out as
quickly as possible, but by no more than one mill per year; and must
ensure that the tax credits are fully phased out in 19 years.

The bill creates the information technology and infrastructure
advisement committee on Colorado elections (committee). The
committee's purpose is to evaluate and make recommendations to the
secretary of state on the following issues:
  • The standards for certification of electronic voting systems;

  • Any issues involving electronic voting systems that have
arisen in the state;
  • The security, reliability, and integrity of electronic voting
systems; and
  • Other information technology issues related to the accuracy
and transparency of electronic voting systems in the state.
The committee is required to submit an initial report by March 1,
2022, and annual follow-up reports with its findings and
recommendations to the secretary of state. The committee is required to
meet at least 2 times each year and is scheduled for sunset review before
September 1, 2025.

The bill creates the Colorado bipartisan election commission

(commission) in the department of state, a 5-member panel whose main
function is to make recommendations to the secretary of state (secretary)
and the general assembly concerning the manner in which a
comprehensive audit of the state's election processes is to be conducted.
The bill specifies requirements relating to the qualifications of
persons appointed to the commission and the operation of the
commission. The commission is to determine such matters as the scope
of the audit, the matters to be audited, and the procedures that will guide
the audit.
The bill also requires the commission to consider whether an audit
should consider additional issues specified in the bill.
The commission is required to prepare a report summarizing its
findings and conclusions by December 1, 2021. The report must include
the commission's recommendation on the manner in which a
comprehensive audit of the state's election processes must be conducted.
The commission may also include in its report any recommendations for
changes in the Colorado Revised Statutes or the election rules of the
secretary of state that will facilitate the administration of secure and fair
elections in the state. The commission is required to submit its report to
the secretary, the legislative audit committee, and the general assembly.
The commission is repealed September 1, 2022.

Under existing law, during a disaster emergency the governor may
suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of firearms,
explosives, and combustibles. The bill repeals the governor's authority
related to firearms and clarifies that the governor may not suspend or
limit the sale of firearms ammunition during a disaster emergency.

The bill repeals the prohibition on completing a handgun training
class via the internet or in a location other than the physical location
where the certified instructor offers the course.

The bill amends provisions related to the operation of the regional
transportation district (district), including:
  • Removing a cap on the amount of all vehicular service the
district can allow to be provided by third parties under
competitive contracts and retaining the cap on the amount

of fixed route bus service that may be provided through
such contracts;
  • Expanding the types of entities the district can contract
with to include nonprofit organizations and local
government;
  • Repealing farebox recovery ratio requirements and
requiring the district to include in its annual financial
reports information on annual operating costs, ridership
numbers, and operating costs divided by ridership as a
measure of the cost efficiency of its services;
  • Repealing a limitation on developments that would reduce
parking at a facility or result in a competitive disadvantage
to private businesses near the facility; and
  • Repealing limitations on the district's authority to charge
fees and manage parking at district parking facilities.

Current law defines as a covered facility a stationary source of
air pollutants that reported in its federal toxics release inventory filing at
least one of the following amounts of the following covered air toxics
in one year:
  • For hydrogen cyanide, 10,000 pounds;
  • For hydrogen sulfide, 5,000 pounds; and

  • For benzene, 5,000 pounds.
The bill expands upon the requirements applicable to covered
facilities by:
  • Directing the air quality control commission to consider, at
least every 5 years, adding new types of covered air toxics
and adjusting the applicable emission thresholds;
  • Requiring that a covered facility's outreach to communities
near the covered facility, in particular disproportionately
impacted communities, be conducted in the 2 most
prevalent languages spoken in the communities;
  • Requiring covered facilities to conduct fenceline
monitoring of covered air toxics and to publicly report the
results of the monitoring; and
  • Requiring covered facilities to take corrective action within
15 days after a violation occurs.
The bill also requires the division of administration in the
department of public health and environment to conduct
community-based monitoring of covered air toxics in areas near covered
facilities and to publicly report the results.

The bill creates the immigration legal defense fund (fund). The
department of human services as the administrator awards grants from the
fund to qualifying nonprofit organizations (organizations) that provide
legal advice, counseling, and representation for, and on behalf of,
indigent clients who are subject to an immigration proceeding. The bill
lists permissible uses of grant money awarded from the fund.

Organizations that receive a grant from the fund are required to
report to the administrator certain information about persons served and
services provided by the organization.
The bill makes an appropriation.

1 in 4 Coloradans living in communities of color are struggling with medical debt collection.  HB21-1198 prevents overcharging low-income patients, ensures hospitals screen patients for financial assistance, prohibits collections actions unless hospital providers take steps to protect patients, and ensures all patients have access to information about their rights in their primary language. This bill is consistent with League policy promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in all health care activities. 

The bill requires health-care facilities to follow standardized procedures for screening uninsured patients and informing them of their eligibility for public health insurance,s before initiating collections proceedings. The bill aligns with League policy for access and affordability of health care to all Coloradans, and transparency of costs and options.

House considered Senate amendments with result laid over daily from 6-4-21.

No later than June 1, 2022, a health-care facility shall screen each
uninsured patient for eligibility for public health insurance programs,

discounted care through the Colorado indigent care program (CICP), and
discounted care as described in the bill. Health-care facilities shall use a
single uniform application developed by the department of health care
policy and financing (department) when screening a patient. If a
health-care facility determines a patient is ineligible for discounted care,
the facility shall provide the patient notice of the determination and an
opportunity for the patient to appeal the determination.
For emergency and other non-CICP health-care services provided
to qualified patients, a health-care facility and licensed health-care
professional shall limit the amounts charged to not more than 80% of the
medicare rate if the patient is uninsured; collect amounts charged in
monthly installments such that a patient is not paying more than 5% of the
patient's household income; and after a cumulative 36 months of
payments, consider the patient's bill paid in full and permanently cease
any and all collection activities on any balance that remains unpaid.
A health-care facility shall make information about patient's rights
and the uniform application for discounted care available to the public
and to each patient.
Beginning June 1, 2023, and each June 1 thereafter, each
health-care facility shall collect and report to the department data that the
department determines is necessary to evaluate compliance across patient
groups based on race, ethnicity, and primary language spoken with the
required screening, discounted care, payment plan, and collections
practices.
No later than April 1, 2022, the department shall develop a written
explanation of a patient's rights, make the explanation available to the
public and each patient, and establish a process for patients to submit a
complaint relating to noncompliance with the requirements. The
department shall periodically review health-care facilities and licensed
health-care professionals (hospital providers) to ensure compliance, and
the department shall notify the hospital provider if the hospital provider
is not in compliance that the hospital provider has 90 days to file a
corrective action plan with the department. A hospital provider may
request up to 120 days to submit a corrective action plan. The department
may require a hospital provider that is not in compliance to develop and
operate under a corrective action plan until the department determines the
hospital provider is in compliance. The bill implements fines for hospital
providers if the department determines the hospital provider's
noncompliance is knowing or willful.
The bill imposes requirements on hospital providers before
assigning or selling patient debt to a medical creditor or before pursuing
any permissible extraordinary collection action and imposes fines for any
hospital provider that fails to comply with the requirements.
The bill prohibits a medical creditor from using impermissible
extraordinary collection action to collect debts owed for health-care
services provided by a hospital provider. A medical creditor may engage
in permissible extraordinary collection actions 180 days after the first bill
for a medical debt is sent to the patient. At least 30 days before taking any
permissible extraordinary collection action, a medical creditor shall
provide the patient with a notice about the discounted care policy, the
permissible extraordinary collection actions that will be initiated, and a
deadline after which such permissible extraordinary collection actions
will be initiated. If a patient is later found eligible for discounted care, the
medical creditor shall reverse any permissible extraordinary collection
actions.

The bill directs the state board of education (state board) to review,
during a recurring interval specified in the bill, standards relating to the
knowledge and skills that a student should acquire in school to ensure that
the financial literacy standards for ninth through twelfth grade include an
understanding of the costs associated with obtaining a postsecondary
degree or credential and how to budget for and manage the payment for
those costs, including managing student loan debt and accessing student
aid through completion of the free application for federal student aid

(FAFSA) and the Colorado application for state financial aid (CASFA);
understanding credit cards and credit card debt; understanding
homeownership and mortgages; and understanding retirement plans,
including investments and retirement benefits.
The bill adds to the resources contained in the existing financial
literacy resource bank created and maintained by the state board specific
references relating to assessing the affordability of higher education and
how to budget and pay for higher education, as well as how to manage
student loan debt; understanding the purpose of and how to access and
complete the FAFSA or CASFA; understanding credit cards and credit
card debt; understanding the home buying process, including home loans
and managing mortgage debt; and understanding retirement plans,
including investments and retirement benefits.
Under current law, school districts are encouraged to adopt a
financial literacy curriculum and to make completion of a course in
financial literacy a graduation requirement. The bill adds assessing the
affordability of higher education and how to budget and pay for higher
education, as well as how to manage student loan debt, to the suggested
financial literacy curriculum, as well as familiarizing students with the
process and required forms to apply for financial aid, grants, and
scholarships, including the FAFSA and CASFA.
Further, the bill requires school districts and charter schools, as
part of the process of establishing the individual career and academic plan
for a student in grades 9 through 12, to inform the student and the
student's parents of the importance of completing the FAFSA and
CASFA and to provide help in completing the forms, if requested.

The Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services committee passed the bill with a unanimous vote, on 4-6-21, & referred it to Appropriations.

The Bill passed the House, was introduced in the Senate and assigned to Judiciary Committee.

This bill increases and clarifies domestic violence training requirements for court personnel who are regularly involved in cases related to domestic matters, including child and family investigators, parenting responsibility evaluators, and legal representatives of children. Training for all personnel must include both an initial training requirement as well as an ongoing annual continuing education requirement as follows:

• Six initial hours of training on domestic violence and its traumatic effects on children, adults, and families;
• Six initial hours of training on child abuse and its traumatic effects; and
• Four subsequent hours of training every 2 years on domestic violence and child abuse and the traumatic effects on children, adults, and families.

Testimony and the discussion at the April 6 hearing uncovered the need for a much broader and comprehensive solution to address the underlying issues related to domestic abuse and parent alienation than the mandated training in the bill would provide. Concerns were also raised about the training itself, which may or may not be addressed in amendments. For these reasons the League has moved back to a Monitor position.

Consideration of Senate amendments to House bill on 6-7-21 resulted in concurrence and repass.  Bill should be on its way to the Governor.

The bill increases and clarifies domestic violence training
requirements (training) for court personnel (personnel) who are regularly
involved in cases related to domestic matters, including child and family
investigators, parenting responsibility evaluators, and legal
representatives of children.
Training for all personnel must include both an initial training

requirement as well as an ongoing annual continuing education
requirement as follows:
  • Six initial hours of training on domestic violence and its
traumatic effects on children, adults, and families;
  • Six initial hours of training on child abuse and its traumatic
effects; and
  • Four subsequent hours of training every 2 years on
domestic violence and child abuse and the traumatic effects
on children, adults, and families.

The bill had lengthy testimony in its original version before the Health & Insurance Committee. It had a significant strike-below, and many introduced amendments, with numerous failing and others passing. Passed the House on a party line vote, 5-10-21. The bill has protections for rural hospitals, critical care hospital, individual providers, but focuses on major hospital systems, said to be the most profitable in the country, here in Colorado.  Passed the Senate. House considered Senate amendments with result Laid Over Daily from 5-27-21.

The bill directs the Commissioner of Insurance to develop a standardized health insurance plan that private insurers must offer; sets targets for premium rate reductions; and creates a process whereby providers may be required to accept rates set by the state regulators. League program policy is supportive of health care reform which offers affordability, quality and access, and which may have government involvement as this plan does.

The bill had lengthy testimony in its original version before the Health & Insurance Committee. It had a significant strike-below, and many introduced amendments, with numerous failing and others passing. Passed the House and Senate on a party line vote. Senate Amendments to a House bill were considered on 6-8-21, and resulted in a repass. The bill was signed by the Governor on 6-16-21.

The bill requires the commissioner of insurance (commissioner)
in the department of regulatory agencies to establish a standardized health
benefit plan (standardized plan) by rule to be offered by health insurance
carriers (carriers) in the individual and small group markets. The
standardized plan must:
  • Offer health-care coverage at the bronze, silver, and gold

levels;
  • Be offered through the Colorado health benefit exchange;
  • Be a standardized benefit design created through a
stakeholder engagement process;
  • Provide first-dollar, predictable coverage for certain high
value services; and
  • Comply with state and federal law.
Beginning January 1, 2023, and each year thereafter, the bill
encourages carriers that offer:
  • An individual health benefit plan in Colorado to offer the
standardized plan in the individual market; and
  • A small group health benefit plan in Colorado to offer the
standardized plan in the small group market.
For 2023, each carrier shall set a goal of offering a standardized
plan premium that is at least 10% less than the premium rate for health
benefit plans offered by that carrier in the 2021 calendar year in the
individual and small group market. For 2024, each carrier shall set a goal
of offering a standardized plan premium that is at least 20% less than the
premium rate for health benefit plans offered by that carrier in the 2021
calendar year in the individual and small group market. For 2025 and
each year thereafter, carriers are encouraged to limit annual premium rate
increases for the standardized plan to no more than the consumer price
index plus one percent, relative to the previous year.
The Colorado option authority (authority) is created for the
purpose of operating as a carrier to offer the standardized plan as the
Colorado option if the carriers do not meet the established premium rate
goals. The authority shall operate as a nonprofit, unincorporated public
entity. The authority is required to implement a provider fee schedule as
established by the commissioner in consultation with the executive
director of the department of health care policy and financing.
Health-care providers and health facilities are required to accept
consumers who are enrolled in any health benefit plan offered by the
authority.
The bill creates an advisory committee to make recommendations
to the authority concerning the development, implementation, and
operation of the authority.
The commissioner is required to apply to the secretary of the
United States department of health and human services for a waiver and
include a request for a pass-through of federal funding to capture savings
as a result of the implementation of the standardized plan. The
commissioner is required to disapprove of a rate filing submitted by a
carrier if the rate filing reflects a cost shift between the standardized plan
and the health benefit plan for which rate approval is being sought.
The bill makes the failure to accept consumers who are covered
through the Colorado option or the balance billing of a patient in violation
of this bill grounds for discipline under specified practice acts.
The bill repeals the authority and its functions if the United States
congress establishes a national public option program that meets or
exceeds the premium rate goals set forth in and health-care coverage
pursuant to this bill.

Currently, amounts deducted for federal income tax must be added back in computing Colorado tax. This allows the deduction in Colorado as well. Currently Colorado allows a statewide total of up to $45 million/year in tax credits for donated conservation easements. This bill expands the definition of entities that can earn and transfer tax credits. It also removes the Department of Revenue's ability to review and reject the validity of an individual credit. Fiscal note says the bill will reduce General Fund revenue ore than $23 million per year.

The bill 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;

  • Eliminates a requirement that amounts deducted for federal
income tax purposes for the donation of a conservation
easement be added back for purposes of calculating
Colorado taxable income;
  • 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 department of revenue 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; and
  • Eliminates obsolete reporting requirements.

The bill creates the Colorado high-impact tutoring program
(program) to provide grant funding to local education providers, as
defined in the bill, to create high-impact tutoring programs (tutoring
programs) to address student learning loss and unfinished learning due to
the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado. A local education
provider or group of providers may apply to the department of education

(department) for a grant.
To receive a grant, a local education provider shall apply to the
department and shall demonstrate need, as determined by the department,
which may include serving low-income or underserved students.
The application must also include the local education provider's
plan for its tutoring program (program plan), which must include the
elements of a tutoring program and must detail how the local education
provider will implement the program plan.
The department shall review grant applications, and the
commissioner of education (commissioner) shall award grants. In
awarding grants, the commissioner shall consider the alignment of the
local education provider's program plan with the requirements of the
tutoring program, the number of students projected to be served, the
needs of a rural local education provider for financial or technical support
to implement a tutoring program, the cost of implementing the local
education provider's tutoring program, the amount of available money for
program grants, and any other criteria determined by the commissioner.
The state board of education may promulgate rules necessary to
implement the program.
In each year in which a grant is awarded, the bill requires a local
education provider receiving a grant to report to the department
information concerning the implementation of the tutoring program,
including student outcomes. The department shall also report annually to
the education committees of the general assembly, summarizing local
education providers' tutoring programs and student outcomes.
The department is not required to implement the program if there
is insufficient money to award program grants.
The bill repeals the program after 5 years.

The bill had strong bi-partisan support, passing the House on a vote of 52-11-2 on  5-4-21. Passed the Senate 27-7-1 on 5-18-21 and sent to the Governor on 5-28-21.

The bill directs the Department of Personnel to contract with a pharmacy benefit
manager for state employee health insurance using a reverse auction procurement process, for the purpose of having a more competitive prescription drug component. Reducing drug costs would potentially both save the individual state employees health care costs, but could also save the state general fund, which may in part be covering state employee benefit costs.

The bill is supported by League policy which encourages affordable, accessible and quality health care with participation by the government to assist with these objectives.

The bill had strong bi-partisan support, passing the House and Senate, and was signed by the Governor 6-7-21.

The department of personnel (department) is required to contract
for the services of a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) for group benefit
plans provided pursuant to the State Employees Group Benefits Act
(state employee group benefits plans) and to procure a technology
platform with the required capabilities for conducting a PBM reverse
auction and the related services of a technology platform operator.

The department is required to repurpose the technology platform
used to conduct the reverse auction over the duration of the PBM services
contract to perform reviews of all invoiced PBM prescription drug claims,
and to identify all deviations from the specific terms of the PBM services
contract. The department is required to reconcile the electronically
adjudicated pharmacy claims with PBM invoices to ensure that state
payments do not exceed the terms specified in any PBM services contract.
Each PBM reverse auction is required to be completed and the
PBM services contract awarded to the winning PBM within a specified
timeline.
The department may perform a market check for providing PBM
services during the term of the current PBM services contract to ensure
continuing competitiveness of incumbent prescription drug pricing over
the life of a PBM services contract.
To ensure that the department does not incur additional
expenditures associated with the requirements of the bill, the department
is required to implement a no-pay option that obligates the winning PBM
to pay the cost of the technology platform and related technology
platform operator services by assessing a per-prescription fee and
requiring the PBM to pay these fees to the technology operator over the
duration of the PBM services contract.
The bill allows other health plans to use the processes and
procedures established in the bill individually, collectively, or as a joint
purchasing group with the state employee group benefits plans.
After completion of the first state employees group benefits plans
PBM reverse auction, self-funded private sector employer or
multi-employer health plans have the option to participate in a joint
purchasing pool with state employees for conduct of subsequent PBM
reverse auctions.
The state employees group benefits plans and any self-funded
public or private sector health plans that opt to participate with the state
employees group benefits plans in a joint PBM reverse auction
purchasing pool shall retain full autonomy over determination of their
respective prescription drug formularies and pharmacy benefit designs
and shall not be required to adopt a common prescription drug formulary
or common prescription pharmacy benefit design.
Any PBM providing services to the department or a self-funded
public or private sector employee health plan is required to provide the
department and the plan access to complete pharmacy claims data
necessary to conduct the reverse auction and carry out their administrative
and management duties.

The bill updates the methods used to determine the
cost-effectiveness of demand-side management (DSM) programs of
public utilities selling natural gas at retail, including requiring that the
calculation of future benefits reflects the avoided costs to ratepayers
resulting from reduced consumption of natural gas. The bill specifies that
the calculation must be based on reliable estimates and published

scientific data and must include methane emissions. In addition, the bill
adds savings targets and budget control mechanisms to the approval
process for gas DSM programs, paralleling the existing process that
applies to electric DSM programs.

The bill requires an agency that uses a chemical restraint to ensure
that a person administering ketamine, haloperidol, or any other
medication that is severely dependent on the weight of an individual or
may result in a severe or adverse reaction with improper dosage in a
nonhospital setting does so when staff trained in the administration of
such medication can monitor the vital signs of the individual and weigh

the individual to ensure accurate dosage.
Absent a justifiable emergency, a person shall not administer a
chemical restraint in a nonhospital setting to subdue, sedate, or
chemically incapacitate an individual for alleged or suspected criminal,
delinquent, or suspicious conduct.
The bill prohibits a peace officer from using, requesting, causing,
directing, or influencing the use of a chemical restraint upon another
person.
The bill prohibits a peace officer from compelling, requesting,
causing, directing, or influencing an emergency medical service provider
(EMS provider) to administer a chemical restraint. An EMS provider
shall confidentially report a peace officer's violation to the P.O.S.T. board
within 10 days of the occurrence, and a peace officer shall not retaliate in
any way against an EMS provider for reporting the incident. A peace
officer shall not influence an EMS provider's medical decision or
diagnosis, and an EMS provider shall not base its medical decision
exclusively on information provided by a peace officer.
When a peace officer directs a person to assist the peace officer,
the person is prohibited from administering a chemical restraint.
The bill requires a peace officer who witnesses another peace
officer use a chemical restraint in pursuance of the peace officer's duties
to report such use to the P.O.S.T. board. The report must be in writing
and made within 10 days of the occurrence of the use of a chemical
restraint. Any peace officer who fails to report use of a chemical restraint
commits a class 1 misdemeanor.
The bill requires a peace officer to intervene, without regard for
chain of command, to prevent or stop another peace officer from using a
chemical restraint in pursuance of the other peace officer's duties. A
peace officer who intervenes shall report the intervention to the peace
officer's immediate supervisor. A member of a law enforcement agency
shall not discipline or retaliate in any way against a peace officer for
intervening. Any peace officer who fails to intervene commits a class 1
misdemeanor, and the officer's certification is subject to revocation.
The bill changes the structure of the emergency medical practice
advisory council (advisory council) by adding an EMS provider certified
or licensed at an advanced life support level, an anesthesiologist, a
registered nurse or physician's assistant certified or licensed at a basic life
support level, a clinical pharmacist, and a clinical psychiatrist. Members
of the advisory council shall not have any conflicts of interest, and no
more than 5 members of the advisory council may be members of, or have
a direct affiliation with, the National Association of EMS Physicians.
The bill requires the advisory council to submit a report to the
general assembly any time the advisory council advises or recommends
authorizing the administration of any chemical restraints.
1

The bill modifies the required procedures relating to a respondent's
firearms or ammunition following the issuance of a protection order.
The bill requires a person to complete an affidavit, which must be
filed in the court record within 7 business days after a protection order is
issued against them, stating the number of firearms, the type of each
firearm, and the location of all firearms in the person's immediate

possession or control. If the person does not possess a firearm at the time
the order is issued, the person shall indicate such nonpossession in the
affidavit.
The bill requires the court to conduct a compliance hearing within
7 business days after the issuance of a protection order if the person has
not completed the affidavit. For criminal cases, the court may consider the
issue in other proceedings before the court and the hearing is considered
a court action involving a bond reduction or modification. Information
compelled or any information directly or indirectly derived from
testimony, the affidavit, or other information shall not be used against the
defendant in any criminal case, except for prosecution of perjury.
The bill excludes legal holidays and weekends from the current
time frame a person has to relinquish a firearm. The bill allows a court to
grant a person an additional 24 hours to relinquish a firearm if the person
is unable to comply with the required time frame of relinquishment.
The bill requires a federally licensed firearms dealer, law
enforcement agency, or private party to issue a signed declaration
memorializing the sale or transfer of the firearm.
The bill allows a law enforcement agency to enter into an
agreement with any other law enforcement agency or storage facility for
the storage of transferred firearms. The bill requires a law enforcement
agency that elects to store a firearm to obtain a search warrant to examine
or test the firearm or facilitate any criminal investigation if the law
enforcement agency has probable cause to believe the firearm has been
used in the commission of a crime, is stolen, or is contraband.
The bill prohibits the person from transferring the firearm to a
private party living in the same residence as the person at the time of
transfer. The bill prohibits a private party from returning a firearm to the
person until the private party receives a written statement of the results of
the background check conducted by the Colorado bureau of investigation
authorizing the return of the firearm to the person.
Current law requires a copy of the written receipt and the written
statement of the criminal background check to be filed with the court as
proof of relinquishment. The bill requires the signed declaration to be
filed with the court instead of the receipt. Both the signed declaration and
written statement are only available for inspection by the court and the
parties to the proceeding.
A federally licensed firearms dealer, law enforcement agency,
storage facility, or private party that elects to store a firearm is not civilly
liable for any resulting damages to the firearm, as long as such damage
did not result from the willful and wrongful act or gross negligence of the
person or agency storing the firearm.

The bill creates the Colorado meeting and events incentive
program (program) in the Colorado tourism office (office) to provide
rebates and direct support to eligible events and eligible personal events
in Colorado to assist in the state's recovery from the COVID-19
pandemic.

An eligible personal event means a wedding, family reunion, or
other personal event that:
  • Takes place in Colorado between July 1, 2021, and
December 31, 2021;
  • Generates at least 25 paid overnight stays in a motel, hotel,
vacation rental, or other lodging establishment;
  • Can demonstrate a significant economic benefit for the host
community as determined by the office; and
  • Meets any additional criteria established by the office.
An eligible event means an event other than an eligible personal event,
including a meeting, conference, or festival, that:
  • Takes place in Colorado between July 1, 2021, and
December 31, 2022;
  • Generates at least 25 paid overnight stays in a motel, hotel,
vacation rental, or other lodging establishment; and
  • Meets any additional criteria established by the office.
The program may offer rebates of up to 10% of the hard costs of
an eligible event or eligible personal event. A hard cost means an actual
incurred cost associated with hosting the event, as determined by the
office in consultation with industry stakeholders. The program may also
offer rebates of up to 25% for COVID-19-related costs, which are hard
costs that are directly related to complying with public health orders or
other mandates issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as
determined by the office in consultation with industry stakeholders.
The program may provide direct support to attract eligible events
that have the potential to generate significant economic impact and affect
multiple counties. The costs of all such direct support cannot exceed 5%
of the total appropriation for the program.
The office is required to create guidelines for the program. In
doing so, the office must consider mechanisms to:
  • Make rebates and direct support available equitably and
proportionally across the state;
  • Prioritize events with significant economic impacts; and
  • Retain existing events with a demonstrated risk of
cancellation, delay, or relocation in addition to attracting
new events to the state.
The program is repealed, effective July 1, 2024.

The bill creates the stimulus investments in reskilling, upskilling,
and next-skilling workers program (program) as an initiative of the state
work force development council (state council) to facilitate training for

unemployed and underemployed workers in the state during times of
substantial unemployment, defined as a statewide unemployment rate that
exceeds 4%. The bill appropriates $25 million for the program and directs
the state council to use the money to support individuals in need of:
  • Reskilling, which supports unemployed and
underemployed workers to change industries in order to
return to work or obtain more appropriate work based on
their skills;
  • Upskilling, which assists workers in increasing skill levels
to retain or advance in their employment; or
  • Next-skilling, which supports workers in developing
future-ready skills necessary for employment in the
twenty-first century.
The state council, in collaboration with the department of labor
and employment, is directed to allocate funding to local work force
development areas and to develop a grant program to award grants to
other partners to provide reskilling, upskilling, and next-skilling supports
to eligible individuals for up to 13 months.
Starting in 2022, as part of the Colorado talent report, the state
council is directed to report on the activities and outcomes resulting from
the program. The program repeals on June 30, 2024.

Section 3 of the bill defines disproportionately impacted
community.
Section 4 requires the air quality control commission to promote
outreach to and engage with disproportionately impacted communities by
creating new ways to gather input from communities across the state,
using multiple languages and multiple formats, and transparently sharing

information about adverse effects resulting from its proposed actions.
Section 5 creates the environmental justice action task force (task
force) in the department of public health and environment (department),
the goal of which is to propose recommendations to the general assembly
regarding practical means of addressing environmental justice inequities.
The task force will:
  • Hold meetings to solicit public comment concerning the
development of a state agency-wide environmental justice
strategy and a plan to implement that strategy, including
ways to address data gaps and data sharing between state
agencies and the engagement of disproportionately
impacted communities;
  • Evaluate and propose recommended revisions to the
definition of disproportionately impacted community and
the state agencies and their proposed actions that are
subject to section 3; and
  • File a final report by November 14, 2022, regarding its
recommendations.
The department will report on the task force during the
department's SMART Act presentations.