HB 1305: Licensing of Behavioral Health Facilities - Colorado

Rerevised → Final Act · 7 edits · Apr 24, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized to allow remote psychiatric inpatient facilities to operate under a main hospital's license, provided they meet specific new criteria. The final version clarifies that these remote locations must be standalone facilities located within 35 miles of a main hospital in a rural area and must offer at least 17 inpatient beds. It also establishes that enforcement actions against these facilities will target the main hospital's license rather than the remote location separately.

Scope change

The bill's scope is now explicitly limited to standalone facilities in rural areas within 35 miles of a main hospital that offer 17 or more inpatient beds, aligning state definitions with federal provider-based status requirements.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Remote Psychiatric Inpatient Location' requiring the facility to be federally determined or seeking federal determination as a remote location with provider-based status.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new eligibility criterion requiring the facility to be a standalone location not situated on any hospital campus.

Added a specific distance requirement, mandating that the facility be located within 35 miles of the main hospital in a rural area.

Added a bed count requirement, specifying that the facility must offer primarily inpatient psychiatric services with 17 or more inpatient beds.

Modified the list of sponsors to include additional representatives and senators compared to the previous version.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified that any enforcement action by the department must be taken against the main hospital's general license, regardless of where the violation occurred.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that if a remote location loses its federal provider-based status, it must obtain a separate psychiatric hospital license to continue operating.

Revised → Rerevised · 3 edits · Apr 14, 2026

MINOR

The bill was re-revised to include additional Senate sponsors and updated the header to reflect that amendments were adopted in the Second House. The most significant substantive change involves expanding the eligibility criteria for facilities to become remote psychiatric inpatient locations, adding a requirement that they must meet specific criteria from subsections (2)(d)(II) and (2)(d)(V) in addition to existing licensing and federal determination requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding facility eligibility was expanded to include an additional set of criteria that facilities must meet to qualify as remote psychiatric inpatient locations.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new requirement (III) stating that facilities must meet the criteria described in subsections (2)(d)(II) and (2)(d)(V) of the section to qualify as a remote psychiatric inpatient location.

TECHNICAL

Added the date 'April 14, 2026' and the label '3rd Reading Unamended' to the Senate header.

Added multiple new names to the list of Senate sponsors, including Amabile, Benavidez, Bridges, Catlin, Coleman, Cutter, Daugherty, Exum, Gonzales J., Jodeh, Kipp, Kolker, Lindstedt, Liston, Marchman, Mullica, Pelton B., Snyder, Wallace, and Weissman.

Reengrossed → Revised · 3 edits · Apr 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill was renumbered and reclassified from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to reflect amendments adopted on second reading. The text was reorganized to define a new category of facilities called 'Remote Psychiatric Inpatient Locations' that can operate under a main hospital's license if they meet specific criteria, replacing the previous standalone definition. The detailed requirements for these facilities were moved and expanded to include conditions regarding prior licensing and federal provider-based status.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly allows certain psychiatric facilities to operate as remote locations of a general hospital under specific conditions, rather than requiring them to seek a separate psychiatric hospital license immediately upon losing federal remote status.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Remote Psychiatric Inpatient Location' was restructured to include new eligibility criteria, such as having been previously licensed as a psychiatric hospital or having federal provider-based status.

REQUIREMENT

The requirements for maintaining a remote psychiatric inpatient location were consolidated and expanded to include a list of conditions (e.g., prior licensing, federal status, meeting specific board rules) that a facility must satisfy to qualify.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' and the section numbering was adjusted to accommodate the reorganization of the text.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 4 edits · Mar 23, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to add multiple new sponsors to the House, update the legislative header to reflect the reengrossed status, and insert a placeholder note indicating that a summary for the reengrossed version will be available after the third reading. Substantive policy text regarding remote psychiatric inpatient locations was removed from this specific version, likely because the full text was updated in the reengrossed version.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability appear unchanged in terms of the core policy, as the substantive text regarding remote psychiatric inpatient locations was removed from this version and presumably restored or modified in the reengrossed version.

TECHNICAL

Added multiple new names to the list of House sponsors (Brown, Duran, Espenoza, Gonzalez R., Jackson, Lieder, Lindsay, Marshall, McCluskie, McCormick, Nguyen, Ricks, Rutinel, Smith, Stewart K., Stewart R.).

Updated the header title from 'ENGROSSED' to 'REENGROSSED' and adjusted the accompanying text to reflect that all amendments have been adopted.

Inserted a new note stating that a bill summary for the reengrossed version will be available after the third reading, dated March 23, 2026.

Deleted a section of text (pages 2-4) detailing requirements for remote psychiatric inpatient locations to secure a license if they lose federal provider-based status.

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 20, 2026

MINOR

The bill has progressed from its initial introduction to an engrossed version, meaning it has passed the House of Representatives and includes all amendments adopted during the second reading. The text now indicates the bill was unamended on March 20, 2026, and page headers were updated to remove the 'HB' prefix for consistency. The visible excerpt does not show substantive policy changes to the law itself, only formatting updates and status markers.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability appear unchanged in the provided text; the changes are limited to the bill's status and formatting.

TECHNICAL

Page headers were updated to remove the 'HB' prefix from the bill number (e.g., changed from 'HB26-1305' to '1305').

The bill status was updated from 'INTRODUCED' to 'ENGROSSED' to reflect that it has passed the House and includes all amendments.

TIMELINE

A new line was added stating the bill was '2nd Reading Unamended' on March 20, 2026.

Licensing of Behavioral Health Facilities

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