The act implements recommendations made by the direct care workforce stabilization board (board) by: Requiring the board to investigate health-care benefits for the direct care workforce; Requiring the department of labor and employment (department) to collaborate with the board and other entities to establish a comprehensive "know your rights" training for direct care workers; Requiring the department to ensure that the "know your rights" training is available to direct care workers, to allow worker organizations to participate in the training free of charge, and to report direct care worker training completion information to the board; and Requiring direct care employers to document each direct care worker's completion of the "know your rights" training. The act also requires the director of the division of labor standards and statistics (director) in the department to provide compliance assistance to direct care employers and investigate possible violations by the direct care employers. The director is also required to enforce compliance with the requirements in the act. To implement the board's recommendations, the act also requires the department of health care policy and financing to: In collaboration with the board, establish a website and communication platform for direct care workers and develop a direct care worker-specific notice of rights for direct care employers; Collaborate with direct care employers to inform direct care workers about the website and communication platform; and Allow specified entities access to the contact information of each direct care worker enrolled in the communication platform. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $120,105 to the department of health care policy and financing based on an assumption that the department of health care policy and financing will receive certain federal funding. Also for the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $168,459 to the department of labor and employment for use by the division of labor standards and statistics. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Infusion pharmacies supply medicaid members with parenteral nutrition, which provides patients with essential nutrients through an intravenous infusion. The act requires the state department of health care policy and financing (state department) to create specific professional dispensing fees for the preparation and dispensing of parenteral nutrition (fees) to encourage an adequate level of market participation among infusion pharmacies that serve medicaid members. During the year beginning January 1, 2026, the fees must not exceed 30% of infusion pharmacy administrative costs for the preparation and dispensing of parenteral nutrition. The state department shall seek federal authorization, as necessary, to implement the fees. The act requires the state department to annually report on the adequacy of the infusion pharmacy network that supplies parenteral nutrition to medicaid members. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $54,832 to the state department from the general fund. The state department may use the appropriation for medical and long-term care services for medicaid-eligible individuals. The general assembly anticipates that the state department will receive an equal amount in federal funds to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Effective July 1, 2025, the act repeals the natural disaster grant fund from which awards were granted to local governments for improvements to domestic wastewater treatment works or public drinking water systems that were impacted by a natural disaster. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act allows a person to access a suppressed court record if that person affirms that they are accessing the record on behalf of the attorney general for the purpose of investigating any violation of state law that the attorney general may enforce. Section 2 clarifies that the attorney general has the power to initiate and bring civil and criminal actions to enforce certain state landlord-tenant laws and that these actions must be initiated and brought within existing appropriations. Sections 4 and 5 grant counties, cities and counties, and municipalities the power to initiate and bring civil actions to enforce certain state landlord-tenant laws. Sections 4 and 5 also create requirements related to a county, city and county, or municipality retaining a private attorney to initiate or bring these civil actions. Section 6 establishes a receivership mechanism that is available as a remedy for violations of applicable laws and regulations by the landlord of multifamily residential property. The attorney general, a county, a city and county, and a municipality may all apply to a district court for the appointment of a receiver to operate a multifamily residential property if there is reasonable cause to believe that the landlord has engaged in a pattern of neglect, as defined in the Act, in connection with the property. The act establishes the process for a district court appointing a receiver, including requiring a hearing and an order of appointment that specifies the duties of a receiver, and the criteria for qualifying as a receiver. No sooner than 90 days after the district court appoints a receiver, the landlord of the relevant property, a lessee of the entire relevant property, the attorney general, or a county, city and county, or municipality may submit an application to the district court to terminate the receivership. As with the appointing of a receiver, section 6 establishes the process by which a district court may terminate a receivership. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act defines an "equestrian zone" as an area that a municipality or county determines is suburban or urban and contains: Public equestrian venues; Residential neighborhoods that are equestrian centric and were zoned in such a manner as to allow housing privately owned equines but are now being developed for primarily residential use or that are zoned in such a manner as to allow housing privately owned equines; Keystone properties that have equestrian facilities that have boarding facilities for equines, training for equestrians, equine service and education programs, equine stables that facilitate animal welfare rescue programs or equine therapy programs, breeding facilities for equines, or nonpublic equestrian venues that provide services to the equestrian community; or Roads or trails that equestrians regularly use and that are related to the areas described above. The act authorizes municipalities and counties to: Construct and maintain equestrian road crossings or horse-trailer parking necessary to access equestrian trails and install signs that notify the public of the infrastructure; Identify locations where equestrian road crossings are needed to safely use horse trails, construct and maintain the equestrian road crossings in those places, and install signs notifying the public of the crossings; Publish a map showing the location and character of existing or proposed equestrian infrastructure; Erect road signs bearing the universal equestrian sign symbol and the words "wide and slow" in equestrian zones; and Identify and show the location and character of existing or proposed equestrian infrastructure, venues, and riding zones on master plans. A municipality or county may organize public events to educate the public about equestrian use of recreational trails and roads and the duties of users of trails and roads with regard to equestrian users. The chief of the Colorado state patrol is authorized to educate sheriffs and local law enforcement about equestrian safety. The department of revenue is given the duty of adopting rules to add equestrian safety to driver's education curricula. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Embodied carbon is the carbon associated with greenhouse gas emissions arising from the production, construction, use, and end-of-life of products or systems used in the construction of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. Section 1 of the act adds embodied carbon improvements to the list of new energy improvements that are eligible for property-assessed clean energy financing provided by the Colorado new energy improvement district. An embodied carbon improvement is one or more installations or modifications to real property using eligible materials that result in the reduction of the installation's or modification's embodied carbon emissions. Section 2 modifies the industrial clean energy tax credit so that embodied carbon investments are greenhouse gas emissions reduction improvements that, if certified, are eligible for the credit for a portion of the capital costs incurred in placing them in service. An embodied carbon investment is one that results in a 15% or greater reduction in cradle-to-gate embodied emissions of eligible materials when compared to the eligible materials' cradle-to-gate baseline. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act reorganizes and updates statutes pertaining to the duties of the office of the child protection ombudsman (office) and the child protection ombudsman (ombudsman). The act: Clarifies when the ombudsman may receive and conduct an independent and impartial investigation of complaints concerning child protection services; Clarifies the types of information, documents, or records that the ombudsman does and does not have access to; Reorganizes statutes that pertain to when an ombudsman investigates a complaint; Reorganizes statutes that pertain to the ombudsman's duties; Reorganizes and creates a new provision that pertains to the office's access to information necessary to conduct an independent review of a complaint; Reorganizes and creates a new provision focused on the office's and ombudsman's duty to confidentiality; and Provides the office access to residential child care facilities and facilities established and operated by the department of human services (facilities). The office may only access facilities in coordination with the facility directors in response to a request from a child or youth residing in the facility; in response to a request from a child's or youth's family member, caregiver, or other concerned individual; or to distribute materials created by the office informing children or youth on how to access the office, the office's services, and how to file a complaint with the office.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act exempts an assisted living residence that has not undergone new construction or major renovations from complying with the facility guideline institute guidelines. The department of health care policy and financing (state department) must establish a process for reviewing and updating the general billing manual on an annual basis and ensure that the general billing manual includes all necessary CPT codes or links to the state department's list of CPT codes. The act allows the Colorado healthcare affordability and sustainability enterprise to receive public funds. Beginning January 1, 2026, for claims that must be reprocessed as a result of updating the provider rates, the act requires a managed care organization to issue payment to a contracted provider within one year after the provider rate is updated. The state department must notify the managed care organizations of changes to the provider rates within 60 days of changing the provider rates. The act requires the state department to include in each new contract with, or renewal of a contract with, a managed care entity (MCE) a provision requiring the MCE to submit to the state department, on an annual basis, the amount the MCE is paid and the MCE's medical loss ratio. The state department is required to publish this information, as well as historical medical loss ratio data for each MCE, and publish on an annual basis audit findings regarding an MCE's most recently completed medical loss ratio audit on the state department's website. The act prohibits the state department from imposing signature requirements on a physician or practitioner certifying a medicaid member's (member) plan of care that involves physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy. The act requires that for members receiving home- and community-based services, if a service the member receives is discontinued or no longer a covered service, the state department must confirm the timeline for the continuity of treatment with the federal centers for medicare and medicaid during the transition period of the benefit or service being discontinued and must communicate that timeline to the member impacted by the benefit or service being discontinued. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes updates to the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program (grant program). The grant program provides funding for the adoption and implementation of automated permitting and inspection software. The act clarifies that funding from the grant program may be used by a recipient for eligible expenses for up to 3 years after the grantee implements the automated permitting and inspection software. The act also permits the Colorado energy office (office) to spend up to 9% of the money remaining in the grant program's cash fund as of September 1, 2025, for paying the direct and indirect costs of the office in administering the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act amends statutory provisions relating to unused medication in facilities, including correctional facilities, nursing care facilities, assisted living residences, hospice, and other facilities, to change the defined term "medication" to "medicine" and specifies the types of unused medicines that may be redispensed to patients or donated to another entity that has legal authority to possess the medicine. The act creates the Colorado drug donation program (donation program). The donation program allows a person legally authorized to possess medicine, including an individual donor who is a member of the public and other donors, including a pharmacy, a long-term care facility, a surgical center, a prescriber or other health-care professional or facility, a wholesaler, a distributor, a third-party logistics provider, and others (donor), to donate certain unused medicine (donated medicine), as specified in the act. The act prohibits the donation of prescription drugs that are subject to risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS), unless all of the required guidelines are followed, or REMS drugs that were initially dispensed by a pharmacy pursuant to a restricted distribution channel. A donor or an individual donor may donate unused medicine to a donation recipient that is authorized to possess medicine and that has a credential in good standing in the state in which the donation recipient is located. A donation recipient includes a hospital, pharmacy, clinic, health-care provider, or prescriber office, and may include a wholesaler, distributor, third-party logistics provider, reverse distributor, or repackager if the entity is a nonprofit entity or is directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or could be controlled by a nonprofit entity. The act requires the donation recipient to keep a record of the donated medicine, separate the donated medicine from regular stock, and have donated medicine inspected by a licensed pharmacist. The donation recipient may transfer the donated medicine to another donation recipient or entity, repackage the donated medicine, or, if the donation recipient is a prescription drug outlet or other outlet, replace medicine of the same drug name and strength. The act requires donated medicine to first be dispensed to an eligible patient who is an individual who is indigent, uninsured, or underinsured. Donated medicine must not be resold; except that a donation recipient may charge a handling or dispensing fee for the donated medicine. When acting in good faith, the participants in the donation program are not subject to civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action. The act also shields drug manufacturers from liability for donated medicine that is subject to REMS under federal law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prevents a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) from prohibiting a rural independent pharmacy from using a private courier or a delivery service to deliver a prescription drug to a patient. A PBM is required to reimburse a rural independent pharmacy for a prescription drug in an amount not less than the national average drug acquisition cost for the dispensed prescription drug ingredients, plus pay a dispensing fee. When a PBM conducts an audit of a rural independent pharmacy and the audit results in a recoupment of more than $1,000 or a penalty of more than $1,000, the PBM must: Electronically notify the rural independent pharmacy of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds; If the rural independent pharmacy does not respond to the electronic notification within 30 days after the electronic notification, again electronically notify the rural independent pharmacy of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds; and If the rural independent pharmacy does not respond to the second electronic notification within 30 days after the second electronic notification, serve process on the rural independent pharmacy notifying of the rural independent pharmacy's rights to appeal at least 30 days before the recoupment of funds. The act allows a rural independent pharmacy to operate without being under the direct charge of a pharmacist if the initial interpretation and final evaluation of the prescription is done by a state-licensed pharmacist in person or remotely. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to seek and accept gifts from private or public sources for the primary care fund. The act authorizes a federally qualified health center (FQHC) to establish a separate subsidiary company for the purpose of providing fee-for-service services outside of the FQHC's standard cost report if the subsidiary is providing fee-for-service services that have historically been provided and reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis and if HCPF determines that the subsidiary's reimbursements would be budget neutral. Upon receiving any necessary federal authorization, HCPF is required to reimburse a subsidiary of an FQHC on a fee-for-service basis for services that are eligible for fee-for-service reimbursement. A subsidiary that receives reimbursement is authorized to pass through money received from the reimbursement directly to the FQHC operating as the subsidiary's parent corporation. Services reimbursed to an FQHC's subsidiary are excluded from the FQHC's cost report. The act requires HCPF to exclude all costs associated with a subsidiary company from the calculation of a FQHC's reimbursement rates and requires a FQHC that establishes a separate subsidiary company to include the costs associated with the subsidiary in its cost report that is necessary to calculate reimbursement rates. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
