Colorado Bills

The bill creates the "Get on Your Feet Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program" to provide no more than 24 monthly payments on a qualified loan on behalf of a qualified recipient. A qualified recipient is required to satisfy eligibility and program participation requirements. The department of higher education is required to administer the program pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the commission on higher education. A person who received a program award but did not satisfy all eligibility and program participation requirements may be required to fully or partially reimburse the state. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill provides that, for purposes of the "Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado", if an essential worker who works outside of the home contracts COVID-19, the contraction is: Presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment; and A compensable accident, injury, or occupational disease. An essential worker is considered to have contracted COVID-19 if the worker tests positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed physician, or has COVID-19 listed as the cause of death on the worker's death certificate. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill expands the grant program administered by the Colorado bureau of investigation (CBI) that assists counties in implementing lifesaver programs. A wanderer recovery program, currently known as a lifesaver program, is a program under which a participant has a device that may be used to assist in attempting to electronically locate the participant. The bill expands the lifesaver grant program to apply to wanderer recovery programs established or maintained by counties, municipalities (local governments), or local government designees. The bill also removes the limitations on both the amount local governments and their designees may be awarded in any single grant issued under the grant program and removes the limit on the amount of funds that the general assembly may annually appropriate to the wanderer recovery program cash fund that is used to fund the grant program. Further, the bill allows the executive director of the department of safety to award grants to assist in the maintenance of wanderer recovery programs in addition to the implementation of wanderer recovery programs. The bill also requires the CBI to establish a website that lists those local governments and local government designees that have a wanderer recovery program, describes how to contact those local governments and local government designees, lists resources for caretakers of persons with medical conditions that cause wandering, provides procedures to follow when a wanderer recovery program participant is determined to be missing, describes how the wanderer recovery program technology used by the various local governments and local government designees works, and provides any other information the CBI may conclude is necessary to better explain and publicize wanderer recovery programs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill prohibits a health system from requiring a carrier, as a condition of a contract for the delivery of health care services, to: Contract with every hospital or other facility within the health system; Agree to provide the same reimbursement rates at each hospital or other facility within the health system; or Contract with all of the hospitals in the health system in order to access a lower reimbursement rate than is otherwise offered by the health system. The bill also precludes a hospital or health system from, as a condition of a contract: Prohibiting a carrier from contracting with any other hospital or health system; Prohibiting a health care provider or provider group from contracting with any other hospital or health system. The bill states that if, pursuant to the terms of employment or certain contract terms, a health care provider is prohibited from referring a patient to a health care provider outside the health system in which the referring provider is employed or contracted, the health care provider must disclose this restriction to any patient who the health care provider refers to another health care provider within the same health system. The bill makes necessary conforming amendments. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill makes an offender serving a sentence in the department of corrections for a felony offense that was committed while the offender was 18 to 24 years of age eligible for parole after the offender serves 50% of the sentence and after the offender has served at least 15 calendar years in prison. There is a presumption, subject to the parole board's discretion, that the offender will be released on parole if the offender has not had any code of penal discipline violations in the last 5 years and no class I code of penal discipline violations in the last 10 years. The department of corrections operates a specialized program for offenders who are serving a prison sentence for a felony offense committed while the offender was a juvenile as a result of criminal charges filed by direct file or transfer proceedings. The bill would expand program eligibility to adults serving a sentence for a felony that was committed when the person was 18 to 24 years of age. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Prison Population Management Interim Study Committee. The bill requires the department of corrections (department) to conduct a study to examine how individuals proceed through the various stages of criminal proceedings, including the various sentences and programs to which a person may be sentenced or placed. Subject to available appropriations, the department shall issue a request for proposals for an entity to assist with the study. The department is required to produce a report of its findings to the joint budget committee of the general assembly and the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and the senate. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill requires each judicial district to implement a pretrial release assessment process to assess arrested persons as soon as practicable but no later than 24 hours after admission to a detention facility. Each judicial district shall also adopt written criteria in an administrative order allowing for the immediate pretrial release of certain arrested persons on a summons or an unsecured personal recognizance bond without any monetary condition after a pretrial release assessment is completed and without an initial hearing before the court. The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety (DCJ) shall develop statewide standards and guidelines for the development of the pretrial release assessment process, the written criteria for immediate pretrial release, and standards for the setting of the type of bond and conditions of release. The DCJ shall also compile an inventory of approved pretrial risk assessment instruments available for use in Colorado. By October 1, 2022, and every October 1 thereafter, the DCJ shall evaluate the outcome of the bond setting process, including the type of bond set, the amount of any secured or unsecured monetary condition of bond, and any other conditions of release, if available, for bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender by judicial district. Beginning April 1, 2021, if a person is not released without a monetary bond pursuant to an administrative order, the court shall hold a hearing as soon as practicable to determine bond and the conditions of release. The bill creates a presumption that a person will be released without any monetary conditions of release. The court is required to use specified criteria in determining the bond and conditions of release. The bill specifies the types of bond that the court can order including: An unsecured personal recognizance bond; An unsecured personal recognizance bond with additional nonmonetary conditions of release; A bond with a monetary condition; or A bond with secured real estate conditions. The bill specifies the required conditions of release and permissive conditions of release. The bill requires all counties to develop a pretrial services program by April 1, 2021, which is approved by the chief judge of the judicial district where the county is located. The pretrial services program shall use a pretrial risk assessment instrument approved by the DCJ. Each pretrial services program shall provide an annual report to the department of public safety, which shall provide a report to specified legislative committees. The bill creates a pretrial services fund to provide counties with funds to operate or assist in the operation of a pretrial services program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill imposes requirements regarding the administration of prescription drug benefits under health benefit plans as follows: Requires a health insurer to submit to the commissioner of insurance a list of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) the health insurer uses to manage or administer prescription drug benefits under its health benefit plans offered in this state; Requires health insurers and PBMs to submit their programs for compensating pharmacies and pharmacists and their prescription drug formularies under their prescription drug benefits plans, and the commissioner is authorized to review the compensation programs to ensure they are fair and reasonable to provide an adequate network of pharmacies and pharmacists under their prescription drug benefits plans; Requires a PBM to also report to the commissioner the amount the PBM expects to be reimbursed from health insurers for pharmacist services; Prohibits health insurers and PBMs from: Causing or knowingly permitting the use of any untrue, deceptive, or misleading advertisement, promotion, solicitation, representation, proposal, or offer; Charging a pharmacy or pharmacist a fee for adjudicating a claim; Requiring stricter pharmacy accreditation standards or certification requirements than the standards or requirements that are required by the state board of pharmacy; Reimbursing an independent pharmacy or pharmacist an amount that is less than the amount the health insurer or PBM reimburses an affiliated pharmacy or pharmacist; and Modifying their prescription drug formulary at any time during the benefit year. If a pharmacy or pharmacist is eliminated from a health care provider or PBM network, specifies that the health insurer or PBM is not relieved of any obligation to pay for pharmacist services properly rendered before elimination from the network; and Requires health insurers and PBMs to report specified claims data to the commissioner and the all-payer health claims database. The commissioner is authorized to adopt rules to implement the bill and to enforce the bill using all powers granted the commissioner under the insurance laws of this state. A health insurer is: Responsible for complying with the bill and ensuring any PBM the health insurer uses is complying with the bill; and Liable for failure of the health insurer or PBM to comply.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

Making Higher Education Attainable Interim Study Committee. The bill creates the improve student success innovation pilot program (pilot program) in the department of higher education (department) to implement a program designed to incentivize collaboration among multiple institutions of higher education to improve student success and increase the number of students who complete postsecondary education. When selecting a program or programs for the pilot program, the department and commission on higher education (commission) shall prioritize program proposals that address common barriers to student success and the completion of postsecondary education, as well as other factors. The department and commission shall submit an annual report to the joint budget committee of the general assembly and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate regarding the efficacy of the program. The general assembly shall appropriate $20 million each year for the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 fiscal years, from the general fund to the department to distribute to the state institutions of higher education selected to implement their projects. The pilot program repeals on July 1, 2024. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill creates the smart school bus safety pilot program (pilot program) in the department of public safety (department) to increase the safety of students and the security of school buses. The department is required to enter into an agreement with an organization to administer the pilot program (program administrator). The program administrator must notify school districts of the program; develop and maintain a website, online service, online application, or mobile application, or a combination thereof, to provide secure parental notification, at no cost to parents, relating to school bus and student status; recruit school bus drivers; inform and educate the public about school bus transportation safety; and develop funding sources for school transportation safety. The department awards 3-year grants to school districts for the provision of hardware and software that will allow the bus to communicate directly with first responders by voice communication and by using a silent duress alarm; the maintenance of that equipment; training; and providing secure parental notification, at no cost to parents, relating to school bus and student status. The program administrator must provide support for grant recipients. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The bill establishes the mobile veteran support unit grant program (grant program) to provide one-time grants to nonprofit organizations to establish mobile veteran support units. A mobile veteran support unit acts as an initial point of contact for veterans to obtain health and well-being services, including mental health services, dental health services, telehealth services, military benefit assistance, and housing assistance. The department of public health and environment (department) administers the grant program. The department must consult with the Colorado board of veterans affairs when adopting grant program rules. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)