The bill recreates, with amendments, the "Occupational Therapy Practice Act" (Act), which repealed September 1, 2020. Specifically, the bill: Recreates and extends the Act for 9 years, until 2030; Modifies the legislative declaration and definitions related to the scope of practice of occupational therapy; Designates "occupational therapy consultant", "M.O.T.", "M.O.T./L.", "occupational therapy assistant", "O.T.A.", and "C.O.T.A." as protected titles and clarifies that individuals who legally practice temporarily as occupational therapists in Colorado may use the protected titles; Reorders and amends certain provisions concerning examinations and applications for licensure by occupational therapists and OTAs; Adds certain prohibited behaviors as grounds for discipline; and Removes obsolete language.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
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The act implements, with amendments, the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (department) in its sunset review and report on the licensing of occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) by the director of the division of professions and occupations in the department. Specifically, the act: Continues the "Occupational Therapy Practice Act" for 10 years, until 2030; Modifies the legislative declaration and definitions related to the scope of practice of occupational therapy; Designates "occupational therapy consultant", "M.O.T.", "M.O.T./L.", "occupational therapy assistant", "O.T.A.", and "C.O.T.A." as protected titles and clarifies that individuals who legally practice temporarily as occupational therapists in Colorado may use protected titles; Reorders and amends certain provisions concerning examinations and applications for licensure by occupational therapists and OTAs; and Adds certain prohibited behaviors as grounds for discipline.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act adds language to Colorado's children's code to clarify that refusing an immunization on the grounds of medical, religious, or personal belief considerations or opting to exclude immunization notification information from the immunization tracking system does not alone constitute child abuse or neglect. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law disqualifies a recipient who is found to have committed an intentional violation from participation in any public assistance program for a specified amount of time. The act clarifies that a recipient who is found to have committed an intentional violation is only disqualified from participating in the public assistance program in which the recipient is found to have committed the intentional violation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For the purpose of determining eligibility for workers' compensation benefits for a mental impairment caused by an accidental injury that consists of a psychologically traumatic event arising out of and in the course of employment, the act establishes that a worker's audible or visual and audible exposure to the serious bodily injury or death, or the immediate aftermath of the serious bodily injury or death, of one or more people as the result of a violent event, the intentional act of another person, or an accident is a "psychologically traumatic event". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the executive director of the department of revenue to collect a fee equal to $25 per truckload for every manufacturer of fuel products who manufactures such products for sale within Colorado or who ships such products from any point outside of Colorado to a distributor within Colorado and every distributor who ships such products from any point outside of Colorado to a point within Colorado. This fee is used primarily to: Fund the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) cash fund; Support the department of transportation in functions related to the administration of hazardous materials and safe and efficient freight movement and infrastructure in the state as well as infrastructure projects that enhance the safety of movement of freight and hazardous materials; and Support the Colorado state patrol in the regulation of hazardous materials on highways in the state. The executive director of the department of revenue stops collecting the fee for a fiscal year once he or she has collected $8 million of these fees for that fiscal year. The act creates the PFAS cash fund, which is used to fund the PFAS grant program, fund the PFAS takeback program, and provide technical assistance in locating and studying PFAS to communities, stakeholders, and regulatory boards or commissions. The act creates the PFAS grant program. The grant program provides funding for the sampling, assessment, and investigation of PFAS in ground or surface water; water system infrastructure used for the treatment of identified perfluoroalkyl and PFAS; and emergency assistance to communities and water systems affected by PFAS. The act creates the PFAS takeback program. The takeback program is used to purchase and dispose of eligible materials that contain PFAS. The act also requires the department of public health and environment to report to the general assembly annually on the use of the PFAS cash fund and the administration of the PFAS grant program and takeback program. The act also creates new civil penalties for owners or operators of storage tanks at gasoline dispensing facilities who violate requirements to maintain a vapor collection system and for owners and operators of gasoline dispensing facilities who violate requirements to maintain records. Lastly, the act requires stakeholders from gasoline dispensing facilities and gasoline transport truck companies to collaborate with the division of administration in the department of public health and environment in creating maintenance guidelines to assist owners and operators of gasoline dispensing facilities and gasoline transport trucks in complying with the requirements of air quality control commission regulations. For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $39,769 to the department of revenue from the general fund. From this appropriation, the department of revenue may use $24,750 for tax administration IT system support, $12,600 for the taxation and compliance division for personal services, and $2,419 for the taxpayer service division for the fuel tracking system. For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act also appropriates $1,552,558 from the hazardous materials safety fund to the department of public safety for use by the Colorado state patrol for the hazardous materials safety program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act extends the repeal date for the legislative oversight committee concerning the treatment of persons with mental health disorders in the criminal and juvenile justice systems (committee), and the associated task force (task force), to July 1, 2023. The act suspends activities of the committee and task force for the 2020 interim, as well as any interim for which the general assembly suspends the activities of all interim committees. An additional member is added to the task force who represents a nonprofit organization that works on statewide legislation and organizing Coloradans to promote behavioral, mental, and physical health needs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
If approved by voters at the general election held on November 3, 2020, the concurrent resolution would amend section 2 of article XVIII of the Colorado constitution by: Replacing the existing requirement that a charitable organization have 5 years' continuous existence before obtaining a charitable gaming license with a requirement that it: Be registered with the secretary of state; and Have 3 years' continuous existence or, beginning in 2024, have a different period of continuous existence if the general assembly establishes that different period by statute; and Allowing charitable games to be managed or operated by persons other than unpaid volunteers who are bona fide members of the organization, so long as those persons are not paid more than minimum wage.(Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as adopted.)
The Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill implements various recommendations of the legislative oversight committee concerning the treatment of persons with mental health disorders in the criminal and juvenile justice systems regarding juveniles who have committed sex offenses, including: Specifying that if a juvenile who is moving to Colorado would be otherwise required to register on Colorado's sex offender registry (registry) but the juvenile's duty to register in another state has been terminated by a court order, then the juvenile is not required to register or petition the court for removal from the registry; Expanding judicial discretion at the time of sentencing to exempt from registration or require juveniles to register for all first offense registerable juvenile sex crimes if a sex offender management board evaluator recommends exemption and the juvenile is otherwise statutorily eligible; Adding language to adult and juvenile provisions that currently reference only crimes defined as "unlawful sexual behavior" to also include convictions and adjudications for nonsexual crimes where there has been, pursuant to statute, a judicial finding of an underlying factual basis involving unlawful sexual behavior; Creating a process for the court to reconsider its ruling on whether to require registration if new information is discovered after the court made its initial ruling; Adding a requirement for the court to issue a ruling or set a mandatory hearing no later than 14 days before the end of each juvenile's sentence concerning a juvenile's ongoing duty to register; Changing the current law that allows the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inform the requesting party if a person is on the registry so that the CBI may release information about a juvenile only under certain restrictions; Requiring the CBI to collect data on the number of times information is requested and released concerning juveniles on the registry; Creating a new unclassified misdemeanor for members of the public who submit a false statement to the CBI for purposes of obtaining juvenile registry information or who use such information in a prohibited manner; Updating current law regarding the posting of information on the registry to the internet to specifically exclude juveniles; Clarifying that a local law enforcement agency may not release or post on its website information regarding juveniles on the registry; Changing current law that requires lifetime registration for an adult who has more than one adjudication as a juvenile so that juvenile adjudications alone may not trigger mandatory lifetime registration; and Updating language in the Colorado crime victim rights act to clarify victim rights when a petition or motion is made to terminate sex offender registration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons With Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems. The bill establishes and expands programs within the division of housing in the department of local affairs (division) to build the capacity of communities across the state to provide supportive housing services to individuals with behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system, including: Expanding statewide training and technical assistance to help communities develop and implement supportive housing programs for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The program must be targeted to communities that currently face barriers to accessing existing state and federal funding for supportive housing programs. Establishing a predevelopment grant program that provides funding to entities working to develop supportive housing interventions for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The grant money can be used to add new or additional staff capacity to allow the development and implementation of such programs. The division is required to prioritize applicants that will serve rural or frontier communities and to provide hands-on technical assistance to grant recipients. Establishing a supportive housing services and homelessness prevention grant program. Grant money can be used to cover the costs of providing supportive housing services that are currently not eligible for reimbursement through the state's medical assistance program. It can also be used to fund homelessness prevention projects for individuals who have behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorders who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and who have contact with the criminal or juvenile justice system. The division is required to prioritize applicants that will serve rural or frontier communities and provide hands-on technical assistance to grant recipients. Developing a plan to increase participation in regional homeless data systems, support accurate data reporting, and assess housing-related needs. The program must work with regional continuums of care to evaluate how to increase participation in data systems in communities across the state, identify technical needs and associated costs for doing so, and work with communities and stakeholders to integrate or develop an integrated user interface for various data systems related to housing and supportive services. It must also enhance information about best practices and training materials available to communities across the state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)