Currently, a person who is not lawfully present in the United States may obtain a driver's license or identification card if certain requirements are met. One of the requirements is that the person present a taxpayer identification card. The bill allows a person to present a social security number as an alternative to a taxpayer identification card. The bill allows the license or identification card to be reissued or renewed in accordance with the process used for other licenses and identification cards. A person whose license is lost or stolen may obtain a replacement without renewing the license. $108,992 is appropriated to the department of revenue from the licensing services cash fund to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Sponsored bills
Sunset Process - House Public Health Care and Human Services Committee. The bill implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report concerning the 'Physical Therapy Practice Act' as follows: Extends the licensing of physical therapists and the certification of physical therapist assistants until 2024 ( sections 1 through 3 ); Clarifies that a physical therapist may make physical therapy diagnoses ( sections 5 and 7 ); Allows a physical therapist to perform dry needling if the physical therapist has the knowledge, skill, ability, and competency to perform the act and has completed a dry needling course and obtains informed consent from the patient. The bill also allows the department to promulgate rules to establish requirements for dry needling ( section 8 ); Clarifies that a physical therapist's scope of practice includes the direct supervision of unlicensed physical therapists ( section 9 ); Requires that physical therapy professional development activities must be measured by a contact-hour-to-credit-hour ratio ( section 10 ); and Adds as grounds for disciplinary action the failure to supervise physical therapist assistants; and the failure to report an adverse action, the surrender of a license, or other discipline taken in another jurisdiction ( section 11 ). In addition, the bill: Allows a physical therapist assistant to perform noninvasive wound debridement under the supervision of a physical therapist ( sections 13 and 15 ); Repeals some elements of the continuing professional competency program for physical therapists ( section 13 ) and subjects physical therapist assistants to a continuing professional competency program ( section 14 ); Replaces a physical therapist member of the physical therapy board with a physical therapist assistant member ( section 6 ); and Removes physical therapists practicing in Colorado pursuant to the 'Interstate Physical Therapy Licensure Compact Act' from the 'Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act of 2010' ( section 16 ).(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill updates the Colorado disaster emergency act to include provisions related specifically to recovery, mitigation, and resiliency and to establish the roles and responsibilities of state and local agencies at all stages of emergency management. Section 3 of the bill adds language defining the stages of response and recovery, as well as definitions of emergency, resiliency, and mitigation. Section 4 allows the governor to convene a disaster policy group to coordinate the response and recovery from disaster emergencies. If the governor convenes the policy group, the governor is required to appoint a chair and to delegate to the chair the authority to manage cross-departmental and interjurisdictional coordination of recovery efforts. Sections 5 and 21 repeal and relocate existing language establishing the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee, update the language to reflect amendments throughout the bill, and add the executive director of the department of local affairs or his or her designee to the committee. Subject to available grant funding, the bill creates the Colorado resiliency office in the division of local government within the department of local affairs in sections 17 and 18. Subject to the availability of grant funding or within existing resources, the office is required to develop a resiliency and community recovery program for the state that must address coordination among state and local agencies and risk and vulnerability reduction. The office is required to consult with other state agencies and stakeholders in developing the program. Sections 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 14 amend existing statutes concerning disaster planning and response at the state and local level to include references to recovery, mitigation, and preparedness. The requirement for a state disaster plan is amended to require a comprehensive emergency management program that addresses preparation, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Local and interjurisdictional disaster agencies are renamed as emergency management agencies. The emergency management agencies are required to develop a local or interjurisdictional plan that includes provisions for preparation, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from emergencies and disasters. Agencies may incorporate by reference existing locally adopted plans, plans approved by the office of emergency management or the federal emergency management agency, and other relevant plans. Section 15 amends a requirement in existing law that the governor consider steps that could be taken on a continuing basis to prevent and reduce the harmful consequences of disasters and adds language requiring the governor to also consider mitigation and recovery from disasters. Sections 16, 19, and 20 make conforming amendments.(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill requires the safe2tell program (program) to do the following: Provide training and support to all preschool, elementary, and secondary schools and school districts in Colorado regarding school safety related to the safe2tell program, including answering questions and discussing reports received by the program; Provide educational materials to all preschool, elementary, and secondary schools in Colorado aimed at preventing misuse of the program; Provide technical assistance and support to law enforcement officials and school officials when there is misuse of the program; and Analyze and follow up with law enforcement and schools to determine the outcome of a report made to the program, including actions taken on the report. The bill requires the safe2tell program to prepare a written report analyzing data from the previous year on or before each December 1, beginning in 2018. The report must include data from the preceding fiscal year concerning the following and any recommendations concerning the following: A summary of outcomes and actions taken on reports made to the program; The number of safe2tell reports by category, broken down by month; The total number of incidents of misuse of the program, broken down into categories; The number of reports received involving a single incident; The number of times safe2tell was used by a reporting party to make a threat against or otherwise harm another person; The number of times a reporting party was in crisis and was reporting to the program to obtain assistance and the time it took to identify the reporting party and respond; The effectiveness of the safe2tell dispatch center in the department of public safety; and Recommendations regarding how to improve the program based on the available data. The bill appropriates $164,920 from the marijuana tax cash fund and provides 1.6 FTE to the department of law to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. The bill requires all individual and group health benefit plans to provide coverage without prior authorization for a five-day supply of at least one of the federal food and drug administration-approved drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence for a first request within a 12-month period. The bill prohibits carriers from taking adverse action against a provider or from providing financial incentives or disincentives to a provider based solely on a patient satisfaction survey relating to the patient's satisfaction with pain treatment. The bill clarifies that an 'urgent prior authorization request' to a carrier includes a request for authorization of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. The bill permits a pharmacy that has entered into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with one or more physicians to administer injectable antagonist medication for substance use disorders and receive an enhanced dispensing fee for the administration. The bill requires the Colorado medical assistance program to authorize reimbursement for at least one federal food and drug administration-approved ready-to-use opioid overdose reversal drug without prior authorization. The bill permits a pharmacy that has entered into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with one or more physicians to administer injectable opioid antagonist medication for substance use disorders and receive an enhanced dispensing fee under the Colorado medical assistance program for the administration. The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing and the office of behavioral health in the department of human services to establish rules that standardize utilization management authority timelines for the nonpharmaceutical components of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee. The bill modifies the Colorado health service corps program administered by the primary care office in the department of public health and environment as follows: For purposes of determining areas in the state in which there is a shortage of health care professionals and behavioral health care providers to meet the needs of the community, allows the primary care office, under guidance adopted by the state board of health, to develop and administer state health professional shortage areas using state-specific methodologies; Allows behavioral health care providers, which include licensed and certified addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed psychologists, licensed physician assistants with specific training in substance use disorders, advanced practice nurses, and physicians certified or trained in addiction medicine, pain management, or psychiatry, and candidates for licensure as an addiction counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist, to participate in the loan repayment program on the condition of committing to provide behavioral health care services in health professional shortage areas for a specified period; Directs the advisory council to prioritize loan repayment and scholarships for those behavioral health care providers, candidates for licensure, or addiction counselors who provide behavioral health care services in nonprofit or public employer settings but permits consideration of applicants practicing in a private setting that serves underserved populations; Establishes a scholarship program to help defray the education and training costs associated with obtaining certification as an addiction counselor or with progressing to a higher level of certification; Adds 2 members to the advisory council that reviews program applications, which members include a representative of an organization representing substance use disorder treatment providers and a licensed or certified addiction counselor who has experience in rural health, safety net clinics, or health equity; Modifies program reporting requirements and requires annual reporting that coincides with required SMART Act reporting by the department; and Requires the general assembly to annually appropriate $2.5 million from the marijuana tax cash fund to the primary care office to provide loan repayment for behavioral health care providers and candidates for licensure participating in the Colorado health service corps and to award scholarships to addiction counselors participating in the scholarship program. The bill appropriates $2.5 million from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of public health and environment for use by the primary care office in the prevention services division to implement the bill. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill allows county departments of human or social services to extend the provision of certain services for a successful adulthood to foster care youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who have exited the foster care system (former foster care youth), including assistance with employment, housing, education, financial management, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment (services for a successful adulthood). The bill also tasks the state department of human services with establishing a former foster care youth steering committee. The purpose of the steering committee is to develop recommendations for an implementation plan that supports the long-term provision of services for a successful adulthood for former foster care youth. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill states that it is unlawful for a seller, retailer, or vendor to knowingly or willfully dispense, sell, or distribute a finished drug product containing any quantity of dextromethorphan to a person less than 18 years of age. A seller, retailer, or vendor making a retail sale of a finished drug product containing any quantity of dextromethorphan must require and obtain proof of age from the purchaser before completing the sale unless the seller, retailer, or vendor reasonably presumes from the purchaser's outward appearance that the purchaser is at least 25 years of age. A seller, retailer, or vendor who violates the prohibition or who fails to obtain proof of age when required to do so commits an unclassified petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as follows: For a first offense, the court shall warn the seller, retailer, or vendor in writing; and For a second or subsequent offense, the seller, retailer, or vendor shall pay a fine of not more than $200. The prohibition does not apply to a medication containing dextromethorphan, which medication is sold pursuant to a valid prescription. It is an affirmative defense if the seller, retailer, or vendor is an employer and trains its employees concerning the bill's restrictions on the distribution of medications containing dextromethorphan. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More
The bill creates a pilot program in the department of human services (department) to determine and, if appropriate, establish the safety and effectiveness of allowing a licensed psychiatrist to petition the court for authority to administer medications in a jail over the objection of a respondent. The advisory board to the department (advisory board) shall approve any applying jail for participation in the pilot program if it has established a contract with a facility designated by the department and also meets the minimum criteria established in the bill. Prior to approving a jail to participate in the pilot program, the advisory board shall seek input from a membership association that represents defense attorneys with experience working with respondents with mental health issues. The advisory board shall only authorize a maximum of 5 jails to participate in the pilot program. The pilot program will be monitored by the office of behavioral health. The office of behavioral health and the sheriff or appropriate law enforcement for a jail applying to participate in the pilot program shall collaboratively develop requirements for a participating jail. Requirements for information and affirmations are to be included in the petition to the court. The department is required to report on the pilot program on or before December 31, 2021. The pilot program is repealed, effective September 1, 2022. Language is clarified concerning hearings and jurisdiction in cases brought to the court for mental health proceedings, including involuntary administration of medications and certifications. If such a case is presented to a jury, the jury shall only hear evidence on the issue of whether the person has a mental health disorder and, as a result of such mental health disorder, is a danger to others or to himself or herself or is gravely disabled. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
The bill creates a voluntary option for interested custodial parents who are experiencing a crisis whereby they may enter into an authorization agreement (agreement) with certified family caregiver (caregiver) to temporarily care for their child or children. Caregivers are considered mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect by law and must receive the training provided to mandatory reporters. The agreement is not a termination of parental rights, nor is it considered abandonment of the child or children or placement in the custody of a county department of human or social services for the purposes of foster care. The agreement is valid for no longer than 6 months, with an option to renew the agreement, unless the parent or parents are deployed or called to active duty in the United States military, in which case the agreement is valid for the length of the deployment plus 30 days. The terms of each agreement are specific to the parents who are entering into the agreement. It grants the caregiver the right to perform certain parental functions as specifically outlined in the agreement, and the agreement may be revoked at any time by a custodial parent. A substitute care organization (organization), which must be a tax-exempt charitable or social welfare organization, shall assist both parties in the creation and implementation of an agreement. The state department of human services (department) shall license any organization that wishes to serve in this capacity prior to the date at which the organization begins providing services to families. The department shall promulgate rules for the licensing requirements for organizations, after working collaboratively to receive recommendations for such rules from interested and affected parties. The rules must include requirements for various fingerprint-based criminal history record checks and child abuse and neglect background checks on the state's TRAILS system. The organization shall ensure that adequate notice of a child's placement with a caregiver is given to both parents. The organization is responsible for conducting a fingerprint-based criminal history record check on each adult in the nonparent's household, as well as a child abuse and neglect background check on the state TRAILS system for both the parent and each adult in the caregiver's household. The organization is responsible for ensuring that the caregiver is fully trained in the rights, duties, and limitations regarding the care of a child pursuant to the agreement. Organizations are required to collect data on agreements, caregivers, and outcomes and report aggregate data to the department. The bill establishes a provision for a parent of a minor child to create a custodial power of attorney that grants to another person certain of the parent's rights and responsibilities regarding the care, physical custody, and control of the minor child. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More