Rep. Kyle Brown

The act creates a sales and use tax exemption for construction and building materials used directly in rebuilding or repairing a residential structure damaged or destroyed by a declared wildfire disaster in calendar year 2020, 2021, or 2022 (wildfire rebuild exemption). In addition to the state sales and use tax, the wildfire rebuild exemption extends to the sales and use taxes levied by the regional transportation district and the scientific and cultural facilities district. The exemption does not apply to the sales or use taxes levied by any other local government, including any city, town, county, special purpose district, or limited purpose governmental entity. The exemption is to be administered by the department of revenue (department) solely as a refund allowed to qualified homeowners. To be qualified, a homeowner must certify that: The homeowner was the owner of the residential structure to be repaired or rebuilt (qualified residential structure) at the time it was damaged or destroyed by the declared wildfire disaster; and The replacement cost for the qualified residential structure exceeds the homeowner's coverage under any homeowner's insurance policy associated with the structure. A qualified homeowner may claim a refund by obtaining and submitting to the department a building permit and a wildfire rebuild exemption certificate for each qualified residential structure from the local government authorized to issue a building permit in the area in which the qualified residential structure is located. The amount of the refund is equal to 4.0% of the estimated construction and building materials cost for repairing or rebuilding the qualified residential structure. The estimated construction and building materials cost is the cost amount used by the local government to collect estimated use tax, as stated in the building permit. If no estimated use tax has been collected, the estimated construction and building materials cost is half of the total contract price or total cost for rebuilding or repairing the qualified residential structure. The act amends the 3-year statute of limitations for state sales and use tax refund claims to allow a qualified homeowner to claim a refund based on the wildfire rebuild exemption at any time on or before June 30, 2028. The act also requires the department to prioritize refund applications based on the wildfire rebuild exemption over refund applications submitted pursuant to other provisions of law. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, $72,267 is appropriated from the general fund to the department for use by taxation services to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 12, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 12, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the streamlined solar permitting and inspection grant program (program) in the Colorado energy office (office), which will grant money to local governments to implement free automated permitting and inspection software for residential solar projects. To fund the program, the act creates the streamlined solar permitting and inspection cash fund (fund), which is annually appropriated to the office, and appropriates $992,709 from the general fund to the fund for fiscal year 2023-24. The act requires the office to administer the program by developing procedures to award money to applicants, establishing a process for applicants to apply for money, requiring applicants to demonstrate expected costs to implement the automated permitting and inspection software, and beginning to approve applicants no later than June 30, 2024. A grantee is encouraged to implement the free automated permitting software within 180 days of receipt of grant money. Grantees are required to report to the office the implementation status of the free automated permitting software one year after being granted the money, and are encouraged to voluntarily report the same information each year thereafter for 4 years. The office is required to report to the house of representatives energy and environment committee, the senate transportation committee, and the joint budget committee the progress of the grant program yearly beginning on January 1, 2025, and continuing until the repeal of the program on July 1, 2034, or until 5 years after the last grant is awarded, whichever comes first. APPROVED by Governor May 11, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act makes changes to the "Colorado Standardized Health Benefit Plan Act" to require the Colorado health benefit exchange (exchange), in collaboration with the commissioner of insurance (commissioner), and after a stakeholder engagement process with consumers, producers, and insurance carriers (carriers), to develop a format for displaying the standardized health benefit plans (standardized plans) on the exchange. The act requires carriers to file with the commissioner insurance rates for the standardized plans that comply with the premium rates specified in law for the standardized plans. The act allows the commissioner to establish uniform limits on carriers' administrative costs and profits for standardized plans. Under the act, if a carrier is unable to offer the standardized plan at the required premium rates: The carrier must provide relevant information concerning the steps the carrier will take to meet the requirements, along with supporting documentation; and The division of insurance may hold a public hearing, pursuant to notice by the commissioner and in a manner specified by rules promulgated by the commissioner, prior to the approval of the carrier's final rates. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 10, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the department of public health and environment (department), by August 1, 2024, and in consultation with stakeholders, to identify reproductive health-care services, LGBTQ health-care services, and end-of-life health-care services (identified health-care services) that, for nonmedical reasons, are not generally available at a specified health-care facility (covered entity) or that are subject to significant restriction at a covered entity. The department shall develop a simple service availability form (form) to be filled out by each covered entity for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public information about identified health-care services that are subject to denial of care at the covered entity. The act defines: "Covered entity" as a hospital, community clinic, maternity hospital, freestanding emergency department, or rehabilitation hospital, but "covered entity" does not include a health-care professional or a hospital, community clinic, or other facility owned or operated by the state; "Denial of care", in part, as refusal to provide health-care services for nonmedical reasons; "Nonmedical reasons", in part, as nonclinical criteria, rules, or policies that restrict health-care professionals at a covered entity from providing health-care services that the health-care professional is authorized to provide and that the covered is licensed to provide; and Reproductive health-care services, LGBTQ health-care services, and end-of-life health-care services. The act includes requirements for the content and format of the form and requires each covered entity to submit a completed form to the department and to update the form within 30-days after a change in the availability of the identified health-care services. Beginning on or before October 1, 2024, the department shall maintain on its public-facing website a list of covered entities and the form for the covered entity. The department shall review and update the service availability form at least biennially in consultation with stakeholders. A covered entity shall provide patients with the current service availability form during scheduling for identified health-care services and at the time federal privacy laws are provided to patients before health-care services are initiated, and shall maintain a record of the patient's receipt of the form. A covered entity that fails to comply with the act is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each day the covered entity is in violation of the act. The state board of health shall adopt rules to implement the act. For the 2023-24 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $64,627 from the general fund to the department for use by the health facilities and emergency medical services division to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor May 10, 2023 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2023 NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause and takes effect 90 days after sine die. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act: Caps the rate of interest on medical debt at 3% per annum; Defines "medical debt", for purposes of a statutory cap on interest rates and fair debt collection practices, to include medical debt arising from the receipt of health-care services or medical products or devices, excluding debt charged to a credit card; Upon the consumer's written request, requires a debt collector or collection agency collecting on medical debt to cease collection on the medical debt until the debt collector or collection agency provides to the consumer an itemized statement concerning the medical debt and allows the consumer to dispute the validity of the medical debt; Establishes requirements relating to payment plans for medical debt, including written documentation of the payment plan between the consumer and the debt collector or debt collection agency; notice to the consumer if the payment plan will be accelerated or declared in default or inoperative due to nonpayment; and the opportunity to renegotiate the payment plan; Prohibits a debt collector or collection agency, during an internal or external review or other appeal of a health insurance decision, from collecting on the medical debt, reporting the medical debt to a consumer reporting agency, or selling the medical debt to a debt buyer; Requires a creditor, debt collector, or collection agency that files a legal action to collect medical debt to include the identity of the original creditor, an itemization of the charges and, prior to the entry of a default judgment against the creditor, provide evidence of the medical debt; Makes it a deceptive trade practice to violate provisions relating to billing practices, surprise billing, and balance billing laws; and Requires a health-care provider or health-care facility to provide, upon request of a prospective patient, an estimate of the total cost of a health-care service (service) to a person who intends to self-pay for the service (self-pay estimate). The act includes requirements for the self-pay estimate and caps the amount by which the final, total cost of the service may exceed the self-pay estimate to the lesser of 15% of the self-pay estimate or $400, with exceptions for emergency or unforeseen, medically necessary services required during the service. The act makes it a deceptive trade practice to violate provisions relating to the self-pay estimate. APPROVED by Governor May 4, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 4, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)