The act creates the victims of a violent crime brain injury task force (task force). The purpose of the task force is to develop a plan for the creation and implementation of a pilot program for the identification, screening, support, and services of victims of violent crimes for brain injury and providing those who screen positive with the appropriate support and services. The act describes the necessary elements of the plan, the membership for the task force, and reporting requirements. The task force is repealed, effective June 30, 2026. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $65,000 from the general fund to the department of public safety for use by the division of criminal justice for implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act provides a list of allowable restitution expenses if proximately caused by a crime for which restitution must be paid, which list includes travel expenses to certain court proceedings. The court is required to review the travel expenses to ensure the travel expenses are reasonable. If the court finds the travel expenses are unreasonable, the court may reduce the amount of recoverable travel expenses to a reasonable amount. The act requires the department of corrections to intercept government windfall payments (payments) before the payments are deposited in an inmate's bank account and send funds to the judicial department (department) in an amount equal to any amount owed by the inmate. The department is required to disburse funds pursuant to the order of crediting payments in criminal proceedings. The department of corrections is required to disperse any remaining funds in accordance with restitution for inmates sentenced to the department of corrections. If any funds remain after the inmate's outstanding obligations are fulfilled, the excess funds must be placed in the inmate's bank account. The act establishes the office of restitution services (office) in the department. The purpose of the office is to assist victims who are owed court-ordered restitution. The office is required to receive requests from victims requesting semiannual statements detailing restitution payments the defendant has made to the victim and the disbursements the court has made to the victim. The statement must include the outstanding amount of court-ordered restitution owed to the victim. The office is also required to assist with training related to the administration of the restitution system, enhance communications for postsentence restitution, and collaborate with victim advocacy programs. The act appropriates $129,359 from the judicial collection enhancement fund to the department to establish the office. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates in the department of higher education (department) the inclusive higher education grant program to provide grants to state institutions of higher education for the purpose of establishing, or expanding existing, inclusive higher education programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The act requires the department to contract with an organization that has demonstrated success in assisting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attend institutions of higher education to administer the grant program, perform annual evaluations of the grant recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. The act appropriates $450,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires a peace officer to be a bona fide Colorado resident. The act removes that requirement. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes 3 new grant programs within the division of criminal justice (division) in the department of public safety: A multidisciplinary crime prevention and crisis intervention grant program to award grants to law enforcement, other local governmental agencies, federally recognized Indian tribes, community-based organizations, and third-party membership organizations or administrators to identify high-crime areas and to implement crime prevention and intervention strategies in those areas; A law enforcement workforce recruitment, retention, and tuition grant program to award grants to law enforcement agencies to address workforce shortages, improve training, and improve relationships between law enforcement and impacted communities; and A state's mission for assistance in recruitment and training (SMART) policing grant program to increase the number of P.O.S.T.-certified and non-certified law enforcement officers who are representative of the communities they police and provide training for those additional law enforcement officers. The act directs the executive director of the department of public safety to establish policies and procedures and create advisory committees consisting of diverse members to review applications and make recommendations on who should receive grants and the amount of the grants. The act requires the division to create a project management team to coordinate grant programs. The act requires the division to host a statewide forum which may be facilitated by a national criminal justice organization to solicit suggestions on crime prevention measures related to the grant programs. The act requires the general assembly to appropriate money for the grant programs in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years, for the statewide forum in the 2022-23 fiscal year, and for the project management team in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years. The act appropriates from the general fund: $300,000 to the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety to implement the act; $7.5 million to the multidisciplinary crime prevention and intervention grant fund; $3.75 million to the law enforcement workforce recruitment, retention, and tuition grant fund; and $3.75 million to the SMART policing grant fund.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, the court reminder program (program) provides reminders to criminal defendants and juveniles who have been alleged to have committed a delinquent act (collectively, "defendants") to appear at each of their scheduled court appearances. The act requires every defendant to be automatically enrolled in the program and allows a defendant to opt out of the program. The act clarifies that defendants alleged to have committed traffic offenses are enrolled in the program. The program must use the best contact information available to the courts and provide at least 3 reminders, including one reminder the day before the court appearance. For court appearances that can be attended virtually, the final reminder must include a link to the virtual court appearance. The program must send reminders by text message, but may use another method if a defendant is unable to receive text messages. The program is required to track the number of defendants that opt out of the program and to implement or recommend changes to improve participation. The judicial department is required to report information regarding reminders sent by methods other than text message. The act requires the state court administrator to convene a working group to study best practices in court reminders, assess the effectiveness of the program, and recommend appropriate changes to the program to the state court administrator. In its annual State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act hearing, the judicial department is required to present the recommendations made by the working group, whether the recommendations were implemented, and the rationale for implementing or rejecting any recommendation. Because defendants are automatically enrolled in the program, the act repeals provisions related to notifying defendants of the opportunity to enroll in the program. The act appropriates $74,713 to the judicial department from the general fund to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For 5 income tax years beginning in 2022, the bill creates a refundable state income tax credit for a Colorado teacher or classroom paraprofessional (eligible educator) for their classroom expenses. An eligible educator cannot claim the credit for an expense that the educator claims as a federal educator expense deduction for purposes of the educator's federal income tax, and the maximum amount of the credit per income tax year is $500.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' (department) sunset review and report on the licensing of massage therapists by: Continuing the licensing requirements for 9 years, until September 1, 2031; Granting sole discretion to the director of the division of professions and occupations to approve the licensure examination for massage therapists by repealing the reference to national licensure examinations as an option for massage therapist applicants to take in lieu of another examination approved by the director; and Adding, as grounds for disciplining a massage therapist, engaging in fraud, misrepresentation, deception, or cheating in taking or furnishing the results of a required examination or having the person's score on the examination invalidated by the testing provider because the person was determined to have cheated or engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in taking the examination.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)