On July 1, 2024, the act requires the state treasurer to transfer $3.8 million from the general fund to the regional talent development initiative grant program fund to address workforce shortages in infrastructure and building trades. Of this amount, the office of economic development (office) is authorized to use not more than 7% for the administrative costs incurred to administer the regional talent development initiative grant program. The regional talent summit grant program (grant program) is created and is administered by the office. The grant program, through a selection committee, will award grants to and contract with a program facilitator to convene and facilitate regional summits across the state. The goals of the program facilitator are to understand workforce development needs in identified regions of the state, generate a landscape analysis for each identified region that includes job projections and an overview of educational pathways, gather insight from employers about critical workforce and training needs, create regional goals for addressing talent needs, and develop comprehensive tactical plans. Beginning January 1, 2026, any modified or new local workforce development plan must incorporate the tactical plans. The workforce development plans must be published in the Colorado talent report. The program facilitator must complete all regional talent summits on or before July 1, 2025, and submit workforce plans as a result of the regional talent summits by December 1, 2025. The grant program, through a selection committee, will also award grants to one or more regional hosts to secure facilities to host regional talent summits, determine community partners to attend the summits, and gather insight from regional employers about critical workforce and training needs. The regional talent summit grant program fund (fund) is created in the state treasury. On July 1, 2024, the state treasurer is required to transfer $200,000 from the general fund to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office to be used for purposes of the grant program. The act establishes a state income tax credit (tax credit) for the costs of facility improvement and equipment acquisition associated with training programs designed to alleviate workforce shortages beginning January 1, 2026. A qualified taxpayer in a qualified industry may earn a tax credit equal to up to 50% of the costs incurred by the qualified taxpayer to improve its facilities and acquire equipment. The tax credit is refundable and may not be carried forward. To claim the tax credit, a qualified taxpayer must first reserve the tax credit by applying to be in the evaluation pool established by the office. A selection committee will consider the merits of each application to determine which taxpayers are qualified to reserve the tax credit. If a taxpayer is qualified and approved, the taxpayer is required to incur facility improvements and equipment acquisition costs to claim the tax credit. If the applicant submits evidence that the costs were incurred during the income tax year for which the applicant applied, and those costs are certified by a certified public accountant, the applicant may be awarded a tax credit. The aggregate amount of tax credits reserved in one calendar year cannot exceed $15 million and the amount is decreased to $7.5 million if the September revenue forecasts by legislative council or the office of state planning and budgeting project that state revenues will not increase by at least 4% for that fiscal year. A person or organization not subject to tax or a person or organization exempt from taxes is required to make and file a return containing information prescribed by the executive director to claim the tax credit. The workforce development tax credit program cash fund (fund) is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of gifts, grants, donations, and fee revenue credited to the fund and any money the general assembly may appropriate to the fund. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the purpose of administering the tax credit. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $109,603 from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs. The appropriation may be used for opportunity now grant administration. APPROVED by Governor June 7, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act creates the agricultural and rural community behavioral health program (program) in the behavioral health administration (BHA). The BHA is required to identify a specific BHA staff person to serve as a liaison between the BHA, the department of agriculture (department), behavioral health-care providers, rural community leaders, agricultural communities, and nonprofit organizations that serve agricultural communities. The program shall: Engage in statewide community outreach to educate communities on behavioral health issues facing farmers, ranchers, other agricultural industry workers, their families, and rural communities; Establish interdepartmental relationships; and Develop an understanding of and address the root causes of behavioral health issues in the agricultural industry and in rural communities. The act creates the agricultural behavioral health community of practice work group (work group) in the department. The purpose of the work group is to convene a group of leaders and experts in agriculture and behavioral health care to improve access to behavioral health care for those involved in agriculture and their families. The work group consists of at least 7 members and shall: Compile best practices to provide behavioral health care to those involved in agriculture and their families; Identify gaps in the provision of behavioral health care to those involved in agriculture; Engage with other stakeholders involved in behavioral health care focused on those involved in agriculture; Collect data, as permitted by state and federal data privacy laws, on behavioral health-care outcomes in agricultural communities and steps taken to support those involved in agriculture through behavioral health initiatives and programs; and Report to the department and the BHA on the data collected and recommend legislative or policy changes to further improve agricultural behavioral health care. The work group is scheduled for sunset review and repeal on September 1, 2029. The act establishes the agricultural behavioral health grant program (grant program) in the department. Subject to available appropriations, the department may administer the grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to: Continue existing programs or create new programs that address the root causes of behavioral health issues in the agricultural industry or in rural communities; Strengthen collaborative efforts between organizations and communities in addressing the root causes of behavioral health issues in the agricultural industry or in rural communities; and Improve access to health, wellness, and behavioral health care for farmers, ranchers, other agricultural industry workers, and their families. The act requires the department to contract with a statewide agricultural organization to convene an in-person annual summit for organizations with an interest in promoting and providing behavioral health care to agricultural communities. The department and the BHA are required to enter into an interagency agreement to share data collected in the course of addressing behavioral health-care issues in the agricultural industry and in rural communities. The interagency agreement must state that the data shared will be aggregated and anonymized, and data sharing must be in compliance with state and federal data privacy laws. On or before January 1, 2026, and each January 1 thereafter, the department is required to submit a report summarizing data collected by the work group, and data collected from grant recipients, to the agriculture, water, and natural resources committee and the health and human services committee of the house of representatives and the agriculture and natural resources committee and the health and human services committee of the senate, or their successor committees, and the BHA. On or before January 1, 2027, and each January 1 thereafter, the department shall include in the report a summary of the data collected regarding the in-person annual summit. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $61,989 from the general fund for use by the department to implement the act. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly appropriates $145,116 to the department of human services for use by the BHA to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits an insurance carrier that provides coverage for a drug used to treat a substance use disorder under a health benefit plan from requiring prior authorization for the drug based solely on the dosage amount. The act requires an insurance carrier to reimburse a licensed pharmacist prescribing or administering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) pursuant to a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement (collaborative agreement) at a rate equal to the reimbursement rate for other health-care providers. The act amends the practice of pharmacy to include prescriptive authority for any FDA-approved product indicated for opioid use disorder in accordance with federal law, if authorized through a collaborative agreement. The act requires the state board of pharmacy, the Colorado medical board, and the state board of nursing to develop a protocol for pharmacists to prescribe, dispense, and administer certain FDA-approved products for MAT. The act requires reimbursement to pharmacies of an enhanced dispensing fee for administering injectable antagonist medication for MAT that aligns with the administration fee paid to a provider in a clinical setting. The act requires the medical assistance program to reimburse a pharmacist prescribing or administering medications for opioid use disorder pursuant to a collaborative agreement at a rate equal to the reimbursement rate for other providers. The act authorizes licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors (professionals) within their scope of practice to provide clinical supervision to individuals seeking certification as addiction technicians and addiction specialists, and directs the state board of addiction counselors and the state board of human services, as applicable, to adopt rules relating to clinical supervision by these professionals. Further, a licensed addiction counselor is authorized to provide clinical supervision to individuals seeking licensure as marriage and family therapists or professional counselors if the licensed addiction counselor has met the education requirements for those professions, or the equivalent, as determined by the respective boards regulating those professions. The act expands the medication-assisted treatment expansion pilot program to include grants to provide training and ongoing support to pharmacies and pharmacists who are authorized to prescribe, dispense, and administer MAT pursuant to a collaborative agreement or drug therapy protocol to assist individuals with a substance use disorder. The act requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to seek federal authorization to provide MAT, case management services, and a 30-day supply of prescription medication to medicaid members upon release from jail or a juvenile institutional facility. The act adds substance use disorder treatment to the list of health-care or mental health-care services that are required to be reimbursed at the same rate for telemedicine as a comparable in-person service. The act requires HCPF to seek federal authorization to provide partial hospitalization for substance use disorder treatment with full federal financial participation. The act requires each managed care entity (MCE) that provides prescription drug benefits or methadone administration for the treatment of substance use disorders to: Set the reimbursement rate for take-home methadone treatment and office-administered methadone treatment at the same rate; and Not impose any prior authorization requirements on any prescription medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of substance use disorders, regardless of the dosage amount. The act requires the behavioral health administration (BHA) to collect data from each withdrawal management facility on the total number of individuals who were denied admittance or treatment for withdrawal management and the reason for the denial and to review and approve any admission criteria established by a withdrawal management facility. The act requires each MCE to disclose the aggregated average and lowest rates of reimbursement for a set of behavioral health services determined by HCPF and authorizes behavioral health providers to disclose reimbursement rates paid by an MCE to the behavioral health provider. Beginning in the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $150,000 from the general fund to the Colorado child abuse prevention trust fund (trust fund) for programs to reduce the occurrence of prenatal substance exposure. For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 state fiscal years, the act also annually appropriates $50,000 from the general fund to the trust fund to convene a stakeholder group to identify strategies to increase access to child care for families seeking substance use disorder treatment and recovery services. The act requires the BHA to contract with an independent third-party entity to provide services and supports to behavioral health providers seeking to become a behavioral health safety net provider with the goal of the provider becoming self-sustaining. The act creates the contingency management grant program in the BHA to provide grants to substance use disorder treatment programs that implement a contingency management program for individuals with a stimulant use disorder. The act authorizes the BHA to apply for federal funding for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder programs and to receive and disburse federal funds to public and private nonprofit organizations. The act extends the opioid and other substance use disorders study committee until September 1, 2026. The act appropriates money to implement the act. APPROVED by Governor June 6, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Beginning January 1, 2026, the act removes the requirement that the department of health care policy and financing (department) fully assess a person in need of long-term services and supports for the appropriate level of care before the person is presumed eligible for the medical assistance program. The act authorizes the department to make any necessary changes to any other federal authorizations that are authorized by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services in order to implement the presumptive eligibility requirements for persons in need of long-term services and supports. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE January 1, 2026(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 2 of the act allows the owner of a decreed storage water right to loan water to the Colorado water conservation board (board) to preserve or improve the natural environment to a reasonable degree for a stream reach for which the board does not hold a decreed instream flow water right. Current law requires the board to establish an agricultural water protection program for water divisions 1 and 2. Section 3 changes current law by requiring the board to establish an agricultural water protection program in each water division. Current law allows periods of nonuse of a water right to be tolled in certain circumstances for the purposes of determining whether a water right is abandoned. Section 4 changes current law by allowing a water right to be tolled for the duration that an electric utility that owns a water right in water division 6 decreases use of, or does not use, the water right if the decrease in use or nonuse occurs during the period beginning January 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2050, and if the water right is owned by the electric utility since January 1, 2019 (abandonment exception). Current law requires an owner of a conditional water right to obtain a finding of reasonable diligence or the conditional water right is considered abandoned. Section 5 allows the water judge, in considering a finding of reasonable diligence for a conditional water right that is owned by an electric utility in water division 6 since January 2019, to consider the following as supporting evidence: The conditional water right may be used to support a specific project or potential future generation technologies or concepts that have the potential to advance progress toward Colorado's clean energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals; and The electric utility or another entity has made efforts to investigate or research the viability of future generation technologies that have the potential to advance progress toward Colorado's clean energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. In determining the amount of historical consumptive use for a water right, a water judge is prohibited from considering certain specified uses. Section 6 prohibits the water judge from considering the decrease in use or nonuse of a water right owned by an electric utility in water division 6 since January 1, 2019, which decrease in use or nonuse occurs during the period beginning January 1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2050, in determining the amount of historical consumptive use (historical consumptive use protection). If the water right is leased or loaned by the electric utility to a third party, the water right is not entitled to historical consumptive use protection for the period the water right is subject to the lease or loan. To qualify for historical consumption use protection or the abandonment exception, an electric utility that manages all units of a generating station in water division 6 must file with the water division 6 water court an application seeking quantification of historical consumptive use for the absolute direct flow water rights serving the generating station. The application is a claim for a determination of a water right, and the water division 6 water court has jurisdiction to determine the historical consumptive use for the absolute direct flow water rights serving the generating station. Current law allows the board to approve certain grants related to water conservation and requires the board to establish criteria to require the grant applicant to provide matching funds of at least 25%. Section 8 requires the board to reduce or waive fund matching requirements in the case of a grant to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe or the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. APPROVED by Governor May 29, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Before transferring or negotiating to transfer any subdivision or part of a subdivision, a developer is required to apply for registration with the real estate commission (commission). Current law requires that, with permission from the commission, any reservation fees that a developer receives from prospective purchasers while the developer's registration application is pending must be held in trust by a third party and be fully refundable. If the subdivision is a time share estate, the act requires that, after the commission has approved a developer's registration application, any earnest money received by the developer from a prospective purchaser must be held in trust by an independent third party. The act creates an exception to this requirement for earnest money deposits received from an accredited investor. A developer may use funds from an accredited investor's deposit for development purposes only if the purchase contract or other written disclosure clearly sets forth: To whom the funds will be delivered; When the delivery will occur; How the funds will be used; and Any restrictions on the use of the funds. APPROVED by Governor May 28, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act modifies the income tax credit for qualified costs incurred in preservation of historic structures (credit) by: Modifying the requirement that a qualified commercial or residential structure be at least 50 years old to instead require a qualified commercial or residential structure to be at least 30 years old; Extending the period for which a taxpayer may claim the credit through income tax years commencing prior to January 1, 2037; Extending the period for which the Colorado office of economic development may reserve the credit through December 31, 2032; Limiting the credit to apply to past rehabilitation expenditures that occurred 12, rather than 24, months prior to the submission of an application for the credit on or after January 1, 2026; Preventing a person from submitting an application for the credit on or after January 1, 2025, in connection with an already completed rehabilitation project; Increasing the amount of the credit that may be awarded for residential rehabilitation expenditures from $50,000 to $100,000, beginning with credits that are awarded on or after January 1, 2025; Removing the 5% increase in the percentage of applicable rehabilitation expenses incurred in a rehabilitation in a disaster area under the credit for rehabilitations made in connection with an application for the credit submitted on or after January 1, 2025; Creating the commercial historic preservation tax credit program cash fund that consists of gifts, grants, donations, any revenue generated by the issuance fee charged in connection with the issuance of a credit, and any other money that the general assembly credits to the fund; For tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2027, allowing the credit for qualified residential structures to be refundable rather than able to be carried forward; and For calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2030, establishing a second income tax credit pool of up to $5 million annually that is reserved for an owner of a qualified commercial structure that is rehabilitated so that at least 50% of the square footage of the qualified commercial structure will be net new housing rental units, and, if the qualified commercial structure is subject to a deed restriction that requires the owner to lease rental housing to individuals with an income below a certain amount, the taxpayer claiming the credit may claim 5% more of the qualified expenditures. To implement the act, for the 2024-25 state fiscal year: $74,244 is appropriated from the general fund to the office of the governor for use by economic development programs for general incentives and marketing by the economic development commission; and $54,419 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education for use by history Colorado for the office of archeology and historic preservation. APPROVED by Governor May 24, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
A fire protection district (fire district) has been authorized to receive and spend an impact fee, or other similar development charge, only in connection with a local government's imposition of such fee or charge to fund expenditures by a fire and emergency services provider. The act repeals this limitation and authorizes a fire district to impose its own impact fee on the construction of new buildings, structures, facilities, or improvements on real property within the fire district's jurisdictional boundaries so long as the fee is imposed pursuant to a legislatively adopted schedule that is: Generally applicable to a broad class of property; and Intended to defray the projected impacts on capital facilities caused by the proposed construction. The act imposes the following limitations on a fire district's authority to impose an impact fee: No individual landowner may be required to provide any site-specific dedication or improvement to meet the same need for capital facilities for which an impact fee is imposed; and An impact fee may not be imposed on construction for which an individual or entity has submitted a completed application for a development permit to an approving local government prior to the fire district's adoption of a schedule of impact fees. Additionally, a fire district may waive an impact fee on the development of low- or moderate-income housing or affordable employee housing, as defined by the fire district. The act gives ambulance districts identical authority to that of a fire district to impose an impact fee on the construction of new buildings, structures, facilities, or improvements on real property within the ambulance district's jurisdictional boundaries. The act also gives fire districts and ambulance districts the additional financial power to levy a sales tax within the district's jurisdiction, at a rate determined by the district's board, upon every transaction or other incident with respect to which a sales tax is levied by the state. The tax must be approved by a majority of the eligible electors within the district voting at a regular special district election or at a special election that complies with section 20 of article X of the state constitution and related statutory requirements. Such a sales tax must be collected, administered, and enforced by the executive director of the department of revenue in the same manner as the state sales tax. APPROVED by Governor May 22, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act authorizes the reintroduction of the North American wolverine in the state by the division of parks and wildlife (division). As long as the North American wolverine remains on the list of threatened or endangered species pursuant to applicable federal law, the division must not reintroduce the North American wolverine in the state until a final rule designating the North American wolverine in Colorado as a nonessential experimental population pursuant to applicable federal law has taken effect. The act also creates certain requirements for the reintroduction of the North American wolverine. The parks and wildlife commission must adopt rules for the compensation of owners of livestock for losses caused by the North American wolverine. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, $102,808 is appropriated from the wildlife cash fund to the department of natural resources for use by the division. To implement the act, the division may use the appropriation for wildlife operations. APPROVED by Governor May 20, 2024 EFFECTIVE August 7, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under existing law, it is a class A traffic infraction to operate a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license, to operate a commercial motor vehicle if the operator is under 21 years of age, or to drive a commercial motor vehicle if the person has more than one driver's license. The act makes each a class 1 misdemeanor; except that, if a person presents a valid commercial driver's license to the court within 30 days, the offense is a class A traffic infraction. The act creates the offense of unlawful direction to operate a commercial motor vehicle. An employer who authorizes or permits an employee who the employer knows or reasonably should know does not have a commercial driver's license or is under 21 years of age to operate a commercial motor vehicle commits unlawful direction to operate a commercial motor vehicle, a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense. The act requires the transportation legislation review committee to study the following issues during the 2024 legislative interim: Enforcement of impaired driving offenses, including situations involving a driver who refuses to take or complete a blood or breath test as required by law; Careless driving that results in accidental death, including whether available civil and criminal charges and penalties for those incidents are appropriate; and The appropriate penalty for failing to maintain motor vehicle or low-powered scooter insurance and failing to present evidence of insurance to a requesting officer. The act appropriates $1,455 from the Colorado DRIVES vehicle services account in the highway users tax fund to the department of revenue to implement the act's provisions. APPROVED by Governor May 20, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE May 20, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE August 1, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)