2019 Interim Committee Bills Referred to Legislative Council – Part II

Earlier this week we published part I of our series providing summaries of the interim committee bills that the Legislative Council approved at its meeting last Friday, November 15. Of the 20 committees that were authorized to meet during the 2019 interim, 15 recommended bills to the Legislative Council.

Earlier, we summarized bills approved from seven of those committees. In today’s article, we summarize bills recommended by the remaining eight committees.

Pension Review Commission

The Pension Review Commission met twice during the 2019 interim for an annual briefing from the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) and from the Fire and Police Pension Association (FPPA).  The Commission also discussed matters regarding PERA and considered one bill recommended by the FPPA Board of Directors (Board) for introduction during the 2020 legislative session. The Commission recommended that bill to the Legislative Council, which approved the bill for introduction.

Bill A: Concerning modifications to the pension plans administered by the fire and police pension association.
The bill modifies the method by which the local government contribution to state-assisted old hire pension plans is calculated to more precisely set contribution requirements as the plans’ liabilities decrease. The bill modifies the statewide defined benefit plan as follows:

  • Codifies increases in the member contribution rates that were approved in 2014 and are already in effect;
  • Increases the employer contribution rate by 4%, to be implemented over eight years with an increase of .5% a year for a total employer contribution rate of 12% of salary;
  • Allows a member of the statewide defined benefit plan to retire with an unreduced retirement benefit if the member is at least 50 years old and has a combined age and years of service that is equal to at least 80. To cover the cost of the new full retirement benefit eligibility, increases the employer contribution rate, in addition to all other increases in the employer contribution rate, by 1% of base salary to be implemented over two years.
  • To conform to the current plan benefits, eliminates the cap on a member’s highest average salary, which was previously eliminated by an amendment to the plan approved by election of the members and employers;
  • Changes the nature of the separate retirement accounts in the stabilization reserve account to defined contribution accounts, subject to self-direction by the member. In addition, the bill requires the board to transfer the balances of the separate retirement accounts in the stabilization reserve account to defined contribution accounts by a specified date.
  • Authorizes the board to increase the member and employer contribution rates in equal amounts above the rates established pursuant to law or eliminate an increase in the member and employer contribution rates if specified conditions are satisfied, including approval by members and employers at an election proposing such increase or decrease;
  • Authorizes the board to set a continuing rate of contribution for all members who are active on the effective date of coverage to fund benefits to ensure that the affiliating employers’ coverage does not have an adverse financial impact on the actuarial soundness of the plan; and
  • Authorizes the board to decrease the continuing rate of contribution when it determines that the rate is higher than what is necessary to pay the costs of the benefits of members who are employees of employers who rejoined the plan.

The bill modifies the death and disability plan by increasing the maximum contribution rate in 2021 to 3% of salary and authorizing the board to increase the contribution every year by up to .2% of the member’s salary.

For members hired before January 1, 1997, the state previously payed the costs for those members’ participation in the death and disability plan. In the mid-1990s, the general assembly determined that the costs associated with death and disability benefits should be covered by local governments. The general assembly made a lump-sum payment to cover the costs of participation in the death and disability plan for members hired before January 1, 1997, and implemented a system to cover the costs of death and disability benefits for members hired thereafter. The FPPA recently determined that the amount of the lump-sum payment from the state was insufficient to cover the death and disability benefits for members hired before January 1, 1997. The bill requires the general assembly to make an additional lump-sum payment to the FPPA to fund the unfunded liabilities of the death and disability benefits for those members.

To review the bill recommended by the Pension Review Commission, please visit the commission’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Nicole Myers.

School Safety Committee

The School Safety Interim Study Committee met four times during the 2019 interim to study issues relating to school safety, emergency response planning, the prevention of threats to schools, and programs and methods for identifying and monitoring students in crisis. The committee heard testimony on a wide range of issues: School security, mental health challenges, safe2tell, the state auditor’s report on school safety programs, and many more. The committee requested the drafting of 11 bills and one resolution and voted to advance five bills and the resolution to Legislative Council. All of the recommended legislation received favorable votes from the Legislative Council.

Bill A: Concerning excused absences in public schools resulting from behavioral health concerns.
Current law requires school districts to adopt a written policy setting forth the school district’s attendance requirements. The bill requires the policy to include excused absences for behavioral health concerns.

Bill B: Concerning the need for services for juveniles with severe behavioral health conditions in the context of school safety, including residential treatment.
The bill instructs the School Safety Resource Center (center) in the Department of Public Safety to convene a working group of stakeholders to assess the needs of school districts with respect to the adequacy and availability of residential mental health treatment for children and youth who are identified by school personnel as having severe behavioral or mental health disorders and potential ways to resolve these needs. The working group must gather information on the availability, need, and cost associated with residential treatment services for children and youth in Colorado. The center shall use the data to prepare a report and make any legislative recommendations to address the mental health needs of children and youth in Colorado. The center must present the report and any legislative recommendations as part of its presentation to its committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to the “State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act” in January 2021.

Bill C: Concerning expanding behavioral health training for kindergarten through twelfth grade educators.
The bill requires the Department of Education (department) to offer a train-the-trainer program (program) designed to improve school culture, promote youth behavioral and mental health, and prepare attendees to teach a youth behavioral and mental health training course. The program must include evidence-based instruction on, and prepare an attendee to teach, a youth behavioral and mental health training course. Participation in the program by local education providers is voluntary. The department may enter into an agreement with an organization to provide the program. The department must annually evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The general assembly must annually appropriate up to $1 million for the program. The program is repealed June 30, 2024.

Bill D: Concerning enhancements to the safe2tell program.
Under current law, the safe2tell program must provide awareness and educational materials to preschools. The bill repeals this requirement.

The bill requires the safe2tell program to:

  • Devise a process to direct all calls and texts initially to a crisis operator and then route non-crisis calls and texts appropriately;
  • Align the process and procedures for tips received via all communication methods; and
  • Conduct an annual advertising campaign regarding awareness, use, and misuse of safe2tell.

The bill allows the attorney general to disclose to law enforcement personnel any materials or information obtained through operation of the safe2tell program if the attorney general reasonably deems the disclosure necessary to prevent imminent physical harm or serious bodily injury to one or more persons.

Bill E: Concerning creating a multi-agency working group to address school safety.
The bill creates the Colorado interagency working group on school safety (working group) to enhance school safety through the cost-effective use of public resources. The working group consists of 14 voting members, including four legislative members. The bill describes the working group’s duties and areas of study. The working group may contract with a consultant to optimize the alignment and effectiveness of the school safety efforts in Colorado and identify evidence-based best practices. The bill repeals the working group on September 1, 2023.

Resolution A: Concerning the support of the “I Love U Guys” foundation.
The joint resolution highlights the extraordinary work the “I Love U Guys” foundation is doing for school safety and provides the General Assembly’s support for the foundation’s work.

To review the bills and the resolution recommended by the School Safety Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Michael Dohr.

Transportation Legislative Review Committee

During the 2019 interim, the Transportation Legislation Review Committee held two hearings at the State Capitol to get reports and make bill recommendations. In accordance with the committee’s charge, the committee also toured mountain areas and western Colorado. During the tour, the committee met with:

  • Park County Senior Coalition;
  • Breckenridge Free Ride and Summit Stage;
  • Loma Port of Entry;
  • CDOT regarding Bustang;
  • ECO Transit;
  • I-70 Coalition;
  • Clear Creek County Transportation; and
  • Regional Transportation District (RTD).

At the last committee hearing on October 28, the committee voted to recommend five bills to the Legislative Council, all of which were approved.

Bill A: Concerning license plates:
This bill creates a license plate reissuance process and changes Colorado’s license plate color scheme on January 2021. The new scheme will display white letters and numbers over a background of dark green mountains and a white sky. Starting in 2021, the license plates expire when an owner transfers title or interest in a vehicle, so the plates may not be transferred to another vehicle. Owners of expired license plates will pay any associated fees with the issuance of new license plates, but the Department of Transportation (department) may not recover any incremental costs from producing or distributing the new license plates.

The bill applies to all Class C motor vehicles, except for horseless carriages. The department must exhaust its stock of current license plates before issuing license plates with the new color scheme.

Bill B: Concerning a requirement that the high-performance transportation enterprise include information about its public-private partnerships in its annual report to the legislative committees of the house of representatives and the senate that have jurisdiction over transportation.
By February 15, 2021, this bill requires the high-performance transportation enterprise (HPTE) to include the following information for each public-private partnership in its report:

  • A summary of HPTE’s processes and activities leading up to the public-private partnership, including information on the public comment and selection processes; and
  • A summary of the major financial, performance, and length-of-term provisions in actual or anticipated public-private partnership agreements.

Bill C: Concerning the acquisition of drivers’ licenses by certain persons in the custody of the state department of human services.
This bill creates a grant program within the Department of Human Services (department) to reimburse counties for the cost of driver education classes for 15- to 17-year-old youth in foster care. The state board of human services must promulgate rules to administer the program. Each county that receives a grant must submit an annual report to the department, and the department must submit an annual summary report to the General Assembly. The program repeals on September 1, 2030, pending a sunset review.

The bill clarifies that county departments of human or social services are not liable for any injury that may occur while a youth in foster care is receiving driving instruction. The bill also clarifies that a certified court order is sufficient documentation for eligible foster youth to apply for driver licenses.

Bill D: Concerning permanent authorization for third-party providers to perform vehicle identification number verification inspections for commercial vehicles.
Under current law, the Colorado state patrol administers a pilot program that allows a third-party transportation organization to perform vehicle identification number (VIN) verifications on commercial vehicles. This bill makes the program permanent.

Bill E: Concerning the creation of a single annual fleet overweight permit for a commercial motor vehicle fleet that includes both vehicles that have a quad axle grouping and vehicle combinations with a trailer that has two or three axles.
Under current law, owners of commercial motor-vehicle fleets may apply to the department of transportation for two separate annual non-interstate overweight divisible load permits: quad axle and two- or three-axle trailer. The bill combines the two permits and creates one annual fleet permit for non-interstate overweight divisible load quad axles and two- or three-axle trailers.

To review the bills recommended by the Transportation Legislative Review Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jason Gelender or Jery Payne.

Wildfire Matters Review Committee

The Wildfire Matters Review Committee is charged with reviewing and proposing legislation or other policy changes related to wildfire prevention, mitigation, and related matters, including public safety and forest health issues. The Committee met three times during the 2019 interim and heard presentations from representatives of a wide variety of entities involved in wildfire prevention, mitigation, and response. Among other presentations, the committee heard from the Division of Fire Prevention and Control within the Department of Public Safety and the federal Bureau of Land Management about state and federal efforts to respond to wildfires. The committee heard from the Colorado State Forest Service and the West Region Wildfire Council about managing the state’s forests. The committee also heard about new technologies used for early detection of wildfires, insurance coverage for wildfires, and the benefits of improving residences to protect against wildfires. The committee heard from the Colorado Resiliency Office within the Department of Local Affairs about its work with local entities to aid in the recovery from natural disasters.

The committee recommended five bills to the Legislative Council for consideration in the 2020 legislative session, all of which were approved.

Bill A: Concerning modifications to the “Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Act”.
The bill modifies the forest restoration and wildfire mitigation grant program in the Department of Higher Education. Under current law, the grant program’s share of a project cannot exceed 50% of the total cost of the project. The bill allows a project to receive up to 75% of its costs through the grant program if the project is located in an area with fewer economic resources, thereby reducing the applicant’s share to 25 percent. Additionally, the bill:

  • Directs the Colorado State Forest Service to establish a policy that specifies the criteria by which a project will satisfy the requirement of being in an area with fewer economic resources;
  • Expands the list of eligible recipients to include fire protection districts and nonprofit organizations engaged in firefighting or fire management activities; and
  • Extends the grant program repeal date from September 1, 2022, to September 1, 2029.

Bill B: Concerning surplus military vehicles.
The bill clarifies that a surplus military vehicle is not included in the definition of an off-highway vehicle if a municipality, county, or fire protection district uses the surplus military vehicle for firefighting efforts, including mitigation.

Bill C: Concerning the inclusion of firefighters employed by the department of public safety in the division of fire prevention and control in certain employee benefits.
The bill makes benefit changes for Division of Fire Prevention and Control employees in the Department of Public Safety, including insurance for certain heart conditions and cancers, as well as pension benefits.

Bill D: Concerning programs to reduce wildfire risk through outreach to people experiencing homelessness.
The bill creates the wildfire risk reduction through homeless outreach grant program in the Department of Local Affairs (department). The program awards grants to conduct outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness to reduce wildfire risks in the wildland-urban interface. The department is directed to convene a working group to identify emerging, promising, and best practices for conducting this type of outreach and to issue grants consistent with the identified practices.

Bill E: Concerning wildfire mitigation assistance for landowners.
The bill creates the wildfire mitigation resources and best practices grant program in the Department of Local Affairs. Local governments, special districts, tribal agencies or programs, faith-based organizations, and nonprofit organizations are eligible for grant funding to conduct outreach to landowners to inform them of resources available for wildfire mitigation and best practices for wildfire mitigation.

To review the bills recommended by the Wildfire Matters Review Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Bob Lackner.

Water Resources Review Committee

The Water Resources Review Committee (WRRC) met five times during the 2019 interim, including one meeting in Steamboat Springs held during the annual Colorado Water Congress summer conference, and toured the South Platte River basin in northeastern Colorado with the Colorado Foundation for Water Education. The WRRC heard presentations on a variety of water issues, including various basin-specific issues; proposed water infrastructure projects; the instream flow program; the status of Colorado River compact compliance, including proposed demand management programs; water reuse, including the use of graywater; and Colorado’s water plan.

At its final hearing on October 24, the WRRC considered six bills, recommending four of them to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council approved all four bills for introduction in the 2020 legislative session.

Bill A: Concerning the inclusion of public input in the development of a state water resources demand management program.
The bill requires the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the WRRC to involve the public and provide opportunities for public comment, using procedures similar to those used for initial adoption of the state water plan, before adopting a final or significantly amended water resources demand management program as part of the Colorado upper basin states’ drought contingency plan.

Bill B: Concerning a requirement that the university of Colorado study potential uses of emerging technologies to more effectively manage Colorado’s water supply.
The bill declares that new technologies, such as blockchain, telemetry, improved sensors, and advanced aerial observation platforms, can improve monitoring, management, conservation, and trading of water and enhance confidence in the reliability of data underlying water rights transactions. To advance the potential use of these new technologies, the bill:

  • Authorizes and directs the university of Colorado, in collaboration with the Colorado water institute at Colorado state university, to conduct feasibility studies and pilot deployments of these new technologies to improve water management in Colorado; and
  • Appropriates $40,000 from the general fund, contingent on the university of Colorado’s receipt of a matching $40,000 in gifts, grants, and donations, for the purpose of funding the studies and pilot programs.

Bill C: Concerning the inspection of water wells.
The bill requires the state engineer to employ a minimum of four water well inspectors in the state’s water well inspection program.

The bill requires the State Board of Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Contractors, on or before November 1, 2020, to promulgate rules for identifying high-risk water wells that should be prioritized for inspection. Thereafter, the state engineer shall use the rules to identify high-risk water wells and shall prioritize the inspection of high-risk water wells.

The bill clarifies that money in the well inspection cash fund shall be appropriated to and expended by the state engineer only for the well inspection program.

Bill D: Concerning a study to consider the strengthening of the prohibition on speculative appropriations of water.
Current law specifies that an appropriation of water cannot be based on speculation, as evidenced by specified circumstances. The bill requires the executive director of the Department of Natural Resources to convene a work group to explore ways to strengthen current anti-speculation law and to report to the WRRC by August 15, 2021, regarding any recommended changes.

To review the bills recommended by the Water Resources Review Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Thomas Morris.

Investor-owned Utility Review Interim Study Committee

The Investor-owned Utility Review Interim Study Committee was created to examine the programs and practices of electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in Colorado, with a particular focus on issues involving consumer choice and affordability in electric supply. The committee met twice during the 2019 interim, once on August 22 to receive testimony from a variety of individuals and groups, and once on October 3 to take more testimony and consider proposed legislation. Both meetings were held at the State Capitol.

At the October 3 meeting, the following three bills were proposed and he committee recommended all three to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council approved all three bills at its November 15 meeting, so they will be introduced during the 2020 legislative session.

Bill A: Concerning investigations by the public utilities commission to evaluate the implications of allowing community choice of wholesale electric supply in Colorado through the vehicle of community choice energy authorities.
The bill directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to evaluate the viability of the wholesale, opt-out model of community choice energy (CCE) in Colorado. CCE is defined as a mechanism that allows cities, counties, or groups of cities and counties, to combine their purchasing power and choose alternative electricity suppliers while the IOU continues to own and operate the transmission and distribution system. The PUC is directed to study CCE through a third-party feasibility study and an investigatory docket.

Bill B: Concerning the stabilization of state funding for energy efficiency improvement programs.
Beginning in FY 2020-21, the bill establishes conditional annual transfers from the general fund to both the energy outreach Colorado low-income energy assistance fund and the Colorado energy office low-income energy assistance fund. The transfers take place if the amount of severance tax revenue transferred to either fund in a given year falls below $1.0 million. The amount transferred to either fund is 75 percent of the difference between $1.0 million and the amount of severance tax received for the year. The conditional general fund transfers are authorized for four years and are repealed on September 1, 2024.

Bill C: Concerning increased consumer protections for customers of investor-owned utilities.
Bill C requires the PUC to collect information from utilities on medical exemptions from tiered electricity rates; adopt standard practices for gas and electric utilities to follow when disconnecting service due to nonpayment; and conduct a proceeding to evaluate a policy of requiring public utilities to report positive information to credit reporting agencies. The bill also prohibits public utilities from employing certain rate structures without obtaining opt-in from customers.

To review the bills recommended by the Investor-owned Utility Review Interim Study Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Duane Gall.

Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission

The Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission met four times during the 2019 interim. The commission heard presentations from state departments, early childhood professionals, members of the nonprofit and advocacy communities, and members of the public on a wide range of subjects related to early childhood and school readiness, including:

  • Early care and education access, affordability, quality, and workforce;
  • Early childhood mental health;
  • Child maltreatment and fatality prevention recommendations;
  • School readiness, literacy, preschool, and full-day kindergarten; and
  • Community-based resource centers.

The commission considered four bills at its October 31 meeting, all of which it voted to move forward to the Legislative Council for consideration. The Legislative Council approved all four bills.

Bill A: Concerning measures to support the early childhood educator workforce.
The bill makes several changes to state law related to early childhood workforce programs, including requiring that:

  • The Department of Human Services (CDHS) recognize prior experience in the educator credentialing system;
  • CDHS create a pathway for programs to be licensed while aspiring educators pursue a credential;
  • CDHS and the Department of Education (CDE) align the early childhood credential system, educator licensing system, and the childcare program licensing, and report on the current supply and future need for qualified early childhood educators;
  • CDHS, CDE, and the Department of Higher Education develop resources to increase concurrent enrollment opportunities and support career pathways that allow students to serve as early childhood educators;
  • CDHS establish the early care and education recruitment and retention grant and scholarship program for individuals pursuing a career in early care and education, nonprofit entities administering a similar scholarship program, or licensed early care and education programs; and
  • The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment establish the early childhood educator apprenticeship program to create pathways into the early childhood profession.

Bill B: Concerning the creation of the “Helping Others Manage Early (HOME) Childhood Act”.
The bill requires CDHS to issue a request for proposals to implement a statewide public awareness campaign. The campaign must be in place no later than the 2021-22 academic year. The public awareness campaign must ensure that people connected to early childhood education are aware of:

  • What is expected from early childhood education;
  • What a child is expected to know by kindergarten; and
  • What resources are available for early childhood education.

The bill also requires CDHS, in collaboration with CDE and the early childhood councils, to offer two types of workshops throughout the state, multicounty workshops focused on professional development in the early childhood education field and regional workshops focused on how to open a child care center or preschool.

Bill C: Concerning state assistance to increase quality levels in early childhood education programs.
The bill requires CDHS to provide technical assistance and financial incentives to help early childhood care providers with a Colorado Shines quality rating advance to or maintain at least a level-three rating. Early childhood councils must assist CDHS by providing local community outreach and engagement strategies. Under current law, early childhood councils that apply for school-readiness quality improvement funding must submit a school readiness plan that includes targeting or recruiting programs rated as level two or higher, or that are actively working towards a level-two rating but face demonstrated hardship. The bill requires that plans instead target or recruit programs that are rated at level one or higher. If an early childhood council received funding prior to FY 2020-21, the council must amend their plan.

Bill D: Concerning creation of a statewide program of early childhood mental health consultation.
The bill requires CDHS to develop and implement a statewide voluntary program of early childhood mental health consultation by July 1, 2022. The program is intended to increase the number of qualified mental health consultants supporting professionals who work with young children and to give guidance and support to families, caregivers, and providers in addressing the healthy social-emotional developmental needs of children through age eight. In developing the program, CDHS must create a model of consultation, a professional development plan, and a certification process for the consultants, as well as a data collection and information system to analyze implementation and outcomes. CDHS and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing must also explore funding options for the program and report their findings to the Joint Budget Committee by January 1, 2022.

To review the bills recommended by the Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission, please visit the commission’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jane Ritter.

Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

The Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems met three times during 2019 to monitor and examine the work, findings, and recommendations of the statutorily created advisory task force. Specifically, the committee:

  • Received updates on the activities of the advisory task force and its subcommittees;
  • Discussed re-authorization of the legislative oversight committee and associated advisory task force; and
  • Considered legislation recommended by the advisory task force.

The advisory task force met monthly through 2019 and focused on the issues of housing, data and information sharing, and diversion, as those topics relate to persons with mental health disorders who are involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

At the Oversight Committee’s October 10 meeting it considered five bills, all of which it voted to move forward to the Legislative Council for consideration, all of which were subsequently approved.

Bill A: Concerning eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits for workers who are exposed to psychologically traumatic events.
Current law defines a “psychologically traumatic event” for determining workers’ compensation benefit eligibility to include visual exposure to death or serious bodily injury within a worker’s usual experience. The bill adds audible exposure to death or serious bodily injury within a worker’s usual experience to the definition of “psychologically traumatic event”.

Bill B: Concerning the implementation of recommendations from 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.
Under current law, an adult or juvenile convicted of certain sex offenses must be placed on the Colorado sex offender registry. The bill places fewer convicted juveniles on the registry. More specifically, the bill removes the requirement of registration for juveniles who relocate to Colorado if the juvenile’s duty to register in another state has been terminated by court order. The bill also eliminates the requirements of lifetime registration for an adult who has more than one adjudication as a juvenile. Further, it expands the discretion of judges not to require juveniles to register as sex offenders if an evaluator recommends exemption and the juvenile is otherwise statutorily eligible. Additionally, the bill allows for juveniles adjudicated for multiple sex offenses to petition to deregister, as well as for “lookbacks” by courts to remove someone from the registry, or add someone, depending on new information. Lastly, the measure partially seals the juvenile list from the public and limits access to law enforcement, probation, and parole personnel, the division of child welfare in the department of human services, and victims of an offense.

Bill C: Concerning programs to build statewide capacity to access supportive housing services.
The bill establishes new grant programs within the Division of Housing in the Department of Local Affairs. Specifically, the bill designates grant programs for supportive housing services to individuals in underserved communities with behavioral, mental health, or substance abuse disorders who have been involved in the criminal justice system. The grant programs include funding for: pre-development for creating supportive housing interventions; supportive housing and homelessness prevention; training and technical assistance for supportive housing; and homelessness data integration and resource collection.

Bill D: Concerning the development of a strategic plan to implement a trusted interoperability platform.
The bill creates the trusted interoperability Platform Advisory Committee in the Department of Public Safety. The advisory committee is charged with developing a strategic plan to implement a trusted interoperability platform that is capable of securely exchanging information between criminal and juvenile justice systems and community health agencies. The bill outlines that the advisory committee is to consist of 11 members from various agencies, and the plan must be submitted to the General Assembly by September 1, 2021.

Bill E – Concerning the implementation of recommendations from 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.
The bill extends the repeal date for the Legislative Oversight Committee and the associated advisory task force from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023. The bill decreases the membership on the task force by four members and clarifies the roles and additional duties of both oversight and task force committee members. The bill includes funding for task force support, to be provided by Legislative Council Staff.

To review the bills recommended by the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jane Ritter.