The Legislative Council met November 15, 2017, to review and approve bills recommended by interim study committees during the 2017 interim. In reviewing the bills, the Legislative Council considered whether each bill fit within the recommending committee’s study charge. At the meeting, the Legislative Council approved all of the bills summarized last week in Part 1 of this two-part series.

Following are summaries of the bills recommended by the remaining 2017 interim committees. Except where noted, the Legislative Council approved all of the bills for introduction during the 2018 regular legislative session.

Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission

The Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission met four times over the interim. Kristina Mueller with the Office of Early Childhood in the Colorado Department of Human Services staffed the commission. The commission requested five bills, and at its final meeting on November 1, the committee voted to recommend four of those bills to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning alignment of early childhood quality improvement programs with the Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System.

The bill amends the application and eligibility requirements for the Colorado School Readiness Quality Improvement Program and the Infant and Toddler Quality and Availability Grant Program to align with the Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System, streamlining administration of the programs. The bill also removes obsolete language from the statutes, including references to early childhood and education councils that were never established.

Bill B: Concerning substitute child care providers.

The bill creates a license within the Colorado Department of Human Services for a substitute placement agency that places, facilitates, or arranges placement of substitute child care providers in licensed facilities that provide less than 24-hour care. The State Board of Human Services is directed to establish rules for substitute child care providers and substitute placement agencies. At a minimum, those rules must require the substitute child care provider to submit to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check and demonstrate that he or she has the training and certification for the license type and position in which he or she is placed.

Bill C: Concerning the extension of the repeal of the Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission.

The bill extends the commission’s repeal date by five years to July 1, 2023.

Bill D: Concerning eligibility of kindergarten students funded through early childhood at-risk enhancement positions.

If a school district chooses to use an early childhood at-risk enhancement (ECARE) position to enroll a child in the school district’s full-day kindergarten program, the child enrolled through the ECARE position must meet at least one of the eligibility requirements of the Colorado preschool program.

To review the bills recommended by the Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission and for questions concerning the legislation, please contact Brita Darling.

Legislative Oversight Committee concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

The Legislative Oversight Committee concerning the Treatment of Person with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System met three times over the 2017 interim. In addition to the legislative oversight committee meetings, the task force associated with this committee met five times. At its final meeting on November 1, 2017, the committee recommended four bills to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council approved all of the bills except Bill C:

Bill A: Concerning competency to proceed for juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system.

This bill establishes a juvenile-specific definition of “competent to proceed” and “incompetent to proceed” for juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system, as well as specific definitions for “developmental disability”, “mental capacity”, and “mental disability” when used in this context. The bill clarifies the procedures for establishing incompetency, as well as for establishing the restoration of competency.

Bill B: Concerning the repeal date for the transfer of money from community corrections to the housing assistance for persons transitioning from the criminal or juvenile justice system cash fund.

In 2017, the general assembly enacted a provision requiring, at the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year, the state treasurer to transfer unexpended and unencumbered money appropriated for community corrections programs to a new fund to assist persons transitioning from the criminal or juvenile justice systems. The act repealed the provision in 2018. The bill eliminates the repeal of the provision so that the transfer occurs at the end of each state fiscal year.

Bill C: Concerning measures to ease the rental application process for prospective tenants, and, in connection therewith, requiring landlords to disclose their tenant eligibility criteria before accepting rental applications or application fees.

The bill requires a landlord to provide each prospective tenant with written notice of the landlord’s tenant selection criteria and the grounds upon which a rental application may be denied before accepting an application or collecting an application fee. The notice must also state the amount of the application fee, which must be uniform for all applicants. The bill further defines a violation of these requirements as a deceptive trade practice.

Bill D: Concerning incentives to provide inmates with needed services.

The bill requires the department of corrections to institute an incentive plan to contract for more mental health professionals in difficult-to-serve geographic areas if the number of inmates who need a treatment or service in the area exceeds the number of available spaces by 20 percent.

To review the bills recommended by the Legislative Oversight Committee concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jane Ritter, Jeremiah Barry, or Duane Gall.

Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee

The Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee met six times over the interim and heard from state agencies, state officials, and stakeholders representing all aspects of the substance use disorder crisis. The committee also created several task forces that met separately to address specific issues in this area. The committee requested the drafting of six bills and voted to advance all six bills to Legislative Council. Legislative Council approved all six bills:

Bill A: Concerning measures to prevent opioid misuse in Colorado.

This bill specifies several measures to address opioid misuse, including:

• Establishing the opioid and other substance use disorders study interim committee as a statutory committee to continue its work until July 1, 2020, when the committee will automatically repeal;
• Specifying that school-based health care centers may apply for grants from the school-based health center grant program to expand behavioral health services to include treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders;
• Directing the department of health care policy and financing, starting July 1, 2018, to award grants to organizations to operate a substance abuse screening, brief intervention, and referral program; and
• Directing the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery to develop and implement continuing medical education activities to assist prescribers of pain medication in safely and effectively managing patients with chronic pain.

Bill B: Concerning clinical practice measures for safer opioid prescribing.

With regard to prescribing opioids to patients, the bill:

• Restricts the number of opioid pills that a health care practitioner (specifically, physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and veterinarians), may prescribe for an initial prescription to a 7-day supply and one refill for a 7-day supply, with certain exceptions; and
• Clarifies that a health care practitioner may electronically prescribe opioids.

With regard to the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), the bill:

• Requires health care practitioners to query the PDMP before prescribing the first refill prescription for an opioid except under specified circumstances;
• Requires practitioners to indicate their specialty or practice area upon the initial query of the PDMP; and
• Requires the department of public health and environment to report to the general assembly its results from studies regarding PDMP integration methods and health care provider report cards.

Bill C: Concerning measures to address the opioid crisis in Colorado, and, in connection therewith, providing immunity for individuals who provide clean syringes through a clean syringe exchange program, creating a supervised injection facility pilot program, allowing school districts to develop policies for the supply and administration of opiate antagonists, and requiring the commission on criminal and juvenile justice to study certain topics related to sentencing for opioid-related offenses.

The bill:

• Specifies that hospitals may be used as clean syringe exchange sites;
• Provides civil immunity for participants of a clean syringe exchange program;
• Creates a supervised injection facility pilot program in the city and county of Denver and provides civil and criminal immunity for the approved supervised injection facility;
• Allows school districts and nonpublic schools to develop a policy by which schools are allowed to obtain a supply of opiate antagonists and school employees are trained to administer opiate antagonists to individuals at risk of experiencing a drug overdose; and
• Requires the commission on criminal and juvenile justice to study certain topics related to sentencing for opioid-related offenses.

Bill D: Concerning modifications to the Colorado health service corps program administered by the department of public health and environment to expand the availability of behavioral health care providers in shortage areas in the state.

This 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 health professional shortage areas in the state, allows the primary care office, under guidance adopted by the state board of health, to use state-specific methods, rather than federal guidelines, to develop and administer state-designated health professional shortage areas;
• Allows behavioral health care providers (specifically, licensed and certified addiction counselors, licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, clinical psychologists, advanced practice nurses, and physicians certified or trained in addiction medicine, pain management, or psychiatry) and candidates for licensure as behavioral health care providers 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;
• 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; and
• Adds two substance use disorder-focused members to the advisory council that reviews program applications.

Bill E: Concerning treatment for individuals with substance use disorders, and, in connection therewith, adding residential and inpatient treatment to the Colorado medical assistance program.

The bill adds residential and inpatient substance use disorder services to the Colorado medical assistance program and limits participation in the program to persons who meet nationally recognized, evidence-based level of care criteria for residential and inpatient treatment. The benefit will not take effect unless Colorado receives federal authorization and secures federal matching dollars for the benefit. If the benefit is implemented, managed care organizations shall reprioritize the use of money allocated from the state marijuana tax cash fund to assist in providing treatment, including residential and inpatient treatment, to persons who are not otherwise covered by public or private insurance.

Bill F: Concerning payment issues relating to substance use disorders.

With respect to individual and group health benefit plans, the bill:

• Requires the plans to provide coverage without prior authorization for a five-day supply of buprenorphine for a first request within a 12-month period;
• If a plan covers physical therapy, acupuncture, or chiropractic services, requires the plan to cover those services with the same dollar limits, deductible, copayments, or coinsurance provisions as those applicable to primary care services;
• Prohibits carriers from taking adverse action against a provider or from providing financial incentives or disincentives to a provider solely on the results of a patient feedback survey relating to satisfaction with pain treatment;
• Clarifies that an “urgent prior authorization request” to a carrier includes a request for authorization of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders; and
• Prohibits carriers from requiring a covered person to undergo a step-therapy protocol using a prescription drug containing an opioid.

For both the medical assistance program and private health benefit plans, the bill permits a pharmacist who has entered into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with one or more physicians to administer injectable medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders and to receive an enhanced dispensing fee for the administration.

With respect to the medical assistance program, the bill requires the medical services board to authorize reimbursement for a ready-to-use version of intranasal naloxone hydrochloride without prior authorization. The bill also prohibits a requirement that a person undergo a step-therapy protocol using a prescription drug containing an opioid.

The bill requires the Colorado department of health care policy and financing and the Colorado department of human services office of behavioral health to establish rules to standardize utilization management authority timelines for the nonpharmaceutical components of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders.

To review the bills recommended by the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Interim Study Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Kristen Forrestal, Yelana Love, Christy Chase, or Brita Darling.

Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force

The Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force held four meetings during the 2017 interim. Briefings and presentations were made by the Colorado Department of Revenue, the Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Counties, Inc., members of the business community, the Special District Association, the Colorado Tax Auditors Coalition, the Office of the State Auditor, the Council on State Taxation, the Tax Foundation, Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., the Statewide Internet Portal Authority, various software providers, and members of the public on a wide range of subjects, including:

• The current Colorado sales and use tax system;
• Other states’ efforts to simplify their sales and use tax system;
• Pending federal legislation impacting sales and use tax simplification;
• Work being done by various software providers; and
• Updates on the Colorado Municipal League’s standardized definitions project

At its final meeting on November 1, 2017, the legislative members of the task force unanimously recommended one bill to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning a requirement that the department of revenue issue a request for information for an electronic sales and use tax simplification system.

The bill requires the Department of Revenue (DOR) to issue a request for information regarding the potential to contract for an electronic sales and use tax simplification system. The system would be available for use by the state and local governments, at their discretion, and would provide:

• Accurate address location information;
• A single application process for sales tax licenses;
• A uniform sales and use tax remittance form;
• A single point of remittance for sales and use tax; and
• A taxability or exemption matrix.

The information provided must identify initial costs and ongoing annual costs, as well as methods for payment by different public or private entities. The DOR is required to notify the task force when it has issued the request for information. The task force is required to meet within 90 days after receiving this notification to consider information received and determine its next steps.

To review the bill recommended by the Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force, please visit the task force’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Esther van Mourik.

Water Resources Review Committee

The Water Resources Review Committee (WRRC) met eight times over the 2017 interim, including one meeting in Steamboat Springs, and toured the San Miguel river basin in southwestern Colorado. The WRRC heard presentations on a variety of water issues, including various basin-specific issues, proposed water infrastructure projects, Colorado River compact compliance, rising groundwater in the South Platte River basin, Colorado’s Water Plan, and the use of reclaimed water.

At its final hearing on October 31, 2017, the WRRC considered 11 bills, recommending five of them to the Legislative Council.

Bill A: Concerning the ability of operators of sand and gravel mines to use water incidental to sand and gravel mining operations to mitigate the impacts of mining.

Current law requires operators of sand and gravel open mines that expose groundwater to the atmosphere to obtain a well permit and either: A replacement plan approved by the ground water commission for designated groundwater; or a plan for augmentation approved by the water court or a plan of substitute supply approved by the state engineer for tributary groundwater. The bill specifies that the replacement plan or the plan of substitute supply and the permit may authorize uses of water incidental to open mining for sand and gravel, including specifically, among other things, the mitigation of impacts from mining and dewatering.

Bill B: Concerning the financing of the division of parks and wildlife’s aquatic nuisance species program, and, in connection therewith, creating an aquatic nuisance species stamp for the operation of motorboats and sailboats in waters of the state, increasing penalties related to the introduction of aquatic nuisance species into the waters of the state, and combining two separate funds related to the aquatic nuisance species program into one fund.

The main focus of the bill is to create an aquatic nuisance species stamp that motorboat and sailboat owners must purchase each year to help fund the division of parks and wildlife’s efforts to detect, prevent, control, and eradicate aquatic nuisance species. The bill also increases existing penalties and adds new penalties for violations of the laws related to the detection, prevention, control, and eradication of aquatic nuisance species.

Bill C: Concerning the allowable uses of reclaimed domestic wastewater, and, in connection therewith, allowing reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for marijuana cultivation.

The bill codifies rules promulgated by the water quality control commission (commission) of the department of public health and environment concerning allowable uses of reclaimed domestic wastewater, which is wastewater that has been treated for subsequent reuses other than drinking water. The bill also adds marijuana cultivation as an allowable use for reclaimed domestic wastewater and authorizes the division of administration in the department of public health and environment to grant variances for uses of reclaimed domestic wastewater.

Bill D: Concerning the allowable uses of reclaimed domestic wastewater, and, in connection therewith, allowing reclaimed domestic wastewater to be used for industrial hemp cultivation.

This bill makes changes that are largely analogous to those made in Bill C, but with regard to authorizing the use of reclaimed domestic wastewater for industrial hemp cultivation.

Bill E: Concerning an expansion of the duration for which the Colorado water resources and power development authority may make a loan under the authority’s revolving loan programs.

Pursuant to the federal clean water act and the federal “Safe Water Drinking Act”, the Colorado water resources and power development authority (authority) makes loans under its water pollution control revolving fund and its drinking water revolving fund. Under state law, the duration of a water pollution control loan made by the authority must not exceed 20 years after project completion; however, the federal clean water act now allows for loans up to the lesser of 30 years or the projected useful life of the project, as determined by the state. The bill removes the 20-year limitation on water pollution control loans and authorizes the authority to make loans in compliance with the clean water act and the “Safe Water Drinking Act”.

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

As required in Joint Rule 24 (b)(1)(D), the Legislative Council is meeting November 15, 2017, to review and approve bills recommended by interim study committees during the 2017 interim. Approved interim committee bills do not count against the five-bill limit for the prime sponsors of the bills.

All of the interim and statutory committees that met during the 2017 interim are listed here—there were several. One of the committees—the Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance—has been meeting, but has not recommended any bills at this point. This committee is exempt from the requirement of submitting its recommended bills to the Legislative Council, so it may yet prepare and introduce bills for the 2018 legislative session.

This week’s article summarizes the bills recommended by the following committees:

• County Courthouse and County Jail Funding and Overcrowding Solutions Interim Study Committee
• Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission
• Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System Interim Study Committee
• Transportation Legislation Review Committee
• Wildfire Matters Review Committee
• Young and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee

Next week, LegiSource will summarize the remaining committees’ recommended bills and report on the actions taken by Legislative Council.

County Courthouse and County Jail Funding and Overcrowding Solutions Interim Study Committee

The County Courthouse and County Jail Funding and Overcrowding Solutions Interim Study Committee met five times over the 2017 interim. At the October 23, 2017, meeting, the committee considered and voted on each of the eleven bill drafts and one resolution draft that it had requested at the previous meeting. A majority of the committee members recommended only the following three bills and one resolution for consideration by the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning the provision of financial assistance to counties for county facilities.

Current law tasks the underfunded courthouse facility cash fund commission with evaluating grant applications and issuing grants to counties for underfunded courthouse facilities through master planning services, matching funds, or leverage-grant funding opportunities, or for addressing emergency needs due to the imminent closure of a court facility.

The bill changes the name of the commission and the fund and expands the commission’s responsibilities to include jails in addition to court facilities. Additionally, the bill allows the commission to issue grants for up to 50% of a county’s annual voter-approved debt service on any county-approved financing of the construction or remodeling costs of a court or jail facility. The bill also creates a low-interest loan program, which the commission will administer, whereby counties may apply for low-interest loans to finance the capital construction or remodeling costs of a court or jail facility.

Bill B: Concerning the amount that the department of corrections is required to reimburse a county or city and county for the confinement and maintenance in a local jail of any person who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a correctional facility.

Under current law, the General Assembly establishes in the annual general appropriations bill the amount that the department of corrections must reimburse a county or city and county for a portion of the costs incurred in confining and maintaining in a local jail a person who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a correctional facility. The bill establishes this amount in statute as $108.78 per day.

Bill C: Concerning a program to facilitate conducting judicial proceedings via networking technology.

The bill directs the division of criminal justice within the department of public safety, in consultation with the office of the state court administrator, to operate a program that implements telephonic or internet-based networking software to enable county courts and district courts to conduct judicial procedures with remote participants. The bill sets forth a timeline by which the division must first solicit requests for proposals from prospective software vendors and then select and contract with one or more software vendors for the purposes of the program.

Resolution A: Concerning the Medicaid eligibility of individuals being held in a correctional facility but who have not been convicted of a crime.

The resolution acknowledges House Resolution 165, introduced in the United States House of Representatives on January 3, 2017, which would remove limitations on Medicaid benefits and other federal benefits for individuals in custody pending disposition charges. In the resolution, the members of the General Assembly strongly urge the United States Congress to amend the law concerning Medicaid eligibility of incarcerated individuals so that persons who are detained in state and local facilities but have not been convicted of a crime retain their Medicaid eligibility until conviction.

To review the bills and resolution recommended by the County Courthouse and County Jail Funding and Overcrowding Solutions Interim Study Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Richard Sweetman.

Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission

The Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission met once during the 2017 interim for an annual briefing from the Fire and Police Pension Association (FPPA) and to consider two bills recommended by the FPPA Board of Directors (Board) for introduction during the 2018 legislative session. Based on the Board’s recommendations, the commission recommended the following two bills:

Bill A: Concerning the statewide standard health history form that members of the fire and police pension association complete when commencing employment.

Every member of the FPPA, at the commencement of employment, must complete a health history on a statewide standard health history form (form). The bill clarifies several aspects of the form. Specifically, the bill specifies that all newly hired members are required to fill out the form; clarifies that the employer must require newly hired members to complete and file the form; authorizes the Board to adopt an electronic format for completing and filing the form; and specifies that a member who omits or conceals, rather than fraudulently conceals, a material fact concerning his or her health history on the form may be disqualified from receiving disability or survivor benefits.

Bill B: Concerning employer entry into the fire and police pension association defined benefit system.

Current law allows an employer that is affiliated with the FPPA and that provides a money purchase plan for its employees to apply to the Board to cover some or all existing members of the money purchase plan under either the statewide hybrid plan or the statewide defined benefit plan, both of which are part of the defined benefit system (system). Current law requires the employer to apply to the Board separately for each plan. In addition, the employer may apply to cover only existing employees under the statewide hybrid plan or the statewide defined benefit plan.

The bill allows an employer that provides a money purchase plan to apply to the Board, with a single application, to cover some or all of the existing members of its money purchase plan in the system. In addition, the bill allows an employer that provides a money purchase plan to apply to the Board to cover all new employees hired on or after a date certain and who are members of the FPPA to participate as a group in either the statewide hybrid plan or the statewide defined benefit plan through the system. The bill eliminates certain statutory requirements in connection with an employer’s participation in the system and repeals the separate application process for entry into the statewide defined benefit plan.

To review the bills recommended by Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Nicole Myers.

Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System Interim Study Committee

The sentencing in the Criminal Justice System Interim Study Committee met seven times over the interim and at those meetings heard from over 60 witnesses on a wide range of topics related criminal sentencing. At its bill request meeting, the committee voted to authorize the drafting of a whopping 19 bills. During the bill-drafting period, three of the requests were withdrawn. When the committee met to vote on the bill drafts, it considered 12 of the remaining 16 bills, withdrawing four more bills. Of those 12 bills, the committee voted to recommend five bills to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning granting judicial discretion to sentence a defendant to an indeterminate or determinate sentence for a sexual offense, and, in connection therewith, requiring the criteria and basis for the sentencing decision to be articulated on the public record.

Currently, a court must sentence certain sex offenders to an indeterminate sentence, up to the remainder of the sex offender’s life. The bill allows the court to choose either the indeterminate sentence or a determinate sentence in those cases. The bill addresses the factors related to punishment and treatment that a court must consider when deciding between an indeterminate and a determinate sentence. The court must specify its reasons on the record for the type of sentence it imposes.

Bill B: Concerning clarification of sentences for habitual criminal.

The bill repeals the provision that requires a court to sentence a person who has been convicted of two prior felonies within 10 years of the commission of another felony to the department of corrections for a term of three times the maximum of the presumptive range for the level of felony last committed.

Under current law, a court must sentence a person convicted of a felony who has been convicted of three prior felonies to four times the maximum of the presumptive range of the last felony. The bill changes the provision so that it applies only to a person who is convicted of one of a list of felonies and has three prior convictions relating to the listed felonies. It requires the court to sentence the person to between two and three times the maximum of the presumptive range for the felony for which he or she is being sentenced, unless the court finds that the case is exceptional and involves extenuating circumstances. If the court finds extenuating circumstances, it may sentence the person to a lesser term, to community corrections, or to probation, but the court must notify the state court administrator of the extenuating circumstances justifying such a sentence. A person sentenced as a habitual offender is eligible for parole after he or she has served 75% of the sentence imposed, less any earned time granted.

Bill C: Concerning the extension of the repeal of the Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice.

Current law repeals the Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice, effective July 1, 2018. The bill extends the repeal date to July 1, 2028.

Bill D: Concerning lowering the period of mandatory parole from five years to three years for certain felony offenses.

Under current law, the length of a mandatory parole sentence for a class 2 or 3 felony is five years. The bill reduces the length of mandatory parole for a class 2 or 3 felony to three years.

Bill E: Concerning requiring the Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice to contract for a study of effective criminal sentencing practices.

The bill directs the Colorado commission on criminal and juvenile justice (commission) to contract for a study of the most effective criminal sentencing practices available. The commission must establish an advisory committee to review the study and make recommendations regarding changes to the Colorado sentencing scheme based on the study.

To review the bills recommended by the Criminal Justice System Interim Study Committee, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Mike Dohr or Jeremiah Barry.

Transportation Legislation Review Committee

The Transportation Legislation Review Committee (TLRC) was busy this year fulfilling its duty to review transportation projects and operations and making legislative recommendations to the general assembly. This interim, fulfilling its duties entailed meeting with local government officials and experts in the fields of traffic and transportation and visiting completed and ongoing transportation projects in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Gunnison, Montrose, Glenwood Springs, Craig, Sterling, Fort Morgan, and many other places over the course of the interim.

The TLRC approved four bills for drafting, and, at its meeting November 2, voted to recommend two of those bills to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning a requirement that education to prevent human trafficking be included in the training to obtain a commercial driver’s license.

This bill requires that the training to obtain a commercial driver’s license include education to prevent human trafficking. In designing the training, the Department of Revenue will collaborate with organizations that specialize in recognizing and preventing human trafficking and other state agencies. The department must publish information about human trafficking for commercial driver’s license holders and trainees.

Bill B: Concerning the creation of a program to authorize private providers to register commercial vehicles as Class A personal property.

This bill directs the Department of Revenue to create a program through which private venders may register interstate commercial vehicles with the state. The program would include collecting any taxes or fees associated with the registration. To qualify, a private provider must be approved by the department, use appropriate software approved by the department, and submit evidence of financial responsibility. The department may deny, suspend, or revoke the authority to be a provider if the provider violates the law, makes a material misstatement in an application, or fails to perform.

To review the bills recommended by the TLRC, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jery Payne.

Wildfire Matters Review Committee

The Wildfire Matters Review Committee held three hearings during the 2017 interim. At its hearings, the Committee received witness testimony and information on such issues as current state and county efforts to mitigate wildfires, available state monetary resources to coordinate fires, prescribed fire and mechanical forest treatment issues, air quality, insurance, current fire suppression efforts in Summit County and in the state of California, an examination of Utah’s wildfire program and related budget process, biochar technologies, fire prediction technology, and the Colorado Recovery and Resiliency Collaborative.

At its last meeting on October 27, 2017, the committee recommended two bills and one joint memorial to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning the wildfire matters review committee, and, in connection therewith, deferring the date on which the committee is scheduled to repeal.

This bill extends the date on which the committee is scheduled to expire from July 1, 2018, to September 1, 2025. This bill also deletes some obsolete statutory provisions under which the committee was directed to consider codifying a Colorado wildland and prescribed fire advisory commission, an entity previously created by executive order.

Bill B: Concerning statutory provisions enacted to promote the extinguishment of unattended fires.

This bill changes the penalty assessed by the counties for leaving a campfire unattended from a class 2 petty offense to a class 3 misdemeanor and makes the same change with respect to an unattended campfire on property under the control of the state divisions of parks and wildlife. This bill also repeals some obsolete notice provisions concerning unattended campfires.

Memorial A: Concerning the need for Congress to fund catastrophic wildfire response costs outside of federal forest management agencies’ normal budgets.

This joint memorial urges congressional funding of catastrophic wildfire response costs outside of federal forest management agencies’ normal budgets.

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

Young and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee

The Young and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee met twice during the 2017 interim, hearing extensive testimony on the problems facing young and beginning farmers and ranchers, especially the difficulties young farmers and ranchers face when trying to gain meaningful work experience. The committee requested the drafting of six bills for consideration and recommended one of those bills to the Legislative Council:

Bill A: Concerning the creation of the agricultural workforce development program.

The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to create, by rule, the Agricultural Workforce Development Program. The legislation is modeled after an existing Colorado Department of Labor program for innovative industries. The Agricultural Workforce Development Program will provide incentives to agricultural businesses that hire interns. A qualified agricultural business may be reimbursed up to 50% of the actual cost of hiring a qualified intern. The rules creating the program must specify criteria to qualify agricultural businesses and interns. Internships must include at least 130 hours of work experience and cannot exceed six months in duration. The program is subject to appropriation and is scheduled to repeal on July 1, 2024.

To review the bill recommended by the Young and Beginning Farmers Interim Study Committee, please visit the committee’s website.  For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Kip Kolkmeier.

 

Edit 11-13-2017: The summary for Bill A of the County Courthouse and County Jail Funding and Overcrowding Solutions Interim Study Committee was incorrect and has been updated.

by Kate Meyer

As we informed you last year, the General Assembly recreated the Statutory Revision Committee (SRC) through legislation enacted in 2016. Generally, the SRC makes an ongoing examination of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) to discover and—via legislation—rectify defects and anachronisms in the law. The SRC recommenced meeting during the 2016 interim and has had a very productive year.

2017 session
In the 2017 legislative session, the SRC recommended for introduction 26 bills, all of which the General Assembly passed and the Governor signed into law.  By way of comparison, this figure falls within the range of bills previously recommended by the SRC’s predecessor entity (also known as the “Statutory Revision Committee,” this entity existed from 1977-1985), which annually recommended between 12 and 39 bills.

The majority (i.e., 18 of the 26) of the SRC’s 2017 bills conformed existing reporting requirements with the language in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), C.R.S., which imposes an automatic three-year repeal of reports to the General Assembly from executive branch agencies and the judicial branch. In consultation with the reporting entities and the Joint Budget Committee, the SRC bills aligned statutory reporting requirements with the automatic repeal. In some cases, the SRC bills repealed reports that were no longer necessary due to lack of funding, expired programs, lack of information to report, redundant information included in other reports, etc.

Other SRC-sponsored bills:

• Eliminated out-of-date and unintelligible descriptions of congressional and state House and Senate boundaries (HB17-1074 and HB17-1025, respectively);
• Removed redundant sections in Title 25, C.R.S., that resulted from an incorrect technical amending clause contained in a 2016 bill (SB17-018);
• Updated various obsolete and outdated laws relating to the state auditor’s office (HB17-1005);
• Relocated the Commission on Family Medicine laws to a more appropriate title of the C.R.S. (HB17-1024);
• Repealed an antiquated duty of the state treasurer and controller to physically post lists of all uncashed warrants and uncashed checks (SB17-046);
• Rectified incorrect references in Title 22, C.R.S. (SB17-052); and
• Corrected out-of-date references to American National Standards Institute standards for accessible housing (HB17-1067).

Overall, more than 30 pages of statutory text were repealed or modernized through SRC-recommended legislation.

Current committee composition and activity
The committee consists of four legislators (two appointees from the majority and minority leaderships in each house) and two nonlegislator, nonvoting attorneys appointed by the Committee on Legal Services. The current appointees are: Senator Beth Martinez Humenik (Chair), Senator Dominick Moreno (Vice-Chair), Representative Jeni James Arndt, Representative Edie Hooton, Representative Dan Nordberg, Senator Jack Tate, Representative Dan Thurlow, Senator Rachel Zenzinger, Patrice Bernadette Collins, and Brad Ramming.

The SRC met in June 2017 and requested staff to draft two bills: One to reorganize without substantive change the state sales tax exemption for certain drugs and medical and therapeutic devices; and one to repeal the odometer reading requirement for VIN verifications. The committee meets again on Monday, August 21, 2017, to decide whether to recommend those bills, which requires an affirmative vote from at least five of the legislative committee members, and to hear staff presentations on another 13 potential bills. The items slated to be addressed during the August 21 meeting encompass a wide breadth of subjects, including:

• An apparent statutory conflict over whether deputy sheriffs must be certified by the Peace Officers’ Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Board;
• Various laws held to be unconstitutional relating to sexually explicit materials harmful to children, same-sex marriage, interest on damages in § 13-21-101 (1), C.R.S., and per-signature pay of ballot issue petition circulators;
• Antiquated or ambiguous terms, such as “pauper,” “husband and wife,” or “mother and father;” and, with respect to children, “legitimate/illegitimate;”
• Unfunded department of human services programs; and
• Outdated and inconsistent state officials’ bonds and oaths requirements.

The bill drafts, memoranda, and assorted documents for the August 21 meeting are all available through this link: http://leg.colorado.gov/publications/meeting-agenda-statutory-revision-committee-20170821 and the audio from the meeting can be live-streamed here: http://leg.colorado.gov/committee/granicus/933566.

The SRC expects to meet in October 2017 as well—date to be determined.

Know of any antiquated, redundant, or contradictory laws? Please feel free to contact SRC staff via email: StatutoryRevision.ga@coleg.gov.

by Jery Payne

Duuuh-d’duh-duh. Duuuuh-d’duh-duh duuuuuuuuhhhh.

This is bill drafter Jery Payne. The blog you are about to read is true with regard to the rules, requirements, and procedures for interim committees. Only the name has been changed to protect…..we’re not sure what.

January 2017: The General Assembly receives several reports of rampant cheating on eye exams occurring throughout the state. April 2017:  The executive committee approves a request for the Interim Committee on Cheating on Eye Exams.* As it turns out, this area is just too complicated to address without a whole lot of study. Who knew? Now that it’s the interim, it’s time to delve into this tough issue.

Before we go too far, let’s check the files. An interim study committee is created by action of the General Assembly to study a particular issue and, in most cases, recommend legislation to address the issue. Any legislation that an interim committee recommends must be approved by the Legislative Council before it can be introduced in the legislative session. The Legislative Council reviews these bills to ensure that they fit within the interim committee’s study description.

According to Joint Rule 24A, the Speaker of the House of Representatives appoints the committee chair and the President of the Senate appoints the vice chair when the interim study committee request originates in the house and vice versa when the request originates in the senate. Either way, the chair gets appointed. Next question: membership.

The committee needs legislative members who are willing to take the time to figure out the causes of and solutions to eye exam cheating. The interim committee request should have specified who appoints those members. Typically, committee members are appointed by the senate president, the house speaker, and the minority leaders of both chambers. So watch for those appointments.

Sometimes, an interim committee includes a member or two who aren’t legislators. For example, an optometrist may provide some expertise, and a psychologist may help the committee understand why people would cheat on an eye exam. But non-legislative members are not authorized to request a bill or vote on a bill.

With the chairmanship and membership all set, it’s time the committee holds some meetings.

The first thing most chairs do is call on legislative council staff to help schedule the committee meetings. The interim committee request should have said how many meetings to hold. If not, Joint Rule 24A (d) (2) limits interim committees to no more than six meetings.

An interim committee usually holds its first meeting in late July or early August. This may seem early, but it can be hard to find meeting dates that work for everyone. However, new policies recently adopted by the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council pursuant to House Bill 17-1113 may make attendance a little easier. On limited bases beginning August 1, those policies will allow members of certain interim committees to electronically participate by “phoning in” to a meeting via remote testimony technology. This year, the committee has until September 22 to request bill drafts. That means it has to hold all its meetings (except for the last two) by September 22. Assuming the committee meets six times, it will probably want to meet at least four times before September 22. If the committee holds its first meeting on August 1, that’s about one meeting every other week.

Now that the first meeting is set, Joint Rule 24A requires the committee to schedule:

• The meeting at which the committee will vote to prepare draft bills—this meeting must be held at least 42 days before the committee takes its final vote on the bill drafts and no later than September 22, 2017.
• The deadline for bill drafts to be finalized for the committee to vote on—this date must occur at least 21 days before the committee’s final vote meeting on the draft bills. This year, this deadline must be no later than October 13, 2017.
• The meeting at which the committee will take its final vote on draft bills—this year, this meeting must be held no later than November 3, 2017.

Under Joint Rule 24A (d)(7), the committee chair must set the dates for these meetings as soon as possible after the first committee meeting.

In addition to helping schedule meetings, committee staff assists chairs in setting and posting the meeting agendas and may help identify individuals or groups to invite to present information to the committee.

A committee may want to travel for research or a meeting—word on the street is Colorado’s optometric association has a conference in Vail this summer. But the committee has to get permission before it hits the road. All committee travel expenses are subject to the Executive Committee’s approval.

Like the meetings of a standing committee of reference during the legislative session, interim committee meetings are open to the public, and people can find links to committee schedules and agendas and recordings of meetings online.

So, the committee’s met, done a couple of deep dives into optometry, and ferreted out the policy levers to prevent cheating on eye exams. Let’s draft some bills!

Having studied the issues, the committee has ideas for bills, such as randomly generated eye charts or intensive study or tutoring programs. At the committee’s request, the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) prepares the bill drafts. A committee member must have drafting information available at the meeting at which the member requests a bill or must submit drafting information to the OLLS drafter within three calendar days after the meeting. According to Joint Rule 24A (2.6), failure to timely submit drafting information may cause the bill request to be deemed withdrawn.

According to Joint Rule 24A (d) (2.7) (A), an interim committee may request bill drafts only at a single meeting. Normally, an interim committee may recommend to the Executive Committee up to five bills for introduction at the next legislative session, unless the interim study request sets a different number.

If a bill sponsor fails to finalize a bill draft by the date specified by the committee chair, the bill draft is deemed finalized and authorized for release to work up a fiscal note. And once a bill draft is finalized, a legislator may not modify the bill draft. At that point, a legislator can make changes to the bill draft only by amendment when the committee considers the draft.

Bill requests must be approved by a majority of the legislative committee members. Once approved, it is time to assign a prime sponsor. The committee must do this before the Legislative Council will consider the bill. Usually interim study committee bills are sponsored by a member of the committee, but legislators who are not committee members can, with the approval of the committee, sponsor interim committee bills.

Joint Rule 24 requires that Legislative Council meet to approve interim committee bills no later than November 15 in odd-numbered years and no later than October 15 in even-numbered years. The interim committee chair will present committee-approved bills to the Legislative Council at that meeting.

A committee bill that the Legislative Council approves for introduction does not count against a bill sponsor’s five-bill limit (see Joint Rule 24 (b) (1) (D)). So committee members can still carry five other bills while helping people get the right prescription eyeglasses.

Tune in to future episodes of LegiSource for an overview of the interim committees that were approved for 2017 and the bills they recommend.

*This is the name that was changed, in case you were wondering.

 

Correction made 7-24-17: This article has been corrected to reflect legislation passed during the 2017 session and rules recently adopted by the Executive Committee allowing legislators to remotely participate in interim committee meetings on a limited basis.

by Thomas Morris

The Uniform Laws Commission (ULC) consists of commissioners appointed by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The ULC meets each year to consider and promote laws that could become more uniform. Colorado’s delegation to the ULC, the Colorado Commission on Uniform State Laws (CCUSL), may recommend bills for introduction during a legislative session that are exempt from the five-bill limit imposed on legislators. Serving as commissioners for 2017-18 are Senator Robert Gardner, Claire Levy, Anne McGihon, Brandon Shaffer, Pat Steadman, and Representative Cole Wist.

The CCUSL meets each year at the annual summer ULC conference to adopt a preliminary agenda for consideration by the Colorado General Assembly at its next legislative session. In addition, the CCUSL typically hosts one or more open meetings at the State Capitol to discuss proposed legislation and to finalize its legislative agenda. CCUSL meetings are posted on the CCUSL website and are open to the public. For more information on the ULC and CCUSL please see this series of LegiSource articles from 2015, posted on Aug. 6, Sept. 17, and Nov. 5.

At its November 18, 2016, and January 27, 2017, meetings, CCUSL voted to introduce the following five bills as its 2017 legislative agenda:

• SB 17-023, Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act. This act, which would have repealed and reenacted Colorado’s law regulating athlete agents, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate committee on State, Veterans, and Military Affairs on January 25, 2017.
• SB 17-131, Uniform Wage Garnishment Act. Current law governing the garnishment of earnings is a mix of statutory law, covering both employees and independent contractors, and case law. The act codifies the law governing the garnishment of employees’ earnings.
• SB 17-132, Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. The bill facilitates electronic records; promotes uniformity among state laws regarding notarial acts; enhances the integrity of the notarial process; and provides for the recognition of notarial acts performed in this state, in other states, under the authority of a federally recognized Indian tribe, under federal authority, and in foreign jurisdictions. The bill postpones the sunset review of the notaries law from July 1, 2018, to September 1, 2022.
• SB 17-154, Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act. Current law allows an unsworn declaration that has been signed under penalty of perjury by a person outside of the United States to be used in a state court. The bill allows the use in a state court of an unsworn declaration regardless of the location of the person who signed the declaration.
• Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (to be introduced later in session). This act would repeal and reenact Colorado’s law that governs how holders of unclaimed property must account for the property when that property is deemed to be abandoned and how the proceeds must be distributed.

The CCUSL’s next meeting is scheduled to occur during the ULC annual meeting in San Diego, which will take place July 14 to 20, 2017.

Information about uniform acts, drafting projects, committees, meetings, and legislation is available on the ULC website.

For information on Colorado’s ULC connection, visit CCUSL’s website.

You can subscribe to the CCUSL mailing list to receive e-mail notifications about CCUSL meetings and upcoming meeting agendas.

by Kate Meyer

In August, Legisource told you about the Statutory Revision Committee (SRC), a recently rebooted entity that examines the Colorado Revised Statutes to develop legislation that will modify or eliminate antiquated, redundant, or contradictory rules of law and to bring the statutes of this state into harmony with modern conditions. Since that article was published, the SRC has been hard at work, meeting three times and ultimately approving 15 bills for introduction in the 2017 legislative session.

Committee process. Bill ideas can originate from any number of sources: Committee members or other legislators; legislative staff; jurists, attorneys, and other legal professionals; executive agencies; lobbyists; the public; etc. In its first meeting, the SRC adopted the following basic process for considering potential bills:

(Click image to enlarge)

The process starts when the SRC’s staff from the Office of Legislative Legal Services receives or creates a bill proposal and initially decides whether the proposal fits within the committee’s charge. Persons may submit bill proposals identifying possible defects or anachronisms in the law or possible antiquated, redundant, or contradictory laws by contacting a committee member or sending an e-mail to SRC staff at StatutoryRevision.ga@coleg.gov

If staff finds that a bill proposal fits within the committee’s charge, they schedule it for committee discussion. The SRC’s process affords interested persons two opportunities to comment publicly on potential legislation:

• First the public may testify at an initial meeting when the SRC receives a memorandum describing the genesis, scope, and intent of the proposed bill. The SRC then votes whether to have a draft bill prepared.
• Second, for proposals for which the staff writes drafts, the public may testify at a subsequent meeting when the SRC votes whether to recommend bills for introduction. An affirmative vote from at least five members of the SRC is required for a bill to be introduced, ensuring that every bill has bipartisan support.

The staff includes memoranda and bill drafts with the SRC agendas, which are posted on the SRC’s website one week in advance of a meeting date. And of course, the chance to weigh in on bills doesn’t end with the committee. Each introduced bill is debated and vetted through normal how-a-bill-becomes-a-law legislative procedures.

Bills approved in 2016. Every bill recommended for introduction from the 2016 SRC proceedings received unanimous committee approval. The breadth of bill subjects typifies the SRC’s ability to consider a wide range of topics, including:

• Repealing obsolete congressional and state legislative district laws;
• Aligning statutory reporting requirements with section 24-1-136 (11), C.R.S.;
• Updating certain outdated references to standards promulgated by the American National Standards Institute;
• Removing “ghost statutes” inadvertently left on the books in 2016; and
• Implementing recommendations received from the Department of Education and the Office of the State Auditor to modernize and correct various statutes related to those entities.

To read the full text of the approved bills, please see the SRC’s 2016 Annual Report and the upcoming supplement on the SRC’s website.

Looking ahead. Although the SRC expects to conduct the majority of its work during legislative interims, the committee will meet early in the 2017 session (date TBD) to select a new chairperson and vice-chairperson; to continue analyzing bill drafts that reconcile reporting requirements with section 24-1-136 (11), C.R.S.; and to consider a fix to the “Uniform Trust Decanting Act.”

Among the topics the SRC will discuss in the 2017 interim is a comprehensive bill to modernize, without substantively changing, the transfer terminology used in the Colorado Revised Statutes relating to the organization of state governmental agencies under the “Administrative Organization Act of 1968.”

Additional information. To learn more about the SRC, please contact a committee member or send an e-mail to SRC staff at StatutoryRevision.ga@coleg.gov. You may also check out a brief video detailing the SRC posted on the Colorado Channel’s website.

by Kate Meyer

The Legislative Council met October 14^th, 2016, to review and approve bills recommended by interim study committees during the 2016 interim. The merits of each bill were not under consideration at this hearing; rather, the standard of review used by Legislative Council is whether the bills fit within the committees’ charges.

Of the bills that LegiSource summarized in Part 1 of this two-part series, every bill was approved by the Legislative Council except Bills “A” and “E” of the Committee on Cost-benefit Analysis of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado.

Below is a summary of the bills recommended by the remaining 2016 interim committees. Except where noted, the Legislative Council determined that the recommended bills fit within their respective committee charges and were passed out of Legislative Council.

Legislative Oversight Committee for the Continuing Examination of the Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems

The Legislative Oversight Committee for the Continuing Examination of the Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems is a statutorily created committee that meets both during the year and the interim.  It met four times in 2016.  This committee is unique in that it has an advisory task force, also created in statute.

The task force is directed to examine the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of persons with mental illness who are involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. This includes the examination of liability, safety, and cost as they relate to these issues. The task force met monthly throughout the year and reported its findings to the legislative committee. In 2016, the task force updated the oversight committee on the following topics:

• Housing for a person with a mental illness after his or her release from the criminal or juvenile justice system;
• Medication consistency, delivery, and availability; and
• Juvenile competency and restoration services.

The committee is responsible for overseeing the task force and recommending legislative changes, either on its own or at the suggestion of the task force. At its meeting on Aug. 22, 2016, the committee voted to draft six bills, two of which were not recommended to the Legislative Council. That left these four bills:

Bill A allows different state agencies to accept public or private money to provide ongoing, permanent staff assistance for the task force.

Bill B increases medication consistency for persons with mental illness who are involved at some capacity with the criminal or juvenile justice systems. This would involve the use of an agreed upon medication formulary, use of a pharmaceutical-cooperative purchasing entity for cost savings, and the development of processes by which basic patient-specific medication and treatment information can be shared between mental health and justice providers.

Bill C is related to increasing access to competency restoration services for juveniles and adults, including establishing the Office of Behavioral Health in the Department of Human Services as the entity responsible for the oversight of restoration education and the coordination of competency restoration services.

Bill D provides vouchers and additional housing resources for individuals with mental illnesses who are being released from incarceration.

For the full text of the above bills, please visit the MICJS Legislative Oversight Committee’s website by clicking here. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jane Ritter.

Transportation Legislation Review Committee

The Transportation Legislation Review Committee toured south-central Colorado from Alamosa to Antonito. Several projects were visited, including one where a steel grate covers a hole in a bridge. The committee also learned about the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.

The TLRC met twice during the interim at the Capitol. On both occasions, the committee heard from regulators, stakeholders, and other experts on a variety of transportation-related issues. The committee voted to draft six bills, but Representative Jon Becker withdrew one of his requests in order to allow every bill to be heard. The committee approved the following five bills:

Bill A requires the TLRC to meet five times before November 15, 2017, once in each geographic quadrant of the state and once in the Denver metropolitan area. The meeting must make available the 2016 research study of changes to the state transportation commission districts since the boundaries of the districts were last redrawn in 1991 and offer opportunities to the public to express opinions regarding whether the districts should be modified. The committee may consider the availability of remote testimony from a single geographic quadrant of the state or from the Denver metropolitan area.

Bill B increases the minimum weight for classification as a commercial vehicle for equipment purposes from 10,001 pounds to 16,001 pounds unless the vehicle is registered for use in interstate commerce. With respect to those vehicles used in commerce between 10,001 and 16,000 pounds, the chief of the Colorado state patrol may adopt rules to annually inspect these vehicles; enforce all requirements for the securing of loads in commercial vehicles; and enforce all requirements for the use of coupling devices.

Bill C, which did not pass out of Legislative Council, concerned infrastructure funding. Specifically, the bill would have:

• Authorized new transportation revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) after the final payments of principal and interest on TRANs authorized by voters in 1999 are made;
• Repealed a requirement that the state treasurer make conditional transfers of a specified percentage of total general fund revenues from the general fund to the capital construction fund and the highway users tax fund (HUTF) for state fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20;
• Required the state transportation commission to submit a ballot question to the voters of the state at the November 2017 statewide election, which, if approved, would authorize the executive director to issue additional TRANs in a maximum principal amount of $3.5 billion and with a maximum repayment cost of $5.5 billion once; required the proceeds to be used only for the 42 projects that are on the current priority list when the question is submitted to the electors; and specified additional transportation project contract award process requirements and limitations for a project to be funded; and
• Required 5% of state sales and use tax net revenue to be credited to the HUTF, paid from the HUTF to the state highway fund for use for payment of the notes and state transportation projects.

Bill D amends the definition of “autocycle” to explicitly exclude motorcycles, clarifies that the driver and each passenger in an autocycle ride in either a fully or partly enclosed seating area, and eliminates the requirements that an autocycle be equipped with airbags and a hardtop enclosure. The bill also amends the definitions of “motor vehicle” used in the safety belt and child restraint laws to clarify that those laws apply to autocycles.

Bill E prohibits a local government from imposing inspection requirements for underground petroleum storage tanks or charging inspection fees for the inspection of underground petroleum storage tanks.

For the full text of the above bills, please visit the TLRC’s website by clicking here. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Jason Gelender or Jery Payne.

2016 Interim Study Committee on Communication between the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and Medicaid Clients

The Interim Study Committee on Communications Between the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and Medicaid Clients was charged with studying the following policy areas:

• The current form and content of letters that are sent to Medicaid clients by the department and the frequency of those letters; and
• Whether the letters can be simplified and the content made clearer so as to improve the information that is communicated to Medicaid clients.

The committee met four times over the interim and heard testimony from state agencies, county Medicaid administrators, Medicaid clients, and advocates concerning Medicaid client correspondence. The committee’s work culminated in its approval of the following four bill drafts at its final meeting on September 29:

Bill A clarifies that a Medicaid recipient filing an appeal need not make an affirmative request in order for Medicaid benefits to continue during the appeal. Yet the form and electronic appeals filing process should include a method for the appellant to indicate if they do not want continuing benefits. The department must send a notice to the appellant confirming the continuation of benefits. In addition, the bill requires the form and electronic appeals process to include a check box or other method for requesting a county conference or reasonable accommodation during the appeals process. Finally, the appeal filing website must allow an appellant to submit sufficient supporting documents with the appeal form.

Bill B requires the administrative law judge hearing Medicaid appeals concerning the termination or reduction of an existing benefit to conduct a review of the legal sufficiency of the notice of action from which the appellant is appealing. If the notice is legally insufficient, the appellant may ask the judge to set aside the order or may waive the defense of insufficient notice and proceed to a hearing on the merits.

Bill C directs the office of the state auditor to conduct or cause to be conducted a performance audit of client communications sent to clients of applicants in Colorado Medicaid programs affecting or concerning eligibility for program benefits or services. The auditor is planned for the 2020 and 2023 calendar years and thereafter at the auditor’s discretion. The bill sets forth the audit requirements and requires the findings, conclusions, and recommendations resulting from the audit to be submitted to certain committees of the general assembly.

Bill D requires the department to engage in an ongoing process to create, test, and improve Medicaid client communications that concern eligibility for or the denial, reduction, suspension, or termination of a Medicaid benefit. Among other requirements included in the bill, the department ensures that client communications are accurate, readable, and understandable, clearly conveying the purpose of the letter or notice and the specific action or actions that a client must take. In certain types of notices, the department must explain the basis for the action, and, if relevant, specific information relating to household composition, income sources and amounts, and assets. To the extent practicable, the department shall test new or significantly revised client communications against the requirements in the bill with Medicaid clients, advocacy organizations, and county representatives prior to implementation. As part of testing, the department solicits feedback from a workgroup it establishes. The department prioritizes the improvement of client communications that affect clients with disabilities, seniors, and other vulnerable populations. Finally, the department will annually report on improvements.

To review the bills considered by the 2016 Interim Study Committee on Communication between the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and Medicaid Clients, please visit the committee’s website by clicking here. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Brita Darling.

by Kate Meyer

The Legislative Council is meeting October 14^th, 2016, to review and approve bills recommended by interim study committees during the 2016 interim.

This week’s article summarizes the bills recommended by the following committees:

• The Committee on Cost-benefit Analysis of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado,
• The Water Resources Review Committee,
• The Wildfire Matters Review Committee, and
• The Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission.

Next week, LegiSource will summarize the remaining committees’ recommended bills and report on the actions taken by Legislative Council.

Committee on Cost-benefit Analysis of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado

The Committee on Cost-benefit Analysis of Legalized Marijuana in Colorado (Marijuana Analysis Committee) met three times during the 2016 interim. At its bill request meeting on August 17, 2016, it requested 10 bill drafts be prepared; however, the committee was only allotted five bills.

Before the September 21, 2016, meeting to vote on the bills, Sen. Holbert withdrew his request regarding local zoning authority (Bill 1). When the meeting to vote on bills started, the committee was down to nine bills. At that meeting, Rep. Willett withdrew his request to create a standing statutory interim marijuana committee (Bill 4); Rep. Singer withdrew his request to separate alcohol and drug related DUI crimes to better collect statistics regarding drug related DUIs and provide appropriate sanctions for drug related DUIs (Bill 5); and Sen. Aguilar withdrew both her request to create local government authority for marijuana consumption clubs (Bill 7) and her request to define the term “assist” for purposes of assisting another in growing marijuana under Amendment 64 (Bill 9). Thus, the Marijuana Analysis Committee was left with 5 bills.

The Marijuana Analysis Committee voted 5-0 to move the five remaining bills to Legislative Council. Those bills are:

Bill A: The bill requires the public school capital construction assistance board, when evaluating applications for financial assistance under the “Building Excellent Schools Today Act” (BEST), to consider the extent to which retail marijuana excise tax revenue credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund is derived from each county of the state. The bill also defines the term “technology” to give high priority to BEST applications for projects that are designed to incorporate technology into the educational environment. This technology covers hardware, devices, or equipment necessary for individual student learning and classroom instruction, including access to electronic instructional materials, or necessary for professional use by a classroom teacher.

Bill B: The bill creates the grey and black market marijuana enforcement grant program (grant program) in the division of local government in the department of local affairs (division). The grant program awards grants to reimburse local governments, in part or in full, for training, education, law enforcement, and prosecution costs associated with grey and black marijuana markets. A rural local government with limited law enforcement resources has priority in receiving grants. The general assembly may appropriate money from the marijuana tax cash fund or the proposition AA refund account to the division for the grant program. The division shall adopt policies and procedures for the administration of the grant program, including rules related to the application process and the grant award criteria. The division shall include information regarding the effectiveness of the grant program in its SMART presentation beginning in November 2019.

Bill C: The bill directs the department of education, by July 1, 2017, to create and maintain a resource bank for public schools to use without charge. The resource bank consists of materials and curricula pertaining to marijuana use; and upon request of a public school, to provide technical assistance in designing age-appropriate curricula on marijuana use. The bill authorizes the costs to be paid from the marijuana tax cash fund.

Bill D: The bill adds acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of debilitating medical conditions treatable by medical marijuana.

Bill E: The bill makes it a level 2 drug misdemeanor for a person not licensed to sell medical or retail marijuana to advertise for the sale of marijuana or marijuana concentrate.

To view the bill and resolutions considered by the WMRC, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Michael Dohr or Jerry Barry.

Water Resources Review Committee

The Water Resources Review Committee (WRRC) met 5 times over the interim, including meetings in Alamosa, Grand Junction, and Steamboat Springs. The WRRC heard presentations on a variety of water issues, including Colorado River compact compliance, rising groundwater in the South Platte River basin, Colorado’s Water Plan, and lead in drinking water.

At its final hearing on September 20, 2016, the WRRC considered four bills and one resolution. After amending two of the four bills and the resolution, the committee voted to recommend all five measures to the Legislative Council. The measures are:

Joint Resolution A: Aquatic nuisance species, which include such pests as zebra and quagga mussels, have negative effects on fisheries, water ecosystems, and water storage and distribution systems. The primary overland vector for the spread of these species is watercraft conveyances (boats and their trailers). A variety of state and federal agencies perform inspection and decontamination services to limit the spread of these species, depending on the jurisdiction of the particular body of water, though state agencies performed the bulk of the 3 million inspections and nearly 50,000 decontaminations performed in the past 8 years. This resolution encourages various federal agencies to provide funding to implement the State of Colorado Zebra and Quagga Mussel Management Plan.

Bill A: Over time, reservoirs tend to fill up with sediments and consequently lose their storage capacity. The bill appropriates $5 million from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the Colorado water conservation board to make loans and grants to enable the recipients to dredge existing reservoirs located in the South Platte River basin to restore the reservoirs’ full decreed storage capacity.

Bill B: Numerous irrigation districts have been formed under the 1921 irrigation district law, which has seldom been amended. The bill updates the law by removing inconsistencies and updating antiquated provisions; clarifying the definition of landowners entitled to receive water, vote in district elections, and serve on the board of directors; increasing dollar figures and, in subsequent years, adjusting for inflation; defining “agricultural land”; revising election procedures; clarifying how irrigation district assessments are collected and held; and modernizing procedures for selling surplus property. The bill also clarifies that water acquired in excess of an irrigation district’s own needs can be leased for all beneficial purposes, rather than only for domestic, agricultural, power, and mechanical purposes, and that the provisions of the 1921 irrigation district law are in addition to powers conferred on irrigation districts in other statutes.

Bill C: After the passage of House Bill 13-1044 in 2013, the water quality control commission developed standards for the use of graywater, which is wastewater from laundry, baths, sinks, and showers. To facilitate scientific research on graywater use and collection conducted by institutions of higher education, the Bill C creates a scientific research exemption from the commission’s graywater standards.

Bill D: Some of the statutes concerning the state engineer date back to 1889 and read like it, too. The bill updates the language of the statutes concerning the state engineer and the state engineer’s department to conform to modern drafting conventions. The bill also restructures the fee that the state engineer may charge for rating certain types of water infrastructure from $25 per day to a flat fee of $75; increases the amount of time for filing comments on a substitute water supply plan from 30 days to 35 days after the state engineer mails notice of the plan; and repeals outdated requirements concerning certain fees, oath of office, and certain state engineer duties.

The bills and resolutions considered by the WRRC can be accessed on the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Tom Morris or  Jennifer Berman.

Wildfire Matters Review Committee

The Wildfire Matters Review Committee (WMRC) conducted two field tours (one in southern Colorado and the other along the I-70 Corridor) and met twice at the state capitol during the 2016 interim. On those trips and at those hearings, the committee heard from a diverse array of persons and entities affected by wildfire in the state. Issues discussed included wildfire prevention and suppression; forest health, air quality, and watershed protection; biomass utilization and the wood products industry; emergency response coordination; and the financial and other costs wildfire has on communities in Colorado.

On September 19^th, 2016, the WMRC voted to recommend the following:

Bill A: Under current law, the borrower in a reverse mortgage transaction is relieved of the obligation to occupy the subject property as a principal residence if the borrower is temporarily absent for up to 60 days or, if the property is adequately secured, up to one year. Bill A adds a third exception to the principal-residence requirement to cover situations in which a natural disaster or other serious incident beyond the borrower’s control renders the property uninhabitable. The maximum time allowable for a temporary absence under these circumstances is five years.

Resolution A expresses the General Assembly’s support for the continued research, development, and application of biochar (a solid material obtained when organic matter is heated in an oxygen-limited environment) from Colorado’s forests. The resolution discusses the environmental and economic benefits of utilizing biochar as a reforestation and fire prevention tool in state forests. The resolution also highlights the current uses of biochar and the support of the General Assembly in continuing research of its uses, including fuel load removal and reforestation processes.

Memorial A concerns the need for Congress to fund catastrophic wildfire response costs outside of federal forest management agencies’ normal budgets. This memorial is similar to former years’ memorials asking Congress to appropriately fund the rising costs of wildland firefighting and address the issue of “fire borrowing”, which occurs when agencies take funds away from forest health and fire prevention activities to help pay the costs to fight current wildfires.

To view the bill and resolutions considered by the WMRC, please visit the committee’s website. For questions concerning the legislation, please contact Bob Lackner or Kate Meyer.

                    Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission

The Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension Reform Commission met once during the 2016 interim for an annual briefing from the Fire and Police Pension Association (FPPA) and to consider two bills recommended by the FPPA Board of Directors (Board) for introduction during the 2017 legislative session. Based on the Board’s recommendations, the commission approved the following two bills:

Bill A: To assist FPPA employers in establishing a deferred compensation plan, the Board is currently authorized to develop a master deferred compensation plan document for use by employers to establish individual plans. The bill authorizes the Board to develop a multi-employer deferred compensation plan document to allow employers to join a multi-employer plan.

Bill B: Current law specifies that an employer in a statewide pension plan administered by the FPPA may modify its status in the plan through a vote of the members of the plan. In some cases, a modification must be approved by 65% of the members employed by the employer, and in other cases, a modification must be approved by 65% of the members employed by the employers who vote in the election for the modification. The bill creates a uniform approval standard by requiring that any modifications be approved by 65% of the members employed by the employer who vote in the election for the plan modification.

Both of the bills that the commission considered are available for review on the commission’s website. For questions concerning the FPPA, contact Nicole Myers.