Alicia Haywood
 Prevention Services Division Legislative Director
 CDPHE

 Legislative Session Summary

The first regular session of the 73rd General Assembly ended June 8, 2021. The theme of the session was pandemic recovery and building for the future. While called a “regular session,” it was anything but. Legislators convened in January as planned, but went on an extended recess, providing time for legislators to get vaccinated and to get remote protocols in place. Despite the break, legislators met for a total of 116 days, just under the 120 day cap directed by the Colorado Constitution.  

Another unusual aspect of the session was the amount of federal dollars Colorado legislators had to spend. Colorado received funding from federal relief bills such as the American Rescue Plan Act to support pandemic relief. In all, legislators deployed $4 billion of federal funding during the session. They made key investments in affordable housing, mental and behavioral health, workforce development, recovery and relief, transportation and infrastructure, parks, and agriculture.

In addition to pandemic relief, legislators introduced bills aimed at addressing policies to curb gun violence, regulate marijuana concentrates, expand rights for agricultural workers, create a state public health option, raise fees for transportation infrastructure, address the fragmented behavioral health system, increase economic mobility, reduce evictions, support affordable housing, and much more.  

A total of 623 bills were introduced over the course of the session. Of those, 502 passed. To break that down a bit further - 84% of Senate bills and 79% of House bills passed - which is the highest passage rate in 10 years. 

A few bills of interest are highlighted below, and a longer list of MCH-related bills may be found here. 

• SB21-194: Maternal Health Providers - Requires health insurers to cover certain labor and delivery costs. Expands Medicaid coverage of postpartum services from 60 days to 12 months.
• SB21-181: Equity Strategic Plan Address Health Disparities - Renames, expands, and clarifies the use of the funds for the Health Disparities and Community Grant Program in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Office of Health Equity. Expands the membership and duties of the Health Equity Commission.
• SB21-243: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Appropriation Public Health Infrastructure - Appropriates approximately $21 million per year for three years to CDPHE for state and local public health administration and support. 
• HB21-1106: Safe Storage of Firearms - Beginning July 1, 2021, Coloradans who own guns will be required to store their weapons in a gun safe or with a trigger or cable lock when the owner knows or should reasonably know that a “juvenile or a resident who is ineligible to possess a firearm can gain access to the firearm.”
• HB21-1107: Protections for Public Health Department Workers - Extends the current law that forbids a person from publishing personal information on the internet of a law enforcement official or human services worker if the information’s dissemination poses a threat to include protections for public health workers. A violation is a class 1 misdemeanor.
• HB21-1311: Income Tax - Eliminates tax exemptions and uses the recouped revenue to expand Colorado’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 20% of the federal EITC, up from 15%, starting in 2022. From 2023 through 2025, the state credit will go up to 25% before reverting back to 20% in 2026. It also funds Colorado’s child tax credit for the first time for single filers making less than $75,000 and joint filers making less than $85,000. Both the state EITC and child tax credit will be available to people who would qualify for the federal tax credits, but don’t have a valid Social Security number. 

Community Inclusion Supports Development of NEW HCP Decision Tool

“I have never been a part of a group like this where parents had a voice every step of the way!”
~ Gina Brackett, Parent Representative HCP Decision Tool Work Group

Since July 2020, a dynamic group of family members, community members, local public health representatives and MCH/CYSHCN state staff have worked together to develop a decision-making tool for HCP Programs considering their work focus in the future. Family and Community engagement was set as a priority from the beginning of this project. 

Read the full article to learn more about how family members were recruited and participated in developing the decision tool.