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DENVER, CO – Legislation to strengthen services provided to older Coloradans and to prevent the doxxing of health care workers today passed the House on Third Reading and final passage.
“As Colorado’s older population grows, we’re working hard to rethink the type of programs and supportive services they need to live productive lives,” said Rep. Mary Young, D-Greeley. “Our legislation updates Colorado law to set defined goals that will guide our state to strengthen services for older Coloradans. This bill aims to provide social services, health services, workforce development, digital literacy programs and much more to make it easier for older Coloradans to lead impactful lives.”
HB22-1035, which passed by a vote of 53-9, updates the Older Coloradans Act to bolster supports and services to older Coloradans, such as social services, health services, workforce development, digital literacy and the state’s infrastructure for the growing older population in the state.
The legislation operationalizes many of the recommendations set forth by the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging and sets clear goals to guide the state as it works to ensure “that Colorado is the best state in which to grow old.” The bill makes it the policy of the state of Colorado to prevent abuse, exploitation and neglect of older Coloradans and recognize “that preparing all Coloradans for the different facets of a longer life is part of the state’s responsibility.” To accomplish these goals, the legislation creates a commission to coordinate and guide state aging programs.
“No one should feel unsafe when they’re just doing their job, but we’ve seen a significant increase in atrocious threats to health care workers and their families,” said Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Ft. Collins. “This bill would protect our essential workers from doxxing by allowing them to remove their name and address from public databases.”
HB22-1041, which passed by a vote of 52-10, would protect code enforcement officers from doxxing, a practice of sharing someone’s sensitive information online with malicious intent. This bill would also add health care workers, animal control officers, code enforcement officers and more to the list of protected persons whose personal information may be withheld from the public if they receive a threat. HB22-1041 would create a new process for workers to redact their full name and address from online records.