HOUSE DEMS INTRO FIRST TEN BILLS

Focus on Health Care, Renewable Energy, Education, Problem Solving

(Jan. 4) – Colorado House Democrats introduced their first ten bills of the first session of the 72nd General Assembly today.

“We’re excited to get to work this session. These bills are a reflection of the issues Coloradans sent us here to make bipartisan progress on,” said Speaker KC Becker. “We are focused on expanding opportunity, lowering the cost of and improving access to healthcare, incentivizing more renewable energy, investing in education programs to support educators and students and helping to provide solutions to the challenges facing our communities.”

HB 19-1001 – Hospital Transparency Measures to Analyze Efficiency – Rep. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood This bill will increase transparency in hospital billing and spending practices across our state. At a time when health care costs are out of control, it is important that we are able to identify inefficiencies and wasteful spending in our health care system and address them accordingly.

HB 19-1002 – Leadership Professional Development for School Principals – Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango and Rep. Jim Wilson, R-Salida This bill creates a pilot program to provide professional development training for school principals, to build strong leadership in our education system and provide support for teachers and students.

HB 19-1003 – Community Solar Gardens Modernization Act – Rep. Chris Hansen, D-Denver This bill will expand access to renewable energy for communities and individuals across Colorado. It will update Colorado’s community solar statute to allow customers to benefit from clean, low-cost energy even if they don’t have a rooftop solar option.

HB 19-1004 – Proposal for Affordable Health Coverage Option – Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon and Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose This bill will propose a public health insurance option to provide people in Colorado with a competitive and affordable choice when they’re purchasing health insurance.

HB 19-1005 – Income Tax Credit for Early Childhood Educators – Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora This bill will help address a shortage in early childhood child care providers by creating a refundable income tax credit for educators with professional credentials who work at family child care homes or other high quality child care programs.

HB 19-1006 – Wildfire Mitigation Wildland Urban Interface Areas – Rep. Mclachlan, D-Durango and Rep. Terri Carver, R-Colorado Springs This bill creates a grant program to help with wildfire mitigation efforts in high-risk areas across the state where residential areas are approaching forest land, known as wildland-urban interface areas (WUIs).

HB 19-1007 – Contribution Limits for County Offices – Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver This bill sets in place common sense campaign finance limits to protect the integrity of county-level campaigns such as those for sheriff, commissioner, clerk and recorder, assessor, and others.

HB 19-1008 – Include Career & Technical Ed in BEST Program – Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada and Rep. Colin Larson, R-Littleton This bill allows school capital construction funding to be used for career and technical education projects in public schools, investing in skills for Colorado’s emerging workforce.

HB 19-1009 – Substance Use Disorders Recovery – Rep. Kennedy, D-Lakewood and Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont This bill improves support for individuals recovering from substance use disorders by expanding housing assistance for people transitioning out of treatment; increasing oversight of recovery residences to ensure high quality care; and investing in recovery services for people who have sought care and treatment.

HB 19-1010 – Freestanding Emergency Departments Licensure – Rep. Kyle Mullica, D-Northglenn and Rep. Lois Landgraf, R-Fountain This bill will bring freestanding emergency departments under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional hospital emergency rooms so that we can ensure the safety and wellbeing of patients. This will ultimately improve the quality of care for patients and increase health care affordability.