Colorado House reads committee reports, introduces a slate of bills including funding proposal for Aurora mental health institute; adjourns until Feb. 26

The Colorado House convened and proceeded through committee reports and a lengthy series of bill introductions before adjourning until Thursday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.

Committee reports read on the floor included recommendations from the Committee on Business Affairs and Labor that House Bill 11 33 be amended and, as amended, be referred to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The Committee on Health and Human Services recommended that House Bills 10 63 (as amended) and 10 69 (as amended) be referred to the Committee on Appropriations; that House Bill 11 09 be amended and referred to the Committee on Finance with a favorable recommendation; and that House Bill 11 22 be postponed indefinitely. The Judiciary Committee recommended that House Bills 10 39 (as amended) and 11 01 (as amended) be referred to the Committee of the Whole, that House Bill 11 31 be referred to Appropriations with a favorable recommendation, and that House Bills 10 47 and 11 08 be postponed indefinitely. The Committee on Transportation, Housing and Local Government recommended referrals of House Bills 10 79 (as amended), 10 98 (as amended), and 11 45 (as amended) to the Committee of the Whole and referred House Bill 11 87 to Appropriations with a favorable recommendation.

On introductions, the House clerk read a batch of newly introduced bills and their committee assignments. Notable introductions included House Bill 12 93 (by Representatives Espinosa and Locke and Senator Exum), concerning modernization of requirements for the ballot information booklet, assigned to State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs; House Bill 12 96 (by Representatives Bradley and Carter, also Senators Ball and Rich), concerning discipline of advanced practice registered nurses for failure to timely complete a death-certificate medical certificate, assigned to the same committee; House Bill 12 98 (by Representatives Reiden and Kelty), concerning authority for criminal background checks for child welfare out-of-home placement providers, assigned to Health and Human Services; and House Bill 12 99 (by Representatives Garcia, Sander, and Lukens, and Senator Pelton B), concerning reduction of regulatory burdens on local education providers, assigned to Education.

Representative Marshall (also Senator Amabile) introduced House Bill 13 01, a proposal to increase taxes on certain alcoholic beverages and retail marijuana, dedicating additional revenue first to construction and operation of the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Aurora and then to operation of long-term civil commitment facilities in Mesa County; the bill would also authorize the state to keep and spend the additional taxation revenue as a voter-approved revenue change. That bill was assigned to the committees on Health and Human Services and Finance.

The clerk also announced several Senate bills and their committee referrals, including Senate Bill 18 (dignity protections for minors and suppression of court records associated with a minor's name change), Senate Bill 25 (land survey and monumentation), Senate Bill 31 (lawful use of a prescription drug product containing a schedule I controlled substance), and Senate Bill 85 (military protection orders and related peace officer duties). Each announced bill was assigned to the committee named on the floor.

Madam Majority Leader moved that the House stand adjourned until Thursday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.; the presiding officer then announced the House was adjourned. The floor session included no recorded roll-call votes on these motions or referrals during the period covered in this transcript.

Next steps: referred and introduced bills will be considered according to the committee process and scheduling rules of the House; further action (committee hearings, amendments, or floor consideration) was not recorded in this transcript.