S_SA_2020A 06/08/2020 08:08:57 PM Committee Summary

Senator Gardner, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 20-1402.  This bill amends or repeals obsolete, unclear, or conflicting laws.  The bill also clarifies statutory language, but does not change the intent or meaning of these sections of law. The appendix of the bill explains the reasons for each change.

Senators Cooke and Story, bill sponsors, presented House Bill 20-1286. The bill continues the regulation of fantasy contests operators for seven years, through September 1, 2027, and implements the recommendations in the sunset report. Specifically, the bill:

• transfers regulatory authority from the Division of Professions and Occupations in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to the Division of Gaming in the Department of Revenue (DOR); and
• requires small fantasy contest operators complete annual audits by an independent third party and submit the results to the DOR.

Pete Kirchhof, representing DraftKings and FanDuel, testified in support of the bill.

Written testimony submitted for House Bill 20-1286 my be found in Attachment A.

Senator Cooke, bill sponsor, presented the House Bill 20-1404.  This bill continues the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) in the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for one year.  The bill requires the House Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing during the 2021 legislative session on the 2019 sunset report prepared by the Department of Regulatory Affairs (DORA). DORA is not required to conduct an additional sunset review or prepare an additional report for the hearing. The SOMB is set to sunset on September 1, 2021.

Senator Fenberg, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 20-1290.  The bill requires that an insurer meet certain conditions before a failure-to-cooperate defense can be pleaded or proven in an action concerning an insurance policy providing first-party benefits or coverage.  The conditions include what must be included in a written request and the timeframe for a response.  The insurer must prove that it cannot proceed with its investigation without the information from the insured, is entitled to the information, and cannot attain the information from another source.  The insurer is also required to give the insured an opportunity to cure, which must include giving the insured written notice of the alleged failure-to-cooperate and allow the insured 60 days after receipt of the written notice to cure the alleged failure-to-cooperate.  The existence of a duty to cooperate in a policy does not relieve the insurer of its duty to investigate and any language in a policy that conflicts with this bill is void.

Written testimony submitted for House Bill 20-1290 may be found in Attachment B.

Senators Fenberg and Hisey, bill sponsors, presented the House Bill 20-1336.  The bill requires that the State Board of Education (SBE) adopt standards related to Holocaust and genocide studies no later than July 1, 2022.  Adoption of these standards is contingent upon the receipt of sufficient gifts, grants, and donations.

Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and contingent upon the adoption of SBE standards by July 1, 2023, each school district board of education and charter school must incorporate the standards on Holocaust and genocide studies into an existing course that is required for graduation.  School districts and charter schools may utilize materials in the newly created resource bank, or alternative materials based on best practices and that are developed using input from experts.

The bill also requires that Colorado Department of Education (CDE) create a publicly available resource bank that includes sample academic content, instruction programs, learning resource, professional developments, and case studies related to Holocaust and genocide studies.  The resource bank must be available by July 1, 2021, and CDE may accept gifts, grants and donations for that purpose.  Both the standards and resource bank must be developed with input from experts.

Written testimony submitted for House Bill 20-1336 may be found in Attachment C.