Health And Environment - Digest of Bills

Digest of Bills - 2005

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

S.B. 05-55 Raw milk. Allows a consumer with an ownership interest in the cow, goat, or herd providing the milk to obtain raw milk from the farmer or dairyperson.

Requires that the raw milk be identified when delivered to the consumer or that a label be affixed to the milk container. Requires a farm or dairy to provide the consumer with a description of the standards used by the farm or dairy with respect to herd health.

Requires that a farm or dairy that produces raw milk register with the Colorado department of agriculture.

APPROVED by Governor April 22, 2005
EFFECTIVE April 22, 2005

S.B. 05-87 Immunizations - notice to parent or legal guardian - reports to tracking system - general assembly review - reminder and recall process. Authorizes the department of public health and environment ("department") or the department's contractor to directly contact a parent or legal guardian for the purpose of notifying the parent or legal guardian if immunizations are due or overdue as indicated by the advisory committee on immunization practices of the United States department of health and human services or the American academy of pediatrics. Requires the department or the department's contractor to contact the parent or legal guardian if it is necessary to control an outbreak of or prevent the spread of a vaccine-preventable disease. Specifies that any notice given to a parent or legal guardian shall also inform the parent or legal guardian of the option to refuse an immunization on the grounds of medical, religious, or personal belief considerations.

On or before February 1, 2010, requires the health and human services committees of the senate and the house of representatives to review the state's implementation of notification provisions to determine if the utilization of the immunization tracking system has had a substantial impact on the state's immunization ranking.

Specifies that neither refusing an immunization on the grounds of medical, religious, or personal belief considerations nor opting to exclude immunization notification information from the immunization tracking system shall, by itself, constitute child abuse or neglect by a parent or legal guardian.

Authorizes specified licensed medical practitioners, licensed nurses, county, district, and regional health departments, hospitals, officers of private practitioners, and providers of public health nursing services to report immunization information to the immunization tracking system and to use a reminder and recall process.

APPROVED by Governor April 29, 2005
EFFECTIVE April 29, 2005

S.B. 05-144 Air quality - continuation of compliance advisory panel under sunset law. Extends the automatic termination of the compliance advisory panel to July 1, 2015, pursuant to the provisions of the sunset law.

APPROVED by Governor April 5, 2005
EFFECTIVE April 5, 2005

S.B. 05-150 Continuation of advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants under sunset law. Continues the advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants in the department of public health and environment until July 1, 2013. States the general assembly's intent that newborn hearing screenings be conducted on at least 95% of infants born in Colorado hospitals. Repeals obsolete provisions that required the advisory committee to report information regarding the prevalence of the administration of hearing screenings on newborn infants by December 1, 1998.

APPROVED by Governor April 14, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005

S.B. 05-165 Cancer drug repository program - liability. Establishes the Colorado cancer drug repository program ("program") in the department of public health and environment for the purpose of allowing a cancer patient or the patient's family to donate unused cancer drugs and medical devices to uninsured and underinsured cancer patients in the state of Colorado.

Allows a cancer patient or the patient's family to donate unused cancer drugs or medical devices to a health care facility, medical clinic, or pharmacy that elects to participate in the program. Authorizes a health care facility, medical clinic, or pharmacy that receives a donated cancer drug or medical device under the program to distribute the cancer drug to another eligible health care facility, medical clinic, or pharmacy for use under the program. Allows a pharmacist to accept and dispense cancer drugs and medical devices donated under the program to eligible patients if specified requirements are met. Specifies that a cancer drug or medical device donated under the program may not be resold. Requires the state board of health to promulgate rules for the program and specifies the minimum that the rules shall include. Specifies that the provisions of the program do not create or abrogate any liability on behalf of a prescription drug manufacturer or create any civil cause of action against a prescription drug manufacturer, in addition to that which is available under applicable law.

APPROVED by Governor April 14, 2005
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2005
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

S.B. 05-217 Property contamination - illegal drug laboratory. Gives the owner of personal property within a contaminated structure or vehicle 10 days to claim the personal property. If the personal property owner fails to do so, authorizes the owner of the structure or vehicle where the personal property is located to dispose of the personal property during cleanup. Requires the owner of a contaminated structure or vehicle to control access to such structure, vehicle, and any contaminated personal property.

Authorizes local governing bodies to enforce state cleanup requirements.

BECAME LAW June 9, 2005
EFFECTIVE June 9, 2005

S.B. 05-231 Emergency medical technicians - misconduct - investigations. Authorizes the department of public health and environment (department) to administer oaths, take affirmations of witnesses, and issue subpoenas to investigate alleged misconduct of certified emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Authorizes the department to seek a court order compelling the production of evidence.

Requires an EMT and an employer or medical director of an EMT to report the misconduct of any EMT. Grants immunity to a person who provides evidence, consults with the department, or reports misconduct, if the person was acting in good faith and with a reasonable belief of the facts. Requires appropriate confidentiality of medical records and other evidence. Requires evidence and conclusions to remain confidential until an agency decision is made.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2005
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2005
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see page vi of this digest.

H.B. 05-1042 Emergency contraception information - sexual assault survivor. Requires hospitals to adopt protocols to inform a female survivor of a sexual assault of the availability of emergency contraception and to offer to dispense the emergency contraception or refer the survivor to a pharmacy that can dispense the emergency contraception. Exempts a health care professional who objects on religious or moral grounds from the requirement to provide information concerning emergency contraception. Specifies that a hospital shall not be required to provide emergency contraception to a woman who is not at risk of becoming pregnant from the assault or who is already pregnant.

VETOED by Governor April 5, 2005

H.B. 05-1126 Solid waste - motor vehicle tires - commercial haulers - registration - appropriation. Requires commercial waste tire haulers to:

● Transport waste tires only to a waste tire storage site, waste tire landfill site, or a permitted municipal or privately owned solid waste landfill site; and

● Register with the department of public health and environment by January 1, 2006.

Gives the state board of health rule-making authority over such registrations, including record-keeping and reporting requirements, bonding requirements, and program enforcement and oversight.

Appropriates $21,375 to the department of public health and environment from the waste tire recycling development cash fund for its costs in administering the act, of which amount $3,694 is allocated to the department of law for the provision of legal services.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2005
EFFECTIVE June 1, 2005

H.B. 05-1161 Infant immunization program - immunization fund - uses - appropriation. Authorizes the moneys in the infant immunization fund to be used to assist users of the immunization tracking system to connect to the system and to use the reminder and recall process of the system.

Appropriates $250,000 to the department of public health and environment for the implementation of the act. Makes implementation of the act contingent upon the passage of and savings realized from House Bill 05-1243 and House Bill 05-1131.

APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2005
EFFECTIVE June 3, 2005
NOTE: House Bills 05-1131 and 05-1243 were signed by the governor June 3, 2005. For more information on the effective date see section 3 of this act.

H.B. 05-1201 Poison control centers - services - requirements. For the purpose of the department of public health and environment contracting with outside entities in order to provide poison control services to the people of Colorado, specifies that poison control services shall be provided by an entity certified by the American association of poison control centers (AAPCC). Includes information regarding the prevention of poisoning in the information disseminated by poison control centers. Requires poison information to be disseminated by persons who meet the criteria established by and are certified by the AAPCC. Requires the supervisors in poison control centers to meet the criteria established by the AAPCC.

APPROVED by Governor April 20, 2005
EFFECTIVE April 20, 2005

H.B. 05-1269 Death certificates - homicide - pregnancy. Requires a certificate of death to identify whether the deceased was pregnant if the death was a homicide.

APPROVED by Governor April 7, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005

H.B. 05-1302 Air ambulance services - licensure - accreditation. Requires licensing of fixed-wing and rotor-wing air ambulance services to include accreditation from the commission on accreditation of medical transport systems or a successor organization.

APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2005
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2005