Colorado Legislative Strategies Updates 3.3.23

COLORADO LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES NEWSLETTER
 
March 3, 2023

​Introduction
 
It’s now March at the Capitol. This is the point in the legislative session when opposing sides really start going after each other. More on several controversial bills later, but first a little history. 
 
All the legislative fights this month actually have roots in ancient times. The name March is believed to have originated from the Roman god of war, Mars. In ancient Rome, March was the first month of the year and marked the beginning of the military campaign season after winter. Thus it was named after Mars, the god of war. 
 
Mars is also the Roman god of agriculture because March was associated with the start of spring, the planting of crops, and the return of agriculture. Julius Caesar later introduced the Julian calendar and made January the first month of the year and March the third, and that carried over into the modern Gregorian calendar. Despite the change, March continued to be associated with renewal and growth.
 
So while there might be active legislative warfare under the Gold Dome this month, there is still hope for better times ahead. Next week we will hit the halfway point in the session. Now here’s some news this week and a deeper dive into the Governor’s new package of health care bills.

​This Week
 
This week, some of the most controversial bills of the session were heard and passed out of committee. Controversial bills also passed out of their first chamber and were sent to the second chamber. And notably, one controversial bill was postponed indefinitely.
 
On Monday, House Bill 1115, which would allow local governments to enact rent control measures, passed out of the House with only five Democrats voting no. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will likely face a very different reception than it had in the House. 
 
On Tuesday, Senate Bill 105, which would set strict hiring requirements for employers, and House Bill 1190, which would give local government a right of first refusal to multiple unit properties, passed out of committee. 
 
On Wednesday, House Bill 1202, which would authorize local governments to operate safe injection zones, and House Bill 1171, which would prohibit certain grounds for eviction and would even require a landlord to pay for relocation assistance, also passed out of committee. 
 
Those are several examples of House Democrats making a statement of their newfound political strength. House Republicans also chose to make a statement this week, but unfortunately it was crude attacks during a resolution simply commemorating the anniversary of when the Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed. (Many years later it did pass Congress but was never ratified by enough states to officially become an amendment to the Constitution.)
 
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of legislators put forward the resolution and several far-right Republicans put forward a series of unsuccessful amendments about abortion and transgender rights. Ultimately, 12 of the 19 House Republicans voted against the resolution. 
 
From ridiculous lows to one of the most exciting moments of the session, Thursday was a busy day. After being laid over for action two weeks ago, House Bill 1118, or the fair work week bill, died a slow, dramatic death in the House Business Affairs and Labor committee. The committee killed the bill on a vote of 8-2, with only two Democrats voting in favor of the extreme bill.
 
Finally, Governor Polis held a press conference on Thursday to announce a package of bills that will “save people money on health care”... More on that next.
 
Governor’s Health Care Bills
 
On Thursday afternoon, Governor Polis held a press conference to address how he plans to save Coloradans money on healthcare. On top of holding up afternoon committee meetings, the governor and 14 Democrats stood together and announced an aggressive bill package of bills related to healthcare. From pharmaceutical manufacturers, to hospitals, to insurance carriers – the governor made sure no one got away unscathed. 
 
Here’s a deeper dive into more about the bills announced and introduced later that day:
 
Colorado Option (House Bill 1224)
Even though  the original Colorado Option bill from 2021 has been lackluster in lowering insurance premiums, the administration will double down on the Colorado Option this year. This year’s bill will specifically address reducing premiums for plans on the Colorado Option by giving the Division of Insurance more authority to hold carriers accountable. Most notably, it allows the division to limit factors for carriers such as excessive profit and administrative expenses. 
 
Prescription Drug Affordability Board (House Bill 1225) 
Another bill from 2021 that has yet to show any effectiveness, yet the administration wants to pass is a sequel to the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). The original bill created a board appointed by the governor to review the affordability of certain prescription drugs, and set up upper payment limits (UPLs) on 12 drugs deemed unaffordable every year. This year’s bill allows the board to set an unlimited amount of UPLs by removing the 12 UPL limit from the original bill, significantly expands the criteria for which a drug may be eligible for review, and extends the sunset review of the board from five years to ten years. 
 
Hospital Transparency (House Bill 1226)
Once again building off a recently passed bill, this time from a 2019 law on hospital transparency reports, is another expansion of an administration bill. This bill adds additional reporting requirements and authorizes enforcement mechanisms on hospitals. The bill also requires any patient bill to include a clear, plain language description of the services the patient is being billed for. However, it is important that any new reporting requirements are meaningful and add value for a patient, which experts believe will not actually be the result of this bill. 
 
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Enforcement (House Bill 1227)
The bill requires PBMs to register certain information with the state, in order to give more oversight to the commissioner of insurance. Specifically, the commissioner would be authorized to investigate unnecessary fees or claw backs that PBMs impose on pharmacies, and how PBMs interact with competing pharmacies. 
 
Other Health Care Bills
In addition to the bills introduced yesterday, we’ve already seen a few healthcare bills introduced this session. House Bill 1201 would prohibit PBMs from practicing “spread pricing,” in which a PBM charges a pharmacy more for a drug than what it originally cost the PBM, and then keeps the difference. House Bill 1215 is especially aggressive toward the hospital industry because it prohibits hospitals from charging facility fees at their off campus outpatient clinics or specialty centers. A facility fee pays for everything from nurses to keeping the lights on at outpatient facilities, and allows patients in rural or underserved communities to reach quality healthcare services close to home. Additionally, a bill further regulating non-profit hospital community benefit was mentioned during the press conference but has not yet been introduced.
 
Capitol News You Didn’t Expect
 
Lastly, some news from this week about the state Capitol that you probably didn’t expect. The Capitol Building Advisory Committee learned that a wall sconce - a giant decorative light fixture - that may have been original to the Capitol building was listed for sale on eBay, and they want it back. It was actually discussed at their meeting last Friday afternoon but didn’t make it into last week’s newsletter. 
 
The committee debated how to retrieve sconce. They could just buy it; it’s listed for $8,995, but it’s unclear where the money would come from. They could send the State Troopers to seize the item. Or maybe they will just politely ask the seller to donate the piece of history back to the state, potentially for a tax write-off. 
 
Bet you didn’t think you’d end the week reading about how the government can get its old light back.
 
Have a good weekend.