The 2023 Legislative Session is winding down quickly! Several agenda bills and priorities have been moving smoothly through the process.
What’s Happening in Colorado
* Here is a quick update on the status of our agenda bills:
- SB23-174: Access To Certain Behavioral Health Services – passed the Senate chamber and awaits final passage in the House.
- SB23-176: Protections For People With An Eating Disorder – passed the Senate chamber and House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee (7-2). It is onto the Committee of the Whole.
- HB23-1268: Private Treatment for Out-of-state Defendant – passed the Senate chamber and is awaiting to pass the House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee.
- HB23-1013: Use Of Restrictive Practices In Prisons – passed the House and is waiting to be heard in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
* As of last week, Michelle Barnes, executive director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, was named interim head of the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA).
We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with the BHA to ensure Coloradan can access timely, whole-person care.
A View from Washington, D.C.
* Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is requiring manufacturers of opioid analgesics dispensed in outpatient settings to make prepaid mail-back envelopes available to outpatient pharmacies and other dispensers as an additional opioid analgesic disposal option for patients.
* Senator Michael Bennet reintroduced the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act to help lawmakers gain a complete and accurate picture of gun violence in and around school campuses. This legislation will also provide data to build effective strategies to prevent these tragedies. U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) are introducing companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Click here to download the PDF.
* Results from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation national poll revealed that one in five people report having a family member who was fatally shot, including suicide. One in six said they have personally witnessed a shooting. A third of Black adults have experienced both.
