CO Code § 25-1.5-101 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 25 - Public Health and Environment|Article 1.5 - Powers and Duties of the Department of Public Health and Environment|Part 1 - General Powers and Duties|§ 25-1.5-101. Powers and Duties of Department - Laboratory Cash Fund - Report - Dispensation of Payments Under Contracts With Grantees - Definitions - Repeal

  The department has, in addition to all other powers and duties imposed upon it by law, the powers and duties provided in this section as follows:   To close theaters, schools, and other public places, and to forbid gatherings of people when necessary to protect the public health;      To establish and enforce minimum general sanitary standards as to the quality of wastes discharged upon land and the quality of fertilizer derived from excreta of human beings or from the sludge of sewage disposal plants. (b) (I) To establish and enforce minimum general sanitary standards as to the quality of wastes discharged upon land and the quality of fertilizer derived from excreta of human beings or from the sludge of sewage disposal plants.    The phrase “minimum general sanitary standards” as used in this section means the minimum standards reasonably consistent with assuring adequate protection of the public health. The word “standards” as used in this section means standards reasonably designed to promote and protect the public health.         To collect, compile, and tabulate reports of marriages, dissolution of marriages, declaration of invalidity of marriages, births, deaths, and morbidity and to require any person having information with regard to the same to make such reports and submit such information as the board shall by rule or regulation provide. (c) (I) To collect, compile, and tabulate reports of marriages, dissolution of marriages, declaration of invalidity of marriages, births, deaths, and morbidity and to require any person having information with regard to the same to make such reports and submit such information as the board shall by rule or regulation provide.    For the purposes of this paragraph (c), the board is authorized to require reporting of morbidity and mortality in accordance with the provisions of section 25-1-122.       To regulate the disposal, transportation, interment, and disinterment of the dead;      To establish, maintain, and approve chemical, bacteriological, and biological laboratories, and to conduct such laboratory investigations and examinations as it may deem necessary or proper for the protection of the public health. (e) (I) To establish, maintain, and approve chemical, bacteriological, and biological laboratories, and to conduct such laboratory investigations and examinations as it may deem necessary or proper for the protection of the public health.    The department shall transmit all fees received by the department in connection with the laboratories established pursuant to this paragraph (e), with the exception of fees received pursuant to part 10 of article 4 of this title that are credited to the newborn screening and genetic counseling cash funds created in section 25-4-1006 (1), to the state treasurer, who shall deposit them in the laboratory cash fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The state treasurer shall credit all interest earned from the revenues in the fund to the fund. At the end of each fiscal year, the unencumbered balance of the fund remains in the fund. The revenues in the fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department to carry out its duties under this paragraph (e).       To make, approve, and establish standards for diagnostic tests by chemical, bacteriological, and biological laboratories, and to require such laboratories to conform thereto; and to prepare, distribute, and require the completion of forms or certificates with respect thereto;    To purchase, and to distribute to licensed physicians and veterinarians, with or without charge, as the board may determine upon considerations of emergency or need, such vaccines, serums, toxoids, and other approved biological or therapeutic products as may be necessary for the protection of the public health;    To establish and enforce sanitary standards for the operation and maintenance of orphanages, day care nurseries, foster homes, family care homes, summer camps for children, lodging houses, guest child care facilities as defined in section 26-6-102 (16), C.R.S., public services short-term child care facilities as defined in section 26-6-102 (30), C.R.S., hotels, public conveyances and stations, schools, factories, workshops, industrial and labor camps, recreational resorts and camps, swimming pools, public baths, mobile home parks, and other buildings, centers, and places used for public gatherings;        To establish sanitary standards and make sanitary, sewerage, and health inspections and examinations for charitable, penal, and other public institutions. (i) (I) (A) To establish sanitary standards and make sanitary, sewerage, and health inspections and examinations for charitable, penal, and other public institutions.    As used in this subsection (1)(i), “penal institution” means any local detention center, correctional facility, holding facility, secure residential treatment center, prison, camp, or other facility in which persons are or may be lawfully held in custody, including any public or private facility in Colorado that houses or detains noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings, including any facility that houses or detains minors, on behalf of the federal office of refugee resettlement or the United States immigration and customs enforcement agency.    With respect to the state institutions under the department of human services specified in section 27-90-104 or under the department of corrections specified in section 17-1-104.3 (1)(b), such inspections and examinations must be made at least once each year and additional unannounced inspections may be conducted after the annual inspection. Reports on such inspections of institutions under control of the department of human services or the department of corrections must be made to the executive director of the appropriate department for appropriate action, if any.    With respect to any facility that houses or detains noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings, such inspections and examinations must be made annually, and additional unannounced inspections may be conducted after the annual inspection.    Repealed.       Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (i), the standards adopted pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (i) with regard to space requirements, furnishing requirements, required special use areas or special management housing, and environmental condition requirements, including but not limited to standards pertaining to light, ventilation, temperature, and noise level, shall not apply to any penal institution operated by or under contract with a county or municipality if the penal institution begins operations on or after August 30, 1999, and if the governing body of the jurisdiction operating the penal institution has adopted standards pertaining to such issues for the penal institution pursuant to section 30-11-104 (1), C.R.S., or section 31-15-711.5, C.R.S., whichever is applicable.         To disseminate public health information; (j) (I) To disseminate public health information;    To provide poison control services, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002, and fiscal years thereafter, on a statewide basis and to provide for the dissemination of information concerning the care and treatment of individuals exposed to poisonous substances pursuant to article 32 of this title;       To establish and enforce standards for exposure to toxic materials in the gaseous, liquid, or solid phase that may be deemed necessary for the protection of public health;    To establish and enforce standards for exposure to environmental conditions, including radiation, that may be deemed necessary for the protection of the public health;      To accept and expend on behalf of and in the name of the state, gifts, donations, and grants for any purpose connected with the work and programs of the department. (m) (I) To accept and expend on behalf of and in the name of the state, gifts, donations, and grants for any purpose connected with the work and programs of the department.    Any such property so given shall be held by the state treasurer, but the department shall have the power to direct the disposition of any property so given for any purpose consistent with the terms and conditions under which such gift was created.       To carry out the policies of the state as set forth in part 1 of article 6 of this title with respect to family planning;    To carry out the policies of this state relating to the “Colorado Health Care Coverage Act” as set forth in parts 1 and 4 of article 16 of title 10, C.R.S.;    To compile and maintain current information necessary to enable the department to answer any inquiry concerning the proper action to take to counteract, eliminate, or minimize the public health hazards of a hazardous substance incident involving any specific kind of hazardous substance. To make such information available and to facilitate the reporting of hazardous substance incidents, the department shall establish, maintain, and publicize an environmental emergency telephone service that shall be available to the public twenty-four hours each day. With respect to the powers and duties specified in this paragraph (p), the department shall have no rule-making authority and shall avail itself of all available private resources. As used in this paragraph (p), the terms “hazardous substance” and “hazardous substance incident” shall have the meanings ascribed to them in section 29-22-101, C.R.S. The department shall coordinate its activities pursuant to this section with the Colorado state patrol.      To establish and maintain a statewide cancer registry providing for compilation and analysis of appropriate information regarding incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and end results and any other data designed to provide more effective cancer control for the citizens of Colorado. (q) (I) To establish and maintain a statewide cancer registry providing for compilation and analysis of appropriate information regarding incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and end results and any other data designed to provide more effective cancer control for the citizens of Colorado.    For the purposes of this paragraph (q), the board is authorized to require reports relating to cancer in accordance with the provisions of section 25-1-122 and to have access to medical records relating to cancer in accordance with the provisions of section 25-1-122.       To operate and maintain a program for children with disabilities to provide and expedite provision of health-care services to children who have congenital birth defects or who are the victims of burns or trauma or children who have acquired disabilities;    To annually enter into an agreement with a qualified person to perform necessary hazardous substance incident response actions when such actions are beyond the ability of the local and state response capabilities. Such response actions may include, but are not limited to, containment, clean-up, and disposal of a hazardous substance. Nothing in this article shall prevent the attorney general's office from pursuing cost recovery against responsible persons.    To operate special health programs for migrant and seasonal farm workers and their dependent family members and to accept and employ federal and other moneys appropriated to implement such programs;    To carry out the duties prescribed in article 11.5 of title 16, C.R.S., relating to substance abuse in the criminal justice system;    To establish and maintain a statewide gulf war syndrome registry pursuant to part 19 of article 4 of this title providing for compilation and analysis of information regarding incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and treatment outcomes of veterans or family members of veterans suffering from gulf war syndrome;      To operate the office of suicide prevention, which is established in the division of prevention services in the department. The office of suicide prevention serves as the coordinator for crisis and suicide prevention programs throughout the state, including the Colorado suicide prevention plan established in section 25-1.5-112 and the crisis and suicide prevention training grant program established in section 25-1.5-113. For the purposes of this subsection (1)(w), the term “comprehensive suicide prevention” or “suicide prevention” includes the following components: (w) (I) To operate the office of suicide prevention, which is established in the division of prevention services in the department. The office of suicide prevention serves as the coordinator for crisis and suicide prevention programs throughout the state, including the Colorado suicide prevention plan established in section 25-1.5-112 and the crisis and suicide prevention training grant program established in section 25-1.5-113. For the purposes of this subsection (1)(w), the term “comprehensive suicide prevention” or “suicide prevention” includes the following components:   Strategies or approaches that seek to prevent the onset of suicidal despair, commonly known as “suicide prevention”;    Public health intervention supports, including community training, workforce development, quality improvement and provision of technical assistance to support the adoption of best suicide attempt behavior intervention and postvention practices and policies; and    Postvention responses to and support for individuals and communities affected by the aftermath of a suicide attempt.       The department is authorized to accept gifts, grants, and donations on behalf of the office of suicide prevention. The department shall transmit all such gifts, grants, and donations to the state treasurer who shall credit the same to the suicide prevention coordination cash fund, which fund is hereby created. The fund also consists of any money appropriated or transferred to the fund by the general assembly for the purposes of implementing section 25-1.5-112. Any money remaining in the suicide prevention coordination cash fund at the end of any fiscal year must remain in the fund and must not be transferred or credited to the general fund. The general assembly shall make appropriations from the suicide prevention coordination cash fund for expenditures incurred by the department or the office of suicide prevention in the performance of its duties pursuant to this subsection (1)(w) and section 25-1.5-112.    (A) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), as part of the duties of the office of suicide prevention, on or before each November 1, the office of suicide prevention shall submit to the chairs of the senate health and human services committee and the house of representatives health, insurance, and environment committee, or their successor committees, and to the members of the joint budget committee, a report listing all crisis and suicide prevention programs in the state and describing the effectiveness of the office of suicide prevention in acting as the coordinator for crisis and suicide prevention programs. For the report submitted in 2013 and each year thereafter, the office of suicide prevention shall include any findings and recommendations it has to improve crisis and suicide prevention in the state.    The department and the office of suicide prevention may collaborate with the school safety resource center and with each facility licensed or certified pursuant to section 25-1.5-103 in order to coordinate services related to crisis and suicide prevention, as that term is defined in this subsection (1)(w), including relevant training and other services as part of the Colorado suicide prevention plan established in section 25-1.5-112. When a facility treats a person who has attempted suicide or exhibits a suicidal gesture, the facility may provide oral and written information or educational materials to the person or, in the case of a minor, to parents, relatives, or other responsible persons to whom the minor will be released, prior to the person's release, regarding warning signs of depression, risk factors of suicide, methods of preventing suicide, available resources for comprehensive suicide prevention, and any other information concerning suicide awareness, and prevention. The facility shall also provide oral and written information or educational materials to the person or, in the case of a minor, to parents, relatives, or other responsible persons to whom the minor will be released, prior to the person's release, concerning the after-effects of a suicide attempt. The department and the office of suicide prevention may work with facilities and the Colorado suicide prevention plan to determine whether and where gaps exist in comprehensive suicide prevention programs and services, including gaps that may be present in:   The comprehensive suicide prevention information and materials being used and distributed in facilities throughout the state;    Comprehensive suicide prevention resources available to persons who attempt suicide or exhibit a suicidal gesture and, when the person is a minor, to parents, relatives, and other responsible persons to whom a minor is released; and    The process for referring persons who attempt suicide or exhibit a suicidal gesture to comprehensive suicide prevention services and programs or other appropriate health-care providers for treatment.       The department and the office of suicide prevention shall prepare written information for primary care offices and providers throughout the state. The information must be region-specific concerning how to recognize and respond to a suicidal patient and include separate written information for providers and information that may be shared with patients.       To implement the state dental loan repayment program created in article 23 of this title;    To coordinate with the United States secretary of the interior and the United States secretary of agriculture to develop resource management plans consistent with this article for federal lands pursuant to 16 U.S.C. sec. 530, 16 U.S.C. sec. 1604, and 43 U.S.C. sec. 1712;    To perform the duties specified in part 6 of article 10 of title 30, C.R.S., relating to the Colorado coroners standards and training board;    To determine if there is a shortage of drugs critical to the public safety of the people of Colorado and declare an emergency for the purpose of preventing the practice of unfair drug pricing as prohibited by section 6-1-714, C.R.S.;    To include on its public website home page a link to forms containing advanced directives regarding a person's acceptance or rejection of life-sustaining medical or surgical treatment, which forms are available to be downloaded electronically.         Notwithstanding any provision of this title 25, in contracting with any grantee for the provision of any service for the purposes of this title 25, the department may dispense up to twenty-five percent of the total value of the payments under the contract to the grantee immediately upon the execution or renewal of the contract.    As used in this subsection (2), “grantee” means a person that:   Is awarded a grant pursuant to a grant program that is managed or overseen by the department;    Pursuant to the conditions of the awarded grant, is a party to a contract with the department;    Is classified as a nonprofit organization or a charitable organization by the federal internal revenue service and has submitted written proof of such classification to the department; and    Satisfies any criteria established by the department for the purpose of implementing this subsection (2).           History. Source: L. 2003: Entire article added with relocations, p. 676, § 2, effective July 1; (1)(y) added, p. 1035, § 7, effective April 17; (1)(z) added, p. 1830, § 2, effective August 6. L. 2005: (1)(aa) added, p. 372, § 1, effective April 22. L. 2007: (1)(h) amended, p. 866, § 4, effective May 14. L. 2010: (1)(i)(I) amended,(SB 10-175), ch. 188, p. 798, § 58, effective April 29; (1)(bb) added,(HB 10-1050), ch. 80, p. 271, § 2, effective August 11. L. 2011: (1)(e) amended,(SB 11-161), ch. 12, p. 34, § 1, effective March 9. L. 2012: (1)(w)(III) amended and (1)(w)(IV) added,(HB 12-1140), ch. 173, p. 619, § 1, effective May 11. L. 2015: (1)(m)(I) amended,(SB 15-247), ch. 165, p. 505, § 3, effective May 8. L. 2016: (1)(h) amended,(SB 16-189), ch. 210, p. 769, § 58, effective June 6; (1)(w)(I), (1)(w)(II), and IP(1)(w)(IV) amended,(SB 16-147), ch. 364, p. 1521, § 3, effective June 10. L. 2017: (1)(w)(III)(A) amended,(SB 17-056), ch. 33, p. 92, § 1, effective March 16. L. 2018: (1)(w)(I), (1)(w)(II), (1)(w)(III)(A), and IP(1)(w)(IV) amended,(SB 18-272), ch. 333, p. 2005, § 4, effective August 8. L. 2020: (1)(i)(I) amended,(HB 20-1409), ch. 275, p. 1349, § 1, effective July 11. L. 2021: (1)(w)(I) and (1)(w)(IV) amended and (1)(w)(V) added,(HB 21-1119), ch. 49, p. 207, § 4, effective September 7; (2) added,(HB 21-1247), ch. 219, p. 1154, § 1, effective September 7.    Editor's note:    This section is similar to former § 25-1-107 (1)(c), (1)(e), (1)(f), (1)(g), (1)(h), (1)(i), (1)(j), (1)(m), (1)(n), (1)(q), (1)(s), (1)(t), (1)(u), (1)(v), (1)(w), (1)(y), (1)(z), (1)(aa), (1)(bb), (1)(cc), (1)(ff), (1)(hh), (1)(ii), and (1)(kk) as they existed prior to 2003.    Subsection (1)(i)(I)(E) provided for the repeal of subsection (1)(i)(I)(E), effective July 1, 2021. (SeeL. 2020, p. 1349.)     Cross references:   For the legislative declaration contained in the 2003 act enacting (1)(y), see section 1 of chapter 145, Session Laws of Colorado 2003. For the legislative declaration in SB 18-272, see section 1 of chapter 333, Session Laws of Colorado 2018. For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1119, see section 1 of chapter 49, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.   ANNOTATION   Law reviews. For article, “Highlights of the 1955 Colorado Legislative Session -- Water”, see 28 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 58 (1955). For note, “Water Pollution Control in Colorado”, see 36 U. Colo. L. Rev. 413 (1964). For note, “Rural Poverty and the Law in Southern Colorado”, see 47 Den. L.J. 82 (1970). For article, “A Critical Evaluation of the Federal Role in Nursing Home Quality Enforcement”, see 51 U. Colo. L. Rev. 607 (1980). For article, “Local Governments and the Environment: Part I, CERCLA”, see 17 Colo. Law. 1997 (1988). For article, “Local Governments and the Environment: Part II, RCRA”, see 17 Colo. Law. 2159 (1988). For article, “The Legal Risks of AIDS: Moving Beyond Discrimination”, see 18 Colo. Law. 606 (1989).   Annotator's note. Since § 25-1.5-101 is similar to § 25-1-107 as it existed prior to its 2003 repeal and relocation to this article 1.5, a relevant case construing that provision has been included in the annotations to this section.   Constitutionality of subsection (1)(m). Subsection (1)(m) does not unconstitutionally delegate any power or duty to the department of health, nor does it abdicate the legislative prerogative of making or defining a law. People ex rel. Dunbar v. Giordano, 173 Colo. 567 , 481 P.2d 415 (1971).   The scope of authority and guidelines to be followed by the department of health in adopting sanitary standards are to be those which are reasonably designed to promote and protect the public health. People ex rel. Dunbar v. Giordano, 173 Colo. 567 , 481 P.2d 415 (1971).