COLORADO — With the new year approaching quickly, there are several laws from the 2019 legislative session going into effect at the start of the new year.
Among those laws include the Red Flag Law, Out of Network Health Care Cost Requirements, Transgender Birth Certificates, and Local Minimum Wage. Here's a break down of those laws and what they could potentially mean for you.
RED FLAG LAW
By far one of the most controversial laws of the 2019 session, the red flag law has become law in several other states across the country. In the event someone believes someone else is a risk to harm themselves or others, they could petition a judge to have guns in their possession removed. This would place an Extreme Risk Protection Order or ERPO on the person. Supporters hope this new law will prevent gun violence. Opponents believe it's a violation of the 2nd amendment. Several counties in Colorado have declared themselves "2nd Amendment Sanctuary Counties" where they say they will not enforce the law.
If you'd like to read the full text of the law, click the following link:Colorado's Red Flag Law.
OUT OF NETWORK HEALTH CARE COSTS
Surprise medical medical billing is a growing problem across the nation and here in Colorado. A new law going into effect in January aims to prevent surprise costs from out-of-network providers, by requiring health care providers to be transparent with patients if there is any employee in their network during a medical procedure. In many cases, patients were seeing bills amounting to thousands of dollars, simply because someone in the room, such as an anesthesiologist during the medical procedure wasn't in their network.
For the full text, click here: Out of Network Billing
TRANSGENDER BIRTH CERTIFICATES
Transgender Coloradans have been waiting years for a new law to go into effect. Named "Jude's Law" in the 2019 session after, a 14 year old transgender girl who spent years testifying in favor of the bill at the capitol. This law will allow transgender Coloradans to receive a new birth certificate, instead of an amended one, which was previously the case.
For the full text, visit the following link: Identity Document for Transgender Persons
LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE
With Colorado's rising cost of living, starting in 2020, cities and counties will now be able to create local minimum wage requirements. Supporters of the bill say this is needed in more expensive cities such as Denver, and event some mountain communities. Opponents say it's bad for business and the statewide minimum wage already places enough of a burden on small businesses. Colorado Springs' Mayor John Suthers has indicated he would not support a minimum wage increase in the city.
The full text of this bill is at the following link: Local Minimum Wage
