HB 18-1223

House Bill 18-1223 in Colorado directs the state's health department director to form a committee of experts. This committee will review autism data from 1990 to 2017 across all Colorado counties and age groups to determine if there is an autism epidemic. If the committee finds evidence of an epidemic, it would advise the governor to declare one and recommend actions to address it, including updating state programs and allocating funding. The bill has been signed into law, meaning the process for forming this committee and reviewing data can now begin.

Official Summary

The bill directs the executive director of the department of public health and environment (director) to convene the governor's expert emergency epidemic response committee (committee) for the purpose of determining whether there is an autism epidemic in Colorado. The committee shall review autism data from 1990 to 2017 from every Colorado county and across all age groups. If the committee determines there is an autism epidemic, the director shall advise the governor to declare that an autism epidemic exists in Colorado; that reasonable and appropriate measures be taken to address the autism epidemic and protect the public health; that departments with publicly funded safety net programs update their plans to include the autism epidemic; and the percentage at which the state will contribute money to the autism epidemic. The committee shall prepare a report documenting its reasons for determining whether an autism epidemic exists and provide a copy of the report to the governor, the director, and each member of the general assembly.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More