HB 26-1147

House Bill 26-1147 aims to improve oversight and transparency for host homes that provide care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The bill requires the state health department to create a database containing information about these host homes and their service providers, which will be accessible to the public under certain privacy conditions. It also mandates regular reporting by service agencies starting in 2026 and sets standards to ensure that local regulations treat host homes like other residential properties. Since it has been signed into law, this bill is now active and its provisions are being implemented or prepared for implementation.

Official Summary

The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (HCPF) to establish and the department of public health and environment (CDPHE) to utilize risk criteria to identify certain service agencies to survey.     The bill requires CDPHE to prioritize surveys at service agencies that have a higher risk rating based on the risk criteria established by HCPF.     The bill requires HCPF to establish a statewide database containing information about host homes and their associated service agencies. The database must be made available and accessible by host home providers, service agencies, and CDPHE and must be made available for viewing by the public.     The bill requires HCPF to make a complaint form publicly available on its website for use by the public and requires the website to allow a person to submit a complaint electronically.     The bill requires HCPF to establish a process for tracking the status of each complaint filed and any records associated with that complaint.     The bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to establish a statewide database to provide accurate information about certain individual residential services and supports settings and their associated service provider agencies. The database will be used by the state department, the department of public health and environment, and the service provider agencies. Information from the database may only be shared with the public upon determination by the state department and consistent with state and federal privacy and confidentiality laws.     The bill requires the service provider agencies to submit the required information to the state department beginning July 1, 2026, and quarterly thereafter, and requires the state department to update the database within one month after receiving the required information from the service provider agencies.     The bill clarifies that individual residential services and supports settings must be treated as residential properties in the application of local regulations, including zoning, land use development, fire and life safety, sanitation, and building codes. The bill prohibits local governing authorities from imposing additional regulations on individual residential services and supports settings that do not apply to other residential properties.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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