Summary#

HB 26-1425 creates the Applied Behavior Analysis Practice Act and adds new licensing rules for behavior analysts. It also changes state Medicaid reimbursement and child-care licensing laws. Its stated goals include protecting the public from unqualified or harmful practice and improving safety oversight at some clinics. The supplied status says it was signed into law, but the supplied bill text is incomplete.

• A new Colorado Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, inside an existing state division, must administer and enforce practitioner licensing. It may set rules, issue or deny licenses, and discipline licensees.
• Most people who provide or offer applied behavior analysis (ABA) must be licensed. Behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts need approved professional certification and a fingerprint-based criminal history check; licensed practitioners must have professional liability insurance.
• Licensed assistant behavior analysts must work under a licensed behavior analyst’s supervision. Technicians may provide services under supervision but cannot design assessment or intervention plans.
• The state must set licensing standards for ABA clinics by July 1, 2029. A clinic is defined here as serving at least three people aged 18 months to under 21, for at least four but fewer than 24 hours each business day.
• The state department must reimburse providers for certain ABA services delivered by registered behavior technicians to eligible members. The bill also allows limited reimbursement for technicians who are completing certification, subject to conditions.
• The bill exempts specified people and work from practitioner licensing, including some other licensed health professionals, supervised caregivers, students, and school employees. These exemptions have limits.

What it means for you#

• People receiving ABA and families: The bill creates licensing and discipline oversight for practitioners. It does not guarantee that a person will qualify for services or that a particular treatment will be covered.
• Behavior analysts and assistant analysts: They must meet licensing requirements, keep their certifying-entity credential, follow board rules, and carry liability insurance unless a stated public-employee exception applies. Assistant analysts must be supervised.
• Technicians and their employers: Technicians may provide services under supervision but cannot design plans. For the specified state reimbursement, technicians generally must be certified and meet training and record-check requirements. A temporary reimbursement period is available while a technician pursues certification, subject to the bill’s conditions.
• ABA clinics: Clinics within the bill’s definition will need a state license and must meet standards to be set by rule. The bill also applies related licensing requirements, such as fees and local zoning, fire, and sanitation rules.
• Other providers and schools: The bill preserves defined exemptions, including for some health professionals working within their training and legal scope, supervised caregivers, students, and school employees doing their school duties.
• General public: Unauthorized practice is made a class 2 misdemeanor. The supplied text does not state the penalty range.

Money#

The bill requires reimbursement for certain technician-delivered services, but the supplied material gives no total cost estimate or appropriation amount.

• Providers may be reimbursed for qualifying registered-technician services for Medicaid members with autism spectrum disorder or other conditions covered under state department policies.
• Temporary reimbursement for an uncertified technician is subject to federal approval and the bill’s training, record-check, supervision, and reporting conditions.
• The board may charge licensing fees. Applicants must pay for their fingerprint checks.
• The bill’s title says it makes an appropriation, but the supplied text ends before any appropriation provision. No publicly available information on the amount or purpose of that appropriation is included in the supplied material.

What is unclear#

• The supplied bill text ends partway through the clinic-standards section. The full standards limits, any remaining provisions, and the appropriation cannot be checked.
• The bill leaves many details to board or department rules, including license fees, supervision, insurance amounts, and clinic requirements.
• The bill sets deadlines for appointments and rules, but the supplied material does not establish when all provisions take effect.
• The parent laws as they stood before this bill were not supplied, so the full change from current law cannot be verified.
• It is unclear how the new licensing system will interact with existing programs and requirements beyond the exemptions and exceptions stated in the supplied text.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to reduce risks from unqualified practice and harmful conduct by requiring licenses, professional credentials, background checks, insurance, and board oversight.
• Clinic licensing may add health and safety protections for children who receive services for several hours in a facility.
• Reimbursing services from registered technicians, with a limited path for technicians completing certification, may help providers seek payment while retaining training and safety conditions.
• Defined exemptions preserve some work by other health professionals, caregivers, students, and school employees without requiring the new license.

Case against#

• The bill creates new licensing and clinic requirements, fees, insurance obligations, and agency work; the supplied material does not show their total cost or effect on access to services.
• Important operating details are left to future rules, so practitioners and clinics cannot determine all requirements from the bill text alone.
• A possible trade-off is that added oversight may increase safety checks but also add compliance steps for clinics and providers.
• The bill does not provide, in the supplied text, the full clinic standards or the appropriation amount, making the likely costs and practical requirements difficult to assess.