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SENATE BILL 26-110
BY SENATOR(S) Bright and Mullica, Carson, Exum, Kipp, Kirkmeyer,
Snyder, Coleman;
also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Barron and Rydin, Duran, Hamrick, Soper,
Titone, Weinberg.
CONCERNING REVISION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FINAL DISPOSITION EXPENSE
TERMS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 26-2-129, amend (1)
introductory portion, (1)(a), (1)(d), (1)(e), (1)(f), (2)(a), (2)(b),(3), (4), (5)
introductory portion, (6) introductory portion, (6)(c), (7)(b), (7)(c), (8), and
(10)(c); repeal (2)(f); and add (2)(a.5) as follows:
26-2-129. Funeral - final disposition expenses - death benefit -
legislative intent - definitions - rules.
(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that, subject to
available appropriations, the purposes of this section are the following:
(a) To provide appropriate and equitable reimbursement PAYMENT
NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act.
of funeral, cremation, burial, or natural reduction expenses or any A
combination of expenses associated with the final disposition of any A
deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient;
(d) To ensure that reimbursement PAYMENT of a provider of funeral
or final disposition services is appropriately disbursed by the county
department;
(e) To provide that public funds are made available for
reimbursement PAYMENT OF SERVICES pursuant to this section only after it
has been determined that there are insufficient resources from the estate of
the decedent or the decedent's legally responsible family members to cover
the funeral or final disposition expenses; AND
(f) To allow family members and friends of a decedent to contribute
toward the charges of funeral or final disposition expenses to the extent the
contributions do not exceed the specified maximum combined REASONABLE
charges for the expenses.
(2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Contributions" means any monetary payment or donation made
directly to the service provider or providers by a nonresponsible person to
defray the expenses of a deceased public assistance or medical assistance
recipient's funeral or final disposition "COMBINED REASONABLE CHARGES"
MEANS THE TOTAL OF ALL CHARGES FROM ALL PROVIDERS BUT IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
(a.5) "C ONTRIBUTIONS" MEANS ANY MONETARY PAYMENT OR
DONATION MADE DIRECTLY TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER OR PROVIDERS BY A
NONRESPONSIBLE PERSON TO DEFRAY THE EXPENSES OF A DECEASED PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE OR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE RECIPIENT'S FUNERAL OR FINAL
DISPOSITION.
(b) "Death reimbursement BENEFIT" means the payment made by the
county department to the provider of funeral or final disposition services
when adequate resources are not available from legally responsible persons
or from the personal resources or income of the decedent or from
contributions to cover the charges for funeral or final disposition expenses
of a deceased public assistance or medical assistance recipient.
PAGE 2-SENATE BILL 26-110
(f) "Maximum combined charges" means the total of all charges
from all providers but in an amount not to exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars.
(3) Subject to available appropriations, THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT
SHALL PAY a death reimbursement BENEFIT covering reasonable funeral
expenses or reasonable final disposition expenses or any A combination of
these expenses shall be paid by the county department for a decedent if the
estate of the deceased is insufficient to pay the reasonable expenses and if
the persons legally responsible for the support of the deceased are unable
to pay the reasonable expenses. The STATE DEPARTMENT SHALL REIMBURSE
A county department shall be reimbursed FOR eighty percent of the amount
of the death reimbursement BENEFIT paid for recipients of aid to the needy
disabled and RECIPIENTS OF assistance under the Colorado works program
ESTABLISHED pursuant to part 7 of this article 2 and shall be reimbursed one
hundred percent of the amount of the death reimbursement BENEFIT PAID for
recipients of old age pensions. If the state department determines that the
level of appropriation is insufficient to meet the demand for death
reimbursements BENEFITS, the state department shall reduce the amount of
the death reimbursement BENEFIT level to meet the amount appropriated by
the general assembly for death reimbursements BENEFITS. In the event that
a reduction is made, the county department has no additional responsibility
beyond the reimbursement BENEFIT level as defined in the state department's
rules.
(4) The total amount of a death reimbursement BENEFIT paid by the
county department or state department pursuant to this section must not
exceed one thousand five hundred dollars, and the combined REASONABLE
charge of a funeral or final disposition or any combination of these
expenses must not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars. Contributions
from nonresponsible persons may be made without jeopardizing payment
under PURSUANT TO this section and shall MUST be counted as an offset to
the maximum combined REASONABLE charges of the providers. If the
combined REASONABLE charges from the providers exceed two thousand
five hundred dollars, no THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND COUNTY
DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT PAY A death reimbursement shall be paid by the
state or county department BENEFIT. Providers may seek contributions from
nonresponsible persons only to the extent that money is available from such
THE parties.
PAGE 3-SENATE BILL 26-110
(5) A legally responsible person shall be required to participate
financially towards TOWARD the charges for final disposition through a
contribution to the maximum death reimbursement COMBINED REASONABLE
CHARGES if his or her THE PERSON 'S resources are above the federal
supplemental security income resource limits. A legally responsible person
shall NEED not be required to participate if he or she THE PERSON has fewer
resources than the supplemental security income resource limits or if
participation would result in fewer resources than the supplemental security
income resource limits. Any financial participation from a legally
responsible person shall MUST be deducted from the maximum death
reimbursement COMBINED REASONABLE CHARGES in the same manner as the
personal resources of the decedent and shall DOES not include the survivor's
home or other excluded resources as provided for in the state department's
rules. Any financial participation by a legally responsible person in excess
of the legally required amount shall MUST be used to reduce the amount of
the maximum death reimbursement COMBINED REASONABLE CHARGES .
Social security lump-sum death benefits payable to a legally responsible
person shall MUST not be an automatic deduction from the maximum death
reimbursement COMBINED REASONABLE CHARGES . For purposes of this
section, "resources" means:
(6) In calculating the amount of the death reimbursement BENEFIT,
any personal resources or income of the decedent is counted as a deduction
from the maximum allowable death reimbursement COMBINED REASONABLE
CHARGES. For purposes of this section, personal resources or income of the
decedent includes the following:
(c) Any A death benefit in which reimbursement PAYMENT FOR
SERVICES is directly paid to a provider of funeral or final disposition
services for the decedent.
(7) (b) Any portion of the purchase price of a final resting place
owned by the decedent in excess of two thousand dollars shall MUST be
counted as a personal resource of the decedent in calculating the amount of
a death reimbursement BENEFIT pursuant to this section.
(c) A final resting place previously acquired by someone other than
the decedent and donated for final disposition of that decedent shall MUST
not be counted as a personal resource of the decedent or a legally
responsible person in calculating the amount of a death reimbursement
PAGE 4-SENATE BILL 26-110
BENEFIT pursuant to this section.
(8) A statement of agreement between the providers that shall MUST
be on a form prescribed by the state department that sets forth the charges
and the amounts of any payments or contributions shall AND MUST be
completed prior to any disbursement of funds by the county. The agreement
shall MUST assure that the charges of all providers have been equitably
addressed and shall MUST ascertain that the maximum combined charges
COMBINED REASONABLE CHARGES do not exceed two thousand five hundred
dollars and that the combined contributions from all sources do not exceed
two thousand five hundred dollars. All payments from a decedent's estate,
payments from legally responsible persons, and contributions from
nonresponsible persons shall MUST be paid directly to the provider of
services. After the provision of all services, the providers shall MUST bill the
county department directly for reimbursement PAYMENT for appropriate
costs that have not been covered by the resources from or contributions
made by the decedent's estate, legally responsible persons, or
nonresponsible persons. The county department shall reimburse PAY the
appropriate providers directly, based upon the statement of agreement.
(10) The state department shall:
(c) Annually review reimbursement DEATH BENEFIT levels to
determine whether the levels are adequate to purchase funeral, cremation,
burial, or natural reduction services for deceased public assistance or
medical assistance recipients.
SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state
constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within
such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless
PAGE 5-SENATE BILL 26-110
approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026
and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of
the vote thereon by the governor.
____________________________ ____________________________
James Rashad Coleman, Sr. Julie McCluskie
PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
____________________________ ____________________________
Esther van Mourik Vanessa Reilly
SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
PAGE 6-SENATE BILL 26-110