SB24-221 Summary

• Requires the rural program office to include allocation formulas in annual reports to the education committees, and clarifies that funding supports the office's operations in the Department of Family Medicine.

• Authorizes the Department of Higher Education to enter into optional fee-for-service contracts with the University of Colorado Board of Regents to expand existing rural track programs using a data-based allocation formula considering student support, enrollment, curriculum, practical experience, and graduate rural practice rates.

• Creates the Rural Hospital Cash Fund in the state treasury and appropriates $1,742,029 from the general fund on July 1, 2024, to distribute in equal amounts to rural hospitals defined as those in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents or municipalities with fewer than 25,000 residents.

• Appropriates $866,667 from the general fund and $866,667 from reappropriated funds to the Department of Higher Education for the 2024-25 fiscal year to implement fee-for-service contracts with state institutions.

• Allows unexpended or unencumbered funds to remain available for the same purpose in subsequent fiscal years without additional appropriation.