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ColoradoHB26-14252026 Regular SessionHouse

Applied Behavior Analysis Services

Sponsored By: Kyle Brown (Democratic), Lindsay Gilchrist (Democratic), Lindsey Daugherty (Democratic), Scott Bright (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Health Care & Health InsuranceProfessions & OccupationsPublic Health

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

9 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 6 mixed.

Medicaid pays for technician-delivered behavior therapy

Colorado Medicaid pays providers for covered applied behavior analysis (ABA) services delivered by qualifying behavior technicians. Members must have autism spectrum disorder or another condition covered by department policies. Technicians must meet certification and professional supervision requirements. Medicaid also pays during a temporary period of at least 60 days while technicians pursue required certification. Continued payment requires obtaining and keeping that certification. Providers must obtain a name-based judicial record check before seeking reimbursement; the law does not set payment rates.

Colorado funds behavior therapy oversight

For budget year 2026–27, Colorado provides $50,000 in General Fund money for Medicaid system work and expects $50,000 federally. Child-welfare administration receives $1.29446 million from the General Fund, with $176,517 in expected federal funds and 15 additional full-time-equivalent positions. Professional regulation receives $261,833 from the Division of Professions and Occupations Cash Fund. This includes $176,038 for staffing, $16,560 for operations, and $69,235 for legal services, with 2 additional full-time-equivalent positions. The same $69,235 for legal services is transferred to the Department of Law, supporting another 0.3 full-time-equivalent position. These funds support implementation, not direct payments to households.

Behavior analysts must carry liability insurance

Licensed behavior analysts and assistant analysts cannot practice without professional liability insurance covering their licensed work. The board sets the required coverage amount by rule. Public employees are exempt while acting within public duties and protected by Colorado's governmental immunity law.

Behavior analysts gain peer-review privacy protections

Peer-review records for licensed behavior analysts and assistant analysts are generally private and exempt from public inspection. They are also protected from discovery in civil cases against those licensees. The board may use them only to assess continued professional competence. Already-public records and information otherwise available through legal discovery remain accessible.

Behavior clinics need licenses and fees

Qualifying ABA clinics join Colorado's child-welfare facility licensing system and must obtain a state license and pay the required fee before operating. Covered clinics provide therapy for at least 4 but fewer than 24 hours each business day. They serve at least 3 people who are at least 18 months old and under 21. Clinics must meet facility approval, sanitation, fire, zoning, and land-use requirements. Listed convictions or court findings involving applicants, affiliates, employees, or residents can lead to license denial or suspension. Facility licensing does not cover ABA in homes, schools, community settings, or other nonclinical places; professional rules still apply. A conditional day-treatment exclusion covers licensed ABA clinics on or before July 1, 2028, when clinic standards are published. That exclusion ends July 1, 2029; day-treatment rules cover behavioral-health programs serving at least 3 people ages 3 to under 21 for 4 to fewer than 24 hours each business day. Clinics serving only school-age children on school district or charter-school property may submit satisfactory fire or radon inspection reports from the past 12 months. The state cannot require duplicate inspections when those reports qualify.

Behavior providers face new licensing rules

Beginning July 1, 2028, behavior analysts need a Colorado license to offer or provide ABA, unless an exemption applies. The law creates a licensing board within the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Applicants need a current qualifying certification in good standing and must pay for a fingerprint-based criminal history check. Other health professionals and their supervisees may provide services within their training and professional scope without using protected behavior analyst titles. Technicians and caregivers may work without an analyst license under the required supervision or direction. Students, postdoctoral fellows, and people gaining qualifying experience must follow program, training, title, and supervision requirements. School employees may serve only their employer's students through their job, without extra pay for those services. The licensing article is scheduled for repeal September 1, 2031, following a review.

Behavior providers face reporting and penalties

The licensing board can deny, suspend, or revoke licenses, impose probation, order practice stopped, or seek court orders for listed violations. Out-of-state discipline counts only when the underlying conduct also supports discipline in Colorado. Licensees must immediately report suspended or revoked qualifying credentials and report malpractice settlements or court judgments within 60 days. They must report directly known violations by other licensees, unless reporting would improperly disclose client information without consent. The board can order a mental or physical exam when it has reasonable cause to question safe practice. A board-selected health professional conducts the exam; results stay private and are used only in board proceedings. Beginning July 1, 2028, practicing, offering, or attempting ABA without the required active license carries a class 2 misdemeanor penalty.

Behavior therapy gets individualized care standards

Licensed behavior analysts must create an individualized ABA treatment plan with objective, measurable goals. Initial and ongoing assessments must identify treatment needs and track progress. Each plan must guide treatment goals, intensity, and delivery. Assistant analysts may perform authorized tasks only under a licensed analyst's supervision and within board-set work limits. The board also sets how many assistants or technicians an analyst may supervise at one time.

Kids gain behavior clinic safety protections

Colorado must publish ABA clinic standards by July 1, 2029, covering staff qualifications, premises, restraint, staffing, records, discipline, and medication storage. Separate standards for clinics serving children age 3 or younger require collaboration with the Department of Early Childhood. Clinics may allow attendance without immunization verification for up to 15 days within a 15-consecutive-day period. This is allowed no more than twice yearly, with at least 60 days between periods, and parents must be notified. Children enrolled in clinics may carry and self-administer medicine for asthma, food allergies, or anaphylaxis, subject to state self-administration safeguards. The Human Services director may direct medication administration or monitoring under the state's medication rules. Clinics also fall under the child transportation restraint rules that cover child-care centers.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsors

  • Kyle Brown

    Democratic • House

  • Lindsay Gilchrist

    Democratic • House

  • Lindsey Daugherty

    Democratic • Senate

  • Scott Bright

    Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

  • Andrew Boesenecker

    Democratic • House

  • Amy Paschal

    Democratic • House

  • Chad Clifford

    Democratic • House

  • Eliza Hamrick

    Democratic • House

  • Gretchen Rydin

    Democratic • House

  • Jennifer Bacon

    Democratic • House

  • Jamie Jackson

    Democratic • House

  • Julie McCluskie

    Democratic • House

  • Jacque Phillips

    Democratic • House

  • Karen McCormick

    Democratic • House

  • Kenny Nguyen

    Democratic • House

  • Lorena Garcia

    Democratic • House

  • Lori Goldstein

    Democratic • House

  • Lesley Smith

    Democratic • House

  • Michael Carter

    Democratic • House

  • Monica Duran

    Democratic • House

  • Meg Froelich

    Democratic • House

  • Mandy Lindsay

    Democratic • House

  • Meghan Lukens

    Democratic • House

  • Manny Rutinel

    Democratic • House

  • Naquetta Ricks

    Democratic • House

  • Regina English

    Democratic • House

  • Sean Camacho

    Democratic • House

  • Steven Woodrow

    Democratic • House

  • Tammy Story

    Democratic • House

  • Yara Zokaie

    Democratic • House

  • Cathy Kipp

    Democratic • Senate

  • Judy Amabile

    Democratic • Senate

  • Jeff Bridges

    Democratic • Senate

  • James Coleman

    Democratic • Senate

  • Jessie Danielson

    Democratic • Senate

  • Julie Gonzales

    Democratic • Senate

  • Janice Marchman

    Democratic • Senate

  • Kyle Mullica

    Democratic • Senate

  • Katie Wallace

    Democratic • Senate

  • Lisa Cutter

    Democratic • Senate

  • Matt Ball

    Democratic • Senate

  • Nick Hinrichsen

    Democratic • Senate

  • Tony Exum

    Democratic • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 346 • No: 184

Senate vote • 5/13/2026

Third reading: Bill

Yes: 32 • No: 3

Senate vote • 5/11/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1425 to the Committee on Appropriations.

Yes: 5 • No: 0

Senate vote • 5/11/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1425 to the Committee of the Whole.

Yes: 5 • No: 2

House vote • 5/7/2026

Third reading: Bill

Yes: 45 • No: 19

House vote • 5/7/2026

Third reading: Amd (l.025)

Yes: 44 • No: 20

House vote • 5/7/2026

Third reading: Amd (l.023)

Yes: 46 • No: 18

House vote • 5/7/2026

Third reading: Perm

Yes: 51 • No: 13

House vote • 5/7/2026

Third reading: Perm

Yes: 49 • No: 15

House vote • 5/6/2026

Committee of the whole: Amd (h.002)

Yes: 24 • No: 41

House vote • 5/6/2026

Committee of the whole: Amd (h.001)

Yes: 21 • No: 42

House vote • 5/5/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1425, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole.

Yes: 10 • No: 1

House vote • 5/4/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1425 to the Committee on Appropriations.

Yes: 6 • No: 5

House vote • 4/29/2026

Refer House Bill 26-1425 to the Committee on Finance.

Yes: 8 • No: 5

Actions Timeline

  1. Governor Signed

    6/2/2026House

  2. Signed by the Speaker of the House

    5/29/2026House

  3. Signed by the President of the Senate

    5/29/2026Senate

  4. Sent to the Governor

    5/29/2026House

  5. Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

    5/13/2026Senate

  6. Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments

    5/12/2026Senate

  7. Senate Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Unamended to Appropriations

    5/11/2026Senate

  8. Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to Senate Committee of the Whole

    5/11/2026Senate

  9. Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Health & Human Services

    5/8/2026Senate

  10. House Third Reading Passed with Amendments - Floor

    5/7/2026House

  11. House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor

    5/6/2026House

  12. House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

    5/5/2026House

  13. House Second Reading Special Order - Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

    5/5/2026House

  14. House Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations

    5/4/2026House

  15. House Committee on Health & Human Services Refer Unamended to Finance

    4/29/2026House

  16. Introduced In House - Assigned to Health & Human Services

    4/28/2026House

Bill Text

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