(1) (a) On and after July 1, 2012, as a condition of licensure, registration, or certification and renewal in this state, every person applying for a new license, registration, or certification or to renew his or her license, registration, or certification shall pay a fee, for use by the administering entity selected by the director pursuant to this subsection (1), in an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars per application for a new or to renew a license, registration, or certification. The director shall annually review the fee and program usage level and adjust the fee amount based on program usage, but the director shall not adjust the fee to an amount in excess of twenty-five dollars. The division shall forward the fee to the chosen administering entity for use in supporting designated providers selected to provide assistance to licensees, registrants, or certificate holders needing help in dealing with physical, emotional, or psychological conditions that may be detrimental to their ability to practice their mental health profession. (b) By January 31, 2014, the director, in consultation with the boards before making a selection, shall select one or more designated providers to provide the peer health assistance program. For purposes of selecting designated providers, the director shall use a competitive bidding process that encourages participation from interested vendors. To be eligible for designation, a peer health assistance program must: (I) Provide for the education of mental health professionals with respect to the recognition and prevention of physical, emotional, and psychological conditions and provide for intervention when necessary or under circumstances established by the board by rule; (II) Offer assistance to a mental health professional in identifying physical, emotional, or psychological conditions; (III) Evaluate the extent of physical, emotional, or psychological conditions and refer the mental health professional for appropriate treatment, taking into consideration the cost of the treatment, whether the cost is prohibitive for or will pose an undue financial hardship on the mental health professional, and, if so, referring the mental health professional to alternative treatment or to a provider or treatment program that offers discounted fees based on ability to pay; (IV) Monitor the status of a mental health professional who has been referred for treatment; (V) Provide counseling and support for the mental health professional and for the family of any mental health professional referred for treatment; (VI) Agree to receive referrals from the board; (VII) Agree to make its services available to all licensed, registered, or certified mental health professionals; and (VIII) Notify the appropriate board when a mental health professional has successfully completed the peer health assistance program. (c) The director may select an entity to administer the mental health professional peer assistance program. An administering entity must be a nonprofit private foundation that is qualified under section 501 (c)(3) of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended, and that is dedicated to providing support for charitable, benevolent, educational, and scientific purposes that may be related to mental health professions, mental health professional education, mental health research and science, and other mental health charitable purposes. (d) The administering entity shall: (I) Distribute the money collected by the division, less expenses, to the designated provider, as directed by the director; (II) Provide an annual accounting to the division of all amounts collected, expenses incurred, and amounts disbursed; and (III) Post a surety performance bond in an amount specified by the director to secure performance under the requirements of this section. The administering entity may recover the actual administrative costs incurred in performing its duties under this section in an amount not to exceed ten percent of the total amount collected. (e) The division shall collect the required annual payments payable to the administering entity for the benefit of the administering entity and shall transfer all such payments to the administering entity. All required annual payments collected or due for each fiscal year are custodial funds that are not subject to appropriation by the general assembly, and the distribution of payments to the administering entity or expenditure of the payments by the administering entity does not constitute state fiscal year spending for purposes of section 20 of article X of the state constitution. (2) (a) Any mental health professional who is referred by the applicable board to a peer health assistance program shall enter into a stipulation with the board pursuant to section 12-20- 405 (3) before participating in the program. The agreement must contain specific requirements and goals to be met by the participant, including the conditions under which the program will be successfully completed or terminated, and a provision that a failure to comply with the requirements and goals is to be promptly reported to the board and that the failure will result in disciplinary action by the board. Upon notice from the peer health assistance program that a mental health professional has successfully completed the program, the board that regulates the professional shall reinstate the professional's license, registration, or certification. (b) Notwithstanding sections 12-245-225, 12-245-226, and 24-4-104, the applicable board may immediately suspend the license of any mental health professional who is referred to a peer health assistance program by the board and who fails to attend or to complete the program. If the mental health professional objects to the suspension, he or she may submit a written request to the board for a formal hearing on the suspension within ten days after receiving notice of the suspension, and the board shall grant the request. In the hearing, the mental health professional bears the burden of proving that his or her license, registration, or certification should not be suspended. (c) Any mental health professional who self-refers and is accepted into a peer health assistance program shall affirm that, to the best of his or her knowledge, information, and belief, he or she knows of no instance in which he or she has violated this article 245 or the rules of the board, except in those instances affected by the mental health professional's physical, emotional, or psychological conditions. (3) Nothing in this section creates any liability on the director, division, or state of Colorado for their actions in making grants to peer assistance programs, and no civil action may be brought or maintained against the board, director, division, or state for an injury alleged to have been the result of the activities of any state-funded peer assistance program or the result of an act or omission of a mental health professional participating in or referred by a state-funded peer assistance program. However, the state remains liable under the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act", article 10 of title 24, if an injury alleged to have been the result of an act or omission of a mental health professional participating in or referred by a state-funded peer assistance program occurred while the mental health professional was performing duties as an employee of the state. (4) The boards may promulgate rules necessary to implement this section. The boards and the director shall seek and obtain input from representatives of associations representing each type of mental health professional regulated under this article 245 in the development of the peer health assistance program and related rules and shall not select a designated provider until that input is obtained. (5) As used in this section, "mental health professional" means a psychologist, social worker, marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, or addiction counselor regulated under this article 245.
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