Colorado Bill Updates Behavioral Health License Terminology

Detected March 10th, 2026

Summary

Colorado House Bill HB26-1220 proposes to update terminology within behavioral health licenses. The bill aims to change references from "acute treatment unit" to "behavioral health entity" to align with existing licensing structures established in previous legislative sessions.

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What changed

Colorado House Bill HB26-1220, currently under consideration, seeks to amend existing statutes concerning behavioral health licenses. The primary change involves updating terminology from "acute treatment unit" to "behavioral health entity" to reflect consolidations and transfers of licensing authority that occurred in 2019 (HB 19-1237) and 2022 (HB 22-1278). This revision ensures consistency between current legal references and the established licensing framework for behavioral health facilities.

This legislative change is primarily a technical correction to align statutory language with current operational licenses. For healthcare providers operating behavioral health facilities in Colorado, this means ensuring internal documentation and communications reflect the updated terminology. As the bill is still under consideration and has no immediate effective date or compliance deadline specified, regulated entities should monitor its progress through the legislative process.

What to do next

Monitor the progress of Colorado HB26-1220 through the legislative process.

Source document (simplified)

HB26-1220

Update Behavioral Health License Terminology

| Type | Bill |
| --- | --- |
| Session | 2026 Regular Session |
| Subjects | Health Care & Health Insurance |
Concerning updating terminology from "acute treatment unit" to "behavioral health entity" to conform with existing behavioral health licenses.

Recent Bill (PDF) Recent Fiscal Note (PDF) Bill Summary:

Statutory Revision Committee. In House Bill 19-1237, multiple behavioral health facility licenses were condensed into one license type for facilities referred to as 'behavioral health entities'. In House Bill 22-1278, the licensing authority for behavioral health entities was transferred from the department of public health and environment to the behavioral health administration in the department of human services. Current law includes an incorrect reference to an 'acute treatment unit', which license type was condensed into the license for behavioral health entities in 2019. The bill updates the terminology from 'acute treatment unit' to 'behavioral health entity' to conform with existing license types. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)