Dafna Michaelson Jenet

2016 Michaelson Jenet was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent JoAnn Windholz by a margin of 8 points. In her first campaign for public office, Michaelson Jenet was one of 161 candidates across the country endorsed by President Obama. Her 2016 campaign was targeted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee as one of 52 “essential races” around the country. Her 2018 campaign was designated as a "race to watch" by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee as one of the critical 2018 midterm races in battleground states. == Colorado State Legislature ==

2017 legislative session In the 2017 legislative session, Michaelson Jenet worked on issues of veterans affairs, mental health, and housing. 2018 legislative session In the 2018 Legislative Session, Michaelson Jenet sponsored HB18-1245 which eliminated the practice of conversion therapy on minors. Continuing her work in the mental health space she created the Office of the Behavioral Healthcare Ombudsman One of her other major accomplishments was HB18-1177 which lowered the age of consent for minors from 15 to 12 for Behavioral Healthcare services. 2019 legislative session In the 2019 Legislative Session, Michaelson Jenet passed the "Expand Child Nutrition School Lunch Protection Act". Begun in the Senate in 2018, this Act expanded the benefits of free lunch to students who qualified for reduced price lunch from 6th through 12th grade. Following a horrific case of abuse that the 17th Judicial District DA Dave Young called out to the Legislature for support in tightening the laws she passed HB19-1155 which included updates to the definition of "sexual contact". 2019 interim session Following another school shooting in Colorado a renewed School Safety Committee was formed and Michaelson Jenet served as Chair. This bipartisan committee moved forward 5 pieces of legislation for the 2020 Legislative Session to consider. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Michaelson Jenet tested positive for COVID-19. Michaelson Jenet was notified by her doctor that he mis-read the results of the test and she instead tested positive for Coronavirus NL63. 2020 legislative session During the 2020 session Rep. Michaelson Jenet continued her focus on Behavioral health and Education. She passed bill HB20-1411: COVID-19 Funds Allocation for Behavioral Health, which set aside funding for receiving mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also passed HB20-1336: Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Public Schools which put an emphasis on remembering history especially as the survivors with firsthand accounts pass on. 2021 legislative session In the 2021 legislative session, Michaelson Jenet continued to advocate for mental health legislation. Notably, she sponsored the “Insurance Coverage Mental Health Wellness Exam Act,” which allowed all Coloradans to access an annual mental health examination covered by insurance. Additionally, Michaelson Jenet also supported “Rapid Mental Health Response For Colorado Youth,” which provided three free therapy sessions to youth in Colorado which led to the creation of the “I Matter” program. ==References==