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An action-packed year at the Colorado Capitol
In 2022, Colorado lawmakers were called to fight fires on multiple fronts. From an economy struggling through pandemic recovery to Colorado’s cost-of-living crisis, our legislators stepped up with bold and, in many cases, bipartisan action across dozens of issue areas.
Western Colorado Alliance members were there with them along the way, helping to craft solutions for our families back home here.
Economy and Affordability Bills
HB1006, from Western Slope legislators Rep. Dylan Roberts and Sen. Kerry Donovan, reduces the cost of operating a childcare facility to lessen the childcare shortage.
HB1282 targets Colorado’s housing shortage by investing in $40M of grants for Colorado businesses building prefabricated and nontraditional homes.
HB1287 is a bill of rights for mobile home park tenants, many of whom have faced rapid cost increases.
SB160 creates a revolving loan fund for mobile home park residents who wish to purchase their own park — a growing movement in Colorado.
HB1304 (Rep. Dylan Roberts again) puts over $150M to work with two new grant programs for affordable housing and urban infill housing.
SB086, Homestead Exemption And Consumer Debt Protection, came from Western Colorado Alliance member Don Bell. (See Members who have changed our world, page 2) . This bill raises Colorado’s debt and bankruptcy protections to modern levels, improving the social safety net and allowing individuals to protect more of their wealth in the event of a crisis. This bill will change and save lives and we are tremendously proud of all our members who took action and won its passage. Thank you.
Pollution Bills
Since 2020, lawmakers have already acted on state greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets (80% by 2030) and clean energy. In 2022, they turned to air pollution and recycling issues.
HB1244 requires emitters of certain air toxics to report chemicals and pollution levels released into Colorado air and allows the state to set health-based limits.
HB1345 tackles Perfluoroalkyl And Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals, the common “PFAS” plastics that have shown up at alarming rates in human and animal tissues and waterways. This bill requires sellers of products to indicate PFAS content and bans a list of products.
HB1348 requires the oil and gas industry to report the use of certain pollutants and creates a state website for the public to view these.
HB1355 creates one the nation’s most ambitious recycling programs. It creates a 13 member new board with industry, recycler, and local government stakeholders that will determine fees on the sale of recyclable products to fund integrated statewide recycling services.
Western Colorado Issues
A number of bills tackled issues close to home here.
HB1052, led by Western Slope Rep. Barbara McLachlan, puts crisis services helpline information onto every school-issued student ID.
HB1394, led by Rep. Dylan Roberts and Sen. Kerry Donovan, allocates an additional $15 million to help coal mining communities transition their economies away from coal.
HB1301, from Rep. Dylan Roberts and Rep. Matt Soper, reclassifies large greenhouses in a more favorable tax category, encouraging greenhouse agriculture that is often more energy- and water-efficient.
HB1327, from Rep. McLachlan and Sen. Don Coram, funds a study into the troubled history of federal Indian boarding schools in Western Colorado and supports the exhumation of children buried at schools in collaboration with Colorado native governments.
SB209, from Rep. Roberts and Sen. Donovan, creates a grant and loan program for small livestock producers.
Do Regular People Matter in Legislation?
The lengthy list of bills above is a testament to what a healthy, productive legislature can achieve. Critically, many of the ideas above came from Colorado residents asking legislators for solutions to practical, everyday problems. Many bills featured sponsoring legislators working across party lines. In some cases, big portions of bill content was written by everyday people themselves — including some of our Alliance members!
Joel Dyar joined our Alliance as organizer for clean and renewable energy in 2019. As a 15-year veteran of community organizing in Colorado and six countries, Joel has worked to help social movements and everyday residents discover their power and make their voices heard on a broad spectrum of sustainability, social, and legislative issues. Joel brings a Masters of Community Development and graduate studies in renewable energy and green business to his work on behalf of our energy future.