COLORADO DEMOCRATS’ transformative plan to move our state forward
In 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help states recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including over $26 billion in federal pandemic relief to help Colorado build back stronger. These funds were dispersed across the state through various programs and local governments; and the legislature received over $3.8 billion to direct to areas of greatest need. Over the summer, task forces made up of lawmakers, community leaders, and others came together to determine how best to invest these funds to save Coloradans money on housing, transform our behavioral health system, deliver economic relief, and uplift our students and bolster our workforce. Now, we’re ready to invest these funds and move Colorado forward. The following is a list of bills we passed this year that will help us make transformative changes to build a stronger, healthier and more resilient Colorado for all!
saving people money on housing
Transformational Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund Program | SB22-159
Jeff Bridges & Zenzinger / Ortiz & Will
To solve Colorado’s crisis in affordable housing, we must encourage developers and the construction industry to expand our inventory. This bill creates the Transformational Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund Program in DOH to provide flexible, low-interest, and below-market rate loan funding to assist counties, municipalities, nonprofits, housing authorities, councils of government, and other eligible recipients in completing eligible loan projects. Eligible projects include developing & integrating infrastructure, providing gap financing for housing development projects, maintaining existing affordable housing, and financing energy improvements in affordable housing, and projects are prioritized based on criteria aiming to maximize funds and proportionately respond to the unique housing needs across the state. This program is funded by a $150 million transfer from the Affordable Housing and Home Ownership Cash Fund.
Nonprofit and Local Government Grants and Land Banking | HB22-1304
Gonzales & Coleman / Roberts & Bradfield
As Colorado’s population continues to grow, we have to make sure communities have the land and resources required to develop affordable housing now and in the future. This bill creates the Transformational Affordable Housing Grant Program in DOH to provide grants to local governments and nonprofits. Eligible uses of the funds include developing & integrating infrastructure, providing gap financing for housing development projects, increasing new affordable for-sale housing stock, and maintaining existing affordable housing, and projects are prioritized based on criteria aiming to maximize funds and proportionately respond to the unique housing needs across the state. This program is funded with a $138 million transfer from the Affordable Housing and Home Ownership Cash Fund. The bill also creates the Infrastructure & Strong Communities Grant Program in DLG which will award infrastructure grants to local governments designed to incentivize them to develop affordable housing within sustainable development patterns, improving the viability of infill development opportunities. This program is funded by a $40 million transfer from the general fund.
Innovative Housing Incentive Program | HB22-1282
Bridges & Woodward / Mullica & Lynch
Too many Coloradans are getting priced out of the neighborhoods where they work and live. This bill will create good-paying jobs while quickly increasing our housing stock with quality, affordable homes that will help drive down housing costs and get roofs over heads as quickly as possible by creating the Innovative Housing Incentive Program in the Office of Economic Development & International Trade to support innovative housing businesses through funding from grants and loans. Innovative housing businesses include manufacturers of prefabricated panelized construction, 3-D printed housing, kit homes, tiny homes, and manufacturers of other manufactured homes, as originally defined in HB21-1019. Eligible recipients may use grants for operating expensive and per-unit subsidies based on a number of different factors, and may use loans for establishing or expanding factories in the state. This program is funded with $40 million from the Affordable Housing and Home Ownership Cash Fund.
Preservation of Affordable Mobile Home Parks | SB22-160
Gonzales & Hinrichsen / Boesenecker & Lindsay
Mobile home parks are Colorado’s closest thing to ‘naturally-occurring’ affordable housing but mobile home park residents are feeling the pressure of skyrocketing housing costs. This bill creates three new programs in DOH to help mobile home residents stay in their homes. The Mobile Home Park Resident Empowerment Loan Program is created to provide both acquisitions and capital improvement financing to eligible homeowners in order to allow them to purchase their mobile home park. A technical assistance grant program is established to provide grants to one or more nonprofit organizations to provide technical and other assistance to eligible homeowners seeking to organize and purchase their mobile home park. A long-term affordability grant program is established to provide grants to eligible homeowners in order to support and maintain the long-term affordability of a resident owned mobile home park. All three programs are funded with a $35 million transfer from the Affordable Housing and Home Ownership Cash Fund.
Middle Income Access Program EXPANSION | SB22-146
Zenzinger & Hisey / Snyder & Catlin
Middle income families whose modest resources squeeze them between skyrocketing housing costs and ineligibility for housing assistance need help. This bill transfers $25 million to the Department of Local Affairs for further usage by the Colorado Housing & Finance Authority’s (CHFA) Middle Income Access Program (MIAP), which provides funding to developers seeking to build rental housing affordable to Coloradans earning 80% of the area median income and above. This portion of the population is sometimes referred to as the “missing middle,” with incomes too high for housing credit units but often overburdened by market rents. Overall, this program fills a gap in the marketplace, as existing state and federal resources primarily support the development of housing for those earning 60% AMI and below.
transforming our behavioral health system
Increase Residential Behavioral Health Beds | HB22-1303
Winter & Smallwood / Amabile & Sandridge
Currently, Colorado does not have enough residential treatment beds to treat individuals with serious mental health needs or substance use disorders, including individuals with co-occuring conditions or in need of civil commitment. The bill invests $65 million to expand inpatient and residential treatment options, including the addition of 16 beds at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan and 125 residential treatment beds across the state. These beds will be available for adults with urgent behavioral health needs that require long-term services and supports, and will flexibly serve all populations, including individuals involved in the criminal justice system and those awaiting competency restoration services.
Health-care Practice Transformation | HB22-1302
Jaquez Lewis & Priola / Kennedy & Will
Navigating Colorado’s behavioral health system can be complex and difficult, leaving far too many folks with limited or no options for help. This bill invests $35 million to improve behavioral health outcomes by better integrating physical and behavioral health care. The bill will provide grants to primary care practices to integrate behavioral health care into their clinical models, helping Coloradans access whole person care and early behavioral health interventions before a crisis. The funding could be used to better streamline and co-locate behavioral and physical health care services in outpatient, pediatric and primary care settings. The bill also requires the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy & Financing and the Behavioral Health Administration to develop universal contracting provision for behavioral health services to streamline and bring consistency to the state’s behavioral health system.
Colorado Land-based Tribe Behavioral Health Services Grant Program | SB22-148
Donovan & Simpson / McLachlan & Catlin
Every Coloradan deserves mental health support in their communities and this bill will support the Colorado Native Tribes’ efforts to expand critical behavioral health access in their communities. To further Colorado Tribes’ ability to provide culturally responsive behavioral health care in specialized facilities, this bill provides a one-time $5 million grant to Colorado land-based tribes to support building or renovating a tribal behavioral health facility for inpatient services and transitional housing.
Funding for Community Behavioral Health Continuum of Care Gap Grants | HB22-1281
Winter & Rankin / Gonzales-Gutierrez & Ricks
In an effort to ensure Coloradans across the state—including children, youth and families—have access to the behavioral health care they need, this bill invests $75 million in grants for local governments and nonprofit organizations to implement innovative, community-based programs with the goal of meeting regional gaps and transforming behavioral health outcomes across the state. $40 million will go to children, youth, and family services grants, while $35 million will go to community investment grants. The bill also directs $15 million to the Substance Use Workforce Stability Grant program to support direct care staff.
Youth and Family Residential Behavioral Health Care | HB22-1283
Buckner & Priola / Michaelson Jenet & Bradfield
Colorado does not have adequate capacity to serve children and youth with complex behavioral health needs. As a result, too many children are sent out-of-state to access treatment, far away from their families and support network. This bill invests $54 million to support intensive youth and family residential and outpatient care, ensuring that children, youth, and families can access behavioral health treatment and services they need right here in Colorado.
School and Pediatric Behavioral Health Care Integrations | SB22-147
Kolker & Sonnenberg / Young & Pelton
Over the last decade, youth suicide has increased an astonishing 51 percent, as youth behavioral health has reached a crisis level. The bill expands behavioral health investments for Colorado youth by $11 million, investing in three programs: (1) $4.6 million to the Colorado Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation and Access Program (CoPPCAP), which supports providers in identifying and treating mild to moderate behavioral health conditions in children; (2) $5 million to the existing behavioral health care professional matching grant program to help schools hire needed behavioral health providers; and (3) $1.5 million to support new and existing school-based health centers.
School Security and School Behavioral Health Services Funding | HB22-1243
Kolker & Hinrichsen / Exum & Van Winkle
Too many kids don’t know where to turn when they are in a mental health crisis. This bill puts an additional $2 million in federal funds toward the behavioral health care professional matching grant program and $6 million in federal funds to extend the popular I-Matter program beyond its scheduled repeal in June 2022, paving the way to serve youth with free counseling sessions for another two years.
Behavioral Health Care Workforce Development | SB22-181
Bridges & Simpson / Cutter & Van Beber
If we want to achieve our goal of transforming Colorado’s behavioral health system and better meet the needs of patients, then we need a robust workforce to help us do it. This bill directs the Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) to invest $72 million to bolster and stabilize the state’s behavioral health care workforce, which will help more Coloradans access the critical care they need to thrive. The BHA’s workforce plan must include efforts to diversify the behavioral health workforce, expand the peer support professional workforce, reduce the administrative burden on providers, and support the existing workforce. The bill also provides funding to the community college system to build a robust career pathway for the behavioral health field.
Investments in Statewide Care Coordination Infrastructure | SB22-177
Petterson & Rankin / Titone & Bradfield
We need to make sure Coloradans can fully utilize already existing behavioral health services so we can more quickly and efficiently connect Coloradans with the care they need. This bill appropriates $12.2 million to improve Colorado’s statewide care coordination infrastructure to better serve Coloradans seeking behavioral health care. The legislation requires the Behavioral Health Administration to better train new and existing behavioral health care navigators on available behavioral health safety net system services and delivery, and on ways to better connect individuals seeking care with the support they need. The bill also seeks to cut red tape associated with provider enrollment and credentialing for navigators and care coordination providers, so they can spend less time on paperwork and more time helping Coloradans in need.
Health Needs Of Persons In Criminal Justice System | SB22-196
Gonzales & Lee / Bacon & Benavidez
Criminalizing people with behavioral health needs is the most expensive and least effective way to provide mental health care services to the folks who need it most. This bill invests $50.7 million in the Early Intervention, Deflection, and Redirection from the Criminal Justice System Grant Program to help communities prevent people with mental health conditions and substance use disorders from becoming involved with the criminal justice system. It can also be used to redirect individuals with behavioral health needs away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate treatment. The bill includes $6.5 million in investments to support the continuity of care and treatment for individuals in the criminal justice system with opioid use disorders and mental health disorders, as well as $4 million to the Judicial Department to support pretrial diversion programs designed to keep individuals with behavioral health conditions out of jail.
Fentanyl Accountability And Prevention | HB22-1326
Pettersen & Cooke / Garnett & Lynch
We are in the third wave of the opioid epidemic and in the worst overdose crisis in the history of this country. This bill is about saving lives with a comprehensive public health and public safety approach, and complements the work we’re doing to fix Colorado’s broken behavioral health system. The bill increases criminal penalties for individuals distributing, manufacturing, dispensing or selling a substance that contains fentanyl. It also increases criminal penalties for possession of fentanyl, importation of fentanyl, and distribution of fentanyl leading to death. It creates an educational campaign on the dangers of fentanyl, directs funding to an investigative fund for fentanyl-related crimes, and mandates several studies on the impact of the bill. Critically, the bill increases access to treatment by mandating that jails provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for individuals with a substance use disorder (and provides $3 million in funding), and directs $10 million for treatment and withdrawal management programs. Lastly, the bill increases harm reduction efforts by allocating close to $20 million in federal funds for the naloxone bulk purchase fund, $600,000 for fentanyl testing strips, and $6 million in federal funds for the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment harm reduction grant program.
economic relief & recovery
Crime Victims Services | SB22-183
Winter & Gardner / Duran & Weissman
During the pandemic Colorado saw an alarming rise in cases of domestic violence. This bill creates a grant program in the Colorado Department of Public Safety to award grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations that provide services to crime victims, including improving access to services for marginalized communities and victims of color. The bill transfers $35 million of federal funds to the Colorado Crime Victim Services Fund. The bill also creates the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Fund, and transfers $6 million of federal funds to this program. Funds can be used for advocacy and counseling for domestic violence victims, prevention and education campaigns, among other uses.
Economic Mobility Program | SB22-182
Hansen & Coram / Daugherty & Young
Colorado families have been hit hard by rising inflation, and this bill seeks to make the state more affordable. This bill creates the economic mobility program within CDPHE and creates the economic mobility program fund, requiring $4 million from federal pandemic relief funding. The bill aims to specifically help low-income families and those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic by facilitating communication, training, and technical assistance in tax filing with state agency partners, public health agencies and community based organizations focused on economic mobility. This investment will increase awareness and enrollment in economic assistance programs available to low-income individuals and families.
Modifications To Colorado Works Program | HB22-1259
Moreno / Duran & Jodeh
Even though cost of living has steadily increased, the cash assistance provided to Colorado's parents and kids in need has not changed since 1996. This bill makes several changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program known as the Colorado Works program in the Colorado Department of Humans Services (CDHS). The bill will increase program benefits, expand eligibility for specific populations, modify program rules and operations, and require new public outreach, data collection, and reporting.
Groundwater Compact Compliance Fund | SB22-028
Simpson & Sonnenberg / Roberts & Catlin
Access to clean and safe water is endangered every time wildfires threaten our communities and the landscapes that surround us. This bill creates the Groundwater Compact Compliance and Sustainability Fund for groundwater compact compliance and groundwater resource sustainability and conservation purposes. The fund will be administered by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) who will disburse funds based on recommendations from the board of directors of either the Rio Grande Water Conservancy District or the Republican River Water Conservation District, after approval by the State Engineer. The bill appropriates $60 million to the fund from funds received by the state pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Removing Barriers To Educator Preparation | HB22-1220
Zenzinger & Coram / Kipp & McLachlan
It is nearly impossible for student teachers to meet their prep obligations while supporting themselves financially via a second or third job. This bill establishes several programs that will help reduce students’ stress and make the pathway toward a career in education far more appealing. The bill creates two stipend programs. The Student Educator Stipend Program will award stipends to eligible students to reduce the financial barriers to entering the workforce while placed as a student teacher. The Educator Test Stipend Program will award stipends to institutions of higher education to reduce student fees and costs associated with professional competency assessments required for licensure and license endorsements.
The bill also allows access to temporary teaching certification for new teachers prior to them meeting all the certification requirements, expands options for new teachers to meet existing competency requirements, and provides $10 million for a temporary educator loan forgiveness program in FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24.
Small Community-based Nonprofit Grant Program | HB22-1356
Gonzales & Rankin / Herod & Hooton
During the pandemic, Colorado’s nonprofits stepped up to provide additional support to communities hit hardest by the pandemic. This bill provides $35 million in federal pandemic relief funds to nonprofit organizations that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The grants are designed to support small community-based nonprofits that largely serve individuals who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and experienced significant financial pressures. Eligible entities will be able to apply for grants as large as $100,000 to expand program capacity, foster professional development for employees or engage in strategic planning to grow their organization and maximize use of funds.
Rural Provider Stimulus Grant Program | SB22-200
Ginal & Rankin / McCluskie & Soper
Getting folks across our state access to health care is one of Democrats’ top priorities, and is especially important in rural communities where folks often have to travel hours to find the care they need. This bill uses $10 million in federal funds to create a Rural Provider Access and Affordability Stimulus Grant Program to provide grants to rural hospitals aimed at increasing access to, and affordability of, a wide range of health care services. Grants can be used to extend hospital/clinic hours, increase the use of telemedicine, and boost capacity for long-term care, skilled nursing facility recovery days, and behavioral health services.
Children's Mental Health Programs | HB22-1369
Story & Sonnenberg / Sirota & Pelton
Stress and trauma can have negative effects on young Coloradans, but far too often families have nowhere to turn to care for their kids’ mental health. This bill requires the Department of Early Childhood to contract with a Colorado-based nonprofit entity to provide children's mental health programs, and appropriates $2 million in federal funds. This investment will support early intervention and home-based prevention programs to help families provide the critical behavioral health services their children need to care for their mental health.
Health Care Workforce | SB22-226
Jaquez Lewis & Rankin / Mullica
As we move forward together, we must invest in Colorado’s health care workforce and better prepare and equip our health care heroes. This bill expands the health care workforce through financial support for added capacity in health care oriented education programs at existing institutions from federal pandemic relief funds: $26 million to pay for in-demand health education credentials (like CNA and EMT) through the community college system; $20 million for a practice-based health education grant program, to address the bottleneck that is clinical placement sites for health students; $10 million for short-term recruitment of health care workers to deal with current and anticipated fall COVID wave shortages; $3 million for the existing school nurse grant program; and $2 million for wellness and peer support programs aimed at support and retention.
Child Care Support Programs | SB22-213
Fields & Sonnenberg / Valdez & Tipper
As parents return to work following the pandemic, there is an urgent need to increase child care capacity. This bill includes federal pandemic relief funds to increase child care capacity in various ways: $16 million for existing providers to expand their child care center or for a new provider to open one; $15 million into an existing recruitment and retention grant program; $10 million for employers to create or retrofit a child care center for their own workers, with a required 50% match from for-profit employers or 25% for nonprofit or government; $7.5 million for training and health or educational materials for informal caregivers, which make up a large share of caregiving in the state and receive very little support. These will be administered by nonprofits that have experience working with these communities; and $1.0 million for a home visitation grant program to support child development and school readiness.
Critical Services For Low-income Households | HB22-1380
Bridges & Coram / Gonzales-Gutierrez & Pelton
This bill makes a group of complementary investments in food systems and associated public benefits. First, the bill creates an $8 million program to improve access to and lower prices for healthy foods in underserved areas by providing grants to small family farms and food retailers. It further increases food access by making technology upgrades to SNAP administration to improve efficiency and increase the number of people enrolled and receiving federal benefits, helping more food retailers accept SNAP payments, and integrating additional healthy food benefits into the SNAP system.
Wildfire Prevention Watershed Restoration Funding | HB22-1379
Donovan & Simpson / McCormick & Catlin
Colorado is seeing increasingly devastating wildfires that are impacting our access to clean drinking water and the water our agricultural producers need to survive. The bill transfers $20 million of federal funds as follows:
$3 million to the State Forest Service to support wildfire risk mitigation and watershed resilience;
$2 million to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for wildfire mitigation and fuel reduction projects;
$10 million to DNR for watershed restoration and flood mitigation project grants; and
$5 million for assisting local governments in applying for federal “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” money for related uses.
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS & STRENGTHENING OUR WORKFORCE
Postsecondary Student Success Data Systems | HB22-1349
Bridges & Priola / Duran & Will
Industries across the state continue to face workforce shortages as they recover from the pandemic’s effects on the economy. Investing in our workers and connecting them with the education and training they need will have a transformational effect on workforce shortages today and well into the future. This bill, which came from the Student Success and Workforce Revitalization Task Force, requires the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to develop student success measures and an interactive data system for postsecondary student success information. The success measures must include things like completion rates, job placements, and earnings. The data system must have a public interface that allows people to compare different institutions and programs. It is funded with a one-time $3 million investment of federal funds.
Creating Opportunities for Credential Attainment | SB22-192
Zenzinger & Simpson / Esgar & Catlin
Colorado students – adults and youth alike – need efficient and effective pathways to gain the experience and training they need to earn a degree and, ultimately, a good-paying job. Expanding stackable credential pathways will set Colorado’s students up for success and help workers upskill and reskill to land the high-paying jobs they are seeking. This bill implements recommendations from the Student Success and Workforce Revitalization Task Force, to expand non-degree credentials to provide opportunities for workers to upskill in in-demand fields. Specifically, it requires the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE), in consultation with institutions of higher education and the business community, to implement a process that encourages institutions of higher education to identify incremental achievements on the path to degree completion and organize stackable credentials that build upon each other toward careers in high-demand industries. The department must facilitate the creation of these stackable credentials in growing 3 industries identified in the Colorado Talent Report by January 1, 2024, and two more in the following year.
Regional Talent Development Initiative Grant Program | HB22-1350
Bridges & Lundeen / McCluskie & Rich
Investing in Colorado’s workforce will have a transformational effect on workforce shortages today and well into the future. The bill establishes the Regional Talent Development Initiative Grant Program in the Office of Economic Development and International Trade to build and scale successful partnerships between employers and postsecondary institutions to fill good jobs in growing industries. The bill allocates $91 million to the new grant program. The competitive grant program would leverage local, federal and private dollars to better align postsecondary credential programs to today’s jobs. The program will take a regional approach to create partnerships between employers and postsecondary institutions to build new pathways into high-skilled and high-demand industries, especially in industries with staffing shortages.