Colorado Comeback Bills Supporting Creative Industries & Local Businesses SIGNED!
DENVER, CO – Today, the Governor signed three Colorado Comeback bills into law. These new laws focus on revitalizing our economy by boldly investing in local events, tourism, and small businesses.
HB21-1263, sponsored by Senators Robert Rodriguez and Dennis Hisey, creates a program to provide organizations and businesses up to 10% rebates for holding an event in the state. The program also offers rebates of up to 25% for hard costs of complying with COVID-19 associated public health orders for the event. This is aimed at attracting people back to Colorado for the weddings, vacations, conferences, and festivals that have halted since COVID.
“Colorado’s events and tourism industry is critical to the health of our economy, but the pandemic has severely impacted the sector – costing not only jobs and businesses but local vibrancy as well,” said Senator Robert Rodriguez (D-Denver). “This new law will not only bring visitors back to our state but power the Colorado Comeback by making our beautiful home a premier tourist destination once again.”
HB21-1285, sponsored by Senators Sonya Jaquez Lewis & Janet Buckner, provides $10 million to support artists and cultural organizations in Colorado that have been impacted by COVID-19. This includes funding for the performance-based film incentive, cultural facilities, and the CO Creative Industries grant program set up during the 2020 special session.
“Colorado is known for its vibrant arts and music scene, attracting tourists from all over the world. The art community was the first to stop during COVID and has been the last to recover. For every $1 we spend on the arts, we receive back $30 in economic stimulus,” said Senator Jaquez Lewis (D-Boulder County). "Every County in the state has an arts group or center that can now apply for this new funding, to fully recover and build back better."
“This pandemic has taken a huge toll on our creative industries – forcing them to navigate both an economic recession and shifting capacity restrictions for more than a year,” said Senator Buckner (D-Aurora). “Not only will this bill provide relief for the industry as a whole, but it will target direct assistance to cultural facilities that focus on programming for historically marginalized and under-resourced communities to ensure our recovery is equitable.”
SB21-241, sponsored by Senators Fields and Bridges, creates the Small Business Accelerated Growth Program to provide small businesses with tools and resources that foster the growth of existing companies that have moved from the start-up stage into the second-stage or are on the verge of rapid growth. This program will ensure that these businesses, post-pandemic, will be able to build back stronger.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on small businesses, particularly those owned by women and racial minorities,” said Senator Fields (D-Aurora). “We need to reinvest in these critical community pillars by making resources available that will foster their growth and set them up for success. Because the essence of economic ingenuity and creativity resides in the entrepreneurial minds of our small business owners, who dare to think out of the box and pave their own path.”
“Innovative, growth-oriented small businesses are critical to our Colorado comeback,” said Senator Bridges (D-Greenwood Village). “Through their perseverance and innovation, small businesses are the economic engine of our economy. This bill makes sure they have the expertise and support they need to thrive here in Colorado, creating jobs and opportunities throughout our state.”