Colorado Senate Democrats Unveil First Five Bills of 2023 Legislative Session
Legislation will make housing and health care in Colorado more affordable, improve support for students, families, and communities
DENVER, CO – The Colorado Senate Democrats unveiled their First Five bills of the 74th General Assembly today.
The bills - three of which have bipartisan support from Republican cosponsors - aim to make Colorado more affordable, bolster the state’s workforce, and improve support for students, families, and communities.
“Colorado has made a lot of progress over the past few years, but despite the progress we’ve made, too many of our neighbors continue to struggle,” Fenberg said. “That’s why this session Democrats are focused on passing legislation that will provide real, substantive solutions to the challenges our communities are facing. These bills will help make housing and health care in Colorado more affordable, provide critical resources for our students and our schools, and mitigate and prevent catastrophic wildfires while helping ensure every Colorado family has what they need to thrive.”
SB23-001: Authorization of Public-Private Collaboration Units for Projects that Provide Housing
Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada
Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, and Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs
Every Colorado family deserves a safe place they can afford to call home. This bill will help make that a reality by providing $13 million in funding to the Public-Private Partnership Office to aid in the development of affordable workforce housing on state-owned land so that Colorado workers like teachers, nurses, and everyone in between, can find housing that fits their budget.
SB23-002: Federal Authorization for Medicaid Reimbursement for Services Provided by a Community Health Worker
Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Federal Heights, and Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa
Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Rep. Mary Bradfield, R-Colorado Springs
Community health care workers are an important part of our state’s health care system and they provide critical services for many Coloradans. This legislation authorizes the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to seek federal authorization from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to provide Medicaid reimbursement for community health worker services, which will make this urgently-needed care both easier to access and more affordable for the Coloradans who depend on it.
SB23-003: Creating the Colorado Adult High School Program
Sen. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, and Sen. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs
Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora
Right now, Colorado has two job openings for every available worker, which hurts our economy and makes it harder for families to thrive. This bill will work to give more Coloradans the training and education needed to fill those openings by creating the Colorado Adult High School Program in partnership with a non-profit. The program will create a pathway for Coloradans without a high school diploma who are 21 or older to attend high school and earn a diploma at no cost. Students may also earn industry-recognized certificates or college credits at no cost. Transportation support and free, onsite child care will also be provided.
SB23-004: Employment of School Mental Health Professionals
Sen. Janice Marchman, D-Loveland, and Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont
Rep. Dafna Michaelson-Jenet, D-Aurora
Colorado schools are facing a severe shortage of mental health professionals, and our students’ mental health and wellbeing is suffering as a result. Under current law, to work in a school, a mental health professional must be licensed by the Colorado Department of Education in addition to their professional license. This bill authorizes school districts, the Colorado Charter School Institute, and the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, to hire and employ certain mental health professionals who are not licensed by the Department of Education but hold a Colorado license for their profession.
SB23-005: Forestry and Wildfire Mitigation Workforce
Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, and Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County
Cosponsored by Rep. Tammy Story, D-Conifer, Rep. Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs, and House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington
Democrats are committed to reducing the frequency of devastating wildfires and protecting Colorado’s people, homes, and property. This legislation will bolster Colorado’s forestry workforce by directing the Colorado State Forest Service to develop educational materials on career opportunities in the industry and creating a workforce development program in the State Forest Service. The bill will also bolster the state’s wildfire mitigation capacity development fund and expand existing forestry programs while creating a new forestry program within the community college system at Colorado Mountain College. Finally, the bill will work to increase the number of qualified educators at colleges that deliver a wildfire prevention and mitigation program or course.
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