Fenberg's Bill to Improve Resiliency, Better Prepare Colorado for Future Climate Emergencies Clears Senate
Legislation would establish the Office of Climate Preparedness and create new programs to facilitate recovery and rebuilding efforts following disaster emergencies
DENVER, CO - The Senate today voted to advance Senate President Steve Fenberg’s, D-Boulder, bill to support individuals, businesses, and governments rebuilding after disaster emergencies, and create the Office of Climate Preparedness to better prepare for and respond to future disasters.
SB22-206 would establish two programs to help communities recover and rebuild following disasters. $15 million would go to the Disaster Resilience Rebuilding Program to provide loans and grants to homeowners, businesses, and local governments rebuilding after a disaster emergency. The bill also allocates $20 million to the Disaster Recovery and Resilience Program to provide loans and grants to homeowners, businesses, and local governments to cover costs related to rebuilding more resilient and energy efficient homes and structures.
“Our climate is changing whether we like it or not, and we know we're going to see more frequent and more destructive natural disasters as a result,” said Fenberg. “It’s essential that we act now to prepare for and mitigate future climate-induced disasters, and improve our response to the destruction left in their wake. These new programs, alongside the new Office of Climate Preparedness, will help us better coordinate our response and ensure we’re as prepared as possible when the next disaster strikes.”
The bill also transfers $15 million to the Colorado Firefighting Air Corps Fund to lease wildfire fighting aviation resources and to establish and maintain a statewide dispatch center to ensure rapid response of fire mitigation resources.
Finally, the bill creates the Office of Climate Preparedness in the Governor’s office, tasked with coordinating disaster recovery efforts to better respond to natural disaster emergencies and developing a climate preparedness roadmap to ensure Colorado is better prepared for future climate-induced disasters.
SB22-206 now heads to the House for further consideration. Track the progress of the bill HERE.