JOINT RELEASE: General Assembly Democrats Applaud Signing of Bills to Improve Climate Resiliency, Wildfire Disaster Response
Legislation creates new programs to facilitate recovery and rebuilding efforts following disaster emergencies, improve insurance claims processes following wildfire disasters, and reduce risk of wildfires
LOUISVILLE, CO – General Assembly Democrats are applauding the signing of three bills into law that will support rebuilding efforts after disaster emergencies, improve insurance claims processes following wildfire disasters, and fund efforts to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.
SB22-206, championed by Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, and Representative Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, establishes two programs to help communities recover and rebuild following disasters.
The new law allocates $15 million to provide loans and grants to homeowners, businesses, and local governments rebuilding after a disaster emergency. The law also allocates $20 million 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, improve our response to the destruction left in their wake, and make sure rebuilding and insurance processes are less burdensome for affected homeowners. 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.”
“Climate change is leading to more destructive and frequent fires that have devastated Colorado communities, destroyed homes, and placed unimaginable financial hardship on so many of our neighbors,” said Amabile. “Coloradans who lost everything have had to confront painstaking claims processes and red tape only to receive limited payouts from their insurance companies. With these new laws, Colorado is taking a major step forward to prepare for the next disaster, rebuild communities and ensure property owners receive what they are owed.”
SB22-206 also sets aside $15 million 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 new law 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.
Governor Polis also signed HB22-1111, sponsored by Representative Amabile, President Fenberg, and Senator Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale, to protect Coloradans with wildfire insurance by ensuring consumers’ claims are paid in a timely manner.
The new legislation requires insurers to pay disaster victims 65 percent of the value of the contents of their home up front without requiring the victim to do a comprehensive inventory of their personal property. Current law only guarantees 30 percent upfront, creating a slow and burdensome process for many people to catalog what they are owed after a deeply traumatizing event. The bill also puts in place several provisions that would streamline the insurance claims process for disaster victims, helping ensure homeowners displaced by wildfires receive a fair and comprehensive payout for lost property after natural disasters that result in total destruction.
Finally, HB22-1379, sponsored by Senators Kerry Donovan, D-Vail, and Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and Representatives Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, and Marc Catlin, R-Montrose, invests $20 million in federal pandemic economic relief funds to prevent wildfires and conserve Colorado’s watersheds through mitigation, watershed restoration and flood mitigation grants.
“After wildfires, our rivers and our drinking water that comes from them have a complicated road to recovery,” said Donovan. "This new law provides the resources needed to recover from wildfire and keep our drinking water safe.”
“These critical investments in Colorado’s watersheds will reduce the risk of wildfire, mitigate the impact of fires on our water supply and protect our water resources,” said McCormick. “Our Colorado way of life and our economy depend on our access to water, but wildfires damage our watersheds and threaten this essential resource. The legislation Governor Polis signed today will help protect and rejuvenate our watersheds and protect our communities.”
The bill includes:
$3 million for projects that will help communities address the urgent need to reduce wildfire risks by supporting implementation of risk mitigation treatments that focus on promoting watershed resilience;
$2 million to continue the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program within the Department of Natural Resources which supports the department's wildfire workforce development partnerships;
$10 million to the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for post-fire restoration needs and advance a watershed and landscape scale approach to building wildfire ready watersheds; and
$5 million to help local governments and other entities apply for federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act money and other federally available money for water projects.