DENVER – Colorado legislative leaders on Monday said rural Colorado will be a focus in the upcoming legislative session.
In outlining their agendas for the year, leaders from both the House and Senate appeared ready to make areas of the state outside the Front Range a priority.
The Legislature will convene on Jan. 13.
“The people in rural Colorado – whether it be west, north, east or south – are oftentimes left out,” Senate Minority Leader Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, told reporters, adding that only about 30 percent of the Legislature represents rural Colorado.
One proposal would create a state fund for rural communities in the event of a crisis, such as the August Gold King Mine spill, or if a major industry takes a hit, such as if a coal mine closes or a hospital shutters.
“To provide services, dollars, to these areas, to help these communities restore themselves from some major event,” Guzman explained of the legislation. “It could be any kind of crisis, from losing jobs to losing a business or to having a river messed up by somebody.”
The river Guzman referenced is the Animas River, which saw an estimated 3 million gallons of old mining sludge turn it mustard yellow after an Environmental Protection Agency-contracted team erred during reclamation work at Gold King Mine, causing the spill.
The river was shut down for eight days after the incident, during a critical summer period, after it tested for initial spikes in heavy metals, including lead and copper. Businesses and individuals reported significant financial loss.
Guzman said the legislation is not focused solely on the Gold King spill, pointing to thousands of inactive leaking mines across the state.
“This is something that is likely going to happen again,” she said. “Whether the EPA causes it or not, it’s likely to happen. There are leaks happening all the time.”
It’s unclear just how much money would be available to rural communities. Guzman said it would be less than $5 million, or as low as $2 million. Money would not be made available to individuals, but instead to local governments that request funding on behalf of their communities.
Victims of the spill reported delays in receiving damage payments from the EPA. Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, is also planning legislation for the upcoming session that hopes to pressure the EPA into settling those claims quickly.
Lawmakers also underscored working on affordable housing, pointing out that the crisis does not just affect urban areas of the state, but mountain communities such as Durango as well, which have seen skyrocketing market prices.
Durango city officials are currently examining ways to encourage housing development, including protecting developers from defect lawsuits. The issue was debated at the Legislature last year, but it failed to advance. Lawmakers are expected to take it up again this year.
Short of enacting construction-defect reform, lawmakers are proposing a measure that would allow first-time homebuyers to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for down payments and closing costs.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that local governments are taking that up,” said House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder.
“But as far as I’m concerned, that does very little to help the average Coloradan out with affordable housing and the high cost of housing.”
