Special Session Wrap Up:
The session culminated with the approval of a $280 million bipartisan stimulus package to address numerous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of ten bills were ultimately passed by the legislature.
HB20B-1002 Emergency Relief Programs for the Child Care Sector
HB20B-1002 invests $45 million of state general fund into two new grant programs. The first grant program will provide $35 million in sustainability funding to all existing, licensed child care providers and neighborhood youth organizations. The actual amount that each provider will receive will depend, in part, on the number of kids the facility is licensed to serve. Roughly 2,600 child care providers are expected to receive the funding.
The second grant program will consist of roughly $10 million and will support existing child care providers who wish to expand their capacity to serve their community or help new child care centers startup. These funds can help pay capital and operating costs and hire and pay staff and part-time help.
HB20B-1003 Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program
HB20B-1003 provides $3 million for food pantries and food banks to purchase food for Coloradans in need. This bill expands on the work of HB20-1422 which granted these entities $500,000 of CARES ACT funding. That funding ultimately went to 130 vendors in 62 counties.
Under HB20B-1003, food purchased by a grant recipient must - to the extent possible - be designated as a Colorado agricultural product. This requirement is intended to help support rural economies. The bill also specifies that food pantries and food banks that receive funding can use a portion of their funding to cover transportation, food delivery, staff expansion, refrigeration, and storage costs.
SB 20B-003 Money for Energy Utility Bill Payment Assistance
This bill will help individuals who are unable to pay their energy utility bills because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill transfers $5 million from the State General Fund to the Energy Outreach Colorado Low-income Energy Assistance Fund, which is administered by the Colorado Energy Office (CEO). The transfer to CEO is to take place immediately upon the governor’s signature. CEO is required to distribute the money to the non-profit organization within three days of receiving the money.
SB20B-002, Housing & Direct COVID-19 Emergency Assistance
SB20B-002 transfers a total of $60 million from the General Fund to cash funds supporting housing assistance programs. The bill creates and appropriates $5 million General Fund (GF) to the Emergency Direct Assistance Grant Program in the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). This program will be administered by the Division of Housing and will provide grants to individuals who experience financial need due to the COVID-19 pandemic and who may not be eligible for other types of assistance (such as unemployment insurance, food assistance, and/or federal stimulus payments). The bill orders the Division of Housing to work with local nonprofit organizations to award grants.
SB20B-001 Relief for Small & Minority Owned Businesses and Arts Organizations
SB 1 creates the Small Business Relief Program within the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and makes $37 million available to certain restaurants, bars, gyms, and movie theatres that are operating under severe capacity restrictions due to a local or state public health order and have suffered at least a 20% reduction in profits during the pandemic.
The relief payments to restaurants, bars, gyms, and movie theatres will be done on a tiered system, based on that business’ receipts in 2019. Based on their receipts, businesses will be eligible for payments between $3,500 and $7,000.
The bill also makes $4 million available to minority-owned businesses through a program in the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and $7.5 million available to eligible arts, culture, and entertainment organizations through the Creative Industries Division in OEDIT. Finally, the legislation waives a host of state licensing fees to provide additional relief for various businesses.
HB20B-1001 Grants to Improve Internet Access in P-12 Education
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many schools to move to online learning this year and this has put many students who lack high-speed Internet access to the home at a serious learning disadvantage. HB 1001 creates the Connecting Colorado Students Grant Program within the Colorado Department of Education to attempt to address this lack of broadband access across the state. The program will provide $20 million in grant funds to school districts throughout Colorado to enhance broadband access for students and teachers through wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) antennas, mobile hotspots, satellite connections, and other technologies.
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