The 74th Colorado General Assembly may have started slower than normal, but one thing is clear — this will be a decisive year for Colorado. And Western Colorado Alliance is at the center of it!

Already, this month, over 30 Alliance members and West Slope Youth Vote interns have been traveling to Denver as part of multiple People’s Lobby Trips, championing bills prioritized by our grassroots-led legislative committee. Your support today will help ensure a strong Western Slope presence and amplify your voice in policy creation that supports healthy, just, and self-reliant Western Slope communities.

Our 2022 Western Colorado Alliance legislative priorities are:

SB23-016 | Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures: This sweeping omnibus bill introduces a package of next-generation climate action policies, updating our state’s gas emission reduction goals, adding reporting requirements for large insurance companies, and, in a small and significant provision, the bill creates income tax reduction credits for the purchase of electric lawnmowers.

HB23-1005 | New Energy Improvement Program Changes: If this bill passes, Colorado would offer up-front financing options for building and agricultural property improvements that make properties more climate change, wildfire, and earthquake resilient. (The bill builds upon the original legislation our Alliance passed in 2013.)

HB23-1011 | Right to Repair Agricultural Equipment & SB23-092: Producers’ Use of Agrivoltaics: These bills together give small farmers and ranchers the ability to more easily repair farm equipment and more tools and monetary incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.

HB23-1242 | Water Conservation In Oil And Gas Operations: This bill, if passed, would require the oil and gas industry to report their use of water in their operations. The bill also places additional rules on operators to limit their use of fresh water and encourage recycled water use. In a time of historic drought in the Southwest, this bill is long overdue.

Meanwhile, our West Slope Youth Voice students have selected HB23-1003 | School Mental Health Assessment as a bill they wish to champion. This bill creates an option for middle and high schools to offer student mental health assessments, just as many schools offer dental and vision health assessments. It would create a system for yearly, voluntary mental health assessments for students in sixth grade up to seniors in high school.

Our Grassroots Democracy interns feel strongly that this bill will help to close the gap in access and give students the ability to seek the help they need when they need it. They are working hard to pass this bill and plan to return to Denver in April for their second lobby trip to help turn it into law.

And those are just our top priorities! Get in touch with Jeriel Clark at jeriel@westerncoloradoalliace.org for more information.

Help us end the legislative session strong. Your donation today will support Western Slope values and voices at the Capitol! It will provide critical support to our grassroots movement and retain our respected legislative liaison, who provides an effective counterbalance to the political influence of corporate lobbyists.