Shortly after the November election, with COVID-19 cases surging and no federal relief compromise in sight, Gov. Jared Polis called a special session for the state of Colorado to address the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. Three days is the shortest length of time in which a bill can be introduced and then passed through both chambers. Three days was the length of this special session, in which time the state legislature passed a suite of ten COVID related relief bills.

During a town hall on Tuesday hosted by West Slope legislators Senator Kerry Donovan and Representatives Julie McCluskie, Barbara McLachlan, and Dylan Roberts, Representative McLachlan noted that she was inspired over the three days by the human focus that was woven throughout these bills. Senator Donovan noted that the special session was a bipartisan effort of legislators all rowing in the same direction to address our ongoing crisis.

The bills cover a suite of needs for small businesses, community support providers, and individuals across the state, and there’s not much time to take advantage of the funding made available. For some, it could be the difference between financial success and failure as we move into the New Year.

Our communities might not know what funding is available to them, so please look through the list of bills below and pass these opportunities for support on to your network and local services that might be able to apply for funding.

1. House Bill 1001 secured $20-million in broadband technology grants for schools across the state. Funds need to be distributed by February 1, 2021 through the Department of Education. Districts in need should contact the Department of Education for grant applications.
   
2. House Bill 1002 authorizes $45-million in grants to operators of childcare centers through two separate programs. The first covers expenses for existing operators, and the second will assist businesses that are expanding or just starting up. The state must award grants by February 28.

Rep. McCluskie says we’ve already lost 10% of childcare centers and childcare home providers during this pandemic. This means less space to keep children separated, as well as the loss of small business. This bill will go to 2,600 childcare providers (both childcare centers and in-home centers). The Office of Early Childhood in the Department of Human Services is pushing the childcare dollars out via a formula for all eligible child care providers. Please visit their website at coloradoofficeofearlychildhood.force.com/oec for more information and to apply.

3. House Bill 1003 provides $5-million to food pantries, with the state needing to send out the money by March 31.
   
4. House Bill 1004 allows restaurants, bars and vintners to deduct $70,000 of net sales from their taxes, resulting in a retention of approximately $2,000 per month in sales tax revenue for each retailer, up to a limit of five sites. The bill allows retention for November through February.
   
5. House Bill 1005 gives authority to counties and municipalities to cap fees that third-party food delivery companies charge to restaurants.
   
6. House Bill 1006 adjusts several requirements of insurance premium tax payments, intended to make estimates of taxes owed more accurate.
   
7. Senate Bill 1 provides $37-million in relief to small businesses with revenue of less than $2.5 million; $7.5-million to arts and cultural organizations; and $4-million to minority-owned businesses. Grants for small businesses are capped at $7,000, and counties must disburse payments by February 12. Funding will be dispersed to counties and local municipalities and businesses should reach out to their local governments to inquire how to apply.
   
8. Senate Bill 2 grants $54-million in emergency housing assistance, $1-million in legal eviction aid, and $5-million to individuals who are ineligible for other forms of relief, such as unemployment insurance, food assistance or the one-time $1,200 payment from the federal government.
   
9. Senate Bill 3 gives $5-million to Energy Outreach Colorado, a nonprofit that provides assistance to low-income households in paying energy bills. It has little longer to disperse funding and must spend the money by June 30. Rep. McLachlan says this bill will help folks pay for utility bills so they can stay in their homes during the cold winter season and not be evicted for inability to cover utilities. To take advantage of the program, visit Energy Outreach Colorado.
   
10. Senate Bill 4 transfers $100-million to the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund for the governor to use for the Disaster Emergency Fund. The bill is intended to fill the gap left by the slow reimbursement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs the state has incurred.

The first regular session of the 73rd General Assembly is scheduled to convene on January 13 of 2021. It’s unclear exactly what this session will look like, with the possibility of an immediate recess following the swearing in of newly elected lawmakers, but our West Slope legislators are moving forward under the assumption that January 13 will be “back to business as usual,” but with the nimbleness to adjust to changes. We’ll certainly see more bills responding to the pandemic introduced in the regular session, but what lies ahead of us in the next few months is still unknown.

COVID-19 cases are reaching scary numbers across the West Slope, and even with vaccine hope in sight, we have an isolating winter ahead of us. We wish you good health in the coming months, and hope that next year will bring us back together.