CLIMBING OUT OF COVID: Legislative COVID Relief Synopsis

A WESTERN ALLIANCE REPORT

Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action brings people together to build grassroots power through community organizing and leadership development. We believe that right now, today, we have the ability and opportunity to create a future where engaged local voices are leading communities across Western Colorado that are healthy, just and self-reliant. Each year Western Colorado Alliance produces a legislative scorecard, highlighting important bills from the most recent legislative session. By producing a scorecard, we are able to hold our elected officials accountable to their votes, challenge them to tackle issues at the Capitol that have a direct effect on our local communities, as well as thank them for championing issues important to western Colorado. This year was different. This year, the session began poised to tackle vital issues like climate change, sustainability, and affordable access to health care; and ended with one fo- cus — keeping the state afloat while helping people climb out of the crippling health and economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the legislature ended their mid-session adjournment, they came back in a way we haven’t seen them in years, unified and with a clear path forward. As discussions began around the suite of COVID-19 bills and the looming 3.5 billion dollar deficit, another crisis arose as the death of George Floyd sent people to the steps of the Capitol in demand for racial justice and police reform. And again, with a mostly unified body, the state legislature answered the call and passed one of the most sweeping police reform bills in the nation. We want to thank all of our legislators for giving so much of yourselves to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and while there is much work to do, we want to extend a huge appreciation to the many West Slope legislators who voted in support of SB20-217 to enhance law enforcement integrity and accountability. While we know this just the start, it was a good step forward.

With all this in mind, our Alliance’s legislative committee quickly realized in the early months of the pandemic that a legislative scorecard wouldn’t be fair to produce. We saw legislators line up to kill their own good bills on the simple fact that the fiscal note was now something unattainable. We instead asked ourselves, in place of a scorecard, what is best to communicate to our members and communities right now? The answer was clear, we needed to help – What is the suite of COVID-19 relief bills that were passed, and how can our local areas access them? With that, we spent the summer doing the research and are eager to present to you our COVID-19 relief synopsis. *For a full overview of each bill, and how to access assistance, please visit westerncoloradoalliance.org/climbing-out-of-covid.

A special thanks to Veniece Miller, our very first West Slope Youth Vote intern, a current student at CU Boulder, and a recent intern with the National Law Institute on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, for spending a part of your summer to help us put this together. It’s students like you who, in spite of a pandemic, give us all hope for the future.

— Jeriel Clark, Political & Organizing Director

Your Guide to the Bills PAGE 3 PAGE 4 COVID-19 Related Housing Limitations on Extraordinary Assistance Collection Actions

Reimbursement for Funds for Behavioral Health Telehealth Services

Utility Bill Payment-Related Health Insurance Assistance Affordability Enterprise Small Business Recovery Loan Program Premium Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19 Tax Credits Additional Resources To Unemployment Insurance Protect Air Quality

Sick Leave for Employees Gallagher Amendment CLIMBING OUT OF COVID HB20-1410 HB20-1413 COVID-19 Related Small Business Recovery Housing Assistance Loan Program Premium Summary: This bill focuses on helping individuals who cannot pay Tax Credits for housing because of COVID-19. Money received from the federal Summary: To assist the state’s recovery from COVID-19, this government “CARES ACT ‘’ will be transferred to the eviction legal bill creates a small business loan program for Colorado’s small defense fund and the housing development grant fund to provide businesses over the next two years. This bill authorizes the state rental assistance, mortgage assistance, and guidance on other treasurer to enter into contracts to establish a loan program with the housing assistance. Colorado housing and finance authority or a private entity through an open and competitive process. Bill Sponsor(s): Low-interest loans of between $30,000 to $500,000 will be Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez Sen. awarded to small businesses. Rep.Thomas Exum Sen.

Bill Sponsor(s): Rep. Sen. Rachel Zenzinger HB20-1411 Rep. Sen. Funds for Behavioral Health SB20-204 Summary: COVID-19 has drastically reduced access to behavioral health, addiction counseling, and response services. Meanwhile, stressors including job loss, increased hunger, Additional Resources To and domestic violence, have caused an increased need for Protect Air Quality behavioral health services. Summary: As Colorado faces various dire air quality challenges This bill allocates money the state received from the federal that have adverse health and environmental impacts that impose coronavirus relief fund for behavioral health services. Departments additional burdens on Colorado’s economy, this bill aims to set a that receive these funds are instructed to consider the needs of guideline that the polluter pays. underserved populations. This bill creates the Air Quality Enterprise within the CDPHE to deal Bill Sponsor(s): with the collection of fees for air pollution permits. The bill will also Rep. Sen. institute more scientific research, sophisticated modeling, and gain Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp Sen. a better understanding of the health impacts of oil & gas and other air pollution in Colorado.

Bill Sponsor(s): HB20-1412 Sen. Stephen Fenberg Rep. Rep. Dominique Jackson Utility Bill Payment- Related Assistance Summary: This bill provides direct assistance to households unable to pay their utility bills due to the economic hardship caused by SB20-205 COVID-19. The bill will transfer $10 million from the federal govern- Sick Leave for ment “CARES Act” to the Colorado low-income energy assistance fund before December 30, 2020. Employees Summary: This bill requires employers to provide each of their The Colorado low-income energy assistance fund will make a direct employees paid sick leave in an amount of 14 days for reasons re- utility bill payment on behalf of a household to a utility provider. The lated to COVID-19 from July 2020 through December 2020. Also, on utility payments can include gas, electric, gas & electric utility, or January 1, 2021, the act will require all employers with 16 or more alternative energy assistance. employees in Colorado to provide paid sick leave to their employees. This sick leave will be accrued at one hour of sick leave for 30 hours Bill Sponsor(s): worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year, or six eight hour Rep. Chris Kennedy Sen. days. This bill extends an earned benefit for paid sick days to all Rep. Lisa Cutter Sen. Rachel Zenzinger Coloradans by January 2022.

Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Stephen Fenberg Rep. KC Becker Sen. Jeff Bridges Rep. Yadira Caraveo SB20-211 SB20-216 Limitations on Extraordinary Workers’ Compensation for Collection Actions COVID-19 Summary: In the COVID-19 epidemic, economic hardships may be Summary: This bill would have established that essential workers made worse by extraordinary collection actions such as attach- who worked outside the home and caught COVID-19, contracted ment, garnishment, execution, and levy. This bill will attempt to COVID-19 from their workplace. This worker should, thus, be com- reduce bankruptcies, foreclosures, eviction, and repossession for pensated under the “Workers’ Compensation Act of Colorado.” Coloradans. This bill will be in effect through November 1, 2020, As it currently stands, to receive this compensation, essential after which, there will be a decision by the Attorney General’s office workers would be forced into drawn-out litigation regarding the origin whether to extend those protections until February 2021. of their exposure to COVID-19 and are at major risk of denial. By This bill will prohibit a creditor from starting a new extraordinary presuming the origin of their exposure, the bill would have provided collection action. The creditor must send a notice to the debtor workers’ compensation to essential workers who were diagnosed explaining the option to temporarily suspend the collection action. with COVID-19 by a licensed physician or has COVID-19 listed as the cause of death on the worker’s death certificate. Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Rep. Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Julie Gonzales Sen. Robert Rodriguez Rep.

SB20-207 SB20-212 Unemployment Reimbursement for Insurance Summary: This bill increases benefits in unemployment insurance Telehealth Services and extends reasons for unemployment due to COVID-19. Summary: Due to the effects of COVID-19, many patients have been unable to seek out care through in-person settings. This State unemployment insurance (SUI) will increase incrementally bill will be used to protect the health of patients and caregivers from $13,600 in 2021 to $30,600 by 2026 by ensuring telehealth services are available to all Coloradans. • Increases the amount of wages claimants of unemployment This bill prohibits health insurance carriers from requiring certain can earn while collecting unemployment insurance from 25% technologies, the constraint of having a previous patient-provider to 50% of the weekly benefit amount for two years relationship and imposing additional certification as a condition for • Allows funds received under the “CARES Act” to support the reimbursement to the provider. The effect will be the removal of bar- state unemployment insurance trust fund, rather than giving riers for doctors to use telemedicine. employers a solvency surcharge For Medicaid, the bill requires the state department to reimburse • Extends the reasons for a claimant collecting COVID-19 rural health care clinics, the federal Indian health service, and feder- unemployment benefits to consideration of refusing an offer to ally qualified health centers for telemedicine provided to Medicaid return to work for reasons such as an employee having a condi- participants making telehealth available for all. tion that makes them more susceptible to illness or having a Bill Sponsor(s): child home from a closed school. Sen. Faith Winter Rep. Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Jack Tate Rep. Sen. Chris Hansen Rep. Sen. Faith Winter Rep. Tom Sullivan

SB20-215 SCR 20-001 Health Insurance Gallagher Affordability Enterprise Amendment Summary: This bill acknowledges the impact the economic down- Summary: This amendment would turn due to COVID-19 has on individual healthcare coverage and will repeal the Gallagher Amendment which help Coloradans maintain consistent coverage, provide stability to requires residential and non-residential property tax assessment the insurance market, and set premiums at more affordable levels. rates must be a ratio of 45%-55% split. To maintain this ratio, The bill establishes an enterprise to administer health insurance residential property assessment rates that were initially at 21%, affordability fees on certain health insurers beginning in July 2021 have dropped to 7.15%. and will assess hospitals. These assessments and fees will allow While Colorado has seen growth and expansion in its economy, the enterprise to act as insurance for insurance companies. This, in its institutions have not seen proportional growth and investment. turn, allows insurance companies to lower rates for individual health Property tax rates are tied to economic impacts, and because of the coverage plans. The fee is 1.15 percent of premiums collected for astronomical impacts of COVID-19, services whose funding is tied to nonprofit carriers, 2.1 percent for-profit carriers, and based on property tax rates will see a decrease in funding at a time when they premiums collected on health benefits plans in the previous year. need it most.

Bill Sponsor(s): Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Rep. Chris Kennedy Sen. Jack Tate Rep. Sen. Kerry Donovan Rep. Julie McCluskie Sen. Chris Hansen Rep. Matt Soper Who represents you in Denver?

COUNTY SENATOR REP. COUNTY SENATOR REP. Archuleta...... Coram (SD6)...... McLachlan (D59) Mesa...... Scott (SD7)...... Soper (D54) Delta...... Donovan (SD5)...... McCluskie (D61) Mesa...... Scott (SD7)...... Rich (D55) Delta...... Donovan (SD5)...... Soper (D54) Mineral...... Crowder (SD35)...... Valdez (D62) Dolores...... Coram (SD6)...... Catlin (D58) Moffat...... Rankin (SD8)...... Will (D57) Eagle...... Donovan (SD5)...... Roberts (D26) Montezuma...... Coram (SD6)...... Catlin (D58) Garfield...... Rankin (SD8)...... Will (D57) Montrose...... Coram (SD6)...... Catlin (D58) Grand...... Rankin (SD8)...... Becker (D13) Ouray...... Coram (SD6)...... McLachlan (D59) Gunnison...... Donovan (SD5)...... McLachlan (D59) Pitkin...... Donovan (SD5)...... McCluskie (D61) Gunnison...... Donovan (SD5)...... McCluskie (D61) Rio Blanco...... Rankin (SD8)...... Will (D57) Hinsdale...... Donovan (SD5)...... McLachlan (D59) Routt...... Rankin (SD8)...... Roberts (D26) Jackson...... Rankin (SD8)...... Becker (D13) Saguache...... Crowder (SD35)...... Valdez (D62) Lake...... Donovan (SD5)...... McCluskie (D61) San Juan...... Coram (SD6)...... McLachlan (D59) La Plata...... Coram(SD6)...... McLachlan (D59) San Miguel...... Coram (SD6)...... Catlin (D58)

Western Colorado Legislative Districts HOUSE SENATE

For more information on Western Colorado Alliance’s Grassroots Democracy program, contact: Jeriel Clark, Political & Organizing Director PO Box 1931, Grand Junction CO 81502-1931 970-256-7650 • [email protected]