Committee advances bill to speed coal-transition grants, shortens application timeline

Representative Mike Taggart, sponsor: This bill creates a faster process for coal-transition grant applications and gives preference for severance-tax funds to affected communities.

The Business Affairs & Labor Committee advanced SB 37 on a voice vote after sponsors and local officials urged quicker, locally driven assistance for communities facing coal-plant and mine closures. The measure shortens review timelines for grant applications, removes a matching-funds requirement for coal-transition awards, and directs the executive director to give a three‑year preference to coal-transition communities when allocating a portion of local severance-tax distributions beginning in 2026.

The bill’s sponsors said the measure targets both power-plant and mining transitions. Representative Mike Taggart told the committee the Comanche plant will close in 2025 and other plants and mines in northwest Colorado and the Craig area are scheduled to close between 2026 and 2028, creating an urgent need for responsive funding. Representative Jennifer Morrow, a co‑prime sponsor, said the bill will direct funds “to the places that it’s needed,” especially for workers and local services.

Supporters at the hearing described specific procedural changes. The bill requires the department to notify applicants within 15 days if an application needs clarification and allows applicants 15 days to cure deficiencies; the department then has 90 days to make a final decision, and denials must include a public explanation and corrective recommendations. Witnesses representing northwest Colorado governments, regional economic councils and unions said the timeline and preference for severance tax dollars will let local leaders pursue capacity‑building projects and one‑time investments tied to the region’s settlement dollars.

County officials and local government witnesses emphasized local control and prior planning. Tim Redmond, chair of the Northwest Colorado Development Council and Routt County commissioner, said DOLA’s regional staff have helped communities focus on realistic projects and that a multi‑year preference would provide a reliable runway for economic development work. Clear Creek County Commissioner Jody Hartman Ball described a long decline in taxable value after local mine production fell and urged consistent state support.

The committee adopted three floor amendments from sponsors that: extend a study deadline for advanced energy procurement (L13); change a financing index from the federal funds rate to an AA‑rated 10‑year municipal bond rate averaged over six months (L15); and allow municipalities to move certain transition projects forward without a local election to accelerate implementation (L16). After amendments, a motion was made to send the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the committee reported the bill out with 12 yes votes and one member excused.

The bill remains subject to further review and potential changes in the Committee of the Whole. Proponents said the measure is intended to prioritize local needs, reduce application delays, and align severance‑tax preference temporarily with communities that will be affected by plant and mine closures.