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Action Colorado representative briefs Huerfano County on 2025 legislative session, energy policy and rural priorities
Summary
An Action Colorado representative briefed commissioners on recent state legislative activity, a newly passed nuclear energy bill, broadband work, concerns about just-transition funding for coal-affected communities and rural health care funding uncertainties.
An Action Colorado representative (recorded in the transcript as Lola) briefed the Huerfano County Board of Commissioners on Colorado's 2025 legislative session and its implications for rural counties, energy transition and broadband and health services.
Lola told commissioners the session produced about 657 bills introduced and noted a roughly $1.2 billion state budget shortfall that will continue to affect policy choices and funding availability. She said the legislature adopted a new dedicated income-tax revenue stream for public schools but that other large proposals faced vetoes, and she predicted continued special-session activity once federal funding levels become clearer.
The presentation emphasized energy and transition planning for communities affected by coal-plant retirements. Lola said the Comanche 3 coal plant is scheduled to shut down and that her group's commissioned PIECE report recommended small modular reactors (SMRs) as the first choice and combined-cycle natural gas with carbon capture as a second option if communities need an interim replacement. She said a recently passed "10 40" bill recognizing nuclear energy as clean (referred to in the meeting as "1040"/"10 40") was a significant development and that the governor's energy proposals had removed some language late in the session.
Lola addressed common public concerns about water use and waste from nuclear technologies, describing thorium salt reactors and small modular reactor designs discussed in the presentation as having different water and waste profiles than older large reactors. She characterized the waste stream of some modern small reactors as smaller and easier to manage and noted recycling strategies were part of the discussion. She cautioned that costs, financing, supply chain factors and regulatory complexity remain major barriers to deployment.
Broadband and rural health were other topics Lola covered. She said Action Colorado's Broadband Committee had been a proof-of-concept that could be replicated, and she noted ongoing efforts to keep rural hospitals and safety-net providers solvent amid state funding uncertainty. A local resident asked the group to consider expanding MedRide eligibility to Medicare recipients; Lola said MedRide was on the healthcare committee's to-do list but that hospital triage and closure threats were the more urgent issues.
Lola also discussed the "just transition" funds intended to help communities affected by power-plant retirements, saying eligibility rules and definitions limited access for smaller counties. She said local officials were concerned that some transition funding required that a plant have been open in 2017 to qualify, which could exclude some facilities or communities.
Commissioners asked about water and waste management for nuclear options; during Q&A Lola said certain SMR designs (e.g., thorium salt reactors) do not produce the same steam-release failure modes associated with older reactors and require less cooling water, according to materials she presented. She also invited county leaders to upcoming regional convenings on energy policy and to continued engagement with Action Colorado.
The presentation was largely informational and produced no formal board action; commissioners thanked the presenter and moved on to remaining agenda items.
