Disaster Preparedness And Recovery Resources
credit union, community development financial institution (CDFI), or other entity to administer the disaster resilience rebuilding program. If the division contracts with an entity other than a governmental entity or CDFI, The division is required to engage in an open and competitive process to select the entity.
The division or an administrator is required to establish policies for administering the disaster resilience rebuilding program, including application requirements, eligibility requirements for applicants, maximum assistance levels, loan terms, and any specific criteria for the allowable uses of the loans and grants. Loans and grants may be used to:
- Subsidize costs to repair or rebuild a homeowner's primary residence that are insufficiently covered by the homeowner's insurance or by federal assistance programs, including costs to rebuild to advanced fire resistance standards and to replant climate ready trees and vegetation;
- Repair or reconstruct housing stock in areas that are experiencing a shortage of available housing by housing authorities and nonprofit organizations working to repair or reconstruct housing stock, or by owners of rental housing who agree to requirements to provide affordable rent or temporary rental assistance to displaced renters ;
- Rebuild neighborhoods planned to resist the impacts of natural disasters;
- Provide operating capital to a business experiencing a loss or interruption of business or to pay to repair or replace damaged business property and inventory; or
- Reimburse governmental entities for costs associated with a declared disaster that are not covered by available federal assistance, including
costs associated with disaster management, fee waivers for building permits,infrastructure repairs and replacement of lost revenue.
The bill creates the disaster resilience rebuilding program fund. The state treasurer is required to transfer $15 million to the fund after the effective date of the bill. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the division for the rebuilding program.
consult with the Colorado resiliency office and collaborate with the department of local affairs in creating the sustainable rebuilding program. The sustainable rebuilding program's purpose is to provide loans and grants to homeowners, owners of residential rental property, and businesses that are rebuilding after a wildfire or other natural disaster to cover costs associated with building high performing, energy efficient, and resilient homes and structures. The office may contract with a governmental entity, Colorado-based nonprofit green bank with history and expertise in providing loans and grants for energy efficiency projects and services, business nonprofit, bank, credit union, or community development financial institution to administer the sustainable rebuilding program. If the office contracts with an entity other than a governmental entity, The office is required to engage in an open and competitive process to select the entity.
The Colorado energy office or an administrator is required to establish policies for administering the sustainable rebuilding program, including application requirements, eligibility requirements for homeowners and businesses, maximum assistance levels, loan terms, and any specific criteria for the allowable uses of the loans and grants.
The loans and grants may be used to:
- Install high-efficiency heat pumps for heating space or water;
- Achieve advanced energy certifications, including from Energy Star, the Passive House Institute U.S., the United States department of energy zero energy ready homes, or other similar programs;
- Achieve net zero energy or net zero carbon buildings with the addition of renewable energy generation;
- Assist with the costs of installing battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations;
- Cover the incremental costs of building to the most recent energy standard adopted by a local jurisdiction compared to the earlier version of the jurisdiction's energy code; and
- Support other similar uses identified by the office.
The bill creates the sustainable rebuilding program fund. The state treasurer is required to transfer $20 million to the fund after the effective date of the bill. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the resiliency program.
The office of climate preparedness may establish interagency and intergovernmental task forces and community advisory groups to inform and support the work of the office. The office may promote community engagement and information sharing and further efforts to implement the recommendations of the roadmap.
The office of climate preparedness is required to coordinate the implementation of the roadmap and may establish criteria for evaluating existing programs in all other state agencies to ensure implementation of the roadmap and its governing principles.
No later than December 1, 2023, the office of climate preparedness is required to prepare and publish and, every 3 years thereafter, update the roadmap. The roadmap must integrate and include information from all existing state plans that address climate mitigation, adaptation, resiliency, and recovery. The roadmap must build upon this previous body of work, seek to align existing plans, and identify any gaps in policy, planning, or resources. The roadmap must identify strategies for how the state will grow in population and continue to develop in a manner that meets certain goals specified in the bill.
(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)