Frisco lawmaker Sen. Dylan Roberts is sponsoring new bills supporting former coal workers and small farmers dedicated to water conservation.
Roberts believes these bipartisan bills show his commitment to the “backbone of Colorado’s rural and mountain economies.” Both unanimously passed their first test last week, when the state Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee sent them on to the state House.
The first bill, SB26-052, “would require certain businesses in a coal transition community to give hiring preference to former coal workers who meet the job requirements,” according to a news release from Roberts’ team. Those industries include railroad, utilities, energy generation and advanced manufacturing.
The coal workers bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Marc Catlin, a Republican out of Montrose. Reporting by the Colorado Sun claims the West End of Montrose, where coal mining ended in 2019, could be a model for other former mining communities. Roberts hopes this bill makes it easier for onetime minters to find work and stay in their hometowns.
“Coal workers deserve the opportunity to transition to good-paying jobs in the communities where they live and want to be for years to come,” Roberts said in the release. “For years, they’ve provided for their families and powered our communities, and they should have the chance to benefit from new technologies, industries and opportunities coming to Northwest Colorado and beyond.”
The second bill, SB26-064, was co-sponsored by state Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, a Republican from Alamosa. Among other things, it helps farmers win state funding through newly formed loan program, especially farmers who are certified through the state as water conservationists.
This fund, the Agricultural Future Loan Program, “provides low-interest loans and grants to newer or underrepresented producers who lack access to traditional capital to help them grow their farms, ranches, and agribusinesses,” according to the news release.