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SENATE BILL 26-052
BY SENATOR(S) Roberts and Catlin, Amabile, Ball, Bridges, Exum,
Gonzales J., Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Kirkmeyer, Lindstedt, Liston,
Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Pelton R., Simpson, Snyder,
Sullivan, Wallace, Coleman;
also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Lukens and Mauro, Bacon, Boesenecker,
Brown, Clifford, Duran, Froelich, Garcia, Goldstein, Lieder, Lindsay,
Martinez, McCormick, Nguyen, Paschal, Ricks, Rutinel, Sirota, Smith,
Stewart K., Story, Titone, Woodrow, McCluskie.
CONCERNING COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES, AND, IN CONNECTION
THEREWITH, PROVIDING A HIRING PREFERENCE FOR COAL TRANSITION
WORKERS IN COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES AND EXPANDING THE
ALLOWABLE WAYS IN WHICH A PUBLIC ENTITY MAY DEPOSIT OR
INVEST JUST TRANSITION MONEY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) Coal transition workers have powered the state for decades, and
the loss of coal-related employment has profound economic and personal
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act.
impacts on workers, their families, and the communities that depend on
them. These impacts are concentrated in specific regions of the state and
result directly from the planned and regulated decline of coal-fueled
generation and extraction.
(b) Coal transition workers possess specialized, high-value skills
that are directly transferable and critical to the state's transportation,
infrastructure, clean-energy, manufacturing, and industrial future, including
skills developed through years of work in highly regulated, safety-sensitive,
and technical environments;
( c) As coal facilities wind down and close pursuant to state policy,
regulatory approvals, and statutory clean-energy requirements, the state has
a legitimate and compelling interest in mitigating the foreseeable economic
harm to workers and communities that results from those state-directed
actions;
( d) Displaced coal transition workers should have clear, reliable, and
timely pathways into new careers of equal quality, including comparable
wages, benefits, and job security, within or near the communities in which
they live;
( e) The state's clean-energy economy already employs nearly 70,000
workers, which is more than twice as many as the fossil-fuel sector, and
state and regional climate workforce analyses identify significant shortages
across at least twenty climate-critical occupations, requiring thousands of
additional skilled workers, including electricians, construction laborers and
managers, HV AC and building technicians, wind and solar technicians,
power-line workers, electric-vehicle technicians, and other skilled trades,
to meet the state's statutory climate goals, including the goal of net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050;
(f) The state is simultaneously experiencing a substantial shortage
of construction workers, with construction trades projected to grow
significantly through 2030 and employers needing to fill tens of thousands
of high-demand positions. These workforce gaps make it imperative that
just-transition policy deliberately and efficiently align displaced coal
transition workers with existing and projected labor needs in clean energy,
construction, transportation, and related sectors.
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(g) Economic development, transportation, energy, and
infrastructure projects in coal transition communities must prioritize
reemployment opportunities for qualified coal transition workers so that the
economic transition does not come at the expense of the individuals and
communities that built and sustained these regions; and
(h) A targeted, qualification-based, and narrowly tailored hiring
preference, implemented through good faith efforts and tied to state
interests in economic recovery and workforce development, is a lawful and
necessary tool to ensure that coal transition workers directly benefit from
ongoing and future development in their communities and are not left
behind.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 8-83-507 as
follows:
8-83-507. Hiring preference - coal transition workers -
definitions.
(1) As USED IN THIS SECTION, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE
REQUIRES:
(a) "COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITY" MEANS A COLORADO
MUNICIPALITY,COUNTY,ORREGIONWHEREACOAL TRANSITION FACILITY OR
A CENTER FOR THE MANUFACTURING OR TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY CHAIN OF
A COAL TRANSITION FACILITY WAS OR IS LOCATED.
(b) "COAL TRANSITION WORKER" MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WORKS
OR HAS WORKED IN A COLORADO COAL TRANSITION FACILITY OR IN THE
MANUFACTURING OR TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY CHAIN OF A COAL
TRANSITION FACILITY.
(c) "COVERED BUSINESS" MEANS A BUSINESS ENTITY OPERATING IN
A COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITY THAT IS ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF
CONSTRUCTING OR OPERA TING RAILROADS, UTILITIES, ENERGY GENERATION
FACILITIES, OR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING FACILITIES. A "COVERED
BUSINESS" DOES NOT INCLUDE THE STATE GOVERNMENT OR A LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.
( d) "HIRING PREFERENCE" MEANS A FIRST AND PREFERRED
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OPPORTUNITY FOR AVAILABLE EMPLOYMENT IN A COAL TRANSITION
COMMUNITY.
( e) "QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER" MEANS A COAL
TRANSITION WORKER WHO MEETS THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN
EMPLOYMENT POSITION WITH A COVERED BUSINESS.
(2)(a) ONANDAFTERJANUARY 1,2027,ACOVEREDBUSINESSSHALL
PROVIDE A HIRING PREFERENCE FOR A QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER
TO A PROSPECTIVE NEW EMPLOYEE.
(b) A COVERED BUSINESS MAY HIRE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS NOT A
QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER ONLY IF:
(I) A QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER DID NOT APPLY TO BE
EMPLOYED BY A COVERED BUSINESS;
(II) EACH QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER TO WHOM THE
COVERED BUSINESS EXTENDS AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT DECLINES THE
OFFER; OR
(III) A QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER'S QUALIFICATIONS DID
NOT MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS OF OTHER CANDIDATES FOR THE SAME JOB.
(3) A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL CONSULT WITH THE JUST
TRANSITION OFFICE, OPERA TORS OF EXISTING COAL-FUELED GENERATION
FACILITIES SCHEDULED FOR RETIREMENT, AND ORGANIZATIONS
REPRESENTING QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS TO IDENTIFY
QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS.
( 4) IF A QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKER APPLIES FOR
EMPLOYMENT WITH A COVERED BUSINESS, THEN A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL
REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRIOR YEAR:
(a) THE TITLE OF ANY POSITION FILLED BY A QUALIFIED COAL
TRANSITION WORKER;
(b) THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS WHO
FILLED POSITIONS AT THE COVERED BUSINESS;
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( c) THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE NOT QUALIFIED COAL
TRANSITION WORKERS WHO FILLED POSITIONS AT THE COVERED BUSINESS;
AND
( d) EFFORTS UNDERTAKEN BY THE COVERED BUSINESS TO RECRUIT
QUALIFIED COAL TRANSITION WORKERS.
(5) A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL MAKE GOOD FAITH EFFORTS TO
COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION.
(6) THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR THEIR DESIGNEE SHALL DEVELOP
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS SECTION.
(7) A HIRING PREFERENCE DOES NOT APPLY IF A COVERED BUSINESS
PLACES AN EXISTING EMPLOYEE IN ANOTHER EMPLOYMENT POSITION WITH
THE COVER E D BUSINESS OR TO THE EXTENT THAT A HIRING PREFERENCE
CONFLICTS WITH THE TERMS OF A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
THAT APPLIES TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A COVERED BUSINESS AND ITS
EMPLOYEES.
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-75-601.1, amend
(5) as follows:
24-75-601.1. Legal investments of public funds -definition.
(5) Nothing in this section applies to public fttnds held or invested
as part of any payment or settlement to offset the soeioeeonomie impacts to
a community or government ftonr the elosme of a coal mine or eoal power
genetating station. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY LA w TO THE CONTRARY, IN
ADDITION TO ANY OTHER DEPOSIT OR INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS
ALLOWED BYLAW, A PUBLIC ENTITY IS AUTHORIZED TO DEPOSIT OR INVEST,
EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH AN INVESTMENT FIRM OR OTHER THIRD
PARTY AUTHORIZED BY THE PUBLIC ENTITY, ANY PAYMENT OR SETTLEMENT
FUNDS THAT THE PUBLIC ENTITY HAS RECEIVED TO OFFSET THE
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS TO A COMMUNITY OR GOVERNMENT FROM THE
CLOSURE OF A COAL MINE OR COAL POWER GENERA TING STATION AND THE
INTEREST, INVESTMENT INCOME, OR GAIN EARNED THEREON IN ANY
INVESTMENT PERMITTED UNDER AN INVESTMENT POLICY ADOPTED BY THE
PUBLIC ENTITY. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION (5), UNLESS THE
CONTEXT OTHER WISE REQUIRES, "INVESTMENT FIRM" MEANS A BANK,
PAGE 5-SENATE BILL 26-052
BROKERAGE FIRM, OR OTHER FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRM CONDUCTING
BUSINESS IN THE STATE, OR ANY AGENT THEREOF.
SECTION 4. Safety clause. The general assembly finds,
determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for
the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state
institutions.
James Rashad Coleman, Sr.
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE
sther van Mourik
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE
~~.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
~eilly
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED on mormr \'n:lt'Wl (.\-ih 10l(p ~ \2: Wrll-1
(Date and Time)
Jared
GO
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