A bill designed to increase economic development opportunities in rural sections of Colorado has won approval in the legislature’s House Committee on Appropriations.
As introduced by Representatives Marc Caitlin and Barbara McLachlan, the legislation calls for making official what is already called the Rural Opportunity Office, to assist communities as they transition from economies based on the production of coal.
As proposed, the Rural Opportunity Office will operate under the umbrella of the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade and will require that economic development staff must be physically located in rural communities across Colorado.
The legislation, SB23-006, has thus far won approval in the full Senate in advance of a vote before the full House.
As quoted in the Sterling Journal-Advocate, McLachlin remarked that the Rural Opportunity Office will provide a “pathway to promote, diversify, and expand economic opportunities in small towns to meet the needs of our neighbors.”
Nearly 75% of the landmass in Colorado is defined as rural, comprising just under 1,700 square miles. According to the U.S. Census, more than 500,000 people live in rural swaths of the Centennial State, a large percentage of whom have relied on coal-fired power plants and coal mines for employment.
It is thought that nearly 2,000 people currently work in those industries.
By Garry Boulard
