Colorado HB 18-1394: Establishing a Resiliency Office
Colorado’s 2018 House Bill 18-1394 amends the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, establishing the Colorado Resiliency Office to coordinate and oversee efforts to reduce the vulnerability and improve the resilience of individuals and communities in the state. The bill also tasks the Office of Emergency Management with additional duties, defines resiliency and emergency management terms, and includes other disaster-related initiatives.
A significant addition is the establishment of the Colorado Resiliency Office within the Division of Local Government, a part of the Department of Local Affairs. The Resiliency Office is a successor to the Colorado Recovery Office, which was previously established by executive order and housed within the Governor's Office. The Resiliency Office is responsible for creating and maintaining a Resiliency and Community Recovery Program. The program is responsible for:
- developing plans to improve coordination among state agencies and local jurisdictions for recovery and risk reduction,
- providing technical assistance to local governments on resilience planning,
- supporting state agencies in implementing and institutionalizing resilience practices,
- assisting local governments and state agencies in securing resources for resilience efforts,
- integrating resilience criteria into grant programs,
- advocating for federal resilience policy,
- developing metrics to evaluate resilience outcomes, and
- supporting long-term community recovery and resource navigation post-disaster.
The Office is directed to engage with stakeholders, such as local governments, and consult with the Governor's Office and all “affected” state agencies when developing the program. The bill establishes the definition for “resiliency” in state law as the ability of communities to adapt positively to changing conditions and disasters while maintaining economic vitality and conserving resources.
The bill also authorizes the governor to create a Disaster Policy Group to coordinate policy-level decision-making during a disaster emergency and advise the governor on response and recovery. Disaster policy groups, when convened, must include a representative from the Department of Local Affairs and other state agencies whose action is needed in response and recovery efforts.
The bill’s provisions are codified at various places within Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, relating to state government. Specifically, the Resiliency Office, which is established in Section 17 of the bill, is codified at Sections 24-32-121–122.
Publication Date: May 24, 2018
Related Organizations:
- State of Colorado
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- Laws
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