Section 24-48.5-133 - Rural opportunity office - creation - duties - legislative declaration(1)(a) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that: (I) Rural Colorado is crucially important to the culture and economy of the entire state; however, rural communities face economic challenges that are not experienced in more urban areas;(II) Rural communities do not benefit from the economies of scale or diversification found in larger, metropolitan regions;(III) Most rural communities are missing foundational data, strategies, capacity, and connections to planning and implementation resources to help them respond, innovate, and diversify from a prevalence of single-industry economies;(IV) An extended support system that provides consistent economic development education, technical assistance, and implementation funding is desperately needed in rural Colorado where local leadership positions turn over more rapidly than in urban areas;(V) Every rural community is different, and outreach and programming needs to be customized to an individual community's needs, conditions, and capacity;(VI) Rural economic development and business support require personal connections in addition to targeted programs to support long-term resilience;(VII) There is a demonstrated need in the state for a centralized office to help connect communities with the wide range of rural-focused recovery programming resulting from state and federal stimulus efforts;(VIII) Since the rural opportunity office began its work in the office of economic development in 2019, the rural opportunity office has:(A) Provided critical community-specific support to the state's rural areas and built important individual connections with rural stakeholders;(B) Provided support to the state's rural partners by connecting them to relevant programs provided by the office of economic development and aligned state, federal, nonprofit, and private partner agencies and organizations and facilitated collaboration with state agencies regarding rural issues; and(C) Provided feedback to improve state programs that provide assistance to rural Colorado and informed the development of new initiatives, policy decisions, and legislation that influences rural economic development statewide;(b) Therefore, the general assembly finds and declares it to be the policy of the state to continue to:(I) Increase the economic resiliency of rural Colorado with coordinated, on-the-ground outreach to rural communities across the state;(II) Increase access to specific and customized education, technical assistance, and implementation funding provided to rural communities; and(III) Coordinate messaging and relationship building with rural communities to increase access to the office of economic development and other state and federal programs to benefit the health and vitality of rural Colorado.(c) The general assembly further finds and declares that the rural opportunity office, as codified by this section, is the division within the office of economic development that is best situated to effectively curate and present to rural stakeholders the full scope of the programs available through the office, the state, and federal partners to foster and promote rural prosperity in the state.(2) The rural opportunity office is hereby created within the office of economic development. The director of the rural opportunity office is designated by and shall report to the director of the office of economic development.(3) The rural opportunity office shall:(a) Serve as Colorado's central coordinator of rural economic development matters with certain staff physically located in rural communities across Colorado. In particular, the rural opportunity office shall coordinate the programs and initiatives available to rural communities through the office, connect rural communities to grant writing technical support opportunities, and provide support and coordination with other state agencies and programs that deal with rural economic development matters, including the just transition office created in section 8-83-503 (1).(b) Work with coal transitioning communities to explore unique business and economic development opportunities, including working with coal transitioning communities and state agencies to access federal, state, and local funding sources for those unique business and economic development opportunities. The director and coal transitioning communities may work in coordination with state agencies, including but not limited to the just transition office created in section 8-83-503 (1), the division of local government in the department of local affairs, federal agencies, and community nonprofits.(c) Make recommendations that inform the governor's policy on rural economic development matters, including policy on economic development issues unique to rural communities; (d) Measure the success of program outreach and conduct research to determine whether Colorado's rural communities receive more statewide funding as a result of the efforts of the rural opportunity office; and(e) In coordination with county commissioners, municipal officials, local chambers of commerce and economic development organizations, institutions of higher education, private industry, an employee organization representing rail workers, and any local organizations dedicated to increased rail usage, pursue opportunities for new, early stage, and existing businesses and support business and industry development and economic diversification in coordination with workforce training opportunities and existing state and federal programs that are designed for coal transition communities.Amended by 2024 Ch. 280,§ 2, eff. 8/7/2024.Added by 2023 Ch. 228,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2023.2024 Ch. 280, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).2023 Ch. 228, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).