Reducing Emissions Across the Colorado Economy

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Colorado State Senator Chris Hansen introduced Senate Bill 23-016 which will help the state achieve emission reduction goals through a comprehensive approach addressing many sectors of the climate crisis. The bill activates every part of the economy to mitigate the climate crisis, incentivizing action from individuals, businesses, and state regulators. 

The bill advances bold greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals and provides incentives to reach them, such as a 33% tax incentive for individuals to transition to electric lawn equipment and a new authority of the energy and carbon management commission to promote carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Colorado. 

The bill also establishes a requirement of the Air Quality Control Commission to establish a first-of-its-kind fee/ton on GHGs, a requirement of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to consider and prioritize transmission line upgrades, and a requirement of the Public Employees Retirement Association to describe its climate-related investment risks, impacts, and strategies.

In addition, the legislation promotes renewable energy, including the recovery of wastewater thermal energy by allowing it to be included in utilities clean heat plans, a clause to prevent Home Owner Associations (HOAs) from disallowing heat pump systems, and a new fee for utilities if they are slow to interconnect distributed generation sources (e.g., rooftop solar systems).

Impact:

The bill will be successful if Colorado is on track to meet its emission reduction targets measured against its next interim target (26% reduction from 2005 levels by 2025). Also, if the state reaches its EPA ozone attainment levels, if there is additional transmission capacity added to existing lines to create a more resilient grid, and if we see geothermal, heat pump, and CCS projects built throughout the state.

Middle Income Housing Authority (MIHA)

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Colorado Senator Jeff Bridges’ advanced legislation to created the Middle Income Housing Authority (MIHA), an innovative tool to drive the development of affordable housing for middle-income folks. Colorado faces an acute shortage of “missing middle” housing, housing that is many working families, such as nurses, teachers, and firefighters. The program provides market-based incentives to leverage private capital and minimizes government investments. 

By treating middle-income housing like the infrastructure investment it is, MIHA represents a significant shift in addressing affordable housing by using a market-oriented approach driven by public-private partnerships. By leveraging tax-free municipal bonds and social impact investors, MIHA reduces reliance on government financing and creates a sustainable and scalable model that reinvests all profits into additional affordable housing. 

MIHA aims to increase the supply of rental housing. While developers may get a higher return by building market-rate housing, they pay significant taxes on those returns. By allowing access to the same kinds of tax-free bonds used to finance other infrastructure investments, developers using tax-free bonds for MIHA projects will see roughly equal returns. This drives investment in middle-income housing without competing for government dollars that should go toward low-income housing subsidies.

Impact:

Success will be measured by the number of affordable housing units built for middle-income earners, especially in our mountain resort communities and in gentrifying neighborhoods where long-established communities are being pushed out by increased housing costs. While currently focused on rental housing, the success of this unique financial model should allow for the construction of for-sale MIHA housing as well. Over the next two years the initial six projects representing several hundred new housing units will demonstrate what works best, where it works, and why it works. The long term goal is to show a measurable decrease in the number of middle-income individuals and families across Colorado who are cost burdened, alongside a measurable increase in the supply of housing units that are affordable for those families.

Richmond Pathways Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney launched the Richmond Pathways Program pilot program that will cover the tuition of any Richmond Public School graduate to attend the local community college. With an initial investment of $1.7 million from the City of Richmond, The award will also be paired with a monthly cash allowance, mentorship, and additional resources to open more pathways for students to access postsecondary institutions and achieve success. Students would be able to pursue instruction in career-specific or skilled-trades credentials in addition to earning credits to transfer to a four-year college.

 

Impact

Currently a pilot program, the city is working to achieve a fundraising goal of $4 million through donations and contributions before launching.

Small Business Wage Boost

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti’s Small Business Wage Boost program is an employee retention program designed to address the gap between the current working wage and a livable wage, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Small businesses throughout the City of Scranton can apply for up to $50,000, disbursed over two years, to raise their employees’ wages closer to the state average.

In the program’s first year, Scranton used ARPA funding to fully fund the gap between the current wage and elevated wage. In year two, the City and business will share the responsibility of funding the higher wage. By the third year, the goal is for businesses to fully support their employees’ new wages. The Wage Boost program is an innovative approach to address a minimum wage in Pennsylvania that lags behind the needs of 21st century workers. By helping small businesses raise employees’ wages, it’s a win-win-win for the city: businesses can retain employees who might leave for other better paying jobs, employees can keep up with the cost of living, and the city retains tax-paying businesses.

Impact:

The program was announced to the community in October 2022. Across two rounds of funding announcements, nine businesses have received between $25,000 and $50,000 in wage boost grants to be used over the course of the next two years. A third round of applications opens late summer 2023. The program’s impact is seen in the potential economic mobility of the employees receiving higher wages, a reduction in turnover for employers, and the ongoing success of the businesses that have tapped into the program.

Providence’s Early Learning Infrastructure Support Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is building up the city’s early education infrastructure through the Early Learning Infrastructure Support Program. This new program will invest $1.9 million from both the general budget and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), to offer technical support, planning grants, and construction grants to childcare providers and centers. This initiative is an investment in the early learning economy, supporting minority- and women-owned business owners in Providence who were essential during the COVID-19 quarantines. The planning and construction grants prioritize facility improvements that will improve the safety, quality rating and capacity of both home- and center-based providers

The program also tackles issues like staffing shortages and insufficient reimbursement rates. LISC assists providers in identifying areas for facility improvement, safety enhancements, and quality rating upgrades. Ultimately, the Early Learning Infrastructure Support Program enhances childcare quality, safety, and capacity, benefiting families and advancing Providence’s goal of universal Pre-K access in high-quality facilities.

 

Impact

On July 13, 2023, Providence announced over $1 million in grants to 16 home-based and 8 center-based facilities. Reporting includes details on how each project tackles health and safety concerns, upgrades quality ratings, and boosts capacity. For instance, adding a backyard fence improves safety, advances quality ratings, and allows home-based providers to accommodate more children.

Improving engagement with home-based providers was a priority. After a three-month application period with dual language support (English and Spanish), LISC received 45 applications from home-based providers, a significant increase compared to previous rounds.”

Creating a Diverse STEM Workforce by Leveraging Federal CHIPS Funding

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

To directly address the gender, social, and racial gaps in STEM education and careers, Oregon Representative Janelle Bynum advocated for two new grant programs focused on leveraging federal CHIPS funding to build a diverse workforce for the future. The first grant ($1.2 million) went to Portland non-profit Self Enhancement Inc. to build a pipeline of diverse students who will be ready to gain employment in Oregon’s expanding semiconductor industry. The second grant ($2 million) went to Building Blocks 2 Success, which will create a semiconductor workforce pipeline by offering summer programming and college preparation for students intending to major in STEM fields at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

These grants, in addition to over $200 million from the Oregon CHIPS act, go above and beyond what other states are doing and will work to ensure that the lucrative semiconductor careers of the future are more equitably distributed and incorporate individuals who are often left out of economic development. Especially considering the Supreme Court’s recent decision on affirmative action, investing in students who will attend HBCUs is more important than ever to address the STEM education and career gap.

Impact

In the short term, Oregon will evaluate the success of these investments by seeing how much federal CHIPS funding comes to our state. This effort will help create a state economy hospitable for future generations to succeed and will help new cohorts of STEM professionals attain the economic and social securities that will bring diverse families and communities to new levels of prosperity and opportunity.

 

Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy for Maine

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

The Guaranteed Paid Family Leave plan, sponsored by Maine Representative Kristen Cloutier, will provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year to all eligible employees in the private and public sector. The plan permits employees to take leave to care for any individual with whom they have a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship regardless of biological or legal relationship. Employees can take paid leave immediately after starting employment.

Paid family and medical leave will help Maine workers, particularly working women, meet their personal and family health care needs, while also fulfilling work responsibilities. To pay for this program while keeping track of who gets helped, the state will impose a 1% contribution rate, split evenly between the employer and employee.

Impact:

The state of Maine will keep track of how the program is affecting businesses and whether they are adapting well to implementation of the program over time. Additionally, Cloutier built in strong accountability provisions to monitor the sustainability of the fund and allows for the contribution rates to be adjusted as necessary.

E-3 Re-entry Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Chester County, PA Commissioner Josh Maxwell used federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to launch the county’s E3 (Exit, Enter, Employ) Re-entry Program, a free 12-week program that provides individuals exiting the justice system with a direct pathway to enter the manufacturing industry. This ”outside the box” initiative led by the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) helps to meet the workforce needs of the regions companies, particularly manufacturing employers, looking to find skilled people, and it trains those who can develop the skills, supporting them as they re-enter the community, and the workforce (annual need for 1,700 jobs). The county. 

 The CCIU developed the comprehensive skills training program, found interested employers to participate in the placement of graduates of the program, and provided participants with training in social skills, positive self-change, and problem-solving. The program consists of 45 hours of manufacturing training, cognitive behavioral therapy, and job readiness training. Upon completion of the program, students participate in a job fair where they meet and interview with local companies supporting the E3 program. Graduates are offered one year of follow-up support.

 

Impact:

 The Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) has successfully completed 2 E3 Post Release program cohorts to date. Between the two cohorts, 9 participants successfully graduated, with the first cohort graduating 100% of those enrolled. Of the nine post-release graduates, five have successfully secured full-time employment-4 in manufacturing, one part-time employment, two graduates are currently interviewing with companies (from cohort 2 that graduated June 16), and two have not responded to efforts to maintain contact with our office following graduation.

Renters’ Right to Counsel Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

The City of St. Louis is grappling with a housing affordability crisis, where nearly 60% of renter households pay an average monthly rent of $951. Although there was a slight dip in eviction during the pandemic, eviction filings have increased year over year and are more than twice as common in majority-black census tracts compared to majority-white ones.

As part of her broad initiative to provide families with a safe and stable roof over their heads, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones launched the Right to Counsel program (RTC) to provide access to legal services for tenants facing eviction proceedings. She utilized $685,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish the program, ensuring St. Louis renters have access to legal services for tenants facing eviction and the ability to access the Missouri court system, regardless of income level. This bill demonstrates Jones’ commitment to strengthening tenant protections and reducing housing instability in the communities. 

 

Impact:

Mayor Jones signed the new ordinance into law in July 2023, and the city is currently distributing funds to several legal aid service providers across the city to serve ZIP codes with the highest rates of eviction. Additionally, the city is working to hire a program coordinator housed within the St. Louis Department of Human Services that will oversee the program’s implementation. Board Bill 59 also requires landlords to provide tenants with information regarding the availability of the program.

 

Peake Early Childhood Center / Virginia Peninsula Community College Center of Excellence

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones led the Council adoption of  the city’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan with the objective of ensuring that children enter school ready to learn and be successful. A strategy to support this objective is to increase the availability of and strengthen early education in pre-kindergarten programs, particularly for low-income children. To fulfill this strategy, the city is partnering with the Peake Childhood Center to develop and operate a fully accredited and licensed early childhood center. The joint facility in partnership with PEAKE and Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC), will provide a sliding scale tuition for up to 200 youth, from infant to 4 years old. Additionally, VPCC will train the next generation of childcare professionals through its onsite training program.

Newport News also allocated over 20% of their ARPA funding to establish a new Early Childhood Education Center. This center will ensure that pre-Kindergarten programs are universally available — particularly for low-income families — increasing options for our working families who need safe places for their children to learn and grow and empowering parents to become actively involved in their child’s learning and also remain in the workforce.

 

Impact:

The Peake Early Childhood Center will ensure that families, who struggle financially, have access to a center that addresses the early educational needs of their children and supports the needs of the family. Data reveals how important high quality and affordable early learning and childcare is for the economy. The availability of early education programs attracts home buyers and increases property values by $13 dollars for every dollar invested. Also, a lack of childcare costs businesses $4.4 billion annually because parents/guardians must be absent from work to take care of their children.

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