SB18-005: Rural Economic Advancement of Colorado Towns (REACT Act)

• Creates the Rural Economic Advancement of Colorado Towns (REACT) Act to assist rural communities experiencing significant economic events such as plant closures or industry-wide layoffs that result in substantial job losses.

• Defines "rural" as counties with populations under 50,000 or municipalities under 20,000 that are not contiguous to larger municipalities, with the executive director authorized to modify this definition by rule.

• Authorizes the Department of Local Affairs to coordinate nonmonetary state resources and assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment and the Colorado Office of Economic Development to help affected rural communities with job retention and creation.

• Specifies assistance types may include capacity-building resources such as job training and workforce development, technical assistance, and other nonmonetary resources, to be provided within existing agency staffing without additional full-time equivalent employees.

• Automatically repeals on September 1, 2021, and takes effect 90 days after the 2018 legislative session concludes unless subject to voter referendum in November 2018.