Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24. Government State § 24-36-302. Legislative declaration

(a) The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating economic and health consequences across the state, negatively impacting many Coloradans and disproportionately harming individuals and households that were already economically insecure;

(b) The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many low- and moderate-income individuals and households to lose income due to the loss of employment, spend down their savings, borrow from friends, and incur more debt;

(c) As a result of the recession precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term economic challenges continue for many in Colorado, due to, among other factors, damaged consumer credit scores and reduced familial and childhood well-being;

(d) Further, many individuals and households facing financial insecurity, including unserved and underserved populations, lack access to financial and banking services, including affordable loans, to help address economic insecurity;

(e) Together with financial coaching and safe and affordable banking products, low-cost loans are an important tool to build long-term financial health;

(f) By incentivizing financial institutions to issue loans to impacted individuals and households through a loan loss reserve, buying down interest rates, or providing lending capital, the state can foster long-term transformative change for individuals and households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or its negative economic impacts;

(g) With one-time money, the state can catalyze positive market forces that exist outside of state government, leveraging new, or freeing up existing, resources to support the creation of affordable lending products currently unavailable to many Coloradans; and

(h) Therefore, the creation of a household financial recovery pilot program supports the long-term recovery of Colorado individuals and households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and is an appropriate response to the harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic or its negative economic impacts.