HB 22-1234

House Bill 22-1234, also known as the Preventing Identity-based Violence Grant Program, aims to provide funding for programs that focus on preventing violence targeted at specific groups of people in Colorado. This bill allocates one million dollars annually to support projects that increase awareness about identity-based violence, enhance local collaboration to prevent such acts, and ensure long-term strategies are in place. The Department of Public Safety will oversee the grant program and must adhere to guidelines that protect individual privacy and civil rights. Since the bill has been signed into law, it is now active and funding for these grants is available starting from the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Official Summary

The act establishes the preventing identity-based violence grant program (grant program) to provide grants for programs that focus on building strong communities and preventing acts of violence that threaten human life or critical infrastructure, venues, or key resources in which actors or groups intentionally target a discernible population of individuals in a manner that poses a threat to homeland security (identity-based violence). A project funded with a grant award must build awareness for the prevention and intervention of identity-based violence within Colorado communities, strengthen local collaboration and capabilities for prevention and intervention of identity-based violence, or build sustainable support for the prevention and intervention of identity-based violence. The act requires the department of public safety (department) to annually evaluate environmental factors that lead to, and challenges to reducing, identity-based violence and permits the department to establish annual priorities for the grant program that address the identified factors and challenges. A project funded with a grant award must not infringe on individual privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. A grant recipient that is not a law enforcement agency is prohibited from collecting or maintaining intelligence information about an individual or group, association, corporation, business partnership, or other organization. The act requires a law enforcement agency to comply with federal regulations regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of intelligence information learned by the agency though a program funded with a grant award. The office of prevention and security within the department reviews grant applications and awards grants in accordance with department rule. The act requires the general assembly to annually appropriate one million dollars to implement the program. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates one million dollars from the general fund to the department for the grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Votes