Committee advances bill to modernize Colorado emergency management law and shield disaster‑survivor data

Representative Morrow and co‑prime Representative Bradfield asked the House Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee to advance House Bill 12‑52, saying the measure brings Colorado’s homeland security and emergency‑management statutes into alignment with current operations.

The sponsors said the bill designates the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) as the primary state agency to coordinate disaster recovery, codifies an existing state disaster recovery task force within OEM, and clarifies how various agencies participate in recovery work. Representative Bradfield told the committee the bill updates statutory references, adjusts membership on advisory bodies including the cybersecurity council, and lets the division award nonprofit security grants more quickly.

Director Kevin Cline, representing the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the Colorado Department of Public Safety, testified in support. He said the disaster survivor portal—where individuals register to request assistance—was not explicitly protected under existing public‑records law and that the bill would shield personally identifiable information (PII) collected through the portal from disclosure. "The disaster survival portal…we think that it's important that that be shielded from public disclosure," Director Cline said in testimony.

Members asked how the bill treats aggregate data and reporting. Representative Luck pressed whether abstracted summaries of disaster registrations could be released to the press; Director Cline replied that aggregated, non‑PII information (counts, locations, types of needs) could be shared with media and partners but that individual names and addresses would remain protected. Committee discussion also addressed a statutory repeal that shifts reporting of certain federal fund expenditures; the director said those reports are still produced in another statutory location.

Sponsors also described technical shifts in authority in the bill: moving the auxiliary communications unit to a different statutory home, narrowing membership for cybersecurity advisory groups, and permitting the division to charge a private contractor to use the state's radio network after upgrades. The director said those changes reflect current operations rather than adding new authorities.

After adopting two sponsor amendments (L1, largely technical; and L2, which re‑locates the auxiliary emergency communicator team in statute), Vice Chair Clifford moved the bill to the committee of the whole with a favorable recommendation. House Bill 12‑52 passed the committee on an 8–3 vote and will proceed to the committee of the whole.