DENVER (AP) — Colorado plans to spend $6 million to prevent a potential undercount in the state during next year's census.
The Denver Post reports that Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Thursday allowing local governments, school districts, charities, and tribes to receive grants for census outreach.
The bill directs the grants, which must be awarded before Nov. 1, to be used to reach hard-to-count groups including Hispanics, children, elderly and rural Coloradans, and homeless and transient people.
The bill's sponsors told a House committee in March that even a 1% undercount could cost Colorado more than $630 million in federal funding over the next decade.
The grant program will be overseen by a five-member committee appointed by the secretary of state and legislative leaders from both parties.
