Resilient Pueblo has seen good times and bad as well as everything in between. Throughout it all, the city’s fortunes have hinged significantly on its fabled steel mill, the onetime Colorado Fuel & Iron company that today is known as Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel.

What was good for the mill almost always has been good for the surrounding city, which is why Pueblo Democratic state Rep. Daneya Esgar and Democratic House Speaker Crisanta Duran of Denver are proposing legislation that could provide a financial lift to enterprises like Evraz.

Their House Bill 1356, just introduced in the lower chamber this week, tweaks a host of tax credits to the advantage of companies that make large investments in their operations and expand jobs — an example of which is said to be in the works at the Pueblo plant. Now, be forewarned: This is complex stuff that is probably fully comprehensible only to corporate tax lawyers, accountants and, perhaps, Henry Halgren, the super-smart sixth-grader from Fort Collins who recently won the state geography bee. So, we’ll just quote from the official bill summary to give you the gist of how it works:

The bill allows the Colorado economic development commission to allow certain businesses that make a strategic capital investment in the state, subject to a maximum amount, and subject to the requirements of the specified income tax credits, to treat any of the following income tax credits allowed to the business as either carryforwardable for a five-year period or as transferable:

Clear enough? Well, at least we learned a new word — carryforwardable. (Sheesh; we’ve got to have a talk with those folks in the bill-drafting office.)

Anyway, the bill unanimously passed the House Finance Committee Wednesday. A press release from the House Democrats quotes Pueblo native Esgar:

“The Pueblo steel mill is the heart and soul of my city,” Rep. Esgar said. “My grandfathers worked at the mill. I have friends and family who work there now. The success of this mill is vital to my community.”

Next stop: the Appropriations Committee. Stay tuned.